About the book:
Ice Cream Mud follows the form of a traditional fable with animals that act like humans and learn a lesson. The story was created by Ray with the help of his three year old son, Matthew, in 1969. One day they stopped at a farm and asked if they could visit with the animals that lived in the barn. Permission was given and this started a series of visits with Donkey, Goose, Horse and Cow. These animals became characters in the “Make-Up Story Time” before bed each night in the Gray household.
When Ray started his oral storytelling career he presented assembly programs and creative writing workshops. These workshops were supported by the Pennsylvania State Arts Council. Ice Cream Mud was often used as an introduction to the fable form of story and children had great fun retelling the story in their own creative ways.
About the author:
Ray Gray has shared his stories with over a million children. For thirty-five years he earned his living presenting multi-media school assembly programs that featured oral storytelling. In retirement he is preserving the best of his oral stories in written form. In the summer of 2019, Ray invited the neighborhood children where he lives in Doylestown to help him by drawing pictures to illustrate one of his stories, Ice Cream Mud. Doylestown illustrator, Pat Achilles, worked with these neighborhood kids, ages 8-14, over the summer. A picture book of Ray’s story was published in September of 2019! More information about Ray Gray’s storytelling career and samples of his storytelling in video, audio and other books can be found at www.raygray.com.
