Billy Miller Makes a Wish

February 15, 2021
Billy Miller's birthday wish, for "something exciting [to] happen," attunes him to all kinds of excitement in his life. Just after he blows out his candles, an ambulance roars down the street to the house of an elderly neighbor, and Billy later worries that his wish precipitated Mr. Tooley's death. Billy is White, with a mother, father, and younger sister, Sal, whose singular personality dominates nearly everything around her. Sal's plush whale Drop Sisters have been joined by a more portable quintet of whale-shaped erasers, the Drip Sisters. As with the moment when Billy thinks about how the air changes somewhere from summer warmth to cool on the steps to the basement, Henkes' focus on small transitions in growing up and seeing the world acknowledges and celebrates the complex emotional life of childhood. Billy's year of being 8 begins like a leaf unfolding, slow and steady, fed by the sunlight of loving parents and comfortable life. Twenty brief chapters chronicle the several days in which Billy misses the presence of his artist father, away at an art camp, inadvertently learns that his mother (and father) had a life before him, and helps his mother manage Sal. The sweet surprise of the summer (adult readers may recognize the clues), revealed when Papa returns, promises new and interesting chapters in Billy's life. Full of heart and depth. (Fiction. 7-10)

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March 1, 2021
Grades 2-4 *Starred Review* For Billy Miller, sirens signal the first and last days of an eventful period. First, an ambulance pulls up to a nearby house during Billy's eighth-birthday celebration, giving rise to some anxiety. Has his secret birthday wish (for something exciting to happen) caused his elderly neighbor's death? Papa assures Billy that there's no connection. Several days later, with sirens wailing, firefighters arrive at the Millers' house to extinguish a chimney fire. In between, Papa leaves for a four-day "art camp," Mama deals with a bat in the basement, three-year-old Sal uses a permanent marker to draw butterfly "tattoos" on her legs, and Billy makes an embarrassing trek around the block, retrieving his parents' old love letters, which Sal has placed in their neighbors' mailboxes. Papa's return and Mama's news create a happy ending for all. A first-rate choice for reading aloud, this episodic, consistently captivating chapter book draws readers into Billy's world immediately. Small, kid-friendly drawings illustrate details mentioned within the narrative, but the vividly portrayed characters come to life through the words alone. A companion book to Newbery Honor Book The Year of Billy Miller (2013), this warm family story features the same down-to-earth humor and seemingly simple, beautifully crafted writing. A quiet gem.

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Starred review from April 1, 2021

Gr 3 Up-Billy Miller is back with all-new everyday adventures. As he blows out the candles on his eighth birthday cake, he makes a wish for something exciting to happen. Seconds later an ambulance with sirens blazing races past his house for the first time ever and Billy begins to wonder if he should have made a different wish. It doesn't stop there; in his first week as an eight-year-old, Billy, who is white, encounters a bat, a letter fiasco, even a house fire, not to mention old grandchildren and some not-so-permanent tattoos. This standalone sequel to The Year of Billy Miller contains simple black-and-white illustrations and is somewhat shorter than the inaugural volume. Billy's tight-knit family and neighborhood set the stage for adventures such as the embarrassment of seeing your teacher in the grocery section or impressing your friends by having been "in the house of a dead person." Henkes's phenomenal ability to tap directly into the hopes, fears, and annoyances of an eight-year-old boy with beautiful clarity make this not only relatable for young readers, but for adults as well. VERDICT Reminiscent of Pennypacker's "Clementine" series, or Beverly Cleary's "Ramona" books, Billy Miller and the laugh-out-loud antics of his little sister Sal make this a darling addition to early middle grade collections for most libraries.-Emily Beasley, Omaha Public Sch., NE

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