Kevin Henkes ( ; born November 27, 1960) is an American author of children's books. He is known for writing and illustrating picture books, the most notable of which feature young anthropomorphic mice as their main characters. Henkes also writes middle-grade fiction. As an illustrator, he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of Henkes's books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.
In 2020, Henkes won the Children's Literature Legacy Award.
Early life and career Kevin Henkes was born on November 27, 1960, in Racine, Wisconsin. He thought he would be an artist until his junior year of high school when a teacher encouraged Henkes in his writing efforts. Henkes discovered that children's books combined both his literary and artistic interests. Henkes wrote his first book during his freshman year at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The book's theme deals with how a child describes the pleasures of occasional solitude. This theme became common in many of Henkes's later books. Henkes, one of five children, says that many of his storylines are inspired by his family and the neighborhood where he grew up.
Henkes has written and illustrated around 50 critically acclaimed and award-winning picture books, early readers, and novels in his career thus far. Henkes's first book, All Alone, was published in 1981 by Greenwillow Books. More than 50 books followed, including Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. In 1994, Henkes was a runner-up for one of the premier American Library Association (ALA) children's book awards, the Caldecott Medal for Owen, one of his mouse books. In 2004, Henkes was a runner-up for the Newbery Medal for Olive's Ocean. The following year, he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon, recognizing that as the year's best children's picture book published in the United States. All of Henkes's books to date have been published by Greenwillow Books. He won the inaugural Phoenix Picture Book Award in 2013 for Owen.
The Phoenix Awards from the Children's Literature Association recognize the best books that did not win major awards when they were first published twenty years earlier. In 2014, Henkes received a Newbery Honor for his book, The Year of Billy Miller.And the Newbery, Caldecott award winners are..., Ashley Strickland, CNN, January 27, 2014 In 2020, he was awarded the ALA's Children's Literature Legacy Award, celebrating his entire body of work. Henkes and his wife, Laura Dronzek, have collaborated on a series of picture books based on the four seasons, with Henkes writing the story and Dronzek providing the acrylic painting illustrations.
Personal life Henkes lives in Madison with his wife, artist Laura Dronzek, and their two children.
Awards and honors Henkes has won numerous awards for both his books and as an author. In 2007, Henkes delivered the Arbuthnot Honor Lecture, an honor bestowed upon "an individual of distinction in the field of children’s literature ... chosen to write and deliver a lecture that will make a significant contribution to the world of children’s literature". In 2008, he won the Council for Wisconsin Writers' Major Achievement Award. In 2009, Henkes was a finalist for the Astrid Lindgren Prize and won the Jeremiah Ludington Award, which honors "an individual who has made a significant contribution to the paperback book business". In 2020, he won the Children's Literature Legacy Award honoring an author or illustrator, published in the United States, whose books have made a "significant and lasting contribution to literature for children".
In 1987, Library of Congress named Once Around the Block one of the Best Books of the Year. In 2017, the American Booksellers Association inducted Kitten's First Full Moon into their Picture Book Hall of Fame. The Year of Billy Miller was a New York Times bestselling book. Kirkus Reviews and The Horn Book Magazine named it one of the best books of 2013. Waiting was a New York Times bestselling book. Kirkus Reviews and The Horn Book named it one of the best books of 2013. The Horn Book has included many of Henkes's other books on their lists of the best children's books of the year: Jessica (1989), Julius, the Baby of the World (1990), Chrysanthemum (1991), Words of Stone (1992), Owen (1993), Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse (1996), Olive’s Ocean (2003), A Good Day (2007), Old Bear (2008), Birds (2009), Penny and Her Doll (2012), Penny and Her Marble (2013), Waiting (2015), Egg (2017), A Parade of Elephants (2018), Penny and Her Sled (2019), Billy Miller Makes a Wish (2021), and Oh, Sal (2022). +Awards for Henkes's booksYearTitleAwardResultRef.1986Grandpa & BoCouncil of Wisconsin Writers Children's Book Award Winner1988Council of Wisconsin Writers Children's Book Award Winner1991ChrysanthemumCouncil of Wisconsin Writers Children's Book Award Winner1993OwenArcher-Eckblad Children's Picture Book AwardWinnerWords of StoneJudy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's