Kitten’s First Full Moon

Title:  Kitten’s First Full Moon

Author: Kevin Henkes

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Publisher:  Greenwillow Books

Genre: Caldecott Medal Winner

Level: Primary

Number of Pages:  30

Pub. Date: 2004

Summary: The night Kitten sees her first full moon, she thinks it's a little bowl of milk in the sky, and she wants it. She jumps at it, and chases it, and climbs a tall tree all the way to the top, but still she can't reach it, poor Kitten. When she sees its milky white reflection in a pond, she even jumps in the water, but all she gets is wet. She gives up, feeling defeated, but then to her surprise, there is a bowl of milk waiting for her when she gets home.

Critique: The illustrations in this book were drawn in silvery shades of gray gouache (opaque watercolors) and colored pencil, with the adventurous white kitten outlined in thick black lines. There’s a

balance between words and pictures, but sometimes the illustrations reveal more about the story than the words provide like when the kitten sees a bigger bowl of milk, you can see in the illustration that it’s actually a pond that she’s about to jump into. The composition of the pictures, sometimes full-paged, sometimes in panels, is a type of border used by the author to advance the action. The lettering is a black font against a white background, standing out yet complimenting the illustrations.

Response: I adore this book and think the illustrations are so creative. I love how the author and illustrator could give the little kitten so much emotion with only a black outline on a white page. I think it’s so crisp and clean yet engaging and gets you emotionally attached to the sweet little kitten instantly.

Assignment:

Kitten's First Full Moon Math Lesson

Students will "identify different patterns on the hundreds chart."

Set Up and Prepare

Turn to the end papers in the front of the book. The two facing pages feature 100 full moons each. Make copies of one of the pages, one per student. If you don't have paper that is large enough to copy the moon page, try reducing the image, but not too much. Students will need enough room to write their numbers.

Directions

Give students their own copy of the moon paper. After they have written their name on the back, they should fill in the moons with numbers, beginning with the number 1. (The goal here is create a moon-themed hundreds chart.) Be sure to make one as a classroom example. Once everyone has filled in their chart, meet as a group to discuss what patterns can be found. Students should use the highlighters to note the patterns.