Kitten's First Full Moon

by Kevin Henkes

The nationally bestselling picture book about a kitten, the moon, and a bowl of milk, written by the celebrated author and illustrator Kevin Henkes, was awarded a Caldecott Medal.

From one of the most celebrated and beloved picture book creators working in the field today comes a memorable new character and a suspenseful adventure just right for reading and sharing at home and in the classroom. It is Kitten's first full moon, and when she sees it she thinks it is a bowl of milk in the sky. And she wants it. Does she get it? Well, no . . . and yes. What a night!

A brief text, large type, and luminescent pictures play second fiddle to the star of this classic picture book—brave, sweet and lucky Kitten! "Henkes's 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."—ALA Booklist

Winner of the Caldecott Medal, an ALA Notable Book, a New York Times Best Illustrated Book, and winner of the Charlotte Zolotow Award

Supports the Common Core State Standards

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Animals, Cats, Fiction, Storytime, Adventure

40 pages, Hardcover

First published March 2, 2004

About the author

Kevin Henkes is an American writer and illustrator of children's books. As an illustrator he won the Caldecott Medal for Kitten's First Full Moon (2004). Two of his books were Newbery Medal Honor Books, Olive's Ocean in 2004 and The Year of Billy Miller in 2014. His picture book Waiting was named both a 2016 Caldecott Honor Book and a Geisel Honor Book. It was only the second time any author has won that combination of awards.

Reviews

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

I enjoyed this delightful story of one precious kitten’s capers as she homes in on what she believes to be a tasty bowl of milk, only to be met with disappointment. Her determination doesn’t wane and eventually she finds what she desires in the best place of all. The story really captures the spirit of a kitten, playful, inquisitive, and cute!

[Calista · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love the utter simplicity of this story. There was so much joy reading it and finding so much humor at a kitten who thinks the moon is a bowl of milk. Each page can kill you with cuteness. The art work continues the theme of simple. It looks like he outlined everything with a sharpie or just black ink and then shaded with charcoal. It is interesting. We all get to share in the innocence of the kitten for a short time. The story is written for 2-5 year olds and the book really works on that level too. This is an example of someone being able to tell a sweet story for that age group that an adult may also enjoy on some level.

The kids both fell for Kitten's cuteness. It's a short read and we read it twice. They both gave it 5 stars.

[Ronyell · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have been reading Kevin Henkes’ works ever since I was a child and every one of his children’s books always featured mice as the main characters. Well, imagine my surprise when I finally found a book by Kevin Henkes that was about a cat! “Kitten’s First Full Moon” is a Caldecott Medal award winning book by Kevin Henkes and it is about a small kitten who tries to grab a bowl of milk in the sky (the moon!) “Kitten’s First Full Moon” is a truly cute book that every child would definitely love for many years!

I was really interested in how well crafted this book was! Kevin Henkes has done an excellent job at writing this story about a small kitten’s attempts to grab a “bowl of milk” in the sky. The writing is extremely simple yet cute at the same time and I loved all the creative ways that Kitten tries to get to the moon, like trying to lick at it, jump towards the moon and chase after the moon. It was also cute in how the kitten mistakes the full moon for being a bowl of milk as it strongly relates to any child’s first experiences with a certain object, like say a child mistakes a piece of chalk for candy and it was this experience that Kitten has that made this book extremely relatable to everyone who had mistaken objects for something else. Kevin Henkes’ illustrations are truly beautiful and adorable as Kevin Henkes draws the Kitten in an extremely cute manner that my heart literally melted whenever I keep seeing an image of the little white kitten! I also loved the background images in the story as they truly looking dazzling, especially the scene where Kitten is running through the fields and you can see flowers and tall grass as she approaches them. The black and white colorings of the images make this book extremely fascinating to look at as it made the images look both dramatic and effective at the same time!

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Overall, “Kitten’s First Full Moon” is a truly cute book for children who love reading about cats and experiencing new things in life. I would recommend this book to children ages three and up since the format of this book is simple for smaller children to read.

