From the Publisher

Brett creates a dramatic picture book with the story of Nicki, a young boy who has lost a mitten in the snow and the animals who try to make a home of it. "The illustrations and the book design . . . are exquisite . . . a charming lap book to be poured over again and again."--School Library Journal. Full-color illustrations.

Publishers Weekly

Baba, Nicki's grandmother, knits pure white mittens for him, even though she is afraid that he will lose them in the snow. Sure enough, the first time Nicki is out, he drops one and some animals promptly move into its snug wool interior. First comes a mole, then a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear and, finally, a mouse. That mouse tickles the bear's nose and he sneezes, dislodging all of the animals at once. Nicki finds his mitten, and takes it home, but Baba is left to wonder about how it became so enormously stretched out. Brett's magnificent paintings feature her usual array of folk details, and this time, intricate knitting tracks, ornate embroidery, the crusty, peeling texture of the birch bark borders and the exquisite patterns found in Baba's homey rooms. Readers will sit back, suspend belief and welcome this tall tale from the Ukrainian tradition. Ages 4-8. (Sept.)

Children's Literature

When a young boy loses his new white mitten in the forest, a group of animals decide to climb inside the mitten for warmth. A mole, rabbit, hedgehog, owl, badger, fox, and bear manage to squeeze inside the well-constructed mitten, which safely surrounds them until a meadow mouse causes the bear to sneeze. After the mitten blows sky-high and the inhabitants are scattered, the young boy catches the air-born mitten and returns home. Brett uses clever border illustrations to alert the reader to the whereabouts of the mitten's owner and upcoming events.

Product Details

• Read a Sample Chapter

Read a Sample Chapter

The Mitten

Putnam Publishing Group

Chapter One

"If you drop a white mitten in the snow, it will be hard to find," his grandmother told him.

But Nicki wanted snow-white mittens so much that Baba made them for him.

When she finished knitting, Nicki trot on the mittens and went out to play.

It wasn't long before one mitten fell off.

A little mole found it and crawled inside. It was just the right size, so he decided to stay.

A rabbit came hopping by. He wiggled in next to the mole.

A hedgehog wanted to get warm. The mole and the rabbit made room for him.

The owl didn't want to be left out. So the mole, the rabbit, and the hedgehog had to move over. The little mitten was getting crowded.

A badger looked out of his house and saw the mitten. He climbed right in.

It started to snow, so a fox pushed his way in and made himself right at home.

Then a big bear sniffed at the mitten. The animals were packed in tight, but the bear didn't care.

He crawled in anyway. The mitten was getting bigger and bigger and bigger.

Then a tiny mouse squeezed in and perched herself on the big bear's nose.

The mouse's whiskers tickled the bear's nose. "Aaaaa-aaaaa-ca-chew!" the bear sneezed. All the animals flew out of the mitten.

Continues...

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Excerpted from The Mitten by Jan Brett Copyright © 1989 by Jan Brett. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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