Henry the Wily Catfish

I live on a small 13 acre lake named, as in the book, Lake Patrick Henry.  For years the residents around the lake occasionally joked about “Henry”, and how they saw this large fish and how they were going to catch him.

One day I was replacing some boards on my small dock, and I saw my neighbor and his daughter fishing from their dock. I asked if they had caught “Henry” yet, and we bantered back and forth about “Henry” for a bit. 

That night I went to bed and woke up at 4am.  I could not get back to sleep, so I went to my office at 4:30am intending to push some emails forward. Instead, I opened the Pages app and typed “Henry the Wily Catfish”.  I don’t know why I did that. But I instantly knew what the story would be. 

When describing this scenario to a friend, she said I had a God moment.  I believe she is right. I had no thoughts or aspirations to write a children’s book.  I believe God gave it to me, for reasons not yet known.

I promised God that in return I would donate 50% of profits to charities for children and  animals…in my opinion, the two most vulnerable species on the planet.

I have two primary objectives for this children’s book.

One objective is to leave behind an entertaining picture book with inscriptions for my grandchildren. The books will serve as memorabilia of me for them.

The second objective is for the children in the book to have the adventure without adult supervision. I want the children to encounter some small problems and find solutions on their own. I also want them to face a dilemma caused by their accomplishment, and require them to find the best solution…..again without parental or adult guidance. 

One last note - while I instantly knew what this children’s story would be, I did not know that Henry would talk.  

HenrytheWilyCatfish.com