Is Horrid Henry good for kids? Francesca Simon speaks to School Gate

Horrid Henry is an utter phenomenon. It's the most successful series of children's books for 5-8 year olds, is on course to sell 3 million copies this year alone and attracts equal numbers of boys and girls. It's also been turned into a very successful TV series, while the audio books (read by Miranda Richardson) have sold more than a million copies.

But Horrid Henry isn't just limited to the written word. A new show, Horrid Henry Live and Horrid! has just opened in the West End, and despite some snotty reviews (clearly by those who hadn't brought their kids with them), the children (er, the target audience) seem to love it. Mine thought it was fantastic, and was most impressed by the acting, singing and, of course, the stories (most of which she immediately recognised).

So why is there a problem?

To put it simply, Horrid Henry splits parents between those who love the books, and those who hate them. Some think that Henry is a bad influence, and that he causes children to behave like him. Others hate the fact that the stories don't have a moral: Henry doesn't always get his comeuppance or realise the consequences of his behaviour. One recent thread on mumsnet included the comment, "We do NOT do Horrid Henry, nor will we," while another parent bemoaned how her son's behaviour "plummets" when he reads them.

These parents are not alone - the books have not yet been published in the US for similar reasons (publishers, say author Francesca Simon, thought they were "too horrid!"). However, one brave publisher has now taken them on for publication next April.

But despite all this, the main point (and it's a huge one) in Henry's favour is that children love Henry, and his cohorts, Moody Margaret, Rude Ralph and Beefy Bert.  "He’s a funny, naughty child, and he’s got a kind of perfect brother, and it’s like Henry is his brother’s devil," says my daughter, in an attempt to explain the appeal. My feeling is that pretty much anything which encourages reading has to be a good thing, especially when it comes to boys, who are often difficult to persuade. But I also feel that many children definitely get a thrill from reading about a child who behaves badly. He does what many of them wouldn't, but that isn't a bad thing. Fantasy - books, films and theatre - can be enjoyed without having to copy the protagonists!

Simon is thrilled that her books have struck such a chord with the 6-10 age-group, but disappointed that some are unhappy with her hero. "I have received letters that are tear-stained with gratitude because parents are so thrilled that their children are reading. That makes me flushed with pleasure," she says.  But she is a little defensive when the question of Henry's "badness" is brought up.

"He does nothing that every child hasn't done," she claims, adding that when people say their child's behaviour has been affected by the stories, she takes it with a pinch of salt. "Kids have always fought - it goes back to Cain and Abel. Yes, Henry calls his brother names and fights, but he also reflects something very truthful about children's lives. That's the humour of family life, which is full of disasters."

Simon is also keen to point out that, while Henry may be naughty, he isn't evil. "Henry is spontaneous and impulsive, he hardly ever plots," she says. "He's like Mr Bean in that he never thinks about the consequences." She points out that Henry isn't always the victor in the stories; sometimes he appears to win, but actually loses (he cheats in a reading competition, but wins a trip to a reading theme park as his prize, for example), while at other times he's found out completely. However, she does agree that Henry must also appeal because of his behaviour. "For a child who's reading the books, it's the thrill of behaving badly without the consequences," she says.

Simon had been writing picture books when her publisher suggested that she tried to pen a "first reader." Henry, which was actually too advanced for the first reader bracket, was the result, but her publisher liked it, and encouraged more. The first book was published in 1993 and it took around four years for the series to take off (with the publication of Horrid Henry's Nits). Because she wants them to stay "fresh", Simon writes just one a year.

"As a writer, I was very thrilled to be published," says Simon. "I didn't see beyond that, and I still an very surprised that they have been so successful." But she adds that she understands why they work, not only because there isn't much for the 6-10 age group, but because, she says, Horrid Henry and his younger brother, Perfect Peter, are "the two sides of everybody."

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(photo from Horrid Henry Live and Horrid! by Robert Day)

Comments

[Hannah]

I don't have a problem with the behaviour of Horrid Henry, or the content of the books. Children love the stories of Henry and (the inevitably) Perfect Peter.

