Book Review: The Problem with the Puddles by Kate Feiffer

My seven-year-old daughter and I read this book together. As an adult reading it, I found it all over the place – there are about six plot lines and myriad characters and things constantly shift back and forth in ways that are off the wall and wacky. I found it disjointed. But that’s as an adult.

My seven-year-old daughter absolutely loved it. She loved the zaniness and the multiple characters and perspectives and different story lines. The jumping around didn’t bother her, because that is how SHE tells stories. In that regard, Feiffer has perfectly crafted a children’s tale…

The story is told in alternating perspectives, both human and dog. There are bizarre occurrences, lost pets, antagonistic but loving parents, overly self-aware kids, and quirky side characters. It’s an amalgamation of factors that should feel like total sensory overload, but it works. I think that’s due, in no small measure, to the writing. It really does move in the directions that kids – or at least kids with a vivid and all-encompassing imagination, like mine – can relate to: which is to say, many at once and in multiple dimensions. It’s a wild ride, but one that my girl thoroughly enjoyed!