The Three Little Mittens

A story every parent should share with their child, The Three Little Mittens by Linda Bailey and Natalia Shaloshvili is a story that questions conventionality.

Dotty and Other Dotty are a matching set of mittens who go everywhere with the little girl. Stripes also belongs to the little girl but doesn’t match so gets left out of the fun. When one day, Other Dotty gets lost, Stripes and Dotty realize that they can actually get along even though they don’t match. That is until Other Stripes reappears from a stint under the couch. It’s not until the little girl questions why they have to match that the three mittens realize that they can have fun no matter what.

Linda Bailey has brilliantly not only helped to solve the problem of the mismatched mittens but also has provided some sage life lessons about not judging things by the way they look and to question anyone who tells you otherwise. It’s a story so many children will relate to because they are CONSTANTLY losing their mittens. I have a lost and found box at my daycare that can attest to this fact and I know many of you parents can as well. What a great reminder to us all that just because things don’t match doesn’t make them any less useful. 

I just love the idea behind this story and the different mitten names throughout the book. It’s a lovely light story, perfect for the winter weather. I also think it’s a wonderful story to share with any friends who may be navigating friendships to understand what it feels like when you are included in play versus what it feels like to be excluded from play.

Natalia Shaloshvili’s illustrations are soft and cozy, just like a warm pair of wooly mittens. I love how the illustrations are a bit wild and free. Readers can understand, through the “facial expressions” of the mittens, how they are feeling when they are told they don’t belong. I love how the joy in the pictures leaps off the pages at the end when all of the mismatched mittens are being included by the little girl.