Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup

The next book Dutch and I read together was Mr. Putter & Tabby Stir the Soup.  This is one of many books in a series Rylant has created.  The stories are all based around an elderly man and his cat.  The books are problem solution based.  The problems tend to be mundane and easy to solve.  This story is simply about Mr. Putter wanting to make soup and the old stove he loves is not working.  He asks his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry if they can cook the soup at her house and she says yes, but she will be leaving and they will have to put up with her dog Zeke.  Zeke begins to cause problems and Putter takes a nap.  When Teaberry returns she continues cooking the soup and they all have lunch together.

My Review:  This book, like the others we have read in this series, are simplistic problems that I imagine would come up in old age.  Rylant once again focuses on the elderly, which surprisingly, goes over well with children.  Maybe this is due to the grandpa effect Putter has. The dog Zeke continually drags items from around the house into the kitchen for Mr. Putter in hopes that he will play with him.  Putter puts all the items in the bathtub, so the dog cannot reach them.  Dutch thought the dog was the best part of the book.  This book for me was mediocre since the plot was based around a pot of soup and a broken stove.  Thankfully she did write the problematic dog Zeke into the book otherwise it would not have been as entertaining. Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke are in most of the books in the series and they seem to be the interesting funny characters that keep these books going. This is a classic example of a book I might have overlooked for Dutch thinking the concept is too simple, but listening to Dutch review the book I realize I cannot underestimate a book until it has been read to a child, they are the best children's literature critics.

Dutch's Review (in his own words): I think this book is good and I want to read it again!  I like Mr. Putter and Tabby.  The dog goes and brings all those silly things to Mr. Putter.  It was so funny on the very last page when Zeke had celery in his mouth!