An insatiable boy made of clay devours everything in sight until a fiesty goat ruins his appetite. Vibrant paintings invigorate this retelling of a Russian folktale.
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Editorial Reviews
From School Library Journal
Kindergarten-Grade 2. A retelling of a traditional Russian folktale. An older couple whose children have grown and gone away yearn for the company of a child. Grandpa fashions a boy out of a piece of clay, and as the boy dries out by the fire, Clay Boy comes to life saying, "I am here! I am hungry!" The two old peasants feed him all they have and watch him in astonishment as he quickly grows to gargantuan proportions. But Clay Boy's appetite cannot be satisfied so he goes outside and eats the chickens, geese, cat, dog, then Grandma and Grandpa (yikes!), and all the other inhabitants of this rural Old World village. The last living being is a little white goat who saves the day by destroying Clay Boy and rescuing all held captive within him. Children will be engaged by the fast pace of events and simplicity of character and outcome. However, the visual interpretation of this tale is potentially frightening. While Smith's watercolors masterfully portray all of the characters and scenes, his rendition of the boy made of clay is at times so grotesquely distorted that it could cause nightmares.?Amelia Kalin, Valley Cottage Library, NY
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc.
From The New Yorker
Children will be engaged by the fast pace of events and simplicity of character and outcome...
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
EAT LIKE A HORSE AND MAKE A GOAT OF YOURSELF,
This review is from: Clay Boy (Library Binding)
.What is it about most traditional East European folk tales? They nearly always have a sinister, sometimes scary story line. "Clay Boy" is no exception. The concept of a clay boy that comes to life is very reminiscent of Pinocchio. An elderly couple known as Grandpa and Grandma are lonely now that their children have grown up. The clay boy is to become their child substitute. There is one big problem when he comes alive. He is insatiably hungry. He eats and eats, and he grows and grows until he ate all the food in the house. "More More" he cries. Now things get a little macabre. He's seen gulping down whole live chickens, and then the geese, cat and dog are consumed. Then it's Grandma and Grandpa's turn to be on the menu. By now, Clay Boy is of giant proportions. In one bite, he eats a man, a wagon, a horse and a load of hay. GULP! He is still unsatisfied, after swallowing everybody in the village. But then, he meets his match. A very cunning goat (check out the face on this Billy) offers to jump straight into Clay Boy's mouth, but on one condition: Clay Boy has to close his eyes. The goat took a great leap straight at the big fat belly. Clay Boy broke into a hundred pieces and all the people and animals that he had swallowed tumbled out. The goat was the hero of the village and had his horns painted gold. Such rejoicing! No explicit moral is given in this story. But what does this folk tale tell us? Will insatiable greed and endless consumption lead only to annihilation? There is also a modern message here. Now that most of us live far removed from our parent's homes, perhaps we should spend more time with our folks so they don't get lonely. And for Grandma and Grandpa, they should accept that their children have grown up, and should not try to find substitutes for this loss. The last page brings this home. The role of Grandparents is to instil and pass on their wisdom to their grandchildren. The best way to do this is to be a story- teller for the young ones and ideally, pass on the stories that you heard from your parents and grandparents.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Great FICTION!,
By
This review is from: Clay Boy (Hardcover)
I am a Pre-Kindergarten teacher and I use this book after we are done with all the different Gingerbread Man books. Granted, it is just the 4-5 year old children who I read this to, however we have a discussion first about the difference in fiction vs nonfiction. Children in my class know that fiction is only pretend or make believe. They have gained an awareness from the beginning of the year about this concept. They are also used to the antics of the Gingerbread man and his usual ultimate demise. As we read the Clay Boy, they are expecting an outcome that is the same. They are so surprised that all of the animals and townspeople are safe and then have a party with the goat as the guest of honor. We then discuss the differences between this book and the Gingerbread stories. I am surprised at their insight and answers, since they are able to give me each one, as we write the responses on a chart. There is a lot of laughter and enjoyment since I have prefaced the reading with, "This is not real; it is pretend." Finally each child creates 3-D art as they come over one by one to make a Clay Boy for display. The results are amazing because they really "Get it!" Adults need to read children's books first and lay the ground work. That is missing in so many situations, however teachers do this daily.
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Not just another gingerbread man story!!,
This review is from: Clay Boy (Hardcover)
Clayboy is a favorite of mine and the children in my early childhood special education classroom. Clay Boy comes to life saying "I'm here! I'm hungry!" The story concludes with the raveneous boy getting his "just desserts"! Mirra does a wonderful job of finding just the right word to go with the actions. Read with expression, this book is sure to please even those children who find books and stories "boring"!
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Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
In the village where I was born, there lived, a long, long time ago, and old man and old woman-Grandpa and Grandma. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
In the village where I was born, there lived, a long, long time ago, and old man and old woman-Grandpa and Grandma. Read the first page New!
Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | First Pages | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 1
book:
4
books
cite this book:
- Goblins in Green by Nicholas Heller in Back Flap
- Young at Art: Teaching Toddlers Self-Expression, Problem-Solving Skills, and an Appreciation for Art by Susan Striker on page 208
- Gifted Books, Gifted Readers: Literature Activities to Excite Young Minds by Nancy J. Polette on page 54
- Children Tell Stories: Teaching and Using Storytelling in the Classroom (Multimedia DVD included with the book) by Martha Hamilton in Back Matter
- Art & Creative Development for Young Children by Robert Schirrmacher on page 265
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