Claymates

A brilliant, different sort of picture book: the two characters are a gray and a brown ball of clay, respectively. A pair of hands and some tools appear to transform the gray lump into a wolf and the brown lump into an owl; they are carefully placed in a scene to be photographed, but when the hands (and attached person) leave, the fun begins. The wolf begins to play with its own form, encouraging the owl to do the same. They go through a rapid series of transformations (the facial expressions are perfect; the "pig-ephant" is hilarious) and hurry to transform themselves back to their original shapes when they hear the sculptor returning...they don't do such a great job. Funny dialogue accompanies the even funnier clay forms, and a bowl show more full of googly eyes at the end leaves the possibility of a sequel.

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Re-read January 2021
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Re-read January 2023 show less

The blurb implies Cat in the Hat, and there is just a little bit of that. But mostly it's just amazingly silly & creative fun. I wish I knew how to be as playful as these characters.

This book follows two clay balls as they get shaped into a wolf and an owl. The wolf discovers that they can reshape themselves into anything they want and tells the owl to do the same. The owl is hesitant at first, but then tries and realizes that it is. The two lumps of clay shape themselves into an elephant, and alien, a dinosaur, a peanut, octopus, seal, and much more. Eventually the artist comes back and shapes them back into two clay lumps and they start all over again This book has a central message of never leaving someone behind and never giving up.

Lots of kid points for this one. I want to pair it with the Mummenschanz skit with the clay faces.

Ultimately, it's a sight-gag with no real story. Fun for what it is, though.

CLAYMATES by Dev Petty is a picture book telling the story of two friends made of clay.

After the art studio closes for the day, the artist’s clay characters come to life. The bright colored photographs of the clay characters contributes to the appeal of the story.

Librarians will find this adorable picture book to be popular among primary aged children. It would also provide a fun introduction to an art or claymation project.

Published by Little, Brown on June 20, 2017. ARC courtesy of the publisher.

Fun, fun, fun ... clay animals rearrange themselves when sculptor is gone.

Two blocks of clay get a little carried away when their sculptor leaves the room.