My favorite couple is one I found when reading aloud to my children. We had all fallen in love with Cynthia Rylant's early reader series: Henry and Mudge, but when I came home with the book Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea, we quickly consumed every book we could get our hands on of this new love match! "Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea" is the first of the series and begins with Mr. Putter all alone. He has no one to share his English muffins with nor his tea. He has no one to share his stories with and finally decides he wants a cat. At the pet store he realizes kittens are not for him as they are "cute" and "peppy"and he has not been "cute and peppy for a very long time." At the shelter Mr. Putter meets Tabby, who has creaky bones, thinning fur, and seems a little deaf, just like himself. A perfect match! One of my favorite Rylant lines ever is in this book: "Tabby loved Mr. Putter's tulips. She was old, and beautiful things meant more to her." This resonates with me as I myself grow older. In the end Tabby cannot remember life without Mr. Putter and Mr. Putter cannot remember life without Tabby. They share their muffins together, drink their tea together, sing opera in the evenings, and Mr. Putter shares his stories. The rest of the books continue the life and love adventures of Mr. Putter and Tabby, baking cakes, picking pears, flying airplanes, and more. Mr. Putter and Tabby is one of my favorite love matches in children's literature and if you have not read any of them, you are in for a treat!
2/21/11
Mr. Putter and Tabby
My favorite couple is one I found when reading aloud to my children. We had all fallen in love with Cynthia Rylant's early reader series: Henry and Mudge, but when I came home with the book Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea, we quickly consumed every book we could get our hands on of this new love match! "Mr. Putter and Tabby Pour the Tea" is the first of the series and begins with Mr. Putter all alone. He has no one to share his English muffins with nor his tea. He has no one to share his stories with and finally decides he wants a cat. At the pet store he realizes kittens are not for him as they are "cute" and "peppy"and he has not been "cute and peppy for a very long time." At the shelter Mr. Putter meets Tabby, who has creaky bones, thinning fur, and seems a little deaf, just like himself. A perfect match! One of my favorite Rylant lines ever is in this book: "Tabby loved Mr. Putter's tulips. She was old, and beautiful things meant more to her." This resonates with me as I myself grow older. In the end Tabby cannot remember life without Mr. Putter and Mr. Putter cannot remember life without Tabby. They share their muffins together, drink their tea together, sing opera in the evenings, and Mr. Putter shares his stories. The rest of the books continue the life and love adventures of Mr. Putter and Tabby, baking cakes, picking pears, flying airplanes, and more. Mr. Putter and Tabby is one of my favorite love matches in children's literature and if you have not read any of them, you are in for a treat!
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7 comments:
It is so comforting to have the quiet presence of a cat. I have not read these, but loved Henry and Mudge. I'll have to look for them. I too am getting older, and beautiful things mean much to me. Great quote.
Christy- I am certain you will love these. Also, Allyn was the original editor for all of them, until she had to leave them behind with HMH. I know she misses working on them. Arthur Howard brings them to life with his wonderful illustrations!
Sounds like the purrfect love match, Lauren! Thanks for sharing this book. I'm going to be looking for the whole series.
I just put the first one on reserve at the library. Interesting to know it's an Allyn book--speaks well!
Cynthia Rylant is wonderful, isn't she? These books are a great example of how simple writing can be exquisite, and how children's books can be for people of every age.
I've read a lot of Rylant's work but not this series. Sounds wonderful. Thanks for pointing out this most intriguing love match!!
Love, love, love these books... I have all of them in my classroom and use them with my struggling readers. I haven't found a kid yet who didn't enjoy Mr. Putter, Tabby, Mrs. Teaberry or Zeke:)
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