The Puddleman

The incredibly touching story of the relationship between a young boy and his grandfather.

Tom refers to his grandfather as “Collar” because he drags him around on a lead. One day Tom decides that he will take Collar on a walk to see the puddles he named after the members of the family, but the puddles are not there. Collar insists that this is because it hasn’t rained, but Tom believes that it’s just because they haven’t been put in yet. He wanders off, leaving Collar talking to Mrs. Whitebobblehat, and comes across just the person he needs. Finally, with puddles restored to their full, family-resembling glory, Tom and Collar go home for tea.

Raymond Briggs was born in Wimbledon Park, South London in 1934. Developing an early interest in illustration, he attended the Wimbledon School of Art at the age of fifteen. After completing a typography course at the Central School of Art, he went on to study at the Slade School of Fine Art. A passionate proponent of the art of the strip cartoon, Briggs has created many of his best-known books in this format. His is a formidable canon of work, beginning in the late 1950s. Several of his books have been made into highly acclaimed animated films. In addition to the Kate Greenaway Medal (for the Mother Goose Treasury and Father Christmas), Briggs has also received the Kurt Maschler Award and the Children's Author of the Year Award (for The Man), the British Book Award's Best Illustrated Book of the Year (for Ethel and Ernest) and the Smarties Silver Prize (for Ug).