Horrid Henry - He's Not Really That Horrid - Is He? (Horrid Henry And The Secret Club - Francesca Simon)

Member Name: LAURALILIA

Product:	Horrid Henry And The Secret Club - Francesca Simon
Date:	17/03/09 (256 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fantastic fun - good for encouraging independent reading .

Disadvantages: May be viewed as more of a book for girls.

***Horrid Henry and The Secret Club by Francesca Simon***

I like Horrid Henry. I like him because he likes being naughty and says what he thinks, things you can't get away with when you are an adult. Oh, and my son thinks he is cool too. This book contains four stories, with one of them being that mentioned in the main title.

~Horrid Henry's Injection~

Henry is waiting in Doctor Dettol's waiting room, dreading the injection he is about to have. Many of his class mates are there too, such as Sour Susan, Moody Margaret and Jolly Josh etc. Every time someone comes out of the nurse's room, he thinks that it is his turn. Many of the children are not brave and cry, but Moody Margaret manages to come out bravely and not cry at all. This gives Henry strength...until it is his turn. He goes into Nurse Needle's room and whilst he is just about to accept the inevitable, he comes up with a plan. He sees that injections should not be given to children who are ill, so sure enough Henry takes a turn for the worse. He is sent home and pampered over in bed, so it looks like Henry got away with it - but, did he?

~Horrid Henry and the Secret Club~

This is quite a simple story. Sour Susan is trying to get into Moody Margaret's Secret Club, but she forgets the password. They have to have a password to make sure that Horrid Henry has no way of getting into their hideout. Eventually Margaret tells her it is 'Nunga Nu'. A few minutes later Henry arrives and utters 'Nunga Nu'. The girls have no choice but to let him in. He polishes off the biscuits and the girls set up a new rule - 'no boys', so Henry leaves. Moody Margaret blames Sour Susan for the password being discovered and bans Susan for a week from the club. Perfect Peter is also banned when Henry falls out with him. Margaret then decides to set a booby trap in Henry's fort; the only thing is Henry has a similar idea...

~Perfect Peter's Horrid Day~

Perfect Peter who is Horrid Henry's younger brother is tired of the attention Horrid Henry keeps getting - surely some attention is better than none at all? Even if it is for being horrid. So Peter sets out to emulate Henry's ways, being rude, untidy, greedy etc. However, none of it seems to work! No matter how hard Peter tries Henry still gets the blame and Peter comes up smelling of roses. In the end Peter gets tired of trying and decides to go back to being good. It is only when he has given up seeking attention for being naughty, that he finally gets his wish!!!

~Horrid Henry's Birthday Party~

Horrid Henry is planning his birthday party. Every year it goes so badly that his parents say never again! This year he decides to go to Lazer Zap, but when the lady rings up to confirm the booking and she realises it is for Henry, the party is cancelled and it is up to mum and dad to save the day. He ends up having the party at home, with old fashioned games such as pass the parcel and musical bumps. Henry is as rude as ever, making negative comments about the presents, about who wins the games etc. Will this be Henry's last chance to ever have a party?
***Opinion***

I like this book because the four stories are a nice length, both for a parent to read or for a young reader to begin independent reading. I think that it is suitable for both boys and girls, around the age of five onwards. The stories are great fun, because often being naughty pays off in these stories and it is sometimes the goody two shoes children who receive the bad luck!

They have lots of alliteration in them with the names being used and it gets children to think up a few of their own. I also like the fact that there are may books and an annual to this collection, which spurs children on with their reading to get to the next one. There are also some very effective but very simple black and white illustrations used throughout the book.

In this particular book it also gives parents a chance to discuss immunisations and why children need them, in an effort to allay any fears that they might have. The birthday party story is also a lesson in not how to behave and to have a talk about what good manners are.

There is also lots of dialogue between the characters, which gives parents a chance put on their 'voices'. It is however, more likely that you will miss out and that the child will be able to read it alone, as the story contains just the right balance of words and pictures. The typeface is also a decent size, so again children are not deterred by pages and pages of text.

I can thoroughly recommend this book and indeed any in the series.

***Availability***

They are available in sets from The Book People, but if you are not sure and just want to try one, they can be picked up on Ebay for around £2.25. They make a good alternative Easter gift, instead of chocolate, although I don't think Henry would approve!

Summary: A nice change to read a book with absolutely no moral message!