Henry Heckelbeck and the Not-So-Dark Day

by Wanda Coven, Priscilla Burris (Illustrator)

Overview

In this eighteenth Henry Heckelbeck adventure, Henry’s town is in a blackout!

There’s a blackout in Brewster, which means that school is canceled! Henry Heckelbeck plays flashlight limbo with his friends, makes shadow puppets, and eats up all the ice cream in the freezer before it melts. Henry is having such a great day, he starts to wish that the lights never come back on!

With easy-to-read language and illustrations on almost every page, the Henry Heckelbeck chapter books are perfect for emerging readers.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781665962988
Publisher:	Little Simon
Publication date:	06/17/2025
Series:	Henry Heckelbeck Series , #18
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	128
File size:	37 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Wanda Coven has always loved magic. When she was little, she used to make secret potions from smooshed shells and acorns. Then she would pretend to transport herself and her friends to enchanted places. Now she visits other worlds through writing. Wanda lives with her husband and son in Colorado Springs, Colorado. They have three cats: Hilda, Agnes, and Claw-dia.

Priscilla Burris is the illustrator and author-illustrator of many books for children. She attributes her love of children’s books and library visits to the East Los Angeles Library. Priscilla loves her role of creating characters and stories for readers everywhere. She lives in sunny Arizona, where she finds the sunrises and sunsets awe-inspiring. 

Read an Excerpt

Chapter 1 SOMETHING DIFFERENT

 

  Henry’s spy senses tingled.

  Something is different about this morning, he thought as he sat up in bed. But what?

  Henry looked around his room.

    His books stood on the bookshelves. Outside his window, clouds covered the sun in the sky.

  Everything looked totally normal.

  Already fully dressed, Henry jumped out of bed and flicked on the light switch. But the light didn’t turn on.

  Flick! Flick! Flick!

    Nothing happened. So Henry ran into the hallway and thumped down the stairs.

  “The light fizzed out in my room!” he yelled.

  Right outside the kitchen, Henry’s spy senses tingled again.

  It’s too quiet, he thought.

  There was no toaster dinging. No smoothie machine whirring. No music playing or Dad humming.

    Henry trotted into the kitchen. His mom and dad were sitting at the table in their pajamas.

  Pajamas on a Thursday morning? Something was definitely weird!

  “What’s going on?” he asked. “Is today April Fool’s Day?”

  “No fooling around,” Dad said. “Brewster is having a blackout.”

  Henry gasped.

  “A blackout?” Henry said. “Like, all the lights are out?”

  “The main power line is down,” Mom told Henry. “The electricity is out all over town. Even at school.”

    Henry asked, “Does that mean I have to go to school in the DARK?”

    Mom and Dad laughed.

  “No, silly,” Dad said. “It means there’s no school today.”

  Henry’s face lit up. “No school” were the two most magical words on a Thursday morning!

  “YES!” he shouted.

  His spy senses were right, after all!