What do you think?
Rate this book
The Mitten
When Nicki drops his white mitten in the snow, he goes on without realizing that it is missing.
One by one, woodland animals find it and crawl in; first, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse and what happens next makes for a wonderfully funny climax.
As the story of the animals in the mitten unfolds, the reader can see Nicki in the boarders of each page, walking through the woods unaware of what is going on.
Once again Jan Brett has created a dramatic and beautiful picture book in her distinctive style. She brings the animals to life with warmth and humor, and her illustrations are full of visual delights and details faithful to the Ukrainian tradition from which the story comes.
One by one, woodland animals find it and crawl in; first, a curious mole, then a rabbit, a badger and others, each one larger than the last. Finally, a big brown bear is followed in by a tiny brown mouse and what happens next makes for a wonderfully funny climax.
As the story of the animals in the mitten unfolds, the reader can see Nicki in the boarders of each page, walking through the woods unaware of what is going on.
Once again Jan Brett has created a dramatic and beautiful picture book in her distinctive style. She brings the animals to life with warmth and humor, and her illustrations are full of visual delights and details faithful to the Ukrainian tradition from which the story comes.
32 pages, Hardcover
First published October 5, 1989
176 people are currently reading
16598 people want to read
About the author
Jan Brett
116 books1,034 followersWith over thirty three million books in print, Jan Brett is one of the nation's foremost author illustrators of children's books. Jan lives in a seacoast town in Massachusetts, close to where she grew up. During the summer her family moves to a home in the Berkshire Hills of Massachusetts.
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
As a child, Jan Brett decided to be an illustrator and spent many hours reading and drawing. She says, "I remember the special quiet of rainy days when I felt that I could enter the pages of my beautiful picture books. Now I try to recreate that feeling of believing that the imaginary place I'm drawing really exists. The detail in my work helps to convince me, and I hope others as well, that such places might be real."
As a student at the Boston Museum School, she spent hours in the Museum of Fine Arts. "It was overwhelming to see the room-size landscapes and towering stone sculptures, and then moments later to refocus on delicately embroidered kimonos and ancient porcelain," she says. "I'm delighted and surprised when fragments of these beautiful images come back to me in my painting."
Travel is also a constant inspiration. Together with her husband, Joe Hearne, who is a member of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Jan visits many different countries where she researches the architecture and costumes that appear in her work. "From cave paintings to Norwegian sleighs, to Japanese gardens, I study the traditions of the many countries I visit and use them as a starting point for my children's books."
--from www.janbrett.com
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,869 reviews
December 26, 2018
A beautiful and very imaginative children's book about a grandmother, her grandson, and a pair of white mittens. A winter background with colorful illustrations and a wonderful mix of animals. Truly a magical story that all can enjoy!
January 1, 2023
The story of Nicki's lost mitten is the retelling of a Ukrainian fairy tale and one of my favorite from Jan Brett. Nana knits Nicki a pair of mittens that are white as snow. So easy to lose thinks Nana. She is going to be keeping an eye on those mittens! While Nicki is playing, he drops a mitten. We see him continuing to climb trees in the side panels as a host of forest animals take refuge in the warm toasty mitten. Nana did a good job and the warm white mitten expands with each addition. How will Nicki get his mitten back? That is the fun and surprising climax to this tale told with Brett's classic multi-panel spreads and Ukrainian folk art accents. A must read!
November 13, 2018
5 Beautifully Perfect ★'s
Oh, I LOVE The Mitten book. This book has always been a favorite of mine especially when I was a kid :) It is such a delightful read. The Mitten is a Ukrainian folktale retold by Jan Brett. It's about a young boy named Nicki, who loses his mitten in the snow and his lost mitten becomes a host to a lot of different forest animals! I love all the animals, the little boy, and his grandma and the snowy outdoors. It's the perfect book to read during the winter seasons. I also really enjoyed all the humor. The illustrations are just amazing and the animals are so adorable and each photo is very detailed. This book is super fun to read aloud. It's cute and funny and the ending is perfect! I will forever own this beautiful book too!
