Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes

Henkes, Kevin. Kitten's First Full Moon. Ill. by Keven Henkes. New York: Greenwillow Books/ HarperCollins Publishers, 2004. ISBN: 978-0-06-058828-1

PLOT SUMMARY

Kitten sees her first full moon and thinks it is a bowl of milk.  Believing she can drink from the bowl of milk in the sky, kitten finds herself seeking many ways to reach the alluring yet evasive bowl that seems so near but always manages to keep a safe distance between itself and little kitten. Her many attempts take her through fields, up a tree, and to a pond. Finally, she returns home, sad that she could not drink from the bowl of milk in the sky.  When she arrives at her house, she finds a bowl of milk waiting for her on the porch where her adventure first began.  The kitten gratefully drinks from the bowl. Satisfied, she then falls asleep, exhausted from her adventure away from home.

CRITICAL ANALYSIS

Kitten's First Full Moon reminds the adult reader of the innocence of discovery, while entertaining the young reader/listener with a gentle yet eventful story of a kitten's adventure away from the safety of home.  Henkes masterfully captures the moon's ability to stir our imaginations by creating the analogy that the moon is a bowl of milk, a believable image for a young inexperienced kitten. Kitten's belief that a bowl of milk in the sky is within her reach causes her to leave her home in hopes that she can drink from it. She eventually accepts the fact that the bowl of milk is not meant to be hers. She returns home, only to discover what she wanted so badly had been waiting for her at her home all along.

Henkes uses shades of black and gray and contrasts them with white in his illustrations.  The strong bold lines outline the bright white of the moon and the shape of the kitten.  Then, he uses shades of gray in the kitten's white color to add softness to the kitten and depth to the pictures.  Flowers , grass, and trees reveal bold outlining, and then, they too are softened with the shadings.  His drawings of the kitten during the great adventure clearly express the emotions the kitten experiences: determined, scared, confused, dejected, and at last happy and satisfied all show in the kitten's body language and facial expressions. The moon appears on almost all of the pages, a background character that causes the kitten to leave home.  The last illustration peacefully reveals that the moon, who played with the kitten earlier in the night, is a friend who will keep watch over the kitten as she sleeps .

Kitten's First Full Moon storyline and illustrations work together to create a story that is a combination of adventure, discovery, mystery, and in the end satisfaction and peace.

AWARDS AND REVIEWS

2005 Caldecott Medal Winner

"Simply charming." Kirkus' Review

"Kids will surely applaud this cat's irrepressible spirit. Pair this tale with Frank Asch's classic Moongame (S & S, 1987) and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace's The Sun, the Moon and the Stars(Houghton, 2003) for nocturnal celebrations." School Library Journal

CONNECTIONS 

Lesson plans for teachers:

http://teachershare.scholastic.com/resources/10565

http://www.teachervision.co.uk/literature-guide/printable/64960.html

IMAGE CREDIT

Kitten's First Full Moon. cover illustration. Greenwillow Books/ HarperCollins Publishers. Internet on-line.  Accessed September 9, 2012 from http://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/kevin-henkes/kittens-first-full-moon/#review

Kitten's First Full Moon