The Year of Billy Miller

The New York Times declared: Henkes’s delightful story is restrained and vivid … forgoing the overdramatic or zany, it shows the substance, warmth and adaptability of beautifully common family love. When Billy Miller has a mishap at the statue of the Jolly Green Giant at the end of summer vacation, he ends up with a big lump on his head. What a way to start second grade, with a lump on your head! As the year goes by, though, Billy figures out how to navigate elementary school, how to appreciate (some of the time) his pesky (and hilarious) little sister, and how to be a more grown up and responsible member of the family and a help to his busy working mom and stay-at-home dad. Award-winning author Kevin Henkes delivers a short, satisfying, laugh-out-loud funny school and family story complete with homework (dioramas!), school shows (original poetry performed at microphones!), cancelled sleepovers, and epic sibling temper tantrums. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, this is a perfect short chapter book for the early elementary grades that will appeal to readers of the Ramona books, Andrew Clements, and Clementine.