Product Description

Another fantastic, witty and incredibly original story from award-winning Lauren Child. Hubert Horatio or H for short is a genius at almost absolutely everything. His parents on the other hand aren't too good with money... and fritter away the family fortune. It's up to Hubert and his friend, Stanton Harcourt to sort out the mess. (20050901)

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Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #72310 in Books
• Published on: 2005-10-13
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 50 pages

Hampstead and Highgate Express
Praise for Lauren Child: 'The kitsch queen of children's picture books.'

Review
Praise for Lauren Child:
1 'Wacky, idiosyncratic stunners.' - THE SUNDAY TIMES
2 Books are at the mercy of their owners, but careless Herb, who has defaced his fairytale collection with scissors and pencil, finds the traditional characters taking revenge in Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book?, a more robust tale than last year's Kate' Greenaway medal winner, I will not Ever Never Eat a Tomato, with wider appeal (including key stage 2 readers). - TES teacher
3 Herb, the expressively wide-eyed hero of Who's Afraid of the Big Bad Book, is better at reading pictures than words. Lauren Child's anarchic book inventively plays with fairy-tale conventions. Herb, in his crazy nighmare, falls unwittingly into his own book - climbing up words of dramatically changing typography and being chased through pages by well-known characters. Herbs earlier snipping-out of Prince Charming and ... adding moustaches and telephones exacerbates the chaos. - The Bookseller
4 A wonderfully imaginative, postmodern idea. Absorbing and with fantastical zany pictures. - The Observer Review
5 Hugely creative, Lauren Child's individual style is shown to perfection in this funny, subversive story. - Parentwise

Boldly conceived and executed on all fronts - writing, drawng, design and topography - brilliantly funny and discerning. (Carousel )

‘A compelling, quirky and highly original story with vibrant illustrations full of irony and humour....An optimistic book about the kind hearts that lurk beneath even the most irritating exteriors.’

(guardian )

‘Lauren Child is the illustrator of the moment . Her line drawings go perfectly with the hilariously dark story of Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent, the rich boy who masterminds his family through financial ruin.’ (The Sunday Express ‘S’ magazine supplement’s ‘hottest children’s books for Christmas. )

Such delicious visual jokes abound in this most modern fairy tale - young readers will love it. (Books for Keeps )

Child's witty, deadpan text is, as ever, incorporated into her illustrations as a vibrant element... Such delicious visual jokes abound in this most inventive modern fairy tale - yound readers will love it.

(Books for Keeps )

About the Author
Lauren Child attended art schools in both Manchester and London. She is now a children's writer and illustrator, an artist's assistant and also works for a design consultancy. Lauren was awarded the Greenaway Medal in 2001 for Clarice Bean That's Me and won the Bronze Smarties Award for Beware of the Storybook Wolves. She is amazingly talented and was selected for inclusion in Quentin Blake's Magic Pencil Exhibition at the British Library, which was made up from the cream of current British Children's Illustrators. (20050901)

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Customer Reviews

Lovely, Wonderful, Hilarious - the superlatives are endless
This is certainly one of the most gorgeously illustrated children's books I have ever read. Not only is it marvellous to look at, but the story is hilarious. My daughter, at 3 years-old, is a little too young for it (it was a Christmas present from her Godfather - a like-minded individual to myself), but I'm certain that when she is old enough to appreciate it, she will cherish it dearly.

The illustrations have a real quirky, retro feel to them - with lots of beautiful, intricate detail - and there are many creative and innovative styles of presentation (gatefolds, sentences wandering creatively around the page etc.). The narrative is extremely witty - it works on many different levels, which will be appreciated by a very wide range of different ages: perfect for the attentive audience tucked up in bed, as well as the animated narrator perched on the chair.

I adore this book. As will you. Get two copies: one for your child's bookshelf, the other for your own!

Hilarious
I am now a big fan of Lauren Child, mainly known for the Charlie and Lola characters. After that Pesky Rat, this one is one of my favourites. I can honestly say that I have been reading it every single evening to my 5 year old daugther, so much so that we now know it by heart. It is very funny and quirky. I love it.

Hubert Horatio BBT
Brilliant visual jokes. An incredibly inventive modern fairy tales. 5 to 8 year olds will love it