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However, if truth be told, some of the most gripping and enjoyable learning I have done in my life has been from delving into one of Terry Deary's alliteratively-titled classic paperbacks, Horrible Histories.
Priding themselves on telling history in all its gruesome glory, these books genuinely succeeded in getting kids keen to learn about the past. However their success was not merely down to making the readers giggle at jokes about bodily functions and gore, the books had a personal tone to them that didn't patronise young readers in the way so many educational books do. Children enjoyed being respected and not having the historical pill sugared for them and I think this is one of the reasons for the series' phenomenal popularity. It is very uncommon for non-fiction to achieve such success with children, but these informative, funny and entertaining books were lapped up by kids who had a real interest in history.
I remember the nerdy nine year old me eagerly awaiting the release of The Woeful Second World War with the same anticipation I would feel for the release of a new Harry Potter book. Here was a new bible of facts and knowledge of the Second World War to be imbibed, and they were all mine to learn, not my history teacher's or the national curriculum's, but mine. (Okay, I did say I was a nerdy nine year old, remember?)
Looking back at the books, having studied history for years after my Horrible Histories heyday, I was pleasantly surprised at how remarkably good the books still were. Clear, well-organised and (as far as I am aware) devoid of great inaccuracy, Deary has obviously made a great effort to make his books useful educational tools while filling them with enough fun quizzes and comics that even a young reader doesn't get bored by the facts.
While Deary may not be a great historian, he is a brilliant writer of children's history books and that is all one should ask of him. He has managed to produce enjoyable books about historical periods from the Stone Age to the 20th century, as well as countless spin-off books such as joke books, annuals and even a book all about the history of York, something that awakened the nerdy nine year old in me when I saw it for sale in the tourist information centre.
The success of the franchise has now extended far beyond the books, spawning (among other things) a magazine, games and a genuinely funny TV series. While the TV series may be intended for children, there is a lot of entertainment value in it for older viewers. On several occasions I have watched it with similarly aged friends and laughed as much as if we were watching any other good comedy programme.
Horrible Histories books were some of the best reads I enjoyed in my childhood, and if I am able to then I am going to ensure that my children also read them. Not only are they terrifically fun reads, they are probably about the only independent learning a child will find themselves doing until they find themselves paying thousands for the privilege at university.
Completely agree - I was the same. 
I can still remember loads of bits of The Woeful Second World War, The Blitzed Brits, The Terrible Tudors, The Groovy Greeks and the Rotten Romans, The Vicious Vikings and the Measly Middle Ages. The series also had cousins - including Horrible Science, not written by Deary but still great fun.
HH represent!
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