IT STARTED as a way for her French-speaking grandchildren living thousands of miles away to learn English.

But now a Windermere pensioner’s books detailing the adventures of her characterful canine have reached a global audience.

Beautifully illustrated by Mary Lauritzen, the five books in the My Little Henry series tell true-life tales of walking in the Lake District, encounters with donkeys and how a now eight-year-old border terrier got lost in a blackberry bush.

The author is 83-year-old Eunice Ogden, who uses the pen name of Victoria Howarth and wrote the books to help her four grandchildren in Quebec, Canada.

“They were terribly upset because they can’t have a dog as their parents are out of the house all day,” said Mrs Ogden, whose eldest son Nicholas Hume-Ogden, 54, is a senior research scientist for Health Canada.

“I said you might not be able to come and see Henry but I will write emails which your dad can read out as bedtime stories.

“They have no opportunity to speak English in Canada so the books have allowed them to read in English and become fluent.”

When friends suggested the books should be sold to encourage Cumbrian children to read, she set out on a mission to get local shops to sell them.

“I never expected it to be this popular,” she said.

“It just evolved because the children were so desperate to know what was going on with Henry but I have had online orders from as far away as Australia.”

The books are available to buy online. For more, visit mylittlehenry.co.uk.