I do, however, take issue with the style of writing. I have, on numerous occasion, wanted to use Horrid Henry books to hook my class (I'm a primary teacher) into a writing topic, but they are so poorly written! My class, who aren't the brightest of the bright, counted 15 uses of the word 'said' in a single extract. When I have a whole display on my classroom wall encouraging children to use words other than 'said', I can hardly extol the virtues of Francesca Simon's writing!

As more and more of my class pointed out her inability to use other words in place of 'said', I started to change them, simply to make the reading process more interesting and less fraught with little voices saying "why does she use the word said all the time when you say we can't?"

Pedantic, yes, but this why I can't bare Horrid Henry!

[Paula Tome]

There are brilliant children books that are both inspiring and unforgettable or just funny, entertaining and forgetful. And then there is HH. I have a problem with these books. My kids love them. They are great readers and will read most anything. However I think HH is horrid and evil, he is not naughty, he is bad and the fact that he is that hero is somehow confusing. I find one of my boys behaves appallingly after reading one of the many HH we have at home. So to be honest, I'd like to ban them from the house, like one would like to ban a visiting child that behaves horridly! And for children book characters can be so real! Children need strong role models, a good understanding of good and bad, books can teach them so much, I believe in the power of books and that is why I am suspicious of this HH phenomenon.

[Nooka]

I thought that Horrid Henry wasn't published in the US because there is a very popular series here called Horrible Harry. I've only read the one Horrid Henry with my children, and didn't think very much of it for the same reasons as above (ie the one dimensional characters and general amorality). However my son did enjoy Horrible Harry. He was reading alone by then so I have idea if the similarities go beyond the name. Seemed an unlikely coincidence to have two series with such similar names and characters, although I guess it might just be the pull of alliteration.

It's a bit of a fallacy to suggest that Horrid Henry (or any other series) is the only way to get children reading. There are loads of fantastic books out there that are neither formulaic nor too "proper" nor too pink. It just takes a bit of trial and error to find what your children will enjoy. Not that a bit of rubbish along the way is a major problem, I just think it should be kept as a minority interest.

[Anthony]

Horrid Henry is as realist as life can get. Parents who don't get this (and life) are the only ones who can be upset with him.

[Cinders76]

I have 3 children aged 2, 7 and 10 years and they adore HH. They watch him everyday and have all the books (in fact, it's on now as I type). I completely disagree that HH is a bad influence in children's lives. They are gentle, mischevious tales that everyone can relate to - young or old. My school age children have won awards for their manners and good behaviour. They are not Perfect Peters, in fact, they are more HH than anything but this proves a point that children can enjoy HH without it affecting their behaviour. As for the comment about Dennis the Menace and 'satisfyingly slippered...." Don't get me started...

[Jane White]

"Pretty much anything which encourages a child to read is a good thing"???
What a fatuous remark!

[JG]

I can't say I'm disappointed that my 5 year old refuses to watch HH. He doesn't enjoy watching the naughty antics at all and if the programme comes on he switches over. He's a little young to read books himself yet but certainly doesn't seem drawn towards stories such as these yet.

If he did show a preference for them I shouldn't imagine I would ban them, more encourage a variety for him, maybe he will ask for them as he gets older and grows in confidence with his reading. We'll have to see.

[Chris]

With reference to Ian Thorpes comments you are sadly off the money.Not letting your children read Harry Potter is not because of an inability to suspend disbelief, but rather that there are more wholesome things for my children to read than Harry Potter or a Philip Pullman. By the way the do watch Horrid Henry as it enables me to show them the consequences of right and wrong.

[mischievious mum]

i love horrid henry, he reminds me of all my childhood faves, enid blyton books, roald dahl, just william.. i sit down every week night i can at four o clock to watch it with my ten year old. we love it!

