Stop That Pudding!

My internet friend, Andi Houdek sent me a PDF of her new picture book, Stop That Pudding!

The book is about a boy who tries to defy his mother by eating chocolate pudding instead of a healthy snack, but the pudding comes to life and gets away, leading him on a merry chase through town.

In some ways the book reminds me of the classic tale of the Gingerbread Man, but it's quite original and different from the familiar story in many ways. Of course I won't give away the ending.

Kids will enjoy the amusing chase and I hope parents don't spoil the fun by using the book to lecture children about the importance of healthy eating and obedience. As with many classical tales, the moral is clear enough in the story without being preachy.

My only complaint is that sometimes the meter of the rhymes spoken by the pudding is slightly off unless read with certain emphasis, but those things are few and far between. Besides, who expects chocolate pudding to create classical poetry?

The illustrations by Kevin Collier are as energetic and funny as the text. Since the boy in the story is also named Kevin I wonder if he'll grow up to be an artist. I hope Houdek writes more books about him in the future because I have a feeling a mischievous kid like Kevin will have plenty of adventures.