Module 2 - Kitten's First Full Moon

Book Cover

Book Summary
Kitten sees what she thinks is a little bowl of milk in the sky.  She tries everything she can think of to get the bowl of milk, but she never makes it.  Kitten sadly goes home, only to find a real bowl of milk waiting for her one the porch.

APA Reference of Book
Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York, NY: Greenwillow Books.

Impressions
This book is beautifully illustrated.  The black and white pictures offer the perfect amount of contrast to keep the focus on the white cat and the white moon.  The kitten in the book shows great determination in her quest to get the bowl of milk in the sky.  She tries so many different ways and doesn't give up.  But she also knows when to back up and regroup when nothing works.  I think this is a good lesson for kids.  Young children especially need to be shown that things will not always work out on the first try.  They also need to know that sometimes it is best to take a step back and reconsider the problem and the possible solutions.

Professional Review
"Henkes takes a break from his signature mice — and from illustrating in color — to tell this sweet story about a kitten who thinks the full moon is a bowl of milk. The black-and-white forms, with subtle gradations of gray, are larger and more solid-looking than Henkes's usual work, with less interior line. Nevertheless, the kitten, whose white fur glows against the charcoal-gray sky like the moon she desires, is sprightly and expressive as she fails repeatedly ("Poor Kitten!") to get at that milk. Small children, for whom the rhythmic, action-oriented text is just right, will appreciate the gentle slapstick of the kitten getting a firefly on her tongue when she tries to lick the moon and getting drenched in the pond when she tries to drink the moon's reflection. 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."

 Heppermann, C. M. (2004). [Review of the book Kitten's first full moon, by Kevin Henkes]. Horn Book Magazine, 80(3), 314-315. Available from: http://www.hbook.com/

Library Uses
This book is perfect for a Toddler Story Time about cats or the moon.  The text and illustration are both perfect for very young children.  The repetitive use of circles in the illustrations also allow for a lesson on the shape.