Mud is Cake [Hardcover]

Pam Munoz Ryan (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: February 25, 2002 | Grade Level: P and up

Pam Munoz Ryan and David McPhail open the door to the imagination in this lyrical, rhyming picture book. Two young children act, pretend, sing, invent their way into wondrous realms with creativity, charm, and a little does of magic.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

If you can make yourself believe that mud is cake, then anything goes! Pam Munoz Ryan (Esperanza Rising) and illustrator David McPhail pay tribute the power of imagination in this lovely rhyming picture book populated with Maurice Sendak-style kids and the wild things they conjure from everyday objects. "Mud is cake / if you pretend / and don't really take a bite. / And juice is tea / with a fairy queen / if you act it out just right." A rainy, storybook kind of morning produces the mud (and the rainbow) that set the stage for an exciting afternoon of pretending. In the mind's eye, children's toys transform themselves into life-sized animals, "And a tree is spaceship / if you trust / that it can fly away." McPhail's color-drenched watercolors lend themselves well to flights of fancy in this dreamy bedtime read-aloud. (Ages 3 to 5) --Karin Snelson

From Publishers Weekly

In the opening illustration in this winsome tome, a mother reads to her two children as their stuffed animals look on and rain falls outside. Then, as a rainbow fills the sky, the siblings play in a mud puddle while their toy menagerie watches from the front stoop. On subsequent spreads, McPhail (Mole Music) transforms the toys into life-size animals that help the youngsters demonstrate how imagination can turn the ordinary into the fanciful or the fantastical. As Ryan's (Esperanza Rising) lilting, rhyming narrative chimes in, the artwork creates a subtle subplot: the children serve cake and tea to a bear king and an elephant queen, "Mud is cake if you pretend and don't really take a bite. And juice is tea with a fairy queen if you act it out just right." Flips of the pages reveal the cheerful characters using a porch as a stage, a stick as a magic wand, a cardboard box as a tree house, a bathtub as a boat, etc. The large-scale, softly focused ink-and-watercolor pictures evoke an old-fashioned charm that neatly matches the verse's timeless theme, condensed in the closing words: "You can be most anything in dreams, or wide-awake. If you agree that juice is tea... if you believe that mud is cake." The book's gentle tone and dream-inspiring potential makes it a fine choice for lazy rainy days and bedtime. Ages 2-5.
Copyright 2002 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 40 pages
• Publisher: Hyperion; 1 edition (February 25, 2002)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0786805013
• ISBN-13: 978-0786805013
• Product Dimensions: 11.6 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #434,338 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Make Believe and Let's Pretend....., June 22, 2002

By 

Roz Levine - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mud is Cake (Hardcover)

"Mud is cake/if you pretend/and don't really take a bite./And juice is tea/with a fairy queen/if you act it out just right." Pam Munoz Ryan takes us into the charming world of child's make believe in this gentle and whimsical picture book. A box can be a hideout, and a stick is a wand. A tree is a spaceship, your tub is a boat and the "couch is a store when you display a variety of shoes." And you can be a tiger, prowling and growling, or a kitten, curled on someone's lap, a hero, or a champion, or even the one who runs away, if you want. David McPhail's captivating, bright and colorful illustrations complement the text beautifully and engage the reader. Together word and art send a simple message: Let your imagination run free and have fun. "You can be most anything/in dreams, or wide-awake./If you agree that juice is tea.../...if you believe/that mud is cake." Perfect for preschoolers, Mud Is Cake is a sweet and simple, timeless treasure that little ones will want to read and act out again and again. "

5.0 out of 5 stars Pairs a fun rollicking rhyme with classic paintings, August 5, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mud is Cake (Hardcover)

Pam Munoz Ryan's Mud Is Cake pairs a fun rollicking rhyme with classic paintings by McPhail. The rhyme also helps kids think about words and alternate meanings they represent.

5.0 out of 5 stars Especially suitable for parent/child bedtime reading, July 14, 2002

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mud is Cake (Hardcover)

A truly delightful picturebook recommended for beginning readers age 2-5, Mud Is Cake features a series of whimsical metaphors by Pam Munoz Ryan, which are brought to life through David McPhail's gentle, playful color illustrations. The power of belief and using one's imagination are central to Mud is Cake, which is a brief, simple, and enjoyable treat -- and especially suitable for parent/child bedtime reading.