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Revision as of 10:38, 23 March 2018
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{{infoboxinfobox1
|title=Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid
|author=Francesca Simon
|borrow=No
|isbn=978-1444002263
|pages=160
|publisher=Orion
|date=November 2011
|website=http://www.horridhenry.co.uk/
|summary=A lexicon of the world behind the characters, this nicely produced hardback will delight Horrid Henry's and Moody Margaret's hard-core fans, while many a parent will snort in delight at the anarchic spirit of naughtiness that Henry embodies (while sending thanks for not actually having to cope with a Henry of their own). Obviously, no smelly-toady-goody-two-shoes are allowed to put their scrubbed-clean hands on this book.
|cover=1444004468
|aznuk=1444004468
|aznus=1444002260
}}
Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry is a very popular little boy, although you might have a different opinion if you actually had to put up with his antics yourself. A slightly modernised embodiment of ''slugs and snails and puppy dogs' tails'' concept of boyhood, Henry is a naughtiness personified, combining irreverence for authority with a huge dose of gross-out crude humour that really appeals to the target readership of early primary school children. Add a somewhat nostalgic, timeless feel, trademark alliterations, subtle (and not so subtle) digs at family dynamics, sibling rivalry and particularly at modern middle-class manners and sensibilities and you have a winning character and a base for a very successful edutainment franchise.
''Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid'', like the annuals and compilations, rides on the back of the popularity of the stories and TV cartoons, appealing both to children's passion for collecting and their affinity for character-based products.
The book is a large—format hardback with plenty of (hilarious) Tony Ross's pictures and would make a good gift for Henry's fans. ''Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid'' is pitched at the 'confident readers' who are the target audience of the main series of Henry books. Although there are Horrid Henry early readers, I feel that ''Horrid Henry's A - Z of Everything Horrid'' is best read quietly rather than shared while being read aloud. The format of a lexicon is also at some remove from the directness of a story and will be more appreciated by a slightly more mature reader.
Horrid Henry's fans will like [[Horrid Henry Rocks by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross|Horrid Henry Rocks]] and these thank-you letters get the treatment they deserve in [[Horrid Henry's Thank You Letter by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross|Horrid Henry's Thank You Letter]]. The franchise has also non-fiction [[A Horrid Factbook: Horrid Henry's Bodies by Francesca Simon and Tony Ross|non-fiction]]. [[George's Marvellous Medicine by Roald Dahl]] appeals to similar audience, and we even have a whole list of [[Top Ten Books For Children Who Think That Farts Are Funny]].
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