Author Study Kevin Henkes By Amy Bonaria

Kevin Henkes’s Childhood Kevin Henkes was born on November 27, 1960 in Racine, Wisconsin. As a child, he enjoyed making regular trips to the public library with his parents and siblings. Choosing books to check out and take home was an important ritual for him that he took very seriously.

Kevin Henkes’s Childhood Henkes took a special interest in the illustrations of the books he was reading. Inspired by his favorite illustrators, including Crockett Johnson (who wrote Harold and the Purple Crayon) and Garth Williams (who drew the famous illustrations shown at right), he decided he wanted to become an artist.

Kevin Henkes’s Childhood Regarding his early love of reading, Henkes remarked in an interview on his website, “I wondered about authors and illustrators back then - What did they look like? Where did they live? Did they have families? How old were they? - but I never imagined that one day I would be one myself” (kevinhenkes.com).

Kevin Henkes’s Adult Life Henkes married artist Laura Dronzek in 1985, with whom he collaborated on his most recent picture book, Birds. They have two children, William and Clara. They currently live in Madison, Wisconsin, which is where a number of his novels, including Olive’s Ocean and Blue Lake Moon, take place.

Kevin Henkes’s Education In high school, Henkes began combining his love of drawing with a newly discovered talent for writing. After receiving encouragement from one of his teachers, he began pursuing his dream of becoming an author and illustrator.

Kevin Henkes’s Education After graduating from high school, Henkes attended the University of Wisconsin at Madison. In accordance with his childhood career aspirations, he was an art major.

Kevin Henkes’s Professional Life While Henkes was in college, he decided he didn’t want to wait until after he graduated to pursue his dreams. When he was 19, he took a weeklong trip to New York City with his portfolio in hand to search for a publisher that liked his work.

Kevin Henkes’s Professional Life Henkes was lucky. He caught the eye of an editor named Sarah Hirschman and returned from his trip with a contract from Greenwillow Books. His first picture book, All Alone, was published in Henkes was just 21 years old.

Kevin Henkes’s Professional Life Since then, Henkes has published over 30 books with Greenwillow. Many of his picture books contain a cast of mouse characters with a range of personalities, including the spirited Lilly, anxious Wemberly, fearless Sheila Rae, sentimental Owen, and sensitive Chrysanthemum.

Kevin Henkes’s Influences Henkes’s books portray common childhood ordeals such as starting school, being teased, and getting lost. He takes much of his inspiration from his own experiences growing up as a sensitive boy in a family of five children.

Kevin Henkes’s Influences For example, Chrysanthemum is about a girl who is nervous when she starts school and upset when her classmates make fun of her unusual name. Henkes says this was inspired by a time when he brought flowers to his kindergarten teacher, only to have them stolen by older kids on the playground. As an author, Henkes is successful in creating stories with these kinds of difficult situations that are both honest and relatable to children but reassuring at the same time.

Kevin Henkes’s Awards Henkes has written an impressive number of award-winning books throughout his career. His young adult novel Olive’s Ocean was a Newbery Honor Book in His picture book Owen was a Caldecott Honor Book in In 2005, Kitten’s First Full Moon was the Caldecott Medal winner.

Kevin Henkes’s Awards His books have also won many less-well-known awards, including being named to the lists of ALA Notable Children’s Books, Library of Congress Best Books of the Year, School Library Journal Best Books, and Publisher’s Weekly Best Children’s Books numerous times throughout his career.

Kevin Henkes’s Impact on YA Audience Henkes’s novels for young adults are noted for their realistic portrayal of events that are common among today’s young adults and the emotions that tend to come along with them. Publisher’s Weekly noted that Henkes, “explores family relationships with breathtaking tenderness” in his novels (barnesandnoble.com).

Kevin Henkes’s Impact on YA Audience Olive’s Ocean, a 2004 Newbery Honor Book, tells the story of Martha Boyle, a twelve-year- old girl who receives a surprising gift – a journal page from Olive Barstow, a dead classmate she barely knew. Caught off guard by the fact that Olive wanted to be her friend in spite of them never having really spoken, Martha spends her summer trying to figure out how to deal with the guilt she feels over never being friendly to Olive. In true Kevin Henkes spirit, Martha grows up a lot in the process and ultimately finds a meaningful way to remember the friend she never got the chance to have.

