Book Review: Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes
Kitten’s First Full Moon is a delight. The story is simple and elegant, and the artwork clean and easily understood by young children. It is the tale of a young kitten who sees its first full moon and mistakes it for a bowl of milk.
The kitten is sweet and brave and wonderful. The story follows the kitten through misadventures as it attempt to reach the bowl of milk in the sky. The kitten tries to lick the bowl and instead catches a bug on its tongue. It leaps at the bowl and tumbles to the ground. It climbs a tree and then jumps into a pond to get to the reflection of the moon. The kitten’s persistence is rewarded at the end with a bowl of milk and contented sleep.
Kevin Henkes, the author/illustrator, clearly knows cats. His spare, nuanced black drawings on thick cream paper capture the fun and fluidity of a cat on the move, but don’t overwhelm. The writing is rhythmic and a perfect complement to the artwork.
This is a great bedtime story.
Kitten’s First Full Moon was a Caldecott Medal winner in 2005.
Audience: Preschool