Kevin Henkes is the author and illustrator of more than fifty
critically acclaimed and award-winning picture books, beginning
readers, and novels. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's
First Full Moon in 2005, and Waiting won a Caldecott Honor and
Geisel Honor in 2016. Kevin Henkes is also the creator of a number
of picture books featuring his mouse characters, including the #1
New York Times bestsellers Lilly's Big Day and Wemberly Worried,
the Caldecott Honor Book Owen, and the beloved Lilly's Purple
Plastic Purse. His most recent mouse character, Penny, was
introduced in Penny and Her Song; her story continued in Penny and
Her Doll and Penny and Her Marble (a Geisel Honor Book). Bruce
Handy, in a New York Times Book Review piece about A Good Day,
wrote, "It should be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius." Kevin Henkes
received two Newbery Honors for novels-one for The Year of Billy
Miller, and the other for Olive's Ocean. Also among his fiction for
older readers are the novels Junonia, Bird Lake Moon, The
Birthday Room, and Sun & Spoon. Kevin Henkes has been published by
Greenwillow Books since the release of his first book, All Alone,
in 1981. His fiftieth book, the picture book Egg, was published in
January 2017. Most recently, he is the author of In the Middle of
Fall, Winter Is Here, Summer Song, A Parade of Elephants, Sweeping
Up the Heart, and Penny and Her Sled.
He lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.
www.kevinhenkes.com.
"Billy Miller's second-grade year is quietly spectacular in a wonderfully ordinary way... Henkes offers ... a sense that experiences don't have to be extraordinary to be important and dramatic... Sweetly low-key and totally accessible." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Henkes's delightful story is restrained and vivid in in just this way: forgoing the overdramatic or zany, it shows the substance, warmth and adaptability of beautifully common family love." -- New York Times "A vivid yet secure portrait of a boy coming into his confidence ... [with] a comfortable rhythm perfectly suited to young readers... Nuanced and human." -- Horn Book (starred review) "Funny and often poignant ... Billy himself might have been daunted by a book with more than 200 pages, but eager young readers will find this a great first chapter book to share or read solo." -- School Library Journal (starred review) "A story with a lot of heart." -- Booklist "Smartly attuned to emerging readers, and its warmth, relatable situations, and sympathetic hero give it broad appeal." -- Publishers Weekly "Thoughtful kids able to tackle a book of this length will enjoy reading this on their own, but it would also make a fine choice for reading aloud in the classroom or home." -- Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books
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