The Puddleman by Raymond Briggs (2004) is a clever story that I wish someone else had illustrated. The main character is a very young boy who is spending time with his grandparents. This little guy uses a leash attached to his grandfather‘s wrist to pull him outside to see puddles, which I presume they saw during a previous walk. “There won’t be any puddles! It hasn’t rained for ages,” complains the grandfather. He’s annoyed at having to put down his paper and cup of coffee. When the child discovers the puddles on a dirt road are no longer there, we learn that he’s named each one after family members. Then, they meet a neighbor who is walking her dog. The grandfather chats with the neighbor and the boy wanders off down the road. He encounters the puddle man carrying several puddles on his back. “ I’m putting the puddles in,” he says. Needless to say, at the end of the story, the grandfather is puzzled at the reappearance of the puddles. This story is illustrated with multiple illustrations per page and the text is in the form of speech bubbles. The medium looks to be crayon or colored pencil. They just didn’t appeal to me and I don't know why. And I found the little boy quite obnoxious.
