Parents' Guide to

The Year of Billy Miller

By Barbara Schultz, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 8+

Warm, funny story of a year in the life of a second-grader.

Book Kevin Henkes Family Life 2013
The Year of Billy Miller Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this book.

Community Reviews

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age 7+

Based on 3 parent reviews

Mike W.
Mike W. Parent of 7 and 7-year-old
January 10, 2022
age 6+

Good Safe Book for 1st/2nd Graders

I read this book with my 7 year old and it was really nice to read a book about another child my sons age. It didn't have any inappropriate words or action scenes and was a nice story about a 2nd graders day to day life. This book is not super exciting but it is a good read with funny moments and good relatable stories.
Kathryn G.
Kathryn G. Adult
April 29, 2019
age 7+

Quaint and Fun

This was a fun story. None of the content was very deep, but it represented a child's perspective of second grade fairly well. No qualms about allowing a child to read this.
See all 3 parent reviews

What's the Story?

The title THE YEAR OF BILLY MILLER refers to the second-grade year of the main character. The story is divided into four sections -- "Teacher," "Father," "Sister," "Mother" -- each of which focuses on Billy's relationship with a specific character. In the first section, Billy begins the school year and wants to impress his new teacher. In "Father," Papa -- a stay-at-home dad and artist -- helps Billy and his friend with school projects, and Billy gives his dad some creative inspiration. "Sister" features frustrating, funny, sweet sibling situations between Billy and preschooler Sal. And in "Mother," Billy has warm moments with his mom as his school year draws to a close.

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say (3):
Kids say (2):

This is not one of those "little kid with big problems" stories; Billy is a little kid with little problems, but they'll be quite amusing to middle-graders. Kids will relate to Billy's frustration when his little sister almost spoils his school project, or a big sleepover gets canceled. And they'll be on the edge of their seats when Billy suffers from stagefright during his class performance. Billy's year is full of warm, funny everyday stories told with love.

Henkes' small, intermittent black-and-white spot illustrations help break up the text.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

  • Familes can talk about parental roles in families. In Billy's family, Mama works as a schoolteacher and Papa stays home to take care of Billy and Sal. How is Billy's family like yours, and how is it different? How does Billy's family compare to other families you've read about?

  • Billy's poetry assignment is to write about one member of his family. Which member of your family would you choose if you were Billy? Try writing a poem about that person.

  • Billy chooses to make his diorama a bat cave. What's your favorite animal, and where does it live?

Book Details

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