The Mitten
Nicki drops a white mitten in the snow, and woodland animals squeeze inside from a mole to a bear. Jan Brett's side borders show Nicki's parallel search and foreshadow arrivals.
- First published
- 1989
- Reading stage
- Picture books & shared reading
Reading this with your child
Read center and border separately
First follow the animal entering the mitten, then inspect the framed side pictures for Nicki and the next visitor. This makes the page design part of the storytelling.
Track the growing improbability
Name each animal and compare its size with the mitten. The folktale asks readers to accept an increasingly impossible shelter until the smallest arrival triggers the release.
Return to the final evidence
At the end, compare the recovered mitten with its mate and Nicki's expression. The difference lets the illustration reveal something the boy never fully sees happen.
Compare before choosing: Both sequence many animals around one structure; The Mitten uses visual foreshadowing and folktale accumulation, while Spider uses a tactile web and repeated invitations. View the comparison title →
Where's Spot?
Moo, Baa, La La La!
The Going to Bed Book
Blue Hat, Green Hat