The gaze (group) of raccoons in which Muddy lives have sworn off eating garbage in the city because it’s gotten them into too much trouble in the past. Instead, they eat clams, and whatever else Mother Nature offers in their habitat. But Muddy is very particular about food and can’t stop eating garbage from the restaurant across the way. In fact, not only does he eat the garbage, he insists on carrying it away on a plate, and has amassed quite a collection by the water. When his secret stash is discovered, every raccoon in the gaze will work to make it right.

Raccoons are one of my all-time favorite animals, and I found the illustrations in this book to be intriguing (I still can’t decide if I like them, but I keep going back to look at them!). There were some interesting factual tidbits about raccoons, shining a more positive light on their nature, and that was much appreciated. However, the story itself fell rather flat for me and the ending was a bit sudden. In fact, it seemed a bit incomplete, which is likely the primary reason I found this book to be only ok.

Interesting story, but not a book I’d purchase personally.

Muddy just might be the most adorable raccoon ever. He refuses to eat the way other raccoons do and wants to eat his food only from plates. As he makes off with plates from the restaurant, he stashes them where others might not find them, that is until his father catches him coming home with a plate of french fries!

This story was a delight to read! So cute, and my kids loved it! The illustrations were some of the best I have seen in a long time!

What an adorable, simple, little book! “Muddy” is a sweet and entertaining tale of a raccoon named Muddy Whiskers.

When I opened this wonderful book, my first thoughts were how beautifully it had been illustrated by Linda Wolfsgruber.

Muddy Whiskers lives with his mum and dad and will only eat left-over food. Oh, and the food must be eaten from a plate. They live on Mud River together with the other raccoons from the town.

When a new restaurant opens up across town, Muddy decides to start stealing plates of leftovers rather than help Mr and Mrs Whiskers and the rest of the raccoons dig for clams from the river.

“Muddy” communicates a positive message of choosing to do the right thing and asking for forgiveness and I loved that Muddy learned a valuable life lesson in life that he can take forward.

The text is straight-forward and easy to understand for small ones and it is nicely complemented by good, strong artwork. This wonderful book is very well balanced between the story and the message it delivers.

I found the story of Muddy the raccoon honest and entertaining and I really appreciated the humour in this lovely, winsome tale. I would definitely recommend it and I think the book would make a lovely addition to any family library.

Thank you to NetGalley and North South Books Inc. for the complimentary ARC. This is my honest and totally voluntary opinion.

'Muddy: The Raccoon Who Stole Dishes' by Griffin Ondaatje and Linda Wolfsgruber is a picture book about a picky eater that wants to eat garbage, but on a plate.

Muddy Whiskers is a young raccoon that lives with his family and other raccoons. While the other raccoons are content eating shellfish out of the river and other things they find, Muddy wants to eat human food from the restaurant across the river. The elder raccoons got kicked out the last town for eating out of garbage cans, so they don't like what Muddy is up to.

The illustrations seem a little on the rough side to me. The story is ok, but it's a story about a raccoon stealing food, so that might mean having conversations about what raccoons do versus humans.

I received a review copy of this ebook from North South Books Inc. and NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. Thank you for allowing me to review this ebook.

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!

A raccoon gets into people’s garbage and they complain. Then, they wonder why he stole a plate to eat from. Not particularly enjoyable— even for kids I’d think. I received a free copy of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

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.

A sweet story with beautiful illustrations.

I found the story of Muddy the raccoon honest and entertaining. I learned a bit about raccoons and appreciated the humor as well as the parental perspective. My only complaint was that, while I enjoyed it as a parent, I’m not sure which age range this would appeal to. Some parts seemed geared toward older children and some toward younger ones.

I enjoyed the rudimentary look of the illustrations. We have many stories with unique illustrations in our collection and prefer them.

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.