A great little entry in Rylant and Howard's easy-to-read series (Mr. Putter and Tabby Pick the Pears, 1995, etc.), about the adventures of a charming elderly man and his lovably skittish cat, shown in wonderfully expressive illustrations. Mr. Putter and Tabby are too old to be so hot: They sweat on the porch, in the kitchen, and under the oak tree, and finally decide to go down to the big pond to cool off. They invite Mrs. Teaberry and her dog, Zeke, and the rest of the afternoon is filled with simple summer pleasures: rowing, picnicking, soaking toes in the cool water, watching Tabby and Zeke find their own amusements. Of course, when it is time to go home, they get hot and sweaty again, but Mrs. Teaberry finds a delightful, if fleeting, solution to that. Full of down-to-earth touches as well as whimsical ones—a blue jay tries to peck the artificial grapes on Mrs. Teaberry's hat, Mr. Putter's reminisces about the county worm race he won with an entrant named Jack—this is a comfortable and nifty addition to the series. (Picture book. 5-9)
Pub Date: April 1, 1997
ISBN: 0-15-256257-5
Page Count: 44
Publisher: Harcourt
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: April 15, 1997
The wriggly narrator of Diary of a Worm (2003) puts in occasional appearances, but it’s his arachnid buddy who takes center stage here, with terse, tongue-in-cheek comments on his likes (his close friend Fly, Charlotte’s Web), his dislikes (vacuums, people with big feet), nervous encounters with a huge Daddy Longlegs, his extended family—which includes a Grandpa more than willing to share hard-won wisdom (The secret to a long, happy life: “Never fall asleep in a shoe.”)—and mishaps both at spider school and on the human playground. Bliss endows his garden-dwellers with faces and the odd hat or other accessory, and creates cozy webs or burrows colorfully decorated with corks, scraps, plastic toys and other human detritus. Spider closes with the notion that we could all get along, “just like me and Fly,” if we but got to know one another. Once again, brilliantly hilarious. (Picture book. 6-8)
Pub Date: Aug. 1, 2005
ISBN: 0-06-000153-4
Page Count: 40
Publisher: Joanna Cotler/HarperCollins
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2005
Rylant (Henry and Mudge and the Sneaky Crackers, 1998, etc.) slips into a sentimental mode for this latest outing of the boy and his dog, as she sends Mudge and Henry and his parents off on a camping trip. Each character is attended to, each personality sketched in a few brief words: Henry's mother is the camping veteran with outdoor savvy; Henry's father doesn't know a tent stake from a marshmallow fork, but he's got a guitar for campfire entertainment; and the principals are their usual ready-for-fun selves. There are sappy moments, e.g., after an evening of star- gazing, Rylant sends the family off to bed with: ``Everyone slept safe and sound and there were no bears, no scares. Just the clean smell of trees . . . and wonderful green dreams.'' With its nice tempo, the story is as toasty as its campfire and swaddled in Stevenson's trusty artwork. (Fiction. 6-8)
Pub Date: April 1, 1998
ISBN: 0-689-81175-6
Page Count: 48
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Review Posted Online: May 19, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Feb. 1, 1998
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