St Nicholas House Pupils Help Francesca Simon To Celebrate Horrid Henry’S 20Th Birthday!

An auditorium packed to the rafters with gleeful children sang Happy Birthday to Horrid Henry at the top of their little lungs.

Reflecting on the huge and sustained success of her mischievous creation, the author delighted her riveted audience with some original stories. The pleasing alliteration littered throughout these enormously successful books apparently has its origin in the rather unusual undergraduate degree in Anglo-Saxon that Francesca took at Oxford University.

More specifically, the name ‘Horrid Henry’ originated with the American-born author’s delight in the uniquely English expression ‘horrid’! The character ‘Moody Margaret’ was named after the late Mrs Thatcher, and Henry’s brother ‘Perfect Peter’ had his beginning in the rancorous sibling rivalry that the author experienced in her own childhood.

Francesca also treated us to the inaugural reading of her brand new and appropriately alliterative book, ‘Horrid Henry and the Krazy Ketchup,’ accompanied by brilliant live illustrations courtesy of her long-time collaborator Tony Ross.

Prior to the event, a group of lucky pupils who are joining St Nicholas House in September, had a special birthday party in The Summer House at the Hay Festival. Francesca Simon joined them in person to cut the specially prepared birthday cake, making the party complete!

And by the way … she didn’t eat all of the birthday cake!!