Kevin Henkes, Author . HarperTrophy $4.95 (176p) ISBN 978-0-06
In a starred review, PW
wrote, "Two gifts on a boy's 12th birthday fortuitously bring an entire family closer together. Once again, Henkes explores family relationships with breathtaking tenderness, showing how feelings of guilt, bitterness and fear can be quelled by more deeply rooted love." Ages 8-12. (Aug.)
With his usual sensitivity and insight, Henkes (The Birthday Room) explores key issues of adolescence, through the observations of aspiring 12-year-old writer Continue reading »
From their first glimpse of the title character, licking her front paw on the cover illustration, youngsters will find the star of Henkes's (Wemberly Worried
Continue reading »
Henkes (Kitten's First Full Moon
) here concentrates on the text, interweaving the stories of a magic seed, a bored boy and a stranded rabbit into a spare Continue reading »
A journal entry of a classmate killed in an accident sends 12-year-old Martha on an unintended pilgrimage. In our Best Books citation, PW
wrote, "Readers Continue reading »
"In this stirring contemporary novel, Henkes paints a poignant picture of two lonely children whose paths cross one summer," according to PW
's Continue reading »
When her teacher, Mr. Slinger, announces he's going to marry the school nurse, Lilly—naturally—assumes she will be the flower girl. Henkes's Continue reading »
Henkes's latest combines the thick black line of his Caldecott Medal–winning Kitten's First Full Moon
with the vivid palette of his mouse books to Continue reading »
The exploits of Henkes's beloved, fiercely independent girl mouse Lilly and her friends, stars of numerous bestselling picture books, are collected on this chipper but rather spare production. Continue reading »
In a novel as tender as his acclaimed Olive's Ocean
, Henkes probes the psyches of two boys facing family conflicts. Spending long, lonely days at his Continue reading »
In time for autumn, Henkes (Kitten's First Full Moon
) masterfully tells of a hibernating bear who “dreamed that spring had come and he was a cub Continue reading »
Husband-and-wife team Henkes and Dronzek (Oh!
) record random thoughts about birds, enlivened by vignettes of thickly outlined bird shapes feathered with Continue reading »
Spring colors of lilac, daffodil yellow, pale blue, and leafy green bloom in Caldecott Medalist Henkes’s fanciful account of the great outdoors. “My mother has a garden. I’m her Continue reading »
The winsome heroine of Wemberly Worried returns in a new board book from Kevin Henkes, Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star. Timid children will instantly identify with this charming worrywart as she decides Continue reading »
A mouse both boastful and fearless, Sheila Rae decides to go home from school by taking a new route. She walks backwards with her eyes closed, growls at dogs and cats, climbs trees, turns new corners Continue reading »
Chester's ways are fairly circumscribed: this young mouse has definite likes and dislikes, and there is no changing his mind. His friend Wilson is just like him; they're quite a pair. Then Lilly Continue reading »
Jessica is the imaginary friend of a girl named Ruthie, whose parents constantly remind her, ``There is no Jessica.'' But Ruthie knows better, and Jessica is included in every aspect of the girl's Continue reading »
In an affecting, stylistic departure from his often joyous watercolors, Henkes uses acrylic paints to create the hushed world of a child's first waking moments. A girl notes that the rest of the Continue reading »
Lilly, the spunky white mouse who first appeared in the memorable Chester's Way , now stars in a book of her own. Before baby Julius is born, Lilly is an exemplary sister, setting aside toys for the Continue reading »
In this stirring contemporary novel set in rural Wisconsin, Henkes ( Chrysanthemum ; The Zebra Wall ) paints a poignant picture of two lonely children whose paths cross one summer. First introduced Continue reading »
A worthy addition to Henkes's ( Chester's Way ; Julius, the Baby of the World ) impressive, engaging oeuvre, this animated tale takes up the case of a wee mouse's devotion to a no-longer-fuzzy Continue reading »
Even though this collaboration lacks the inspiration of some of the Caldecott Honor artists' previous work, its soft cadences and peaceful wind-down recommend it as a bedtime readaloud. Tafuri's Continue reading »
The author of Protecting Marie (see boxed review, p. 73) demonstrates his versatility in this fetchingly illustrated story about a young mouse houseguest and her reluctant mouse host. Ages 4-up. Continue reading »
