Through the Looking Glass Children's Book Reviews
The Mitten Tree
Illustrator: Elaine Greenstein
Picture Book
For ages 4 to 7
Fulcrum Publishing, 2009 ISBN: 978-1555917333
Sarah is an old lady who lives alone “in a tidy little house” at the end of a lane. Sarah’s children are all grown up, and Sarah misses having young people in her life. At least she is able to enjoy watching the neighborhood children who wait for the school bus near her house.
One morning, after the first snow has fallen, Sarah notices that a little boy is standing apart from the other children. He does not help to build a snowman. Instead, he stands with his hands in his pockets. When the boy climbs onto the bus Sarah realizes that he has no mittens on his cold hands.
Worried about the boy and his cold hands, Sarah decides to make him a pair of mittens. When the mittens are complete, she hangs them on the old blue spruce tree near the school bus stop. The next day the boy finds the mittens and he puts them on. With a smile on his face, he makes a snowball.
This delightful and uplifting story looks at how one person reaches out to many to give them something small but meaningful, something that warms their hands and hearts. Sometimes the act of giving can be a gift.
