While reflecting on different books that I enjoyed reading when I was younger, I came across a similar theme in all of the books that I enjoyed. I realized that the books I most enjoyed as a very young girl were ones that involved animals. Some of my favorite books included, The Mitten by Jan Brett, Babar by Jean De Brunhoff, Curious George by H. A. Rey, and Charlotte's Web by E.B. White.
As a child, I always loved all sorts of animals. Books about animals were so interesting because it made me feel like I could connect with them since I couldn't communicate with them in real life. I liked that I could look at life from an animal's perspective even if it wasn't exactly realistic. I could imagine being an animal, something I think many children like to do.
In particular, one of my favorite books to read over and over again was Jan Brett's retelling of The Mitten. This story is about a little boy who unknowingly loses his mitten in the woods one day. One by one, a variety of animals from the forest begin filling the mitten. Each new animal, increasing in size, contributes to stuffing the mitten so much that it eventually bursts. I remember, as a child, my mom told me that this had happened to one of the mittens that I had lost, but that hopefully mine was strong enough not to rip. I wondered if it were really true. Being able to use my imagination because of a story was appealing. I felt like I was part of the story, as if that mitten was the one I had lost. Much of the reasoning for loving this book also had to do with the illustrations. For me, stories were always more engaging when the illustrations were ornately detailed. I loved the story alone, but Jan Brett's illustrations complemented it so well. I still love this book today for the same reasons I did years ago.
I loved the illustrations in the book, The Mitten. If I remember correctly the border around the image actually forshadowed upcoming events if it was on the right hand side of the page and reflected on previous events if it were on the left side of the book... Am I recalling that correctly?
ReplyDeleteI read this book to the girls that I babysit a lot, such a cute and classic story, and the illustrations are so beautiful!
ReplyDeleteI loved using this book teaching preschoolers and toddlers. After reading the story we would act it out! I made a big mitten out of a poster board and then while moving around the mitten holding hands in a circle we would sing the mitten song. The song borrows its tune and structure from The Farmer in the Dell. At the appropriate time in the song a child would choose to be one of the animals and would pretend to climb into the poster board mitten. When all the animals were in the mitten, the rest of the children and I would sneeze a big gigantic sneeze and the animals in the mitten would spill out of the mitten and go back to their places on the rug. Playing the same game with kindergarteners, I would given the class the responsibility to name the animals in order as we sang the song to help them recall the sequence in the story. It was great!
ReplyDeleteI have to agree that the illustrations in this book are beautiful! This is one of those classic books that I will never forget from my childhood. I can still remember my dad reading it to my siblings and I during the Winter on a cold night in front of the fireplace. It brings back such good memories and it is such a cute and simple story.
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