The Pudding Problem

This madcap first book in the Lyttle Lies series opens with nine-year-old Sam Lyttle facing a big problem: legendary school bully Feeny. Sam has accidently crossed Feeny three times, and the narrative backtracks to tell the story of each run-in. In the first episode, Sam’s surprisingly effective hypnosis skills make his classmates believe that everything they eat tastes like a cheeseburger, eventually leading Feeny to throw up—that’s strike one. In subsequent episodes, Sam steals Feeny’s “foot-long super-salami meat feast” snack at school and rescues a cat being terrorized by Feeny and his dog. More havoc ensues after Sam persuades his family to take in the out-of-control cat, named Pudding, and Sam’s reputation for being less than truthful (“I pick up my trusty Shovel of Lying and get digging”) only compounds the chaos. In the vein of other heavily illustrated middle grade offerings, Berger (the Hubble Bubble series) devotes much space to comics-style sequences that amplify the story’s many detours into gross-out gags and physical comedy. Ages 8–12. (May)