[Leila]

"many children definitely get a thrill from reading about a child who behaves badly"
This is so true - remember Blyton's Amelia Jane?
I can well believe that kids behave naughtily after reading Horrid Henry, but frankly, so what? They are acting out what they have read, that's a perfectly normal child's reaction to a book, and it doesn't last forever. The books are hilarious, to adults as well as children. Children spend their lives being controlled by adults; they need some anarchy in their books.

[jac]

HH is just dull. If only his antics were was funny as Just William or as outstandingly nasty as Amelia Jane's. But these books, like so many of this era - Jacqueline Wilson's esp - are boring in the extreme. There are no real highs and lows, no sense of adventure. Rather like the pink shiny pony/fairy books, HH is bland and as inoffensive as possible. The problem seems to be that so few parents have any knowledge of the alternatives because bookshops are staffed by people with little knowledge of literature and the shelves refilled according to computerised ordering systems that bypass the knowledgeable bookseller of the past (and recent past at that).
If children enjoy these books, then that's great but hopefully parents will explore a little further and offer their children something better. The argument that children should chose books not adults is ludicrous because when children go into a bookshop they little know how limited the offerings are now - in fact, the retailers are doing the choosing not the children.

[Sue S]

The antics of The Bash Street Kids, Desperate Dan, Lord Snooty & other cartoon strips in The Beano & Dandy were a previous generations "Horrid Henry".Think most of us turned out fine lol. These parents who disparage Horrid Henry books are those who got sniffy at their children reading comics in my generation. Stop being such cultural snobs!

[Ian Thorpe]

If it encourages kids to enjoy books its good.
There's a debaste comes up every now and again on The Guasrdian's Comment is Free, one one side religious fundamentalists rant about Harry Potter introducing children to wizards, witches, satanism and all that while on the other fundamentalist scientists condemn the books for encouraging "magical thinking" and belief in the supernatural.

Few people mention the beneficial effect on concentration and English language skills to be gained from reading Harry Potter, Phillip Pullman's books etc.

What is really worrying is the inability of adults to suspend disbelief and approach fiction as a form of literature we do not have to read as literal truth. It seems to be an ability children are born with. Why the desperation to educate it out of them?

[JG]

Last year I ran a book club at my daughter's junior school and the first book we got the children to read to kick things off was a Horrid Henry book. We told them they could read any Horrid Henry book because basically we thought that everyone would have access to one (before we bought in books in bulk for future sessions) and sure enough, everyone had one. Also, like some of you have pointed out, they are pretty much all the same in terms of characters and story outline.

I do think though that people are missing the point about the predictability of the Horrid Henry stories. This is precisely what children of this age need to build their confidence. They know when they pick up a Horrid Henry book largely what they are going to get and they are not disappointed.

The local librarian was surprised to hear that we were setting up a book club for junior school age children - he said that at that age they are mostly interested in the story and wouldn't be able to discuss issues, themes, characters in any significant way. Well, our children certainly saw through Horrid Henry. They understood the stereotyping. They related to the way that the parents prefer Perfect Peter and they wondered why this was so. They could see that all the stories are more or less the same. Basically, they deconstructed Horrid Henry just like any of us would - and these were mainly years 3 and 4 children.

So I wouldn't mind about your children reading Horrid Henry. These books meet a key developmental need for young children setting out on independent reading or even still reading with parents. They allow them to become more fluent readers in a familiar environment (as do the much hated pink fairy and horse books which so many people dislike) but by year 5 they will mainly be onto something completely different.

As a child I devoured Enid Blyton - basically for the stories. A teacher told my mother they weren't very good and I distinctly remember feeling let down by this disclosure (though I didn't drop the books) because they meant so much to me. I do think that adults should be careful how they attempt to influence their children's values and their attitudes to 'good' versus 'bad' literature.

[Delilah]

It's typical the way Vanessa accuses squeamish parents of "squashing their children's reading development by forcing them to read what they consider to be 'proper' books", but "refuses to stock pink pony books". No hypocrisy there, Vanessa.

