BooksforTopics Reading for Pleasure Recommendations
Book Title: Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Grown-Ups (available here)
Author: Lauren Child
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication Date: October 2018
Most Suitable for: Years 3-4
Reviewed By: Emma Hughes, School Librarian
Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent is a genius. And even that is an understatement given his list of achievements. There appears to be nothing that he cannot do and he excels at school, sport (especially table tennis), dance and the arts. The two things that he isn’t any good at, however, are cake baking and flower arranging. This level of intelligence is a surprise to his parents as they don’t seem to be particularly good at anything… except spending money! It is a good job that his parents are ‘extravagantly rich’ because they are extraordinarily good at spending money! One of their favourite things to do is to meet up with friends (old and new) and share their luxurious lifestyle with them.
We learn all about the family, including Hubert Horatio’s birth and early years, their extended family and wide circle of friends. The complexity of the family tree is described through illustrations of the characters (which help enormously). In fact, the characters are so diverse and the house so huge that they all get themselves in quite a pickle. It’s a good job that Hubert Horatio Bartle Bobton-Trent is on the ball and able to unravel the problems.
This book is aimed at children aged between 6 & 8 years old. Hubert Horatio is a character that has featured in earlier picture books, but this book does not necessarily follow on from where they finish. The illustrations are spectacular and they complement the style of the book, which is unusual in itself. With chapters and sub-titles, this book has a somewhat non-fiction format and a story line that lends itself to being picked up and put down without losing the plot.
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You can order Hubert Horatio: How to Raise Your Grown-Ups online or from your local bookshop or library.
Many thanks to the publisher for sending us a review copy of this book and to Emma Hughes for reviewing the book.
