Horrible Christmas

Horrible Histories Specials #8

by Terry Deary, Martin Brown (Illustrator)

Terry Deary, Martin Brown (Illustrator) From the dark days when the Puritans tried to abolish Christmas, to Christmas in the trenches when the British and Germans traded bullets for footballs, this year's anniversary edition of Horrible Christmas is packed full of festive facts, rotten recipes, and dreadful jokes. Publisher: Scholastic Paperback ISBN 9781407136264

Genres: Christmas, History, Nonfiction, Childrens, Humor, Middle Grade

96 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2000

About the author

A former actor, theatre-director and drama teacher, Deary says he began writing when he was 29. Most famously, he is one of the authors of the Horrible Histories series of books popular among children for their disgusting details, gory information and humorous pictures and among adults for getting children interested in history. Books in the series have been widely translated into other languages and imitated.

A cartoon series has been made of the series of books and was shown on CiTV for a period in 2002.

The first series of a live-action comedy sketch show of the same name was shown on CBBC in 2009 and a second series is due.

Terry is also known widely throughout children and adult reading groups alike for his True Stories series (see below for series list).

He received an Honorary Doctorate of Education from the University of Sunderland in 2000. His numerous accolades also include the Blue Peter "Best Nonfiction Author of the Century" Award in the U.K.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Manybooks · Rating 3 out of 5]

Terry Deary's text for his Horrible Christmas (and with me reading the 2011 fifth edition which has Martin Brown's accompanying artwork being colourised unlike the first edition of 2000, where Brown's illustrations appear in black and while), it is full full full of Yuletide themed historical and cultural trivia (positive, negative but also containing some potentially pretty gruesome textual morsels).

And while the latter, while the gory Christmas scenarios of Horrible Christmas could indeed be possibly frightening, well, considering the light-hearted tone and the humour Deary textually (and Brown illustratively) use and feature in and throughout Horrible Christmas, readers (namely children from about the age of eight or so onwards) should not (at least in my opinion) be all that freaked and creeped out by for example Deary's descriptions in Horrible Christmas of early Christian martyrs, of King Herod's slaughter of the innocents and the like and to learn all the horrible and also of course all the not so horrible facts regarding Christmas now and then (but with a decidedly United Kingdom bent) in a fun, engaging, irreverent, often sarcastic but of course also always enlightening manner. So yes and for me, Horrible Christmas is first and foremost something educational but that Terry Deary's often cheekily fun and both overtly and also subtly humorous text and Martin Brown's similarly so accompanying artwork, this combination does a great job (verbally and visually) educating without didacticism and that the textual fun of Horrible Christmas makes or at least should make children not only enjoy their reading experience but also retain the resent Christmas themed information easily and without difficulty (with a dose of fun and giggles inducing sugar making the educational and factual medicine of Horrible Christmas go down in a most delightful way, to paraphrase Mary Poppins).

Definitely both fun (as well all funny) and at the same time also nicely educational regarding everything Yuletide related (and in particular about Christmas in the British Isles) is Horrible Christmas, but yes, there are two main textual issues for me that prevent my rating from being more than three stars. For one (and even though I know this is something that seemingly is part and parcel to all of the Horrible Histories books), I do find it academically problematic and rather unacceptable that Deary shows no sources and no bibliographical materials in Horrible Christmas (and considering that in particular some of the details Terry Deary provides on Christmas Carols and on Saint Nicholas are not just legendary but are also coming from multiple sources I do strongly think that Horrible Christmas really needs source acknowledgements). And for two, albeit the many quizzes Deary has included in Horrible Christmas are both appreciated and should equally be something fun for the intended audience, personally, I find them a bit disorganised and would rather have a dedicated quiz section at the back of Horrible Christmas for ALL of the quizzes. Still warmly recommended is Horrible Christmas (and to be honest, that the intended audience, that child readers would probably not have any issues with neither the lack of bibliographical materials nor with the quizzes being not all that organised).

