Claymates

by Dev Petty, Lauren Eldridge (Artist)

Overview

Meet the Claymates: two balls of clay that can become anything—even best friends!

What can you do with two blobs of clay? Create something amazing! But don't leave them alone for too long. Things might get a little crazy.

In this photographic friendship adventure, the Claymates squish, smash, and sculpt themselves into the funniest shapes imaginable. But can they fix a giant mess before they're caught in the act?

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780316303101
Publisher:	Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Publication date:	06/20/2017
Series:	Claymates , #1
Sold by:	Hachette Digital, Inc.
Format:	eBook
Sales rank:	303,971
Lexile:	AD300L (what's this?)
File size:	165 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Dev Petty is the author of the popular picture book I Don't Want to Be a Frog. She used to work in movies, but now she writes picture books, which are like smaller, paper movies when you think about it. Dev is great at word jumbles, makes a pretty good sandwich, and lives in the San Francisco Bay Area, which she thinks is the best place ever.

Lauren Eldridge had to take a break from sculpting blocks of cheese into cats and unicorns to write this bio. She first studied landscape architecture in school but later decided to earn a graduate degree in teaching. Lauren now builds city streets and house dragons in her basement in Madison, Wisconsin. Claymates is her debut picture book.

Editorial Reviews

★ 04/24/2017
Two lumps of clay—one gray, one brown, both with big, googly eyes—sit on an artist’s worktable, waiting to find out what they’re going to become. “Probably something wonderful,” says the gray lump. Human hands painstakingly sculpt them into a wolf and an owl (Owl: “That took a really long time”; Wolf: “And it was sooooo boring”), then depart, at which point the creations realize that they don’t need someone else to give shape to their imaginations. The gray clay reshapes itself into a short-snouted “pig-e-elephant” while the brown clay goes from being a giant peanut to a splendid peacock; in another sequence, they see who can transform into the flattest or smallest species. Composed of photographs arranged in comics-style panels, this book initially seems like an odd duck: a story about claymation, minus the animation? But it works: Petty’s (I Don’t Want to Be Big) punchy, dialogue-only narrative and newcomer Eldridge’s expressive sculpture give these clay buddies a surplus of personality—their self-reinventions and attempts at one-upmanship are a giddy mix of naive and naughty. Ages 4–8. Author’s agent: Jennifer Rofé, Andrea Brown Literary. Illustrator’s agent: Lori Kilkelly, Rodeen Literary Management. (June)

Publishers Weekly

A Junior Library Guild Selection
A 2019 Monarch Award Nominee
A 2018 Wisconsin Library Association Outstanding Book
A 2018-2019 Maryland Black-Eyed Susan Award Nominee


* "The dynamic interaction between the characters invites readers to take risks, push boundaries, and have a little unscripted fun of their own."—Kirkus Reviews, starred review

* "Petty's punchy, dialogue-only narrative and newcomer Eldridge's expressive sculpture give these clay buddies a surplus of personality.... a giddy mix of naive and naughty."—Publishers Weekly, starred review

"Readers and pre-readers alike will be delighted.... the value of play for the sake of play shines above all else."—Shelf Awareness

From the Publisher

07/01/2017
PreS-Gr 2—After an artist leaves, two hunks of talking clay begin molding themselves, testing the limits of their physical forms and their imaginations. The gray blob, originally designed as a wolf, goes from an elephant to a snout-nosed "Pig-e-phant," while the brown blob, sculpted to be an owl, turns into everything from a peanut to a walrus. The two continue to stretch and bend into different forms and animals until they hear their artist coming. But how are they going to change themselves back?! Petty, author of I Don't Want To Be a Frog, has written another wonderfully humorous story, but this one embraces the characters' desire to shape their own identities. The clay lumps play off each other well, quickly escalating the situation until it hilariously spins out of control. But the real star may be Eldridge's models, since this title is not drawn but rather told through a series of photos of actual clay figures. Each design is vividly detailed and expressive; the characters clearly revel in the challenge and are excited by each transfiguration, and the look of panic on their faces as they try to change back is priceless. VERDICT Another win for Petty and a great debut for Eldridge. A highly recommended read-aloud.—Peter Blenski, Greenfield Public Library, WI

School Library Journal