Harry the Poisonous Centipede (An Avon Camelot Book) [Paperback]

Lynne Reid Banks (Author), Tony Ross (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 1, 1998 | Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up | Series: An Avon Camelot Book

"It's a Hoo-Min! crackled George."
"Walking on its hairy biter feet!"
But now it was Harry who felt brave.
"Come on! Lets's peep at it."

Harry is a poisonous centipede but he's not very brave.Still, he is the star of this seriously squirmy story. Harry likes to eat things that wriggle and crackle, and things that are juicy and munchy! But there are some things that a centipede must never try to eat -- dangerous things like flying swoopers, belly wrigglers, mid the most dangerous of all ... Hoo-Mins!

Harry's mother makes him promise never to go up the Up-Pipe to the world of Hoo-Mins, but Harry's best friend, George, has other ideas! And as every young Hoo-Min knows, when your best friend wants to do something that sounds exciting, it's very hard to say no. So George and Harry poke their feelers out and smell the air....and that's when their adventures begin.

Lynne Reid Banks's storytelling sparkles in this tale of her new centipede hero and his creepy-crawly world. Fizzing with fun, it will be a delightfully squirmy experience for all young readers.

Editorial Reviews

From School Library Journal

Grade 3-4?Harry is warned by his mother, Belinda, never to ascend the mysterious "Up Pipe" (drain) or to travel to the "no-top-world" (surface) where the Hoo-Mins (humans) live. Still, encouraged by his fearless friend George, the two centipedes make several trips to these destinations, where they encounter dangerous creatures and barely make it home with their cuticles intact. Later on, when smoke invades their tunnel, the two frantically crawl through the "Up Pipe" and discover a gigantic "meat mountain" that they soon realize is a sleeping Hoo-Min. They escape just in time to scuttle down the pipe and revive the smoke-struck Belinda. Having learned the difference between bravery and foolhardiness, they live happily ever after. This simplistic fantasy is a stretch for even the most accepting readers. The characters never develop but remain insects who have human characteristics uncomfortably imposed upon them. The author is often didactic, defining potentially unfamiliar words or explaining the anatomy of centipedes. The humor is more silly than funny, and this attempt to present things through the eyes of insects is far-fetched and uninteresting. A disappointingly dull book.?Wendy D. Caldiero, New York Public Library
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Kirkus Reviews

Banks (Angela and Diabola, p. 716, etc.) may be pushing the envelope again, this time with a protagonist who is young, poisonous, and many-legged. Contrary to what readers might expect, Harry's quite a winning fellow, for a centipede. He's devoted to his mother, Belinda, but he doesn't always heed her warnings about the ``no-top-world'' above their burrow. Humans pose the biggest danger, and the most forbidden place is the ``Up-Pipe,'' which leads directly into a human's shower. Egged on by his reckless friend, George (who calls him a ``sissyfeelers''), Harry does venture into the no-top-world, and the two centis triumphantly drag home a mole cricket for dinner. When foolish George tempts fate by following a human, Harry runs for Belinda, who saves the day by biting the human on the leg. Later, though, when circumstances force both Harry and George into the Up-Pipe, they have to muster their wits to save their own lives and Belinda's, too. With considerable humor and well-placed details, Banks draws readers into a centipede's-eye view of the world. Ross's sprightly black-and-white line drawings convey all the action and an array of centipede emotions. (Fiction. 8+) -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: HarperCollins (November 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 038072734X
• ISBN-13: 978-0380727346
• Product Dimensions: 7.3 x 0.5 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.4 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,484,096 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Lynne Reid Banks is a best-selling author for children and adults. Her classic children's novel 'The Indian in the Cupboard' has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. She was born in London in 1929 and worked as an actress, writer and TV news reporter. Lynne has written thirty books: her first, 'The L-Shaped Room', was published in 1960. She now lives in Dorset, where she continues to write. Lynne says that writing for children comes much more easily than writing for adults. Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He has worked as an art director at an advertising agency, a graphic designer, a cartoonist, a teacher, a film maker and as a Senior Lecturer in Art at Manchester Polytechnic.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You better read this exciting book!, May 17, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Harry the Poisonous Centipede (Hardcover)

Harry is a centipede who gets into a lot of trouble. George is a centipede who is best friends with Harry and lives with him. Blinda is Harry's mother and she takes care of George. One of Harry and George's adventures was going to the no-top-world. What will happen? Will they be eaten by other insects or will they survive? Read to find out!

I thought that this book was excellent for me, a third grader. I really understood it and it was the best book I have read in my entire life.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Buggy, September 24, 2002

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Harry the Poisonous Centipede (An Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

There's not much substance to this story of Harry (actually, Hxzltl, in Centipede), a many-legged creature who lives down-under (ground, that is), beyond the world of the HOO-MINS. Unless, of course, you are an eight to 10-year-old reader, who likes animals of every kind, especially buggy ones, and adores characters who like you rebel against their parents' every instruction.

In that case, Harry is made to order, and you'll enjoy him so much you will read this book two or three times at least.

Perfect for second, third or fourth grade readers who prefer chapter books with illustrations, this 153-page story of an insect mischief-maker will delight kids who like to read down-under (blankets, after lights-out).

--- Alyssa A. Lappen

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A Centipede's Adventures, October 24, 2000

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Harry the Poisonous Centipede (An Avon Camelot Book) (Paperback)

Meet Harry, he's young, charming, has many legs and he's poisonous. He lives with his mother, Belinda and best friend George, in tunnels under the ground. Like many young centipedes his age, he doesn't always listen to his mother and heed her warnings to stay away from the "no-top" world, where humans live and danger lurks around every corner. And because of this, we are treated to Harry and George's many adventures, as they leave their safe home underground, to go up above and experience the forbidden "no-top" world. Lynn Reid Banks has written a very creative and imaginative story, about the world, from a centipede's point of view. Her writing is witty and down to earth, full of funny dialogue and great, fast paced scenes. Your kids will be turning pages to the end, to find out what happens when Harry and George, finally come face to face with the dreaded human. The perfect book for youngsters aged 8-10, Harry the Poisonous Centipede is a winner.