[Sophie Crane · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very interesting whatever your age, especially about the old traditions.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very funny and great facts doenst get a 4 stars from me simply as at times I felt a little taken out of the spirit by the books pessimism and alot of the facts seem similar worded to other Christmas fact books I read. Though would be great Christmas gift for older kids who enjoy a little horribleness and the art is classic!

[Aly is so frigging bored · Rating 5 out of 5]

I forgot to read it on the Christmas day :D but it's been a fun first read for 2020

[Alice · Rating 4 out of 5]

Funny and informative. If you're looking for a cosy, feel-good Christmas read, this is not it. Hence the title. But it's a great laugh, with funny facts

[Megan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Merry crisis!

[Diane in Australia · Rating 3 out of 5]

One of the books in my daughter's Christmas collection.

3 Stars = Okay. Maybe not a page-turner, but not sorry I read it.

[Holly · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Amy (Lost in a Good Book) · Rating 5 out of 5]

A longer version of this review was published on Lost in a Good Book

What a better way to celebrate the holidays then with a fabulous book that tells you everything you know about Christmas is either wrong or even more interesting than you thought? Legendary series Horrible Histories has taken hold of Christmas and filled up this fabulous book with trivia, fun facts, and a whole heap of history both intriguing and horrible all relating to the festive season.

The book is also incredible funny and quirky and I loved learning all the facts about Christmas and the surrounding myths and associations. There are multiple quizzes to test your knowledge and it is fascinating about all the old traditions that have either been forgotten or the ones that live on today but I had no idea of the original reasons why.

The book is laid out with pictures, colours, and trivia boxes and full page stories. There are topics like chapters breaking up the book into relevant information like Christmas Carols, Christmas History, Rotten Christmas etc that keep the topics together but there is still general crossover. Great to pop in and out of when you need a certain fun fact.

There’s so much to learn in this book about old customs, traditions from Victorians and other eras, other countries, present day and the past. It is fascinating to see what feels like an ingrained tradition or idea is actually manufactured or something so old was really a simple thing at first.

If you have been a fan of Horrible Histories in the past this is a great addition with a nice holiday theme, but if this is your first experience of Horrible Histories it is also a great book because you get to learn a little more about Christmas and its history and love the joyfulness that is Horrible Histories.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

As with all the Horrible Histories series, this was good fun. Having collected the books as a child I still enjoy curling up with the audiobooks now, though I do not think they translate into audio as well as many other childhood favourites. The books rely quite heavily upon the illustrations to tie the fragmented sections together, and help the snippets of additional information and occasional joke feel as though it flows neatly. I was able to imagine the kinds of illustrations that would have accompanied the various chapters, however, so did not find it too disappointing. This is one of few books where I would not recommend the audiobook unless one is unable to read the print copy due to sight loss or similar difficulty, as I do think the series is much improved by the illustrations.

As always with this series it was easy to listen to and the facts were entertaining, if often all too brief. The perfect read for children and young teens, I don't think it stands up particularly well to revisiting as an adult unless, as I find, the cosy nostalgia makes up for the simplicity of the content.

That said, as a 10 year old I would have been delighted to find this book in my Christmas stocking, and in a bid to recapture a little of that seasonal thrill I m glad to have had the opportunity to listen to it.

[Nicola Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

These books are also nostalgic for me and I grew up on the horrible histories books. Couldn’t resist returning to the series for a newer released Christmas themed book and it was great.

Filled with informative, interesting (and sometimes gory) facts, you always learn something, can laugh at the corny (but still great) Christmas jokes and it’s easy to flip through the pages with speed. There’s quizzes, ‘did you noels’ and fun little stories through eons of Christmases past.

I find them so fun and they’re perfect for young historians and young readers (with plenty of humour and interest for adults and parents too).

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

Did you know that Christmas was cancelled in the 1600s? Or that making Christmas puddings used to be a crime?

