Fans of Henry the Hedgegnome bedtime stories are excited by the release of book nine about the little hedgehog in stripy socks, and those who have got hold of a copy of ‘Henry the Hedgegnome and the Tongue-tied Snake’ are noticing a considerable difference from the previous books in the series.
When Plymstock author Richard Heddington started work on his latest children’s book, the first thing he did was to move away from Amazon, which is not the usual move for an author.
“The reason is that all Henry the Hedgegnome books, so far, have been produced directly through Amazon, leaving little control over quality or environmental practices,” said Richard about the change.
“I wanted to improve the quality and the green credentials of my books, so my first task in publishing this book was to find a printer in the UK with positive environmental policies. After some research, I found one that is not only eco-friendly but is part of a company that was the first carbon neutral printing company in the world.”
But creating an eco-friendly book was not the only reason for taking a new approach to the publication process. Richard went on to explain the other changes he’d been able to make while publishing this book.
“Having selected a new printing company, I also took the opportunity to make some other changes. The first was that the new book was to be bigger and square. Because of the way the Amazon publishing process worked, the previous books were approximately A5 in size.
“An advantage of using an independent printer was that I could publish a square book. I was also able to use much heavier paper for the pages and the cover, making the book considerably more robust, which is a benefit for a product designed to be handled by toddlers. The print quality is also better for being on better paper.
“Of all the people who have seen the new book, everyone has been amazed at how vibrant the illustrations are and how good it looks and feels.”
In this story, Henry and his friend, Mr Snail, hear some rude noises in the garden and discover that the culprit is a snake with a nasty knot in his tongue, meaning he can’t hiss and can only make rude noises.
Children love it and find the rude noises hilarious. There is also some simple counting and a tongue twister within the story.
This book will make an ideal gift for children or grandchildren aged from two to six and will surely be in many a stocking this Christmas.
Henry the Hedgegnome and the tongue-tied snake is available from the author’s website www.hedgegnomes.co.uk or to order from all good bookshops.
It can also be ordered from most online book sellers including Amazon.
“Amazon might not produce it, but I’ll still let them sell it,”
