May 7, 2024

Florida Gateway College Education Professor Publishes First Children’s Book

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LAKE CITY, Fla. – Florida Gateway College Elementary Education professor Elizabeth Carroll, Ed.D., is venturing into the publishing world with her first children’s book, “Oh, Henry!” set to launch May 7, 2024.

“‘Oh, Henry!’ is a story about a little goat who’s in second grade, and he struggles with a lot of different challenges in school and at home and he doesn’t really know how to make it right,” Carroll says. “He doesn’t understand why he’s always getting in trouble, and then his neighbor comes up and gives him some tools to help him be successful and to meet his challenges head on.”

Carroll hopes that young readers may see themselves or their classmates in Henry and gain a better understanding of how to work through difficult situations. “Henry thinks he’s a bad goat because he always gets in trouble, and he doesn’t feel like he can do anything right. Children just need to know that they’re not bad; they’re good and they’re loving and sometimes we just need the skills and tools to do better.”

Carroll began writing the story in 2022 with the characters inspired by her own animals, including three goats: O. Henry, Agatha Christie, and Edgar Allan Poe. After submitting her work, she was blown away to be accepted by Mascot Kids, an imprint on Amplify Publishing Group. The publisher put her in touch with illustrator Agus Prajogo who helped bring her characters to life on the page, and after many meetings, collaborations, and revisions, “Oh, Henry!” will hit shelves on May 7. The book is the first in a planned series, “The Adventures of Henry,” with the second installment already in the works.

“I cried,” Carroll says of the day the hardback copies of “Oh, Henry!” finally arrived from the publisher. “It was just amazing seeing a thing in your head for two years, and then it becomes an actual object. I just couldn’t believe it.”

Carroll has been an educator for 18 years and serves as Associate Professor and Coordinator of FGC’s Bachelor of Elementary Education Program. She is a mother of three and has five grandchildren in whom she finds inspiration for Henry and the other characters who populate her books.

“Oh, Henry” is available in bookstores including Barnes & Noble, on Amazon, and at www.mascotbooks.com. Find more information about Dr. Carroll and her books at www.adventures-of-henry.com, and learn about FGC’s Elementary Education BS Program at www.fgc.edu/elementaryed.

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