Top Five Fridays - Kevin Henkes

With my oldest starting pre-K very soon I thought it would be a good week to highlight some great back to school reads. Growing up and going to school are easy, right? If only it always was. One of my favorite authors of great reads for those early school years is Kevin Henkes.No one tackles some of the tough parts of growing up quite like Kevin Henkes in early children's picture books. His characters are very relatable to children. Some are anxious to go to school, clinging to a loved snuggly, singled out for being different, worried about, well, everything. We've all been there and many have helped our kids through these days as well. Henkes handles these topics wonderfully with a sun will and does come out tomorrow outlook.

You will find his stories and characters endearing. He has written and illustrated dozens of children book classics. Most of his picture books have been illustrated by him. His illustrations are often colorful, cheery and cartoon style. The only exception is the black and white illustrations of his Kitten's First Full Moon book.

I must confess I've not read all of Henkes books, we're working on it. There's a lot. But I have read many. I also have not read any of his novels for older kids. I honestly did not know he wrote juvenile fiction until I started working on writing this post. I will definitely be checking those out soon. To learn more about Henkes please visit his site: kevinhenkes.com.

So here are my top five picks for the picture books of Kevin Henkes-






1. Owen - All you crafty Mom's will appreciate Owen's own Mom's resourcefulness









2. Chrysanthemum - As for terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days, poor Chrysanthemum has her share. But Mrs. Twinkle a wonderful teacher comes to the rescue. Hooray for teachers like Mrs. Twinkle!








3. Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse - Another great read of a day gone bad and a wise teacher to help make things right.










4. My Garden - Okay I LOVE garden books and oh my what a garden a good imagination can grow!







5. Birds, illustrated by Laura Dronzek - Also not a back to school book but a lovely read about types of birds and filled with a rainbow of colors. Would make a lovely classroom read though too.




What are some of your favorites? Any suggestions on which novel I should check out first by Henkes?