Friday Fun Reads: Mittens

There are a lot of fun mitten reads to be found out there! Here are just three that I chose to feature!

Lunge-Larsen, Lise.
Noah's Mittens.
2006.
Houghton Mifflin Company.
Review copy borrowed from local library.

As instructed by God to build an ark, Noah sets forth, eager to fulfill his duties. Once the ark is built and sets sail due to the days of rain, Noah and the passengers quickly discover that some things should have been handled differently... in particular, the use of pitch, which worked perfectly to seal off any chance of leaks, ultimately resulted in a sweltering ship. The poor sheep aboard the ark have been tossed and turned many times. So many times in fact that their soft wool has now been worked and rubbed tight, resulting in Noah having to cut it off so they wouldn't suffer from heat exhaustion. Noah is completely stumped as to what to do with this new wool. However, when the ark finally lands upon Mount Ararat, the new wool is quickly put to good use - as mittens, scarves and hats for Noah's family!

If you're looking to share with your child(ren) a great read aloud while at the same time educating them a bit about Noah, as mentioned in the Bible, this is definitely a book to consider!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Read this book in collaboration with One Little Lamb. Discuss with your child(ren) how the same wool resulted in two very different materials: yarn and felt. Go on a hunt through your house/classroom. What material is found more? Why do you think this is?
  

Kellogg, Steven.
The Missing Mitten Mystery.
2000.
Dial Books.
Guided Reading Level I.
Review copy borrowed from local library.

Little Annie has lost her fifth mitten of this winter season. As she and Oscar retrace their steps from the day. However, as nighttime falls, the little red mitten is still nowhere to be found. As Annie is called inside for the night for hot chocolate and a biscuit for Oscar, her mother (grandmother) notice that Annie's snowman has a heart - and at the heart of the snowman, is none other than Annie's mitten!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Use this story in collaboration with The Heart of a Snowman by Mary Kuryla. Compare and contrast the two the stories. How are they alike? How are they different? What is similar about the hearts of both snowmen?
• Children could also use this story alongside One Mitten by Kristine O'Connell George. Both stories illustrate a child using her imagination to try and discover where that missing second mitten might be!
  

Plourde, Lynn.
A Mountain of Mittens.
2007.
Charlesbridge.
Review copy borrowed from local library.

Like many children, Molly and her friends at school seem to have a bit of trouble remembering to take their mittens back home with them at the end of the day. The result? A mountain of mittens has now grown out of the lost and found box at school! While the teachers at school try with all they have, they aren't able to get the children to reclaim their mittens... perhaps they should try out the suggested activity below to get those mittens reclaimed!

This book is super funny... children will be laughing at the growing mountain of mittens, the parents' attempts to have their child's mittens return home each night and the song that is repeated numerous times throughout the book! While this is definitely a fun read, it could also easily be incorporated in an educational manner!

Learning/Reading Activity:

• Take your "Mountain of Mittens," wherever it may be (at home, school, etc). Encourage the practice of matching with young children by having them tackle finding matching sets of mittens from the mountain.
  
• If the mittens have no match or no longer fit, find other creative uses for them - Martha Stewart has a neat craft for kids using mittens that can be seen here, or there's a great book that I found at my local library, Happy Gloves: Charming Softy Friends Made from Colorful Gloves that has all sorts of neat "stuffed animals" that are created from mittens and gloves!
  

If you're interested in finding out more information about any of the books reviewed or if you'd like to purchase the books, click the cover image for a link to Amazon.com. I am an Amazon Affiliate, so any purchases you make after clicking these images will result in my receiving a small percentage of the sale price!