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Awards

Staff Pick

This Caldecott-award winning book by perennial favorite Kevin Henkes is a fabulous choice for the youngest kids because of the warm, inviting illustrations and simple tale.
Recommended by Angela H, Powells.com

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Average customer rating based on 1 comment:

ka234641, February 16, 2009 (view all comments by ka234641)
Kitten’s First Full Moon is a story about a the humorous struggles of a curious kitten who experiences her first full moon. She is hungry and is convinced that the full moon is a big bowl of milk waiting for her but is always out of reach. She is persistent and brave and will do anything to get the bowl of milk. By the end, her hard work and patience pays off. This silly tale reminds the reader of the yearning for something that people experience everyday through the comedic mistakes that the kitten makes.
Henkes creates a humorous tale about persistence during failure. The reader feels sympathy for the kitten every time they read about the consistent failure and the phrase “Poor Kitten!” that accompanies it. Henkes uses comedy in his illustrations often. After each failure of the kitten, her eyes widen and her mouth seems hidden. The reader is drawn in by the wide eyed cat and cannot help to laugh and feel pity all at once. The kitten’s curious and courageous facial expressions give the reader hope that she would finally get to the moon.
Henkes couples the luminous bold black and white pictures with bold captions. The illustrations contain many bold black lines together with shading to add dimension. The shades of grey remind the reader of the nighttime atmosphere in the moonlight. His illustrations are far from dull and bring life to the generally monotonous feel of black and white illustrations. The illustrations add their own colorfulness to it even though the lack of color and hues are absent.
Henkes uses the positioning of the text strategically where possible. For instance the phrase, “Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting,” stretches across two nearly blank pages with Kitten on one page and the moon on the next page. It helps the reader to see visually the distance between the two. On the next page, Henkes positions the text diagonally to represent the furthering distance of the Kitten in her journey through the garden, past the field, and by the pond. But the following sentence brings the reader back down to earth when they read, “But Kitten never seemed to get closer. Poor Kitten!” and is reminded that they didn’t get closer to the bowl of milk. Henkes uses repetition in his writing, as well. This repetition frames the frustration of the kitten and the pity that the reader should feel for the kitten.

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Product Details

ISBN:

9780060588281

Author:

Henkes, Kevin

Publisher:

Greenwillow Books

Author:

by Kevin Henkes

Subject:

Children's 4-8 - Picturebooks

Subject:

Animals

Subject:

Cats

Subject:

Humorous Stories

Subject:

Animals - Cats

Subject:

Social Situations - New Experience

Subject:

Social Issues - New Experience

Subject:

Moon

Publication Date:

March 2004

Binding:

Hardcover

Grade Level:

from P

Language:

English

Illustrations:

Y

Pages:

40

Dimensions:

10.36x10.38x.43 in. .99 lbs.

Children's Book Type:

Picture / Wordless

Age Level:

04-UP