The Birthday Room (15 page)
Authors: Kevin Henkes
“Are you Martha Boyle?”
Martha nodded.
“You don't know me,” said the woman at the door. “Olive Barstow was my daughter. I was her mother.”
Martha heard herself gasp. A small, barely audible gasp.
“I don't know how well you knew Olive,” said the woman. “She was so shy.” The woman reached into the pocket of the odd smock she was wearing and retrieved a folded piece of paper. “But I found this in her journal, and I think she'd want you to have it.”
The rusted screen that separated them gave the woman a gauzy appearance. Martha cracked open the door to receive the pink rectangle.
“That's all,” the woman said, already stepping off the stoop. “And thank you. Thank you, Martha Boyle.”
The woman mounted a very old bicycle and pedaled away, her long, sleek braid hanging behind her like a tail.
Breathing deeply to quiet her heart, Martha remained by the door thinking about Olive Barstow, unable for the moment to unfold the paper and read it.
KEVIN HENKES
lives in Madison, Wisconsin. His novels include
Bird Lake Moon, The Birthday Room, Protecting Marie, Sun & Spoon, Two Under Par, Words of Stone, The Zebra Wall
, and the Newbery Honor Book
Olive's Ocean
. Among his acclaimed picture books are the Caldecott Medal winner
Kitten's First Full Moon
, the
New York Times
bestsellers
Old Bear, A Good Day, Lilly's Big Day,
and
Wemberly Worried,
the Caldecott Honor Book
Owen
, and the beloved
Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
. You can visit him online at www.kevinhenkes.com.
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“Kevin Henkes's words are worth a thousand pictures.” â
The New York Times
The Year of Billy Miller
(available September 2013)
Illustrated by the author
“Billy Miller's second-grade year is quietly spectacular in a wonderfully ordinary way. Sweetly low-key and totally accessible.” â
Kirkus Reviews
Olive's Ocean
Winner of a Newbery Honor
“Characters and setting are painted in with the deft strokes of an experienced artist.” â
Kirkus Reviews
Junonia
A
School Library Journal
Best Book of the Year
“Henkes captures the honest frustrations and not-so-nice moments of kid-dom, wrapped in spare, lilting language and evocative illustrations.” â
Family Circle
Bird Lake Moon
“A novel as tender as his acclaimed
Olive's Ocean
. . . . Remarkable.” â
Publishers Weekly
“A significant and highly readable book.” â
School Library Journal
The Birthday Room
“Henkes explores family relationships with breathtaking tenderness, showing how feelings of guilt, bitterness and fear can be quelled by more deeply rooted love.” â
Publishers Weekly
Sun & Spoon
An American Library Association Notable Book
“Henkes captures young angst with respect and honesty.” â
School Library Journal
Two Under Par
Illustrated by the author
“Touching and funny.” â
Publishers Weekly
Protecting Marie
A
School Library Journal
Best Book of the Year
“A simply told but multilayered story, rich in imagery and feeling.” â
Kirkus Reviews
Words of Stone
Library of Congress Children's Book of the Year
“An outstanding book. One of the year's best.” â
Kirkus Reviews
The Zebra Wall
“Fans of Beverly Cleary and Betsy Byars will enjoy this Henkes selection.” â
School Library Journal
Credits
Cover art © 1999 by Laura Dronzek
T
HE BIRTHDAY ROOM
, Copyright © 1999 by Kevin Henkes
All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereinafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
FIRST EDITION
  10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Henkes, Kevin.
The birthday room / by Kevin Henkes.
p.   cm.
Summary: When twelve-year-old Ben visits his
uncle in Oregon, he feels caught in the strained
relationship between his mother and her brother
while he also begins to accept himself as an artist.
ISBN 0-688-16733-0
EPub Edition May 2013 ISBN 9780062284600
[1. Family lifeâFiction. 2. UnclesâFiction.
3. Self-acceptanceâFiction.] I. Title.
PZ7.H389B1 1999 [Fic]âdc21
98-39887 CIP AC
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