What do you think?
Rate this book
Pudding Is Nice
A silly, delightful story from the author of Pat the Bunny. What is junket? Well, junket is a delicious custard that makes a lovely dessert. Why is the old man with a red beard and red slippers eating such an enormous bowl of junket, and what could he possibly be thinking about while he feasts? That’s a good question! And one that the old man poses to the crowds and crowds of people that gather to watch him eat his enormous bowl of junket. In fact, almost everyone in the whole world wants to know the answer to this riddle. And only one little boy has the answer.
64 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1933
1 person is currently reading
77 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews
July 6, 2017
This 1933 classic is an utter delight from its use of nonsense, hand printed run on sentences, the sweet honesty of a child, and my personal favorite, the daddy longlegs sunning his feet. "Junket is Nice" is not the best of Kunhardt's books, but it is the first and shows an incredible amount of imagination, which the public who was reeling from the Great Depression sorely needed.
The story of how the book came to be is quite interesting. Obviously the book is almost startling in the fact that it is so different from the usual colorful children's books. Kunhardt actually hand wrote and illustrated the book herself hand tinting the illustrations with water colors. Her publisher liked the book, but told her that they would only print it with one color in order to save money. It was the Depression after all. Kunhardt actually dipped all of the pages in water and then dried and ironed them. Afterwards she added just red. Some people believe that the red was used as a nod towards Communism as the means to protect people, but that is rather unlikely given that the author originally hand tinted the book with multiple colors.
In today's world of plenty, the story seems odd, but in the world of the Great Depression the story fits nicely. The old man with the long beard conjures up an image of how children often picture God and Kunhardt seems to be saying that God will care and protect us all even in unimaginable hard times. It was enough to even warm up a heathen like me. LOL
The story of how the book came to be is quite interesting. Obviously the book is almost startling in the fact that it is so different from the usual colorful children's books. Kunhardt actually hand wrote and illustrated the book herself hand tinting the illustrations with water colors. Her publisher liked the book, but told her that they would only print it with one color in order to save money. It was the Depression after all. Kunhardt actually dipped all of the pages in water and then dried and ironed them. Afterwards she added just red. Some people believe that the red was used as a nod towards Communism as the means to protect people, but that is rather unlikely given that the author originally hand tinted the book with multiple colors.
In today's world of plenty, the story seems odd, but in the world of the Great Depression the story fits nicely. The old man with the long beard conjures up an image of how children often picture God and Kunhardt seems to be saying that God will care and protect us all even in unimaginable hard times. It was enough to even warm up a heathen like me. LOL
June 1, 2024
Really enjoyed it 😊
December 5, 2022
I’m very much of the belief that The Story of Horace by Alice M Coats is the greatest picture book of all time. But by god this comes close. A ridiculous book but one that joyously embraces that daftness, whilst also letting the hero be a small child who manages to best literally every other adult in the world in working out why this weird bearded man loves his junket. Very funny and full of that anarchic spirit that so many early 20th century picture books revel in
January 1, 2018
Basically Samuel Beckett for kids. If you thought there was an absurdist undercurrent in Kunhardt's work based on "Pat the Bunny," this is further evidence.
February 1, 2020
By the author of Pat the Bunny, I believe her first book. One of the most surreal and amazing children's book I've ever read. Absolute Dada!
March 27, 2024
Why is an old man eating such an enormous bowl of junket? That's the big mystery to be solved in this playfully whimsical book.
This old man has an extreme red beard -- like an extreme sport. He's wearing red slippers. And he's eating his extremely large portion of dessert from a red bowl. The same shade of red as his beard and shoes.
Being a senior myself, and knowing men old enough to be bald, it's a stretch to imagine that this profuse beard would have not shades of gray.
Harder to imagine, still, is the development of the story. Eventually:
Every single person in the world was right there watching the old man eat his junket.
As for the big suspenseful question about what the man is thinking?
I was disappointed in the answer, not that I'll give you a spoiler. However that answer would seem brilliant to a toddler.
FIVE STARS
This old man has an extreme red beard -- like an extreme sport. He's wearing red slippers. And he's eating his extremely large portion of dessert from a red bowl. The same shade of red as his beard and shoes.
Being a senior myself, and knowing men old enough to be bald, it's a stretch to imagine that this profuse beard would have not shades of gray.
Harder to imagine, still, is the development of the story. Eventually:
Every single person in the world was right there watching the old man eat his junket.
As for the big suspenseful question about what the man is thinking?
