Don't be Horrid, Henry!

Horrid Henry

by Francesca Simon

It's a shock for Horrid Henry when Perfect Peter is born, and, despite his efforts, he can't manage to get rid of him. But the day comes when Henry finds himself saving Peter from a big fierce dog, and discovers that it is rather nice to be a hero.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens

Paperback

First published May 25, 2000

About the author

Francesca Simon grew up in California and attended both Yale and Oxford Universities, where she specialised in Medieval Studies. How this prepared her to write children’s books she cannot imagine, but it did give her a thorough grounding in alliteration.

She then threw away a lucrative career as a medievalist and worked as a freelance journalist, writing for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Telegraph, and Vogue (US). After her son Joshua was born in 1989, she started writing children’s books full time. One of the UK’s best-selling children’s writers, Francesca has published over 50 books, including the immensely popular HORRID HENRY series, which has now sold over twelve million copies.

Francesca won the Children’s Book of the Year in 2008 at the British Book Awards for Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman. HORRID HENRY is published in 24 countries and is also an animated CITV series. She lives in London with her husband, son, and Tibetan Spaniel, Shanti.

Reviews

[Carlena Aaron-Aggarwal · Rating 4 out of 5]

Don’t be Horrid, Henry! written by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross, is a wonderful early readers book about a young boy named Henry and the mean things Henry does to his younger brother Peter. Henry is a scruffy child, who is messy and at times very naughty and is known as Horrid Henry. His new little brother Peter is clean, kind and a very nice person to all, and is known as Perfect Peter. Henry does not like Peter and tries to get Peter in trouble, in order to get rid of him. Henry’s plan goes horribly wrong.
Don’t be Horrid, Henry! is an easy read that is full of wonderfully illustrated pictures that are comical and fun. Don’t be Horrid, Henry! is an early readers book that many advanced readers will enjoy reading independently, and those needing assistance will equally enjoy as a group read during carpet time.
Don’t be Horrid, Henry! is an excellent tool to use as a discussion point if you have a new class and want to find out a little more about them. Learners as young as reception will be enthusiastic when discussing the bad decisions Henry makes, and reflecting on what they have done to their older/younger brothers and sisters.
Older readers can also use Don’t be Horrid, Henry! during a cross-curricular lesson on conflicts and morality. After reading the text together, the class can then create an additional chapter of havoc and mayhem between Henry and his younger brother Peter. This can evolve into discussions on the types of conflicts that arise in the playground, which can be evaluated further through the exploration of non-aggressive resolutions. Drama can then be introduced in a follow up lesson involving group work and role play. Discussions and the re-enacting of playground conflict could aid in an examination into the different possible perspectives available during an incident in the playground.
Don’t be Horrid, Henry! is a wonderful read that any age group will enjoy, with illustrations that are bright, and filled with intriguing detail that will ignited the imagination. Don’t be Horrid, Henry! is a fun story and a great addition to a lesson plan
Enjoy.

[Sanaa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book I read it at school and my favourite part is when henry was born and thrower his food all over the house and when Peter was born henry was annoyed and their mum used to like peter and henry said time to take this baby back to the hospital

[HAEJIN KWON]

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[Bailey · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story of Don’t Be Horrid Harry starts with one mean little baby. The true story begins when Horrid Harry gets a little brother named Peter who is a perfect angle. Henry does everything in his power to prove to his parents that Peter is not as saintly as they might think. Read to find out if he succeeds. This story leaves a lasting impression because of the intensity of emotions it shows through the characters. This story can impact readers by connecting to the readers. This book is an early reader chapter book because it uses repetitive phrases and short chapters. The pages have small pictures that show what is happening in the words. The pictures also show emotions very well. Overall this story was cute and is relatable to a child who isn’t quite adjusted to their new baby sibling.

[Moriah]

I absolutely loved this book, I felt something different and I have an attachment to the book.
Maybe, its because I relate to the character Henry or for some other reason I am unsure of but I know that this book changed me and I will always be a Horrid henry fan and Purple hand gang rules too.

[Lorna Dounaeva · Rating 3 out of 5]

For younger readers. Much simpler than the later Henry books.

[Menalik Richards · Rating 5 out of 5]

Don’t be Horrid Henry.
Don’t be Horrid Henry is a prelude to the other Horrid Henry books. The story takes place when Henry and Peter were younger in particular when Peter was born. It shows how Henry did not want a baby brother and tried his hardest to get rid of Peter in various ways, like posting him abroad and digging a hole in Mum’s flower bed to get to China. At the end of the book Henry goes from villain to hero when he steps in to stop Peter being hurt by a dog in the park. I feel this book will be suitable for children in Key stage 1 as the mischievous nature of Henry will keep young readers engaged. This book could be used in general to talk about behaviour e.g. doing the wrong thing/ doing the right thing. Henry’s behaviour could be highlighted and discussed in circle time. The book could also be used to discuss different fonts used for onomatopoeia words and the effects of this.

[Marion Jacobs · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a short story featuring Henry and his new baby brother Peter. As soon as Peter was born Henry was not happy. In this particular story Henry aims at getting Peter blamed for various different things such as writing on the wall ( which Henry encourages him to do) and ruining their mothers flower bed. All of Henry's efforts fail and he always ends up getting the blame, 'don't be horrid henry'. The story ends with a dog trying to attack Peter and Henry protecting him. This book would be great as an independent read or to be read as a short story to the class. It could be aided to start a small discussion on what the moral of the story is and whether they think the way Henry acted was correct. This is a really fun short story and would best suit KS1 readers. The illustrations compliment the story and really play on a child's fun colourful imagination.

[The Styling Librarian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Don’t Be Horrid, Henry by Francesca Simon, illustrated by Kevin McAleenan – 2000 – Enjoyed reading a few Horrid Henry book series a while ago, thought reading the picture book was entertaining. Yes. It was hilarious.

[Spoilttyty · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love Horrid Henry so much. So all of you people who do,should read like the whole collection. They are so great!!!

5 star of course.

SpoiltTyTy xxx

(Thumbs up)

[Hannah Irving · Rating 4 out of 5]

j love this book

[Ursula · Rating 3 out of 5]

HAHAHAHAHA SO funny! Why did I ever stop reading these?

[Marielle · Rating 3 out of 5]

Slett ikke dum.