This Is A Lap-Reading Book

The Mitten by Jan Brett

Jan Brett has taken a beautiful old tale and turned it into a delightful read for young folks and their parents. It is a wonderful book for reading to children of young ages, in part because of the beautiful illustrations. In the center of the page, the main story is told. In the pages margins, inside a mitten the story of what has just happened and what is about to happen is told.

In this Ukranian story, Nicki asks his grandmother to make him white mittens--not exactly a practical item in a land that is blanketed with snow for much of the year. But Nicki is not about to be dissuaded by mere practicalities, so his grandmother gives in and makes it for him. Sure enough, he loses the mitten. One by one, the local wildlife crawl into it as shelter against the freezing cold. Finally, one too many critters climb in and there is a great sneeze. The mitten flies into the air and Nicki finds it and takes it home. The final page of the book is quite funny, as the grandmother looks questioningly at the horribly stretched out mitten.

Children's books serve many purposes: to entertain, to teach values, to teach reading, to encourage laughter. The Mitten is a wonderful book for encouraging affection. The story itself is a simple one, though the absurdity of so many animals fitting into a mitten is bound to appeal to most children. My son received this book as a present when he was 10 months old and it quickly became a favorite when he wanted to sit in my lap and look at pictures. Perhaps part of its appeal is that one of his nicknames is Nicki, but it goes beyond that. The Mitten provides a lot of visual stimulation while keeping few enough words on each page that a toddler is not soon bored with it.