Kitten's First Full Moon

Kitten's First Full Moon

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten's first full moon. New York: Greenwillow Books. 

This award winning story is a comical tale of a kitten who thinks the moon is a bowl of milk. The kitten partakes in many antics in his attempts to drink from the "bowl of milk". He tries to jump to it, chases it, climb to it, and drinks from a reflection. Each attempt results in a failed attempt to drink the milk. When the kitten returns home after his failed attempts to get the milk her finds a bowl of milk on the porch. 

The illustrations in this book are phenomenal! Although they only utilize black, white, and shading they create a night time environment for the kitten. I think that having the pictures in black in white allow for more detail, by the reader, to be taken in at one time. The drawings are simple, but effective. 

Some meaningful activities with this book could involve the illustrations. For example, having children make facial expressions based on the kitten's actions denoted in the illustrations. There could also be dramatic play involved; the children act out the illustrations. This would also be a great book to do sequencing or cause effect activities with. A teacher may also do a lesson on the phases of the moon. Due to the simplicity of the words and illustrations, this book should only be used with primary grades. 

Here is a link to some potential activities.