Clay Boy

Clay Boy
By:  Mirra Ginsburg
Pictures By:  Jos. A. Smith
Greenwillow Books
Copyright 1997
Traditional Genre Book

                                                                         Clay Boy

     Clay Boy is a Russian folktale that tells the story of a hungry clay boy who eats almost his entire village. It begins with an older couple who miss having children around, therefore, they decide to make a boy made of clay. It turns out that the clay boy grows so quickly and gets extremely hungry, so he eats his parents, neighbors, and animals. The story ends when a tricky goat tells the clay boy to close his eye as he eats him. Just as the clay boy's eyes are shut, the goats rams into the boy and shatters him into pieces. Everyone and everything that the boy had ever eaten were set free.
     This was a fast read, but the illustrations were funny and added a lot of character to the story. They were done in aquarelle and gouache paints. I like that the characters are wearing traditional Russian outfits. It reminds the reader that this is a Russian folktale. I like this story because not only was it a fun and funny story, but it also gave a moral. No matter who you are, you can stop wrong things from happening if you take time to think things through. I would definitely have my students read this story.