Author Jenn Bailey reading “A Friend for Henry” at the Los Angeles Public Library to a little boy named Benji, who said, “That’s me!” when he saw the picture of Henry.
“Henry and the Something New,” Kansas City-based Jenn Bailey’s newest early chapter book with illustrator Mika Song, features her lovable character Henry, a child who is on the autism spectrum.
Bailey made her debut as a children’s book author with the publication of “A Friend for Henry” (Chronicle Books, 2019). The picture book, which introduces Henry, won a Schneider Family Honor from the American Library Association. She has also been awarded the ALA Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, and ALA Schneider Family Book Award, among others.
Bailey earned her MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from the Vermont College of Fine Arts and now lives and works as a writer and editor in Leawood, Kansas. In a recent interview, Bailey said “These books are for that emerging reader, and I want to help them feel successful.”
As such, each chapter has a small resolution. “I’m careful with the language that I use, with how I construct my sentences, with sentence length, even with the chapter length… I don’t get into that when I start writing but that’s how I craft the structure of the book in revision,” Bailey said.
“Henry and the Something New,” the second early chapter book featuring Henry, is at once a treasure and adventure. It is field trip day. Classroom Ten has plans to go to the museum.
Although Henry is excited, he is also worried. He has never been to the museum. Yet, the museum has dinosaurs and “Henry loves dinosaurs.” Henry gives his permission slip to Mrs. Tanaka by placing it on her desk. His classmate, Vivian, tells Henry that her mother is a field trip helper. They’d like to see the butterflies. Henry wants to see the dinosaurs. Vivian says, “The museum is very big,” suggesting that it might be hard to find the dinosaurs. Henry says that “Dinosaurs are very big.” Henry thinks “it will be hard not to find them.”
Mrs. Tanaka gives three rules for visiting the museum. Although Henry hears two rules, he does not hear the final rule—to find something new. Once they’re in the museum, an assigned helper asks Henry’s group what they’d like to see but Henry forgets to say his answer out loud. So, they visit the rock room, which is “full of rocks.” They visit the bug zoo, which is “full of bugs.” The mummy tomb is “full of tomb things.” Finally, Henry has enough. He shouts that he wants to see the “DINOSAURS!” Although Henry meets with difficulties on this simple yet meaningful quest, he eventually makes it to a large room full of dinosaurs. On the way back to school, when he hears what the third rule was, it deeply resonates with Henry.
Watercolor and ink illustrations by Mika Song bring Henry fully to life. “I’ve heard from an older child who is on the spectrum why they so appreciate the quiet washes of color that are on the chapter books… Opening this book and having the strong dark outlines and the subtle washes really is very calming for them. And makes them feel safe and comfortable and ready to do that other hard task of deciphering how to read,” Bailey said.
By telling such stories, Bailey hopes to share ideas that may challenge false impressions about children who are neurodivergent while shaping narratives where children like Henry can see themselves represented.
Bailey says that representation matters. She wants readers to be able to find the books and see themselves reflected and for other readers to be able to step into the story and see what it is like to be someone entirely different. New and experienced readers alike will cheer Henry on toward the next chapter book, which is in development.
