The Mitten!

Yet another great find at my local thrift store! "The Mitten" which is adapted and illustrated by Jan Brett. This book caught my attention because it is based on a Ukrainian Folktale. Many of the folktales I have read are from European or American descent like "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" and "Cinderella". This book is richly illustrated with the Ukrainian culture. The story is about a young boy named Nicki who wanted his grandmother to knit him mittens made from wool as white as snow. Already, from the first two pages, an abundance of information can be gathered about the culture. We notice that it is winter, so they must have snow in the Ukraine. Also, Nicki is wearing clothes that looks very different to what children wear here in North America. We can also gather that children of this culture have relationships with their grandparents, like many of us.  All these things can be discussed in the classroom or at home. It is important to expand children's mental lexicon. Connections are crucial to valuable learning and finding similarities and differences relating to themselves strengthens these connections. As the story continues we find out Nicki's grandmother made him the snow white mittens and, as she suspected, his loses one while playing outside.

As I turn the pages I can't help but notice the illustrations on the far end of each page. They actually are clues to what is going to happen next. I love this idea because it gives the child a sense of ownership over the book. They can accurately predict what is going to happen next, keeping them engaged making them feel that they are an integral part of the story. In the folktale many animals find the mitten and squeeze it because it is so cozy and warm. The animals include a mole, a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox and a bear. Ironically, its a tiny mouse that disrupts the coziness of this little mitten home.

The highly detailed illustrations gives the reader an accurate sense of the physical characteristics of these animals, even down to their little footprints in the snow.

I would consider this a cumulative folktale because of the repetitious actions of the animals. Young children love these kinds of stories because, like I said before, they can join in and feel connected to it.

Like my copy of "Alphabet City", "The mitten has a wonderful personal message written on the inside.

It reads:

            Happy Birthday Thomas,
                                      Love Grandma


Simple and sweet. Maybe his grandma knits him mittens or Thomas has a tendency to loose his mittens. Either way she chose this book for a reason and I hope Thomas appreciated the love from his grandma.

Alphabet City

Every time I go to a thrift store I love to venture to the book section. They often sell 3 books for a dollar or sometimes even 25 cents each!  I found "Alphabet City" by Stephen T. Johnson for 50 cents and couldn't pass it up. We spoke about it briefly in class but I never had the chance to actually look at it. I assumed that the pictures in the book were actual photographs but I was shocked when I realized they are extremely realistic paintings. It contains 26 amazing images of typical objects or scenes you would see in an urban environment. Each picture has an imbedded letter formed from actual objects or blank space. This book has no actual text except for the 26 letters of the alphabet. I believe the images speak for themselves and if there was text in this book it would take away from the impact and the beauty of the paintings. There is no doubt that as adults we focus on the written text and never take the time to read for meaning within the illustrations. I like that this book forces the reader to only view the illustrations and take meaning from them, much like children do before they learn to read. 


This book reminds me of the idea of found poetry. Found poetry is created by taking words, phrases, and sometimes whole passages from other sources and reframing them as poetry by making changes in spacing and/or lines (and consequently meaning), or by altering the text by additions and/or deletions. In the book "Alphabet City" the reader has to construct similar explorations of their own through viewing the paintings and finding the letters. I find this idea very appealing. Making changes to a common idea and finding new meaning is the root of creativity. Without uncommon ways of thinking everything would be the same and new ideas would not be born.

The "O" and the "P" in "Alphabet City"

Over the past few years I have been collecting children's literature for my future classroom and this book has to be my personal favourite. Not only because of the beautiful art but because it has a personal message written on the inside. I like buying books from the thrift store because they are cheap but I always look for ones with personal messages. I love the fact that someone went out of their way to buy a child or loved one this book and personally stamp it with a memory. My copy of Alphabet City has the following message: 


Sonya,
      All the best as you begin your teaching career. May you always carry a love of children and an enthusiasm for teaching in your heart. 
                                                       Sincerely, 
                                                               Sharon 


I hope to have supportive people like that in my life when I begin my teaching career. She donated this book for unknown reasons but thanks to her it will someday help to instil the love of reading in my future students.

Same idea but with numbers!