Tabby Does Storytime: Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page by Cynthia Rylant

Mr. Putter and Tabby liked quiet things--like napping and reading. Mr. Putter read quietly to Tabby. When he did, Tabby purred (not too loudly). They liked libraries, too, because they were usually quiet. But one day Mr. Tabby saw a sign there that gave him a new idea:

READ ALOUD WITH YOUR PET AT STORY TIME.

Mr. Putter signed up.

He was even excited. So...

Mr. Putter made a mistake. He told his neighbor, Mrs. Teabury.

Mrs. Teabury loved anything new. Anything.

Her good dog Zeke loved anything new and exciting. And everything was exciting to Zeke.

Mr. Putter was worried about taking Zeke to the library storytime, but the deed was done. He practiced reading his bear book with GUSTO! He worried about combining Zeke and gusto.

At the library Mrs. Teaberry read her book about a dog.

When the dog in the story barked, Zeke barked.

When the dog in the story howled, Zeke howled.

He even ran away, just like the dog in the story. But Mrs. Teaberry knew Zeke always came back, so she did not get excited.

Mr. Putter read his bear story with lots of gusto. Tabby went from lap to lap to one head and purred, and the kids clapped loudly when his story was done.

Suddenly Zeke came back from the staff break room with a cheese sandwich in his mouth.

He also smelled of grapefruit juice!

Storytime had been very exciting.

It wasn't all that quiet, but everyone shared in the gusto, and now it's time to head home for tea and raisin biscuits in Mrs. Teaberry's kitchen, in Cynthia Rylant's Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt). There are many humorous subtleties in artist Arthur Howard's clever and comical drawings to fill in the details in Rylant's story of friendship, libraries, and a bit of gusto. Says Booklist,In the 20 years since the Mr. Putter and Tabby series began, its signature combination of storytelling, wit, and humanity have made it a staple of the beginning reader section."