Horrid Henry and the Soccer Fiend

Francesca Simon's Horrid Henry and the Soccer Fiend is four very funny stories for 6 year olds about a boy who'll do anything to come out on top (except play fair).

What happens

First up, Peter has been keeping a diary for school, and he's going to read it out in assembly. Henry is sure it's full of lies about him. So he hunts it down, tucked between two books on Peter's very tidy shelf.

What he finds is even worse. Peter hasn't mentioned him once! So Henry grabs a pencil and makes a few "improvements". You can probably guess how the assembly goes.

In the title story, Miss Battle-Axe announces a lunchtime match, and the best player wins two tickets to a big cup game. The trouble is that the best player in the class is Moody Margaret. Henry's talents are more in the shirt-pulling, toe-treading and yelling "Offside!" department (he's not sure what it means either).

He does score the winning goal. With his hand. Who ends up named best player is one of those endings that'll have your reader howling.

Then there's a shopping trip for new trousers that goes on FOREVER, and Henry ends up flinging himself on the shop floor. And in the last story Bossy Bill, the stuck-up son of Dad's boss, turns up as the new boy in Henry's class. Henry's answer involves some very creative homework (including a gravity experiment you'll hope nobody in your house tries).

It's all told from right inside Henry's outrage. Everything is SO unfair, Mum always believes Peter, and his plans get bigger and naughtier as he goes. The lines are short and there's a lot of shrieking, so it's a joy to read aloud and do the voices.

One small thing to mention. This is the American edition, so it's Mom, soccer and sneakers. When Henry says his pants are too tight he means his trousers, which may get a giggle all on its own.

Who hasn't wanted to sneak a look at a brother's or sister's secret notebook? If your reader loves a hero who's naughty, gets caught and never learns his lesson, this is a treat.

What to read next

If this one goes down well, Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire has more of the same family and the same classroom. In the first story Henry copies Peter's soppy tale about butterfly fairies for his own homework, and then gets sent to read it aloud to Peter's class.