From Publishers Weekly
"Once there was a mud puddle," writes Sierra (Antarctic Antics), "and it was sleepy, it was creepy, it was deeper-than-you'd-think. When something went into that mud puddle, the mud puddle didn't want to let go." Hillenbrand (previously paired with Sierra for Counting Crocodiles) portrays the maniacal mud puddle as a grubby Jabba the Hut. Five different vehicles become stuck in the muck, but fear not: the artwork's comical pacing and perspective reveal the vehicles to be toys, and a nearby brave band of animal preschoolers comes to the rescue, outfitted in rain slickers and carrying "shovels and sand, and rocks and bricks, and rubber bands and Popsicle sticks." Gradually, the rain lets up and the sun pokes out. The soft prettiness of Hillenbrand's full-bleed watercolor-and-ink illustrations provides a soothing counterpoint to the menacing mud puddle and to the action's comic frenzy. Youngsters will instantly recognize their own voices, experiences and indefatigable energy in Sierra's narrative. What's more, they should also find the conclusion deeply satisfying: in a feast of unbridled mud-food making, the heroic preschoolers completely consume the rogue puddle. Ages 3-7.
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
From School Library Journal
PreS-K-What a wonderful noisy book this is. Outside of the school is a huge, deep, and hungry mud puddle. Along comes the pizza van, "Beep, beep," and "Slurp"-the truck is stuck. The police car, the tow truck, the backhoe, and finally the fire engine come as rescuers but each one is swallowed up by the growing menace. Out of the school come the preschoolers carrying their shovels and pails and dressed in boots and rain gear. They attack the puddle as only preschoolers can, using up all of the mud and freeing the vehicles. They don't stop until the villain disappears. The cars beep and grind and roar and whistle and howl. The mud puddle slurps and glurps. Readers can virtually hear the trumpets shout as the preschoolers tear out of the school and joyfully set to work. The repetition and rhyme carry the story along and the fun doesn't stop until the book is closed. The artwork is perfect. The pizza truck dances along, bouncing confidently through the rain. The mud puddle lies in wait with a big, ugly, menacing face. Even the font shouts when it should. The animal characters are gleeful. And that just might be a sleeping mud puddle face under the wheelbarrow, waiting for the next rain. Make lots of sounds and have everyone join in the fun-children will love this one.-Marlene Gawron, Orange County Library, Orlando, FL
Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information, Inc.
