Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill the Beans

Rylant, Cynthia. Mr. Putter and Tabby Spill the Beans. Illustrated by Arthur Howard. Harcourt Children’s Books, 2009. Unpaged. $15.00. ISBN 9780152050702.

Summary:

Mr. Putter and Tabby the cat have good friends who live next door: Mrs. Teaberry and her dog, Zeke. When Mrs. Teaberry invites Mr. Putter and Tabby to join her for something “new and fun,” Mr. Putter recalls some of their other adventures together, such as the bug festival or the amusement park. Could a class on how to cook beans 100 different ways really be fun? It turns out to be quite an adventure for all four of the friends, though at first things seem pretty boring.

Curriculum Reflections:

Mr. Putter and Tabby are an early reader series with all the right components: engaging illustrations, great characters, short “chapters,” and a big dose of humor. Their adventures together are sweet and often silly, especially when Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke are involved. This could be a good text-to-self series, for new readers to reflect upon their own friendships and experiences.

Personal Reflections:

Although these books are designed for emerging readers, they are lots of fun to read aloud. Rylant manages to make each installment of the series unique and humorous, with some recurrent themes that will reassure readers.

Awards:

Age/Interest Range:

PreK-9.

Genre/Themes:

Friendship, Humor, Pets, Elders, Early Reader.

Read-Alikes:

This series recalls the Fox series (Fox on the Job, Fox All Week, etc.) of early readers by James Marshall, or the classic Frog and Toad books by Arnold Lobel, for the themes of friendship and humor.