The Winter Mittens

Addie finds a silver box in an alley; inside are a pair of old mittens, and because her hands are cold, she takes them for her own and leaves the box for its owner to find. When she discovers that simply wearing the mittens brings snow to her small town, Addie is enchanted. For Christmas she plans the biggest snow of all, but ends up with a hazardous blizzard and cannot remove the mittens to stop it. She believes that if she finds the silver box, the storm will cease. Then the mittens unravel, right off her hands, and she returns to her safe home while the storm comes to a close. Arnold's first work as both storyteller and artist begins promisingly, and readers will be swept into the old-fashioned, sometimes quaint flavor of the tale. Each painting, reminiscent of folk art, lies opposite a full page of text; this is a well-designed volume. If there is a flaw, it's that the resolution is less than satisfying, for Addie's early choices lead to her dilemma but mere chance seems to lead her out of it. Ages 8-11. (October)