The Mitten by Jan Brett

Book Genre: Fiction
Publishing Info: Penguin Putnam; 27 pages
Awards received: National Education Association Educators' Top One Hundred Children's Books 2007, National Teachers Association Top Ten Titles for Elementary Students 1999, American Library Association, Booklist Magazine Best Children's Books of the 1980's, New Yorker Magazine Best Children's Books 1989

Summary: A boy named Nicki was visiting his grandmother and she was going to knit him some mittens. Nicki wanted white mittens. His grandmother, Baba did not want to knit white mittens because if he dropped them in the snow he would never find them. Baba finally gave in and made white mittens. After the mittens where finished Nicki went out exploring in the snow. His grandmother told him when he came back home safe and sound she would check to see if he still had the mittens. As Nicki was exploring it wasn't long before he lost a mitten in the snow. A mole came along and tucked himself inside. Later a rabbit came along and tuck himself in the mitten with the mole. The story continues with different animals getting into the mitten. The mitten was stretched out when all of a sudden when a mouse came along and sat on the bears nose the bear let out a big sneeze. The mitten shot up in the sky and the animals went everywhere. Nicki saw the mitten high in the sky and he ran to catch it. He went home safe and sound with both mittens however, one was stretched out!

Personal rating: ****Great! Children will love this story!

Reading level: 3.9
Interest level: K-4

Possible uses of the text:
Science: Discuss the similarities/differences of the animals in the story.
Art/Reading: Give students copies of the animals in the story, string, outline of a mitten (2) with holes around it. Have the students color the animals and weave the string around the mitten. When completed have students retell the story while using the mitten.
Math: Use some, some more stories (addition) using the story line and characters.

Potential Problems: none