Oh, I LOVE The Mitten book. This book has always been a favorite of mine especially when I was a kid :) It is such a delightful read. The Mitten is a Ukrainian folktale retold by Jan Brett. It's about a young boy named Nicki, who loses his mitten in the snow and his lost mitten becomes a host to a lot of different forest animals! I love all the animals, the little boy, and his grandma and the snowy outdoors. It's the perfect book to read during the winter seasons. I also really enjoyed all the humor. The illustrations are just amazing and the animals are so adorable and each photo is very detailed. This book is super fun to read aloud. It's cute and funny and the ending is perfect! I will forever own this beautiful book too!
July 25, 2018
Reading a Jan Brett novel is like being wrapped in a warm blanket on a cold night in front of a fire with cocoa in hand. Tonight both kids were interested in the book. Who can resist looking at those panels on the side and all the details of the book. The hands and faces of the people are incredible.
Both kids gave the book 5 stars. It was a great story they said.
The story is a Ukrainian folk tale and in the intro Jan talks about the stork nest on the roof is a sign of good luck. This is about a white mitten that is lost in the snow and the animals in the forest. It is humorous.
Both kids gave the book 5 stars. It was a great story they said.
The story is a Ukrainian folk tale and in the intro Jan talks about the stork nest on the roof is a sign of good luck. This is about a white mitten that is lost in the snow and the animals in the forest. It is humorous.
August 3, 2019
Love this book so much that several of my colleagues and I reenacted this story for the student body at our school!
May 31, 2023
Jan Brett's The Mitten is according to her informative author's note a combination, an original fusion of several similar Ukrainian folktales (in some of these versions, a group of shivering, cold animals find refuge in a discarded pot, whilst in others, it is a huntsman's lost mitten providing shelter, who then unfortunately also starts shooting at the animals inhabiting his mitten when he goes out into the forest looking for it and discovers that it has become a winter den for a variety of fauna). But while I have indeed and oh so much enjoyed reading about the genesis of Jan Brett's personal version, of her The Mitten, I do kind of wish that instead of just telling us (showing readers) how she used several different Ukrainian folktale versions of the mitten story and why she chose to include and not include various aspects (such as the fact that she obviously did not want to write a story where someone actually ends up shooting at the sheltering animals), Jan Brett had also listed the specific and actual titles and literary sources of the tales of which she had made use (to create her own adapted and retold version of The Mitten).
However, my minor quibbles that there is no list of specific tale sources and titles quite notwithstanding, both textually and illustratively, The Mitten is indeed truly magical, sweetly entertaining and yes, even gently humorous (with a rabbit, a mole, a European hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox and a bear sharing the warmth of young Nicki's lost white mitten, stretching and restretching it, until finally a diminutive mouse makes the bear sneeze, dislodging all of the animals in one twirling swoop). A fun and cumulative tale is The Mitten, and as such perfect for an entertaining read-aloud (especially in winter), with accompanying illustrations that both realistically and imaginatively present and and show a heavy and snowy Ukrainian winter in all its white glory, as well as the diverse animals that one by one find refuge, shelter and warmth in Nicki's mitten.
However, my minor quibbles that there is no list of specific tale sources and titles quite notwithstanding, both textually and illustratively, The Mitten is indeed truly magical, sweetly entertaining and yes, even gently humorous (with a rabbit, a mole, a European hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox and a bear sharing the warmth of young Nicki's lost white mitten, stretching and restretching it, until finally a diminutive mouse makes the bear sneeze, dislodging all of the animals in one twirling swoop). A fun and cumulative tale is The Mitten, and as such perfect for an entertaining read-aloud (especially in winter), with accompanying illustrations that both realistically and imaginatively present and and show a heavy and snowy Ukrainian winter in all its white glory, as well as the diverse animals that one by one find refuge, shelter and warmth in Nicki's mitten.
August 2, 2012
The illustrations in this adorable story are ridiculously great. This book is currently on my 4-year-old's "top 10 list."
November 30, 2010
To be honest, I felt little enthusiasm for reading this book, but it’s one of six books for the Children's Books group’s Picture Books Club December “winter” themed books, so I read it.
I’m so glad that I did. It’s delightful. I loved all the animals, the boy and his grandmother, their house, the snowy outdoors, and most of all, the humor.
The illustrations are very appealing; I loved the animals and I enjoyed all the detail in each picture, and the mini pictures that reveal what is about to happen on the next page.
This would make a fun read aloud for groups of children or one to one. Comforting and funny and a great twist ending that listeners/readers will relish.
I’m so glad that I did. It’s delightful. I loved all the animals, the boy and his grandmother, their house, the snowy outdoors, and most of all, the humor.
