Summary
Summary
Newbery medal-winner and recipient of the Theodor Seuss Geisel Award, Cynthia Rylant instills gentle humor into this cozy read. When Mr. Putter goes outside without a hat on, he catches a cold. Tabby tries to make Mr. Putter feel better, but "colds aren't so much fun when you're old." Yet his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke know just the thing to help Mr. Putter recover. "... will resonate with kids who know what it's like to feel dispirited when felled by a cold."-Booklist
Author Notes
Cynthia Rylant was born on June 6, 1954 in Hopewell, Virginia. She attended and received degrees at Morris Harvey College, Marshall University, and Kent State University.
Rylant worked as an English professor and at the children's department of a public library, where she first discovered her love of children's literature.
She has written more than 100 children's books in English and Spanish, including works of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. Her novel Missing May won the 1993 Newbery Medal and A Fine White Dust was a 1987 Newbery Honor book. Rylant wrote A Kindness, Soda Jerk, and A Couple of Kooks and Other Stories, which were named as Best Book for Young Adults. When I was Young in the Mountains and The Relatives Came won the Caldecott Award.
She has many popular picture books series, including Henry and Mudge, Mr. Putter and Tabby and High-Rise Private Eyes. (Bowker Author Biography)
Reviews (5)
School Library Journal Review
K-Gr 3-Another sweet story about Mr. Putter and his cat. In this title, he goes outside into the snow without his hat and pays the price. He laments that it's no fun getting a cold now that he's an old man. As a boy, he almost enjoyed it because his mother would ply him with hot soup, mint tea, and adventure books. When his neighbor finds out he's sick, she sends her dog, Zeke, over, first with soup, then with mint tea. Finally, she sends him over with his favorite book, an adventure story about a brave dog. Mr. Putter, Tabby, and Zeke huddle in bed and read together. When the book is finished, Mr. P. declares that this is the best cold he's ever had. Howard's watercolor-and-pencil illustrations match the story perfectly and extend the humor in the gentle, easy-to-read narrative.-Lynda S. Poling, Long Beach Public Library, CA (c) Copyright 2010. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
A number of familiar characters return in beginning reader sequels. In Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold by Cynthia Rylant, illus. by Arthur Howard, Mr. Putter is miserable: "Colds aren't so much fun when you're old." Luckily, Mrs. Teaberry makes it better with chicken soup, tea with honey and a little help from her bulldog, Zeke. (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved
Horn Book Review
Suffering from a cold, Mr. Putter nostalgically remembers his mother's sickbed spoiling and concludes, it's not good to be old with a cold. His friend and neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, sends emergency goodies, providing the perfect dose of attention to make this the best cold Mr. Putter ever caught. Although sentimental, the story profits from its natural language, so appropriate for beginning readers, and from the humorous illustrations. From HORN BOOK Spring 2003, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Kirkus Review
There is a note of melancholy in this tale from Putterland, a place more typical of mirth and everyday adventures that have sprung a leak. Here, Mr. Putter is laid low by a cold--Howard decks him out with dark circles under his drooping lids and a palpable malaise--and "colds aren't so much fun when you're old," he says to his cat Tabby. You don't have to be over 40 to feel the sting of that sentiment. Nor does it help that, Tabby excepting, Mr. Putter lives alone. So as not to slip ever deeper into the existentialism of it all, Rylant sends Mr. Putter's neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, to the rescue. Well, she's not allowed over because Mr. Putter doesn't want her to get his cold, so she sends an emissary, her dog Zeke, who shuffles over with chicken soup and then hot tea in a thermos and finally, best of all, an adventure book. All these goodies remind Mr. Putter of those bygone days when he was a kid with a cold, when "he had almost liked colds. He always got spoiled." He gets spoiled again now, but not before that creeping ache has stolen over the story, testifying to the need for friendships, acts of mercy, and simple kindness. A powerful piece of Putter. (Easy reader. 6-9)
Booklist Review
Gr. K^-2. Mr. Putter has a cold and no one to take care of him. Tabby does her best by sitting on his head to keep him warm, but the sneezing and sniffling go on. A dejected Mr. Putter remembers how nice it was to be coddled when he had a cold as a child. Then good-hearted neighbor Mrs. Teaberry comes through with soup and tea, and her dog, Zeke, picks out a book for Mr. Putter to read. Although this isn't the best of the series, the pleasant humor is present in the art, and the text will resonate with kids who know what it's like to feel dispirited when felled by a cold. Unfortunately, Rylant perpetuates the myth that you can catch a cold simply by going out without a hat. It's germs, Mr. Putter; even Tabby has probably heard that. --Ilene Cooper