PW commended Henkes for displaying ``a deep understanding of sibling rivalry and a child's fragile self-esteem'' in this hilarious and refreshing twist on the familiar theme of a new baby in the Continue reading »
The mouse heroine of Henkes's pitch-perfect comedy doesn't frighten easily--she even growls at stray dogs. But when she gets lost, it's her ""scaredy cat"" sister who helps her find the way home. Continue reading »
Lilly the mouse idolizes her teacher Mr. Slinger, but when she comes to school flaunting three jingly quarters, movie-star glasses and a purple plastic purse ""that played a jaunty tune when it was Continue reading »
This ""sunny"" tale of mouse friendships features rambunctious Lilly (of the purple plastic purse). In a boxed review, PW said, ""every sentence is either downright funny or dense with playful, Continue reading »
""Ten-year-old Spoon Gilmore's grandmother has just died, but her presence is strongly felt throughout this exceptionally moving novel about grief and rejuvenation,"" said PW in a boxed review. Ages Continue reading »
Flushed with his success at feeding and dressing himself, a boy and his parents imagine him becoming so big he can wear his house as a jacket and play ball with the sun. ""Sweet and simple,"" said Continue reading »
Jessica, a friend only Ruthie can see, follows Ruthie to school on the first day of kindergarten. ""Henkes never falters as he outlines the logic and reasoning behind Ruthie's affection for her Continue reading »
Two gifts on a boy's 12th birthday fortuitously bring an entire family closer together. Young Benjamin likes to draw and paint, but when his parents give him a present of a room to use as a studio, Continue reading »
Henkes, who spoke to an elementary-age audience in Owen and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse, here gets down to basics with this lively description of a day in the life of two dachshunds. The tube-shaped Continue reading »
In this tender treatment by Henkes (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) and Dronzek, Henkes's wife, a painter making her children's book debut, ""Oh!"" becomes a universal expression of friskiness elicited Continue reading »
Henkes (Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse) introduces another wonderfully appealing child-mouse with a stubborn habit: worrying. Wemberly, a shy white mouse with gray spots, always feels nervous whether Continue reading »
In his first board-book format, Kevin Henkes brings the star of Sheila Rae, the Brave back in Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick. Here, the familiar theme of sibling rivalry surfaces between the Continue reading »
Playing catch, exploring nature and re-creating a Christmas spent apart are just a few of the ways a boy and his grandfather enjoy their summer together in Grandpa & Bo (1986) by Kevin Henkes. Continue reading »
A slew of board books feature characters new and old. Kevin Henkes's exuberant mouse is back in an original board book for Valentine's Day, Lilly's Chocolate Heart. As Valentine's Day draws to a Continue reading »
Kevin Henkes offers a meditative reflection on the joys of solitude in his first book, All Alone, originally published more than 20 years ago. A boy contemplates the joys of using his Continue reading »
A bag of tricks and treats aims to amplify Halloween high jinks. Kevin Henkes brings his on-target toddler sensibility to the board book original Julius's Candy Corn, featuring the mouse character Continue reading »
Wedge is a slightly overweight boy, age 10, who stows away presents in a box that he hopes to give someday to his father. His mother Sally says she doesn't even know who his father is, and she Continue reading »
The softened watercolor worlds of Henkes's picture books sometimes distract readers from his acute understanding of just how harsh life can be. This awareness is glimpsed in his first novel, Two Continue reading »
Henkes ``never falters,'' said PW , as he describes what happens when Ruthie's imaginary best friend accompanies her on the first day of kindergarten. Ages 3-8. Continue reading »
Children can play-act the story of the big sister who learns to share with Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick Board Book and Finger Puppet Set by Kevin Henkes. The board book is paired with an adorable Continue reading »
Annie's bored. The baby is crying, and that means Mama is taking care of him. The dog is busy scratching. Her best friend is on vacation. Annie goes out on the front steps to wait for Papa to come Continue reading »
Baily doesn't get to go on the trip with his older brother and sister, but discovers that some of camping's pleasures can be had at home. Ages 2-6. Continue reading »
