Bulging Box of Books: 1 (Horrible Science) Paperback – 7 Sept. 2009

These are definitely brilliant. First of all non fiction is a great way to get reluctant readers into books and the grosser it is the better for that. I have found that using these or excerpts from these is a good way to get some of the pupils at older ages groups but who are below average readers interested. They are not an easy read for younger and struggling children but interest is what we are after here. These are very like the horrible history series except without the option of watching the TV instead.Personally I bought a set for my son (6 years old) because of his ongoing fascination with science. Reading them is a little beyond him but only because the nature of the subject means the occasional convoluted latin or medical phrase has to get used so he was quite happy reading about different sorts of plants and animals but gets thrown by dropping in terms like "eukaryote". So it's probably aimed at the 8 year and upward age groups and now I use it by reading and editing on the fly and picking the right book to go with whatever we've been doing recently. So if he's shoved a splinter into his finger we'll have blood, bones and body bits, if we've been staring a bits of plant then tonight's bedtime reading is vicious veg.In short this wins on all fronts. You can tie them in with other activities, older or better readers can read them independently and reluctant readers can be interested.

A very good stand-alone purchase but complements the other 'Horrible' series of books very well (Horrible Histories, Horrible Geography, Murderous Maths, et al.). Plenty of carefully chosen stories and collection of facts all presented in the classic 'Horrible' genre. The books are obviously well written and have a positive impact on learning. For example, my 8 yo daughter was able to explain to me how an electric guitar works with respect to the amplification of electric signals generated by the disturbance of the magnetic fields around the pickups - this was in response to her pointing at the pickups and asking what they were, I simply said they were magnets, she then worked out for herself how the generation of sound could be achieved. I asked how she knew this and she said the principles were described in the 'Shocking Electricity' book.

My two boys absolutely love this set. My 6 year old has been a reluctant reader - but now he comes home from school, grabs a Horrible Science book and happily reads for an hour or two. My almost 8 year old also loves them. The only trouble is when they read out some facts from the book about how people tried to cure/avoid the black death for example. Now I have reached 40, these gruesome facts make me shudder, but I know for sure that I would have loved them when I was young. There is a slightly smaller box of Horrible Geography books which are also great - and I've just bought the Horrible History box of books. Great value, great content.The only minor gripe I might make is that the books are packed quite tight in the box (could have done with being 0.5cm wider) and you have to lift the books up to see what each one is which a shorter base and bigger lid would have solved.

Bought for my grandson who loves horrible history, have bought him various fact books and am amazed how he remembers everything.There's a great selection, pressy for him will update when he tells me how great they are 😁Arrived quickly and well packaged/protected 👍

Into the depths of disgusting facts, gruesome revelations and gripping science you go. These books can command the undivided attention of the old and the young. One of my sons is dyslexic and the format of these books is very manageable- providing snippet caption boxes of information that can need not read in chronological order. Another of my sons is an avid reader and views these as real page turners, scouring the pages for the most delictably dispicable nuggets of science to disgust and amaze his class mates and siblings alike. The box is colourful and saves on storage. I would have paid RRP for such quality and quantity, nonetheless delighted to have purchased at such a bargain price.

The set of books have been identified as a reasonable gift because the person in question watches Horrible History episodes on TV. As it is a present I cannot say if we hit the right spot until it has been opened and read!!

I bought these books as i had a set as a kid, I have no clue what happened to them so I bought these ones, the only gripe I have is the box wasn’t yellow like my old set it was orange, but still an amazing set.

This set of books are amazing value. When bought in a box set each book works out to be less than a quid! The book box is sturdy and colourful and the twenty books fit in nicely. Each book has a great mixture of facts and comic horror, in much the same way as Horrible Histories has. Like the Horrible Histories they are in black and white, but there are plenty of illustrations throughout the book. I would say it would appear to children from 9 to14.