THIS BOOK IS ABOUT the dog I had growing up. His name, actually, was Homer. Before I moved to California I went home to take care of my parent's yellow labrador puppy, named Henry. Seeing him got me thinking about the dog I had as a child, Homer. Homer was a funny dog, poetic. He wasn't around long. I remembered going on walks with him and my goats, remembered growing up on the farm. I could have written this book about a goat, though I didn't see too many books about goats. And I didn't want anybody to think I was writing about The Simpson's Homer. So, Henry.

This book is the story of one dog's life. It's about the connection between an animal and its human, about home, about growing up and the passing of time. I wrote it in the month before I left New York. It's very different from the other books I've written.

Read an excerpt from Henry

Published by:
Chronicle Books 1999
ISBN 0-8118-2402-0 $14.95

Henry has been published in Japan by Shinchosha. Read an excerpt, in Japanese.