Kenneth Kraegel
Author of Green Pants
Works by Kenneth Kraegel
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- Gender
- male
- Short biography
- [from author's website]
Kenneth Kraegel is an author and illustrator of picture books. Before making picture books, Kenneth volunteered at an agriculture school in Honduras, helped refugees find jobs and furniture in Chicago, volunteered with an NGO in Uganda, was a general laborer on a construction site in Wyoming, and worked on vegetable farms in Wisconsin, Indiana, and Ohio. He now lives in Grand Rapids, Michigan with his family. He is also a tutor for people with reading challenges such as dyslexia.
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When her young son Hugo becomes ill, and she discovers that only wild honey from the moon can effect a cure, Mother Shrew immediately sets out. Although she cannot fly (as Hugo observes), a mother will find a way. And so it proves throughout her magical adventure, as she tricks her enemy the Great Horned Owl into flying her to the moon, calms one of the moon's wild horses, is befriends by a beautiful butterfly, and eventually cows an entire colony of bees, in order to meet with the Queen Bee show more and request some honey...
Published in 2019, Wild Honey from the Moon was author/illustrator Kenneth Kraegel's fourth book, although it is the seventh I have read. It is also my favorite of his books, by quite a long shot! A very beginning chapter-book—one might almost say it was a picture book with chapters, so I have added it to both shelves—it pairs a fantastical story that is both emotionally resonant and immensely engaging with gorgeous ink and watercolor illustrations. There is something truly magical about this book, from the tale itself to its diminutive heroine, whose matter-of-fact courage and get-it-done attitude had me cheering! Highly recommended to young children who enjoy animal stories, fantasy fiction, or beautifully-illustrated tales. Picture book audiences with a good attention span will enjoy this, and so will young readers who are getting going on their own with short fiction. show less
Published in 2019, Wild Honey from the Moon was author/illustrator Kenneth Kraegel's fourth book, although it is the seventh I have read. It is also my favorite of his books, by quite a long shot! A very beginning chapter-book—one might almost say it was a picture book with chapters, so I have added it to both shelves—it pairs a fantastical story that is both emotionally resonant and immensely engaging with gorgeous ink and watercolor illustrations. There is something truly magical about this book, from the tale itself to its diminutive heroine, whose matter-of-fact courage and get-it-done attitude had me cheering! Highly recommended to young children who enjoy animal stories, fantasy fiction, or beautifully-illustrated tales. Picture book audiences with a good attention span will enjoy this, and so will young readers who are getting going on their own with short fiction. show less
Jameson would ONLY wear green pants. This article of clothing made him feel great—like he could do anything!—and he resisted all attempts to get him to wear a wider array of colors. Then his cousin Armando announced that he and his fiancée Jo were getting married, and Jo asked Jameson to be in the wedding. Elated at first, Jameson was dismayed to learn that he would need to wear a tuxedo—in BLACK! Was there a way to honor his commitment, while also staying true to himself...?
Pairing show more an engaging and amusing tale of a young boy with decided sartorial habits, who must learn to adjust when confronted with his obligations to others, with humorous artwork that captures the humor of the story, Green Pants is a winsome little picture book. I really appreciate the fact that the story here shows Jameson finding a solution that honors Armando and Jo, while also permitting him some of what he himself wants. I had this sinking feeling, while reading this, that the narrative would allow Jameson to get what he wants, without having to compromise in any way (I've run across quite a few recent children's stories with this flaw), but no: instead he does what it expected of him, during the ceremony and dinner, and then pivots to what he wants during the more relaxed dance portion of the wedding. Although communicated without any fanfare, I think this sends an important message to children: sometimes you can't do what you want, and must consider the needs and feelings of others, and your responsibility to consider what is appropriate in specific social settings. Recommended to young children who always want to do one specific thing—wear a specific item of clothing, eat a specific food, and so on—as well as to those seeking humorous children's stories about give and take and compromise. show less
Pairing show more an engaging and amusing tale of a young boy with decided sartorial habits, who must learn to adjust when confronted with his obligations to others, with humorous artwork that captures the humor of the story, Green Pants is a winsome little picture book. I really appreciate the fact that the story here shows Jameson finding a solution that honors Armando and Jo, while also permitting him some of what he himself wants. I had this sinking feeling, while reading this, that the narrative would allow Jameson to get what he wants, without having to compromise in any way (I've run across quite a few recent children's stories with this flaw), but no: instead he does what it expected of him, during the ceremony and dinner, and then pivots to what he wants during the more relaxed dance portion of the wedding. Although communicated without any fanfare, I think this sends an important message to children: sometimes you can't do what you want, and must consider the needs and feelings of others, and your responsibility to consider what is appropriate in specific social settings. Recommended to young children who always want to do one specific thing—wear a specific item of clothing, eat a specific food, and so on—as well as to those seeking humorous children's stories about give and take and compromise. show less
As the great-great-great-great-great-great-great-grandson of King Arthur, six-year-old Henry Alfred Grummorson was looking for adventure, and to prove his worth as a knight. Challenging a dragon, cyclops and griffin in turn, he is dismayed when each of these opponents wish to conduct non-violent and non-lethal combat, from blowing smoke rings to staring contests to chess matches. When he finally seeks Leviathan, the greatest creature of all, this opponent too is ready for a game, but our show more little hero has decided he has other priorities...
