MR. PUTTER AND TABBY POUR THE TEA

Mr. Putter craves someone to share his muffins and tea and stories; sensibly ignoring the pet store lady's conviction that only ``cute,'' ``peppy'' kittens are worthy (``Mr. Putter himself had not been cute and peppy for a very long time''), he goes to the animal shelter and chooses an old yellow cat—a little deaf, and with thinning hair, like him. It goes without saying that the two become comfortable companions. Rylant's apt descriptions and artful repetitions set this easy reader and its sequel (Mr. Putter and Tabby Walk the Dog, ISBN: 0-15-256259-1) a cut above the competition, though not on a par with her own incomparable Henry and Mudge. Howard catches the story's appealing pathos, as well as its humor, in a practiced cartoon style. (Easy reader. 4- 8)