Henry (A Friend for Henry)

Henry is the main character in the picture book A Friend for Henry and the beginning chapter book Henry, Like Always.

Character creation
Author Jenn Bailey has a son who is also on the autism spectrum. She also read both nonfiction and fiction books as research. She insisted on writing the book from the perspective of the autistic character rather than from the perspective of an outsider, though she got pushback against this. Henry is not stated to be autistic in the book itself, for a multitude of reasons. Firstly because Henry does not define himself as autistic, he just does things because that's how he does them. Secondly, so that not only autistic children can relate to the character, but any children who have difficulty with social situations or making friends. Lastly because Bailey wanted readers to get to know Henry as a person and not jump to conclusions that the label of autism may carry with them.

A Friend for Henry
Henry enters classroom six, looking for a friend. Making friends doesn't come easy to him: he's quiet and introverted, and has certain rules about friendships work. He tries befriending some of his classmates, but nothing ever seems to go right, until he meets Katie.

Henry, Like Always
Henry, now in classroom ten, likes when things are the same. But this week there is a parade that disrupts the usual class schedule.

Autism
Henry is never stated to be autistic in A Picture for Henry itself, but he is referred to as being on the spectrum in the synopsis on the back.