Coming October 6, 2026
Poppy

A stand-alone companion to two-time Newbery Honor author and national bestseller Kevin Henkes's award-winning and acclaimed novel The Year of Billy Miller. Poppy stars Billy and Sal's youngest sister as she faces a perfectly imperfect Thanksgiving with her family. For fans of Ramona, The Penderwicks, and The Melendy Quartet. Illustrated in black-and-white throughout by the author.

It's almost Thanksgiving, and Poppy is excited. After all, Thanksgiving means the people she loves most will be gathered together. If only things didn't feel so different. Billy, home from college, has a beard; Sal is moodier than ever; and Mama is so distracted! And Poppy still doesn't know what to do for her language arts assignment.

Poppy is a bittersweet, thematically rich, emotionally complex younger middle grade novel about growing up, adjusting to change, and unconditional love. Complete with sibling squabbles, gingko trees, blue hair dye, and lots of hot cocoa and humor, celebrated author Kevin Henkes delivers a winning conclusion to the Miller Family sequence.

Poppy is the fifth and final stand-alone book about the Miller family. It includes black-and-white illustrations by Kevin Henkes on almost every page and is an excellent choice for early elementary grades, for readers ready for a short novel, and for family and classroom read-alouds.