The Year of Billy Miller

The Year of Billy Miller is a 2013 children's book by acclaimed children's author Kevin Henkes. It was a Newberry Honor book in 2014, and besides writing the book's text, Henke also drew the illustrations. Previously, Henkes' 2004 book Olive's Ocean was a Newberry Honor book, and Henkes received a Caldecott medal for illustration for his book Kitten's First Full Moon, also in 2004. In 2016. his book Waiting was named both a Caldecott Honor book and a Geisel Honor book. The Year of Billy Miller follows the eponymous protagonist, Billy Miller, through his second grade year of school at Georgia O'Keefe Elementary School, following a head injury the previous summer.

Billy Miller lives in the fictional Constant, Wisconsin with his Papa, Mama, and three-year-old sister Sal. The summer before second grade, Billy's family goes on a trip to see the statue of the Jolly Green Giant. A breeze blows Billy's hat off, and he goes sprinting after it. He trips, however, and slips, hitting his head on an observation platform. The fall hurts him badly enough to leave him with a large, although temporary, lump. Billy overhears his mother, who is a high school English teacher and therefore very intelligent, worrying about the lump, and speculating that he may be forgetful later in life because of it. This causes Billy to worry as well. He fears he now will be unfit for second grade, and will only be able to succeed by working extra hard. Papa tries to comfort Billy by referring to a letter from Billy's future second grade teacher, who mentions that it is the Chinese Year of the Rabbit; it is actually the Year of Billy Miller, Papa contends.

Billy starts the second grade and really likes his new teacher, Ms. Silver. However, he suspects he may have unintentionally offended her after teasing the class know-it-all, a bossy girl named Emma Sparks. Billy worries that his interactions with Emma will reflect badly on him in Ms. Silver's eyes. To boost his image in his teacher's estimation, Billy decides to get her a gift comprising an assortment of silver objects. Ms. Silver appreciates the gift, and assures Billy she doesn't dislike him. She also tells him that she thinks he's smart. Billy learns to ignore Emma.



Ms. Silver asks her students to make dioramas. The dioramas are to represent the habitat of the students' favorite animals. Billy decides to recreate the habitat of a bat with his best friend Ned Henderson. The cave turns out well, but Sal adds glitter to the cave, upsetting Billy, who initially thinks the diorama is ruined. Pa saves the day, however, by encouraging Billy to think differently about the cave: the glitter resembles mica, a naturally occurring mineral that flashes like glitter in the light. Ms. Silver loves the diorama.

Billy's diorama is also important for another reason. Pa is not only a stay-at-home dad, but a working artist whose medium is “found objects.” He has been struggling for inspiration, however. Billy's diorama project inspires Pa to try making some diorama of his own – which turn out so well that he ends up selling some at an art gallery. One night, while Ma and Pa go to Chicago overnight, they call the babysitter Gabby over to watch Billy and Sal. Billy comes up with a plan to stay up all night. He enlists Sal in his plan, and though in the end they do fall asleep, it brings them closer together. Afterwards, Billy even gifts Sal with a “dragon pearl,” and a note sealed in a special dragon-themed envelope.

Before second grade ends, Billy also faces the issue of having to write his first poem. Billy decides to write the poem about his mom. He will memorize it and perform at the talent show that closes out the school year. But when the time comes for his performance, he gets stage fright and forgets the words. Ma isn't let down, though, and Billy is later able to remember the poem – and perform it – by heart.



The Year of Billy Miller is a book about second grade written for an audience of roughly Billy's age. At some 240 pages, however, it is considerably longer than most books written for this demographic. But it is written in accessible language, and aided by illustrations. The Year of Billy Miller does not tackle any contentious sociopolitical issues – there are no didactic discussions about race, class, or gender watered down to the level that a younger child might understand. Rather, the book focuses on Billy's relationships with his immediate social circle, and his ability to face his fears and move past them.