Berkeley Heights Public Library

Kittens First Full Moon

by Kevin Henkes

School Library Journal PreS-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 (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

Kirkus In a surprisingly new guise, Henkes turns his hand for his 34th book to a retro look, with rough-hewn, black-and-white illustrations that pair perfectly with this deceptively simply story. When Kitten mistakes the full moon for a bowl of milk, she ends up tired, wet, and hungry trying to reach it. The coarse but masterfully controlled line with heavy black outlines contains vigor and exuberance, creating a spontaneous feeling. A keen sense of design uses double spreads and panels to depict the action and Kitten's puzzlement. Some spreads are almost all white space with dark shadows outlining Kitten and the moon. The style is reminiscent of Clare Newberry (Marshmallow, April's Kittens) without soft, fuzzy shapes, but artful in its gracelessness and naďvetÉ, just like a kitten. Simply charming. (Picture book. 3-5) Copyright ŠKirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Book list 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.itten 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 2004 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright Š American Library Association. Used with permission.

Horn Book The black-and-white forms in this sweet story about a kitten who thinks the full moon is a bowl of milk are larger and more solid-looking than Henkes's usual work. The kitten, whose white fur glows against the charcoal-gray sky, is sprightly and expressive as she fails repeatedly (""Poor Kitten!"") to get at that milk. The rhymthic, action-oriented text is just right for small children. (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted. All rights reserved.

Publishers Weekly From their first glimpse of the title character, licking her front paw on the cover illustration, youngsters will find the star of Henkes's (Wemberly Worried) fetchingly simple story quite irresistible. When Kitten spies her first full moon, she thinks, "There's a little bowl of milk in the sky. And she wanted it." Yet when she closes her eyes and stretches her neck to lick the milk, Kitten instead ends up with a bug on her tongue. Next, she springs for the moon from the porch, and tumbles down the steps. Henkes's minimal narrative underscores the feline's drama with a refrain that encourages young listeners to chime in, "Poor Kitten!" After each such refrain, a white spread with a spot illustration of the kitten in the bottom left corner and the full moon in the upper right corner emphasize the feline's impossible dream: "Still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting." Horizontal scenes of Kitten's "chase" and vertical panels of the feline's climb up a tree to reach her prize make cinematic use of the spreads, rendered in variegated hues of black and white, in gouache and colored pencil. After all her trials, her own bowl of milk is waiting for her at home. The narrative and visual pacing will keep children entranced, and the determined young heroine and her comical quest will win them over. Ages 3-up. (Feb.) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

School Library Journal PreS-Gr 1-Kevin Henkes's Caldecott Award-winning picture book (Greenwillow, 2004) is about a kitten who thinks that the full moon is a bowl of milk. Her attempts to lick it and catch it are futile. After much frustration, she comes home and finds a bowl of milk waiting for her on the porch. Joan Allen provides flawless narration for this animated production, eliciting concern and triumph in all the right places. Ernest Troost's musical accompaniment is pitch perfect, employing woodwind and piano to adroitly accent the story's drama. Unfortunately, the animated film lacks the velvety richness and depth of Henkes's delightful charcoal-and-cream-colored illustrations. The backgrounds appear flat at times and two-dimensional at best. When Kitten makes chase, not even the fireflies follow. Kitten is disappointingly devoid of cat-like movements except for some spot-on bottom twitching. The most disappointing moment, though, occurs at the denouement of the book when Kitten realizes that the bowl of milk she's been seeking all night is on the porch. In the book, her eyes grow wide and the moment is packed with emotion; this doesn't occur in the film. Still, this lovely story can stand on its own in video translation, but it should always be viewed along with the book, its superior inspiration.-Constance Dickerson, Cleveland Heights-University Heights Public Library, OH (c) Copyright 2012. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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