Kevin Henkes

media release: About the book

A stand-alone companion to two-time Newbery Honor author Kevin Henkes’s award-winning and acclaimed The Year of Billy Miller and Billy Miller Makes a Wish. This short, humorous, and accessible novel for newly independent readers focuses on Billy’s younger sister, Sal, and the story unfolds during an eventful holiday season at the Miller house. A great choice for fans of Ramona, Ivy + Bean, and Dory Fantasmagory. Illustrated in black-and-white on every page by the author.

It’s Christmas, and the Miller family is celebrating their first holiday with the new baby. Billy is excited that Uncle Jake is visiting, but nothing about this holiday season is making Sal happy. The baby is a noisy nuisance and hogging all of Mama’s attention. Plus, the baby doesn’t even have a name yet. To make matters worse, Sal has lost a gift that Santa gave her!

Will Sal find her present? Will the Millers find a name for the baby? Will Billy always be an obnoxious big brother? 

The holiday season (and life with the Millers) is full of surprises—and warmth, kindness, family, celebration, and love—in the hands of award-winning author Kevin Henkes. Illustrated throughout with black-and-white art by the author, Oh, Sal is an excellent choice for early elementary grades, as well as a terrific family and classroom read-aloud for every time of the year.

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.”