I was disappointed in the answer, not that I'll give you a spoiler. However that answer would seem brilliant to a toddler.
FIVE STARS
August 2, 2019
This is a classic from my childhood. I especially like how "all the people in the world" come to see the old man eating his junket. The ridiculous things people came up with for what the old man was thinking about added great humor. The language was a bit dated (it was written in 1932), but it is still a great kiddie lit book.
January 23, 2022
Well that was... weird. I know it's a book of nonsense (and my toddler seemed to enjoy it anyway) but it was definitely bizarre. And I had to Google what junket was, haha. Not one I'll probably be revisiting, but it was interesting.
December 28, 2024
I know this is popular, a classic even. But it wasn't my cup of tea, or if you prefer, not my big red bowl of junket either.
September 4, 2013
This great classic book was first published in 1933, and is being brought back into print by The New York Review Children's Collection. This is Dorothy Kunhardt's debut book . She is best known for the book ,"Pat the Bunny', a book she wrote from her daughter Edith.
An old man, with red slippers and flowing, flaming red beard is sitting in the middle of nowhere eating junket out of huge red bowl. He eats and eats and eats and people take note. They start coming to watch this man eat an unlimited amount of the dessert. The crowd comes by the droves, they come by the millions, until the whole world is watching him down this delicacy. He challenges the mob to guess what he possibly could be thinking as he is munching away. He gives them three clues as to what he is NOT thinking and then sets them free to explore their imaginations and try to guess what the answer might be to that riddle that he posed.
A little boy on a tricycle pedals innocently up to the man and only he alone knows the answer to that question. The crowd gives such answers as : "a daddy-long-legs holding up his foot for the sun to warm it." WRONG! "A bear climbing a ladder because his toenails are too long for walking on the ground." WRONG! or my most favourite...."A a hippopotamus with all the lights turned out laughing at how hard it is to see the other people on the sofa." WRONG!
The little boy gives the old man the correct answer and for his correct answer the old man rewards him with SOMETHING NICE. I will not reveal what it is but the little boy was in heaven receiving his prize. In the end the little boy allows the old man to mount the back of his tricycle and gives him a lift home so he can partake of his dinner.
Kids will love the nonsensical creativity and laugh-out-loud silliness that this books brings to them. I particularly like the text. It is printed using run on sentences and supposedly was written by Kunhardt's brother. This script makes the book unique and gives the child a sense of familiarity as he could have penned the story himself. This beautiful book emanates the kind of imagination that inspires children and ignites conversations and answers to their questions.
An old man, with red slippers and flowing, flaming red beard is sitting in the middle of nowhere eating junket out of huge red bowl. He eats and eats and eats and people take note. They start coming to watch this man eat an unlimited amount of the dessert. The crowd comes by the droves, they come by the millions, until the whole world is watching him down this delicacy. He challenges the mob to guess what he possibly could be thinking as he is munching away. He gives them three clues as to what he is NOT thinking and then sets them free to explore their imaginations and try to guess what the answer might be to that riddle that he posed.
A little boy on a tricycle pedals innocently up to the man and only he alone knows the answer to that question. The crowd gives such answers as : "a daddy-long-legs holding up his foot for the sun to warm it." WRONG! "A bear climbing a ladder because his toenails are too long for walking on the ground." WRONG! or my most favourite...."A a hippopotamus with all the lights turned out laughing at how hard it is to see the other people on the sofa." WRONG!
The little boy gives the old man the correct answer and for his correct answer the old man rewards him with SOMETHING NICE. I will not reveal what it is but the little boy was in heaven receiving his prize. In the end the little boy allows the old man to mount the back of his tricycle and gives him a lift home so he can partake of his dinner.
Kids will love the nonsensical creativity and laugh-out-loud silliness that this books brings to them. I particularly like the text. It is printed using run on sentences and supposedly was written by Kunhardt's brother. This script makes the book unique and gives the child a sense of familiarity as he could have penned the story himself. This beautiful book emanates the kind of imagination that inspires children and ignites conversations and answers to their questions.
September 26, 2013
I don't know about you guys, but I love reading old school children's books, as much as I love reading new releases. Today's review is for a classic by Dorothy Kunhardt, author of the ever popular children's picture book, Pat The Bunny. Junket Is Nice is not a picture book I was familiar with until I was asked if I wanted to read it/review it. Of course I said yes.
Junket Is Nice is about an old man with a red beard, who wears red shoes and is sitting at a table eating junket out of his big red bowl. When all the people in the world gather around the man who's eating junket, they start to guess what he's thinking about while he's eating it. Hint, it's not a walrus with an apple on his back. Out of all the people in the world to guess, only the little boy on the tricycle got it right.
