The Very Bad Book is a 2010 book of short stories

Short story

A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...

 for children

Children's literature

Children's literature is for readers and listeners up to about age twelve; it is often defined in four different ways: books written by children, books written for children, books chosen by children, or books chosen for children. It is often illustrated. The term is used in senses which sometimes...

 written by Andy Griffiths

Andy Griffiths

Andrew "Andy" Griffiths is an Australian children's book author and comedy writer. He is most notable for his Just! series, which was converted into an animated television series called What's with Andy?...

 and illustrated by Terry Denton

Terry Denton

Terry Denton is an Australian illustrator and author. The second youngest of five boys, he was born and grew up in Melbourne, Victoria....

. The Very Bad Book is the sequel to The Bad Book

The Bad Book

The Bad Book is a book by Andy Griffiths, who was responsible for the novel The Day My Bum Went Psycho, and Terry Denton, who also did the illustrations. It was released in the year 2004...

that Griffiths and Denton published in 2004. Griffiths has announced plans to release a third title in the series, The Super Bad Book, in 2011.

Synopsis

Much like its predecessor, The Bad Book, which turned standard children's fairy tales and nursery rhymes on their head by rewriting them as the "bad" version, this book contains a number of tales that are "very bad". The characters are very bad, the illustrations are very bad, and the poems and jokes are all very bad, all with the aim of delighting the children (and their parents) who will read this book. There are 51 stories, poems, jokes, etc. in all.

Reception

The Logan Reporter called The Very Bad Book "... actually very good", noting that the trepidation some parents might feel at introducing their children to such bad characters is unfounded as the book makes clear through its absurdity that these characters are bad and not to be emulated.

External links

• Author's website
• The Very Bad Book at Google Books