Review is also on: Rabbit Ears Book Blog

[Christian Schultheiss · Rating 3 out of 5]

Do I honestly have to even say how much of a Kevin henkes fan I am anymore, when I look for every book of his I can secondhand and aside from that I’m slowly hunting down the rest of his catalog like this one through my local library because what can I say even in their simplest topics everyone of his books is gorgeously illustrated and finds not only meaning but somewhat strong answers and options as well and on a level an adult like myself can enjoy but a child can also benefit from and have a good time with as well. I love any story daydreaming about the moon becoming food or drink or just about the moon in general so that mixed with my sons love of the kitty pictures in this one, I gotta say this comes in as another solid entry of his. 3.75/5

[Kathryn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Simple, sweet story with Caldecott-winning cuddly charcoal style artwork about a kitten who, in her wide-eyed innocence, mistaken a full moon for a bowl of milk. The ensuing adventure is full of mistakes and disappointment but a welcome treat is waiting for her at the end of it all!

[Afaf Ammar · Rating 5 out of 5]

"It was Kitten’s first full moon.
when she saw it, she thought, there is a little bowl of milk in the sky. And she wanted it.
So she closed her eyes
and stretched her neck
and opened her mouth and licked.
What a night!" 🌕😻🌕
What a sweet and heartwarming story, I fell in love with this little white kitten, I wanna give her
a warm hug ~💜💜😻💜💜



28.03.2021

[Scott Rhee · Rating 5 out of 5]

My daughter loves "Kitten's First Full Moon", and what's not to love? Kevin Henkes's adorable picture book is about a kitten who sees a bowl of milk in the sky and tries to drink from it. In actuality, it's a full moon, and the kitten's attempts to capture it result in ever-increasing troubles and misadventures. Thankfully, it ends on a high note.

Henkes, who also writes young adult fiction, is apparently an award-winning writer and illustrator of children's picture books as well. This particular one received the Caldecott Award, which awards excellence in children's literature.

I highly recommend this for anyone with a toddler and/or anyone who loves kittens.

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Like many other Caldecott books, this could also succeed without the words, but in this case they're so lovely to read (and hear) aloud that they enhance the story, imo. Of course I'm already a fan of Henkes and so am predisposed to enjoy this, but I do believe I'd love it even if I hadn't known the author already.

[Mir · Rating 4 out of 5]

What a lot of adventures an unsupervised kitten can have!

[Shiloah · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very cute story. The kids loved it!

[Sarah Sammis · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kittens First Full Moon is written and illustrated by Kevin Henkes and is a Caldecott Medal Winner (2005). In black and white line drawings it tells the story of a young kitten out to explore during a full moon. Unfortunately for the young cat the moon looks like a big bowl of cream.

The illustrations are done in the style of a graphic novel or manga. They are bold, expressive and could easily carry the story without the text. Sometimes my daughter just likes to leaf through the book to admire the artwork without having me read the book to her.

Kittens First Full Moon is the perfect book for a night time read when we don't have time to read a book to each child. It has the adventure elements that my son enjoys and it has an adorable kitten for Harriet. This book is one that both kids picked out together and it continues to delight them.

[CaseyTheCanadianLesbrarian · Rating 5 out of 5]

Things I liked:
-kittens (duh)
-expressive, thick, black and white illustrations
-very cute-funny
-the kitten's experiences figuring out what something new is (thinking the full moon is a bowl of milk) is also an experience kids have
-the repetition of "poor kitten" which is really fun to say and then the change to "lucky kitten"
-the repetition of the quest to get it, then "still, there was the little bowl of milk, just waiting"

[Robert Davis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Caldecott Medal (2005)

I really wonder about the selection process of the Caldecott award. Is there a specific set of criteria in choosing a winner? This book, much like the 2012 Caldecott winner, "A Ball for Daisy," is a nice enough picture book with a pleasant story that young children will appreciate. But, it isn't especially remarkable.

