Kevin Henkes - About the Author
Kevin Henkes remembers drawing at a very early age, having been encouraged by his parents and teachers. He also loved books, reading and rereading them until the pages were dog-eared and the covers coated with stale peanut butter.
When he was nineteen, he became an author-illustrator, flying from his home in Racine, Wisconsin to New York City with his portfolio, hoping to find a publisher. Fortunately, Susan Hirschman at Greenwillow Books saw his talent and his first picture book, All Alone, was published in 1981. Since then he has written and published many picture books and several novels.
Although he used to live with his parents, brothers, and sister and work at a card table in his bedroom, he now lives with his wife, son, and daughter in their own house and works at a drawing table in his own studio.
Henkes states: "My main goal is to create books that please me. But of course I'm happy when teachers, parents, or librarians thank me because for them one of my books says something important about tolerance, loyalty, or individuality. But I'm most pleased when children tell me that they loved one of my books, that it made them laugh, that they sleep with it under their pillow."
