Clay Boy

I loved the illustrations, but I thought the overall book was kind of scary for kids, but my son (4 years old) doesn't seem to notice and loves it.

Although the hero resembles an overgrown Pillsbury Doughboy, Clay Boy by Mirra Ginsburg, pictures by Jos. A. Smith is a fanciful tale about a blossoming giant. Youngsters do enjoy tales of giants so this may intrique them.

Clayboy is a favorite of mine and the children in my early childhood special education classroom. Clay Boy comes to life saying "I'm here! I'm hungry!" The story concludes with the raveneous boy getting his "just desserts"! Mirra does a wonderful job of finding just the right word to go with the actions. Read with expression, this book is sure to please even those children who find books and stories "boring"!

.What is it about most traditional East European folk tales? They nearly always have a sinister, sometimes scary story line. "Clay Boy" is no exception.The concept of a clay boy that comes to life is very reminiscent of Pinocchio. An elderly couple known as Grandpa and Grandma are lonely now that their children have grown up. The clay boy is to become their child substitute.There is one big problem when he comes alive. He is insatiably hungry. He eats and eats, and he grows and grows until he ate all the food in the house. "More More" he cries.Now things get a little macabre. He's seen gulping down whole live chickens, and then the geese, cat and dog are consumed. Then it's Grandma and Grandpa's turn to be on the menu.By now, Clay Boy is of giant proportions. In one bite, he eats a man, a wagon, a horse and a load of hay. GULP!He is still unsatisfied, after swallowing everybody in the village.But then, he meets his match.A very cunning goat (check out the face on this Billy) offers to jump straight into Clay Boy's mouth, but on one condition: Clay Boy has to close his eyes.The goat took a great leap straight at the big fat belly. Clay Boy broke into a hundred pieces and all the people and animals that he had swallowed tumbled out. The goat was the hero of the village and had his horns painted gold. Such rejoicing!No explicit moral is given in this story. But what does this folk tale tell us? Will insatiable greed and endless consumption lead only to annihilation? There is also a modern message here. Now that most of us live far removed from our parent's homes, perhaps we should spend more time with our folks so they don't get lonely. And for Grandma and Grandpa, they should accept that their children have grown up, and should not try to find substitutes for this loss.The last page brings this home. The role of Grandparents is to instil and pass on their wisdom to their grandchildren. The best way to do this is to be a story- teller for the young ones and ideally, pass on the stories that you heard from your parents and grandparents.

A wondeful twist from the original Gingerbread story. My preschool children love it and I am not allowed to put it away. The color pictures depict the story in a amusing fashion.