If you love a classic book with an old school feel to it, pick up Junket is Nice. This is a book my kids thought was silly, and I enjoyed reading with them. Aside from the silliness of the story, it's an easy to read one, and contains site word that even kindergarten age kids can read.
Junket Is Nice is about an old man with a red beard, who wears red shoes and is sitting at a table eating junket out of his big red bowl. When all the people in the world gather around the man who's eating junket, they start to guess what he's thinking about while he's eating it. Hint, it's not a walrus with an apple on his back. Out of all the people in the world to guess, only the little boy on the tricycle got it right.
If you love a classic book with an old school feel to it, pick up Junket is Nice. This is a book my kids thought was silly, and I enjoyed reading with them. Aside from the silliness of the story, it's an easy to read one, and contains site word that even kindergarten age kids can read.
July 26, 2013
This is a cute book for children. It has a whimsical atmosphere and silliness that kids will like.
A man with a red beard is eating Junket. (I didn't know there was something edible called junket before reading this book.) He is eating from a big read bowl. He keeps eating and eating until the whole world comes to watch him eat.
He asks everyone in the whole world to guess what he is thinking of while he is eating his junket. They come up with some silly answers but is the little boy on the tricycle who finally answers correctly.
The punctuation is a little different. Many sentences are run on, I think that it is to add to the silliness of the book. This book was originally published in 1932. They have stayed true to the original publication when publishing this modern addition.
While reading this book, I could picture a librarian reading it to a group of kids. I could picture the kids laughing and coming up with their own silly guesses.
A man with a red beard is eating Junket. (I didn't know there was something edible called junket before reading this book.) He is eating from a big read bowl. He keeps eating and eating until the whole world comes to watch him eat.
He asks everyone in the whole world to guess what he is thinking of while he is eating his junket. They come up with some silly answers but is the little boy on the tricycle who finally answers correctly.
The punctuation is a little different. Many sentences are run on, I think that it is to add to the silliness of the book. This book was originally published in 1932. They have stayed true to the original publication when publishing this modern addition.
While reading this book, I could picture a librarian reading it to a group of kids. I could picture the kids laughing and coming up with their own silly guesses.
August 8, 2013
I won this book, one of the New York Review Children’s Collection books, published in 1932, and am so happy I did. I did not know it. It reminds me of Wanda Gag’s Millions of Cats with its constant repetition. The premise is a man is constantly eating junket, and many people come to watch. He challenges them to guess what he is thinking while he is eating, and gives them three hints, one of which is “not thinking of a walrus with an apple on his back”. After the hints, the crowds guess many things, like “a rabbit wondering if there could be a bunch of grapes tied to his tale.” I know, sounds so silly, but it is that, and there is a part of me that says this book will set kids imagining all kinds of wonderful things. The illustrations are simple, in black and white with highlights of red.
July 22, 2013
JUNKET IS NICE by Dorothy Kunhardt is an entertaining Children's Book,ages 3-7 years old. What an entertaining story! A great read for both children and adults. *"It is very funny,also teaches you a lesson not to guess because you are going to get the wrong answer. A 9 year old"* A great picture book that is a keeper in your library! A must read for both parents,and grandparents alike,as well as young children. I enjoyed "Junket Is Nice". Received for an honest review from the publicist.
RATING: 5
HEAT RATING: NONE(CHILDREN'S)
REVEIWED BY: AprilR, and a 9 year old, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More
RATING: 5
HEAT RATING: NONE(CHILDREN'S)
REVEIWED BY: AprilR, and a 9 year old, Review courtesy of My Book Addiction and More
September 14, 2013
A very silly book in which the people of the world try to guess what an old man is thinking of while eating something called junket. It's like Monty Python for tykes. The old man tells everyone what he *isn't* thinking about ("a walrus with an apple on his back," "a cow with her head in a bag"), and everyone one responds with guesses equally absurd, which--one can only hope--encourages little kids to make some absurd guesses themselves. Taking joy in a world that doesn't make sense is a skill that can't begin at too young an age.
December 16, 2013
This is an interesting book that is best for a very specific audience type. It is full of run-on sentences, very little punctuation, and a type of food called Junket. The colors are minimal, and the number of words on each page fluctuates greatly. I'm sure that in the right context, this book is quite funny, but the humor was, unfortunately, lost on me.
April 14, 2015
This is one odd book.
Displaying 1 - 18 of 18 reviews