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Horrid Henry Paperback – Illustrated, April 1, 2009
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Age Level: 7 and up | Grade Level: 2 to 5
Horrid Henry is the very first collection of stories about the master of mischief (and the funniest kid in the universe) including:
- Horrid Henry is dragged to dance class.
- Horrid Henry competes with Moody Margaret to make the World's Yuckiest Glop™.
- Horrid Henry tries to survive vacation without TV.
- And, Horrid Henry tries to be good like Perfect Peter (but finds out he is bad at being good).
Horrid Henry is a publishing and media phenomenon all over the world. This laugh-out-loud series has sold millions of copies in the UK and over 200,000 in the US, has spawned a very successful TV show in Britain, has been published in 27 languages, and has received incredible praise from the press, librarians, booksellers, parents, and, most importantly, kids, the world over!
"For kids beginning to read independently, Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross arrived from England this year, importing sophisticated humor and a sly approach to storytelling."―Los Angeles Times
"Will make you laugh out loud."―Sunday Times
Why Horrid Henry?
Kids love it!
"I love the Horrid Henry books by Francesca Simon. They have lots of funny bits in. And Henry always gets into trouble!"
Mia, age 6, BBC Learning is Fun
"It's easy to see why Horrid Henry is the bestselling character for 5-8 year olds."
Liverpool Echo
Because it's funny
"My two boys love this book and I have actually had tears running down my face and had to stop reading because of laughing so hard. My oldest son is rereading all the books in this series on his own now and he still loves them. Happy reading!"
T. Franklin, Parent
"A modern comic classic."
SF Said, Guardian Children's Books Supplement
Kids get to be harmlessly rebellious
"Henry is a beguiling hero who has entranced millions of reluctant readers... little rebels will love this collection and even little angels will be secretly thrilled by Henry's anti-heroic behaviour."
Herald
Henry's naughtiness is a yardstick against which children can get a sense of their own moral goodness and social justice
"What is brilliant about the books is that Henry never does anything that is subversive. She creates an aura of supreme naughtiness (of which children are in awe) but points out that he operates within a safe and secure world."
Emily Turner, Angels And Urchins Magazine
Reaches the most important age group―children who are learning to read
"I have tried out the Horrid Henry books with groups of children as a parent, as a babysitter, and as a teacher. Children love to either hear them read aloud or to read them themselves. The books are spot on for the 5-8 age range and are fun for the adults who share them too."
Danielle Hall, Teacher
The structure provides new readers with a real sense of accomplishment
"My son is 7 years old and a big Horrid Henry fan. This book lived up to his expectations! Horrid Henry is like most boys: he always has a plan and is always getting into mischief! It was amusing, and he could not put it down. Can't wait for the next. He read it cover to cover by himself in 2 days! That for me sells a book! He can't wait for the next one to be published. He has recommended it to all his friends."
Mrs. Tami Gold, Parent
Reaches both boys and girls equally
"Wonderfully appealing to girls and boys alike, a precious rarity at this age."
Judith Woods, Times Books
A global publishing phenomenon with 12 million copies sold!
- Reading age7 - 10 years
- Print length112 pages
- LanguageEnglish
- Grade level2 - 5
- Lexile measure550L
- Dimensions5.25 x 0.25 x 7.5 inches
- PublisherSourcebooks Jabberwocky
- Publication dateApril 1, 2009
- ISBN-101402217757
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Editorial Reviews
Review
"Do your kids like silly books?...Francesca Simon’s Horrid Henry series features horrid but loveable Henry and Moody Margaret. " ― Montgomery Life
"Not since "Nate the Great" has an early reader series created such an addiction." ― Newsday
"Sometimes kids just need to laugh. In these four easy-to-read stories about mischievous Henry, kids may laugh so hard they’ll snort milk out through their noses!" ― Central California Parent
"These are good chapter books and the girls might like to read them too." ― Loogootee Tribune
"Audiobooks: "[Horrid] Henry is the exemplar by which other boys can measure their own horridness…Miranda Richardson plays Henry just right, neatly balancing peevishness, effrontery and sheer life force." ― Kirkus Reviews
"Fine fare for beginning readers, this clever book should find a ready audience. " ― Booklist
"Unbelievable. Laugh-out-loud hilarious. Francesca Simon is my sons’ new favorite writer of all time. She’s as cheeky as Roald Dahl and as hilarious as Dav Pilkey and the titular Horrid Henry may be the worst child you’ve read about in a long time. But that doesn’t mean his stories aren’t utterly fabulous...A must-read." ― Patch.com
"a loveable bad boy" ― People
"The writing is very clever, the humor will have you laughing your pants off, and I firmly believe these books are so popular because there's a little Horrid Henry in each of us… Ross's illustrations bring Horrid Henry's mischievous side to life with his devilish looks and slanted eyebrows." ― Examiner.com
"Humor is a proven enticement for reluctant readers, and Francesca Simon's ‘Horrid Henry’ series locates the funny bone with ease" ― Newsday
"Kids who love funny books will love the ‘Horrid Henry’ series by Francesca Simon… Simon's hilariously dead-pan text is wonderfully complemented by Tony Ross's illustrations, which comically capture the consequences of Henry's horridness." ― Children’s Corner, Scripps Howard News Service
"The angle here is spot-on, and reluctant readers will especially find lots to love about this early chapter book series. Treat young readers to a book talk or read-aloud and watch Henry go flying off the shelf." ― The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books
About the Author
Francesca Simon was born in the United States and attended both Yale and Oxford universities. A former journalist, she now writes full time. She lives in North London, England, with her husband, Martin, and her son, Josh
Tony Ross is a prolific illustrator of books for children, including Martyn Beardsley’s Sir Gadabout stories as well as his own. Tony has become one of the best known creators of original and traditional picture books, and his work has been sold all over the world.
