LEIGH HOBBS: AUSTRALIA'S CHILDREN'S LAUREATE 2016-17

Horrible Harriet is one in a million.

And maybe that's one too many.

Horrible Harriet lives in a nest in the roof of the school. All the other children are scared of her. But when Athol Egghead arrives in a hot-air balloon, she finds her first friend.

Leigh Hobbs writes: 'This book is about appearances and friendships and people not being what they seem. That is, appearances can be deceptive, and friendship can triumph. Horrible Harriet is an amalgam of various bad girls I have taught in schools.'

Shortlisted in the picture book category of the 2002 Children's Book Council of Australia Book of the Year Awards, this wonderfully entertaining picture book is now available in paperback.

Praise for Horrible Harriet:

'From one of today's best living children's book illustrators comes this hilarious and highly original picture book . . . splendid and colourful watercolour illustrations . . . and characters (that) will entertain young readers and adults alike.' Ed Zaghini, Booktrusted Magazine UK

'Funny, energetic and inventive, this is a gloriously scandalous story about a school bully' Meg Sorensen, Sydney Morning Herald

'A wonderfully subversive read' Judges' Report, CBCA, 2002

'Ah, Harriet, I think I may have even taught you myself. For the memories alone I would buy this book.' Debbie Mullian, Magpies

'The fun-fair palette and humour cloak a serious message: people are not always what they seem.' Vogue Australia Kids

'The bold, scribbly drawings are great fun and Harriet, like all good villains, is a larger-than-life character that small children will love, even recognize.' North + South April 2002.

Praise for Hooray for Horrible Harriet:

'If Roald Dahl hadn't had Quentin Blake to illustrate his books, he'd have loved Leigh Hobbs.' Meg Sorenson, Sydney Morning Herald

'In the case of Horrible Harriet, Hobbs can take a bossy, alienating, frightening character and make her completely irresistible.' Frances Atkinson, the Age