I have developed a crush on an older man. A much older man. And not only that, but I love his good cat, too! I love both of them so much that I have already featured them in another post, Cupcakes Help. Not only do I love this man and his good cat, but my daughters love them, too.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Take the Train by Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter and Tabby have completely stolen my heart. I love his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her good dog Zeke, too. Cynthia Rylant writes about these characters with such warmth and humor that it is impossible not to fall in love with them! The illustrator, Arthur Howard, draws these characters in such a beautiful way, and adds so much to these books. In Mr. Putter and Tabby Take the Train, Mrs. Teaberry would like to take a train ride two hours away and two hours back, just for fun. She insists that pets are allowed on trains. When they arrive at the train station, they discover pets are NOT allowed on trains. What happens next slightly breaks the rules, but Tabby and Zeke are practically people, so it seems as though no rules are actually being broken. We borrowed the audio CD from the library to listen to this book in a long car ride, and John McDonough reads the story brilliantly.

Mr. Putter & Tabby Spin the Yarn by Cynthia Rylant
Mrs. Teaberry is such a good neighbor that Mr. Putter would like to return the favor. When she asks him to join her knitting club, he declines, but offers to serve tea to the ladies instead. Mr. Putter’s good cat Tabby joins Mr. Putter when he serves tea, but if you put a cat in room full of yarn…well, you can just imagine what happens! Throw Mrs. Teaberry’s good dog Zeke into the mix, and you have a knitting club fiasco! Fortunately, Mr. Putter proves that he really is a good neighbor as he comes to the rescue, with lots of tea, chocolate, and wisdom.

One of the reason I love these books so much is because of their older characters. Not many children’s books feature an older character that is not a grandpa or grandma. Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry could be your elderly neighbors, and I love the life that Cynthia Rylant gives to them.

We head for the “R” shelf in the Easy Reader section of the library, and every time we discover another Mr. Putter and Tabby book that we have yet to read! (Oh, and we are also working our way through the Henry and Mudge books, also by Cynthia Rylant.)

For more children’s books, visit Janna at The Adventure of Motherhood by clicking on the button below!

Happy reading!
<>