It is a cute and fun story about Muddy, a raccoon (good for me I love animals). When it is about the food he is picky, as most of the children. The book is followed by beautiful illustrations. This kind of books is good for children and adults too.
Thank you Netgalley and the author for this copy.

Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes by Griffin Ondaatje and Linda Wolfsgruber is a children’s picture book.

Muddy is a raccoon who does not fit in his tribe. While his family and other raccoons were satisfied with eating clams, Muddy has a taste for gourmet human food. Muddy steals the food from a nearby restaurant and heaps the plates on the river bank. His family and other raccoons discover the plates and confront Muddy’s parents that his habit could be dangerous to the group. The rest of the story is about how Muddy solves the problem of stealing food from the restaurant.

The illustrations in the book could be better in a few pages. Otherwise, the ending made me smile. This book introduces the value of food and the role of raccoons in our ecosystem to little ones.

Thanks to Netgalley and Northsouthbooks for the ARC.

This is one of those titles that I chose because I thought it had a lot of story time potential from the description. Unfortunately, I was kind of disappointed. The illustration and the narrative did not mesh well for me. The story, while having a good message, was very very wordy for a picture book without a nonfiction bent to it. I was very underwhelmed by the entire thing. I feel like I would have a difficult time holding my kids' attention with this title even though they tend to really enjoy animal protagonists with odd proclivities.

I received an electronic ARC from North South Books Inc through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Muddy is a raccoon who has a problem. He likes to steal food and plates from humans. But everyone in his community including mom and dad have taken a vow not to eat from trash cans. Once Muddy is outed, the community comes to his aid to help him avoid the restaurant where he has been stealing food.

This book could be used to show how communities help one another and support good behavior. It also can help discuss healthy eating habits and taking things that don't belong to you.

Beautiful, adorable and funny.
I loved the artwork and the story, it was easy to understand. A book I will definitely read to my nephew or my niece.

What a cute story! The raccoons promise not to steal leftovers from the garbage, but Muddy is a “picky eater” and can’t help himself. Not only does he steal food, though, he has to eat it off a plate. So cute!

I received an electronic ARC from North South Books Inc through NetGalley.
The pencil shaded illustrations are delightful and soft focused.
The concept behind it works but the story was disjointed and too wordy for the targeted age group.
Muddy the raccoon is a picky eater and only wants to eat leftover restaurant food off plates. He refuses to forage with the rest of the group. Eventually, he's almost caught by the restaurant staff and his family does discover what he's been doing. The whole group of raccoons tries to return the stolen plates but ends up chasing off the restaurant customers.
Some portions of the plot will need to be explained beyond the text for younger readers.

My son loved this story. He’s a picky eater too, so he especially loved the main character. And who isn’t going to love a raccoon who wears a bow tie? It’s a very cute story about a silly raccoon who would rather eat leftovers than hunt for food like his family. And not just that, but he steals plates to eat his leftovers on. My 5 year old son thought this was especially silly. The illustrations are very pretty and picturesque.

This is a cute story, but I felt the illustrations were childish and the story was mediocre. I'd be curious to read it to some kids to get their opinion, because I feel like it may be a story that children would enjoy, even though I do not. I loved the opening quote on the dedication page - it was a fun discovery and beginning. Unfortunately, the rest of the book did not live up to the promise of the quote and the book's description.

Muddy is the story of a little raccoon who prefers to eat human leftover food to normal raccoon food. He sneaks out at night to steal leftovers from a restaurant across the river and then brings the plates back to the riverbank where the raccoons live. It's only a matter of time before he's caught!
I really wanted to love this story, but it was lacking in a few areas. Mostly, the illustrations detracted from the story- they seemed a little sloppy and unfinished. I know some reviewers thought that the story should have ended with Muddy and the other raccoons returning the dishes and having a peaceful resolution with the owners of the restaurant, but I personally enjoyed the ending. It's a funny reminder that these are raccoons, and wild animals, after all, so it's no wonder that seeing a huge group of them at a restaurant would scare away the customers and create an opportunity for the raccoons to enjoy even more food!

Muddy Whiskers is different from the rest of the community of raccoons. While they dine on ordinary raccoon food such as clams, frogs, slugs, acorns, turtle eggs and crayfish Muddy only wants to eat garbage and he likes to eat it off of a plate. What? Really? Why he even wears a cute little bowtie to show off his elitism. That too makes him very different from the commoners. At night he sneaks across the river to a busy, fancy restaurant and goes through their trash. He steals a plate to eat his tasty delights.

All the Mud River raccoons used to live in the city but are banished because they ate too much garbage. None of them want to get into trouble with the humans anymore so they make a pact never to cross the river and steal the people's food ever again. They all agree to the plan.... except... Muddy. He just can't bring himself to abandon those yummy morsels that he craves and loves so much.