Kevin Henkes’s Impact on YA Audience Bird Lake Moon, Henkes’s most recent young adult novel, tells the story of two boys who don’t expect to spend their summer at Bird Lake. The first, Mitch Sinclair, goes with his mother to stay his grandparents’ lake house after his father abruptly announces that he is moving in with another woman. The other, Spencer Stone, comes to visit the lake house his family hasn’t been to since his older brother Matty drowned in the lake when he was four. Both boys enjoy the lake as an escape from the family tragedies they must both work through before the summer is over. Their friendship with each other is part of what helps them work through their respective feelings.

Kevin Henkes’s Impact on YA Audience Reader praise for Olive’s Ocean (from amazon.com reader reviews): “This was the greatest book I ever read. It features a variety of emotions; love, hate, guilt, friendship, betrayal, rage, happiness, and the indescribable feeling that comes in when all others fail.” Reader praise for Blue Lake Moon (from amazon.com reader reviews): “This is a great story about two boys who come together one summer at the lake. Both are dealing with tragedies that have occurred in their lives. Spencer is trying to figure out about the death of his brother that occurred when he was little and why no one talks about it. Mitch is dealing with the recent separation of his parents. A great look at how they handle the situations and how they spend time together.”

Kevin Henkes’s Impact on YA Audience Overall, both books are successful in presenting the adolescent characters’ struggles with real-life problems in a way that students are sure to relate to. Both books have a large amount of potential for their use as bibliotherapy – Olive’s Ocean for a student dealing with the death of a friend and Blue Lake Moon for any student with divorced parents or one who has experienced a death that was unexpected in any way. As was written in Publisher’s Weekly, “Behind each book is a wide-open heart, one readers can't help but respond to, that makes all of Henkes's books of special value to children” (barnesandnoble.com).

Kevin Henkes’s Booklist General Picture Books (can be really be used with students of any age, but intended for children ages 3 to 7) –All Alone (1981) –Clean Enough (1982) –Margaret and Taylor (1983) –Bailey Goes Camping (1985) –Grandpa and Bo (1986) –Once Around the Block (1987) –Jessica (1989) –Shhhh (1989)

Kevin Henkes’s Booklist More General Picture Books –The Biggest Boy (1995) –Good-bye, Curtis (1995) –Circle Dogs (1998) –Oh! (1999) –Kitten’s First Full Moon (2004) –So Happy! (2005) –A Good Day (2007) –Old Bear (2008) –Birds (2009)

Kevin Henkes’s Booklist Mouse Picture Books (again, can be really be used with students of any age, but intended for children ages 3 to 7) –A Weekend with Wendell (1987) –Sheila Rae, The Brave (1987) –Chester’s Way (1988) –Julius, the Baby of the World (1990) –Chrysanthemum (1991) –Owen (1993)

Kevin Henkes’s Booklist More Mouse Picture Books –Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (1996) –Wemberly Worried (2000) –Sheila Rae’s Peppermint Stick (2001) –Owen’s Marshmallow Chick (2002) –Wemberly’s Ice- Cream Star (2003) –Lilly’s Chocolate Heart (2003) –Lilly’s Big Day (2006)

Kevin Henkes’s Booklist Novels (good for young adults ages 11 and up) –Return to Sender (1984) –Two Under Par (1987) –The Zebra Wall (1988) –Words of Stone (1992) –Protecting Marie (1995) –Sun and Spoon (1997) –The Birthday Room (1999) –Olive’s Ocean (2003) –Bird Lake Moon (2006)

References Kevin Henkes’s official website Kevin Henkes’s biography and booklist from Barnes and Noble m/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid= m/writers/writerdetails.asp?cid=

References Kevin Henkes’s biography from Scholastic wse/contributor.jsp?id= wse/contributor.jsp?id=2221 List of Kevin Henkes’s awards ccbc/authors/henkes/awards.ht m ccbc/authors/henkes/awards.ht m