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Book Summary and Reviews of Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Junonia by Kevin Henkes

Junonia

by Kevin Henkes

  • Critics' Consensus (4):
  • Readers' Rating (3):
  • Published:
  • May 2011, 192 pages
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About this book

Book Summary

Returning to the beach cottage - a cottage named Scallop - where she has always celebrated her birthday is a special occasion for Alice Rice.

Who will see the first dolphin this time? The first pelican? What will have changed? Stayed the same? And will this be the year she finally finds a junonia shell?

Alice's friends are all returning, too. And she's certain her parents have the best party planned for her. Alice can't wait. If Alice is lucky, everything will be absolutely perfect. Will Alice be lucky?

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Reviews

Media Reviews

"Starred Review. Images of the beach and the moving, meaningful interactions between characters will linger with readers. Ages 8-12." - Publishers Weekly

"Starred Review. With tender observations and sensory details, Henkes creates a memorable young individual whose arcadian growing up is authentic and pitch-perfect. Grades 4-6." - Booklist

"Starred Review. Very few writers have such a keen understanding of the emotional lives of children; here Henkes is at the top of his game. Ages 8-12." - Kirkus

This information about Junonia was first featured in "The BookBrowse Review" - BookBrowse's membership magazine, and in our weekly "Publishing This Week" newsletter. Publication information is for the USA, and (unless stated otherwise) represents the first print edition. The reviews are necessarily limited to those that were available to us ahead of publication. If you are the publisher or author and feel that they do not properly reflect the range of media opinion now available, send us a message with the mainstream reviews that you would like to see added.

Any "Author Information" displayed below reflects the author's biography at the time this particular book was published.

Reader Reviews

Write your own reviewwrite your own review

Gabriella

I want to find a Junonia!
I think it's an awesome book. I feel bad for Mallory; I think Alice is a lot like me. It was really fun to read the book and I recommend everyone to read it!!

Lilly

Junonia
This book is awesome! I had to read it the whole night. That's how good it is. I really recommend this book for ages 8-11 Im 10. This book is the type of book that you will be like "I wanna read it again!"

BEST BOOK EVER

tmartinez

Junonia: On a scale of 1-10 i rate it as 10!
It was outstanding! I couldn't believe the sensation of how the author understood how kids are like. I am 13 and I am female and "michure" I believe that this book is great and everyone should read it! The way that the characters were described as they were doing certain actions was unbelievable! Certainly not like any other book I have read! I want to find a Junonia now! This book reminded me of a person I know that acts just like Mallory! She breathes over my neck, gets too close and has very bad breath but Mallory does not have bad breath in the book!

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Author Information

Kevin Henkes Author Biography

Photo: Laura Dronzek

Kevin Henkes was born in 1960 in Racine, Wisconsin, and during his childhood often visited the local art museum—the Charles A. Wustum Museum of Fine Arts. Henkes was greatly inspired by these visits and by reading his favorite books. As a young child, he pored over books and was intrigued by their authors and illustrators.

In his senior year of high school, a public librarian introduced him to Barbara Bader's American Picturebooks from Noah's Ark to The Beast Within.

Henkes began college at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, choosing to go there in large part because of the School of Education's Cooperative Children's Book Center (CCBC). At the CCBC, Henkes learned about the history and future trajectory of children's literature. The July after his ...

... Full Biography
Link to Kevin Henkes's Website

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