[Kaethe · Rating 5 out of 5]

So pretty, so simple. It's a lovely book. (I really loved it. The kids liked it)

[Cynthia · Rating 5 out of 5]

So sweet. Such beautiful monochromatic illustrations.

[Casey Brock · Rating 4 out of 5]

Grade Level: (K-1) Beginning K would be able to listen and then eventually read and 1 would be able to read independently.

Henkes uses interesting artistic angles in the story. His lack of color provides a nice night time atmosphere. It allows the reader to focus mainly on the kitten and the moon, the two basic things in the story. Also, the moon seems to grow and get larger each page as the kitten appears to try to get closer to the moon. The thick blank lines give the story a child-like, fun appeal. The text in the story is broken up very well so that even new readers don't feel overwhelmed by the large about of text on each page. Also, the use of exclamation points and question marks is a nice addition to a book level that usually doesn't add too many of these points. The child appeal in the story obviously comes a great deal through the kitten. Animals appeal to a wide range of children, and the common story of a kitten and a saucer of milk is known by many children. The "underdog" story comes out in his book as children would root for the kitten to reach beyond and get a hold of the moon (milk). I believe that this was a very effective book for the age range it is meant for. The "cute" kitten story draws the children in, but the quality text and good story line makes it a creditable story.

Content Connections:
Language Arts and Science

How To Use In Classroom:
I would incorporate this story into a solar system and space study unit in a basic format. As a teacher, the story could be read a loud and then a discussion could be done about the distance of the moon. Could the kitten really reach the moon? Why not?

[Veronica Baldwin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitten's First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes was such an adorable book! I love reading Caldecott awarded books because I always know I am going to be reading a great book. Kitten's First Full Moon was about a kitten who thought the full moon was a bowl of milk and was doing everything in its power to get to the moon. The kitten tried so hard to get to the moon, but every attempt failed. You started to feel bad for the poor hungry kitten, but in the end all of the kittens efforts were awarded when she arrived back to her house with a huge bowl of milk waiting for her.

Something I thought that was interesting about the book was that all of the illustrations were in black and white. There was not one display of color throughout the entire book. I think one of the main reasons of this is because it was set at night, but also because I think using this technique illustrated how the moon was the only thing that the kitten was noticing. I liked the fact that only black and white was used because it really brought your attention to the moon just like the kitten.

One of the biggest reasons this book made an impact on me because of the determination it showed of the kitten. This would be a great choice to show my students because it teaches them that you should work hard and keep trying even if you have failed attempts. The harder you work for something the more likely you'll achieve it.

[Brittany · Rating 5 out of 5]

I love this book so very much. The story is about a cute, innocent-minded kitten who mistakes the moon for a bowl of milk. This naive kitten captured my heart through the authors illustrations of imagination and curiosity that reminds me of my kitten at home. This story is one that I will definitely read to my children in the future.

[MelMon Sanchez · Rating 5 out of 5]

My baby absolutely loved this book. He swore to help Kitten out of the tree. And he laughed at all the trouble that she went through imagining the bowl of milk. A great bed time story.

[Kinley Kaelin · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book was amazing! I think this would be an awesome way to show that what you’re looking for is usually right there by you. Patience is key. The illustrations in this book are remarkable.

[Silja Sandahl · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book made me cry in the store 10/10

[ari · Rating 4 out of 5]

sooo cute.

read for the 2025 library challenge.

