Horrid Henry

Last updated

Horrid Henry
Created by Francesca Simon
Original work Horrid Henry (1994)
Owners
Films and television
Film(s) Horrid Henry: The Movie
Television series Horrid Henry
Official website
horridhenry.co.uk
horridhenry.me

Horrid Henry is a children's book series by Francesca Simon and illustrated by Tony Ross. It has been adapted for television, film [1] and theatre. [2] [3] [4]

Contents

History

Following the birth of her son Joshua in 1989, [5] Francesca Simon was asked by Judith Elliott, an editor at Orion Books, to write a story about a horrid child. [6] [7] [8] She also wanted to write about sibling rivalry and families where one child was considered "perfect" and the other "horrid". [9] [10] [11] Inspiration also came from Cain and Abel, Oedipus Rex, Seinfeld , and Simon's own childhood, growing up in California the eldest of four siblings (including her sister Anne), desperately wanting to be an only child. They lived in small houses with confined spaces, with their father Mayo writing upstairs and telling them to be quiet. [12] [13] [5] Three more stories were written by Simon at Elliott's request to form a full book. [14]

The first Horrid Henry book was written and published in 1994 by Orion. [5] The books are a slice of life series featuring the titular Henry, a wildly misbehaved boy who will typically be faced with a problem and then will often retaliate in interesting ways that involve trickery, rule-breaking and elaborate practical jokes. Henry has a younger brother, Perfect Peter, who is the exact opposite. [15] Henry despises Peter, whom he refers to as "Worm". Almost every character is known by an alliterative nickname (Rude Ralph, Moody Margaret, Brainy Brian, etc.) with a few exceptions e.g. Mum, Dad and Miss Battle-Axe. Many of the books' stories were inspired by events from Simon's life and those of people that she knew, with additional ideas coming from her imagination. [9] [16] [17] Each title in the main series consists of four short stories with black and white illustrations. The titles in the Early Readers series, aimed at younger readers, each consist of a single story with colour illustrations. Each story in that series, except Don't Be Horrid, Henry!, was originally published in a main series title. Don't Be Horrid, Henry! is an original story about Henry as a toddler, illustrated by Kevin McAleenan. [18] Eleven fact books, written from Henry's point of view, have also been published along with eight joke books, eleven colour books and at least twelve activity books as well as a series of annuals. Up until 2015, 24 official Horrid Henry titles were published in the series. The series was published in 31 languages and has sold more than 21 million copies worldwide. [19] [20] [21]

The Horrid Henry stories are read on audiobook by actress Miranda Richardson and published by Orion Audio. Released between 2000 and 2019, the audiobooks were produced by Peter Rinne and Nicholas Jones (for Strathmore Publishing), with music composed by Rinne and Dik Cadbury. [22] [23] [24]

In April 2009, the US Sourcebooks' Jabberwocky imprint released four Horrid Henry paperbacks nationwide, which included Horrid Henry, Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb, Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine and Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy. Sourcebooks has released additional Horrid Henry titles including activity pages, event kits and a teacher's guide. [19] In 2019, a special one-off 25th Anniversary book, Horrid Henry: Up, Up and Away, was published. [20]

Books

Main series

Pre-2019 titleYear of first publicationCurrent titleNotes
Horrid Henry 1994Horrid HenrySeries premiere and originally intended to be a single-book
Horrid Henry and the Secret Club1995Horrid Henry: Secret Club
Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy 1996Horrid Henry: Tricking the Tooth FairyOriginally published as Horrid Henry and the Tooth Fairy
Horrid Henry's Nits1997Horrid Henry: Nits Nits Nits!Also published internationally as Horrid Henry's Head Lice
Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick1998Horrid Henry: Get Rich QuickOriginally published as Horrid Henry Strikes It Rich
Horrid Henry's Haunted House1999Horrid Henry: The Haunted House
Horrid Henry and The Mummy's Curse2000Horrid Henry: The Mummy's Curse
Horrid Henry's Revenge2001Horrid Henry: Perfect Revenge
Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter2002Horrid Henry: Bogey Babysitter
Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb2002Horrid Henry: Stinkbombs
Horrid Henry's Underpants2003Horrid Henry: Underpants Panic
Horrid Henry Meets The Queen2004Horrid Henry: The Queen's Visit
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine2005Horrid Henry: Mega-Mean Time Machine
Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend2006Horrid Henry: Football FiendPublished internationally as Horrid Henry and the Soccer Fiend
Horrid Henry's Christmas Cracker2006Horrid Henry: Christmas Cracker
Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman2007Horrid Henry: Abominable Snowman
Horrid Henry Robs The Bank2008Horrid Henry: Bank Robber
Horrid Henry Wakes The Dead2009Horrid Henry: Waking the Dead
Horrid Henry Rocks!2010Horrid Henry: Rock Star
Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire2011Horrid Henry: Zombie Vampire
Horrid Henry's Monster Movie2012Horrid Henry: Monster Movie
Horrid Henry's Nightmare2013Horrid Henry: Nightmare
Horrid Henry's Krazy Ketchup2014Horrid Henry: Krazy Ketchup
Horrid Henry's Cannibal Curse2015Horrid Henry: Cannibal Curse
N/A2019Horrid Henry: Up, Up and Away

