Tim Minchin talks about Sometimes You Have To Be a Little Bit Naughty

Tim Minchin has turned as second song from Matilda The Musical into a children’s book.

Sometimes You Have To Be a Little Bit Naughty has been illustrated by Steve Antony, who previously worked on When I Grow Up, which was released in 2017.

The new title, described as a ‘funny and heartfelt story about why being little doesn't mean you can't do a lot’ is published by Scholastic on November 10.

The comedian and composer has been taking to Australian radio stations to talk about the book, telling Sydney’s 2GB radio: ‘It’s just a bonus for me to see these words I wrote 13 years ago in a little studio in London and suddenly they just keep getting new lives.’

And speaking to his local station, ABC in Perth, Minchin said: ’This is the lyrics of one of my Matilda The Musical songs, beautifully given new life by Steve Antony, who is this gorgeous British illustrator.

‘Matilda has a couple of songs in it – this one and Revolting Children – that do make kids jump on the bed. So maybe it's the book before the book that sends them to sleep.

‘In Broadway terms, you'd call it the "I Want" song when the protagonist sets their stall and tells you who she is. Matilda is this character brought up by  horrible parents who ends up going to a school with a horrible headmistress, and she has this incredible mind and is able to vanquish the bullies.

‘So it's a song about autonomy and taking responsibility for your own destiny, which of course, can elicit a nuanced conversation about the extent to which that is easier for some people than others. But without a doubt, I think it's a strong message.

‘We can as a society take into account the fact that some people are more advantaged than others, but the story that you can take hold of the reins of your destiny, and furrow your own field or whatever mixed metaphor you want is still a good strong message to give to kids. I reckon.’

Minchin also spoke about how his 16-year-old daughter, Violet, had recently been diagnosed with autism.

He told presenter Christine Layton: ‘It was an interesting Covid. Violet doesn't mind me talking about it, but she got pretty unwell in the way that teenagers do with her mental health and eventually we got a diagnosis that she's on the autism spectrum, which makes sense of a lot of stuff.

‘She's amazing now and that that diagnosis completely changed our life because we suddenly go, "Oh, it’s one of those types. We can do that."’

He said that girls on the autism spectrum typically ‘crash’ when they hit adolescence ‘because they're so good at masking. Then the social complexity goes up and the hormones kick in and they just run out of steam, basically, and have these terrible crashes. Which manifests itself with panic attacks and anxiety.

‘[The diagnosis] has been huge for her…. We thought she was just a weird kid because we're weird but  it's been really heartening. Violet doesn't mind me sharing this stuff, because she's read all this stuff and knows how important it is to normalise this. And you don't know who's listening. I hope that’s helpful to someone.’

Hear the full interview here.

Published: 14 Sep 2022