Lisa invites him over to her house, showing Dennis her collection of Vogue magazines and dressing him up in girls' clothing. While in detention, he talks to a girl named Lisa James, the prettiest and most fashionable girl in the school. At school that day, Dennis is given detention for kicking a football through an office window.

But when Dad finds the magazine, he is furious and forces Dennis to throw it away, while John teases him by calling him 'Denise'. Dennis sees the same dress on the cover of a Vogue magazine and buys a copy from Raj, the local shop owner.

However, he deeply misses his mother, who left their family about five years ago, and finds comfort remembering his mother's yellow dress in an old picture. Dennis is talented in football and is one of the best on his team. The boys remain with their father, who resorts to comfort eating after his wife leaves. The story follows a 12-year-old boy named Dennis and his 14-year-old brother John. When he was a child, his sisters would dress him up and he played many female roles in school. It is aimed at readers aged eight to twelve, and has been adapted into a television film and a musical.ĭavid Walliams noted that The Boy In The Dress is personal to him as it draws on the experiences of his childhood. It tells the story of a fourteen-year-old boy called John and a twelve-year-old boy called Dennis who is encouraged by a rebellious friend to dress up as a girl, and the reactions of his family, friends and school. It is the first book by Walliams, a television comedian best known for the cult BBC show Little Britain. David The Boy In The Dress is a children's book written by David Walliams and illustrated by Quentin Blake.

The Boy in the Dress by David Walliams