Kitten's First Full Moon, Written and Illustrated by Kevin Henkes

Title:  Kitten's First Full Moon

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: 

2005 Caldecott Medal Winner ALA Notable Children’s Book Bulletin Blue Ribbon (The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books) Texas 2X2 Reading List Charlotte Zolotow Award Book Sense Pick Publishers Weekly Best Book School Library Journal Best Book New York Times Best Illustrated Book New York Public Library's "One Hundred Titles for Reading and Sharing"

"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

Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed, Written and Illustrated by Mo Willems

Title:  Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed
Author/Illustrator:  Mo Willems
Publisher: Hyperion Books for Children, New York, NY (January 6, 2009)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 142311437X
ISBN-13: 978-1423114376

Synopsis: Wilbur, the naked mole rat, is not quite like the other naked mole rats. For one thing, he isn't naked! While all the other naked mole rats feel free to be, well, naked, Wilbur insists on wearing clothes. In fact, he even opens a clothing store! When the other naked mole rats get angry with him for wearing clothes and try to force him to stop wearing clothes, insisting "Naked mole rats don't wear clothes!" Wilbur's only response is, "Why not?" The other naked mole rats run to their founding patriarch, Grand-pah, "the oldest, greatest, and most naked naked mole rat ever", to try to get him to talk some sense into Wilbur. But Grand-pah's involvement has some unintended results!

Review: Mo Willems uses humor, simple lines and bright colors to tell the story of Wilbur, a naked mole rat who prefers not to be naked, even when all around him insist he must conform and be like everyone else in the community. By leaving the backgrounds of the pages nearly bare, Willems concentrates readers' focus on the characters in his storybook, allowing them to show children it is okay to be different from everyone else, and that we should accept each other - whether we're naked mole rats or clothed ones.

Awards/Reviews: 

• 2009 Parents’ Choice Gold Award 
• NY Times Bestseller  

"Willems’ art follows the simple style of his Elephant and Piggie books, and is dominated in color by (no surprise) naked-mole-rat pink. An ongoing horizontal line lends continuity to most of the pages, occasionally curving to add simple architecture to the scenes. But mostly it is Wilbur’s guileless observations that will have young readers feeling good about individual expression." - Booklist 

"Willems has a talent for creating funny lines, verbally and visually. Beige backgrounds provide an uncluttered stage for his pink creatures with their oversize rectangular heads, each conveying a distinctive personality. Much of the humor resides in the subtle changes in Wilbur's eyes and, of course, in his colorful costumes. Adults will embrace the message of tolerance, happy to have a tale that can be shared with young children. They will also appreciate the hints of Charles Schultz that surface here and there. Kids will giggle-and wish their daily dramas had similar endings. Now, however, they'll have a script." - Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library, in School Library Journal

Connections: Invite students to think about what makes us the same and what makes us different. Discuss whether different is necessarily bad, and whether or not "same" always means "good." Another connection: Use the book as a springboard to talk about animals and do some research on naked mole rats. What do they eat? (Students will probably be fascinated when they discover naked mole rats eat their own feces!) Alternately, teachers or librarians could read this book back-to-back with "The Emperor's New Clothes". Have students compare and contrast the message of the books. Additionally, several educators have posted  lesson plans or ideas to use with this book:

•  http://www.accessola2.com/superconference2009/thu/624/dressed.pdf
• http://colquitt.k12.ga.us/public_lib/book%20pages/Naked%20Mole%20Rat.htm
• http://literacylaunchpad.blogspot.com/2009/03/naked-mole-rat-gets-dressed.html

The Tale of Peter Rabbit, Written and Illustrated by Beatrix Potter

Title:  The Tale of Peter Rabbit
Author:  Beatrix Potter
Illustrator:  Beatrix Potter
Format: Kindle Edition
Publication Date:  June 20, 2010
File Size: 1107 KB

Sold by: Amazon Digital Services

Language: English
ASIN: B003TFE7NY
Original Publication Date: 1902
Publisher: Frederick Warne & Co./Penguin Group, London, England
ISBN: 0-7232-4770-6

Synopsis: Mrs. Rabbit must go on an errand, and trusts her children to do as they are told, "Stay out of Farmer McGregor's garden!" Three of her little bunnies do so, Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail. But her son Peter is a different story, even after being warned his own father was put into a pie after he was caught in the garden! Peter defies her rules, and has a terrifying time of things in Mr. McGregor's garden. Peter is made literally sick with fright!

Review: Beatrix Potter uses verbal imagery and lush watercolor illustrations to tell the tale of Peter Rabbit, a young bunny who defies his mother's orders and ventures into a neighboring garden - with nearly disastrous results. Potter gives her rabbits human-style dress and mannerisms to help illustrate for children the consequences that can occur when we misbehave. Her illustrations flesh-out the detail found in her text, allowing children to easily imagine what is happening to Peter - and sympathize with his predicament. The rich illustrations also help children in more urban environments whom have never seen a garden understand the obstacles Peter faces in getting back through the gate and safely home. Without being heavy-handed or redundant, Potter shows through her words and illustrations that parents have rules for a reason, and that children should follow these rules.

Awards*/Reviews: 

• Waterstones The Nation's Favourite Children's Books (1997, No 41)
•  1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up (2009.0043|2009, Ages 3↑)
• New York Public Library's Books of the Century (12|Favorites of Childhood and Youth)

"Beatrix Potter's animal stories have been a joy to generations of young readers. Her warm, playful illustrations in soft colors invite children into the world of words and flights of fancy. Once there, she gently and humorously guides readers along the path of righteousness, leaving just enough room for children to wonder if that incorrigible Peter will be back in McGregor's garden tomorrow." - Amazon.com

"Potter's book has softly colored spot illustrations, honing in beautifully on the drama or emotions of the facing pages of text." - School Library Journal

Connections: Read the story aloud to a group of students. Ask students what they think would have happened if Peter had listened to his mother. Ask students to think about a time when they disobeyed an adult who told them not to do something. Then ask students to imagine what they think they would look like if they were an animal. Pass out pencils and crayons and ask students to draw a picture of themselves as that animal, telling about what happened when they disobeyed. Then allow students to take turns using their pictures to tell a short story about what happened. As students to whom this book is geared are probably in the early stages of literacy, this allows the children to make connections between their spoken words and the story in a picture book.

*Awards Source: LibraryThing (http://www.librarything.com/work/46558)