Author/illustrator Kenneth Kraegel, who has produced eight picture books at this point, made his debut in 2012 with King Arthur's Very Great Grandson, and what an auspicious beginning it was! Pairing an entertaining questing-knight story that is both humorous and ultimately heartwarming with appealing watercolor and ink artwork, it would make the perfect bedtime story for little kids who dream of adventure, love tales of knights and derring-do, and also have a sense of humor. I appreciated the theme of friendship at the end, and the idea (implicit in the story) that it isn't necessary to have an adversarial relationship with the world, in order to seek adventure. Recommended to imaginative little kids who long to meet magical creatures and have some adventures of their own. show less
Author/illustrator Kenneth Kraegel, who has produced eight picture books at this point, made his debut in 2012 with King Arthur's Very Great Grandson, and what an auspicious beginning it was! Pairing an entertaining questing-knight story that is both humorous and ultimately heartwarming with appealing watercolor and ink artwork, it would make the perfect bedtime story for little kids who dream of adventure, love tales of knights and derring-do, and also have a sense of humor. I appreciated the theme of friendship at the end, and the idea (implicit in the story) that it isn't necessary to have an adversarial relationship with the world, in order to seek adventure. Recommended to imaginative little kids who long to meet magical creatures and have some adventures of their own. show less
Author/illustrator Kenneth Kraegel, who has created six picture books thus far, made his board book debut in 2020, with This Is a Book of Shapes. At first glance this is a simple concept book devoted to shapes, with two-page spreads devoted to such things as a green circle, a red square, a blue triangle, and so on. But every once in a while something unusual interrupts the flow, from an emu pushing a pancake wagon down a hill to a porpoise reading a book of knock-knock jokes to a group of show more turtles. Eventually these occurrences come together, until a final beach-side party scene appears at the end...
This book is well designed, and feels clean and bright, with bold colors, solid shapes (of course), and plenty of white space on the page. What sets it apart is the humorous interruptions to the (seeming) main narrative of the book, as the exploration of shapes is intruded upon time and again by animals on madcap adventures. Of course everything—shapes and animals—is brought together at the end, leaving the reader with a satisfactory conclusion, but in the meantime young children will enjoy the unexpected digressions they encounter in this book. Read aloud with the right audience, I can see this one garnering some giggles. Recommended to anyone seeking somewhat different, more creative concept books. show less
This book is well designed, and feels clean and bright, with bold colors, solid shapes (of course), and plenty of white space on the page. What sets it apart is the humorous interruptions to the (seeming) main narrative of the book, as the exploration of shapes is intruded upon time and again by animals on madcap adventures. Of course everything—shapes and animals—is brought together at the end, leaving the reader with a satisfactory conclusion, but in the meantime young children will enjoy the unexpected digressions they encounter in this book. Read aloud with the right audience, I can see this one garnering some giggles. Recommended to anyone seeking somewhat different, more creative concept books. show less
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- Works
- 8
- Members
- 540
- Popularity
- #46,138
- Rating
- 3.9
- Reviews
- 46
- ISBNs
- 19
- Languages
- 2