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Reviewed by Carmen Tenorio for Readers' Favorite
In Mudman and Meatball (A Sky View Farm Adventure) by Angelina Natale, superheroes use their skills to do something good and kind but do so incognito. This inspired Maggie to revive an abandoned field on their farm and use her horses to help plant flower and vegetable seeds. She posted a symbol on the fence resembling a heart and the letter M, which stands for her superhero alias Mudgirl, and the superhero alters egos of her horses Mudman and Meatball. Weeks later, her mom was pleasantly surprised to see the old field teeming with growing flowers and vegetables in an M formation similar to what Maggie had drawn. She wondered who had made such a loving gesture. "Must have been made by a superhero," Maggie thought.
Mudman and Meatball by Angelina Natale has a charming storyline about a young girl's curiosity that fuels her affectionate interaction with her mother and her creativity to resolve the question of who superheroes are. She uses her horse whispering and riding skills to accomplish quite a satisfying answer to her question. One can sense that Maggie enjoys keeping her little secret, but it also becomes a lesson in humility and being less self-centered. The book's nicely colored and well-done illustrations by Jess Bircham certainly add to the atmosphere of fun as one reads the book. The author's simple conversational language and tone is easily relatable to curious and active kids the same age as Maggie. Highly recommended for young independent readers and as a read-along book for beginning readers.
