Baba, a Ukrainian grandmother, knits pure white mittens for for her grandson Nicki, even though she is afraid that he will easily lose them in the snow.
Sure enough, the first time Nicki is out, he drops one and some woodland animals promptly move into its snug wool interior. First comes a mole, then a rabbit, a hedgehog, an owl, a badger, a fox, a bear and, finally, a mouse, all one by one wiggling their way inside.
The mouse who moves in the last tickles the bear's nose with her whiskers, and he sneezes, dislodging all of the animals at once. When Nicki finds his mitten and takes it home, Baba is left to wonder how it became so enormously stretched out.
The tall tale from the Ukrainian tradition comes with an array of impressive folk details in illustrations (by Jan Brett). This is a perfect book for a child to enjoy sitting on mom's or grandma's lap on a frosty night with a cup of hot chocolate!
The boardbook is in a gift box with a pair of stretchy one-size-fits-all mittens for the five-and-under audience.
In English language. Publisher: Putnam (USA). Boardbook. 32 pages.
