Synopsis

Life is not fair! Horrid Henry feels that the rest of the world is against him and he wages a constant war against the adults. Like any headstrong young boy, he is determined, relentless, he doesn't hold back and he never admits defeat! He will stop at nothing to outwit the enemy and teachers, relatives and babysitters avoid him at all costs.

Almost every character is known by an alliterative nickname (Rude Ralph, Moody Margaret, Brainy Brian, etc.) with a few exceptions e.g.

In April 2008, Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman won the Galaxy Children's Book of the Year Award.

Horrid Henry has twice been nominated for BAFTA's Best Animation; in 2009 and 2010.

Following the birth of her son Joshua in 1989, Francesca Simon was asked by Judith Elliott, an editor at Orion Books, to write a story about a horrid child.

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.

The first Horrid Henry book was written and published in 1994 by Orion.