Book #15 - Kitten's First Full Moon

"It was Kitten's first full moon. When she saw it, she thought, There's a little bowl of milk in the sky. And she wanted it."

Title: Lilly's Purple Plastic Purse

Author: Kevin Henkes

Illustrator: Kevin Henkes

Publisher: Greenwillow

Date of Publication: 1996

Genre: Fiction

Readability Lexile: 540L

Summary: 

Kitten sees the full moon for the first time and see decides that it must be a bowl of milk. She tries many ways to get the bowl of milk. She tries licking it, springing for it, chasing it, and climbing a tree to get closer to it but nothing worked. Kitten get wet, cold, and tired and so decides to go home and there she finds a bowl of milk just waiting for her. 

Evaluation: 

This book is another sweet story by Kevin Henkes only this time it is about a cat rather than a mouse. Kitten is such an endearing character because all she wants is a bowl of milk; she tries and tries but can't reach it. I think everyone from time to time feels this way; that no matter how hard they try they just cannot get reach their goal. This book is very relatable for students and adults alike. The kitten in this story needs to work through a big problem in this book; figure out a way to get the bowl of milk in the sky. She tries and fails multiple times. She finally just goes back home and finds a nice surprise. Kitten is the only character in this story but we know that their is an owner "behind the scenes" of this story who gives Kitten the bowl of milk at the end. The character fits well with this story and its big idea. The kitten shows many positive character traits and the plot is fun and repetitive, which makes this a good story for young children, and has teaches us something about having a little curiosity. The author doesn't use any offensive, degrading, or stereotypical language or illustrations in this book. This book is meant for pre-k and kindergarten students.

Literary Elements: 

1. Theme: I think this story is about what happens when things don't go as planned. I think the kitten in this story thought it would be easy to get the bowl of milk in the sky but she was wrong. She tried and tried and wasn't able to succeed. I don't think this story teaches children that it is okay to give up but rather that sometimes you may be lucky and sometimes a little unlucky. I think it also teaches the idea of having something to go home to. In the story the Kitten tries and tries and just ends up wet, tried, and sad. When she gets home there is a bowl of milking waiting for her. This shows that even when things don't go your way or if you don't succeed, even after trying your very best, it is okay and the people around you will still love you. 

2. Conflict: The story has conflict between the Kitten and the moon aka the bowl of milk in the sky. Throughout the story the kitten works really hard to get the milk but it always outsmarts her. In the end the kitten decides that she will end this rivalry and goes home. 

3. Setting: The story takes place on the front porch of the kitten's house and the area around it. She travels down the sidewalk, through the garden, past the field, and by the pond. The pond and tree play a large part in the setting because the kitten thinks they will help her in getting the milk but instead they make it more difficult. She falls in the pond and gets stuck in the tree. The author uses the setting to create barriers that the kitten must break through to get the bowl of milk.

Illustrations:

The pictures in this book are all in gray-scale. The author usually uses many colors in the illustrations of his other books but this one is only while, gray, and black. I think he uses these colors, along with the text and other hints from the pictures, to help us to understand that this story is taking place at night. He uses the gray and black to show the darkness. The kitten is white and so that fits in fine with the already chosen color scheme. 

The author uses framed illustrations, like a comic stripe, to show the action take place in the story. For example, when the kitten is running for the pond, which she thinks is a big bowl of milk, the author's first frame is of the kitten starting to run, second and third are of the kitten making its way to the pond, and the fourth is of the kitten leaping into the pond. These pictures are simply but still fun to look at and supportive of the text.

Mini-Lesson Idea: 

I would use this book to teach the em-dash. The author uses them a lot to connect his ideas. He even uses them to connect sentences that are on different pages. I would talk with the class about what an em-dash is used for and how it can add positive elements to one's writing. Then the students would create sentences or thoughts that link together and practice using the em-dash to connect them.