Find out why in this funnily festive frolic through the Christmas traditions both well known and not so well known! Find out who invented crackers - or did they? Who had the first Christmas tree?

A great and informative read from Terry Deary of Horrible Histories fame.

[Xanthi · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loved the layout and the full colour illustrations. The content was a good as ever for this series. Lots of horrible details about Christmas but also a lot of information on the history of various related traditions. I was familiar with some but not all, so was an interesting and entertaining read. You don’t have to be a child to enjoy these books!

[Shannon Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

Found this in my tbr piles and thought I'd give it a go. I'd never read any of the books growing up but watched the show pretty much daily.

I really enjoyed the humour within this book. It was also very fitting for the time of year I decided to read this. The illustrations also really help to pull the content together.

[Cel Jel · Rating 4 out of 5]

An interesting collection of Christmas trivia with activities for children interspersed with the questions. In doing a clean up in a room left with remnants of an adult child’s childhood I found it and thought it would be a good pre Christmas read, but finished it post Christmas.
If you want to learn more details of the practices of different countries around Christmas it is worth a read.

[Noel · Rating 3 out of 5]

Typical HH fare, by which I mean it is interesting, irreverent and informative. It does get a bit tedious if you're not really into Christmas and the whole holiday thing, but it still makes for a good read.

[Calum Mackenzie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Fantastic book packed full of facts, quizzes, stories and a board game. Great for older kids (9+??) and adults…

It ends encouraging people to think about others less fortunate too.

💯 recommend ☺️🙌🏻❤️

[Isaac · Rating 5 out of 5]

Funny things about Christmas

[Elijah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book

[Sally · Rating 2 out of 5]

I started reading this aloud to my 4,8 and 10 year old this Christmas. I got tired of it and picked a few bits to read here and there. My boys enjoyed it more than I did.

[Andy Dainty · Rating 4 out of 5]

Loads of interesting facts, but I wouldn't read all of it to Primary school kids due to potential spoilers!

[Matthew Fleming · Rating 4 out of 5]

Brilliantly informative and entertaining - great to read with a child in the run-up to Christmas (if, depending on their age, you adapt a couple of the Santa bits)!

[Jas K · Rating 5 out of 5]

Horribly hilarious, nastily nostalgic, frightfully festive! 5/5*

[Souly Peerage · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really love Horrible Histories but the christmas one was over to fast.

[Katherine B · Rating 3 out of 5]

Not as good as the main horrible histories books. It is interesting and fun but it was a little boring at times and some of the jokes seemed really inappropriate for kids....maybe.

[Florence · Rating 5 out of 5]

amazing

[Lottie · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really enjoy the Horrible Histories series, and I really enjoyed reading about Christmas time throughout the years. There were some interesting Christmas traditions and I definitely learn new things about Christmas that I didn't already know. A good read at Christmas time.

[D.M. · Rating 3 out of 5]

An entertaining book, clearly written for a younger (and entirely more British) audience, but no less full of fun, strange and occasionally gruesome facts about the biggest holiday in the Christian calendar. My only wish is that there were a similar book for the US, though it probably wouldn't be as thick: there just aren't that many bizarre traditions and rituals related to American Christmas. A US version would probably have more about parades, store Santas, and major sales than it would about special foods, barely-entertaining live theatre or centuries-old carols. Worth a read on either side of the Atlantic, in any event, but much more to get out of it on the UK side.

[Kezia · Rating 5 out of 5]

The Horrible Histories series is a fantastic collection to get kids interested in reading and history! The bizarre, unique, fun and gruesome facts, traditions and rituals appeal to kids (and adults with a child inside them!) and the layout, quizzes, and pictures with jokes keep you interested and smiling through out. I still collect these books and will read them to my children one day.

[Lilly · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book about christmas. I leant quite a few new things. There plenty of colorful pictures and the book is easy and enjoyable to read. The game in the middle of the book is a nice touch aswell.