Customer Reviews

The Problem with the Puddles

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(10)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

I couldn't stand this book. In fact, I could not finish it.
My 8 1/2 year old daughter, however, loved it. She read the whole thing in less than 24 hours.
Thus ... this mixed review.

I found the text to be repetitive and the dialogue downright aggravating. Humor is apparently to be found in saying things over and over again. A typical structure for a chapter goes like this: Every member of the Puddle family makes an exclamation. Then they all make the same exclamation again. Then the dialogue is repeated a third time, with blanks in appropriate places for the reader to fill in. To me, this seems like an author with nothing to say.

In fact, when I realized that the author has published 4 pictures books, I understood what the problem was. The storyline for The Problem with the Puddles would be perfect for a picture book. However, when swollen into a 200 page novel, there just isn't enough content to spread out. Thus, the repetition.

Now, the other side of the story:

My daughter giggled her way through the entire book and (I'm told) read it during class at school. She loved how the chapters detailed alternating points of view -- first the Puddles, and then their dogs. She liked how random characters "fit in" at the end, turning out to be long-lost brothers, and so on. She enjoyed how various characters presented their dilemmas in a math problem format. And apparently, she liked "how things repeated."

So ... A big thumbs up from a third grader. A big thumbs down from her mother. If you're looking for a gift for a juvenile reader, this might be it. If you're looking for some worthy literature to read with your class, I don't think this is it.

Stuck in the country because the weather won't cooperate...

Baby's mother is ready to return to the city. And her father would rather stay in the country for a few more days. Growing up, Baby's parents have always agreed to disagree. In fact, her mother wrote a book called Agreeing to Disagree that became an instant success. Their disagreeing goes back to when she was born. Her parents couldn't agree what to call her. One wanted to call her Emily, the other wanted Ferdinanda. A nurse simply wrote "Baby" on her form, and that was that.

So, once the rain finally passes, the Puddles load up the car and head back to the city. A few hours into the eight-hour drive, the family realizes they've left the dogs back in the country! In a flurry of indecision, Mr. Puddles turns the car left, then right, trying to decide if they should go back for the dogs then or return at a later time. In the confusion, the car loses control and winds up off the road.

In the meantime, the dogs are left back in the country and have their own discussion on what they should do. One is a Chihuahua, the other a Great Dane. And as with the rest of the craziness of the Puddle family, both dogs are named Sally. The dogs agree to head to the city to find the Puddles.

While the Puddles are trying to return to the country, and the dogs are trying to get to the city, stories are told and secrets are revealed. One stranger stops to help the Puddles and another stranger stops to help the dogs. In a surprising twist, the author brings to two unlikely groups to a surprising end.

For anyone that likes the quirkiness of Lemony Snicket's sense of humor, THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUDDLES is along the same vein. Fun, amusing, and downright humorous, the Puddles make any family seem normal!

Readers younger than sixth grade will also be able to enjoy the story. There are entertaining illustrations throughout the story, and the chapters are kept to two or three pages for quick reading.

Reviewed by: Jaglvr

THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUDDLES is not a book for adults. Not even adults that read a lot of children's literature and appreciate children's literature. In order for an adult to truly appreciate Kate Feiffer's book, they would have to let go of being an adult, and read it through the eyes of the child inside of them. Some adults can do that easier than others. Some simply can't do that at all. It would be a shame for an adult reader to judge this book on something it's not!

The Puddle family has plenty of problems! Mr. and Mrs. Puddle, were never able to agree on a name for their youngest daughter Baby and have long since "agreed to disagree". What Mrs. Puddle wants, Mr. Puddle doesn't. What Mr. Puddle wants, Mrs. Puddle doesn't. So naturally, when Mrs. Puddle wants the rainy weather to clear up so the family can return to their home in the city, Mr. Puddle becomes overjoyed when the bad weather forces them to remain in their country home a little longer than planned. When the rain clouds depart and the Puddles leave their city home in a hurried rush, left behind are the two family pets: Big Sally and Little Sally. Missing their owners and worried they may never return, the two dogs set off in the direction of the city, hoping to reunite with their chaotic owners.

