The Mitten is one of my all-time favorite children's books. The pictures are incredibly detailed and gorgeous. It is another of those excellent books that can be told totally through the illustrations. The borders of the pictures have sneak-peaks at what's still to come.

The story itself (a Ukrainian folktale) is irresistible. A boy asks his grandmother for white mittens. She warns him he'll lose them in the snow but makes them for him anyway. He does drop one in the snow almost immediately. Through the day the lovingly knitted mitten becomes a warm place to sleep for many animals. A bear's sneeze blows it up where Nicki finds it again on his way home.

The book did not receive a Caldecott Medal, but I think it is better than some of the books that have.
related-mittens, Ukraine-folklore, textiles, homemade crafts, family, habitats, sharing
RL=1st-2nd, read aloud to toddler-K