Danny Wallace tells James O'Brien about his book that "talks to kids about lockdown"

23 March 2021, 14:31

James O'Brien interviewed Radio X host Danny Wallace about his new book 'The Day the Screens Went Blank', which talks to children about lockdown in a non-scary way.

The new fictional book, which is illustrated by Gemma Correll, follows the journey of a year ten-year-old girl who wakes up to discover a world full of blank screens.

Danny is also the author of the book 'Yes Man', which was adapted into a film starring Jim Carey and Zooey Deschanel.

James began by asking the radio host about if he had come up with the idea for his new book before lockdown.

Danny replied: "I did. The title came to me...because it just sounded like a comedy-horror for kids.

"And then when I thought about it, I thought actually it sounds like a comedy-horror for grown ups as well.

"And as I started writing it, I mean lockdown happened and I realised that the world outside my window was getting a lot weirder than the world I was writing about. And so it started to seep in."

Danny went on to say that he wanted to use the book to "a way to talk to kids about lockdown without the sort of scary pandemic side of it".

He then also spoke to James about how "we've come to rely so heavily" on technological devices.

Reflecting on the message his book sends about technology, Danny said: "It's not saying it's good or it's bad. It's just saying it is and what if it wasn't."