Kevin Hawkes

Journey to the River Sea

Eva Ibbotson, Kevin Hawkes

• 2001 Carnegie shortlist
• 2001 Whitbread-Children's shortlist
• 2001 Guardian Award longlist
• Score: 16.51

Maia, an orphan, is sent from England to live with unfamiliar cousins on a rubber plantation in South America. The brave, curious girl and her fierce but kind governess arrive in their new home, each with secret hopes of adventure. These are immediately quashed by the Carters, who hate their adopted land and its inhabitants. They are obsessed with re-creating England in the forest, right down to the watery puddings...

By the Light of the Halloween Moon

Caroline Stutson, Kevin Hawkes

• 1993 Golden Kite-picturebook illustration winner
• Score: 10.43

In this cumulative story, a host of Halloween spooks, including a cat, a witch, and a ghoul, are drawn to the tapping of a little girl's toe.

Handel: Who Knew What He Liked

M.T. Anderson, Kevin Hawkes

• 2002 Horn Book-nonfiction honor
• Score: 6.52

“This is George Frederick Handel. He looks very satisfied with things. He’s smiling a little, as if he’s very sure of himself. You’d have to be very sure of yourself to wear a wig that gigantic”.

So begins this story which documents Handel’s life.

Island of the Aunts

Eva Ibbotson, Kevin Hawkes

• 2002 Mythopoeic-Children finalist
• Score: 6.52

Somewhere in the Atlantic on a mysterious island, three eccentric women care for an assortment of astonishing creatures—not just seals, fish, and gulls, but mermaids, selkies, a couple of ghosts, a very long talking worm, and a boobrie that lays eggs so large, just one will make seventy-two omelets. But caring for so many, even the magical ones, is hard work, and Etta, Coral, and Myrtle are getting older. Perhaps if they kidnapped a few sensible children to help…

Which children the “aunts” choose and what happens to them on the island make for another wildly…

Dial-A-Ghost

Eva Ibbotson, Kevin Hawkes

• 2004 YRCA-Junior nominee
• Score: 4.54

When little Oliver Smith inherits the gloomy mansion Helton Hall, his scheming cousins, the Snodde-Brittles, are determined to rid themselves of the orphan heir. They have a perfect plan. They will hire some terrifying ghosts from the Dial-a-Ghost Agency to scare the boy to death. But, as in any Eva Ibbotson novel, the fantastic creatures do not necessarily behave as expected-they are a little too human for that. Soon the ghosts, led by a mysterious girl spirit named Adopta, have joined with Oliver against his cousins. But they may have underestimated the depths…

The Man Who Made Time Travel

Kathryn Lasky, Kevin Hawkes

Describes the need for sailors to be able to determine their position at sea and the efforts of John Harrison, an eighteenth century man who spent his life refining instruments to enable them to do this.