Saturday, March 12, 2011

A Wisconsin Home-Grown Success Story


Madison husband-and-wife team has become force in children's book world. (St. Paul Pioneer Press, 2/21/2011)

Excerpt: Celebrated children's book author Kevin Henkes doesn't worry about fan mail clogging up his inbox. He has simply done away with e-mail.

"Having e-mail would complicate my life in a way that I wouldn't like, and using the phone and mail seems to work," said Henkes, who still prefers a typewriter to a computer for his more formal communication.

If Henkes needs to get a message to his publisher, Greenwillow Books in New York City, via e-mail, his wife, artist Laura Dronzek, steps in. But snail mail usually works just fine.

"(Greenwillow) has a blog, and for his blog posts, Kevin types them up on his typewriter and mails them," Dronzek said.

Henkes, 50, and Dronzek, 49, have been collaborating in life and art for more than 25 years, managing to maintain a prodigious presence in the book world from their home in Madison. Known for his picture books, such as "Kitten's First Full Moon," and his mouse books, including "Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse," Henkes is a bestselling author and illustrator who has won a Caldecott Medal and a Newbery Honor
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