The Year Of Billy Henkes

The 2014 John Newbery Honor was given to The Year of Billy Miller by Kevin Henkes. Billy Miller is seven-year-old boy who is determined to have his best year yet before he starts the second grade. However, Billy must first overcome obstacles that all children face while growing older. As Billy makes his way through second grade, he must learn how to deal with fear, his parents, and bullies. The Year of Billy Miller is a prized book because it is a realistic story. Instead of relying on traditional stereotypes to tell Billy’s story, Kevin Henkes created a text that represents a variety of children. Billy’s dad stayed at home to take care of his younger siblings while his mom worked at a high school. Also, Billy faced struggles such as not wanting to be seen with his parents because they baby him. These are issues that most children face, and by including them in this text, Kevin Henkes created book that all children can relate to.
Growing up, finding books that did not appeal to stereotypes about growing up was a difficult task. Therefore, reading The Year of Billy Miller was refreshing. I could relate to the Billy’s story and I am sure others out there can relate as well. The Year of Billy Miller would be a great book for elementary school students. Since it is a chapter book, teachers can divide the book up by reading a chapter or two each day during class. After the reading, teachers can instruct students to write their own story that relates to what happened to Billy in the chapter that was read. This will aid children in drawing connections between themselves and