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Summary
Summary
Things to know about Billy Miller:
He's worried about 2nd grade He thinks bats are cool His little sister is annoying He had a spectacular accident this summer He doesn't like poetry much His dad makes really good cookies Ned is his best friend His mom likes rainy days He thinks Emma Sparks is a pain He can run really fast This is his yearReviews (6)
School Library Journal Review
Gr 1-3-The beginning of a new school year brings anxious moments for Billy Miller, a typical second grader at Georgia O'Keeffe Elementary School in a small Wisconsin town. His new teacher, Ms. Silver, uses chopsticks to hold her hair in place and know-it-all Emma Sparks is unfortunately one of his desk mates. Just as a school year is divided into quarters, the book is divided into four parts-"Teacher," "Father," "Sister," and "Mother"-each offering a new perspective on Billy's personality and development through his interactions with these well-developed characters. He begins the school year with a lump on his head from a family-vacation incident and navigates glitter homework fiascos, canceled sleepover plans, and sibling annoyances as readers see the year unfold through funny and often poignant situations. Billy himself might have been daunted by a book with more than 200 pages, but eager young readers will find this a great first chapter book to share or read solo.-Cheryl Ashton, Amherst Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
It's the Year of the Rabbit, according to Billy Miller's new second-grade teacher. It's also the year of several dilemmas for the boy, including the fear he might "start forgetting things" due to bumping his head while on vacation over the summer. Then there's the habitat diorama that Billy is assigned-the bat cave he creates doesn't turn out quite like he'd hoped. Henkes's (Junonia) gentle slice-of-life novel, divided into four sections, humorously examines these and other plights while capturing the essence of Billy's relationships with four significant figures in his life: his teacher (who he accidentally insults on the first day of school); his stay-at-home, struggling-artist father; his sometimes annoying, sometimes endearing three-year-old sister; and his mother, about whom Billy must compose a poem to be presented at the end of the school year. Each segment introduces a new conflict that Billy manages to resolve without too much fuss or torment. The book's clear structure, concrete images, and just-challenging-enough vocabulary are smartly attuned to emerging readers, and its warmth, relatable situations, and sympathetic hero give it broad appeal. Ages 8-12. (Sept.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Horn Book Review
Billy Miller is having a momentous year, beginning with a tumble over a guardrail (resulting in a minor bump and major worry) and proceeding with a stream of second-grade Sturm und Drang. He gets off on the wrong foot with Ms. Silver; his seat isn't next to his best friend, Ned; and he worries he may not be smart enough for school. Henkes divides the novel into four parts, each with a focus on someone in Billy's life: Teacher, Father, Sister, Mother. Individual episodes shine an intimate light on the special relationships they consider, and taken together they offer a vivid yet secure portrait of a boy coming into his confidence. Henkes peppers the goings-on with early-elementary details -- little sister Sal "helps" Billy with his bat diorama, bedecking it with glitter -- giving both problems and solutions a familiar resonance. And he threads the symmetrical structure with an abundance of pattern, in small ways ("It was the first day of second grade. . .") and large, adding hallmarks of the changing seasons to the four sections, creating a comfortable rhythm perfectly suited to young readers. The large typeface, open layout, generous white space, and frequent spot illustrations add to the book's accessibility. Nuanced and human, this quiet novel takes aim squarely at the everyday difficulties of a specific segment of growing up and finds its mark with tender precision. thom barthelmess (c) Copyright 2013. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
Billy Miller's second-grade year is quietly spectacular in a wonderfully ordinary way. Billy's year begins with his worry over the lump on his head, a souvenir of a dramatic summer fall onto concrete: Will he be up to the challenges his new teacher promises in her letter to students? Quickly overshadowing that worry, however, is a diplomatic crisis over whether he has somehow offended Ms. Silver on the first day of school. Four sections--Teacher, Father, Sister and Mother--offer different and essential focal points for Billy's life, allowing both him and readers to explore several varieties of creative endeavor, small adventures, and, especially, both challenges and successful problem-solving. The wonderfully self-possessed Sal, his 3-year-old sister, is to Billy much as Ramona is to Beezus, but without the same level of tension. Her pillowcase full of the plush yellow whales she calls the Drop Sisters (Raindrop, Gumdrop, etc.) is a memorable prop. Henkes offers what he so often does in these longer works for children: a sense that experiences don't have to be extraordinary to be important and dramatic. Billy's slightly dreamy interior life isn't filled with either angst or boisterous silliness--rather, the moments that appear in these stories are clarifying bits of the universal larger puzzle of growing up, changing and understanding the world. Small, precise black-and-white drawings punctuate and decorate the pages. Sweetly low-key and totally accessible. (Fiction. 7-10)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
