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Tuesday, September 28, 2021

Horrible Harriet and the Terrible Tantrum Book Review

What's green, has three eyes and lives in a cage by Horrible Harriet's bed? And what happens when it goes missing?

No stranger to terrible tantrums herself, my daughter was keen to find out more about Horrible Harriet, who she is and why she has a terrible tantrum locked in a cage. So she delved straight into Horrible Harriet and the Terrible Tantrum as soon as it arrived on our doorstep.

Horrible Harriet and the Terrible Tantrum
Leigh Hobbs


horrible harriet and the terrible tantrum book cover


Horrible Harriet and the Terrible Tantrum is Harriet's journey to fit in and be liked by her peers. She's on the path of transformation from naughty kid to good girl. She tries so hard even practicing good-girl smiles, being polite  and playing nicely, but will the terrible tantrum thwart all her efforts and lead to her demise?
horrible harriet
The book is a great analogy for what it's like when children desperately want to fit in with other school kids and make friends. All children want to be accepted and feel safe at school, no matter how loud their personalities or how terrible their tantrums are. With bright, bold illustrations and simple, yet descriptive text, Leigh Hobbs has done a great job at capturing Harriet's vulnerability and overwhelming desire to be a good girl, and just how hard it can be at times for children to control their big emotions. 

author leigh hobbs

Author Leigh Hobbs worked as a school teacher for 25yrs, teaching many children with strong personalities. Horrible Harriet is combination of all of these kids rolled into one character with a head strong personality, but emotional vulnerabilities - making her relatable to all children reading his books.

This isn't the first time readers have been introduced to Horrible Harriet, in fact 2021 is the 20th anniversary of the original book Horrible Harriet. In 2008 Harriet returned in Hooray for Horrible Harriet with Mr Chicken and then again in Horrible Harriet's Inheritance. Now she's back again...



Disclosure - We were kindly gifted a review copy of Horrible Harriet and the Terrible Tantrum by Allen & Unwin. This post contains some affiliate links for your convenience, which means I may make a small commission at no cost to you, should you make a purchase.

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