The Mud Monster

Looking much like a muddy Loch Ness monster, the image on the cover will intrigue the reader. It appals the monkey, clinging to a vine! Everyone in the forest knows the Monster lives amongst them, a huge and horrible beast, but no-one has ever seen it. One day when there’s a gurgling in the water-hole, the monkeys scream for HELP! But the scary creature screeches back; ‘We are NOT the muddy Monster! We are 5 flamingos. We are MUDDY AS MUDDY CAN BE.’ They ask the monkeys to carry them to the river for a bath. They all meet Warthog who is horrified by this doubled vision until he is informed the huge, horrible monster is really five flamingos and four monkeys! So, a galumphing something across the plain meets the rhinoceros who roars, ‘Please don’t eat me!’ How could this accumulative tale end? A huge and horribly Muddy Monster gurgles and burbles into view, as 5 elephants laughingly insist ALL of the creatures just need a bath. The author has had a life time of experience of forest conservation and tree planting projects, mainly in Tanzania. His close affinity with the landscape and its creatures is apparent in the text. The award winning illustrator worked as an illustrator with a flying doctor in Africa, so her illustrations give great authenticity to the colourful life of this continent. Look for the three monkeys – See no, hear no, speak no evil – in one of her many creative pictures. This delightful, humorous story is about helping each other and overcoming imaginary fears. As the second in the Five Flamingos series, it shows us that wild animals need places and spaces to live their lives. The author’s royalties will be donated to support the wildlife habitat conservation projects in Africa. The author and illustrator have worked together to produce a brilliant book. It is well worth seeking out.