Henry and Friends

Once upon a time there was a paper bag named Henry. He was a most splendid bag, with handsome stripes of dark blue and white, and a sharply deckled edge that he was very proud of.

He lived under the counter in a bookshop in Northwood, in a pile with all his brothers and sisters. They all looked just like him, but even so, Henry was sure he must be a little bit handsome and cleverer than them, in some way.

Life was rather dull under the counter, for there wasn't much to see, and nothing at all to do. But every paper bag knew that one day he would reach the top of the pile, and then his real life would begin. On that day, the hand of the shopkeeper would come down and whisk him away, out into the big, wide world. Then really exciting things would happen.

Award-winning Cynthia Harrod-Eagles has is the author of more than 70 internationally best-selling historical, romance and detective novels. Henry and Friends was created for her granddaughters Isabella and Francesca, to whom they were first told.