Horrible Histories - The Beastly Best Bits - 20 Horrible Years product reviews

The Horrible History series has gone from strength to strength and now to celebrate 20 'horrible' years they have published a special edition featuring the 'beastly' best bits, it is one of the best works they have published. This is unlike many other familiar history books which drone on and on. No. This book features the sense of humor that the other history books could never duplicate. This humor familiar in all the other Horrible Histories books have also featured.

The cover is brilliant, including a small picture about all the chapters in this spectacular book. This book includes a wallpaper featuring all the chapters of history included in the book. All the pictures are in minute detail and are in full color which is about the only thing missing from the other Horrible History books in the past.

The way the story was written meant that the executioner was the narrator in this book and this also helped to bring out the humor in it. Each chapter shows a period in history and each one is stuffed to the brim with unusual (and sometimes revolting) facts that can inform people better than many other history books can. Hopefully this book can enlighten you to the darker and more horrible aspects of history.

I had never heard about the Horrible Histories book before winning this book as a prize so it was all new to me. My first impression of the book was that it was really colourful and packed full of illustrations although some of them are a bit gorey. There are illustrations on every page and little comic strips so there is a lot to take in on each page.

The book has a lot of history facts so it is teaching children history but concentrating on the most exciting or gorey bits as it can. My daughter wasn't much interested in the book and in her opinion it was for boys. I decided to give the book to my nephew as I though it would be something he was interested in and it would get more use than it would in our house.

My nephew is a little bit behind in reading for his age so anything he reads has to capture his attention especially if it has more difficult words as if it is boring he just won't even bother attempting it. Much to his mums dislike he loves books like captain underpants so this book was something he seemed to enjoy. He skimmed a bit finding pages that drew him in but when he found a page that really interested him he would stop and read the whole page.

Overall I think this is a great book for capturing children's attention and i'm sure my nephew will get some enjoyment out of it.

Okay first and foremost I myself personally am not a huge fan of Horrible Histories, I do love that they are teaching kids about history in a (for the kids) more exciting manner...but I find the content to be a little icky at times, and the pages can be quite crowded. That is my personal opinion. However in saying that, I spoke with mast 12 about this one, as he absolutely LOVES Horrible Histories, and got his opinion on it

The Beastly Best Bits begins with a brief introduction by a black clad executioner, this friendly executioner will be your guide through out the rest of the book, pointing out some of the most gruesome moments in history. As the the title suggests, this book is not new nor original, it is instead 'the best bits' taken from the Horrible Histories series over the past 20 years. So if you already own the entire collection, you would not really be getting anything new with this book, other than some great bits all compiled into one really good sized book.

Master 12 owns many of the Horrible Histories series, but this did not stop him reading this one from cover to cover, and not just once either. If you have a child who loves these books, do be prepared for constant interruptions of 'OMG mum/dad did you know?' or 'Ewwww listen to this' or something similar. The bright side of this is, you know they are reading more, comprehending, improving there public speaking and actually learning something! And that in itself is a bonus. However it should be noted that as much as Master 12 loves these books, they are not for every child...children with a wicked sense of humor or wit will adore them. Children who are more reserved and practical might find them a bit to much, and children who loves simplicity might find the business within the covers just rubs them up the wrong way lol

Even though I personally am not a fan, one thing I really did love about this book was the history of Horrible Histories themselves, A letter from the author and the illustrator at the beginning of the book explaining how it all began, and why etc, as well as a two page spread with several illustrations from the series which give children an idea of how the books were created - and perhaps the inspiration to start their own horrible little books. I think that was a brilliant idea.

All in all the book is good for HHs fans, full of lots of detail, illustrations, and well history. Good as a learning resource for those students who really do find history mundane and boring. Also an excellent gift idea