What age/sex are Horrid Henry books aimed at ... and are they any good?!

[Snowstorm]

Keep forgetting to have a look whenever I'm near a bookshop. Have 2 DD's. One's 6 and one's going to be 5 any minute now. Am wondering whether they are the sort of books that they might enjoy.

Any thoughts appreciated.

Thanks very much.

[Bleuravin]

You might find this helpful...www.francescasimon.com/pages/content/index.asp?PageID=46
Mainly, (from working in a book store 5 years and having read them too out of curiousity) I've seen these picked up for boys and those that are a little older i.e. 7-9. But having read a few bits outloud during 'storytime' I happen to know girls appreciate them too and that the language is not tough for younger kids to understand.

You might find other books/series like the following might be good too (in case you haven't stumbled across them already):
Flat Stanley, by Jeff Brown (about a boy who gets flattened and the adventures he has because of it)
or
Amelia Bedelia, by Peggy Parish (about a maid and the troubles she has because of her misunderstanding the people around her-rather along the lines of Horrid Henry in some ways),
or
Ramona Quimby, by Beverly Cleary (about a girl who gets into troubles because of various reasons- also like Horrid Henry in many ways) Ramona is quite popular with girls in the States (where I'm from); she may be little advanced for the 5 year old, but they're used as early readers/sight readers for kids so they could be a good book to grow into.

I enjoyed/enjoy them all still.

Happy book hunting

[ChasingSquirrels]

I would have said 5+. Personally I think that they are crap, but ds1 likes them!
Agres with pp re Flat Stanley (not read the others), ds1 also enjoyed Little Mrs Pepperpot.
Get a HH from the library, or ask at school, ds brings one home as his reading book sometimes.

[cazzybabs]

my 4 yr old dd loves them as do my year 1 class

[duckyfuzz]

we have a HH CD that was free in the sunday times about 18 months ago, DTDs have liked listening to it on and off since then and they are just 5 - we don't have the books though

[KristinaM]

dd read them obsessively when she was 7

[duchesse]

5-8 (depending on reading ability) and either, I'd say.

[LIZS]

Think they're really aimed at reluctant boys although girls may enjoy them too. Sophie stories by Dick King Smith are tomboyish/animal orientated and aimed at simialr age group ( roughly 6-9's), also My Naughty Little Sister and Kitty stories ( aimed a bit older perhaps).

[fondant4000]

My dd LOVES them - she is 5.5 and has had them read to her EVERY night for last 6 months . Most of her friends (all girls) seem to like them too.

I really like them, but her dad would like to read something different sometimes.

I'd say well worth buying - I picked up most of mine for £1 a copy in remainder book shops and pound shops.

[jangly]

The Horrid Henry books are AWFUL! Talk about encouraging bad behaviour!

[noonki]

Bleurvin - Iloved ramona stories when I was little, forgot all about them!

Also I loved and so did DSS at 6:

The famous five (gingerbeertastic)
Narnia books
The Mr Men

and DSS loved Horrid Henry at about 6 (I thought they were rubbish)

Go to your library they will have so many ideas for you and you can try stuff out.

[PrimulaVeris]

Horrid Henry is FAB!!! My dd loved them, as did my ds. They really get into the way a child thinks ... as opposed to how adults would like them to think. Wonderful.

[belcantwait]

i think for 6-7 yr old boys tho i guess girls might like them too. i think they are DREADFUL but thats because i dont want my kids thinking its ok to do horrible things and speak really rudely just cos they have read it in a book/seen on telly.\lots of ppl think they rae fine tho so i may be in the minority. ds2 who is nearly 6 got given one and i read one story and couldnt read anymore. he hasnt asked for it again i think he found it a bit boring perhaps

[PrimulaVeris]

But ... if you've read as many as I have ... HH is naughty but he doesn't WIN because of bad behaviour. When he scores a victory we cheer because he usually wins morally over a truly awful child like Moody Margaret.

[tassisssss]

HH is far too naughty for my liking

ds (5) got one from the library once and loved it

so far i've avoided any others, but i should probably lighten up...

[pointydog]

age 5-8 ish. Either sex.

[belcantwait]

oh i used to LOVE ramona when i was young! i remember when it was the fad to take boiled eggs to school and ramonas mum gave her one and she smashed it against her head to crack it... and it was a fresh egg and she was covered. i rememebr lol over that one

[nkf]

Children enjoy them best when they can read them by themselves. That's been my experience. I think they are great. Think of them as Just William for the modern age.

[puppydetox]

my 5 year old loves them, she's a pretty confident reader and can manage them by herself (which is fortunate since i can't abide them). can also get them with cds which is great for the inbetweeny reading stage.

flat stanley on the other hand i love (i had them when i was little) although i'm thinking (offhand, don't have one here) they're slightly trickier on the reading front.

[Snowstorm]

Just got back to my computer to find all your messages - thank you so much to everyone who's posted, I appreciate hearing from you all. I keep forgetting about the library as an option - but I think I'll go tomorrow and re-sign up (or whatever) and get the DD's some books - they'll be thrilled! Good way of trying out the HH books too ... although if there's a possibility that they're going to encourage DD2 to misbehave further, then perhaps I should given them a miss until she's a little more mature!

Thanks for your long post - Bleuravin - will take a look at the link and the books (have never heard of Flat Stanley!).

Thanks very much again.
Snowstorm