Mr. Putter & Tabby Write the Book

Mr. Putter and Tabby Write the Book. (Mr. Putter and Tabby #13) Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Arthur Howard. 2004. 44 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: In the winter a big snow always came to Mr. Putter's house.

Premise/plot: In this early chapter book, Mr. Putter has an idea. At first it seems straightforward and simple. He wants to write a book: a mystery novel.

First he had to think of a title. He thought and thought and thought. Finally he told Tabby, "I shall call my book The Mystery of Lighthouse Cove." It was a very good title. It was full of mystery. As a boy he had read lots of books with titles like that.

He's so excited that he thought of a title that he celebrates by fixing a snack...and then taking a nap. Will Mr. Putter write a book?

My thoughts: I enjoyed this one very much. Sometimes the book you think you want to write isn't the book you need to write. I thought this one was funny and charming.

The third day that he was a mystery writer, Mr. Putter woke up ready to write again. He liked being a writer ready to write. First he and Tabby had cinnamon toast and tea. Then Mr. Putter petted Tabby and began to think. He looked out of his window, thinking. He looked at his fire, thinking. He looked at Tabby, thinking. 

I think everyone should write a book like Mr. Putter does. (It is NOT a mystery novel, but a list of good things that he's blessed with and thankful for.)

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup

Mr. Putter and Tabby Stir the Soup. (Mr. Putter and Tabby #12) Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Arthur Howard. 2003. 44 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence:  Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, lived in an old house with an old porch and an old swing and lots of old things inside. Mr. Putter and Tabby didn't mind old things. They were old, too, so they felt right at home.

Premise/plot: Mr. Putter loves soup, but he never seems to have all the ingredients he wants to make soup all at the same time. And the one day it seems that he does, well, his old stove, Bessie, gives out. What's he to do? Who will come to his rescue?

My thoughts:  I enjoyed this one! I too love a good bowl of soup. And this early chapter book is funny. Mr. Putter ends up going to Mrs. Teaberry's house to cook his soup. Zeke, well, he has two sides to him: a good side and a terribly naughty side. Guess which Zeke Mr. Putter encounters?!

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold

Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold. (Mr. Putter and Tabby #11) Cynthia Rylant. Arthur Howard, illustrator. 2002. 44 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, loved the snow.

Premise/plot: Mr. Putter catches a cold in this early chapter book. Who will take care of him? Perhaps Mrs. Teaberry?! But she surely doesn't want to get sick herself. Good thing she's clever.

My thoughts: I like this one okay. Mr. Putter catches a cold because he goes outside without his hat. It's implied that he gets sick because of the cold, damp weather. This irritated me. You get sick because of germs--not weather. If you have low to no immune system, you might catch cold more easily. But going out without a hat would never be the root cause of a cold. Putting that aside, it is cute that Zeke takes care of Mr. Putter!

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish

Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish (Mr. Putter and Tabby #10) Cynthia Rylant. Illustrated by Arthur Howard. 2001. 44 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, loved going to the fish store. Mr. Putter loved it because he had owned goldfish as a boy. He had always liked goldfish. Tabby loved it because it made her whiskers tingle and her tail twitch. Tabby was old, but she still loved excitement. And fish were exciting!

Premise/plot: What will happen when Mr. Putter decide to buy three goldfish for his home?! Will Tabby be able to take all the excitement?! Maybe. Maybe not.

Mr. Putter watched. And Tabby batted. Bat. Bat. Bat. "Don't bat the fish, Tabby," said Mr. Putter. But Tabby couldn't help it. She got all twitchy. Bat went her paw on the glass. "No batting," said Mr. Putter. Bat. Bat. Bat. Bat. Finally Mr. Putter said, "Come on, Tabby, let's go to bed. We'll watch the fish tomorrow." Tabby wanted to go to bed. She needed to go to bed. She was tired from all that batting. But she couldn't move.

My thoughts: I really LOVED this one. Tabby steals the show in this early chapter book. I loved the writing. Even though this is the tenth book in the series, readers continue to learn new things about these two.

In one of my favorite scenes, Mr. Putter puts a bucket over the goldfish bowl so that Tabby can be "freed" of her addiction, her fascination. In the next scene, we see them watching birds out the window:

They watched birds instead of fish while they ate. Tabby didn't have a bird problem. Mr. Putter was glad. He wasn't sure he could get all those birds under one bucket.

And Howard's illustrations of Tabby are so expressive, so amusing! I would definitely recommend this series!
 

© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers

Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch

Mr. Putter and Tabby Paint the Porch. (Mr. Putter and Tabby #9) Cynthia Rylant. 2000. 44 pages. [Source: Library]

First sentence: It was springtime and Mr. Putter and his fine cat, Tabby, were feeling very chipper. The birds sang, the sun shone, the flowers bloomed.

Premise/plot: The book begins with Mr. Putter promising to read his cat, Tabby, a funny story. But he gets distracted when he notices the front porch needs painting. He decides to paint the porch and then read a funny story to Tabby. But does all go according to his plan? Not with Tabby and Zeke around! Or should I make that squirrels and chipmunks!

My thoughts: This is a funny early chapter book. I love, love, love Mr. Putter AND Tabby. This pair is well-suited--for each other and for me as a reader. This one is ACTION packed.


© 2018 Becky Laney of Young Readers