bonniesayers's Full Review: Cynthia Rylant - Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fis...
My third grader should be reading for at least fifteen minutes each night as part of his homework. He needs to expand his reading base beyond animal species, so I searched around the library and happened upon a few of the Mr. Putter and Tabby books.
The covers indicated the books were probably for younger children, but I was drawn to the illustrations and thought trying a few of them out for his nightly reading would be worthwhile.
We have since borrowed and read all ten in the series. Mr. Putter and Tabby have cute adventures doing everyday things like baking a cake, walking the dog, flying the plane, painting the porch and picking pears.
For the past two days my son eagerly brought Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish to read to his class, but due to parent-teacher conferences and early release time they could not find the time to enjoy the book, just yet.
Mr. Putter is an elderly man who lives with his cat, Tabby. His neighbor Mrs. Teaberry has a dog named Zeke. Mr. Putter has a few gray hairs on his head, a bushy moustache, wears glasses at the edge of his nose and sports a floppy hat.
Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish is comprised of four chapters. Mr. Putter loved fish when he was young so decided to take Tabby to the fish store to get some fish for their home. Being around fish makes the whiskers of Tabby tingle while her tail twitches.
The illustrations of Mr. Putter and Tabby looking into the fish tanks were very amusing. During the ride home Tabby was on the edge of the seat behind Mr. Putter while he was driving.
Tabby was so excited around the fish that she could not leave the fish bowl. She kept patting the bowl even after Mr. Putter told her not to. She was getting in all sorts of positions wrapping her body around the fish bowl to view the fish!
The funniest part of Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish is when Mr. Putter placed a white pillowcase over the fishbowl so that Tabby could walk past it and go upstairs to bed. It sure seemed that Tabby has some OCD tendencies.
The next morning when Mr. Putter awoke he could not find Tabby in his room. While walking down the stairs Mr. Putter saw the pillowscase had a tail underneath. Poor Tabby had eyes so wide with her fur pointed.
"Tabby, dear," said Mr. Putter, "I think you have a fish problem." In order to have breakfast Mr. Putter placed a silver bucket over the bowl. In the kitchen they looked out the window to watch the birds. Mr. Putter knew Tabby did not have a bird problem, so this was safe.
For one week they endured having the bucket over the fishbowl, because each time Mr. Putter tried to take it off Tabby would twitch. The illustrations showed just how perplexed Tabby was. Her ears would only be showing with the bucket on the table. Then you would catch Mr. Putter at the table with his pot of tea, pitcher of milk and sugar along with a bucket. It was clear with his arms folded over that Mr. Putter had had enough. Tabby was spooked looking over his shoulder.
Mr. Putter telephoned Mrs. Teaberry hoping she would want the fish. Mr. Putter and Tabby brought the fish bowl minus the bucket over to Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke. There was a cute illustration of the four of them enjoying milk and cookies.
It turned out that the fish had a relaxing effect on Zeke where he would fall asleep each time he stood in front of the bowl. Mr. Putter and Tabby were relaxed at home as well without the fish to worry about.
Mr. Putter and Tabby Feed the Fish has pleasing pastel colors enhancing the story. Both Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry are elderly people who have loving pets. My son likes the fluffy Tabby and thinks Mr. Putter is nice. Both older adults are written in a positive role model way.
While at the school the other day when my son was showing the book to his teacher I learned that he thinks they look alike. It seems my son did not really pick up on the elderly image of Mr. Putter, but noticed the similarities of the gray hair and moustache from his teacher.
His teacher had a chuckle thinking my son was reminded of him when reading through the Mr. Putter and Tabby books. This past year my son started showing an interest in a neighbor cat that was 15 years old. It has been a number of weeks since the cat has been seen, indicating either a coyote got it or he died of old age.
I thought the Mr. Putter and Tabby books would help my son deal with the missing cat by reading these amusing tales the cat goes on with Mr. Putter. The age range on the back of the books indicate for six to nine, so my son is at the high end of the recommendation.
Mr. Putter and his cat, Tabby, love going to the fish store, and one day decide to bring three fish home. That s when they discover Tabby has a fish p...More at Buy.com Marketplaces
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