Kitten's First Full Moon

 

Author/Illustrator:  Kevin Henkes

http://www.kevinhenkes.com

About the Author:

Kevin Henkes remembers from an early age he loved to draw, and his parents and teachers would comment on how good he was.  He also loved books at an early age.  He would take his favorites every where he went and reread them over and over.  He became an author/illustrator at the age of 19.  He started in his parents house working on a card table, to living with his wife and kids and working in his own studio.

 



Genre: Fiction
Grade Level: K-2

Synopsis:
This is a story about a little kitten that sees the full moon and thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky.  She wants the bowl of milk so she tries to get it, but no matter what she does she can’t get to the bowl of milk in the sky.

The kitten goes out searching for the bowl of milk that is out of reach for her, but when she returns home after all the chasing of the bowl of milk in the sky, there is a bowl of milk waiting for her at home. 

Pre Reading Activity:

Questions:
Who has seen a full moon?  How come it looks close sometimes but you can’t ever get to it?  Is the moon far away?

Activity:

Have the class make a list of all the things the moon looks like.  Using all the phases of the moon.  Have students find objects in the room that look like something else,  and explain what it is but what it looks like.

Post Reading Activity:

Questions:

Did you think the moon would look like a bowl of milk?  Could the kitten ever really get to the moon? Why do you think the kitten tried to get the milk in the sky when it was going to have milk at home?

Activity:

After reading the story, have the students write two sentences telling why the kitten tried to get the milk in the sky instead of waiting for the milk at home. 

Reflection:

I think this is the cutest book!  I think it tells a great story about the grass isn’t always greener on the other side, but in a very innocent way.  It really speaks to young children, even though they may not understand the true meaning of trying to get something that you already have.  It allows for conversations  between the teacher and students about what you think something is, might really be something else.