You don't need to have kids to write a good book for kids. I don't want my kids to see themselves in my books. Their lives should be their lives.
— Kevin Henkes
Everyone has something interesting to say.
When I'm writing the text for a book like 'Little White Rabbit,' I read it aloud, alone, in my studio, again and again and again - because the rhythm has to be exactly right. After I get my manuscript to the point where I think it is perfect, I begin to think about what I want the art to look like.
When I'm drawing, I only do that at home, really, at my drawing table. But writing I could do in other places. So I've written in airports, in hotels, different places.
I think writers are observers and watchers. We always have our ears open and eyes open, so I might see something in everyday life that inspires me. And I think that's probably more than anything else. Everyday life is where I get my inspiration.
When I was a boy, one of my uncles had a cabin on a lake in Wisconsin. My family went there for parts of three summers, and I loved it!
Books come from within.
When I'm writing, I'm creating the story and its character with words. I'm thinking about what the pictures will be like, but I never begin to sketch. The pictures are all in my head.
I like examining the ordinary, and by doing so, one hopefully reveals the extraordinary nature within.
I usually know where I want to end up when I begin, but I have no idea how I'm going to get there... I don't write with an outline, and surprises happen on the way, and sometimes it changes.
When I work on a novel, I usually have one character and a setting in mind.
When I was young, I assumed that authors must have traveled the world or done exotic things in order to tell great stories.
I always craft my words to the point where I think and hope they're perfect before I ever begin sketching.
I like small, domestic stories.
I usually do my writing in a very nice room, my studio, which is in the attic of our house in Wisconsin. But the nice thing about writing is that I can do it in many places. So sometimes I'll write in coffee shops.
Whenever I'm writing a book, small details from my life always creep in.
