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Henry Haynes and the Great Escape
A graphic novel chapter book for ages 6-8
When Henry Haynes complains that his new book is boring he gets more than he bargained for. Before he knows it, he's been sucked down into the story and finds himself eyeball to eyeball with Brian, a bossy boa constrictor who's in charge of a zoo escape.
Brian won't let Henry return home until he's released the animals, including some hungry lions and Gordon - the extremely smelly gorilla who masterminded the escape plan. To make matters worse, it looks as if Gordon s out to get Henry
Can Henry get home alive? And why didn't he just keep his big mouth shut about boring stories?
"Includes the first two chapters of Eeek! The Runaway Alien for free!""
When Henry Haynes complains that his new book is boring he gets more than he bargained for. Before he knows it, he's been sucked down into the story and finds himself eyeball to eyeball with Brian, a bossy boa constrictor who's in charge of a zoo escape.
Brian won't let Henry return home until he's released the animals, including some hungry lions and Gordon - the extremely smelly gorilla who masterminded the escape plan. To make matters worse, it looks as if Gordon s out to get Henry
Can Henry get home alive? And why didn't he just keep his big mouth shut about boring stories?
"Includes the first two chapters of Eeek! The Runaway Alien for free!""
92 pages, Paperback
First published April 12, 2014
17 people are currently reading
207 people want to read
About the author
Karen Inglis
24 books87 followersKaren Inglis is a bestselling children’s author based in London, UK, writing for ages 3–12.
She is best known for her time travel mystery The Secret Lake, which has sold over 600,000 print copies worldwide and is in translation in 12 languages. Set in London, it follows siblings Stella (11) and Tom (8), who discover a time tunnel while searching for a neighbour’s missing dog. The tunnel leads them to their own home and the children living there 100 years in the past. First published in 2011, the book hit bestseller lists in 2018–19 (and continues to rank highly on Amazon), proving that children still love a good old-fashioned adventure!
Two long-awaited sequels followed: Return to the Secret Lake (2022) and Beyond the Secret Lake (2024). The latter won the UK Selfies Children’s Book Award, announced at London Book Fair in 2025.
Karen explains:
“There was a long gap after book one as I was busy with other projects — but the best things come to those who wait! Reconnecting with Stella, Tom and friends was such a joy, and the response to the sequels has been wonderful. The Secret Lake was always going to be a hard act to follow!”
Karen’s other books include:
Eeek! The Runaway Alien (ages 7–10): a soccer-mad alien runs away to Earth for the World Cup. Illustrated, fast-paced and funny — a hit with reluctant readers!
Walter Brown and the Magician’s Hat (ages 7–10): magical mayhem ensues when Walter inherits his great-grandpa’s enchanted hat — and discovers his cat Sixpence isn’t quite what he seems...
Henry Haynes and the Great Escape (ages 6–8): Henry falls inside his library book after complaining it’s boring — and meets a smelly gorilla and a bossy boa with a zoo escape plan!
For younger readers:
The Tell-Me Tree (ages 4–8): a gentle, rhyming picture book that helps children talk about feelings through drawing, writing or conversation. Praised by parents, teachers, and charities, it's widely used in UK homes and classrooms. Includes links to free activity sheets.
Ferdinand Fox rhyming stories (ages 3–5):
Ferdinand Fox’s Big Sleep – inspired by a real fox who slept in Karen’s garden!
Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog – introduces Hatty and her son Ed, plus facts about how to help hedgehogs.
Ferdinand Fox and the Lost Boy – Ferdinand comes to the rescue in his bravest story yet.
A collected edition of all six rhyming stories is currently in the works for readers aged 6–7, or for parents who enjoy reading rhyme to younger children.
How it all began…
Karen’s writing journey began in 2010 when she took a sabbatical from her career in business writing to revisit story ideas drafted a decade earlier, when her sons George and Nick were small. One was The Secret Lake, which had been tucked away in a drawer after early rejections. This time, she self-published — and never looked back. In fact, she has turned down three traditional publishing deals in the last few years, preferring (for now at least) to retain creative control of her IP.
