Informational Resources:

Author Information:

Author website: https://kevinhenkes.com/

Activities & Resources:

Activities:

Bats:

Learn about bats: https://animals.sandiegozoo.org/animals/bat

What is echolocation?: https://askabiologist.asu.edu/echolocation

Cool Facts About Bats Video (2:24): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=NBCODnTUOrY

Billy’s favorite animal is a bat. Learn more about your own favorite animal. https://kids.britannica.com/kids/browse/animals

25 Bat crafts: https://www.redtedart.com/bat-crafts-kids/

Mail:

How to correctly address a letter: https://www.wikihow.com/Mail-a-Letter

Learn about the postal service: https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/postal-service/399568

How to Mail a Letter Video (7:14): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=tGOE-qxRVZw

Write and mail your own letter to a friend or family member.

Babysitting:

How to Babysit: https://www.wikihow.com/Babysit

How to be a good babysitter: https://www.healthline.com/health/parenting/how-to-be-a-good-babysitter#1.-Understand-your-comfort-level

Babysitting 101 | Tips and Guidelines for Beginners (7:47): https://www.yout-ube.com/watch?v=uBBJ3TzNRH8

Wishes:

Make a Wish Foundation: https://wish.org/about-us

MakerSpace Activities:

No Bake Birthday Cake Pop Recipes: https://www.allrecipes.com/recipes/17811/desserts/cakes/cake-pops/

Design the ultimate water slide. First sketch it out then build a small scale version of it using cardboard, paper, and other recyclable materials.

Create your own art camp. Have different stations around the room for painting, sculpting, and drawing.

Design your own stamp using paper and pencil then color it. To make it more challenging, make it a contest like the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Duck Stamp Contest:: https://www.fws.gov/birds/get-involved/duck-stamp/duck-stamp-contest-and-event-information.php

Discussion Questions:

If it was your birthday, what would you wish for?

Billy likes the idea of being a paramedic when he grows up so he can help people and drive fast. What do you think you’d like to be when you grow up?

What was Billy’s favorite gift? What was his least? Do you agree or disagree? Why?

Billy loves bats. What is your favorite animal and why?

How are Billy and Sal alike? How are they different?

How does each family member feel about Papa leaving for art camp?

Sal was admiring Valerie’s butterfly tattoo. Would you want to get a tattoo when you were old enough? If so, what would it be?

When Mama and Billy are cleaning the basement, why is it easier to let Sal play instead of help?

Do you think bats are good or bad? Why?

Why do you think Billy hid his new bat shirt under his bed?

What do you think it means to be a good big brother?

Why do you think Billy doesn’t want Sal bothering their mom?

How does mom react to Sal’s drawings? Does Billy feel responsible for what happened?

Billy used to be afraid of the furnace room. His dad showed him why it made such strange noises and Billy wasn’t afraid anymore because he understood it. What are you afraid of? Do you think you could overcome your fear by learning about it?

Name at least three “brotherly responsibilities” that Billy does for Sal. Do you have any sibling responsibilities at home?

Why is Billy so embarrassed by Sal delivering mail?

What was special about the “mail” Sal was delivering?

When was the last time you visited a library? What books do you like to check out?

What does Billy mean when he says his “heart swooped” upon seeing his papa again?

Did you expect the surprise announcement at the end? Tell about a time that you received some surprising news.

Book Talk Teasers:

View the Billy Miller Makes a Wish book trailer embedded below.

Read Alikes:

Humorous and Character-Driven

Ahn, Angela. Peter Lee’s Notes from the Field. Eleven year-old Peter Lee has one goal in life: to become a paleontologist. But his summer falls apart when his real-life dinosaur expedition turns out to be a bust, and he watches his dreams go up in a cloud of asthma-inducing dust. (Novelist Plus)

Look, Lenore. Alvin Ho. A young boy in Concord, Massachusetts, who loves superheroes and comes from a long line of brave Chinese farmer-warriors, wants to make friends, but first he must overcome his fear of everything. (Novelist Plus)

Mian, Zanib. Accidental Trouble Magnet. Welcome, readers, to the imaginative brain of Omar! You might not know me yet, but once you open the pages of this book you'll laugh so hard that snot will come out of your nose (plus you might meet a dragon and a zombie, what more could you want?). (Novelist Plus)

Realistic Fiction

Cleary, Beverly. Henry Huggins. Nothing ever happens to eight-year-old Henry until he meets a skinny, spotted dog he names Ribsy. (Novelist Plus)

Hunt, Lynda Mullaly. Shouting at the Rain. Delsie loves tracking the weather, living with her grandmother, and the support of friends and neighbors, but misses having a "regular family," especially after her best friend outgrows her. (Novelist Plus)

Reviews:

Henkes, Kevin. Billy Miller Makes a Wish. ​​Greenwillow Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Children’s Books, 2021.

Booklist (Starred)

Billy Miller Makes a Wish.

By Kevin Henkes. Illustrated by the author.

Apr. 2021. 192p. Greenwillow, $16.99 (9780063042797). Grades 2-4.

REVIEW. First published March 1, 2021 (Booklist).

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. —Carolyn Phelan

Used with the permission of Booklist https://www.booklistonline.com/

School Library Journal starred (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 © Copyright 2021. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Reprinted with permission from School Library Journal ©2021