Jan Brett Week - The Mitten - Winter Picture Books

The Mitten
Adapted and Illustrated by Jan Brett
(G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1989)

Meet one of my all-time favorite winter books. I usually focus on snow and winter during the month of January, and Jan Brett has many wonderful winter-based picture books.

The Mitten is an old, old story. But Jan Brett has adapted and illustrated The Mitten in her own way.

Nicki wanted his new mittens made from snow white wool. Baba knew what would happen to white mittens in the white snow. But how could she resist when Nicki was so excited to have beautiful, warm, snow white mittens?

The expected happens. Nicki loses a mitten. And then things get exciting. When I read this book aloud to children, I love showing them the last page and illustration of The Mitten. This illustration is a perfect prompt for getting readers (or listeners) to consider what the character is really thinking. They love it.

I always draw attention to the illustrations when I read. But in any Jan Brett book, I point out the cool text and illustration features - sidebars, recipes, the story beside the story hints, what comes next shapes, and so on. Once I have taught a Jan Brett book and we have noticed what is happening on the sides of the pages (in addition to the main illustration) it's all I can do to keep them from leaping to conclusions before everyone has had a chance to figure it out for themselves!

This week I will feature a different Jan Brett book each day. Have fun reading the story and the pictures.

KID KANDY:

Make your own decorated mittens!

~ Show your child how to hold her hand as if she is wearing a mitten. Trace two mitten shapes on cardstock.

~ Cut out the mittens.

~ Use markers to make matching designs on both mittens - dots, zig zags, stripes, hearts, flowers, snowmen, swirls, or anything else that sounds interesting.

~ Hook the mittens together by punching a hole in the top of each and tying yarn through the holes. Or punch holes around the sides and bottoms of the mitten shapes (not the wrist). Sew the mitten together with yarn.

The Mitten Game:

Give everyone mittens to wear. Play catch with foam balls. Or try to build towers while wearing mittens. Adding mittens to an indoor activity will ease boredom and create the sillies.

TIP: To protect favorite books and magazines from scissors in little hands, create a designated cutting tub. Add magazines, old greeting cards, scrap paper, comics, junk mail, and so on. Teach your child to cut only items in the tub.

KID KANDY is a book extension feature for kids and their families. If a child has a fun activity to do after reading a book (or before reading a book), the ideas and information in the book are more likely to stick. We know that the more kids love books, the more they read. And the more they read, the more they internalize things like story structure, character development, language, conflict, and creativity. And the love of both reading and exploring is encouraged to grow deep and rich in the life of kids.

Angie Quantrell writes picture books, blogs, takes photos, and chases her naughty kitties off of the counters. Books come to life in her imagination and litter all spaces in her home. If it weren't for all of her books, Angie could live in a one room house.