The Problem with the Puddles - Hardcover

"The Problem with the Puddles is a blast from first page to last. My only complaint is that I didn't write it!" -- Sara Pennypacker, author of Clementine

"The kid-friendly humor ... the full cast of eccentric characters and
Tusa's lively b&w spot art should readily win fans for the Puddle family." -- Publishers Weekly, starred review

"As far as I'm concerned, the only problem with the Puddles is that there aren't enough books about them. Now that I've actually met this eccentric family and their adventurous dogs, now that I've lived in their damp and wonderful world, now that I can actually see them, thanks to Tricia Tusa's marvelous drawings, I can't get enough of them. So hop to it, Kate Feiffer.... The world needs more Puddles!" -- Nick Bruel, author of Bad Kitty

"'ROMP: to play or frolic in a lively, boisterous manner.' That's what we have right here. Take one endearing, exasperating family, two cozily canny canines, a plot that insists on going where you least expect it to, and just enough outrageous wordplay and you have as much fun as you can handle." -- Norton Juster, author of The Phantom Tollbooth

This capricious novel marks Feiffer's (President Pennybaker) move into middle-grade fiction, in a story about a family that, for some reason, attracts clouds ("It was as if the cloud suddenly forgot it was heading to a hurricane in Florida or an important blizzard in Canada"). Additionally, the Puddle parents disagree on everything: one of their children is called Baby because they couldn't choose a name. And since the couple squabbled over a breed, the Puddles have two dogs-both named Sally. Alternating between the perspectives of the two- and four-legged family members, the story reveals what happens when the Puddles inadvertently leave "the Sallys" behind at the end of a long vacation in the country. The kid-friendly humor ("Just like meat loaf is like a loaf of meat, a conundrum is like a drum of conun," one of the Sallys "explains," as the dogs consider what to do), the full cast of eccentric characters and Tusa's (Fred Stays with Me!) lively b&w spot art should readily win fans for the Puddle family. ----Publishers Weekly

Unable to decide on anything, the Puddle family chooses two dogs as pets and names them both Sally, but when the Puddles return from their vacation and realize they've accidentally left the two pups behind in the country, the family is certain about what needs to be done to get their beloved Sallys back!