Caldecott Part IV

Henke’s Kitten’s First Full Moon (2005 Winner) is exactly what comes to mind when I think of picture books: simple plot, cute pictures, and a sweet kitten. The story is easy to follow: a sweet kitten sees the full moon and mistakes it for a large bowl of milk. The kitten does all he can think of to reach the moon but fails. He returns home tired, hungry, and wet only to find a big bowl of milk awaiting him on his comfy porch. Very sweet. Sickeningly sweet.

Perhaps it’s because I’m a middle school teacher or perhaps it’s because I adore Children’s chapter books and YA literature but I didn’t like this book in the least. It fits the mold too well. Its cookie cutter. Give a cute animal a silly goal and let them find their hearts desire at home. After all, home is where the heart is, right?

Aside from my main objection of too cute, I appreciated the author’s illustrations. Although black and white, the illustrations were not as simple as the plot but rather captivating. Young readers will follow the kitten’s story quite easily with help from the drawings and might even find the kitten’s adventures comical. In one scene, the kitten notices the moon reflected in a pool of water and proceeds to leap into the water. My stomach dropped at the idea of a kitten jumping into water (what if he couldn’t swim?) but children would probably think the kitten funny or silly.

I have to concede that one of my favorite childhood books falls into the same mold, The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown. The bunny wants to run away from home by becoming a fish or a flower but another main character, his mother, follows him on his journey becoming a fisherman or a gardener. The bunny, like the kitten, finds what he desires at home because his mother is there. My mother and I read this book together often and it usually ended with a hug and me feeling my mother’s love. Now that’s a book!

Kitten’s First Full Moon leaves young readers with images of a cute kitten but The Runaway Bunny left me feeling loved by my mother. Maybe my standards are too high, but I think Kitten’s First Full Moon falls short.

Henkes, K. (2004). Kitten’s first full moon. New York: HarperCollins.