Retold . . . and Revised?

The Mitten by Jan Brett (1989) is one of her gorgeously illustrated stories that I read many years ago. What I didn’t remember was a note that precedes the story. It’s a full page explanation of how The Mitten is a Ukranian folktale that her friends brought to her attention. She looked for all the versions of the story she could find and Oksana Piaseckyj translated them into English. Brett created the boy Nicki and his grandmother. She knits the white mitten which he drops in the snow. A mole is the first to find the mitten and burrow inside. Each additional animal is admitted only after an implied threat. The mole moves over to let in a rabbit because of its “big kickers”. They don’t deny a hedgehog because they don’t want to argue with “someone covered in prickles.” An unwillingness to share colors the story with discomfort, at least for me. There’s no warmth I would expect from multiple animals huddled together against the cold.

This year, as I browsed the sale shelf of a local library, I came across The Old Man’s Mitten by Yevonne Pollock (1986). On the cover of this thin paperback is the subtitle A Tradtional Tale Retold by. This version of the folktale was first published in the United States in 1994. Trish Hill illustrates a mitten with five open fingers. This artistic choice makes it easy for the animals to joyfully share the space. A mouse curls up inside one finger, a frog hops into another, a rabbit the third. Each animal is delighted to find they all fit. “They were just right!” I feel the warmth of the mitten.

The mitten gets crowded in both stories, but the tone is entirely different.

I discovered artistic license like this when I read The Story of Jumping Mouse: A native American Legend Retold and Illustrated by John Steptoe (1984). Curious about the original legend, I looked it up. In my opinion, Steptoe’s retelling changed the story significantly. (I also found articles questioning the authenticity of the original legend.)

So I don’t pick up tales “retold by” anymore. There are too many creative authors with their own stories waiting for me to find them at the next used book sale.