The illustrations are very appealing; I loved the animals and I enjoyed all the detail in each picture, and the mini pictures that reveal what is about to happen on the next page.
This would make a fun read aloud for groups of children or one to one. Comforting and funny and a great twist ending that listeners/readers will relish.
December 27, 2020
Read this to my daughter when she was a baby.
January 26, 2023
4,5 stars - English hardcover
Review follows later.
Review follows later.
December 6, 2021
I love Jan Brett's books - so beautifully illustrated, including the wonderful borders! A fun cumulative story as animal after animal crowds into a small mitten. How many will it hold?!
December 15, 2010
The mitten was a retelling of a Ukrainian winter Folktale. I read this one to my little girl who enjoyed the animals and the snow. I enjoyed the illustrations more than the folktale itself. I thought it was a creative touch to add the mitten windows which allowed you to catch a glimpse of what was going on inside or outside of the cottage. Although not a Christmas tale, the colors chosen to create the illustration definitely reminded me of Christmas.
The story is cute; a lost glove and animals of all shapes and sizes seeking refuge from the cold.
This is another Picture Book Club read found here http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
The story is cute; a lost glove and animals of all shapes and sizes seeking refuge from the cold.
This is another Picture Book Club read found here http://www.goodreads.com/topic/show/4...
June 12, 2022
A funny story with one very warm mitten, several cute forest animals, and an explosive finale. I love the clever way each page has two different elements of the story simultaneously unfolding in the center and side illustrations.
February 23, 2023
A childhood favourite! So cozy.
August 28, 2010
I have read many folktales from around the world, but this is the first time that I have read a folktale from Ukraine. “The Mitten” is a Ukrainian folktale retold by Jan Brett and it is about how a young boy named Nicki loses his mitten in the snow and his lost mitten soon becomes a host to a great number of forest animals! “The Mitten” is easily one of the cutest and most beautiful folktales ever told for children!
Jan Brett has certainly outdone herself in this book as she beautifully writes and illustrates this cute Ukrainian folktale. Jan Brett makes this folktale extremely cute and hilarious at the same time as the animals of the forest all try to get inside a small mitten to stay warm for the winter and I have to say that at first this story sounded a bit too strange because I was wondering to myself about how can all those animals fit into one small mitten? But, hey, it is a folktale, right? And many folktales were pretty surreal, but that is what made these kinds of stories cult classics in my eyes. Jan Brett has also done a great job at illustrating this book as the illustrations are realistic and beautiful. I loved the way that Jan Brett illustrates the snow covering the forest and you can see the snow hanging off the trees in the forest. But, the image that stood out the most for me was the image of all the animals trying to snuggle up inside the mitten, which kept on getting bigger and bigger as more animals came in (man, Baba’s stitching must have been really strong!)
“The Mitten” is clearly one of those folktales that children will easily laugh along with if they love strange folktales about animals getting into one small mitten! This is surely one of the most imaginative and adorable folktales I have ever read and I am sure that many children will easily enjoy it as much as I have! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book that would cause parents to worry.
Jan Brett has certainly outdone herself in this book as she beautifully writes and illustrates this cute Ukrainian folktale. Jan Brett makes this folktale extremely cute and hilarious at the same time as the animals of the forest all try to get inside a small mitten to stay warm for the winter and I have to say that at first this story sounded a bit too strange because I was wondering to myself about how can all those animals fit into one small mitten? But, hey, it is a folktale, right? And many folktales were pretty surreal, but that is what made these kinds of stories cult classics in my eyes. Jan Brett has also done a great job at illustrating this book as the illustrations are realistic and beautiful. I loved the way that Jan Brett illustrates the snow covering the forest and you can see the snow hanging off the trees in the forest. But, the image that stood out the most for me was the image of all the animals trying to snuggle up inside the mitten, which kept on getting bigger and bigger as more animals came in (man, Baba’s stitching must have been really strong!)
“The Mitten” is clearly one of those folktales that children will easily laugh along with if they love strange folktales about animals getting into one small mitten! This is surely one of the most imaginative and adorable folktales I have ever read and I am sure that many children will easily enjoy it as much as I have! I would recommend this book to children ages four and up since there is nothing inappropriate in this book that would cause parents to worry.
October 7, 2020
I can't recall ever reading The Mitten before. I assumed it was a Christmas story, but it's not; it's simply a winter story, set in snowy Ukraine.