Billy Miller is starting second grade, and though his teacher, Mrs. Silver, tells the class it is the Year of the Rabbit, Billy's father tells him it will be the Year of Billy Miller. Billy isn't sure. He's even more worried when he gets off on the wrong foot his first day, but as the months go on, Billy begins to shine. There are some wonderful moments here: when Billy brings his teacher silver items coins, a paper clip, a little rabbit to show her he's a nice boy; when he agonizes over how to tell his father that Papa is a babyish name; and a triumphant ending when poetry and self-confidence intertwine. But the school year also seems rushed, and some intriguing characters, like the annoying Emma, are barely touched. Harkening back to writers of an earlier era, like Eleanor Estes, Henkes never compromises his language. Words like replicated, diligently, and frustrated appear and that's on just one page. Since this is so age specific, older readers might pass it by. That would be too bad, because this is a story with a lot of heart and sweet insights into growing up. Illustrations unseen. High-Demand Backstory: There's no more versatile producer of children's books working today than Henkes. Libraries, with great justification, are always interested in what he's up to now.--Cooper, Ilene Copyright 2010 Booklist
New York Review of Books Review
TRUE TO ITS 7-year-old protagonist's world and his way of experiencing it, Kevin Henkes's "Year of Billy Miller" begins with school and with anxiety: "It was the first day of second grade and Billy Miller was worried. He was worried that he wouldn't be smart enough for school this year." Over the summer, Billy suffered a dramatic fall onto concrete. Declared "miraculously unharmed" by the doctor, he has since overheard his mother expressing concern "that down the line something will show up," and the lingering lump on his head isn't helping matters. Add to this the letter from his new teacher chirpily describing second grade as "a wonderful, joyful, exciting challenge," and Billy's anxiety reaches fever pitch. One of the main themes of the book emerges in Papa's characteristic response:"! know - and I know everything - that this is the Year of Billy Miller." Part of the humor here is that Papa doesn't know everything - and Billy knows he doesn't - but his quiet faith in his son is a great source of sustenance. The adults in the novel help Billy and his younger sister, Sal, in the same way that Henkes helps his child readers, not didactically but organically, by recognizing their vulnerability, sanctioning their anxiety, and encouraging them to face challenges with confidence and ingenuity. That Billy's anxieties and problems are typical of elementary-school boys will comfort young readers. Billy is impulsive, distractible and has "words in his head" that don't always "make it to his mouth." He gets frustrated by fine motor tasks. He worries that his diorama looks as if "it was made by a 2-year-old" ; he decides to write a short poem "because that would mean fewer words he might not be able to spell." Fearing that "Mama" and "Papa" sound "babyish," he resolves to call his parents Mom and Dad in public. Henkes is wonderful at showing how Billy's tender solicitude for them - he doesn't "want to hurt Papa's feelings" by calling him Dad, and when he has "to choose between Mama and Papa" as the subject of a poem, he doesn't "want either one to feel bad" - reflects his parents' own empathy. One especially poignant exchange: '"Don't worry, Dad ... I'll never forget you.' 'I'm not worried,' said Papa. 'Not one little bit'"- encapsulates the deep feeling between them. Henkes's understanding of how parents and children inspire each other is evident when Papa, an artist, has a breakthrough shortly after Billy comments, "I was thinking that you're so good at dioramas, that you should make dioramas for your artwork." When Papa's "assemblages" are a success, Billy is proud to have helped Papa "in such an important way." Black-and-white line drawings in the Henkes style familiar to readers of "Chrysanthemum" and "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse" enhance the sense of gentle whimsy. That contemporary novels for elementary school aged boys about ordinary family life are so rare makes this one all the more welcome. Billy ultimately decides his poem should be about his mother, and the features he chooses to write about reflect Henkes's own virtues. Mama tells Billy that "of all the things I like, quiet might be my favorite." Henkes's delightful story is restrained and vivid in just this way: forgoing the overdramatic or zany, it shows the substance, warmth and adaptability of beautifully common family love. Mama's "when it's quiet you can hear so much" perfectly describes the resonant power of Henkes's vision. ? PRISCILLA GILMAN is the author of "The AntiRomantic Child: A Memoir of Unexpected Joy."