Horrible Geography
Encyclopedia
Horrible Geography is a series of books which is a spin-off of the Horrible Histories
series written by Anita Ganeri
, illustrated by Mike Phillips, and published in the UK by Scholastic. They are designed to get children interested in Geography
by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant. The series currently has 19 titles, including specials and handbooks.
responded:
and Murderous Maths
, the Horrible Geography series decided to have a book makeover, changing the cover of all their books in a new, more aesthetically-pleasing manner. All of the original books have been altered, though none of the Two Books in One have.
Creative Writing For Dummies by Maggie Hamand explains that the Scholastic series, along with Horrible Histories and Horrible Science have been hugely popular with children. "They aim to provide accurate factual information in an entertaining way, in an inexpensive paper format with black and white illustrations".
According to The Oxford encyclopedia of children's literature: Dubo - Lowr, Volume 2 Jack David Zipes, Anita Ganeri's series (debuting in 1997), along with Nick Arnold series Horrible Science (debuting in 1996), Kjartan Poskitt's Murderous Maths series (debuting in 1997), and the multi-authored The Knowledged series (debuting in 1997) "follow in the same vein [as]" and "treat their subject with similar humour [to]" Horrible Histories.
Travel with Kids by William Gray describes the series as "geographical gems in this amusing series of paperbacks for children aged seven and above".
According to Growing and knowing: a selection guide for children's literature by Mary Trim, "Middle Years readers...who contributed their book review to this text" enjoy the Horrible Geography along with The Knowledge and Murderous Maths.
Mesoamerican Myth: A Treasury of Central American Legends, Art, and History refers to Horrible Geography as being an "award winning..series"
Horrible Histories
Horrible Histories is a series of illustrated history books published in the United Kingdom by Scholastic. They are designed to engage children in history by concentrating on the unusual, gory, or unpleasant. The series has proved exceptionally successful in commercial terms...
series written by Anita Ganeri
Anita Ganeri
Anita Ganeri is the author of the Award-winning series Horrible Geography. She is currently residing in West Yorkshire, England with her family. She was born in Calcutta, India and her family emigrated to Europe. She attended primary and secondary school in England, and graduated from Cambridge...
, illustrated by Mike Phillips, and published in the UK by Scholastic. They are designed to get children interested in Geography
Geography
Geography is the science that studies the lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena of Earth. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant. The series currently has 19 titles, including specials and handbooks.
Inspiration
As an answer to the question "Where do you get your inspiration from when you're writing a book [in the Horrible Geography series]?" in an interview off the Schlostic website, Anita GaneriAnita Ganeri
Anita Ganeri is the author of the Award-winning series Horrible Geography. She is currently residing in West Yorkshire, England with her family. She was born in Calcutta, India and her family emigrated to Europe. She attended primary and secondary school in England, and graduated from Cambridge...
responded:
- Well, geography is about the world around you so I spend a lot of time staring out of my window! In between staring, I get information from books, TV programmes, magazines and the internet. I am also a member of the Royal Geographical SocietyRoyal Geographical SocietyThe Royal Geographical Society is a British learned society founded in 1830 for the advancement of geographical sciences...
(with Institute of British Geographers) in London. It's where all the great geographical expeditions of the past set out from. They have a fantastic library and lots of things belonging to explorers like Captain ScottRobert Falcon ScottCaptain Robert Falcon Scott, CVO was a Royal Navy officer and explorer who led two expeditions to the Antarctic regions: the Discovery Expedition, 1901–04, and the ill-fated Terra Nova Expedition, 1910–13...
(included stuffed penguins) and David LivingstoneDavid LivingstoneDavid Livingstone was a Scottish Congregationalist pioneer medical missionary with the London Missionary Society and an explorer in Africa. His meeting with H. M. Stanley gave rise to the popular quotation, "Dr...
(including his diary, boots etc). The trouble is, finding out about deserts or poles etc is so fascinating, I tend to get carried away and do far more research than I can cram into the book.
2008
- Dinosaur Magnet Activity Book - June
- Creepy Caves
- Horrible Geography Handbook: Farming
- Special: Mad Maps
- Scary Cities and Terrible Towns
Original Titles
- Bloomin' Rainforests (2001) - (Rainforests)
- Cracking Coasts (22 May 2006) - (Coasts)
- Desperate Deserts (2000) - (DesertsDésertsDéserts is a piece by Edgard Varèse for brass , percussion , piano, and tape. Percussion instruments are exploited for their resonant potential, rather than used solely as accompaniment...
) - Earth-Shattering Earthquakes (17 November 2000) - (Earthquakes)
- Freaky Peaks (2001) - (Mountain Peaks)
- Monster Lakes (2005) - (Lakes)
- Odious Oceans (1999) - (Oceans)
- Perishing Poles (2002) - (The PolesGeographical poleA geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
) - Raging Rivers (2000) - (Rivers)
- Stormy Weather (1999) - (Storms)
- Violent Volcanoes (1999) - (Volcanoes)
- Wild Islands (16 April 2004) - (Islands)
Specials
Specials are a bigger size than the other books. They are:- Intrepid Explorers (19 September 2003) - (ExplorersExplorationExploration is the act of searching or traveling around a terrain for the purpose of discovery of resources or information. Exploration occurs in all non-sessile animal species, including humans...