A boy named Nicki wants a pair of snow-white mittens. His grandmother is skeptical, thinking he'll lose them in the snow where he won't be able to find them. But he insists, and is gifted with a pair of white mittens. Of course, he promptly loses one, and it becomes a source of comfort for a number of woodland animals, each of them squeezing into the magical mitten until an unexpected sneeze propels the story to its conclusion.
Jan Brett's artwork is always interesting, and it's lovely here, full of incredible detail. I enjoyed looking at the little side panels, which would give a hint about which animal was going to show up next to claim their space inside the mitten.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It's easy to see why it's a classic. I read the 20th-anniversary edition, but the book is over 30 years old now. And it'll probably be enjoyed by readers for many more years to come.
Quotable moment:
A boy named Nicki wants a pair of snow-white mittens. His grandmother is skeptical, thinking he'll lose them in the snow where he won't be able to find them. But he insists, and is gifted with a pair of white mittens. Of course, he promptly loses one, and it becomes a source of comfort for a number of woodland animals, each of them squeezing into the magical mitten until an unexpected sneeze propels the story to its conclusion.
Jan Brett's artwork is always interesting, and it's lovely here, full of incredible detail. I enjoyed looking at the little side panels, which would give a hint about which animal was going to show up next to claim their space inside the mitten.
Overall, I enjoyed this one. It's easy to see why it's a classic. I read the 20th-anniversary edition, but the book is over 30 years old now. And it'll probably be enjoyed by readers for many more years to come.
Quotable moment:
December 14, 2018
I am familiar with a number of English-language adaptations of this traditional Ukrainian folktale, in which a series of animals take up residence in a lost mitten. There is the 1964 version by Alvin Tresselt, illustrated by Yaroslava. There is the mitten-shaped retelling released by Moscow Malysh Publishers in the 1970s, illustrated by E. Bulatov and O. Vasiliev. And then there is this book by Jan Brett, arguably the most popular version of the story, at least here in the United States.
Brett's simple narrative and beautiful illustrations make this picture book an ideal story-hour choice, particularly for very young listeners who find this type of "progression tale" appealing. I cannot say that I myself am the greatest fan of this author/illustrator, but I do think that her bright color palette and detailed side-panels hold the reader's attention. Well worth a look, particularly if read in conjunction with some of the other versions.
Brett's simple narrative and beautiful illustrations make this picture book an ideal story-hour choice, particularly for very young listeners who find this type of "progression tale" appealing. I cannot say that I myself am the greatest fan of this author/illustrator, but I do think that her bright color palette and detailed side-panels hold the reader's attention. Well worth a look, particularly if read in conjunction with some of the other versions.
April 18, 2017
This is the first Jan Brett book I ever read, and not only did I enjoy the story, but the illustrations absolutely captivated me. When I use this in story time now, I have the kids anticipate what will appear on the next page by looking at the sub-story occurring in the side boxes on each page. While Alvin Tresselt did the earliest picture book version of this Ukrainian folktale that I know of, Jan Brett's is better known because of her beautiful illustrations. A perfect winter readaloud, and highly recommended!
December 14, 2016
When a Ukrainian boy drops his brand new white mitten in the snow, a bunch of wild animals moves into it. Adapted from a Ukrainian folk tale. For this picture book, the typical Jan Brett sidebars are used to relate the boy's story while retaining the page's focus on the animals. Until, near the end, something happens to reverse the lenses. Solid story with beautiful illustrations, though not quite as good as The Hat.
February 6, 2017
Splendid, highly detailed illustrations. I don't know about the story--something like six animals all crowd into a single mitten? I wasn't born yesterday. (I was born six weeks ago.) But Mom says it's just fun and whimsical and sometimes with books we have to suspend our disbelief and use our imaginations. Fair enough. -M
February 8, 2017
This is a perfect children's book in every way. The text is short and simple, and the illustrations tell part of the story. I love the last picture!
I prefer the board book edition: it is shorter and doesn't contain a lot of extra verbiage, perfect for a young child's attention span.
I prefer the board book edition: it is shorter and doesn't contain a lot of extra verbiage, perfect for a young child's attention span.
May 3, 2019
How many animals can your mitten hold? ;) My favorite part of this story is definitely the intricate illustrations, especially the mitten-shaped windows that give a peek at what is coming next.