Excerpt. © Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved.
Excerpt from Story 1: Horrid Henry"s Perfect Day
Henry was horrid.
Everyone said so, even his mother.
Henry threw food, Henry grabbed, Henry pushed and shoved and pinched. Even his teddy bear, Mr. Kill, avoided him when possible.
His parents despaired.
"What are we going to do about that horrid boy?" sighed Mom.
"How did two people as nice as us have such a horrid child?" sighed Dad.
When Horrid Henry"s parents took Henry to school they walked behind him and pretended he was not theirs.
Children pointed at Henry and whispered to their parents, "That"s Horrid Henry."
"He"s the boy who threw my jacket in the mud."
"He"s the boy who squashed Billy"s beetle."
"He"s the boy who…" Fill in whatever terrible deed you like. Horrid Henry was sure to have done it.
Horrid Henry had a younger brother. His name was Perfect Peter.
Perfect Peter always said "Please" and "Thank you."
Perfect Peter loved vegetables.
Perfect Peter always used a hankie and never, ever picked his nose.
"Why can"t you be perfect like Peter?" said Henry"s mom every day.
As usual, Henry pretended not to hear. He continued melting Peter"s crayons on the radiator.
But Horrid Henry started to think.
"What if I were perfect?" thought Henry. "I wonder what would happen."
When Henry woke the next morning, he did not wake Peter by pouring water on Peter"s head.
Peter did not scream.
This meant Henry"s parents overslept and Henry and Peter were late for Cub Scouts.
Henry was very happy.
Peter was very sad to be late for Cub Scouts.
But because he was perfect, Peter did not whine or complain.
On the way to Cub Scouts Henry did not squabble with Peter over who sat in front. He did not pinch Peter and he did not shove Peter.
Back home, when Perfect Peter built a castle, Henry did not knock it down. Instead, Henry sat on the sofa and read a book. Mom and Dad ran into the room.
"It"s awfully quiet in here," said Mom. "Are you being horrid, Henry?"
"No," said Henry.
"Peter, is Henry knocking your castle down?"
Peter longed to say "yes." But that would be a lie.
"No," said Peter.
Product details
- Publisher : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky; Illustrated edition (April 1, 2009)
- Language : English
- Paperback : 112 pages
- ISBN-10 : 1402217757
- Reading age : 7 - 10 years
- Lexile measure : 550L
- Grade level : 2 - 5
- Item Weight : 4 ounces
- Dimensions : 5.25 x 0.25 x 7.5 inches
- Best Sellers Rank: #413,034 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- #3,125 in Children's Chapter Books (Books)
- #7,130 in Children's Humor
- Customer Reviews:
About the author

Francesca Simon spent her childhood on the beach in California, and then went to Yale and Oxford Universities to study medieval history and literature. She now lives in London with her family. She has written over 45 books and won the Children's Book of the Year in 2008 at the Galaxy British Book Awards for "Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman".
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M) or they are also fun to read together out loud. The stories are long enough Nd hilarious. I would buy all of these books!
I think these books are best read to children by an adult so discussions can take place. Even in my recordings, I ask the questions about Henry's behavior that I would if I were sitting with them and reading.
1. In the first story, Henry decides to try being good, essentially out of curiosity. His (usually) good little brother gets so fed up on Henry's odd behaviour that he starts acting out. The brother (Peter) throws spaghetti at Henry, who dodges; the spaghetti lands on mom. Henry laughs, and is punished. Not punished for being naughty, mind you - punished for being good all day and then laughing when something relatively minor happens to his mother.
Naughty: no.
Consequences: yes.
2. In the second story, Henry is forced to go to dance lessons, which he hates. He'd rather be learning martial arts. He decides to do do his utmost to ruin the big dance recital for everyone involved. He succeeds in doing so, and is no longer forced to go to dance lessons. The story ends with an affirmation of his enrollment in Karate class, and a picture of him destroying a building-block castle.
Naughty: yes.
Consequences: no.
3. In the third story, Henry gets into a competition with his neighbour to see who can make the most disgusting concoction, and then consume it. While doing this, they leave Henry's brother tied up, alone, in the yard; when he comes in to ask after them, the implication is that they force or trick Peter into eating the disgusting concoction. The end.
Naughty: yes. And potentially dangerous (leaving someone tied up, alone, in the back yard.)
Consequences: no.
4. In the fourth story, the family goes camping. Henry whines and complains the whole time. He also tries to knock down tents, and blares loud music late at night to the chagrin of other campers. When Mom, Dad and Peter go for a walk, Henry is tasked with gathering firewood - AND BUILDING THE FIRE HIMSELF. Highly dangerous! For firewood, he pulls out the pegs of the other campers' tents. Not surprisingly, all the tents fall down in the night.
Naughty: yes. HIGHLY dangerous (asking a child to stay alone and build and tend a fire. Utterly ridiculous.)
Consequences: no.
This book in no way shows a connection between acting naughty and any sort of negative consequences. It glorifies such awful behaviour AND seems to suggest that certain potentially LIFE-THREATENINGLY DANGEROUS behaviours are acceptable and normal. If you read this book with your children or students, it is imperative that you have a good discussion about it with them afterwards. I, personally, will not give this to my children, and regret that my supervisors have chosen to develop content for it for our students.

