Q&A with Francesca Simon

LullyDully

We found Horrid Henry filled a gap between reading schemes and library books when my GS was learning to read. Thanks for that. Did you have this in mind when writing the books? They made such a refreshing change from Biff,.Chip and Kipper.
Nice to have a male character to follow at that age. I do however think his parents could do with parenting classes, especially Mum. She has no idea!

I absolutely had no reading schemes in mind when I wrote the books. I’m delighted that so many children learn to read by loving Horrid Henry, but that is a happy accident. When my own son Josh was learning to read, I did struggle to find books he liked, so it certainly converted me to the importance of series for this age group.

Elrel

I was unsure about introducing my 4 year old grandson Henry to your amusing and original stories in case he thought they were aimed at him. I had already begun to call him Helpful Henry or Happy Henry in preparation. Then his aunt gave him a pile of his older cousins' books including several Horrid Henry annuals. He pores over them, definitely his preferred fiction reading! I was overthinking, I admit it. How do other boys named Henry react?
He and I both loved the 'early years' book in which a baby Perfect Peter first appears!

Ha! Great question. There aren’t many names which alliterate with Horrid—Horrid Hrothgar? Horrid Hugh? I didn’t know any Henrys when I named him, nor did I ever dream that the books would be so popular that this issue would arise. I think the boys I’ve met named Henry find it amusing, and are a little bit pleased to have such a well loved character sharing their name.

angie95

Horrid Henry, what a fantastic character, I think every child, girl or boy has a little bit of Henry in them, and adults too,
Did you base Henry on someone you know Francesca ?

I agree. Everyone, child or adult, has a bit of Henry, and a bit of Peter in them. I based Henry most on myself, because I was angelic at school, and monstrous at home. So no, there wasn’t a child I saw and thought, aha! I was also interested in parental unfairness, and how siblings play off each other. I have a very quarrelsome niece and nephew, who also inspired me to write many of Henry and Peter’s squabbles. Someone once suggested to me that I’d written a modern version of Cain and Abel.

CariGransnet

My 8yo daughter (who's read all the HH books with relish) wants to know what gave you the idea in the first place?

I have always found families very funny: disparate people all trapped together. I also wanted to satirize parents, including myself, who are well-meaning but hopeless. So the idea came from wanting to write about sibling rivalry—I am the eldest of four—and wanting to write amusing and truthful stories about fighting to the death over the TV remote, and who gets to sit behind the driver.

Ameliasnan

My grandchildren are also fans. I wondered how different the experience of writing a book for older children was?

Apart from the practical—a Horrid Henry book is around 7500 words, whereas The Monstrous Child was 40,000—a book for older children takes me over a year to write, so the commitment is greater. But I get the ideas first, then I write the book, and THEN ask myself what age group, roughly, the book is for. Horrid Henry is read by children aged 4 to 18, so I never have a fixed idea about who will enjoy my books the most.

Mikayla

I was going to ask what made you think enough is enough for Henry - but then I realised how many books you actually wrote so instead will ask how on earth did you find the inspiration?

Thank you! If anyone had told me I’d write 96 Horrid Henry stories when I was struggling with the first four, I would never have believed them. I kept notebooks, asked people questions about their children and their own childhoods, and I only wrote one Henry book a year, to keep the books fresh and the stories unexpected and original.

glenda

Hi Francesca! My granddaughter also loves the Horrid Henry series so I'm really looking forward to introducing her to your new book now that she is a little bit older. What propelled you to create a book for an older age group? And has it been a challenge?

It was more the idea of writing about the Lewis Chessmen, Norse mythology, and a world where Christianity never happened so people worshipped the old Viking gods that inevitably meant that the books would appeal to older children. I also got so many letters from kids saying they’d been huge Henry fans, and please would I write some longer books.

The challenge for me was accepting that it would take a year to write a book for ages 8-12, and also learning to keep a large idea and a complex world in my head.

Joanna66

Hello! My 6yo grandson absolutely loves your Horrid Henry books, but much like another poster above, my daughter wasn't too sure whether she should let him read them.

Do you think there are too many books and TV programmes aimed at children that glorify bad behaviour? Talking more generally, children in books and programmes who rebel and defy authority are seen as the 'good guys' for doing so. I see where my daughter is coming from, it's not something to encourage.

There are many strands to your thoughtful question. First, I think that any books that teach children to love reading and become readers should be encouraged. If parents have qualms they can read the books together and discuss them. That said, I think that literature is such a safe and exciting way to explore anger and hatred and negative feelings. You get the thrill of being bad, but NONE of the consequences, which is also why adults enjoy reading crime novels, and people flock to theatres to watch plays where people make bad choices with catastrophic results. Children are under such pressure to conform, and to pretend to feelings they don’t have—how much better to acknowledge those feelings? When parents read Horrid Henry with their children, and they all laugh together, the unspoken message is, ‘I know sometimes you hate your siblings, and that sometimes you hate me, but I can cope, and we can cope.’ That’s so reassuring.

Finally, Horrid Henry gives the illusion of great wickedness, but in fact, what exactly does he do? He’s lazy. He’s selfish. He teases his brother. He plays tricks on him. I would love to meet the child—or adult—who didn’t do all those things.

twiggy

I've ordered your new book for my granddaughter who was a big fan of Henry but is now a bit old for him. After so long with him was it difficult to write something completely different or was it refreshing? And will you be writing more for this age range?

I’ve written three books now for older children: THE SLEEPING ARMY, THE LOST GODS, and THE MONSTROUS CHILD. And yes, I do hope to write more.

Thank you for the great questions! I’ve really enjoyed answering them, and I think your grandchildren are very fortunate to have such engaged and thoughtful grandparents looking out for them.