Kitten's First Full Moon - Module 3

   

Kitten’s First Full Moon

by Kevin Henkes

2005 Caldecott Medal winner

Published by Greenwillow Books (2005)
ISBN 9780060588281
Audience: PreSchool-K

Tale

Kitten seems hungry as she views the full moon in the sky to be a big bowl full of delicious milk. She goes through a lot trying to reach the big bowl; can she get it?

Thoughts

This 2005 Caldecott Medal winner presents a simple tale, easily followed by the youngest readers. The black and white drawings are very detailed, done with clean lines. Each illustration focuses only on the main event, which makes them very supportive of the plot, character, and setting.

About the author

He always enjoyed drawing, and became a published author and illustrator at nineteen years old. His first published work was 1981’s All Alone. That was just the beginning of a great career writing picture books and novels.

To find out more about his work go to http://www.kevinhenkes.com/default.asp

Review

SLJ Reviews 2004 April
Website: http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/

"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 Copyright 2004 Reed Business Information."

Activities

Ask the children about the shapes of the moon. Showing them paper cutouts with these shapes, ask the children what they think the shapes look like. Ask them if they can think about other things that can be related to the moon’s shape.

Flotsam - Module 3

 

FLOTSAM

By David Wiesner

2007 Caldecott Medal winner

Published by Clarion Books (2006)
ISBN: 9780618194575
Audience: K-G4

Tale

While beachcombing, a boy finds an old picture camera and discover that a roll of film is still inside it. Intrigued to see what kind of pictures the roll holds, he takes the camera to a one hour photo store to be developed. To his surprise, the pictures are a mix of fantasy and nature from two worlds that seem to overcome their limitations and overlap. He also finds out that he is not the first kid to have the pictures developed; is he going to be the last one?

Thoughts

Is there anything more exciting that finding shells, coins, and other treasures on the seashore? Imagine finding a special treasure that holds fantastic images buried within it. Caldecott Medal winner David Wiesner does a wonderful job telling a tale without any words that will intrigue readers of all ages. The pictures are great and they deliver the story perfectly. The beautiful colors, the exceptional details on facial expressions, the extraordinary creativity, the clear sequence of events, and the inclusion of multicultural elements, all make this a remarkable work.

About the author

Author and illustrator, Wiesner won many awards for his picture book creations. Some of them have been translated into many languages.

To read more about his work, his biography, and the awards received, visit http://www.hmhbooks.com/wiesner/

Activities

3^rd grade and up: Ask students to write commentary for the illustrations.

All grades: Ask students to tell what is going to happen next in the story.

All grades: Ask students to create their own wordless story through illustrations.

Review

Kirkus Reviews 2006 August #1

"From arguably the most inventive and cerebral visual storyteller in children's literature, comes a wordless invitation to drift with the tide, with the story, with your eyes, with your imagination. A boy at the beach picks up a barnacle-encrusted underwater camera. He develops the film, which produces, first, pictures of a surreal undersea world filled with extraordinary details (i.e., giant starfish bestride the sea carrying mountainous islands on their backs), and then a portrait of a girl holding a picture of a boy holding a picture of another boy . . . and so on . . . and on. Finally, the boy needs a microscope to reveal portraits of children going back in time to a sepia portrait of a turn-of-the-century lad in knickers. The boy adds his own self-portrait to the others, casts the camera back into the waves, and it is carried by a sea creature back to its fantastic depths to be returned as flotsam for another child to find. In Wiesner's much-honored style, the paintings are cinematic, coolly restrained and deliberate, beguiling in their sibylline images and limned with symbolic allusions. An invitation not to be resisted. (Picture book. 6-11) Copyright Kirkus 2006 Kirkus/BPI Communications.All rights reserved."