Hello, friends! Today, we’re reviewing Claymates, written by Dev Petty and illustrated by Lauren Eldridge, a wonderfully unique tale of friendship, creativity, and fun.

Our story begins in a sculptor’s workshop, where two lumps of clay meet. They are both new to the workshop, and a little nervous about what they’re going to be. When the sculptor comes, she carefully molds them: brown clay becomes a cute little owl, and gray clay becomes a clever wolf. The two are delighted by how great they look, and are goofing around when – whoops! Gray pulls his ears out too long. At first Brown Clay is nervous that changing their appearance will get them in trouble, but Gray convinces him to have some fun with his look as well. The two friends grow increasingly creative and silly with their appearances… up until they hear the sculptor about to return! They must return to their original shapes, but there’s one problem: what were they shaped like again?

This one was fun! It had a very distinct visual style, using photography of real clay and clay modeling tools to create the characters and environment to a fascinatingly detailed degree. The two lumps are expressive and full of personality, and the comic-book style of the layout is perfect for following the wordless portions of the story. The text itself is full of laughs, yet still provides a subtle yet sweet tale of new friendship. There is one page that’s a bit off for me: when the characters are caught looking disheveled by the frustrated sculptor, she immediately sets to squishing them down and re-sculpting them – while they moan in agony and discuss how much the process hurts. That’s… a bit dark, and feels out of place in a mostly fun and fluffy book. Otherwise, the length was fine and JJ enjoyed it, so we’re still calling this one Baby Bookworm approved!