Horrid Henry

Horrid Henry

by Francesca Simon
ill. Tony Ross
90 pages
age 6-10
Naperville, Ill. : Sourcebooks Jabberwocky, c2009.

Having a child like Horrid Henry would make most parents pull their hair out. He is a teacher's worst nightmare. He torments everyone around him in every way possible. In this, the first of the series, Henry is responsible for ruining his family camping trip, his dance recital and his mother's spotless kitchen. No matter what his parents say or do, he will never be like his younger brother, Perfect Peter. Who would want to though, "perfect is boring"! All the other kids have alliterative names such as Moody Margaret, Rude Ralph, Kind Kasim, and Sour Susan. The teachers have wonderful names like Miss Battle-Axe and Mr. Nerdon. Each volume in the series has four short but hilarious stories. The illustrations by Tony Ross are fun and remind me of Quentin Blake. I thoroughly enjoyed reading these, but I am not entirely sure I would want my little boy to do the same. I fear that Horrid Henry would give him too many interesting ideas! My only complaint is that despite all of his bad behavior, he didn't always get properly punished for his actions.