KITTEN'S FIRST FULL MOON by Kevin Henkes

1. Bibliography

Henkes, Kevin. 2004. KITTEN'S FIRST FULL MOON. New York. Greenwillow. ISBN: 0060588284

2. Plot Summary

When the kitten sees her first full moon, she thinks it is a bowl of milk.  She tries to reach the bowl of milk by stretching her neck, but cannot reach the milk.  She then tries to leap for the milk, but she still cannot reach the milk. She continues to chase the bowl of milk (moon) in the sky, but cannot reach the milk. She climbs a tree trying to reach the milk and see the reflection of the moon which she believes is a larger bowl of milk. She dives into what she thinks will be the bowl of milk only to realize that it was a pond. After getting wet, she begins her way home. 

3. Critical Analysis

The story line is simple and easy enough for young children to follow during a read aloud.  Early readers may struggle with a few words, but picture clues will help them to figure the words out.  This story is about imagination which helps children to have a connection to the book. The story is also about the kitten continually trying to reach milk and it takes a while for her to give up despite the previous disappointments. The children can see that she continues even though she failed the previous time.  This is a wonderful message for children to understand.

The pictures are simple black, white, and gray scale which helps the reader to focus on the kitten's emotions. Since the color scale is limited, the readers also have the ability to focus on the kitten and the moon in each picture. The text is bold black print which correlates to the illustrations in the book.

4. Review Excerpts

~Caldecott Medal - 2005
~Review in HORN BOOK MAGAZINE: "Anyone who has ever watched a cat spasmodically pounce and chase for no apparent reason will enjoy the imaginative, unpretentiously poetic method Henkes reads into this madness."

~Review in SCHOOL LIBRARY JOURNAL: "is distinguished by its spare, lyrical language and lush, black-and-white illustrations."

5.  Connections

~Discuss with children the phases of the moon and chart the moon phases for a month.  Discuss why the moon has different phases.

~Brainstorm with the children why they think the author/illustrator chose to us gray scale illustrations. Have children paint using only gray, silver, and black markers. Follow up by letting the children show their painting and story or description that correlates to the painting.

Other books by Kevin Henkes:
~Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse
~Owen
~Old Bear