Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005 Caldecott Medal Winner)

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes (2005 Caldecott Medal)

When I think about writers that should have won a Newberry or Caldecott Medal more than once, I will definitely have Kevin Henkes as a part of that list from now on. Henkes is a prolific writer with a hefty portfolio of tales that are all worthy of that medal in my opinion.

Maybe you don't recognize the name, so let me give you a few examples of the stories that Mr. Henkes writes:

• Jessica-a young girl has an imaginary friend named, Jessica. What will happen to Jessica when she starts Kindergarten and makes new friends?
• Chrysanthemum- A young mouse named Chrysanthemum deals with the other students who tease her because of her name.
• Owen-A young mouse doesn't want to give up his blanket.

These are just a few of the amazing stories that have come from Mr. Henkes, and any one of them could have won a Caldecott Medal. So let's talk about Kitten's First Full Moon. (I did learn that Owen won a Caldecott Honor Medal.)

This is the story of a young kitten that mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk and tries to get the milk with some less than filling results.

• Sticks her neck out and lick a lightning bug.
• Jumps off the porch and lands on her head.
• Runs after the moon and climbs a high tree without getting any closer.
• Mistakes the moons reflection in a pool of water for an even larger bowl of milk with soggy results.

After all of that the kitten crawls home saddened until she gets back to her front porch and finds a bowl of milk waiting for her.

It's a fun little tale with picture that tell the story just as much as the words. I have used the story without the words on occasion. When I do this, I have a student tell me the story one-on-one. Have the student look through the book and try to recall the story.

Other fun ideas:

• Talk about perspective. Why does the kitten think the moon (which is very far away) is a bowl of milk?
• Goal setting. The kitten has a goal. How does she reach that goal?
• List other objects you might mistake the moon for (in the different phases)
• Track what the moon looks like on different nights. (The kids can draw the moon every night and bring it in with them.)

There are plenty of other ideas, so if you have something cool to share, leave a comment below.