Sweeping Up the Heart, Kevin Henkes
Sweeping Up the Heart, Kevin Henkes
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Sweeping Up the Heart

Author: Kevin Henkes

Narrator: Lisa Flanagan

Unabridged: 2 hr 52 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Published: 03/19/2019

Synopsis

From two-time Newbery Honor and New York Times–bestselling author Kevin Henkes, this timeless novel about loss, loneliness, and friendship tells the story of the spring break that changes seventh-grader Amelia Albright’s life forever.Amelia Albright dreams about going to Florida for spring break like everyone else in her class, but her father—a cranky and stubborn English professor—has decided Florida is too much adventure.Now Amelia is stuck at home with him and her babysitter, the beloved Mrs. O’Brien. The week ahead promises to be boring, until Amelia meets Casey at her neighborhood art studio. Amelia has never been friends with a boy before, and the experience is both fraught and thrilling. When Casey claims to see the spirit of Amelia’s mother (who died ten years before), the pair embarks on an altogether different journey in their attempt to find her. Using crisp, lyrical, literary writing and moments of humor and truth, award-winning author Kevin Henkes deftly captures how it feels to be almost thirteen.With themes of family, death, grief, creativity, and loyalty, Sweeping Up the Heart is for readers of Kate DiCamillo, Rebecca Stead, Lauren Wolk, Kimberly Brubaker Bradley, and Pam Muñoz Ryan.

About Kevin Henkes

Kevin Henkes has been praised both as a writer and as an illustrator and is the recipient of the Children’s Literature Legacy Award for his lasting contribution to literature for children. He received the Caldecott Medal for Kitten’s First Full Moon; Caldecott Honors for Waiting and Owen; Newbery Honors for Olive’s Ocean and The Year of Billy Miller; and Geisel Honors for Waiting and Penny and Her Marble. His other books include Is It Spring?, The World and Everything in It, A House, A Parade of Elephants, Chrysanthemum, and the beloved Lilly’s Purple Plastic Purse. Kevin Henkes lives with his family in Madison, Wisconsin.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Melinda on November 04, 2018

I love Kevin Henkes and this is a quiet, slow, deeply felt little book. I'm having trouble seeing a broad appeal to kids, if I'm being honest, but the right kid at the right time could get a lot from it.......more

Goodreads review by Monica on December 03, 2018

Exquisite. I tend to shy away from sad, melancholy, poignant sort of books but decided to read this because... Kevin Henkes. It is all that, but I thought it gorgeous. The title is from an Emily Dickenson poem and she is drifting above this story in a very light barely visible way. Made me go look u......more

Goodreads review by Brittany on October 21, 2018

Kevin Henkes is a Wisconsin treasure. The word I most often want to use in describing his books is “gentle” and this one fits perfectly. I didn’t understand why he set this story in 1999 as opposed to any other year and Amelia read much younger than seventh grade to me, but this would still be a won......more

Goodreads review by Susan on November 05, 2018

Thank you to the publisher and edelweiss for this DRC. This is a sweet story about love and loss and how those two things shape our interactions with the people in our lives. I empathized with the main character, Amelia. I saw her clay creations, many of which were identical, as a reflection of how......more

Goodreads review by Cassie on January 07, 2019

A very fragile, sweet, soft story of Amelia and her longing to be noticed, loved, felt, understood. In a world where there is so much chaos, this story takes you to a place considered lonely and fills in holes that may need to be filled in. As a teacher, I see a lot of students in Amelia, a lot that......more

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