Collingwood Press has announced the release of Mudpuddle's New Friend, a picture book by New England author Miles F. Stember written for readers ages 3 to 8 and the grownups who read with them. The Fort Worth-based publisher describes the book as warm and gently funny, built around a small earthworm who responds to the arrival of a moving truck with one of the bravest things a child can do: he walks next door and says hello.
The story is set in Turtletown, where life is peaceful until a new family moves in beside Mudpuddle's house. He meets Gus de la Tierra, whose parents have left a faraway country in search of a better life. When Mudpuddle brings the news home, his father looks up from the newspaper and decides the new family should be avoided. Mudpuddle speaks up, his mother stands with him, and soon the whole family is sitting at the de la Tierra dinner table. There, a plate of unfamiliar food softens a hardened opinion, and by the end of the evening Mudpuddle's dad is asking for the recipe.
The release matters because it puts a timely subject in front of the youngest readers with a light touch. At its heart, the publisher says, are kindness, curiosity and the courage to question a snap judgment. The moment in which a child gently challenges a parent's assumption opens the door to family conversations about fairness, empathy and what it means to be a good neighbor. Teachers and librarians will find it a natural fit for lessons on community, belonging and making newcomers feel at home, a set of themes that has grown more urgent as classrooms across the country absorb newly arrived families.
Stember frames the book's central idea plainly. "I wanted to write a story that shows children how much good can come from one simple hello," he says. "Sometimes the youngest member of the family sees most clearly, and I hope Mudpuddle encourages readers to open their doors and their hearts." That inversion, in which a child rather than an adult models openness, is what gives the book its classroom utility: it dramatizes how a single act of welcome can ripple outward into an entire household.
The author has been writing stories since he was about Mudpuddle's age. In fifth grade he placed second in his group in a young writers' contest, and New Hampshire Public Broadcasting in Durham gave his work its first audience. He went on to sharpen his craft at NHTI, Concord's Community College, and at the University of New Hampshire, and he now shares his stories with young readers everywhere. He lives in New England.
Readers can find the book through a range of retailers, including amazon.com/dp/B0HFDMDHG6 and Mudpuddle's New Friend on Goodreads. It is also available as an ebook via Mudpuddle's New Friend on Kobo and through independent booksellers such as Mudpuddle's New Friend on Bookshop and greenapplebooks.com/book/9798951043214, with additional listings at Mudpuddle's New Friend on Fable and Mudpuddle's New Friend on Orell Füssli, giving the title international reach for a debut picture book.
