Summer Book Club! Kitten’s First Full Moon
After yesterday’s heavy, but important post, I thought a little light and love was in order.
I read my first Kevin Henkes book when I was in teachers’ college at the University of Toronto. It was a blissful year, I was enjoying the life of being a student again after years of lecturing at Sheridan, and loving all the fun reading I was doing. Mostly kids books and some teaching theory, but this Kevin Henkes book stood out; Olive’s Ocean was stunning. A young girl, the ocean, a personal journey. It is a great young adult novel for middle school kiddos and I can’t wait to share this one with Aodhan.
I was even more excited when I realized that Kevin Henkes wrote (almost primarily) for littles!!! The young adult novel was a one-off and he had stacks and stacks of picture books on offer at the library (and most any well-stocked book store).
Some I like less than others, but I have a few favourites: like Bailey Goes Camping, Wemberly Worried and the book we are featuring today – Kitten’s First Full Moon.
The morning last month when I woke Aodhan prior to dawn in order to leave for holiday, he noticed (in mid-sentence), that the moon was still out! Aodhan doesn’t usually see the dark sky during the summer months, and wanted to watch the moon all the way down to Lake Placid. We talked about the fact that the night before had been a full moon and it had now started waning, even though you couldn’t tell quite yet.
Of course we have read Kitten’s First Full Moon a few times prior to this conversation, but the interest was there and I knew that this was the book we would explore for our Virtual Summer Book Club.
Our first connection with this book during August was re-reading it. We had a little help from a crocheted kitten that arrived from my dearest friend who lives all the way in Ireland. Aodhan and I both love the touch of graphic novel/comic book that haunts this text, and the frustration felt by poor kitten is something that my 3 year old can understand. He was keen to read it 3 times in a row, and able to read moon, kitten, milk, and poor by the end of the third go.
Afterwards we used good ol’ youtube and found this hilarious video about the phases of the moon.
I used the Phases of the Moon booklet (free printable) from Noor Janan Homeschool as a manipulative and hands-on component. Aodhan matched up each phase of the moon and we discussed the differences between them.
Because kitten’s greatest hope throughout the story is for a drink of milk, I tied in the lovely little book called Mama’s Milk written by Michael Elsohn Ross and illustrated by Ashley Wolff. This sweet book shares with our kids the natural role a mama’s boobies play in feeding their babies. Love this one.
After reading and thinking, we had to pull out our Space Sensory bin and have a go at that again. Love! I also made a little moon walk for Aodhan with some bubble wrap. I know the moon probably doesn’t feel anything like bubble wrap, but it was a good way to think about craters and different surfaces. Plus, it was super fun!!!
There are a load of bloggers who are participating in Summer Book Club. We have all shared some Kevin Henkes with our kids and crafted some exciting activities connected to these wonderful books. Be sure to check out all of the bloggers and fill up your home library with some Kevin Henkes!!
Toddler Approved, Mom to 2 Posh Lil Divas, Rainy Day Mum, Reading Confetti, Inspiration Laboratories, Play Dr. Mom, Mommy and Me Book Club, Kitchen Counter Chronicles, Two Big Two Little, Creative Connections for Kids, The Golden Gleam, Juggling with Kids, Taming the Goblin, Crafty Moms Share, Ready Set Read 2 Me, Famiglia and Seoul, The Good Long Road, The Educator’s Spin On It, Imagination Soup, 3 Dinosaurs, Royal Baloo, Being A ConsciousParent, No Twiddle Twaddle, Crayon Freckles, The Pleasantest Thing, Adventures in Reading with Kids, Smile, Play, Learn, Creekside Learning, Our Feminist Playschool, and Teach Preschool