The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff

The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff is an Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy, and a classic of Australian children's literature. The story is set in Australia with humans mixing with animals. It tells of a magic pudding which, no matter how often it is eaten, always reforms in order to be eaten again. It is owned by three companions who must defend it against Pudding Thieves who want it for themselves.

The book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. Due to the book being quite old it is not similar to current children’s books format. The illustrations are all in black and white, pencil form. It is also quite long, and I can see many children viewing it in this day and age finding it boring and not engaging. In saying this is good to read a book like this due to its cultural and historical value, it gives the viewer an understanding of a time in which they did not live, a time in the past. It could be used as a teaching tool in this way, by examining the language used, the pictures or the things that are mentioned and explaining them to students so they can gain an understanding.

The language used within this book is very typical ‘Australia outback’ lingo. Such terms as bunyuip, chip off the old block and cobber are used. For people who have not heard such terms, whether it be their culture or social upbringing, it would make it hard to understand what the characters are talking about and may make it untreatable

There are many short songs interspersed throughout the text, varying from stories told in rhyme to descriptions of a character's mood or behavior, and verses of an ongoing sea song. This makes the book fun, but still it may not have the same effect it does on viewers in current society. Finally, the book is based around quite crude humor, with characters often fighting or insulting each other. Again, this is quite Australian but not very relatable to today’s society.

Overall The Magic Pudding is a timeless classic and will provide and insight into what Australians children’s books first included and what times were like many years ago.