The Disability Book Archive

[A book cover. The title “A Friend for Henry” is at the top of the image in blue writing. At the bottom, in smaller, black font, are the names of the author and illustrator. A large drawing of a child is in the centre of the image. He is wearing a long sleeved blue shirt, has dark hair and is playing with coloured blocks while leaning against a surface. /end]

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Content Warning:

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Summary:

In Classroom Six, second left down the hall, Henry has been on the lookout for a friend. A friend who shares. A friend who listens. Maybe even a friend who likes things to stay the same and all in order, as Henry does. But on a day full of too close and too loud, when nothing seems to go right, will Henry ever find a friend—or will a friend find him? A story from the perspective of a boy on the autism spectrum.

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Notes:

There are a lot of tags on this that say “pre-school” or “kindergarten”, if you’re looking for a specific age range.

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Archivist’s Comments:

This story is told from the perspective of Henry- a young, autistic boy who just wants a friend. The problem is, Henry has a lot of opinions about what he wants in a good friend, and, as the day progresses, he grows increasingly more frustrated and overwhelmed with his search.

A lot of people seem to reckon that this is a good insight into the thoughts and feelings of a young child going through the motions of a first friendship, which is sweet. I saw the illustrations described as “warm” as well. Going from what I’ve seen, I’d say that’s pretty spot on.

I should note that, though it is in the summary, it is not actually mentioned in the book itself, apparently, that Henry is on the autism spectrum.

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