Never Too Old! Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish by Cynthia Rylant

It was a beautiful morning.

Mr. Putter and his good cat Tabby were eating crumpets with jam and drinking tea. Mr. Putter picked up his newspaper and noticed the date.

"Good heavens, Tabby! Today is my birthday!"

Mr. Putter starts thinking about birthdays--especially the ones he used to have when he was a boy. Back in those days he got great presents, like a scooter and a model airplane. He had great birthday parties with friends and balloons--and a cake with candles.

But now Mr. Putter was to old for scooters. Too old for cake.

(He'd need a fire hose to put out the candles!)

But the truth was, Mr. Potter wanted a birthday anyway.

He decides to call his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry and invite her and her good dog Zeke for tea. That would have to do.

Mrs. Teaberry accepts the invitation happily. But she says she has to wash the dishes first.

Mr. Putter waits. He reads some of the newspaper. Mrs. Teaberry calls and says she needs to curl her hair. Then she calls to say she has to unclog the bathtub, and then she calls to say she's searching for Zeke's favorite ball. Mr. Putter has finished his newspaper and now all he can do is fret.

Mr. Putter CAN'T WAIT!

He was getting older by the minute.

But then Mrs. Teaberry and Zeke show up with balloons tied to Zeke's tail, a present dangling his collar, and a huge cake with dozens of candles. Now all Mr. Putter needs is someone to help him blow out all those the candles, and for that Mrs. Teaberry is perfect, in Cynthia Rylant's  Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt), illustrated delightfully by noted artist Arthur Howard. A Newbery Award author and a Caldecott Award illustrator equal one terrific I-Can-Read story, full of humor and the joy of friendship.