Junonia

Description

"Henkes perfectly captures Alice's angst as she spins between the little-girlhood she's leaving behind and the adolescence that looms in front of her."-New York Times Alice Rice is turning ten-double digits-and the world is full of promise. She has friends and family to celebrate with her, as well as an eagerly anticipated beach vacation ahead of her, and she knows exactly how everything will be: perfect. But what happens when life isn't exactly what Alice expects This exquisitely crafted short novel is illustrated throughout by the author, who was awarded the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon. Junonia is for a younger reader than Kevin Henkes's acclaimed novels Olive's Ocean (a Newbery Honor Book) and Bird Lake Moon. An often funny, always true, masterful coming-of-age story about the unexpected ways in which a gift can arrive.

Kevin Henkes is the author and illustrator of more than fifty critically acclaimed and award-winning picture books, beginning readers, and novels. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon in 2005, and Waiting won a Caldecott Honor and Geisel Honor in 2016. Kevin Henkes is also the creator of a number of picture books featuring his mouse characters, including the #1 New York Times bestsellers Lilly's Big Day and Wemberly Worried, the Caldecott Honor Book Owen, and the beloved Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse. His most recent mouse character, Penny, was introduced in Penny and Her Song; her story continued in Penny and Her Doll and Penny and Her Marble (a Geisel Honor Book). Bruce Handy, in a New York Times Book Review piece about A Good Day, wrote, "It should be said: Kevin Henkes is a genius." Kevin Henkes received two Newbery Honors for novels-one for The Year of Billy Miller, and the other for Olive's Ocean. Also among his fiction for older readers are the novels Junonia, Bird Lake Moon, The Birthday Room, and Sun & Spoon. Kevin Henkes has been published by Greenwillow Books since the release of his first book, All Alone, in 1981. His fiftieth book, the picture book Egg, was published in January 2017. Most recently, he is the author of In the Middle of Fall, Winter Is Here, Summer Song, A Parade of Elephants, Sweeping Up the Heart, and Penny and Her Sled. He lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin. www.kevinhenkes.com.

"Henkes knows that Alice, like many girls her age, carries plenty of things in her mind-and her heart-that she seldom speaks of. She mulls them over privately, and in Henkes's hands, eloquently." -- New York Times "Very few writers have such a keen understanding of the emotional lives of children; here Henkes is at the top of his game." -- Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "In this introspective story about a child's search for a rare shell, Henkes again displays his ability to find profound meaning in ordinary events... Readers will empathize with Alice's frustrations and relish her moments of joy." -- Publishers Weekly (starred review) "With tender observations and sensory details, Henkes creates a memorable young individual whose arcadian growing up is authentic and pitch-perfect." -- Booklist (starred review) "Alice balances between familiarity and novelty, coziness and independence, self-centeredness and altruism-the balance beam of turning ten... A fully realized, respectful portrait of a childhood milestone." -- The Horn Book