Safely insulated abroad, my sons and their ilk have picked up reading very easily due the the huge variety of choice at the well-stocked public and school libraries (which include many good British classics like The Giant Jam Sandwich which have been pulped by the British library system as being "too old" - circa 1970, puhleese.) They can read pink pony books, if they want them, or get sucked into one of the many series of semi-literate potboilers like Goosebumps that build fluency while satisfying their appetite for thrills and chills, but still hammer home some home truths about personal integrity and the consequences of one's actions. Perhaps the reason kids suck up HH so readily is because their only alternative is a poor selection of frankly disturbing books selected on the basis of a PC agenda which most children find bewildering and depressing. HH doesn't sound at all like Dennis the Menace, who always got satisfyingly slippered at the end of each episode.

As for HH's unpunished nastiness, there is a passive acceptance and even approval of brutal and bullying behaviour in Britain now which was not so apparent twenty years ago and is quite unnerving for an outsider to witness. For instance, the last time I was in the UK (which was this year) a breakfast news team was commenting on a story about some football fans who were injured by thrown objects while celebrating their team's goal. "Well", said the female British presenter, "they shouldn't have celebrated so close to the other team". It took the Irish co-presenter to splutter "No, people at a football match should not throw things!"

[Ruth]

it seems silly to think that books would totally change a childs behaviour-i liked them when i was about 4 although i found them quite onedimensional as i grew older. If your childs behavior is changed by them, read them other stuff too. intelligent kids could read enid blyton Just william et al if you give them the opportunity

[Dad Abroad]

My 8-year old son who is a very well-behaved choirboy (worryingly, could have been the role model for PP) adores the HH stories and they have helped him become an avid reader. He finds them hilarious and would never emulate the naughtiness.

Perhaps we should remember that children are human beings too; they require their own escapist fantasy. HH stories allows them to explore in their minds the consequences of behaviours of the extreme archetypes represented by HH and PP (and yes, sometimes people do get away with misdemeanours). This helps them make their own judgements and is thus a powerful tool for mental development and socialisation.

So, helicopter parents, let go a bit and allow your kids some self-development. Perhaps even let them climb trees and get a bit muddy now and again...

[mandy]

I feared that my children would copy the behaviour of Henry. I am not aware that they did. It needs emphasizing to child readers that obnoxious spiteful characters like Henry are not nice. I do wish that authors could be a bit more imaginative though and come up with better role models.

There must be some children who do mimic the behaviour.

[Alice]

I haven't read them yet as my son is a bit too young but Horrid Henry sounds just like Dennis the Menace. Naughty characters in books / comics are hardly a new phenomenon...

[Jos]

My children have never imitated Horrid Henry (they have their own ways of being horrid) and fortunately they have never imitated the sickly sugary fairy/princess/ballerina drippy girls they like to read about either. I think the influence of what they read is probably fairly minimal compared to the influence of parents, peers and teachers. I'm just glad they both like to read, and what they read is a matter of going through phases anyway. Lastly their current absolute favourite is a series of books about a boy called Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III - but they aren't behaving like marauding Vikings yet either.

[mumoftwo]

We had to have a discussion in our house about the Little Princess books (entitled 'I want my dummy', 'I don't want to go to bed', 'I want a sister' etc) about how in fact the Little Princess was rather rude because she was very little and didn't know better than to say 'I want...'

Also: a lot of characters burp or fart on TV programmes on CBeebies, again, it's funny on a TV show but not funny at the dinner table.

I've no real objection to silly or naughty stuff and indeed can be an outlet for children, but they do imitate what they see and hear, it's about learning what's appropriate in which situations.

[Vanessa]

I run a children's bookshop and I think Horrid Henry is an invaluable tool for getting children (especially boys) to make that jump from being read to to reading for themselves.

My own son (now almost nine) enjoyed them hugely but is growing out of them now although Francesca Simon's event at the Edinburgh Book Festival this year was one of the highlights of his summer.