Extra Book

Early Readers

TitleYear of first publicationStory originally published inNotes
Don't Be Horrid, Henry!2000N/A (original story)Originally illustrated by Kevin McAleenan. Current illustrations by Tony Ross adopted in 2006.
Horrid Henry's Birthday Party2009Horrid Henry: Secret Club
Horrid Henry's Holiday2009Horrid Henry (first book)
Horrid Henry's Underpants2009Horrid Henry: Underpants Panic
Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick2010Horrid Henry: Get Rich Quick
Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend2010Horrid Henry: Football Fiend
Horrid Henry's Nits2010Horrid Henry: Nits!, Nits!, Nits!
Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret2010Horrid Henry (first book)
Horrid Henry's Thank You Letter2011Horrid Henry: Underpants Panic
Horrid Henry Reads a Book2011Horrid Henry: Stinkbombs
Horrid Henry's Car Journey2011Horrid Henry: Bogey Babysitter
Moody Margaret's School2011Horrid Henry: Bank Robber
Horrid Henry Tricks and Treats2011Horrid Henry: Bogey Babysitter
Horrid Henry's Christmas Play2011Horrid Henry: Christmas Cracker
Horrid Henry's Rainy Day2012Horrid Henry: Abominable Snowman
Horrid Henry Meets the Queen2012Horrid Henry: The Queen's Visit
Horrid Henry's Sports Day2012Horrid Henry: Get Rich Quick
Horrid Henry's Christmas Presents2012Horrid Henry: Christmas Cracker
Moody Margaret's Makeover2013Horrid Henry: Abominable Snowman
Horrid Henry and the Demon Dinner Lady2013Horrid Henry: Perfect Revenge
Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy2013Horrid Henry: Tricking the Tooth Fairy
Horrid Henry's Homework2013Horrid Henry: The Mummy's Curse
Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter2013Horrid Henry: Bogey Babysitter
Horrid Henry's Sleepover2014Horrid Henry: Stinkbombs
Horrid Henry's Wedding2014Horrid Henry: Tricking the Tooth Fairy
Horrid Henry's Haunted House2014Horrid Henry: The Haunted House
Horrid Henry's Christmas Lunch2014Horrid Henry: Christmas Cracker
Horrid Henry's Mother's Day2015Horrid Henry: Nightmare
Horrid Henry and the Comfy Black Chair2015Horrid Henry: The Haunted House
Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse2015Horrid Henry: The Mummy's Curse
Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman2015Horrid Henry: Abominable Snowman
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine2016Horrid Henry: Mega-Mean Time Machine
Horrid Henry and the Fangmangler2016Horrid Henry: Nits, Nits, Nits
Horrid Henry's Christmas Ambush2016Horrid Henry: Christmas Cracker
Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb2016Horrid Henry: Stinkbombs
Horrid Henry's Swimming Lesson2017Horrid Henry: The Mummy's Curse
Horrid Henry's Christmas2017Horrid Henry: Get Rich Quick
Horrid Henry's School Fair2018Horrid Henry: The Haunted House
Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire2018Horrid Henry: Zombie Vampire
Horrid Henry's Hike2018Horrid Henry: Mega-Mean Time Machine
Horrid Henry's Injection2019Horrid Henry: Secret Club
Horrid Henry's Nightmare2019Horrid Henry: Nightmare
Horrid Henry's Newspaper2020Horrid Henry: Bank Robber

Fact books

TitleYear of first publication
Horrid Henry's Bodies2011
Horrid Henry's Dinosaurs2011
Horrid Henry's Sports2011
Horrid Henry's Food2012
Horrid Henry's Bugs2013
Horrid Henry's Kings and Queens2013
Horrid Henry's World Records2013
Horrid Henry's Animals2014
Horrid Henry's Ghosts2014
Horrid Henry's Space2015
Horrid Henry's Crazy Creatures2015

Joke books

Colour/collection books

Activity books

Television adaptation

Film adaptation

On 23 June 2010, Vertigo Films announced that a live action 3-D film of Horrid Henry was in production. The film's plot focuses on Henry and The Purple Hand Gang fighting to prevent the closure of their school by an evil private school Headmaster. [35] The film was released on 29 July 2011 in the United Kingdom and 11 January 2013 in Australia.

