Apparently the Greeks (we are talking about the Ancient variety) were a rather groovy bunch. The boys didn't start school until they were seven and girls didn't have to go at all. Greek children invented all manner of cool games just for something to do, and the grown-ups invented the Olympic Games and made the men run naked.

As Terry Deary points out, though, in his Horrible Histories: Groovy Greeks, things were not always quite as jolly and some of the more disturbing facts unearthed in this funny and clever alternative to the history book are actually quite, well, horrible.

Illustrated by the talented Martin Brown, Horrible Histories: Groovy Greeks adds a certain edge to the study of Ancient Greece by getting down to the nitty-gritty of Greek life and letting rip with the kind of nasty, revolting facts that any kids would kill to get their hands on.