Promotional Information

Key title A delightfully squirmy story starring Harry the Poisonous Centipede in a scary world of flying swoopers, furry biters and the dreaded Hoo-Mins! With wonderful humour and brilliant illustrations, this is the perfect book for wriggly young readers. A delightfully funny bestseller from master storyteller Lynne Reid Banks Harry the Poisonous Centipede won the Silver Medal in the Smarties Awards and has sold over 230,000 copies. These adventures about Harry are hugely funny and are perfectly suited to all animal-loving young readers in the 7-10 age group.

About the Author

Lynne Reid Banks is a best-selling author for children and adults. Her classic children’s novel `The Indian in the Cupboard’ has sold nearly six million copies worldwide. She was born in London in 1929 and worked as an actress, writer and TV news reporter. Lynne has written thirty books: her first, `The L-Shaped Room’, was published in 1960. She now lives in Dorset, where she continues to write. Lynne says that writing for children comes much more easily than writing for adults.

Tony Ross was born in London in 1938. He went to art school in Liverpool and has since worked as a typographer for design and advertising agencies. His cartoons have appeared in Punch, Town, Time and Tide and the News of the World. His first book Hugo and the Wicked Winter was published in 1972. Tony has since written over 100 books and illustrated over 2000! Two of his creations, Towser and The Little Princess have been turned into TV series.
Tony lives in Wales.

Reviews

Praise for Harry the Poisonous Centipede "A real ground level story that rockets along on hundreds of legs!Bug fans will love this." Kidstuff School Books RTE Guide

Despite his mother's warnings to stay close to their home deep inside the earth, Harry the centipede is anxious to visit the "no-top-world," where centipedes are "not the biggest thing around, by any means‘or even the fastest!" His mother's scary stories about "flying swoopers," "furry biters," and the dreaded "Hoo-mins" are not enough to dissuade the curious centipede from joining his mischievous friend, George, on forbidden excursions upward. The two have some close calls with monstrous creatures, but manage to outwit their enemies before embarking on their most dangerous journey of all: climbing up the very drain pipe that led Harry's unfortunate father to his untimely death. Banks (The Indian in the Cupboard), presents a slight, episodic picture of Harry's home life and many perils on the earth surface. The plot has the simplicity of a chapter book, but the structure seems geared to older readers. The ideal audience is hard to imagine. Illustrations not seen by PW. Ages 8-up. (Aug.)