When Life Gives You Lemons....: Mr. Putter and Tabby Smell the Roses by Cynthia Rylant

MR. PUTTER AND HIS FINE CAT, TABBY, LIVED NEXT DOOR TO MRS. TEABERRY AND HER GOOD DOG, ZEKE.

TABBY AND ZEKE DID EVERYTHING MR. PUTTER AND MRS. TEABERRY DID.

EXCEPT SOMETIMES ZEKE DID IT THE HARD WAY.

Tabby made a fine Christmas reindeer when she wore her antlers for Christmas. Zeke was cool in his cowl and Batman cape at Halloween. But now Mrs. Teaberry's birthday is coming up on Saturday, and Mr. Putter wants to do something special--but different--for this birthday.

They'd done cake and ice cream. Mr. Putter had blown up many balloons.

But they were always done for when Zeke got his fine teeth into them.

Over several thoughtful cups of cocoa, Mr. Putter finally has an inspiration. He will escort Mrs. Teaberry to the Conservatory. Mrs. Teaberry was partial to beautiful trees, exotic plants, and flowers, especially roses.

On Saturday Mr. Putter wore his best striped tie and pomade on his hair.

"POMADE MAKES THE MAN!" HE TOLD TABBY.

He cranked up his blue Buick with its brand-new tires, and Mrs. Teaberry wore her ruffly dress and zebra earrings. Zeke wore his zebra-striped dog sweater.

But although Zeke was a good dog, he was not always as well-behaved as Tabby. So Mr. Putter had a plan.

MR. PUTTER HAD TOLD ZEKE THAT IF HE WAS VERY, VERY GOOD, HE MIGHT GET A SURPRISE.

ZEKE LIVED FOR SURPRISES.

For five minutes, Zeke was extra good.

THEN HE SAW THE BANANA TREE.

ZEKE THOUGHT THE BANANA TREE WAS HIS SURPRISE.

Zeke sprang straight up and brought down a bunch of bananas. The guard tweeted his whistle, loud and shrill. Startled, Tabby sprang straight up to take refuge in a lemon tree.

Apparently the lemons were ripe, because they rained down on the heads of Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry and several other plant lovers below.

So, clutching fallen bananas and lemons, Mr. Putter, Tabby, Zeke, and Mrs. Teaberry, made a run for it to Mr. Putter's big blue Buick. And having made their getaway, all four of them celebrated at the ice cream parlor with strawberry cake and ice cream. And the next day there was another surprise. . .

LEMONADE!

All's well that ends well, as it always does when Mr. Potter and Tabby entertain, in Cynthia Rylant's brand-new Mr. Putter & Tabby Smell the Roses (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2015), the  latest (and twenty-fourth!) in this beloved beginning reader series. As always, artist Arthur Howard adds his inimitable comic illustrations to the recipe for these gentle and sweet stories of an unlikely pair of human and animal best friends.