A “gentle (if not enormously stimulating) story of courage” - WSJ review of HENRY AND THE SOMETHING NEW by Jenn Bailey and Mika Song

In “Henry and the Something New,” a sensitive young boy contends with the vicissitudes of a school field trip—and comes out feeling grand. This chapter book, written by Jenn Bailey and breezily illustrated by Mika Song, follows “Henry, Like Always” (2023), itself an offshoot of the 2019 picture book “A Friend for Henry.” Here readers accompany Henry and his schoolmates on an outing to see dinosaur bones and other displays of natural history. “Henry was excited. Everyone in Classroom Ten would ride the bus to the museum,” we read. “Henry was also worried. Everyone in Classroom Ten would ride the bus to the museum.” A lot of things are both exciting and worrying to Henry, who, we are given to understand, is “on the autism spectrum.” Teachers and fellow students model patience and tolerance in this gentle (if not enormously stimulating) story of courage for readers ages 6-8. - Meghan Cox Gurdon