Illustration coming soon

Asher and the Missing Mitten

Ages 6-9 | Story and 9 activities

It is the first really cold morning of the year, and Asher has lost his left mitten.

He's had both of them at breakfast. He is sure of it. They are red, with white snowflakes, and Bubby has knitted them herself. Now there is one on the hook by the door, and the other one is gone.

"Mommy!" he calls. "I can't find my mitten!"

"Look in your coat pocket," says Mommy from the kitchen.

He looks. Nothing but a gum wrapper and a button.

He checks under the couch. He checks behind the radiator. He dumps out his whole backpack on the floor. A crayon rolls away. A crumpled spelling test flutters out.

His chest feels tight. His hands are already cold, and now they are shaking. "It's gone forever," he says. "Bubby made them. She's going to be so sad."

"Asher," says Mommy, coming into the hall. "Take a breath."

He takes one. It comes out wobbly.

"Now let's do this like a detective," says Mommy. "When was the last time you remember having it?"

Asher scrunches up his face. "At breakfast. I put them on the table. Then I put them in my pocket."

"And after that?"

"Then I got my backpack. Then I went upstairs to get my hat."

"Where is the hat?"

"In my room."

"Let's walk the same way. One step at a time."

They go to the kitchen table. No mitten. They go to the hall closet. No mitten. Then they climb the stairs to Asher's room.

His hat is on the dresser. Right next to it, sticking out from under a pile of Lego, is a small red thumb with a white snowflake.

"There!" Asher shouts. He digs it out and holds it up. It is a little dusty, but fine.

"What was it doing there?"

"I took them out of my pocket to put on my hat. I must've put it down and forgotten."

Mommy laughs. "A good detective retraces his steps."

"Do detectives get hot cocoa?" asks Asher.

"The good ones do."

Asher slides both mittens on. They are warm, and they fit perfectly. For a moment he stands in the doorway wiggling his fingers like little snowflakes.

At school, the wind is biting. At recess, Asher runs across the yard in his red mittens, and the whole world feels bright. He plays tag with Yoni and Eli, and they build a snow fort out of the very first dusting.

At lunch, Yoni asks to try one on. Asher lets him wear it for one bite of sandwich, then takes it right back. "Detective rules," he says. "Evidence stays with the detective."

On the way home, he gets to the corner. He pats his pockets. Both mittens are on his hands.

"Both here," he says to himself, grinning.

That night, Bubby stops by. "Do you like the mittens?"

"I love them," says Asher. "I almost lost one this morning. But I found it."

"Where was it?"

"Under my Lego. I'm a detective now."

"A detective with warm hands," says Bubby. "That's the best kind."

After Bubby leaves, Asher hangs the mittens on the hook, side by side, where he can see them from his bed. Then he gets a safety pin from Mommy and clips a tiny note to the cuff: Property of Asher, detective.