) - The Horrible Geography of the World (2007) - (The World)
Handbooks
- Wicked Weather (2008) - (WeatherWeatherWeather is the state of the atmosphere, to the degree that it is hot or cold, wet or dry, calm or stormy, clear or cloudy. Most weather phenomena occur in the troposphere, just below the stratosphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate...
) - Wild Animals (7 January 2008) - (AnimalAnimalAnimals are a major group of multicellular, eukaryotic organisms of the kingdom Animalia or Metazoa. Their body plan eventually becomes fixed as they develop, although some undergo a process of metamorphosis later on in their life. Most animals are motile, meaning they can move spontaneously and...
s) - Planet in Peril (1 June 2009) - (Global WarmingGlobal warmingGlobal warming refers to the rising average temperature of Earth's atmosphere and oceans and its projected continuation. In the last 100 years, Earth's average surface temperature increased by about with about two thirds of the increase occurring over just the last three decades...
) - Vile Volcanoes (3 May 2010) - (Volcanoes)
- Perilous Poles (4 Oct 2010) - (The PolesGeographical poleA geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
)
Two Books in One
- Desperate Deserts and Bloomin' Rainforests (10 December 2004) - (Rainforests and DesertsDésertsDéserts is a piece by Edgard Varèse for brass , percussion , piano, and tape. Percussion instruments are exploited for their resonant potential, rather than used solely as accompaniment...
) - Raging Rivers and Odious Oceans (2001) - (Rivers and Oceans)
- Violent Volcanoes and Earth-Shattering Earthquakes (2002) - (Volcanoes and Earthquakes)
- Freaky Peaks and Perishing Poles (2007) - (Mountains and the PolesGeographical poleA geographical pole is either of the two points—the north pole and the south pole—on the surface of a rotating planet where the axis of rotation meets the surface of the body...
)
Other
- Awesome Atlas Jigsaw Book (Board book) - 6 April 2009 http://www.books-express.co.uk/series/2972661/Horrible-Geography.html
Book Makeover
Recently, in order to follow suit with the other main series in the Horrible saga - namely Horrible Histories, Horrible ScienceHorrible Science
Horrible Science is a spin-off series of books of Horrible Histories written by Nick Arnold , illustrated by Tony de Saulles and published in the UK and India by Scholastic. They are designed to get children interested in science by concentrating on the trivial, unusual, gory, or unpleasant...
and Murderous Maths
Murderous Maths
Murderous Maths is a series of British educational books by author Kjartan Poskitt. Most of the books in the series are illustrated by illustrator and author Philip Reeve, with the exception of "The 5ecret L1fe of Code5", which is illustrated by Ian Baker, and "The Murderous Maths of Everything",...
, the Horrible Geography series decided to have a book makeover, changing the cover of all their books in a new, more aesthetically-pleasing manner. All of the original books have been altered, though none of the Two Books in One have.
Critical Reception
The books have received positive reception as a whole series, as well as significant praise on individual books of the series. In a review of Desperate Deserts it has been commented that "This book is great and I love it. The desert is amazing. I used to think that geography was boring but now I have definitely changed my mind!" , and in another review, "Desperate Deserts along with the other Horrible Geography books, compile a series of great entertaining fun yet educational books written with children in mind and their natural curiosity...The only problem with providing Desperate Deserts for children is they will be guaranteed to want to read the rest of the Horrible Geography books."Impact of Series
Title Earth-Shattering Earthquakes and Violent Volcanoes is described by Margaret Mallett in her book Choosing and Using Fiction and Non-Fiction 3-11 as being a book that "entertains as well as providing quality explanations for phenomena". The title is further describes as being "organised in ten chapters" and "[using] clear dagrams and clear text and includes detail that will entertain children".Creative Writing For Dummies by Maggie Hamand explains that the Scholastic series, along with Horrible Histories and Horrible Science have been hugely popular with children. "They aim to provide accurate factual information in an entertaining way, in an inexpensive paper format with black and white illustrations".
According to The Oxford encyclopedia of children's literature: Dubo - Lowr, Volume 2 Jack David Zipes, Anita Ganeri's series (debuting in 1997), along with Nick Arnold series Horrible Science (debuting in 1996), Kjartan Poskitt's Murderous Maths series (debuting in 1997), and the multi-authored The Knowledged series (debuting in 1997) "follow in the same vein [as]" and "treat their subject with similar humour [to]" Horrible Histories.
Travel with Kids by William Gray describes the series as "geographical gems in this amusing series of paperbacks for children aged seven and above".
According to Growing and knowing: a selection guide for children's literature by Mary Trim, "Middle Years readers...who contributed their book review to this text" enjoy the Horrible Geography along with The Knowledge and Murderous Maths.
Mesoamerican Myth: A Treasury of Central American Legends, Art, and History refers to Horrible Geography as being an "award winning..series"