Genre
Picture books for children
Translations
Tone
Sweet
Illustration
Big and bold
Colorful
Theme
Learning to share
Subject
Animals
Mushrooms
Rain and rainfall
Sharing

This picture books is quickly becoming one of my youngest daughter's favorite. It has started raining and an ant hides under a mushroom for cover. Every few minutes a bigger animal comes to hide under the mushroom the ant. When all think it can't cover the latest inhabitant, it surprisingly does. My daughters and I follow with bated breath to see if the mushroom would eventually fail to protect--like stacking blocks as high as we can until it falls much to our amazement. I won't give away the ending, but it is a cute read. Good for the 1st graders to read alone and great for PreK and Kindergarten read story times. My favorite part of the illustrations is the expressions of the animals as the try to fold themselves underneath the cap of the mushroom. I can't believe that this gem has been in my house for over 5 years and this is the first time I'm reading it. ( )

In this version of “The Mitten,” an ant, butterfly, mouse, and sparrow---increasingly larger animals---all manage to be sheltered from the rain by a mushroom even though the current occupants at first protest that there is not enough room---it’s not clear who is talking. A rabbit joins them; he is seeking shelter from a fox, not the rain. The fox is convinced by the other animals---it’s not clear who is talking---that the rabbit could not fit under the mushroom and goes away. A frog knows why they were all able to fit and the reader is asked to guess. (The title gives a clue.) Pictures are colorful, if a bit cluttered. Compare to Jan Brett’s and Heather Forest’s versions. ( )