The Magic Pudding
Frontispiece for first edition | |
| Author | Norman Lindsay |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Children's novel, picaresque novel |
| Publisher | Angus & Robertson |
Publication date | October 1918 |
| Publication place | Australia |
| Media type | |
| Pages | 171 |
The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures of Bunyip Bluegum and his friends Bill Barnacle and Sam Sawnoff is a 1918 Australian children's book written and illustrated by Norman Lindsay. It is a comic fantasy and a classic of Australian children's literature that has remained popular and continued to be adapted for film and theatre.
The story is set in Australia with humans mixing with anthropomorphic animals. It tells the story of a magic talking pudding named Albert, which, no matter how often it is eaten, continually reforms to be eaten again. He is owned by three companions who must defend him against Pudding Thieves who want it for themselves.
The book is divided into four "slices" instead of chapters. There are many short songs interspersed throughout the text, varying from stories told in rhyme to descriptions of a character's mood or behaviour, and verses of an ongoing sea song.