ONLINE: Kevin Henkes & Laura Dronzek

media release: Virtual Author Visit: Kevin Henkes and Laura Dronzek. To accommodate as many young readers and their families as possible, this event will be fully virtual.

When a young girl visits her grandparents at the beach, she stays in a little house and walks along the shore gathering seashells—which were once little houses of their own. As she wanders the beach, she wonders about the creatures who used to live in each shell, about the hidden treasures of the sea, and about the mysteries of the world.

About the Author: I’ve been writing and illustrating children’s books for thirty years. It’s the only real job I’ve ever had.

When my work is going well, it’s transformative. I feel as if I’ve been removed from ordinary time and am living in some parallel universe, a world of grace and wonder.

Books are often the first exposure to art that children have. Keeping that in mind urges me to make the very best books possible. I know how important the books from my childhood were (and are) to me. Without them, I might not be a writer and artist today.

Sometimes I’ll hear from a parent about how a book of mine has insinuated itself into the heart of his or her child, or how a phrase from one of my books has become part of the family’s daily jargon. I love that. But most of all, I love sitting alone in a quiet room drawing and painting and writing. I love my job.

About the Illustrator: Laura Dronzek is a painter whose work has been exhibited nationally. Her picture books include Moonlight, by Helen V. Griffith; It Is Night, by Phyllis Rowand; and White Is for Blueberry, by George Shannon.