This quite frankly, may be the strangest children's book I've ever read. From the zany characters and the ridiculous things they say and do, to the author's incessant play on words, to the alternating chapters that switch from the Puddles' point of view to their dogs' point of view, this book is anything but normal. Rarely does the plot go where the reader expects it to as the Puddles' trip and the dogs' dilemma gets further and further off track. New characters are introduced along the way and they're just as wild and crazy as the arguing, repetitious Puddles. It doesn't surprise me that many adults find this book annoying. Remember though, Kate Feiffer didn't write this book for adults!

I'll admit, at times, the Puddles wore on my nerves. Especially Mr. and Mrs. Puddle and Frankolin, the man who offers the family help when their car stalls. I felt sorry for Tom and Baby Puddle for having to endure the constant arguing and rambling of the adults and couldn't blame Baby for making a run for it at one point in the story. I was tempted to make a run for it as well! But to fixate on the annoying adults in this book would be a mistake. Actually, I'm afraid that focusing too much on the adults in this book, would cause a reader to overlook (or miss altogether) the story's real charm: Big Sally and Little Sally.

I found myself hurrying through the chapters from the Puddles' point of view just so I could get back to the dogs' story. I loved the friendship between the dogs and the conversations they had with each other to pass the time ("Which came first, the country or the city?"). I think children would be able to relate very easily to Little Sally's frustration with being small and even to Big Sally's frustration with being too big ("Small dogs have small problems."). One particular scene involving Little Sally facing her fears and swimming across a river, stands out as one of the novel's more poignant moments. There's something about these two that is charming and sweet and their scenes balance the absurdity of the Puddles' scenes rather nicely.

THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUDDLES is not a book for everyone (adults). It is however, most certainly a book for someone (kids)! Kate Feiffer's voice is fun and unique and should be enjoyed among middle aged readers. If you can imagine Roald Dahl writing his version of HOMEWARD BOUND: THE INCREDIBLE JOURNEY, you have a pretty good idea of this story's style. The plot does take it's fair share of detours, and some will be more difficult to stay with than others (particularly the introduction of a "Secret Catcher"). But in the end, THE PROBLEM WITH THE PUDDLES is a book that will not easily be forgotten by those that read it. If anything, for being totally different than anything else you've ever read!

The Puddles are a family of oddballs who can't seem to get anything quite right--perhaps because for the past several years, the only thing Mr. and Mrs. Puddle have agreed upon is to disagree. When they leave their country house for their city house and accidentally leave their two dogs (both named Sally) behind, their crazy adventure begins.
Applause to Kate Feiffer for writing this story as she did; she completely ignored a lot of the "rules of writing," which, in my opinion, have practically become cliche because so few people know how to write a book without them. For this reason, The Problem with the Puddles is enjoyable and never predictable, the voice is strong and unique (and without being in first person!), and the humor is wonderful. The plot is rather thin--okay for a middle grade book, but it was annoying in such a clever story that certain plot twists or elements were left vague or unexplained. Nonetheless, even adults will enjoy this story for its lovable, zany characters and cute illustrations (which add to the text remarkably well).

My kids liked this book even though I didn't really understand it at all. It wasn't one of my favorites but otherwise it was fun for them and wasn't completely over the top.

My two ten-year-olds thought this was pretty funny, although a fast read. One commented that he thought it was a little "confusing, but good" and the other said it was a little too "young" for him but he still liked it. They each finished it in about a sitting. I think they would give it about 4 stars. A fun way to pass a few hours, but not destined to be a favorite.

Like some other reviewers, I tried reading it, and had a hard time getting through it. It was totally unfunny, uninspired, and frankly, very boring. The characters were shallow, the dialogue insipid, and the plot uncompelling. The situations felt artificial, and the characters' behavior seemed contrived only to inspire a laugh and not out of any real human motivation. Think of a bad sit-com, and you've got the idea of how this book struck me.

