Horrid Henry and the Soccer Fiend

by Francesca Simon

Book Overview

Age Level: 7 and up - Grade Level: 2 to 5

Horrid Henry reads Perfect Peter's diary and improves it; goes shopping with Mom and tries to make her buy him some really nice new sneakers; is horrified when his old enemy Bossy Bill turns up at school; and tries, by any means, to win the class soccer match and defeat Moody Margaret.

Francesca Simon is one of the world's best-loved children's authors. She is the only American...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 1402217781
• ISBN13: 9781402217784
• Release Date: July 2009
• Publisher: Sourcebooks Jabberwocky
• Length: 112 Pages
• Weight: 0.27 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.3" x 6.0" x 7.8"
• Age Range: 7 to 10 years
• Grade Range: Grades 2 to 5

Customer Reviews

Perplexed

I bought the book for my five year old soccer-playing grandson on the basis of a rave review by a panel of reviewers on Simon Mayo's BBC 4 show, which I listen to on podcast. The review was not for this particular book but for the Horrid Henry series in general. After previewing the book, however, I have two reactions: (1) although it is entirely is within my grandson's ability to comprehend the stories, their subject matter is not yet suitable for a child of this age, or so I find; and (2) the hilarity of the stories mentioned by the reviewers eluded me, despite my being a British-American by heritage (English and Irish, a reader of British literature by profession,and a lifelong lover of British humor. But give me Daniel Pinkwater or Shel Silverstein any time for young readers--although, I confess, I do not consider myself especially knowledgeable about much of contemporary children's literature. One final point: the book has been annoyingly Americanized, e.g., the U.K. title is "Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend," a much more alliterative title.