Reception

See also

References

  1. Oliver, Gill (15 June 2011). "Horrid Henry becomes a movie star". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  2. Rusak, Gary (5 June 2008). "Novel Entertainment takes Henry on the road". Kidscreen. Archived from the original on 15 June 2022. Retrieved 14 January 2020.
  3. Hemley, Matthew (6 June 2008). "Godber to bring Horrid Henry to the stage". The Stage. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  4. Moody, Annemarie (6 June 2008). "Horrid Henry Headed to the Stage". Animation World Network. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 Jewish News staff (17 June 2014). "Author Francesca Simon reveals the real inspiration behind Horrid Henry". Jewish News. Archived from the original on 10 December 2024. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  6. Tims, Anna (17 June 2013). "How we made: Horrid Henry". The Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2025.
  7. Lacey, Hester (16 August 2013). "The Inventory: Francesca Simon". Financial Times. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  8. Madlela, Khulekani (10 July 2022). "Francesca Simon on Horrid Henry character disappointment". Gulf News. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  9. 1 2 "Here are the answers to some of your questions..." Hatchette UK. Archived from the original on 15 October 2004. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  10. "Horrid Henry – Live and Horrid! - Teachers' Resource Pack" (PDF). 2008. Retrieved 27 August 2024. The idea for Horrid Henry came about when an illustrator friend of Francesca Simon's asked her to write a book about a naughty child, as she was fed up of drawing angelic children! As the eldest of four children, Simon also wanted to write about the relationships between brothers and sisters, and so she created Perfect Peter. Although she says she adores Peter, Simon admits that Henry is most people's favourite; he is the "imp inside everyone" and of course it's "sometimes great to let that imp out"!
  11. Costa, Monica (13 July 2014). "Exclusive chat with Horrid Henry's 'mum' Francesca Simon on her inspiration behind the naughtiest boy in literature". London Mums Magazine. Retrieved 29 August 2024.
  12. "Francesca Simon interview: what makes Henry so horrid?". The Telegraph. 5 April 2010. Archived from the original on 26 April 2023. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  13. Independent staff (28 August 2011). "Francesca Simon: 'I wanted Horrid Henry to be like Cain and Abel'". The Independent. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  14. Round, Simon (11 December 2008). "Interview: Francesca Simon". The Jewish Chronicle. Retrieved 11 August 2025.
  15. Green, Miranda (5 April 2019). "Francesca Simon on 25 years of Horrid Henry's rudeness". Financial Times. Archived from the original on 18 September 2019. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  16. "Horrid Henry: The Facts Behind the Fiction" (PDF). 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2024.
  17. "Here are the answers to some of your questions..." (PDF). 2013. Retrieved 2 September 2024. I get my ideas from things that happen to me, or to people I know, or from my imagination. I think of ordinary situations, like birthday parties or getting nits, and then add a "horrid" twist. So if my son, Josh, has to have an injection, I think of how Henry would behave.
  18. Simon, Francesca (2000). Don't Be Horrid, Henry!. Orion Children's Books. ISBN   978-1-4072-2305-6.
  19. 1 2 "Horrid Henry". Sourcebooks. Archived from the original on 13 February 2025. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  20. 1 2 Cowdrey, Katherine (16 November 2018). "New Horrid Henry book to mark series' 25th anniversary in 2019". The Bookseller. Archived from the original on 18 March 2025. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  21. Booka staff (23 March 2019). "A Morning with Francesca Simon – Celebrating 25 Years of Horrid Henry!". Booka Bookshop. Retrieved 18 August 2025.
  22. "The Horrid Henry Audio Books". Hatchette UK. Archived from the original on 28 February 2016. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  23. "Audiobooks". Francesca Simon. Retrieved 1 September 2024.
  24. "Francesca Simon Read By Miranda Richardson – Horrid Henry Meets The Queen (2004, CD)". Discogs. 2004. Retrieved 27 August 2024.
  25. "Horrid Henry: Holiday Horrors". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  26. "Horrid Henry: Rainy Day Disaster". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  27. "Horrid Henry: Party Pandemonium". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  28. "Horrid Henry: Terrible Teachers". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  29. "Horrid Henry: A Yucky Year". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  30. "Horrid Henry: Food Fight". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  31. "Horrid Henry: World's Worst Holiday". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  32. "Horrid Henry: Monster Mayhem". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  33. "Horrid Henry: Fiendish Foes". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  34. "Horrid Henry: Summer of Doom". Hachette UK. Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  35. "Horrid Henry makes jump to hit big screen". BBC News. 23 June 2010. Retrieved 11 October 2010.
  36. BBC News staff (10 April 2008). "Rowling honoured at book awards". BBC News. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  37. Irvine, Lindesay (10 April 2008). "Another honour for JK Rowling". The Guardian. Retrieved 22 July 2025.
  38. Bookseller staff (10 June 2014). "20 Years of Horrid Henry". The Bookseller. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  39. "Childrens/Animation". Bafta. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  40. Wolfe, Jennifer (3 September 2015). "CITV Launches New Season of Novel Entertainment's 'Horrid Henry'". Animation World Network. Retrieved 21 July 2025.
  41. Thelwell, Emma (15 September 2017). "Should parents ban Horrid Henry?". BBC News. Retrieved 21 July 2025.

General sources