Further reading
Simon’s novel The Monstrous Child has been made into an opera
independents, who very slowly created Horrid Henry, and then teachers—I did a lot of school visits that were supported by bookshops.” Children’s books in the 1990s were “certainly a ‘Cinderella’ area”, a perception Simon believes was altered because of the emergence of Harry Poter—“children’s books were ignored. And then [J K Rowling] came along and people stopped ignoring them”—and also the advent of the BookScan era. “I remember one of my publishers taking me out to lunch and saying, ‘Well, we’ve discovered you’re one of our top five authors at Orion.’ BookScan is both good and bad, because it made [publish- ers] aware of, I think, the extent to which they were being sustained by their children’s authors. They didn’t know in the way that they do now—but of course now, [with] too much knowledge, two books and you’re out.” Tony Ross’ illustrations have helped the series exist in a timeless state over two and half decades. “Technology ages books,” Simon says, commenting on Ross’ “genius” in drawing “only iconic things... So his TVs are only big fat ones, the telephones are old, it’s almost like an emoji. The comput- ers are always old, and he never changes that, because a year later it would look out of date. And by having some- thing that’s becoming an iconic image, you avoid that.”
If I were writing today, it would have been two books and you’re out. Tere’s this idea that somehow you make a splash instantly, and if you don’t, it’s a failure
“Horrid Henry and Perfect Peter: I see them as Cain and Abel. These archetpal siblings, who are going to fight to the death over who gets control of the remote control, who gets to sit behind the driver, who gets the plate with the yellow ducks versus the pirate plate, all those things. Everyone has these things.” Simon is a big advocate of children being encouraged to read for pleasure. “I always adore it when parents say, ‘Yours were the first books that my child ever read for pleas- ure.’ Or kids will say, ‘This was the first book I ever bought with my own money.’ That’s such a massive compliment, that I’ve hope- fully set kids on their way, because it can be so hard to learn to read, and the whole point is that we should be wanting children to love to read.” She adds that “books that are funny, that kids of all ages read” are crucial to nurturing this love. “I’m very opposed to parents forcing their kids to always read that book that’s just a litle bit too hard for them. ‘Oh no, it’s too easy for you!’ And you think,
‘What, so you’re always reading Kierkegaard yourself?’ Why can’t kids enjoy the stage that they’re at?”
Step change When she started writing for kids, Simon comments, people would ask when she was going to write an adult book. “Like baby steps. Like I’m in the kiddies’ pool. When do you think you might make that leap? To the big boy pool?” But over the 1990s, that changed. “Suddenly, all these adult authors were trying to write for children, because it also dawned on them, about the longevit of children’s books. So that’s been a huge change, in terms of the seriousness with which people regard children’s books. There are so many fantastic writers writing for this area. It’s certainly no longer seen as a training ground.” Although, she warns of the danger of “lots of people who aren’t writers puting their names to books—it’s always, with very few exceptions, children’s books. That, to me, plays into the old idea that anyone can do it. I think that does the industry a disservice.” How has Horrid Henry remained so popular over 25 years? Simon discusses the tradition of naught children in literature. “There’s an excitement and a creativit about misbehaving. But it’s also about allowing you to express repressed emotions in a safe way, which is one of the reasons I think that Horrid Henry is so popular. You are allowed, with Henry, to go ‘I hate my brother’, ‘I hate my parents’, and parents go, ‘No, you don’t! How dare you say that?’ This is a safe way of playing it for laughs, but actu- ally allowing kids to explore those feelings, of hating to share, jealousy, rivalry, being ordered
to do things.” Sibling rivalry has remained a constant.
Age is but a number With regards to “age-group shaming”, she says: “I’ve always said no ages are allowed to be put on my books. Horrid Henry is very popular with kids who are autistic, kids who have Asperger’s, kids who are dyslexic, and I don’t ever want them to feel that they’re reading some baby book because they’re 11 years old. They can read what they want.”
Simon worries that reading for pleasure is being phased out as libraries suffer budget cuts and bookshops close down. “You need a dedicated, knowledgable person, so booksellers are so important. The sense that there’s always more out there for you to read and enjoy, but in order to find those, you do need teachers, you do need librarians, you do need booksellers, who know what they have.” However, she has “no plans” for the 101st Horrid Henry. “I think there’s something very pleasing about 25 books, 100 stories—really nice, round numbers. I think Up, Up and Away is one of the best Horrid Henrys I’ve ever writen. I always wanted to feel that each book is beter than the one before.” But following the success of an opera adapted from her YA Book Prize-shortlisted The Monstrous Child, Simon is keen to write more. “It was an extraordinary experience,” she says. “It was one of those things where it was not only fantastically well received, but it was a really happy team. We all really enjoyed working together. We’re all keen: the conductor, the director, the composer and I are talking about what we can do next together.”
Francesca Simon’s 25th collection of Horrid Henry stories, Horrid Henry: Up, Up and Away (9781510105928), was published by Hachette Children’s Books in the UK on 21st March. The book was issued as a £5.99 paperback. In the title Henry wreaks havoc on an airplane, is forced to write an essay about the Tudors, sabotages the school play and sneaks on to a forbidden roller-coaster.
21
Simon's Top Five
01
283,436 units
Horrid Henry Robs the Bank
02
266,434 units
Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend
03
257,167 units
Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb
04
253,739 units
Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman
05
243,459 units
Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36