Product Description

What a night!
The moon is full.
Kitten is hungry
and inquisitive
and brave
and fast
and persistent
and unlucky . . .
then lucky!
What a night!

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #7566 in Books
• Published on: 2004-03
• Released on: 2004-03-02
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Dimensions: 1.07 pounds
• Binding: Hardcover
• 40 pages

Amazon.com Review
In this beautiful picture book, winner of the 2005 Caldecott Medal, Kevin Henkes, captures the sweet, sometimes slapstick struggle of Kitten, who sees her first full moon and thinks it's a bowl of milk in the sky.

Any child who has yearned for anything will understand how much Kitten wants that elusive bowl of milk. Readers will giggle as she tries to lick the faraway moon and gets a bug on her tongue, or leaps to catch it and falls down the stairs. In an effective refrain, the narrator repeats, "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting." The winning combination here is the simplicity and humor of the story, paired with gorgeous black-and-white illustrations with thick black lines (mirrored by the thick bold sans-serif font) and shades of grey that are as luminous as a moonlit night should be. Full-moon circles and ovals appear throughout the design: white circle full moons on the endpapers, elliptical flowers by the porch, white circles of firefly light, oval pads on Kitten's paws, and her big round eyes (especially when surprised and soaking wet). Children will love Kitten's quest and ensuing comedy of errors, but what they will love even more is that there's an actual bowl of milk waiting on the porch for Kitten. (Preschool) --Karin Snelson

From School Library Journal
PreSchool-K-An irresistible offering from the multifaceted Henkes. The spare and suspense-filled story concerns a kitten that mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk. When she opens her mouth to lick the treat, she ends up with a bug on her tongue. Next, she launches herself into the air, paws reaching out for the object of her desire, only to tumble down the stairs, "bumping her nose and banging her ear and pinching her tail. Poor Kitten." Again and again, the feline's persistent attempts to reach her goal lead to pain, frustration, and exhaustion. Repetitive phrases introduce each sequence of desire, action, and consequence, until the animal's instincts lead her home to a satisfying resolution. Done in a charcoal and cream-colored palette, the understated illustrations feature thick black outlines, pleasing curves, and swiftly changing expressions that are full of nuance. The rhythmic text and delightful artwork ensure storytime success. Kids will surely applaud this cat's irrepressible spirit. Pair this tale with Frank Asch's classic Moongame (S & S, 1987) and Nancy Elizabeth Wallace's The Sun, the Moon and the Stars (Houghton, 2003) for nocturnal celebrations.-Wendy Lukehart, Washington DC Public Library
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

From Booklist
*Starred Review* PreS. Henkes creates another winner in this simple, charming story about a naive little kitten who mistakes a round, shining moon for a bowl of milk. Kitten laps at the sky's creamy circle, but she is surprised when she tastes bugs instead of milk. Then she chases the milk-bowl moon through the garden and field to the pond, where she climbs a tree, discovers another milk bowl shining in the water, and dives in after it. Finally, "wet and sad and tired and hungry," she returns home to find, at last, a true bowl of milk, out of the sky and on the porch, waiting for her. Henkes' text, reminiscent of Margaret Wise Brown's work in the elemental words, rhythms, and appealing sounds, tells a warm, humorous story that's beautifully extended in his shimmering, gray-toned artwork. Working in bold black lines and the silvery palette of moonlight, he creates a lovable, expressive character in the determined kitten, and his dramatic contrasts of light and dark capture the excitement of a nighttime adventure. Wise preschoolers may chuckle at the kitten's folly, but they'll also recognize the mysterious power of moonlight to transform the familiar world of daytime into something altogether new. Gillian Engberg
Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

Customer Reviews

Oh what a night
I don't know how a person goes about making a black and white picture book appear to shimmer and shine, but somehow or other author Kevin Henkes does it. Having decided to conquer the world of cats as well as the world of mice (if this statement confuses you a single glimpse of "Lily's Purple Plastic Purse" should explain what I mean), Henkes has shifted his focus squarely on a small hungry kitten. Inviting child audiences to simultaneously pity and scoff (nicely) at its small mistaken heroine, the story is about a feline that tries to capture the moon, but is happy enough in the end with a simple bowl of milk.

Kitten, we take it, is not very old. In fact, for the first time ever she's experiencing her first full moon. Apparently no one thought to explain to Kitten exactly what a moon is and since her only frame of reference for a large round white thing is a bowl of milk, that's exactly what she mistakes the moon to be. What follows is a series of mild calamities as Kitten tries time and again to reach that tempting bowl of milk in the sky. Simply sticking her tongue out doesn't work. She gets fireflies stuck there. Leaping at the moon from the house's steps doesn't work. She just bumps her bum. Chasing the moon over hill and dale doesn't work. Kitten can't help but notice that she never gets closer. After other mistakes Kitten, dejected and more than a little soggy, returns home to find an inviting bowl of milk sitting on her home's steps just for her. Says the last line in the book, "Lucky Kitten".

The illustrations in this book are, in a word, luminous. Somehow Henkes has taken somewhat bland black and grey gouache and colored pencils and used them to give the impression of a world bathed in shimmering moonlight. Kitten herself is a lovely innocent little creature. There are some truly amusing moments when she finds that she's just been tricked in some way. In times like these her mouth pretty much disappears and her eyes become wide, staring straight at the reader. It's a brilliant comic effect, and it keeps you rooting for Kitten. If there's anything to beware of in this book it may be your children over identifying with the little cat. I know that I, for one, felt awful for her when she found herself floating in a pond (she saw the reflection of the moon in the pond and thought... well, you know) and, "was wet and sad and tired and hungry". Fortunately Kitten's happy ending is just a few pages away, so kids won't have much time to dwell on the unhappy heroine's predicament.

The book is not too unlike one of my favorite picture books from childhood. Like, "The Patchwork Cat" by Nicola Bayley & William Mayne, this book is about a cat attempting to find and recover the thing she loves best. The two books would pair brilliantly together for any storytime. Henkes has redirected his storylines from rodents to cats so well that I suspect his fans won't be clamoring for any more mousie tales for quite some time. If you'd like a picture book that is as beautiful as it is misleadingly simple, "Kitten's First Full Moon" is your best bet. Perhaps the most beautiful black and white picture book on the market today.

Great book for beginning readers!
This cute story of a kitten thinking the full moon is a big bowl of milk and her wriggling, tumbling, chasing, climbing, and leaping after it reminds me of childhood imagination, curiousity, exploration and discovery. Kitten's First Full Moon has a fun underlying message of encouragement to go after our dreams! Usually children love colorfully illustrated books. Kitten's First Full Moon, done in black and white with variations of gray shades, grants it to stand out in memory as being different and enables it to receive greater attention, as it is a story that occurs at night. (So black and white makes sense.) The bold, thick black lettering on starch white paper makes it easy for a child to read with confidence. The sentences are of varying length and the story is written so that it keeps children turning pages to find out what the kitten will do next. The many changes of illustrations from one on a full page, to five long ones, to a two page spread with only one small picture on each and more, adds to the visual interest of KFFM. The Caldecott Medal Winner of 2005. Enjoy it!
Soar!

Even toddlers enjoy "Kitten's First Full Moon"
As a librarian, I bought "Kitten's First Full Moon" because it was the 2005 Caldecott winner. I have an 18-month-old grandson, however, and it's been a favorite of his since his first birthday and I was a bit surprised. So even though he's a little younger than the usual range for Caldecott books, I would recommend it for younger children as well. By the way, it's also on the Texas 2x2 list (2 years-2nd grade) from the Texas Library Assn. Vona Van Cleef, librarian/gramma