Sweeping Up the Heart

Description

From two-time Newbery Honor and New York Times-bestselling author Kevin Henkes, this timeless novel about loss, loneliness, and friendship tells the story of the spring break that changes seventh-grader Amelia Albright's life forever. Amelia Albright dreams about going to Florida for spring break like everyone else in her class, but her father-a cranky and stubborn English professor-has decided Florida is too much adventure. Now Amelia is stuck at home with him and her babysitter, the beloved Mrs. O'Brien. The week ahead promises to be boring, until Amelia meets Casey at her neighborhood art studio. Amelia has never been friends with a boy before, and the experience is both fraught and thrilling. When Casey claims to see the spirit of Amelia's mother (who died ten years before), the pair embarks on an altogether different journey in their attempt to find her. Using crisp, lyrical, literary writing and moments of humor and truth, award-winning author Kevin Henkes deftly captures how it feels to be almost thirteen. With themes of family, death, grief, creativity, and loyalty, Sweeping Up the Heart is for readers of Kate DiCamillo, Rebecca Stead, Lauren Wolk, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and Pam Munoz Ryan.

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.

"Deeply felt. . .moving and satisfying, and the book ends with a feeling of revelation and rebirth. . .and an utterly perfect final sentence." - New York Times Book Review "A shimmering novel that touches on human frailty, the consolations of art, and the mysteries of growing up." - Wall Street Journal "Captured on the threshold of puberty's tumultuous changes, Amelia and Casey quiver with hope and longing. Like a Chinese brush painting made of words, this short novel distills the slow-building impatience of early adolescence down to its essence-not much happens, yet everything does. . . . Spare, luminous, lovely." - Kirkus Reviews (starred review) "Henkes's profound understanding of the adolescent heart and mind is evident . . . In economic prose, Henkes evokes the complexity of his characters' emotions and relationships, and offers a feel-good resolution." - Publishers Weekly (starred review) "In that confusing space between childhood and adulthood, Amelia finds comfort in talking to her beloved stuffed lamb even as she experiences her first crush and wonders 'what kind of woman she would be when she grew up.' The week's cheerlessness morphs into something complex and important." - Horn Book (starred review) "A stunning realistic fiction novel, Amelia's story is woven tightly with themes of friendship, grief, and love. In his signature classic style, Henkes perfectly captures the hope paramount to the youthful heart, while honoring difficult themes. . . [A] smooth, compact, emotionally nuanced novel with relatable characters." - School Library Journal (starred review) "Amelia is a winning character: a dreamy, old soul who perfectly displays the naivety and the wisdom of growing up. Humor and lyrical language buoy the . . . narrative. Henkes's latest story is, like most life changes, quiet yet momentous." - ALA Booklist "Henkes writes in still pools with occasional ripples, a clarity of approach that gives his writing immediacy along with precision. . .Readers will sympathize with [Amelia] as she negotiates some complicated human dynamics and comes out with more understanding." - Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books "Henkes is the master of quiet yet potent observation, and this slender novel sensitively maps the heart of a girl on the cusp of 'whatever was still to come.'" - Cleveland Plain Dealer