Kevin Henkes


Kevin Henkes 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. Two of Henkes' 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' 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' 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 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' 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. 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 The [New York Times Best Seller list|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, Julius, the Baby of the World, Chrysanthemum, Words of Stone, Owen, Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse, Olive’s Ocean, A Good Day, Old Bear, Birds, Penny and Her Doll, Penny and Her Marble, Waiting, Egg, A Parade of Elephants, Penny and Her Sled, Billy Miller Makes a Wish, and Oh, Sal.
YearTitleAwardResultRef.
1986Grandpa & BoCouncil of Wisconsin Writers Children’s Book AwardWinner
1988'Council of Wisconsin Writers Children’s Book AwardWinner
1991ChrysanthemumCouncil of Wisconsin Writers Children’s Book AwardWinner
1993OwenArcher-Eckblad Children’s Picture Book AwardWinner
1993Words of StoneJudy Lopez Memorial Award for Children's LiteratureNominee
1993Words of StoneElizabeth Burr / Worzalla AwardWinner
1994OwenCaldecott MedalHonor
1996Protecting MarieElizabeth Burr / Worzalla AwardWinner
1997Lilly's Purple Plastic PurseAmerican Booksellers Book of the Year: Children'sWinner
1999Circle DogsCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2003Owen's Marshmallow ChickCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2004Kitten's First Full MoonBetty Ren Wright Children’s Picture Book AwardHonorable Mention
2004Olive's OceanNewbery MedalHonor
2005Kitten's First Full MoonCaldecott MedalWinner
2005Kitten's First Full MoonCharlotte Zolotow AwardWinner
2005Kitten's First Full MoonMidwest Booksellers' Choice Award for Children's Picture BookWinner
2007'Midwest Booksellers' Choice AwardsWinner
2007Lilly's Big DayCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2008'Charlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2009BirdsGreat Lakes Book AwardsFinalist
2009Old BearCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2009Old BearGreat Lakes Book AwardsFinalist
2010BirdsCharlotte Zolotow AwardHonor
2010My GardenGoodreads Choice Award for Picture BookNominee
2011Little White RabbitGoodreads Choice Award for Picture BookNominee
2011My GardenCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2012JessicaALSC Notable Children's RecordingsSelection
2014Penny and Her MarbleTheodor Seuss Geisel AwardHonor
2014'Elizabeth Burr / Worzalla AwardWinner
2014'Newbery MedalHonor
2014'E. B. White Read Aloud AwardFinalist
2014Lilly’s Purple Plastic PurseABA Picture Book Hall of FameFinalist
2015WaitingGoodreads Choice Award for Best Picture BooksNominee
2016WaitingALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2016WaitingCaldecott MedalHonor
2016WaitingCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2016WaitingTheodor Seuss Geisel AwardHonor
2018EggEisner Award for Best Publication for Early ReadersFinalist
2018In the Middle of FallCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2019'ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2019Winter is HereCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2019'ALSC Notable Children's BooksSelection
2020Sun Flower LionCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended
2020Sun Flower LionChildren's Literature Legacy AwardWinner
2022Little HousesCharlotte Zolotow AwardHighly commended

Publications

Novels

Standalone books

  • Return to Sender
  • Two Under Par
  • The Zebra Wall
  • Words of Stone
  • Protecting Marie
  • Sun & Spoon
  • The Birthday Room
  • Olive's Ocean
  • Bird Lake Moon
  • Junonia
  • Sweeping up the Heart
  • ''Oh, Sal''

''Billy Miller'' books

The Billy Miller books are published by Greenwillow Books.

Picture books

Standalone books

  • All Alone
  • Clean Enough
  • Margaret & Taylor
  • Bailey Goes Camping
  • Grandpa and Bo
  • Once Around the Block, illustrated by Victoria Chess
  • Jessica
  • Shhhh
  • The Biggest Boy, illustrated by Nancy Tafuri
  • Good-bye, Curtis, illustrated by Marisabina Russo
  • Circle Dogs, illustrated by Dan Yaccarino
  • Oh!
  • Kitten's First Full Moon
  • So Happy!
  • A Good Day
  • Old Bear
  • Birds, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • My Garden
  • Little White Rabbit
  • Waiting
  • When Spring Comes: An Easter And Springtime Book For Kids, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • Egg
  • In the Middle of Fall, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • A Parade of Elephants
  • Winter Is Here, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • Summer Song, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • Sun Flower Lion
  • A House
  • Little Houses, illustrated by Laura Dronzek
  • ''The World and Everything in It''

''Mouse'' books

The Mouse books are published by Greenwillow Books.
  • A Weekend with Wendell
  • Sheila Rae, the Brave
  • Chester's Way
  • Julius, the Baby of the World
  • [Chrysanthemum (book)|Chrysanthemum]
  • Owen
  • Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
  • Wemberly Worried
  • Sheila Rae's Peppermint Stick
  • Owen's Marshmallow Chick
  • Julius's Candy Corn
  • Lilly's Chocolate Heart
  • Wemberly's Ice-Cream Star
  • A Box Full of Lilly
  • ''Lilly's Big Day''

''Penny'' books

The Penny books are published by Greenwillow Books.
  • Penny and Her Doll
  • Penny and Her Song
  • Penny and Her Marble
  • ''Penny and Her Sled''