Mattland by Hazel Hutchins and Gail Herbert, art by Dusan Petricic.

Matt has moved three times with his family and now they have moved to a place filled with mud and water and no trees.  So when Matt picks up a stick, he is tempted to break it or throw it, but instead he starts to draw in the mud.  And as he draws, a world appears before him filled with lakes, rivers, mountains of rock, roads and houses.  The closed doors of the other houses begin to open and an outsider joins him in building his land.  When disaster strikes the tiny world, Matt’s own world has expanded enough for lots of hands to be there to help.

This book is about the power of creativity, the strength of play and the formation of connections without trying.  The illustrations are a large part of the book with their skillful and restrained use of color to show where imagination has touched the dirt and changed it.  The text is wonderfully bristly at the beginning, filled with Matt’s anxiety.  By the end, it has transformed to be eager and free-flowing.  The amount of text on each page make this book appeal to a slightly older audience, so it will be appreciated by elementary art classes as well as teachers and librarians looking to get children thinking creatively.

Highly recommended, this book will get you feeling free and easy too as you survey what may be your muddy and rocky place and find imaginative ways to make it magical and friendly.