Photo of Francesca Simon

Francesca Simon

I was born in St Louis, Missouri, grew up in Los Angeles and attended both Yale and Oxford Universities, where I specialised in Medieval Studies. I then threw away a lucrative career as a medievalist and worked as a freelance journalist, writing for the Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Telegraph, and Vogue.

After my son Joshua was born in 1989, I started writing children’s books full time.

I have published over 50 books, including the immensely popular Horrid Henry series, which has now sold over 15 million copies! Horrid Henry is published in 17 countries and is now a successful CITV animation series.

I live in London with my husband, son, and Tibetan Spaniel called Shanti.

Books by Francesca Simon

  • A Horrid Factbook: Horrid Henry's Ghosts

    A Horrid Factbook: Horrid Henry's Ghosts

  • Barnyard Hullabaloo

    Barnyard Hullabaloo

  • Don't Be Horrid, Henry!

    Don't Be Horrid, Henry!

  • Horrid Henry

    Horrid Henry

  • Horrid Henry

    Horrid Henry

  • Horrid Henry: 12 Stories of Christmas

    Horrid Henry: 12 Stories of Christmas

  • Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret

    Horrid Henry and Moody Margaret

  • Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

    Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

  • Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

    Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman

  • Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter

    Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter

  • Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter

    Horrid Henry and the Bogey Babysitter

  • Horrid Henry and the Comfy Black Chair

    Horrid Henry and the Comfy Black Chair

  • Horrid Henry and the Demon Dinner Lady

    Horrid Henry and the Demon Dinner Lady

  • Horrid Henry and the Fangmangler

    Horrid Henry and the Fangmangler

  • Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

    Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

  • Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

    Horrid Henry and the Football Fiend

  • Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine

    Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine

  • Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine

    Horrid Henry and the Mega-Mean Time Machine

  • Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse

    Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse

  • Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse

    Horrid Henry and the Mummy's Curse

  • Horrid Henry and the Secret Club

    Horrid Henry and the Secret Club

  • Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire

    Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire

  • Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire

    Horrid Henry and the Zombie Vampire

  • Horrid Henry Early Reader: Horrid Henry’s School Fair

    Horrid Henry Early Reader: Horrid Henry’s School Fair

  • Horrid Henry Early Reader: Horrid Henry's Thank You Letter

    Horrid Henry Early Reader: Horrid Henry's Thank You Letter

  • Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick

    Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick

  • Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick

    Horrid Henry Gets Rich Quick

  • Horrid Henry Meets the Queen

    Horrid Henry Meets the Queen

  • Horrid Henry Meets the Queen

    Horrid Henry Meets the Queen

  • Horrid Henry Reads a Book

    Horrid Henry Reads a Book

  • Horrid Henry Robs the Bank

    Horrid Henry Robs the Bank

  • Horrid Henry Rocks

    Horrid Henry Rocks

  • Horrid Henry’s All Time Favourite Joke Book

    Horrid Henry’s All Time Favourite Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry's Author Visit

    Horrid Henry's Author Visit

  • Horrid Henry's Birthday Party

    Horrid Henry's Birthday Party

  • Horrid Henry's Bodies

    Horrid Henry's Bodies

  • Horrid Henry's Bugs

    Horrid Henry's Bugs

  • Horrid Henry's Cannibal Curse

    Horrid Henry's Cannibal Curse

  • Horrid Henry's Car Journey

    Horrid Henry's Car Journey

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas

    Horrid Henry's Christmas

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas Ambush

    Horrid Henry's Christmas Ambush

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas Cracker

    Horrid Henry's Christmas Cracker

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas Lunch

    Horrid Henry's Christmas Lunch

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas Play

    Horrid Henry's Christmas Play

  • Horrid Henry's Christmas Presents

    Horrid Henry's Christmas Presents

  • Horrid Henry's Dinosaurs

    Horrid Henry's Dinosaurs

  • Horrid Henry's Food

    Horrid Henry's Food

  • Horrid Henry's Haunted House

    Horrid Henry's Haunted House

  • Horrid Henry’s Haunted House

    Horrid Henry’s Haunted House

  • Horrid Henry's Hike

    Horrid Henry's Hike

  • Horrid Henry's Hilariously Horrid Joke Book

    Horrid Henry's Hilariously Horrid Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry's Holiday

    Horrid Henry's Holiday

  • Horrid Henry's Homework

    Horrid Henry's Homework

  • Horrid Henry's Injection

    Horrid Henry's Injection

  • Horrid Henry's Joke Book

    Horrid Henry's Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry’s Jolly Holidays

    Horrid Henry’s Jolly Holidays

  • Horrid Henry's Jolly Joke Book

    Horrid Henry's Jolly Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry's Kings and Queens

    Horrid Henry's Kings and Queens

  • Horrid Henry’s Krazy Ketchup

    Horrid Henry’s Krazy Ketchup

  • Horrid Henry's Mighty Joke Book

    Horrid Henry's Mighty Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry’s Monster Movie

    Horrid Henry’s Monster Movie

  • Horrid Henry’s Mother’s Day

    Horrid Henry’s Mother’s Day

  • Horrid Henry’s Newspaper

    Horrid Henry’s Newspaper

  • Horrid Henry's Nightmare

    Horrid Henry's Nightmare

  • Horrid Henry’s Nightmare

    Horrid Henry’s Nightmare

  • Horrid Henry's Nits

    Horrid Henry's Nits

  • Horrid Henry's Nits

    Horrid Henry's Nits

  • Horrid Henry's Purple Hand Gang Joke Book

    Horrid Henry's Purple Hand Gang Joke Book

  • Horrid Henry's Rainy Day

    Horrid Henry's Rainy Day

  • Horrid Henry's Revenge

    Horrid Henry's Revenge

  • Horrid Henry's Sleepover

    Horrid Henry's Sleepover

  • Horrid Henry's Sports

    Horrid Henry's Sports

  • Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

    Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

  • Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

    Horrid Henry's Stinkbomb

  • Horrid Henry's Swimming Lesson

    Horrid Henry's Swimming Lesson

  • Horrid Henry Sticker Book

    Horrid Henry Sticker Book

  • Horrid Henry's Underpants

    Horrid Henry's Underpants

  • Horrid Henry's Underpants

    Horrid Henry's Underpants

  • Horrid Henry's Wedding

    Horrid Henry's Wedding

  • Horrid Henry's World Records

    Horrid Henry's World Records

  • Horrid Henry Tricks and Treats

    Horrid Henry Tricks and Treats

  • Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy

    Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy

  • Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy

    Horrid Henry Tricks the Tooth Fairy

  • Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead

    Horrid Henry Wakes the Dead

  • How to Survive Christmas Chaos with Horrid Henry

    How to Survive Christmas Chaos with Horrid Henry

  • Meet the Gang

    Meet the Gang

  • Moo Baa Baa Quack

    Moo Baa Baa Quack

  • Moody Margaret's Makeover

    Moody Margaret's Makeover

  • Moody Margaret's School

    Moody Margaret's School

  • Spider School

    Spider School

  • Summer Fun

    Summer Fun

  • The Parent Swap Shop

    The Parent Swap Shop

  • The Runaway Duckling

    The Runaway Duckling

  • The Sleeping Army

    The Sleeping Army

  • Two Terrible Vikings

    Two Terrible Vikings

  • Up, Up and Away

    Up, Up and Away

Awards

Francesca has won many awards including the Children’s Book of the Year for Horrid Henry and the Abominable Snowman at the British Book Awards in 2008.