A single mitten is excluded by a matching pair in this endearing picture book about friendship, belonging and the pressure to "match." For fans of
The Day the Crayons Quit
.
Dotty and Other Dotty are a matching set of mittens. When another mitten, Stripes, loses her partner and becomes a single mitten, they don't feel the need to include her. She doesn't "match" them, so she is banished to the dark, lonely pocket of the Little Girl who owns them. Before long, however, Dotty loses
her
partner, and now
she
doesn't match the reunited pair of Stripes and Other Stripes, who in turn banish
to the pocket. "YOU don't match!" they tell her.
When the Little Girl, who has been listening to their conversations, weighs in with a huge question ("Why do you have to match?"), the mittens are shocked. Then comes their realization that "matching" often means leaving someone out. This prompts the Little Girl to break a fundamental rule of fashion so that individual mittens (and maybe even socks! or shoes!) can be themselves — and
everyone
can
belong.
A warm and fuzzy story with lots of laughs, this latest picture book from Linda Bailey explores what it feels like to be excluded
and
included and celebrates one-of-a-kindness!