Kevin Hawkes caught my attention when I was reading Paul Fleischman books, specifically Weslandia and Sidewalk Circus. They remain 2 of my favorites, but little did I know the treat I had in store when I decided to focus on Kevin Hawkes’s art.
Much of his work is dynamic, with vibrant and contrasting colors. He also uses shadow frequently for emphasis or drama. The illustrations tend to be impressionistic, though detailed, and the content humorous, with a few exceptions.
Share these books, and your picture book library will grow as mine has.
*These selections are ones I particularly enjoy.
*And to Think That We Thought That We’d Never Be Friends by Mary Ann Hoberman
*By the Light of the Halloween Moon by Caroline Stutson
Boogie Bones by Elizabeth Loredo
*Dreamland by Roni Schotter
The Enormous Snore by M. L. Miller
Granite Baby by Lynne Bertrand
*Handel: Who Knew What He Liked by M. T. Anderson
His Royal Buckliness by Kevin Hawkes
Imagine That!: Poems of Never-Was selected by Jack Prelutsky
*Jason’s Bears by Marion Dane Bauer
*Lady Bugatti by Joyce Maxner
*Library Lion by Michelle Knudsen
*The Librarian Who Measured the Earth by Kathryn Lasky
The Magic Wand by Karen Hoenecke
*The Man Who Made Time Travel by Kathryn Lasky
*Marven of the Great North Woods by Kathryn Lasky
*Me, All Alone, at the End of the World by M. T. Anderson
My Friend the Piano by Catherine Cowan
*My Little Sister Ate One Hare by Bill Grossman
*My Little Sister Hugged an Ape by Bill Grossman
The Nose by Nikolai Gogol. retold by Catherine Cowan
*Painting the Wind by Michelle Dionetti
*Sidewalk Circus presented by Paul Fleischman and Kevin Hawkes
This Place I Know poems selected by Georgia Heard
Timothy Tunny Swallowed a Bunny by Bill Grossman
*The Turnip by Walter de la Mare
*Velma Gratch & the Way Cool Butterfly by Alan Madison
*Weslandia by Paul Fleischman
When Giants Come To Play by Andrea Beaty
The Wicked Big Toddler by Kevin Hawkes
Kevin Hawkes has also created artwork for novels, most notably Eva Ibottson and Philip Pullman, plus some short story collections for younger readers.
Also worth noting, Kevin Hawkes’s website has artwork for sale, books, FAQs, and a tutorial on how to draw shadows.