She eventually left business writing to focus fully on children’s books. Today, she regularly visits schools in person and via Zoom, and has signed books in Waterstones branches across London.
Visit her author website to find out more or to enquire about a school visit.
She is best known for her time travel mystery The Secret Lake, which has sold over 600,000 print copies worldwide and is in translation in 12 languages. Set in London, it follows siblings Stella (11) and Tom (8), who discover a time tunnel while searching for a neighbour’s missing dog. The tunnel leads them to their own home and the children living there 100 years in the past. First published in 2011, the book hit bestseller lists in 2018–19 (and continues to rank highly on Amazon), proving that children still love a good old-fashioned adventure!
Two long-awaited sequels followed: Return to the Secret Lake (2022) and Beyond the Secret Lake (2024). The latter won the UK Selfies Children’s Book Award, announced at London Book Fair in 2025.
Karen explains:
“There was a long gap after book one as I was busy with other projects — but the best things come to those who wait! Reconnecting with Stella, Tom and friends was such a joy, and the response to the sequels has been wonderful. The Secret Lake was always going to be a hard act to follow!”
Karen’s other books include:
Eeek! The Runaway Alien (ages 7–10): a soccer-mad alien runs away to Earth for the World Cup. Illustrated, fast-paced and funny — a hit with reluctant readers!
Walter Brown and the Magician’s Hat (ages 7–10): magical mayhem ensues when Walter inherits his great-grandpa’s enchanted hat — and discovers his cat Sixpence isn’t quite what he seems...
Henry Haynes and the Great Escape (ages 6–8): Henry falls inside his library book after complaining it’s boring — and meets a smelly gorilla and a bossy boa with a zoo escape plan!
For younger readers:
The Tell-Me Tree (ages 4–8): a gentle, rhyming picture book that helps children talk about feelings through drawing, writing or conversation. Praised by parents, teachers, and charities, it's widely used in UK homes and classrooms. Includes links to free activity sheets.
Ferdinand Fox rhyming stories (ages 3–5):
Ferdinand Fox’s Big Sleep – inspired by a real fox who slept in Karen’s garden!
Ferdinand Fox and the Hedgehog – introduces Hatty and her son Ed, plus facts about how to help hedgehogs.
Ferdinand Fox and the Lost Boy – Ferdinand comes to the rescue in his bravest story yet.
A collected edition of all six rhyming stories is currently in the works for readers aged 6–7, or for parents who enjoy reading rhyme to younger children.
How it all began…
Karen’s writing journey began in 2010 when she took a sabbatical from her career in business writing to revisit story ideas drafted a decade earlier, when her sons George and Nick were small. One was The Secret Lake, which had been tucked away in a drawer after early rejections. This time, she self-published — and never looked back. In fact, she has turned down three traditional publishing deals in the last few years, preferring (for now at least) to retain creative control of her IP.
She eventually left business writing to focus fully on children’s books. Today, she regularly visits schools in person and via Zoom, and has signed books in Waterstones branches across London.
Visit her author website to find out more or to enquire about a school visit.
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
December 29, 2025
"Henry Haynes and the Great Escape" is an absolutely delightful and wildly imaginative graphic novel chapter book. Karen Inglis creates the perfect blend of humor, adventure, and gentle peril that will have young readers (ages 6-8) hooked from the very first page.
The premise is brilliant: when Henry complains a book is boring, he gets sucked right into the story and finds himself negotiating a zoo escape orchestrated by a bossy boa constrictor named Brian and a smelly, scheming gorilla named Gordon. The adventure that follows is fast-paced, funny, and filled with just the right amount of excitement. Inglis's writing is wonderfully engaging for early readers, and the graphic novel format with illustrations by Damir Kundalic makes the story pop with energy and humor.
This is a fantastic book to spark a love of reading. It cleverly shows how exciting stories can be, all while delivering a hilarious and satisfying adventure. The inclusion of the first chapters of "Eeek! The Runaway Alien" is a wonderful bonus. A total winner for kids and a joy for parents to read aloud.