February 21, 2020
Taj, age 5: I love this book so much that I really really really want to see the bunny in it and in real life.
Harper, age 7: I thought it was kind of funny that the mitten grew wider than bears, foxes, bunnies, owls, hedgehogs, a little field mouse, a mole, and a badger.
Harper, age 7: I thought it was kind of funny that the mitten grew wider than bears, foxes, bunnies, owls, hedgehogs, a little field mouse, a mole, and a badger.
December 27, 2019
Ukrainian setting about a boy and his grandmother and his snow-white mittens.
November 27, 2024
This book has literally lived in the back of my mind among many lovely reading memories with my grandma and she used to jokingly read me this book in the fall/winter since I’m from the mitten state. And it always made me giggle and nothing could’ve made me happier than to read this with my own son today and have it incite those same giggles within him as well, repeating a happy little reading cycle. :)
January 13, 2011
This morning while walking my dog I temporarily lost one of my mittens. When I discovered it had fallen out of my pocket, I decided it would be easier to continue our walk and to look for the lost mitten on the way back. I had plenty of time to reflect. As Dude munched on frozen deer poop I thought of all the woodland creatures that inhabit Poplar Forest. Besides the deer there are foxes, squirrels, rabbits, mice, skunks, and who knows what else. I imagined one of them finding the mitten and taking it home to warm its family. And of course I thought of The Mitten.
I have read many of Jan Brett's books; her tales are engaging and her illustrations a feast for the eyes. So much color, so much detail. Each page has one big main illustration, but there are illustrations on the sides as well. In The Mitten Nicki, a young Ukranian boy, wanted his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens. His grandmother told him that white mittens would be easily lost in the snow. Of course, that's just what happened. Soon a mole finds the mitten, then a rabbit, and a host of other animals. So you have the main picture show what is happening in the story, the left side pictures showing Nicki looking for his mitten, and the right side pictures showing what animal is coming next. It's the perfect story to read on a cold winter day, and maybe also a lesson on why not to ask for white mittens.
I have read many of Jan Brett's books; her tales are engaging and her illustrations a feast for the eyes. So much color, so much detail. Each page has one big main illustration, but there are illustrations on the sides as well. In The Mitten Nicki, a young Ukranian boy, wanted his grandmother to knit him a pair of white mittens. His grandmother told him that white mittens would be easily lost in the snow. Of course, that's just what happened. Soon a mole finds the mitten, then a rabbit, and a host of other animals. So you have the main picture show what is happening in the story, the left side pictures showing Nicki looking for his mitten, and the right side pictures showing what animal is coming next. It's the perfect story to read on a cold winter day, and maybe also a lesson on why not to ask for white mittens.
July 17, 2011
The wonderful Jan Brett's version of a Ukrainian fairy tale The Mitten is satisfying in so many ways. I have used it wish students of a variety of levels-as a simple and charming fairy tale to older students studying the form and learning how powerful the art of illustration is and how critical it is in the successful performance of a story.
These illustrations are magical as they tell the story of a common object in an uncommon way and reveal the magic that resides in the most ordinary of objects, especially in the world of childhood or that part of us that remains open to that beauty and sense of possibility.
I love this book-I think everyone should read it to a child. And if there's no child available, well then read it to the child in you!
These illustrations are magical as they tell the story of a common object in an uncommon way and reveal the magic that resides in the most ordinary of objects, especially in the world of childhood or that part of us that remains open to that beauty and sense of possibility.
I love this book-I think everyone should read it to a child. And if there's no child available, well then read it to the child in you!
November 15, 2020
I don’t have children, but sometimes people donate children’s books to the Little Free Library I steward and I simply have to read them. This book is one of those that I took the time to read, and I am so glad I did. 5 stars for the detailed, lovingly created illustrations, for the fanciful yet not saccharine story, and the sweet, homey message underlying it all. Love conquers all. This year maybe more than ever, children need hopefulness. They need extra love. They need to be taught to share, even more than ever, now that we are apart. This would be a wonderful little gift for a small person in your life.
December 11, 2020
Reading this brought back such great memories of holidays in my childhood spent rereading all of my favorite winter books each year. Beautiful and detailed illustrations. I love the 'windows' the story is told through.
October 3, 2017
Apparently, this is an adaptation of a Ukrainian folktale. Be sure to take a good look at the last page of the book!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 1,869 reviews