Each night his father calls him from his tree perch and asks him to come down and help the group wash clams. Muddy declines the invitation because he is waiting for his favourite restaurant to open so he can go steal their leftovers. La Grand Bistro's, "Open" sign flashes on and Muddy zooms off. His dinner is waiting for his taking.

When he reaches his destination he notices the door to the restaurant kitchen is open and he sees a plate full of French fries. Do you think he can resist the temptation of just one tiny nibble? He suddenly hears footsteps, grabs his plate and tears off back home as quick as he can go. When Muddy climbs out of the water he bumps into his parents. Oh my! He is in trouble BIG TIME now!

Will Muddy be reprimanded for his disobedience? Will he be able to redeem himself and take responsibility for his wrong-doings? Will he be forgiven by his community for breaking the oath they swore to never cross the river and eat the human garbage that they dispose?

The book is a simple read and can be a catalyst for conversations regarding: obeying parents, choosing to do the right thing, asking forgiveness, and upholding family honour, just to suggest a few. I wasn't a huge fan of the illustrations as I find them to be sketchy and blurry and not much help in enriching the storyline. In my opinion they need to be more defined and refined adding more animation and emotion. I love that Muddy learns a valuable life lesson, one I hope he can be content with and live out as he goes forward in life.

Raccoons are adorable and you can hardly go wrong when you feature them in a book. Sadly, there are books with illustrations that are more detailed, more professional looking and also more charming. I wanted to love this story but the writing just doesn't sit well with me.

Muddy is a cute story enough about a raccoon who didn't want to eat what regular raccoons eat and stole dishes of food from a nearby restaurant. Unfortunately, this book was not my favorite. The illustrations were sweet but not colorful or eye catching. The writing itself was lackluster.

A lovely story with cute illustrations.

Muddy, a little raccoon, can’t help himself. He loves good food and so steals leftovers from a restaurant’s rubbish bins. When he is discovered, he has to make amends. The whole raccoon community decides to help him and walks over to restaurant ...

The sentences flow really well and are easily understood by children. The story itself is very charming and at times even funny. The illustrations are not breathtaking but they are cute and fit the story about little raccoons well. It was an enjoyable read and I wouldn't mind reading it to my kids over and over again.

Muddy is a little raccoon who loves food - especially leftovers, and especially on dinner plates. His parents and other raccoons tell him not to take plates but he loves them so much.

This book was very cute and I learned a lot about raccoons while reading it. Muddy likes to eat his food on a plate, so he steals them ... sadly the other raccoons are not ok with this because one of them stealing gets them all in trouble. Muddy is fun to follow through this tale and how they decide to return all the plates he has taken is very fun and funny to read.


If your young one likes animals, this would be a fun read for the whole family.

I found the story of Muddy hilarious, as I grew up with raccoons in our neighborhood so I can totally relate. I did wonder if children who haven't seen raccoons - to know how they love to steal people food - would get it as much, but I'm sure it's still fun. And it had a great moral of making things right! I didn't care for the illustrations - they have an unfinished quality, like the illustrator is still in the process of sketching ideas and isn't to the finished product yet, but others might enjoy that style.

A cute story filled with cute raccoons! Muddy the raccoon likes to eat off of plates, and he has a preference for human food, which was intriguing enough. The illustrations weren't as engaging or stylized as I personally prefer them to be but I think it worked with the story. I wish the ending had more of a conclusion.

Muddy was such a likable character. Raccoons are a great choice for children's books as they are depicted as cute and cuddly. Muddy's inquisitive personality also tied in well with the theme of the book.

The illustrations were lovely. The soft colors that were used made them feel very natural and fit the story perfectly.

The flow of the storyline started a little awkwardly but it became stronger as the story went on. Perhaps the earlier portion of the story could be more appealing if it were re-worded and was a little more kid-friendly. It seemed that more words were used than were necessary to set up the plot. When this happens, you can lose the attention of young listeners.

Overall, I felt this book fell between 3 and 4 stars.

I received a complimentary copy of this book through Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This is such a cute picture book! I giggled at the raccoons and their dishes, and I think Muddy finds an excellent echange for services. Little ones will find it silly and entertaining.

Muddy by Griffin Ondaatje is a charming children's book that tells an engaging story about a raccoon named Muddy who is a picky eater.
Raccoons were banished from the city since they tipped over garbage cans. Now there make do with what food they can find. However, Muddy really likes to eat human food and from the plate as well. So even though he knows he shouldn't he visits a new restaurant every night to get the food.
One night he is discovered and raccoon community forces him to make amends. That's when surprise awaits.

This is a lovely book, fabulously illustrated. Most done in greens and blues due to the majority of action happening at night. Watercolor illustrations are amazing. I especially liked how Muddy has a red bow tie to distinguish him from the other raccoons.

I didn't like the fact that he didn't listen to his parents but I liked how he tried to rectify his behavior and make amends.
A bit of a confusing message for the children but overall nice read.