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.