Lewis, Kevin

Personal

Male.

Addresses

Home—Brooklyn, NY. Office—Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, 1230 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10020.

Career

Author and editor. Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, New York, NY, acquiring editor.

Writings

Chugga-chugga Choo-choo, illustrated by Daniel Kirk, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

My Truck Is Stuck, illustrated by Daniel Kirk, Hyperion (New York, NY), 1999.

The Lot at the End of My Block, illustrated by Reg Cartwright, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2001.

The Runaway Pumpkin, illustrated by S.D. Schindler, Orchard (New York, NY), 2003.

Dinosaur, Dinosaur, illustrated by Daniel Kirk, Orchard (New York, NY), 2006.

Tugga Tugga Tugboat, Hyperion (New York, NY), 2006.

Sidelights

Kevin Lewis, a children's editor for New York City-based publishing house Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers, is also the author of several picture books for the very young. As an executive editor, Lewis has worked with such prominent children's authors and illustrators as Tony DiTerlizzi and Holly Black; as a writer, his books feature rhyming text that explores topics from trains and trucks to construction and dinosaurs.

In Chugga-chugga Choo-choo Lewis describes a typical day for a freight train and those who work to load and unload the train's cargo. "Lewis's brief, rhyming couplets mime a locomotive's momentum in their rhythm," noted a Publishers Weekly contributor, while Booklist reviewer Lauren Peterson predicted that the book's "lively rhyming text" will be "a surefire hit with budding engineers."

The Lot at the End of My Block features a rhyme similar to the traditional verse "This Is the House That Jack Built": each phrase in Lewis's rhyming text builds on the previous line and expands the poem's refrain. The narrator, a young boy, watches the construction of a city building from his family's apartment window. "Lewis's rhymes stack up cleanly, with the evenness of well-laid bricks," wrote a Publishers Weekly critic.

In My Truck Is Stuck! a cast of doggy truck drivers try to get their heavy dump truck out of a muddy pothole, while illustrator Daniel Kirk adds a humorous subtext to the simple tale. Despite the number of cars and trucks that come together to help the dump truck maneuver out of the hole, the vehicle remains stuck, and must wait until the mechanic arrives. "Lewis gets impressive aural mileage from his simple rhymes," wrote a Publishers Weekly contributor. The book gives young readers "plenty of reason to toot their horns," noted a Kirkus Reviews contributor, the critic dubbing the tale a "dog-gone lively episode."

Lewis's The Runaway Pumpkin describes a giant pumpkin as it detatches from its vine and tumbles wildly through the Baxter's farm. As the Baxter boys and Farmer Baxter pursue the rolling squash, Granny gets ready to transform the vegetable into the centerpiece for a Halloween feast. Lewis "expertly captures the rumbling drama of the pumpkins descent, and sets up the punch line perfectly," according to a Kirkus Reviews contributor. In School Library Journal Jane Barrer noted that the tale features "a repeated rhythmic chorus that kids will love to chime in on," and New York Times Book Review critic Susan Marie Swanson deemed Lewis's fall-themed story "fast-paced and amusing."

Dinosaur, Dinosaur describes a regular day playing with friends, but there is a difference: all the children in Lewis's story are young dinosaurs. A Kirkus Reviews contributor cited Lewis's "exuberant rhyme" and concluded that the title is well-suited to young readers who "have a fondness for dinosaurs, rousing words, and zingy-bright pictures." Booklist contributor Julie Cummins noted that young listeners are sure to "pick up the rhyming phrases, which have the syncopated beat of jump-rope rhymes."

In a book similar to his first picture book, Lewis follows a day in the life of a toy tugboat in Tugga Tugga Tugboat. According to a Kirkus Reviews contributor, the book's "simple and lively" rhymes are the type children might "just as easily sing as read out loud." Carolyn Janssen noted in School Library Journal that "youngsters will … quickly learn the refrain" in Tugga Tugga Tugboat and went on to praise the "simplicity" of Lewis's story.

Biographical and Critical Sources

PERIODICALS

Booklist, October 15, 1999, Lauren Peterson, review of Chugga-chugga Choo-choo, p. 455; November 15, 2003, Gillian Engberg, review of The Runaway Pumpkin, p. 601; February 1, 2006, Julie Cummins, review of Dinosaur, Dinosaur, p. 56.

Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 2002, review of My Truck Is Stuck, p. 1228; September 1, 2003, review of The Runaway Pumpkin, p. 1126; December 15, 2005, review of Dinosaur, Dinosaur, p. 1324; August 15, 2006, review of Tugga Tugga Tugboat, p. 847.

New York Times Book Review, October 19, 2003, review of The Runaway Pumpkin.

Publishers Weekly, May 17, 1999, review of Chugga-chugga Choo-choo, p. 77; March 12, 2001, review of The Lot at the End of My Block, p. 89; September 2, 2002, review of My Truck Is Stuck! p. 74; August 4, 2003, review of The Runaway Pumpkin, p. 77.

School Library Journal, March, 2001, Wanda Meyers-Hines, review of The Lot at the End of My Block, p. 214; October, 2002, Melinda Piehler, review of My Truck Is Stuck! p. 118; October, 2003, Jane Barrer, review of The Runaway Pumpkin, p. 129; March, 2006, Rachael Vilmar, review of Dinosaur, Dinosaur, p. 196; September, 2006, Carolyn Janssen, review of Tugga Tugga Tugboat, p. 177.