As for HH causing behavioural changes, I think that as long as children are reading a balanced mix of books and as long as their parents are discussing books and characters with them that shouldn't be a problem.

Sometimes the parents who are the most anti Horrid Henry, Tracey Beaker etc are the ones who squash their children's reading development by forcing them to read what they consider to be 'proper' books. Horrid Henry and his ilk are well-written by excellent authors, unlike some of the pink fairy and pony books around which we refuse to stock, and can help to engender in children the delight and joy in books that will stand them in good stead all their lives.

[E. Bow]

My son, who is eight, has loved these books for several years, but I have to say I despise them. Perfect Peter, Moody Margaret, Sexy Sanjit -- whatever happened to characterisation? And much of the dialogue goes like this: AAAAAAAAAAAARGH! BOOOOHOOOOOO! Utter rubbish.

[katyboo1]

My children 9,5 and 2, love Horrid Henry. My five year old in particular. She has all the books, the cds and is obsessed by the television programme. I am happy to buy them for her because, as people say, reading anything is better than not reading.

As a parent however I dislike them intensely. It is not about how naughty Henry is. That's fine with me. It's the fact that Henry is a kind of scapegoat figure. His parents always expect him to be naughty and Peter to be Perfect and Peter isn't perfect and Henry isn't always that naughty. It is not that it lacks morality, it is the amorality of it I don't like. It is a fairly punitive world view and one which encourages deception and lying and telling on each other. It is this I find distasteful. There is no spark of redemption at all.

Yes, children are naughty anyway. Yes these books don't offer any worse naughtiness than regular children think of, and no I don't think my children are any more or less naughty for reading them. But I still think they're unpleasant because there is no balance.

[Hol]

Do the morality brigade also object to Enid Blyton? I spent my fairly well behaved and bookish childhood reading about Naughty Amelia Jane... or how about Dennis the Menace, has he corrupted children for all these decades? :o)

[janet]

dreadful i also loathe Tracy Beaker.

[Keren]

No moral objections to Horrid Henry but I hate the way that all the characters are so one-dimensional and labelled with one characteristic only (Moody Margaret, Perfect Peter etc). My children found the books boring.

[Tina Jones]

Since discovering BBC7, I've discovered some new children's books. Even I like Horrid Henry. Especially the episode with the mummy and the one where he's being good and his brother plays up instead.

This happens in real life. When you have two siblings, they are usually trying to get one over the other. Here, it's a bit more obvious because it's one-sided.

[Sheri]

At least the books are encouraging children to read! So many children and parents overlook the importance of it to a child's development in understanding and ability to express themselves well.. and as an A-level student it has help me remarkably with my exams! Even science subjects require the ability to word sentences well. If a child acts like Horrid Henry it's down to the parents, not their exposure to a children's novel that involves a bit of childish fun. There's nothing wrong with that in my opinion. Children are already being brought up to be molly-coddled by schools, for example no unhealthy food. What's that all about? A Penguin biscuit along with the rest of my sandwiches never did me any harm.

[Kim]

I've always felt that Horrid Henry was a modern, dumbed-down version of Just William for the low-attention span generation. Perhaps I'm being harsh. I didn't have any moral objections to them (children like stories about other children being naughty) but I did find them very samey after a while.

[Tara@Sticky Fingers]

I have a very spirited 3-year-old who adores Horrid Henry the TV show, the books and CDs.
I have to say, Ido notice a change in her behaviour when she's been 'exposed' to Horrid Henry - she mimics many of the things he says and really pushes us.
But we have just learned to limit her intake and mix it up with other things (she would watch/read nothing else otherwise!) and then we use his behaviour as a tool to teach her what is right and what is wrong.
This doesn't always work, but we keep on!

[Perfect Poppy's mum]

My seven year old daughter loves the Horrid Henry books, and she is very square - a bit like Perfect Peter. For her, Henry's antics are a bit like wish fulfilment.