Writing the Henry Scripts

When Jon contacted me and asked me about writing the scripts for Henry Hand Puppet, I was initially excited. I loved his previous work on “The Parables” and his quirky drawings and sense of fun, so I quickly said I’d be involved in this project. He sent me a list of the characters and we discussed the structure, and I started to feel a bit daunted. I’ve written children’s plays, Christian books and drama and I’m a primary school teacher, but I wondered if I could make it all come together for this DVD.

I started by going back to the Bible and read the stories in as many different versions as I could, including children’s Bibles and tried to work out what the “message” for very young children might be. For instance, the story of The Flood is about judgment, but it’s also about how God takes care of those who love him in times of danger, and that’s the angle I tried to bring out. My research also involved watching an awful lot of Nick Jr and CBeebies! I spoke to teachers, nursery teachers, parents and people who write the RE syllabus, so Henry and his friends would have as wide an appeal as possible.

I can’t wait to see the finished product. The characters are so cute and I hope children and adults alike will fall in love with Henry, Harriet, Helen and Fred as the little ones hear Bible stories and learn about life in a fun way.

Penny Culliford