Mud

An ode to muddy hands and feet, brown earth, and new grass
Simple text and exuberant illustrations will make children and their grown-up friends want to sink their feet into gooey, gloppy, mucky, magnificent mud.

I never knew that one could look at mud and be able to tell when winter was transitioning into spring. This story taught me this and gave me a true feel of the seasons. Once mentioned in the story, I was able to realize and remember different smells and feels that I have gotten from the ground. Descriptions such as "a cold sweet smell", and "Gooey, gloppy, mucky" really made me feel as if I were in mud.

In this book, an unnamed character tells of the thawing of winter into muddy spring and child's play in the mud. The beautiful illustrations speak louder than the few words. This book counts as realistic fiction because there's nothing impossible about kids plying in the mud, and it's quite enjoyable. The book made me nostalgic and I adore the wording and illustrations. Could be used with any age group, but I would read it to my younger kiddos before engaging in muddy outdoor play.

This is beautifully illustrated simple novel describing how the ground changes as do the seasons. It is filled with examples of alliteration and onomatopoeia. Mud comes during the night and revels all the wonders of spring. There is great sense of excitement building during each page. It could used with students of varying ages to focus on language forms, sounds, and tone. Beautiful book.

MUD by Mary Lyn Ray is a picture book that captures what it is like for the season of winter passing over to spring. A young child is narrating what it is like in the winter vs the spring. They go on to describe how the earth starts to melt the snow and how it had a smell that lets human know spring is coming. It also goes on to describe how much they love to play in the mud and how right after winter the ground is wet and soggy. The illustrations in the book are big, bold, colorful pictures that give the reader a sense of what it is like to live when the winter turns to spring. This would be a good book to read to students because it explains what it is like to transform from two of the seasons.

Short, simple meditation on the sensory aspects of the transition into spring. Appropriate for Pre-K and up.

Short maybe a little too poetic, describes how earth goes from frozen to mud, and isn't wonderful to squelch your feet in the mud.