THE PUDDLEMAN

It hasn’t rained for ages, but that’s not enough to prevent a young lad from revisiting favorite puddles from earlier walks. Pulling his game, if befuddled, grandpa at the end of a long leash, the child is initially sad to find the puddles reduced to spots in the road. But then along comes the Puddleman, a grizzled gent invisible to grownups and bent beneath a stack of puddles—each of which is just the right shape for a particular place. Characteristically illustrated with soft-toned colored-pencil country scenes in big, easy-to-follow sequential panels, this outing celebrates a child’s gift for flights of imagination (though, to be sure, even Grandpa can see the refurbished puddles once they’re in place), while presenting an amusing picture of interplay between a hyper-energetic youngster and an elder caregiver doing his best to keep up. (Picture book. 5-8)