Authentic Wisconsin.  Kevin Henkes


Kevin Henkes

Above: Kevin Henkes signing a copy of his Caldecott Medal winner, Kitten's First Full Moon at the Mazza Museum at The University of Findlay on November 11, 2011. Photo licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 3.0 Unported: Alvintrusty.


Kevin Henkes - writer and illustrator of children's books; born on November 27, 1960 in Racine, Wisconsin.   Henkes (pronounced HANK-us) won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean (2004) and The Year of Billy Miller (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.

Henkes graduated from St. Catherine's in Racine in 1979 where he drafted his first book, "All Alone,". The book was then accepted for publication when Henkes was just 19, an art major at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and was published in 1981.

Henkes and his wife, artist Laura Dronzek, have been collaborating on a series of picture books based on the four seasons. Henkes writes the story, while Dronzek provides the acrylic painting illustrations.

Henkes has over 45 books to his credit including:

  • Grandpa & Bo (1986) - Council of Wisconsin Writers Picture Book Award.

  • Once Around the Block (1987) - Library of Congress Best Books of the Year.

  • A Weekend with Wendel (1986) - Children's Choices 1987.

  • Chester's Way (1988) - ALA Notable Children's Books 1988.

  • Julius, the Baby of the World (1990) - ALA Notable Children's Books 1990, Booklist Editors Choice 1990.

  • Owen (1994) - Caldecott Honor, Phoenix Picture Book Award 2013.

  • Circle Dogs (1998) - Charlotte Zolotow Award: Highly Commended 1999.

  • Wemberly Worried (2000) - ALA Notable Children's Book 2000, Parenting Magazine — Reading Magic Award 2000, Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books 2001, School Library Journal Best Children's Books 2001.

  • Olive's Ocean (2004) - Newbery Honor Book.

  • Kitten's First Full Moon (2004) - Caldecott Medal.

  • The Year of Billy Miller (2013) - Newbery Honor Book.

  • Waiting (2015) - Caldecott Honor.

Henkes lives in Madison, Wisconsin with his wife.


For more information on Kevin Henkes, visit Wikipedia.


You can also visit kevinhenkes.com.


Buy Kevin Henkes books at Amazon. (Click on image below to browse.)

     

     

     

     

=

↩  Back to Famous Wisconsinites

 

Famous Wisconsinites


Kevin Henkes



Above: Kitten's First Full Moon Board Book, by Kevin Henkes. Winner of the 2004 Caldecott Medal.




Above: Wemberly Worried (2000), by Kevin Henkes. A back-to-school favorite. ALA Notable Children's Book 2000, Parenting Magazine — Reading Magic Award 2000, Publishers Weekly Best Children's Books 2001, School Library Journal Best Children's Books 2001.




Above: Wemberly Worried (2006), by Kevin Henkes. From the Music Technology Literacy Project. High school students present a popular story with original music, voice recordings, and sound effects.




Above: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse (2006), by Kevin Henkes.



↩   Back to Famous Wisconsinites