Author/Illustrator: Kevin Henkes
Publisher: Greenwillow; First edition. edition (January 1, 2004) Language: English
ISBN-10: 0439800560
ISBN-13: 978-0439800563
Synopsis: Kitten sees her first full moon and mistakes it for a large bowl of milk floating in the sky! Kitten tries her very hardest to take a sip of that delicious treat, but instead it always stays just out of her reach. Rather than getting what she desires, she winds up eating a bug, falling on her face, landing in a pond, and getting herself into one scrape after another. Poor Kitten! Will she ever get that bowl of milk that seems to be waiting just for her?
Review: Kevin Henkes uses bold lines, humorous prose and richly crafted black-and-white images to tell the adventures of Kitten as she seeks out her bowl of milk in the sky. The monochromatic pictures make the reader feel as though he or she is actually out experiencing Kitten's nighttime world. With a few lines and a wry twist to his words, Henkes conveys Kitten's frustration and determination to get her bowl of milk. Kitten's personality nearly leaps off the page. Children will easily identify with Kitten; this is a great book of encouragement for readers of any age!
Awards/Reviews:
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"The narrative and visual pacing will keep children entranced, and the determined young heroine and her comical quest will win them over." Publishers Weekly
"The rhythmic text and delightful artwork ensure storytime success. Kids will surely applaud this cat's irrepressible spirit." School Library Journal
"[A]rtful in its gracelessness and naivete, just like a kitten. Simply charming." Kirkus Reviews
Connections: As the book deals with the nighttime sky, talk with the students about what is in the sky. Ask them to identify things they might see in the sky at night. How is that different from what they would see during the day? Ask the students if they know what makes night and day. McGraw-Hill has put together several activites based on the book. The activities can be found at the following URL: http://treasures.macmillanmh.com/california/students/grade1/book5/unit5/kitten-s-first-full-moon
Scholastic Lesson Plan contributor Jeremy Brunaccioni shared a lesson plan using the end pages of Kitten's First Full Moon to help students create a moon-themed hundreds chart. He also notes that this can segue into a discussion about patterns - patterns in the hundreds chart and patterns in the text and illustrations of the story. This lesson plan is geared toward Kindergarten students. http://www2.scholastic.com/browse/lessonplan.jsp?id=949
TeacherVision has compiled an author's guide for Kevin Henke's books, including "Kitten's First Full Moon". In the guide, TeacherVision suggests several pre-reading activities to help the students become interested in the book, and later tie-in the text with the pictures. There are also suggestions for getting students to do some early critical thinking. http://www.teachervision.fen.com/tv/printables/harpercollins/world-of-kevin-henkes_tg.pdf
2 comments:
Nice. We've never read that one, we'll have to find it. :)
Since it's a Caldecott winner, it's almost a sure bet that SC Public Library will have it. It's really cute and the facial expressions are hilarious!
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