Mr Putter and Tabby pour the tea by Cynthia Rylant illustrated by Arthur Howard

 

I have mentioned the Mr Putter series in a previous post.  I adore these beginning chapter books. The stories are warm, there is just the right amount of text, they do contain 'chapters' and the colour illustrations add to the humour and emotion of the stories. I think all Primary school libraries should add the full set of these to their collection. In every way these book are perfect for newly independent readers and as a bonus they are books their parents will enjoy too. There are twenty-five Mr Putter stories and they range in price here in Australia from $11 to $14 each. 

Here are some of the titles: Mr. Putter & Tabby Bake the Cake,  Mr. Putter & Tabby Fly the Plane, Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears, Mr. Putter & Tabby Row the Boat, Mr. Putter & Tabby Take the Train, Mr. Putter & Tabby Toot the Horn, Mr. Putter & Tabby Walk the Dog, Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup, Mr. Putter & Tabby Make a Wish, Mr. Putter & Tabby Catch the Cold, Mr. Putter & Tabby Feed the Fish, Mr. Putter & Tabby Paint the Porch, Mr. Putter & Tabby Write the Book, Mr. Putter & Tabby Spin the Yarn, Mr. Putter & Tabby See the Stars.  Mr. Putter and Tabby Clear the Decks, Mr. Putter and Tabby Run the Race.

In Mr Putter and Tabby pour the tea we meet Tabby - this is the first book in the series.

"The shelter man brought Mr Putter the old yellow cat. Its bones creaked, its fur was thinning, and it seemed a little deaf. Mr Putter creaked, his hair was thinning, and he was a little deaf too. So he took the old yellow cat home. He named her Tabby. And that is how their life began."

You can see many pages from this book here. Here is an audio sample.