Still, I'd give it about two stars for at least trying to be original in some of the writing (like putting in mad-lib type blanks for the reader to fill in).

Average of my two stars and the kids' four stars makes this about a three-star book for our family.

In order to write a fair book review I decided to have my sister, a 30+ year elementary school teacher (with a Masters in Special Education) read the book. She reported back to me: "Working with children, I look for books that have text that pull the reader in, not ramble on. In this book, the Puddles are crammed into an overloaded vehicle to return to their city home and leave behind the dogs which are both named Sally. The dogs have more sense that the adults in that they value `family' and want to return to their owners even if it means walking there. The children have more values than their parents in that they truly want their dogs back even if it means sneaking out a bathroom window and hitchhiking. The disagreeable parents just want to return to their `ideal' residence and will use any argument to continue toward their preferred home. In my opinion this book was too long and at time monotonous, children like a lively dialog that gets to the point. I would not buy this book for my classroom. My advice is that a prospective buyer should seek elsewhere for better text selections." Based upon an expert's assessment and my desire to give the author the benefit of the doubt I give the book 3 stars.

Meet the Puddles: parents who can't agree on anything, an 8 1/2 year old girl called Emily by her father, Ferdinanda by her mother, and Baby by everyone else, an older brother named Tom, two dogs both named Sally. When they leave their country house to go back to their city house, the Sallys are left behind. This book alternates between the Sallies trying to get back to their family and the family trying to get back to the Sallies.

This is a fun book for 7 to 10 year olds. Kids will love the humor of this crazy family and the quirky characters they meet on their adventures. The interaction between the dogs is great, as well as the math and fill in the blanks. I especially liked how all the subplots came together and how all the characters were related. Enjoyable book.

The Puddles are a fun and wacky family which includes Mr. and Mrs. Puddle, Tom, Baby and their 2 dogs, both named Sally. Mr. and Mrs. Puddle cannot agree on anything; therefore, they are constantly arguing. They couldn't agree on what to name their baby girl, so Mrs. Puddle calls her Emily and Mr. Puddle calls her Ferdinanda, and everyone else just calls her Baby.

The story begins as the Puddles are leaving their country home to go back to their city home, which Mrs. Puddle, Tom and Baby are all looking forward too. Unfortunately, Mr. Puddle wishes to remain in the country. They finally get everything loaded up in the car and leave - except they forgot the dogs. It wasn't until they were 2 hours into their trip that they realized they had forgot both Sallys. This, of course, led to a disagreement between Mr. and Mrs. Puddle over whether to turn around and go get the dogs or continue to drive to the city. Meanwhile the dogs decide to try and find the Puddles on their own.

The rest of the book is filled with the adventures the Puddles find themselves in as well as Sally and Sally. The Puddles meet some interesting people who help them with their car problems and finding their dogs, along with a surprise ending.

This is a fun and cute book which I recommend for all ages.

Like several other reviewers, I'm an adult and could not bring myself to finish this book. Mind you, I'm not usually too old for kids' books. I often read them to myself for fun and I still love reading aloud to my kids, even though they're now devouring novels on their own. But not the Puddles.

My 9-year-old daughter read it first, and enjoyed it. So I tried it as a bedtime read-aloud. Really, I tried. Several nights I dutifully performed chapters, until I literally threw the book down on the bed and said I couldn't go on. Much of what was supposed to be silly and wacky just struck me as irritating. Characters "comically" repeat themselves and others. The parents "comically" disagree about absolutely everything. To me, it was just endless repetition and squabbling.

Yet as I said, my daughter really liked the book when she read it to herself. Maybe it's just the age difference, but I suspect that reading aloud emphasizes the book's trouble spots. For instance, it's maddening to try to read aloud a long passage where four or five different people keep saying almost the same thing. So parents, approach with caution.