Henry Baker

by Nicky Moxey

"...the hero of these short stories, Henry Baker, is just the kind of kid a kid would enjoy reading about." "An excellent children's story, very nicely written; full of enthusiasm and wonder. When Henry Baker finds a small, super-shiny black pencil on his way to school, his life is changed forever...This nine-story compendium provides a gently stretching read for 7 to 9 year olds, or perfectly paced bedtime stories for younger children. The wide-ranging subject matter - from a friendship dilemma to helping a passing Viking; picking up the pieces from a karate disaster to finding a lost voice - will amuse your youngsters whilst quietly encouraging them to think.Nicky is an amateur archaeologist and an author of adult historical fiction, as well as a karateka and the chair of the village Neighbourhood Plan committee - many of the stories are drawn from her research or every day life, giving them a depth of detail!The stories Henry and the Football Boots , in which Henry's new boots make him BRILLIANT at football, but give him a moral dilemma Henry and the Magic Necklace , where a birthday gift causes Henry big, BIG problems... Henry and the Magic Teapot - you'd be surprised how much hot water a teapot can get you into! Henry and the Dinosaur - big brother Mike borrows the pencil and causes them both all kinds of problems. Henry and the Viking - a school trip to the museum leads to Henry making a new friend. Henry and the Bird Bath - a bit of over-enthusiastic karate means that Henry has to use all his art skills! **Henry and the Whirlwind - Henry loses his voice, and finding it again is tricky... **Henry and the Park Tree - Henry solves a neighbourhood planning dispute! **Henry and the Velvet Shorts - the school play proves unexpectedly challenging! ** These stories are new, not available elsewhere.

197 pages, Paperback

Published December 24, 2019

About the author

I live in the middle of rural Suffolk, UK, and am owned by a small black cat.

In my spare time, I'm an amateur historian/archaeologist, and in non-work daylight hours am usually out on a field somewhere with a metal detector and/or a trowel. I've added quite a few things to the Heritage England Record and the Portable Antiquities Scheme; but what really fascinates me is the stories behind the artefacts.

My first historical novel is about the story of a local boy made good - Wimer the Chaplain was born in Dodnash in Suffolk of a poor Saxon family, but made it to be a confidant of Henry ll, holding down the job of High Sheriff for all Norfolk and Suffolk. Then he gave it all up and came home to found a Priory... finding the original site of that Priory (not where it's shown on the map) is still one of my proudest discoveries.

I also have a series of short stories about Henry Baker, a boy who finds a magic pencil on the way to school - I have no idea where these come from, but I enjoy writing them :)

I hope you find as much pleasure in my books as I get from creating them. My Twitter account is @moxeyns; I also have a Facebook page under my name.

Thanks for reading!
Nicky.