One of Our Very Favorite Old Men

At our house, we adore Mr. Putter and Tabby. Sadly, I feel like they're not as popular or well-known as Cynthia Rylant's other great characters, Henry and Mudge. Don't get me wrong, we're definitely not opposed to Henry and Mudge. We like them. But we, I repeat, adore Mr. Putter and Tabby.

Tonight Aaron was reading Mr. Putter & Tabby Write the Book for his 15-minutes of reading. It has been a really long day, and I was worried he would put up a fight because he was so tired. But Mr. Putter provided just the kind of cozy, comfortable reading we both needed.

In this episode, Mr. Putter decides to write a novel because there has just been a really big snowfall, and he and Tabby are too old to go out in it. First, he needs a title. He has always loved mysteries, so he decides to write a novel called The Mystery of Lighthouse Cove. Sounds intriguing. Then he decides he needs a snack. He makes a big apple salad, corn muffins, custard pudding, and a cheese ball.

And then comes this line:

"Mr. Putter spent three minutes on his title and four hours on his snack."

And it is because of sentences like that that we adore Mr. Putter and Tabby.

For more great early chapter book suggestions, check out this old post.