Toot and Puddle: Get With the Beat!

While Puddle is busy enjoying the "music" of Woodcock Pocket, Toot is off to the Congo on an African adventure. "Be sure to listen to the music of the jungle!" Puddle reminds Toot as he takes off, but Toot isn’t so sure he’s good at listening to the music. That’s until he meets a tribe of Bambuti Pygmy Pigs who are good at two things: gathering honey to trade and playing music! They encourage Toot to "get with the beat" and soon he’s singing, dancing, and drumming up a storm all over the jungle.

Meanwhile, inspired by a postcard Toot has sent of his new friends, Puddle decides he should find an instrument too. He searches all around the house for something he can play. An over-turned water barrel just might do the trick! Boy, will he have a surprise when Toot gets back! This musical journey both home and abroad ends with laughter and joy and reminds us that music can be found just about anywhere you’re willing to look.

Children's Literature

Based on the "Toot & Puddle" television show, this book tells how Toot leaves his good friend, Puddle, in Woodcock Pocket while he goes to the Congo where he meets pigs that gather honey and make music. Toot sends his good friend a picture postcard showing him making music which inspires Puddle to convert an over-turned water barrel into a drum. When Toot comes home, the two friends play their drums together. Fans of the television show will enjoy seeing Toot and Puddle in a book format, but the mix of fantasy and reality is confusing. An ape splashes naturally in the river in the Ituri forest while the red river pig wears a golden earring and climbs into trees carrying a woven basket in which to gather honey that he will trade in a market place. The ideas of hearing music everywhere, of taking only what you need from nature, and of enjoying the benefits of travel and learning are worthy, but the story is too slight to carry its messages. Reviewer: Phyllis J. Perry