Henkes's book is a table-turning tale in which fearless mouse Sheila Rae gets lost and looks to her timid little sister to lead the way home. Ages 3-8. Continue reading »
Henkes's offbeat, ebullient story concerns the already large Vorlob family, anxiously awaiting the birth of (yet another) new baby. Ages 8-12. Continue reading »
When eccentric Lily moves into their neighborhood, best friends Chester and Wilson's routine is disrupted, but the twosome becomes a triumvirate once Lily proves her mettle. In a boxed review, PW Continue reading »
A girl struggles to win the acceptance of her father, an aging artist; in a starred and boxed review, PW said that Henkes ""affirms the resiliency of the creative spirit and the transcending power of Continue reading »
""Henkes's novelist's hand is as sure as his illustrative talents,"" said PW of this ""touching and funny"" book about a boy getting to know his new stepfather. Ages 8-12. Continue reading »
A Box of Treats: Five Little Picture Books about Lilly and Her Friends
Kevin Henkes
Youngest book lovers will clamor for A Box of Treats: Five Little Picture Books About Lilly and Her Friends by Kevin Henkes. This sweet handful of board books will be quickly devoured, time after Continue reading »
Dipping into the grassy, blossoming palette of his My Garden, Henkes depicts a bunny's spring day. His sequence salutes Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd's classic The Runaway Bunny, for this Continue reading »
In this introspective story about a child's search for a rare shell, Henkes (Bird Lake Moon) again displays his ability to find profound meaning in ordinary events. Every year Alice Rice and her Continue reading »
Henkes (Little White Rabbit) introduces a musical mouse who must wait for the right moment to share her talent with her family. When Penny walks in the door, ready to belt out the counting song she Continue reading »
Penny the mouse, who eagerly awaited the opportunity to sing for her busy family in Penny and Her Song, is delighted to receive a doll from her grandmother (?I love her already,? Penny tells her Continue reading »
Henkes ups the emotional stakes in his third book starring Penny, in which guilt hangs heavily over the young mouse. Penny is instantly smitten with the blue marble she discovers on a neighbor?s Continue reading »
It?s the Year of the Rabbit, according to Billy Miller?s new second-grade teacher. It?s also the year of several dilemmas for the boy, including the fear he might ?start forgetting things? due to Continue reading »
Waiting can make anyone feel helpless and frustrated, so the five toylike knickknacks in Henkes?s (Penny and Her Marble) story should be at their collective wits? end. Perched on a Continue reading »
With lyricism and an eye for drama in small things, the husband-and-wife team of Henkes and Dronzek introduce and examine the unfolding of spring, "Before Spring comes,/ the trees look like/ black Continue reading »
Four eggs: pink, yellow, blue, and green. Three hatch, and out come pink, yellow, and blue chicks who promptly depart. Why isn?t the green egg hatching? The birds return, and after some persistent Continue reading »
In a evocative companion to When Spring Comes, spouses Dronzek and Henkes praise the beauty of fall in full swing: ?In the middle of Fall,/ when the leaves/ have already turned/ and the sky Continue reading »
?Look! Elephants!? Henkes announces. And here they come, five in all: blue, yellow, purple, green, with a little pink one bringing up the rear. These elephants aren?t up to any hijinks or even Continue reading »
Henkes?s profound understanding of the adolescent heart and mind is evident as always in this story of two 12-year-olds frustrated by their parents. Amelia wanted to go to Florida for spring break, Continue reading »
Distinctly versatile Kevin Henkes, who received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s Full Moon and Newbery Honors for Olive’s Ocean, targets a slightly different audience in The Continue reading »
Onoseta’s devastatingly vulnerable debut, told nonlinearly in two teen Nigerian girls’ dual perspectives, portrays a tempestuous sisterhood amid colorism, familial trauma, and Continue reading »
Humor and heartfelt emotion reign supreme in a quirky narrative that centers the importance of family, blood or blended. Twelve-year-old Adela Ramírez, who’s of Mexican descent, Continue reading »
“Sal loved the water. He liked to imagine it moving under his feet.” With junk from his mother’s garage and pickings from local businesses, he starts building. In the family’s Continue reading »
Rick, a lumpy gray rock with googly eyes and a sweet smile, has been sitting on Room 214’s Nature Finds shelf “for as long as he can remember” while on-the-move human students, Continue reading »