Reading Rumpus: Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon with illustrations by Tony Ross

Horrid Henry is HUGE. He’s all over Europe with a television series, a play and famous people like Miranda Richardson loving him up. But here, we Yanks have missed out on his mania. Not so anymore! Horrid Henry has jumped the pond and if you have or teach children in the young independent reader age group, you’re going to want to check Henry out.

Make no mistake, Henry is Horrible and author Francesca Simon makes no apologies for him. It’s that unapologetic horribleness that allows the reader to escape into a world of naughty without really being naughty themselves (my favorite sort of escape!). There will be no need for moralistic discussion as kids will cover their mouths, giggle and offer their own ideas as to why Henry’s made some mistakes. Francesca Simon's style certainly leans toward a Roald Dahl slant, and this is further amplified by the Quentin Blake inspired illustrations of Tony Ross, but there could be a lot worse comparisons for an author or an illustrator!

I can easily predict that US students are going to loveHorrid Henry as much as their European counterparts.

Recommended for classrooms & libraries serving students in grades 1-4 and those students at the early independent short-chapter level.

-------------------- Resources --------------------

Genre: Horribly Realistic Fiction. Age: 4-8 / Early Readers. Pages: 112.

Themes: Making Decisions, Bullying, Humor

Advisory: Some potty humor. Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky Date: April 2009. ISBN-10: 1402217757 / ISBN-13: 978-1402217753

Buy Horrid Henry Here

Here is Henry's very own website!

And a Horrid Henry game site!

A list of all the Horrid Henry titles here!

And here's an opening clip from the television show:

Author Francesca Simon has a degree in Medieval Studies. She won the Children’s Book of the Year in 2008 for the British Book Awards. HORRID HENRY is a big deal and America is slow to notice. It's been published in 24 countries and also has a popular animated series on the tele (that's what the Brits call it, right?)! American born Francesca Simon lives in London with her husband and son. Read more about her on her website.
____________________________________________________________

Horrid Henry by Francesca Simon with illustrations by Tony Ross - Book Review