[Amanda Toombs · Rating 5 out of 5]

Genre: Picture book—Other

Summary: A kitten sees her first full moon one night and believes it is a bowl of milk. She tries extremely hard to get what she thought was the milk but only fails time after time. Upset, the little kitten goes back home, where there is a bowl of milk waiting for her.
Critique:
a. As being a picture book and a 2005 Caldecott winner, of course the greatest strength of this book is the black and white illustrations. These illustrations are very different from any of the past 10 Caldecott winner books.
b. The strong point about the illustrations in this book is that they show the readers a different way to demonstrate illustrations. Usually, readers see a variety of colors in a book but in this book we see black, gray and white throughout the whole book. You would think illustrations in those colors would be boring but the illustrator does a fine job with shading to make the illustrations stand out and show realism. Another strong characteristic of the illustrations in this book is that they look like they are freshly drawn. Meaning, the illustrations looks like the illustrator has drawn them directly in the book.
c. To show these fantastic illustrations, page 12 shows a great deal of shading throughout the picture to show the readers the different realistic places the kitten was traveling. We see a lot of black and white as well as shading throughout the illustrations in which represent the same effects in colored pictures. The shading of these illustrations like on page 22 give the illustration the realistic look of the kitten being in the pond. We see shading all around the kitten to show the effect of the water and its movements and also the drips of water falling off the kitten’s ear.
Curriculum Connection:
As this book is for younger students, a lesson about the shapes throughout the book would be a good lesson to connect with students. Also, sequence of events is another lesson that students could learn from when reading this book. As this book is very easy to read and also does not show a lot of color, teachers could work on student’s pronunciation of words. Or it could be use just for fun- as this is an extremely cute book about a lovable little kitten that is having a hard time.

[Ch13_julie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Have you ever wanted anything that is just a little out of your reach? If so, “Kitten’s First Full Moon” is the perfect book for you. This children’s picture book is about a little kitten that sees its first full moon. The kitten believes the moon is a bowl of milk and will go to great lengths to get the milk. As you can imagine, the kitten encounters some difficulties in this task. Henkes uses both humor and sensitivity to tell this story about a lovable kitten.

My understanding of the overall theme of this book is to address the issue of wanting what we cannot have. Henkes does this by telling the story of all the struggles the kitten faces while trying to get this out-of-reach “bowl of milk”. In the end, the kitten’s hard work does pay off, but not exactly in the way that the kitten had hoped.

The illustrations, although they are all black and white, are quite beautiful. The thick black lines and shades of gray perfectly guide the story of the kitten’s nighttime adventure. The illustrations compliment the text nicely in this story.

This book would be best for students in pre-school-first grade. The theme and text are both quite simple. It would be great to use as a read-aloud with the very young children and also a good book for beginning readers to try. The text contains some word patterns, which will help with predictability for those just learning to read.

This book won The Caldecott Medal in 2005 and it is sure to be a crowd-pleaser thanks to the curious personality of this adorable little kitten. This would be a great book to use with young students in the classroom setting to work on making connections. The students could also learn lessons about not always being able to get exactly what we want. This award winner brings a lot to the table for the young learners.

[Teneka Howland · Rating 4 out of 5]

(Pre-K - 1st grade)

I really enjoyed the simplicity of this book. The text was big and easy to read. The simple repetition of this book made some parts predictable. The author's use of dynamic balance was visible throughout the book as well. The pictures in this book were made using many simple, geometric shapes. I think that the author's choice of black and white pictures complimented this book well. There were also parts in the story where each step kitten made was detailed in the pictures. This story tells of kittens desire for adventure and something "new". At the end of the day, however, kitten returns to what is familiar and most comforting to her - home!

Related Content Areas:
Science, Fine Arts, Language Arts

Lesson Idea:
Since this story talks about the full moon, the teacher could use this story as an introduction to the different phases of the moon. The students could learn how to recognize the different phases based upon what they look like. They could even do a month long project where they go outside at the same time each night and draw the moon as they see it. At the end of the month, the children could look at how their drawings transformed over the month. The teacher should see if the children can recognize each phase using their drawings.

[Aly Gutierrez · Rating 5 out of 5]

• Book summary
-This story is about a kitten that saw a full moon for the first time. She believed the moon was a bowl of milk. She tried and tried to reach the bowl of milk, with no luck. After jumping into a reflection made in water, she gave up and walked home. She returned home and was thrilled to see a little bowl of milk waiting for her.

