Kevin Henkes is a successful children's book artist and writer known for winning both the Caldecott Medal for illustration and the Newbery Honor for composing. He is perhaps most famous for his book, Kitten's First Full Moon, which won the 2005 Caldecott Medal.
Kevin Henkes thought he would be an artist until his junior year of university, when one of his teachers encouraged him in his composing efforts. He discovered that books for kids combined both his literary and artistic interests.
(Kevin Henkes photo #2)
Henkes is writer and artist of children's picturebooks, many of which feature mice as their main characters. He also writes young-adult fiction. Henkes created his first book during his freshman year in college. The book's theme deals with how a child describes the pleasures of occasional solitude. This theme is common in many of Henkes' later works. Henkes, one of five children, says that many of his storylines are inspired by his family and the neighborhood where he grew up in Racine, Wisconsin.
(Kevin Henkes photo #3)
Henkes' first book, All Alone, was released in 1981 by Greenwillow Works. More than 30 works followed, including Chrysanthemum and Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. Henkes won the 2004 Newbery Honor for Olive's Ocean, a 1994 Caldecott Honor for Owen, and a 2005 Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon. All of his works to date have been released by Greenwillow Works.
Kevin Henkes
