Puddles

by Jonathan London, G. Brian Karas (Illustrator)

Two young puddle jumpers enjoy the aftermath of a big rainstorm when they put on their boots and discover sparkling trees, tiny rivers, squishy mud, and best of all, lots and lots of puddles.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Friendship, Storytime, Science, Adventure

32 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 1997

About the author

Jonathan London is the author of several celebrated children's books. His commitment to honoring the wonders of the natural world has been lauded by readers and critics alike. He is the author of more than 70 children's books, many of which are about nature. He's also the author of the popular Froggy series. He lives in Graton, California with his wife and two sons.

Reviews

[Melki · Rating 4 out of 5]

Oh, to be a child again, and see the world in a grain of sand big ole puddle.

It's fun for all when a rainstorm leaves "play areas" everywhere.

As always, G. Brian Karas's illustrations are a delight.

[Spencer · Rating 1 out of 5]

2021
Gift from Harper's grandmother

[Beverly McCall · Rating 5 out of 5]

Puddles by Jonathan London and illustrated by G. Brian Karas is a delightful picture book about a brother and sister enjoying the delights of playing in puddles after a heavy rainstorm. It is filled with captivating illustrations that young readers can relate to. The text is appropriate for this age group. Mr. London uses rich descriptive language that help children conjure up vivid images. I liked his inclusion of onomatopoeia words to capture the sounds of the storm and the effects of the children’s playing in the mud and puddles.

This book makes a great teacher’s tool for language arts lessons. It helps students familiarize themselves to the story elements—beginning, middle, and end. The illustrations and descriptive language foster students’ visualization skills.

[Sean Harding · Rating 4 out of 5]

London Odyssey continues and this one is the day after a heavy rain and describes really well the images of not just the puddles but the other aspects of life and affects and uses onomatopoeia to describe walking and playing in it.
It ends well as well and brings back memories of childhood and doing exactly this to an adult reader.

[Sheri · Rating 4 out of 5]

What do children like about noisy rain storms . . . what the storm leaves behind. With coats and boots, they go outside and discover puddles, rivers, mud, worms, and so much more. Worth the read for the creativity the kids show when exploring after the storms.

[Miss Sarah · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book features a brother and sister enjoying and exploring the outdoors after a major rainstorm. Length is preschool and up.

[Hannah · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story and rhymes were okay. Not the best book, but still good to read.

[Tara · Rating 3 out of 5]

Story 3
Illustrations 3.5

[Elaine · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is charming!

[Carlee · Rating 5 out of 5]

We used this book with the comprehension strategy of visualization.
First we got the book read aloud to us by our professor. Then we wrote an entry in our writers notebook about whatever they story reminded us of (with younger kids, do this with them so they can see how someone writes, with older kids can do entry before class) We then got a copy of the text and did a choral read as a whole class. Then we highlighted all the words that "made sounds" (drip, slosh, chirp..)Then we wrote all those words on a piece of chart paper for the class to see. We then went on a "listening walk" outside and wrote down all the sounds we heard outside. We came back in and added those to our list from the story. We then read the story without all the sound words and discussed why an author uses words like these in their writing. After we had this discussion, we looked back at our writing at where we could add sound words (do this with young kids). Finally, we all read one sentence from our entry that we modified with sound words aloud.

[Shelbi Bishop · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is about a children who like to play in puddles. After a long day of playing, they go inside and have hot chocolate and go play again.

This book is great to use when trying to emphasize the importance of sound words in a book. It contains many onomatopoeias like "splash" "Squish" and others. If you take out all of the words that represent sounds or that the students associate with sounds, the book looses meaning.

[Jessica Benson · Rating 4 out of 5]

This little boy loves playing in puddles outside after a nice rainstorm. The story is full of onomatopoeis's with all the sounds that the water makes when the boy jumps into the puddles. I would use this book to teach about the sound words and show how if those sound words were taken out of the story, the story wouldn't be as good. You could also use this book in a visualization lesson having students write about what the story makes them think of.

[Alisha Williams · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was a good book. But nothing wowed me about it. It would be good to start a discussion with children and getting them to relate to books. I did like the part about coming in and getting all cleaned up and warm. That makes me feel all warm and fuzzy. Overall it was okay. I would use it in my classroom.

[Lindsey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This little boy loves playing in puddles outside after a nice rainstorm. The story is full of onomatopoeias with all the sounds that the water makes when the boy jumps into the puddles. I would use this book to teach about the sound words and show how if those sound words were taken out of the story, the story wouldn't be very good.

[Ashley]

I loved this book by Jonathan London! I think it was a really fun and unique spin on the weather. I would use this book on a rainy day, or maybe even if I was teaching about the weather systems. I could use a few other books of London's if I was teaching about the weather because he has a few about different weather systems, and this could be fun for the class.

[Samantha Street · Rating 4 out of 5]

I overal all enjoyed this story. The two main characters are told by their mother to go outside and play but to not get dirty, well of course when you tell children this they are going to do the opposite. It was strange to me that the characters were not given names or any real identities. This story would be great to introduce for a science section or science theme involving the weather.

[Taylor Johnson · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great story that just about every child can relate to. The descriptive language in the book make it a great book for teaching visualization. It is fun to read and children will enjoy listening to this story.

[Robin Giacomelli · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is a fun story of two kids who love life. It is carefree and the perfect book to introduce Spring or more importantly a unit on frogs. The illustrations are colorful and you cannot help but be drawn to them. It is a great book for a kid of all ages.

[Kirsten · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a lively book about puddle-jumping, perfect for kids who like to get their feet wet.

[Elizabeth · Rating 4 out of 5]

Jonathan London/G. Brian Karas books are like reading poetry. This one is especially good right now in the midst of the 40 days and 40 nights of rain in Virginia...

[Trista · Rating 3 out of 5]

A cute picture book to help children with visualizing as well as descriptive language.

[Graham · Rating 3 out of 5]

it's fun to jump in puddles!

[Laura · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book for spring! Nice rhyme scheme...not too sing-song-y. Simple illustrations. A repeat request from both my 5 and 2 year old.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very cute book about jumping in puddles after a big rain. My 2 1/2 year old daughter could really relate to this book and reminded me how she loves to jump in puddles, too.

[Heather · Rating 4 out of 5]

The kids & I really enjoyed this book as it was all about them and the joy of puddles.

[Emmeline Guest · Rating 4 out of 5]

The perfect rainy day story. Definitely a family favorite (along with our big red umbrella, and dinosaur raincoat) in April.

[Grannyreadsalot · Rating 4 out of 5]

Adorably written! Wonderful rhythm, imagery - brings back the feelings you had as a kid during and after rain storms.

[Amy · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really cute book. I wonder if it is the same Jonathan London who wrote the Froggy books.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

It rained all night and now there are some glorious puddles to go play in! Fun read!

[M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have to admit...I kind of do the same things that these kids did after a rainstorm. I just love jumping in puddles! I guess I still haven't really grown up.