Kitten's First Full Moon

Written and Illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Bibliographic Data:

Henkes, Kevin. 2004. Kitten's First Full Moon. Greenwillow Books. ISBN 9780060588281

Brief Plot Summary:

In this playful book the main character, kitten, mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk. In the kitten's pursuit of the "milk", the kitten licks a bug, gets hurt trying to jump for it, climbs up a tree, and jumps into a pond. After so much effort the kitten ends up wet, hungry, tired, and no milk to show for it. Distraught, the kitten returns home and to her surprise finds a bowl of milk on the porch.

Critical Analysis:

Henkes does an excellent job in his use of gouache and colored pencils for the illustrations of the book. The black and white coloring is a good way to emphasize the bowl of milk that the kitten is searching for. On the pages where the kitten and the moon are the only illustrations, Henkes's uses shading behind the drawings to make them stand out.

 

The story exemplifies personification by the kitten's emotions throughout the story. The reader still knows that the kitten is not human, but she portrays human emotions. There are several places in the story where Henkes uses repetition. The repetition reinforces the idea of the moon being a bowl of milk, and what the kitten's goal is. The repetition is seen in the text as well as the illustrations.

 

This is a very lovable story that shows how objects can been seen in other ways. I would definitely recommend this cute story to parents and children.

Review Excerpts:

v "The rhythmic text and delightful artwork ensure story time success." Wendy Lukehart School Library Journal

v "The narrative and visual pacing will keep children entranced, and the determined young heroine and her comical guest will win them over." Publishers Weekly

Connections:

v Teach the phases of the moon as an extension activity.

v Talk about "reflections" to explain the moon's reflection in the pond.

      v Have students act out the actions of the kitten in the book.