Literature NomineeElizabeth Burr / Worzalla Award Winner1994OwenCaldecott MedalHonor1996Protecting Marie Elizabeth Burr / Worzalla Award Winner1997Lilly's Purple Plastic PurseAmerican Booksellers Book of the Year: Children'sWinner1999Circle DogsCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2003Owen's Marshmallow Chick Charlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2004Kitten's First Full MoonBetty Ren Wright Children's Picture Book AwardHonorable MentionOlive's OceanNewbery MedalHonor2005Kitten's First Full MoonCaldecott MedalWinnerCharlotte Zolotow AwardWinnerMidwest Booksellers' Choice Award for Children's Picture BookWinner2007Midwest Booksellers' Choice AwardsWinnerLilly's Big DayCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2008Charlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2009BirdsGreat Lakes Book AwardsFinalistOld BearCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commendedGreat Lakes Book AwardsFinalist2010BirdsCharlotte Zolotow AwardHonorMy GardenGoodreads Choice Award for Picture BookNominee2011Little White Rabbit Goodreads Choice Award for Picture BookNomineeMy GardenCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2012JessicaALSC Notable Children's RecordingsSelection2014Penny and Her MarbleTheodor Seuss Geisel AwardHonorElizabeth Burr / Worzalla AwardWinnerNewbery MedalHonorE. B. White Read Aloud AwardFinalistLilly’s Purple Plastic PurseABA Picture Book Hall of FameFinalist2015WaitingGoodreads Choice Award for Best Picture BooksNominee2016ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelectionCaldecott MedalHonorCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commendedTheodor Seuss Geisel AwardHonor2018EggEisner Award for Best Publication for Early ReadersFinalistIn the Middle of FallCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended2019ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelectionWinter is HereCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commendedALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection2020 Sun Flower LionCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commendedChildren's Literature Legacy AwardWinner2022Little HousesCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
Publications Novels
Standalone books
Return to Sender (1984, ) Two Under Par (1987, ) The Zebra Wall (1988, ) Words of Stone (1992, ) Protecting Marie (1995, ) Sun & Spoon (1997, ) The Birthday Room (1999, ) Olive's Ocean (2003, ) Bird Lake Moon (2008, ) Junonia (2011, ) Sweeping up the Heart (2019, )
Miller Family books The Miller Family books are published by Greenwillow Books.
The Year of Billy Miller (2013, ) Billy Miller Makes a Wish (2021, ) Oh, Sal (2022, ) Still Sal (2024, ) Poppy (2026, )
Picture books
Standalone books
All Alone (1981, ) Clean Enough (1982, ) Margaret & Taylor (1983, ) Bailey Goes Camping (1985, ) Grandpa and Bo (1986, ) Once Around the Block, illustrated by Victoria Chess (1987, ) Jessica (1989, ) Shhhh (1989, ) The Biggest Boy, illustrated by Nancy Tafuri (1995, ) Good-bye, Curtis, illustrated by Marisabina Russo (1995, ) Circle Dogs, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino (1998, ) Oh!, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (1999, ) Kitten's First Full Moon (2004, ) So Happy!, illustrated by Anita Lobel (2005, ) A Good Day (2007, ) Old Bear (2008, ) Birds, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2009, ) My Garden (2010, ) Little White Rabbit (2011, ) Waiting (2015, ) When Spring Comes: An Easter And Springtime Book For Kids, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2016, ) Egg (2017, ) In the Middle of Fall, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2017, ) A Parade of Elephants (2018, ) Winter Is Here, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2018, ) Summer Song, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2020, ) Sun Flower Lion (2020, ) A House (2021, ) Little Houses, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2020, ) The World and Everything in It (2023, ) Finding Things, illustrated by Laura Dronzek (2024, ) Is It Spring? (2026, )
Mouse books The Mouse books are published by Greenwillow Books.
A Weekend with Wendell (1986, ) Sheila Rae, the Brave (1987, ) Chester's Way (1988, ) Julius, the Baby of the World (1990, ) Chrysanthemum (1991, ) Owen (1993, ) Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (1996, ) Wemberly Worried (2000, ) Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick (2001, ) Owen's Marshmallow Chick (2002, ) Julius's Candy Corn (2003, ) Lilly's Chocolate Heart (2003, ) Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star (2003, ) A Box Full of Lilly (2006, ) Lilly's Big Day (2006, )
Penny books The Penny books are published by Greenwillow Books.
Penny and Her Doll (2012, ) Penny and Her Song (2012, ) Penny and Her Marble (2013, ) Penny and Her Sled (2019, )
Notes
References
External links
Caldecott Medal Kevin Henkes Audio Name Pronunciation at TeachingBooks.net