The Mitten

Exactly how many versions of this old Ukrainian folktale, in which a lost mitten provides temporary shelter to an assortment of wild creatures, have I read? Well, let's see... there Jan Brett's The Mitten, currently in print, and probably the best known adaptation of this story in the United States. There's Alvin Tresselt's classic retelling from the 1960s, recently made available again; Irina Zheleznova's The Old Man's Mitten, printed in the former USSR for the English-language audience; and (of course) there's the version illustrated by E. Bulatov and O. Vasiliev, shaped like a mitten itself.

Having read all four of these picture-books, not to mention the adaptations to be found in larger collections such as Irina Zheleznova's show more Ukrainian Folk Tales, I thought I was done with this story, which (despite my folkloric interest) has never been one of my favorites. But not so!, say Aylesworth and McClintock, whose new rendition is undoubtedly my favorite yet! With an entertaining narrative just made for reading aloud - "Please! begged the fox. / My toes are cold as ice! / Your mitten looks so cozy, / and warm toes would feel so nice!" - and endearing ink, gouache and watercolor illustrations, this delightful title breathes new life into an old tale.

A true accomplishment! But then, what else would you expect from this author/illustrator team, whose many projects, from The Gingerbread Man to The Tale Of Tricky Fox, are unfailingly excellent? show less

I absolutely adored this book. I love the language used on nearly every page after the squirrel gets into the mitten when they are start responding, "GO AWAY. No room!" The book absolutely sounds as if it is being told opposed to read, and it was so much fun to read! The language and the writing kept me on my toes and got me excited to read on. I believe the characters along with the illustrations throughout were great and developed the story wonderfully. On the page where the bear, fox, rabbit and squirrel, are ALL in the mitten, I couldn't help but laugh. The mitten is now stretched out to be HUGE but still hasn't bursted!
The main idea or message that I drew from this story was that the smallest things may have the biggest impact. It show more is important to trust the ones you love and when someone says no, sometimes its important to respect that! show less

"One day, while sledding in the snow, a little boy loses his red woolen mitten. Meanwhile, a passing squirrel finds that the cozy mitten is the perfect place to warm his icy toes. So he sque-e-eezes inside. But the squirrel is not the only animal with that idea. How many animals can fit inside the little boy's mitten?"
Having read and re-read The Mitten by Jan Brett many many times, I was not very excited to learn of another remake. But Jim Aylesworth does a wonderful job with the tale -- this book is perfect for storytime as children can help with the telling because of the repetitive answer that each animal gives when asked to make room: No room, no room, no room, go away!"

I enjoyed reading this book. I chose it because it was a tale originated from Ukraine and I am part Ukrainian. It is about too many animals trying to fit into a mitten together and bursting it. The mitten belonged to a little boy whose grandmother loved him so much she knitted him a hat, scarf, and mittens every year. The illustrations are beautiful and I love the depictions that are on about 5 or 6 pages that show how all of the animals squeezed into the mitten together in order to get warm. Also the text is reiterated by making certain phrases larger to emphasize the tone. For example, the animals tell the mouse to "go away" once and then they have to tell him to "GO AWAY!" a second time. It shows how the text and illustrations work show more together to create a wonderful story. show less

Loved the repetitious elements of the story, particularly that they didn't go overboard. The kids really liked this one - I'd say it's good for Preschool up through grades 1 or 2. Barbara McClintock illustrates in ink, gouache, and watercolor. McClintock uses a muted palette (except for the bright red mitten) and detailed linework that gives the illustrations an old-fashioned feel, but also includes plenty of humor, particularly in the animal faces and the squeezing into the mitten bits. The illustrations worked fine for the group of 20 or so that I had, but they might not play well to groups larger than that since there's a fair amount of spot art and detail.

Used for Snow Storytime for 4 year olds at Light of Christ Preschool 1/4/11. show more Used for 3-5 year olds at Sunshine Early Learning Center 11/16/11 - even though I used this one last and it's a little bit longer this held the kids' attention all the way through - they loved it! show less

When a little boy loses a mitten in the snow, a passing squirrel finds it's the perfect place to warm his icy toes. So he sqe-e-e-e-zes inside. But he's not the only animal with that idea. How many animals can fit inside a little boy's mitten?
Aylesworth's rollicking rhyming refrains and McClintock's delightfully expressive characters are sure to make this book every child's storytime favorite. -- GoodReads

Meet the little boy who loves to play outside. He has something he loves to do every season. During the winter season, he plays in the snow, all geared up in knitted hat, scarf and mittens made by his grandmother. While playing outside, he loses one of the mitten. Will he be able to find his mitten? The story is written in a very playful way with lots of repetitions. Children will love hearing the animals talking to each other and seeing how they all try to fit into a small mitten. The watercolor illustration with ink outlines captures the boy’s as well as all the animals’ liveliness. The colors she used are very bright and bring life into the characters. Also, everyone’s facial expressions show variety of emotions that related to show more the reading. She also uses the color red for the knitted items, a classic color for winter, and it provides a great contrast between the knitted mitten and the animals.

This winter story will appeal to many children and get them excited for winter. And as an added bonus, the back dust jacket provides a hot cocoa recipe. This would be a great activity for the parents and the children to do together, and possibly an end-of -a-read treat. show less