• Caldecott Medal

• Grade level, interest level, Lexile
-K-2

• Appropriate classroom use (subject area)
-This story can be used to teach children to never give up.

• Individual students who might benefit from reading
-Children that enjoy reading about animals will enjoy practicing reading.

• Small group use (literature circles)
-Children can take turns reading a page from the book and analyze the different ways the kitten tried to reach the moon.

• Whole class use (read aloud)
-Students can take turns explaining why the kitten couldn’t reach her bowl of milk in the sky.

• Related books in genre/subject or content area
-Kevin Henkes has multiple other books with the same overall topic of watching the moon. Fun to read and engage in the story to make you wonder.

• Multimedia connections
-Only available in hardcover.

[Jaclyn Giordano · Rating 5 out of 5]

Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes was the 2005 Caldecott Medal winner. I gave this book five stars. This picture book is intended for readers from preschool to grade two but its themes are universal. The book follows kitten in her many attempts to find that big bowl of milk, which happens to be the moon. She runs, she jumps, she climbs, but to no avail. However, when finally returning home, she finds that dish of milk waiting for her, and she is happy. This book symbolizes our determination to keep trying even in the face of defeat, even if we aren’t clear on what we are exactly after. If we keep trying, ultimately, we can find success and happiness. The illustrations in this book are black and white, which I think is intended to make the story universal. The challenge and characters may change, but we are all must keep trying, no matter what. Even if we get down on ourselves, we can still find triumph, even if it is right back where we started. I think young readers will connect to kitten’s attempts and find humor in it. Clear connections can be made to readers of all ages that we must never give up.

[Rachel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Description: Kitten witnesses her first full moon and beings a quest to catch what she thinks is a giant bowl of milk in the sky.

Genre: This picture book is fiction

Intended Audience: Preschool - 1st Grade

Curriculum Connection: Because of the obstacles and surprises that kitten faces, I would use this book to show children how to make predictions. As each new situation presents itself to kitten, I would stop and have students guess the outcome. After the first few, their predictions will become more obvious since they know what is tending to happen to the kitten.

Personal Reaction: I thought that this was a very funny book for young children. They will laugh at the wet cat and when she catches the bugs in her mouth. Also, the images of the cat at each new surprise is silly and young children will love it and will remain engaged.

Assessment of Visual Appeal: This is a book completely in black and white tones. Because of this, the cat and the moon, which are both white, stick out as the important objects of the story. I loved how the moon was on every page, a reminder to us and to kitten that that is the ever-present goal for this cat.

[Jen · Rating 5 out of 5]

I found this book through the ALSC Website. It was the winner of the Caldecott Medal and the Charlotte Zolotow Award. The story starts off with a kitten that sees a full moon for the first time and thinks it is a big bowl of milk. Determined to drink the milk, Kitten tries many different ways to get to it such as sticking out her tongue, jumping, or chasing it. In the end the exhausted kitten does not get the milk in the sky but comes back home to a nice big bowl of milk.

Kevin Henkes breaks away from his typical colorful illustrations and uses only black and white pictures to tell the story. The pictures still come alive as you read the book through the use of shading and thick lines. He alternates between showing Kitten attempting to get the milk with many pictures to her waiting, with a mostly white background. Kitten travels across the pages as the determination and sadness on her face shows the reader that she is not giving up easily. Young readers will enjoy the silliness of Kitten thinking the moon is milk and feeling satisfied at the end when she gets what she wanted all along.

[Heidi · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.8 stars

I first read this picture book as an
adult.

The illustrations are nice and attractive
and appropriate. Actually, they are
quite beautiful in a way.

The storyline is good--not great.
The fact that the illustrations are
in black and white really works for this
particular book. Color illustrations
would really not work in this book.

I thought this storybook was good--
not great. If I had read it when I was
younger it probably would have appealed
to me more. I think that most young
children would really like it.