Kitten’s First Full Moon by Kevin Henkes is is a sweet tale of a naïve kitten who thinks the moon is a bowl of milk and tries, in various ways, to get it. She tries to lick it and gets a bug on her tongue. She tries to leap at it and ends up falling down. She sees its reflection in a pond and thinks it’s another, bigger bowl of milk – and ends up soaking wet. Finally, she gives up and returns home, only to find a real bowl of milk waiting for her.

If you have read any other Henkes books (e.g. Lily’s Purple Plastic Purse or Chrysanthemum), you are familiar with his bold colors and busy scenes. This book is very different. The artwork is black and white with thick, black lines outlining the pictures. The effect is rather like a simplified, greyscale comic book for the toddler set. Though the publisher age recommendation is for ages four through eight, I think this is a good picture book for kids two and up.