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Review
Zilla loses a shoe into the clutchy goop that lines the Little Muddy River. When she tries to pull it free, she finds in her hand a mud baby, waving that shoe. Granny Vi, Zilla's neighbor, tells her to wash the child in milk, then water, and what once was mud will become human. She does, he does, a family of two is born. But Zilla is plagued by worries: Does his muddy bathwater mean he is melting (Granny Vi counsels that all children leave muddy bathwater behind), and will the river try to reclaim its creation? This is a promising scenario, especially well realized in Harvey's delicate, joy-filled pictures, but Gorog (see review, above) misses many of its opportunities. The rural setting is never developed, so readers never sense the river's menace the way Zilla does. The character of Cinnamon, first as a baby and then as a grown boy, is frustratingly blank, which makes it hard to identify with the central theme: the cares and concerns of parenting. Zilla's fears are such wild-eyed concoctions that the final scene, in which Cinnamon emerges safely from the river, has little impact. (Kirkus Reviews)
Product Description
A story with a folk-tale atmosphere by an award-winning duo. As Zilla Sasparilla is making her way along the slippery path by Little Muddy River, one of her big feet is sucked into the mud and over she goes on her bottom. She has to plunge her hands in right up to her elbows to find her lost shoe but when, finally, she hauls it out, something else comes with it, a beautiful, mud-golden baby. Oh, how Zilla loves that baby! She washes him and feeds him and hugs him and kisses him. "Cinnamon" She names him "Cinnamon" and she is so happy. But as her mud baby grows, Zilla just can't help worrying that that mean old river is going to try to steal him back from her. Wise old Granny Vi tries to calm her anxieties, but eventually Zilla decides the only thing to do is move house. So she packs up all her possessions on a wagon and sets off with Cinnamon. To get away, though, they have to take the path by the river and, when the mule refuses to pull, Zilla gets down from the wagon to push and, as before, she slips. This time, though, she falls into the river. She looks on horrified as Cinnamon kicks off his shoes and dives in to help her. But the boy just laughs. Nothing happens to him and, at last, Zilla's fears are put to rest. They go back home. Julia Gorog is the award-winning author of many other children's books. Amanda Harvey has won the Mother Goose Award for "A Close Call". She has also illustrated "Grimms' Fairy Tales", and stories by Dick King-Smith.
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