OZ LIT REVIEW #11 - This is the Mud

This is the Mud by Kathryn Apel Illustrated by Wayne Crossett Hachette Children’s Books rrp $28.99 hardback, $16.99 softcover

Sometimes with a picture book, I find it hard to decide where to begin. Do I talk text or illustration? Do I tell the story? With This is the Mud, the answer is obvious. I start right at the front, with the cover and its quirky bottom-first view of the sad, soulful cow stuck in the mud. It’s an image to make the reader smile and promises a fun, mud-spattering read.

Based on the familiar, thumping rhythm of The House that Jack Built, This is the Mud is a text that demands to be read aloud. With pomp and emphasis! With oomph, emotion and expression! I had a stirring time doing exactly that.

The is the cow who was chewing her cud,
as she went for a drink and got stuck in the mud.

The story is a universal one. The cow rescued by a team of people – the girl who raises the alarm, the dad, the neighbour with the tractor and the woman on the two-way radio. The farm could be anywhere but the occasional clue, such as ‘ute’ places it in rural Australia, a landscape author Kathryn Apel calls home.

Warren Crossett’s vivid pictures provide action, humour and confirmation that this is a picture book ‘proud to be Australian.’ The splodges of mud containing landscape reflections are an interesting graphic feature on some pages of text. My favourite illustration, other than the cover of course, is the poor cow unceremoniously and inelegantly plucked from the mud by a sling around her middle. Still, she was glad to be rescued and in the end is happily chewing her cud again.

This is the Mud is a wonderful read-aloud, rhyme-along, imagine-the-mess book. And it’s lots of fun.

OZ LIT PROFILE #11 - Kathryn Apel

This weekend's OZ Lit Profile is debut picture book author Kathryn Apel. This is the Mud was published in May 2009 by Hachette Children's book. A primary school teacher who lives on a farm in Queensland, Kathryn knows all about cows and mud! To find out more about Kathryn (and to read some wonderful poetry by Kat and friends) visit the Kat's Whiskers blog.

But now over to the microphone and the interview chair:-

1 The last children's/YA book you read (fiction or non-fiction) 'Sixth Grade Style Queen (NOT!)' by Sherryl Clark. This was the first verse novel I've read (I've heard much about them in recent times) and I was amazed by the character and story development in such few words. And I loved the poetry - the preciseness of each word. It truly is a craft! I'm keen to read more. (Pearl and Ruby are next on my list, and then there's Farm Kid, and the list grows from there.)

2 If it wasn't an Oz title, then the last Oz title (It was)

3 Name one favourite book from your childhood Oops! I'm going to be very naughty and honest and say that I loved Enid Blyton - and now my son does too! In fact, my big rebellion in Yr 7 was to organise a 'sit in' protest when our school library banned Enid Blyton books. I took enough for my class to have one each (even the non-readers go into the act) and we sprawled over the library floor in the lunch break, proudly displaying our Enid Blytons. I don't know how much reading we got done, but I do know that the librarian wasn't very happy. (Heh! Nor was I!)

From my younger years, I must admit I liked 'Lennie the Lamb', one in an anthology of bedtime stories. I was thrilled to spot the book in a second-hand shop recently, so bought it for nostalgia. That cute little wayward lamb is still cheating the wolf of his lamb roast - and the wolf is STILL falling for the cheese trick...

4 Name one picture book that you love for the illustrations 'Edward the Emu.' The way that emu can look like so many other zoo animals - and yet still look like an emu... I think it's great! So amazingly realistic, right down to the chipped and peeling paint on the zoo fence. Many times I've reached out to touch it, expecting it to feel like it looks. (It hasn't yet.)

5 What is your personal favourite among the books you have authored/illustrated 'This is the Mud!' because it really has been a wonderful journey with so many special moments along the way - both in the shared family moments (it was my youngest son who chose it as my entry into the CYA competition - which set it on its path to publication) and in the production of the book. And it's pretty special because though it wasn't my first 'published' book, it was my first book accepted for publication. So a sentimental favourite.

It's also really wonderful to be standing at the other side knowing that every word in the book is mine, and everything I asked for is in the book. It's noticeably Australian - but totally FUN. Warren Crossett's illustrations are simply gorgeous, and they definitely delight kids, whilst subtly reflecting our Australian life.

I guess I hadn't expected to be quite this satisfied at the completion of the book, but 'This is the Mud!' does absolutely everything I'd ever hoped it would.

6 What book do you wish you had written - for love or money 'Are we there yet?' by Alison Lester. She has perfectly captured the journey and the family, and since we share the caravan lifestyle, and will likely visit many of the places she did... and because she writes like I think... well, I often do feel that she's telling my story. I also love the fact that no matter how many times you read it, there's always something new to discover. Especially when you read it with kids.

7 If you could be a character in a book, who (or what) would you be Hmmm... That's a really tricky question... Totally away from children's books, I'm thinking perhaps a Jane Austen heroine, because I love the flounces and frills of the era and would happily wear them myself (Yes please!) but I also enjoy Jane's satirical look at life and the strength in her heroines. You won't walk over them. So I'd have to say... Elizabeth Bennett.

8 Do you have a favourite quote - from a book or life in general! Anything. I always got a bit choked up when I read the 'The Lion Who Wanted to Love', by Giles Andreae and David Wojtowyez to my boys. I think it's got a great message, encouraging kids to be themselves - even if it means being different. And there most definitely can never be too much love and compassion in our world. Hmmm... Hunting the book out for the quote, and I see I still DO get choked up and goosebumpy.

'You've got to be strong to be different,
And when you've got love on your side
You've got the most valuable gift that there is,
We want you as King of our pride.'