"Rain's gone! Time to play!" commands the queen. Well, she's not really a queen—just an ordinary girl who has an extraordinary day. She meets Mudkin, a friendly creature who whips up a robe and crown for her. Away they go to meet Her Majesty's subjects. Even if the kingdom lasts only until the next rain shower, the crown Mudkin gives her is forever.

In his unmistakable style, Caldecott-winning artist Stephen Gammell creates an ode to the most potent of childhood mixtures: mud and imagination.