Folklore

 

 

 

 

 

 The Mitten    By: Jim Aylesworth

 

Summary:

This story is about a little boy who lost his mitten outside when he was playing in the snow, but he did not realize it until he got back home and decided to wait until the next day to find it. Overnight, a squirrel found the mitten and went inside to get warm. Shortly after came a rabbit who asked to join the squirrel inside the mitten. Initially the squirrel said no and then decided to let the rabbit come in too. Then one at a time came a fox, a bear, and a mouse... all snuggled up inside of the mitten. They all went to take a deep breath and the mitten bursts, leaving them all to find shelter somewhere else. The next day the boy when to find his mitten, and found the yarn all over the ground so hid grandmother knitted him a new one.

Evaluation:

This is a folktale that includes animals that talk to each other, but to humans. This story includes rhyme in some areas, but not throughout the entire book, I think this helps children to see a cycle throughout the story.

The illustrations are simple. The illustrator used outline style and included elements of color and texture. The illustrations focus on the characters of the book more than the back ground scenery.

Activity:

Children could take a glove, mitten, or even a sock of their own and see how many toy animals they could fit inside it. Obviously it would not burst as the mitten did in the story, but this would be a fun activity for young children and could also help them with their math skills by counting how many toy animals they were able to fit. 

Another activity would be to take a big blanket and see how many children could fit under it, this would be a way to get children more interactive with each other. 

Personal thoughts:

I enjoy this story, I chose it because I used to read to the children at the childcare center I worked at. In comparison to some of the other books I've read recently, I would say the illustrations in this one were not my favorite. The illustrations are a little bland as most of them only focus on the main characters of the book and do not include back ground scenery, which I think is very helpful in stimulating the imagination.  

Have you every read this book? If so, what are your thoughts on the illustrations?

What do you think the moral of this story is?