June 4, 2019
Fun and exciting
I’m looking forward to reading this to to my students next year. Such a fun story, l feel certain it will get them excited about reading,
I’m looking forward to reading this to to my students next year. Such a fun story, l feel certain it will get them excited about reading,
May 4, 2014
Karen Inglis has done it again - a pacy short novel with engaging illustrations and short chapters which will engage young readers and get them turning the pages. Even reluctant readers will be keen to read on to find out how young Henry Haynes fares after falling into the adventure within his library book.
I especially love the way the story is framed within Henry's trip to the library where he is slightly in awe of the knowing and kindly librarian. It's a great way to encourage children to visit their local library - and librarians everywhere will want to stock this book!
So much adventure and fun is packed into this short book, which also includes nice touches of realistic detail making it easy for young readers to relate to Henry. An added bonus there are a couple of chapters of Inglis's "Eeek!" at the end, a slightly longer and slightly more challenging read, to encourage young readers to progress, and blurb for Inglis's "The Secret Lake" - another cracking adventure story in short, easily digestible chapters.
A useful book to encourage boys in particular to lose themselves in a good book - just as the hero does, quite literally! Good for 7-9 year olds, I'd say, though there's nothing in there that older boys of 10 and 11 won't enjoy, if they are reading a little under the target for their age group.
The device of falling into an adventure contained within a storybook is a good and timeless one, and I wonder whether Inglis has more adventures of this kind in mind for Henry? In the same way that the Narnia books have children everywhere checking the back of their wardrobe for snow, I'm sure there will be young readers gazing hopefully into their reading books, once they've read this one.
A useful book to encourage boys in particular to lose themselves in a good book - just as the hero does, quite literally! Good for 7-9 year olds, I'd say, though there's nothing in there that older boys of 10 and 11 won't enjoy, if they are reading a little under the target for their age group.They won't find it babyish or patronising either, which is very important.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review, because I have a special interest in children's books and in encouraging reluctant young readers.
I especially love the way the story is framed within Henry's trip to the library where he is slightly in awe of the knowing and kindly librarian. It's a great way to encourage children to visit their local library - and librarians everywhere will want to stock this book!
So much adventure and fun is packed into this short book, which also includes nice touches of realistic detail making it easy for young readers to relate to Henry. An added bonus there are a couple of chapters of Inglis's "Eeek!" at the end, a slightly longer and slightly more challenging read, to encourage young readers to progress, and blurb for Inglis's "The Secret Lake" - another cracking adventure story in short, easily digestible chapters.
A useful book to encourage boys in particular to lose themselves in a good book - just as the hero does, quite literally! Good for 7-9 year olds, I'd say, though there's nothing in there that older boys of 10 and 11 won't enjoy, if they are reading a little under the target for their age group.
The device of falling into an adventure contained within a storybook is a good and timeless one, and I wonder whether Inglis has more adventures of this kind in mind for Henry? In the same way that the Narnia books have children everywhere checking the back of their wardrobe for snow, I'm sure there will be young readers gazing hopefully into their reading books, once they've read this one.
A useful book to encourage boys in particular to lose themselves in a good book - just as the hero does, quite literally! Good for 7-9 year olds, I'd say, though there's nothing in there that older boys of 10 and 11 won't enjoy, if they are reading a little under the target for their age group.They won't find it babyish or patronising either, which is very important.
Disclosure: I received a free copy of this book in return for an honest review, because I have a special interest in children's books and in encouraging reluctant young readers.
December 27, 2014
I loved the book,and recently read this to my grandaughter at christmas.
The magical storyline and funny animal characters made the adventure fun.
The story was delightful and held our attention,through the whole book.
This book was given to me through 'Goodreads" and would reccomend this children's book.
The magical storyline and funny animal characters made the adventure fun.
The story was delightful and held our attention,through the whole book.
This book was given to me through 'Goodreads" and would reccomend this children's book.
October 21, 2014
My seven year old and I enjoyed this book together. This is a review she wrote herself: 'This book is about a boy who falls into a hole in a book, but the book whispers and has letters in the hole. When he lands, he's in London Zoo! He meets a snake that says he won't let him go home until he does what he says. I like this book because it's not a normal story. It's a story inside a story.'
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews