Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine

Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine is four very funny stories for 6 year olds, and in the title one a washing-machine box becomes a time machine (well, Henry says it does).

What happens

Peter just wants his turn with the box. He's planning windows and painted flowers. Henry tells him it's a time machine in disguise, obviously, or everyone would try to steal it.

Then Henry climbs in, shakes it about and staggers out claiming he's met his own great-great-great-grandson. In the future, he says, boys wear dresses and everyone speaks Ugg.

Peter doesn't believe a word of it. And then, of course, he does.

It's quite something watching Henry set it all up. There's a "bibble babble" drink from his Dungeon Drink Kit, a boy called Zog with blue stripes painted on his face and some very fast thinking when Mum walks in.

The rest of the book is just as good. A family walk in the countryside goes about as well as you'd expect (a bull, a lake and a lot of mud). At a posh French restaurant Henry's stuck-up cousin Steve dares him to order snails. And in Perfect Peter's Revenge, Peter finally tries being horrid back. Can a boy who loves homework really pull it off?

That one is a lovely change, because for once you're inside Peter's head. He tries to think of something mean and keeps hitting snags. Mess up Henry's room? It's already a mess. Stain his shirt? Already stained.

Each story fits into a single sitting, which makes them brilliant for bedtime. The grown-ups are always at the end of their tether, so there are laughs in it for you too.

It's the American edition in the library, so the money is in dollars and Mum is Mom. Most children sail straight past that.

What to read next

If Henry's tricks on Peter are the highlight, Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire has an even spookier one. On a sleepover at the museum, Henry sets about convincing Peter and his friends that there are zombie vampires about.