Two Little Red Mittens

After a child’s mittens become separated during a snowy outing, one provides comfort to a series of animals in this meditative story, which imbues its woolen subjects with tender emotion. Initially, the mittens promise each other to keep the child’s “tiny fingers toasty warm tomorrow, and the next day, and the next.” When the right mitten goes missing, though, the lonesome left mitten wonders about the fate of its match. Meanwhile, the right mitten becomes tea cozy to a mother bunny, sleeping cap to her young, blanket to mouse siblings, and sweater to a squirrel, all the while wondering about its “dear friend,” until the season’s end provides bittersweet closure. Smudgy shading imbues Okada’s artwork with a fuzziness that gestures toward the subjects’ “fluffy warmth,” and a muted palette centers cherry-colored mittens on every page. Ages up to 7. (Oct.)