Review of the Day: Is It Spring? by Kevin Henkes

Is It Spring?
By Kevin Henkes
Greenwillow (an imprint of Harper Collins)
$21.99
ISBN: 9780063469259
Ages 2-5

My grandfather had a saying so true that my mother commissioned the phrase to be illustrated in a watercolor painting by a local artist: “It isn’t spring in Michigan until it has snowed on the tulips three times.” I happen to live in Illinois myself, but regardless of what Midwestern state you happen to reside, this saying seems to be fairly true everywhere (the exception being places like Southern Indiana, I suppose). Kevin Henkes is a Wisconsin man himself. As such, he knows and understands the cruel capricious lies that spring sings us every year. One day it’s a high of 63 and the next 38. This is hard enough to deal with if you’re an average everyday joe going about your life, but if you have children it becomes doubly hard. Like us, they want so so badly to get to wear lighter jackets. To go play outside in the parks and playgrounds without having to bundle up. But in spite of this widespread annual trial, I was not aware of any picture book that had the guts to tackle it head on. Not until Mr. Henkes himself had the wherewithal to bring it to life in his inimitable style. Even better, he’s kept it exceedingly simple, so that any parent or caregiver faced with that look of betrayal on their child’s face when they encounter an Easter Egg hunt covered in a foot of snowfall can pluck up this book and explain that this is just the way it goes. Is it spring? Nobody knows.

One does not usually associate Kevin Henkes with books of heartbreak and betrayal (especially in the latter half of his career) but how else can I describe the plot of Is It Spring? Those are the first words of the book on a green page, spoken with that kind of naïve hope that lies deep in everyone’s hearts come April. The flowers think so. So do the buds on the trees and birds. Then the words appear again but now on a blue page. “Is it spring?” The wind, the clouds and the sleeping animals all respond, “Not yet”. Now we come to a gray page with the same words once more. “Is it spring?” “No, said the late snow.” That’s fairly definitive, right there, and down it comes, bowing the heads of the tulips. Don’t worry, this is a book for kids, so a happy ending is in sight. On a pale pink page comes a new question, aching in its desperation. “Will it ever be spring?” Finally, we’ve a yes from the only one who counts: the sun. “Yes! Yes! Yes! And it was spring.”

The great children’s literary scholars of the future will have gobs of fun breaking down the different eras of Kevin Henkes’ literary career. From those early days with an all-mouse cast of characters like Wendell, Chrysanthemum, and Lilly, to his dabblings in middle grade, to his current crop of pink/purple/blue picture books written for the younger readers, he’s gone through fascinating phases. Henkes is also the closest thing we currently have to the grand old picture book masters of yore. He’s been faithful to his one and only publishing imprint Greenwillow (and they, no fools, have been faithful to him) since the day he began. He avoids having an online presence, perfectly content to stay amongst his apple orchards and focus on his books instead. And with this latest title he’s continuing a fine tradition of economical storytelling. The words are limited but tightly honed. There’s not a syllable out of place. It’s also an incredible example of a book that actually modulates the reader’s voice when they read it aloud. A calm comes over me, every time I said these words. Even when the text decries, “Yes! Yes! Yes!”, I say it with a quiet joy. I don’t know why. That just seems to be the way it should go.

I am a gardener myself, and I often hope that the theory that plants can understand a person’s emotional state through the tone of their words isn’t true. I hope this because every spring, when the snowdrops are getting away with coming up first (it’s in their name after all) there will be a balmy day in February or something and some fool daffodils will start to come up out of the ground. I will then spend more time than I oughtta yelling at them. I inform them, in no uncertain terms, that they are timing things poorly. It is too early to poke out their heads. Go back down. Shoo. It is not spring. That’s part of the reason why I think the opening of this book is so smart. Henkes begins with these lines: “Is it spring? Yes, said the flowers in the garden down the street.” Many flowers are idiots. So this rings true to me.

It’s also fun to see precisely how Henkes times his story. His is a slightly later spring season. There are buds on the trees. The tulips have managed to bloom. In the last image of the book, I actually saw some Solomon’s Seal (a plant that is WAY too successful in my own garden) and what looks like hydrangeas, but that I suspect must be peonies. But while adults like myself are squinting at the buds and blooms, Henkes also fills the book with small jokes for sharp-eyed spotters. You wouldn’t think in a book this simple in both text and image that there would be things to notice, but keep an eye peeled for a certain white scarf with red polka dots. It makes quite the appearance in a number of spreads.

If you go to Kansas City you will find an immersive picture book museum called The Rabbit hOle. Inside there are a number of exhibits featuring picture books old and new. One of the most soothing, in the midst of fun childhood chaos, is the exhibit based on Kevin’s books My Garden and Kitten’s First Full Moon. I have it on good authority that My Garden is also one of the most popular picture books in the museum’s gift shop. It was while reading this book that I decided that this title is a great pairing with that particularly book. Indeed, Is It Spring? feels like a kind of prequel to it. And like Kevin’s book Old Bear, spring is almost its own character on the page. When Kevin’s exhibit in The Rabbit hOle opened, the co-director of the museum Deb Pettid said that, “Kevin is one of the most impactful contemporary children’s book creators because of the attention and respect he gives to children and their perspectives.” Any book that acknowledges the heartbreak that comes when you think you’ve finally put away your woolly hat and gloves for good… only to break out the snowpants and boots the next day, is a book that speaks to the child perspective, absolutely. Kevin Henkes, man. He just keeps making the best books.

On shelves now.

Filed under: Best Books, Best Books of 2026, Reviews, Reviews 2026