Quiet as Mud

by Jane Yolen, Nicole Wong (Illustrator)

Overview

A sweet poem about being an introvert in a big loud world.

The Children’s Book Council (CBC) - K-2nd grade CHILDREN'S favorite

Inspired by a quote from the late, great children's book author Margaret Wise Brown, this poem honors and celebrates the beauty of being your authentic self. Soothing rhymes and soft illustrations convey the peace of being alone with your thoughts.

This is a gentle introduction to the concept of being an introvert, as well as an invitation for child and grown-up readers alike to observe and imagine their inner world and the world around them. What can you hear when you stay quiet as mud?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781433841538
Publisher:	Magination Press, American Psychological Association
Publication date:	04/23/2024
Pages:	32
Product dimensions:	8.25(w) x 8.25(h) x (d)
Age Range:	7 - 8 Years

About the Author

Jane Yolen lives in Massachusetts and has written more than 400 books across all genres and age ranges, including the Sydney Taylor Honor book Miriam at the River. In 2022 she was named the The Sydney Taylor Body-of-Work Winner. She has been called the Hans Christian Andersen of America and the Aesop of the twentieth century.

Editorial Reviews

A softly joyous picture book that traces the experience of preferring noiselessness...emphasizes the child's sense of oneness with the world...Combined, text and art radiate contentment.—Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

2024-01-20
“I’m quiet as mud when I’m alone.”

Inspired by a quote from author Margaret Wise Brown, Yolen offers a gently paced ode to the silent and soft-spoken. Appropriately, only one or two lines occupy each page, letting Wong’s pastoral illustrations take the lead. An unnamed young narrator floats through the sky, frolics across fields and forests, and goes on family picnics while sharing various similes, many rooted in nature. “I’m quiet as the stars” and “silent as a sandwich / when it sits uneaten on a plate,” says the little one. “I just like hearing the world spin by.” Though surrounded by a supportive family, the narrator is “quiet as mud when I’m alone.” Muddy footprints feature throughout, with the whole family looking (happily) grubby by the end, together in the garden behind a yellow house. Whatever reasons readers may have to be quiet, they’ll find Yolen’s words reassuring. Being quiet lets the protagonist pay attention to things others might miss, such as “the songs that the rocks all sing.” The child is also “happy to hear my heart beat / with its own steady thud-thud-thud.” Yolen has crafted an idyllic safe space for daydreamers, shrinking violets, and selectively mute little ones and a sweetly surreal alternative point of view for everyone else. The protagonist is light-skinned, as are most family members.

Mild-mannered mindfulness that leads by example. (Picture book. 2-7)

Kirkus Reviews