Author: Francesca Simon
Illustrator: Tony Ross
Ages: 5+
Caution: Some parents may find Horrid Henry books too horrid for their children, with bad manners and horrid words.
I love Dennis the Menace. I simply adore Tom Sawyer. I have to admit, I do really enjoy naughty children stories. There is something extremely appealing and cute about Krishna after he has nicked all the butter. If it weren't for the naughty kids, you would never have those awesome stories to tell their wife and kids later on! (did I get my double negative right?!?).
My elder son's naughty tales run for pages together - locking neighbours inside their house, rubbing out neighbours' carefully drawn kolams, pressing the elevator buttons from the top floor just when people are about to exit the lift in lower floors, thereby making them travel all the way up (and down and up again * 4 at least). But the little one is more of a conformist ( we call him the Rules Ramanujam of our house!). Still, his conformist ideas would sometimes include flushing brand new mobiles down the toilet, posting bread and Chapatis in the DVD player, pulling out springs from all pens and hiding them in the freezer, washing machine, Mum's boots and other such "safe" places..
Also these days it is a constant fight to act as the "good boy" in front of mum and more important, framing the other one as being wicked. And when I wonder if I am making some mistake in bringing them up, I am reminded of all my fights with my sister and all my cousins and realize it is just an enticing part of growing up, a rite of passage into and out of teens.
Which is why Horrid Henry is such a huge success. I personally haven't read even one, I find them a bit too silly ( Alas, senility is eating into me already!). But I have a major soft spot for them, because it was the first ever book that was independently read by my elder son when he was 5. And since then, he has never stopped reading! He has got every single one of the books, many signed by Francesca Simon, the author. Even now, I find him delving into one of these and it is a collection he proudly displays in his room!
Francesca Simon has also had the books translated into many languages, and is one of the most read Children's authors. She has also won awards and accolades for Horrid Henry books. Horrid Henry books always figure on the libraries' Top 10 lists of borrowed books.
The books are very concise reads, with 4 crisp episodes in every book, short enough to keep the newly independent reader engaged and wanting more. The settings are the ones that kids immediately associate themselves with - classroom, fair, school trips, plays, lunch breaks, dinnertime with siblings, sleepovers, making secret clubs and everything else equally childish. And are almost always about the fights and chaos and the usual telling off that ensues.
The characters have alliterative names ( Moody Margaret, Sour Susan, Perfect Peter etc) and loathsome traits! Horrid Henry is the bad big brother and Perfect Peter is the annoyingly perfect and smug younger brother. You can pretty much guess the stories from this. Amidst all the chaos and name calling, there is a steady flow of nice words for kids to pick up (some words I picked up from Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire - scuttling, lisping, puny, lurched, craning, unearthly). I wouldn't expect a 5 year old to know these words and when the kids keep reading the book again and again, they end up registering the words as well along with their meaning.
Perhaps it is the brat in every child and hence a vicarious satisfaction of being a rebel for a while that makes them want more of Horrid Henry, as they never seem to tire of Henry's bad traits. And I have seen that it is the anti-hero Henry that kids adore, not the ever-so-perfect Peter! Even if Henry uses all the dirty tricks in the book to bully his younger brother and ends up paying for it, the children still side Henry.
The books have been made into TV Serials and you can find loads of episodes on Youtube. The schools even use the books to discuss PSHE ( Personal, Social, Health Education) topics and find it rather easy to refer back to these characters and discuss good and unacceptable behaviour and the aftermath. It is almost like the lessons in Mahabharatha, on how NOT to be!
The complete list of books released so far can be found here.
Horrid Henry. Horribly Hilarious!
Illustrator: Tony Ross
Ages: 5+
Caution: Some parents may find Horrid Henry books too horrid for their children, with bad manners and horrid words.
I love Dennis the Menace. I simply adore Tom Sawyer. I have to admit, I do really enjoy naughty children stories. There is something extremely appealing and cute about Krishna after he has nicked all the butter. If it weren't for the naughty kids, you would never have those awesome stories to tell their wife and kids later on! (did I get my double negative right?!?).
My elder son's naughty tales run for pages together - locking neighbours inside their house, rubbing out neighbours' carefully drawn kolams, pressing the elevator buttons from the top floor just when people are about to exit the lift in lower floors, thereby making them travel all the way up (and down and up again * 4 at least). But the little one is more of a conformist ( we call him the Rules Ramanujam of our house!). Still, his conformist ideas would sometimes include flushing brand new mobiles down the toilet, posting bread and Chapatis in the DVD player, pulling out springs from all pens and hiding them in the freezer, washing machine, Mum's boots and other such "safe" places..
Also these days it is a constant fight to act as the "good boy" in front of mum and more important, framing the other one as being wicked. And when I wonder if I am making some mistake in bringing them up, I am reminded of all my fights with my sister and all my cousins and realize it is just an enticing part of growing up, a rite of passage into and out of teens.
Which is why Horrid Henry is such a huge success. I personally haven't read even one, I find them a bit too silly ( Alas, senility is eating into me already!). But I have a major soft spot for them, because it was the first ever book that was independently read by my elder son when he was 5. And since then, he has never stopped reading! He has got every single one of the books, many signed by Francesca Simon, the author. Even now, I find him delving into one of these and it is a collection he proudly displays in his room!
Francesca Simon has also had the books translated into many languages, and is one of the most read Children's authors. She has also won awards and accolades for Horrid Henry books. Horrid Henry books always figure on the libraries' Top 10 lists of borrowed books.
The books are very concise reads, with 4 crisp episodes in every book, short enough to keep the newly independent reader engaged and wanting more. The settings are the ones that kids immediately associate themselves with - classroom, fair, school trips, plays, lunch breaks, dinnertime with siblings, sleepovers, making secret clubs and everything else equally childish. And are almost always about the fights and chaos and the usual telling off that ensues.
The characters have alliterative names ( Moody Margaret, Sour Susan, Perfect Peter etc) and loathsome traits! Horrid Henry is the bad big brother and Perfect Peter is the annoyingly perfect and smug younger brother. You can pretty much guess the stories from this. Amidst all the chaos and name calling, there is a steady flow of nice words for kids to pick up (some words I picked up from Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire - scuttling, lisping, puny, lurched, craning, unearthly). I wouldn't expect a 5 year old to know these words and when the kids keep reading the book again and again, they end up registering the words as well along with their meaning.
Perhaps it is the brat in every child and hence a vicarious satisfaction of being a rebel for a while that makes them want more of Horrid Henry, as they never seem to tire of Henry's bad traits. And I have seen that it is the anti-hero Henry that kids adore, not the ever-so-perfect Peter! Even if Henry uses all the dirty tricks in the book to bully his younger brother and ends up paying for it, the children still side Henry.
The books have been made into TV Serials and you can find loads of episodes on Youtube. The schools even use the books to discuss PSHE ( Personal, Social, Health Education) topics and find it rather easy to refer back to these characters and discuss good and unacceptable behaviour and the aftermath. It is almost like the lessons in Mahabharatha, on how NOT to be!
The complete list of books released so far can be found here.
Horrid Henry. Horribly Hilarious!
