THE WINTER MITTENS

In the late fall, Addie finds a lovely silver box containing a pair of old mittens. A good, honest child, she leaves the box--but since her hands are cold and the mittens seem to be of little value, she takes them. She soon discovers that it always snows while she wears the mittens, and is pleased to provide snow to play in--""People are so happy when it snows."" But, as with Andersen's red shoes, the magic grows too large. On Christmas Eve Addie discovers that she can no longer remove the mittens--till she returns to the place where she found them, the wind unravels them, and she goes home safe to her parents. Though it has a pleasant sense of mystery, this quiet story lacks depth: the snow is never more than an inconvenience, and Addle barely has time to be concerned before her problem is solved. Arnold's attractive full-page paintings on alternate pages are somewhat stronger than his text. Appealing as an additional young reader.