Going for the Gusto! Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page by Cynthia Rylant and Arthur Howard

Mr. Putter and Tabby love quiet time together, especially quiet reading time, when Tabby listens from Mr. Putter's lap, from on his feet, and even from on his head.

So when Mr. Putter spots a sign in the library, he was not sure it is a good idea for him and Tabby.

READ ALOUD WITH YOUR PET AT STORY TIME.

Mr. Putter is intrigued. He has fond memories of story time at school. But story time at the library is not necessarily quiet time.
Still, maybe reading doesn't always have to be quiet.

Excited, Mr. Putter signs Tabby up.

AFTER SIGNING UP, MR. PUTTER MADE A MISTAKE.

HE FORGOT THAT MRS. TEABERRY LOVED ANYTHING NEW.

ANYTHING.

As always, when Mrs. Teaberry hears about it, she takes the idea over the top. She shops for a new hat. She rehearses her good dog Zeke for his part in her reading. And Mr. Putter is worried that story time at the library with Zeke might get a little too exciting for Tabby's taste.

But Mr. Putter decides to make the best of it and go along with Mrs. Teaberry. He and Tabby rehearse their bear book every day, too.

At the library the children assembled for Story Time are very excited. Tabby purrs and Zeke licks lots of kid faces. Then Mrs. Teaberry takes her seat in the reading chair and begins reading a story about a dog.

ZEKE MADE ALL THE SOUND EFFECTS.
WHEN THE DOG IN THE STORY HOWLED, ZEKE HOWLED.
AND WHEN THE DOG IN THE STORY RAN AWAY, ZEKE RAN AWAY.

Mrs. Teaberry knows Zeke always comes back, so she gives the reading chair to Mr. Putter. Just as he's getting into his bear story with gusto and Tabby is trying out different laps and heads in the story circle, Zeke re-enters. He's obviously raided the librarians' lunchroom, and there's something in his mouth.

HE HAD SOMEONE'S CHEESE SANDWICH--AND A DIFFERENT HAT.

HE ALSO SMELLED LIKE GRAPEFRUIT JUICE.

Mr. Putter and Tabby have definitely done something new, in Cynthia Rylant's forthcoming newest in her beloved series, Mr. Putter & Tabby Turn the Page (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). As usual, his friendship with Mrs. Teaberry leads the mild-mannered Mr. Putter into the fun of a new experience, Meanwhile, Newbery artist Arthur Howard's inimitable portrayal of Tabby's and Zeke's body language comically reveal the differences in their personalities that mirror those of their devoted owners. Story time is always a good time, and fans of the first 22 books in the best-selling Mr. Putter and Tabby series will find themselves with a strange desire to munch a cheese sandwich while they curl up with this one with their pets for a bit of reading.

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."

(Drumroll) The Envelope, Please! The 2015 American Library Association's Awards for Children's and Young Adult Literature

There's snow in Chicago, and that means it is time for the premier children's and young adults awards, especially the venerable John Newbery Medal, given for the best work of literature to the author, and the Randolph Caldecott Medal
for the best-illustrated book, both announced at the American Library Association's Midwinter Meeting, February 2.

And the winners are...

The Newbery Award goes to Kwame Alexander for his novel The Crossover (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014). In my review of March 19, 2014, I said "Watch for this one to take some honors in the awards for books debuting this year, because it's definitely got game--on-court suspense, real-life characters, and a moving narrative that confronts life changes with all the right moves. Slam-dunk!" Yeah!

Newbery Honor Medals went to El Deafo (Amulet/Abrams, 2014) by Cece Bell, and Brown Girl Dreaming (Nancy Paulsen Books, 2014) by Jacqueline Woodson, which also was the winner of the National Book Award for Young People's Literature. (See review here.)

The Caldecott Medal for illustrations goes to Dan Santat for his The Adventures of Beekle: The Unimaginary Friend (Little, Brown and Company, 2014), reviewed here.

Caldecott Honors wen to The Noisy Paint Box: The Colors and Sounds of Kandisky's Abstract Art, (Alfred A Knopf, 2014), illustrated by Mary Grandpre'; Nana in the City (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Clarion, 2014); Sam and Dave Dig a Hole (Candlewick Press, 2014),illustrated by John Klassen; Viva, Frida (Roaring Brook Press, 2014) illustrated by Yuyi Morales; The Right Word: Roget and his Thesaurus (Eerdman Boks, 2014, illustrated by Melissa Sweet; and This One Summer (First Second, 2014), illustrated by Jillian Tamaki.

The Coretta Scott King Author Awards went to Kwame Alexander for The Crossover (Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 2014); Marilyn Nelson for How I Discovered Poetry (Dial Books, 2014): and Kekla Magoon for How It Went Down (HenryHolt, 2014).

The Coretta Scott King Illustrator Awards went to Christopher Myers for Firebird (G.P. Putnam's Sons, 2014), Christian Robinson for Josephine: The Dazzling Life of Josephine Baker, (Chronicle Books, 2014), and Frank Morrison, illustrator of Little Melba and Her Big Trombone (Lee and Low, 2014).

The King-Steptoe New Talent Author Award went to Jason Reynolds' When I Was The Greatest (Atheneum Books, 2014)

The Coretta Scott King/Virginia Hamilton Lifetime Achievement Award was given to librarian and literacy advocate Deborah D. Taylor.

The Michael L. Printz Award for Literature for Young Adults was given to Jandy Nelson for I'll Give You the Sun, (Dial Books, 2014).  Honor awards went also to Jossie Ann Foley, The Carnival at Bray, Jenny Hubbard for And We Stay; Andrew Smith, for Grasshopper Jungle, and This One Summer by Mariko Tamaki.

The Schneider Family Book Award for books about disabilities went to A Boy and a Jaguar by Alan Rabinowitz (Houghton Mifflin, 2014) and Rain Reign by Ann M. Martin, published by Feiwel and Friends, 2014). (See reviews here and here.

The Theodor Seuss Geisel Award for Beginning Reader Books was given to You Are Not Small, by Anna King (Two Lions Press, 2012), and honor medals went to Mr. Putter and Tabby Turn the Page (Houghton Mifflin  (Harcourt, 2014), and Waiting Is Not Easy!  (Hyperion Books, 2014). (See reviews here and here.

The YALSA Award for Excellence in Young Adult Nonfiction went to Popular Vintage Wisdom for a Modern Greek, (Dutton Books, 2014) by Maya Van Wagenen.  Honor books include Shane Burcaw's Laughing at My Nightmare (Roaring Brook, 2014), Candace Fleming's The Family Romanov: Murder, Rebellion, & the Fall of Imperial Russia and Ida Tarbell: The Woman Who Challenged Big Business--and Won (Houghton Mifflin Clarion, 2014) by Emily Arnold McCully, (see my review here).

The Andrew Carnegie Medal for Excellence in Children's Video was awarded to Weston Woods Studios, Paul Gagne, and Melissa R. Elard, for their film of the Caldecott Honor Book Me . . . Jane (See review of the book here.)

The Laura Ingalls Wilder Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to author-illustrator Donald Crews, and the Margaret A. Edwards Award for Lifetime Achievement in the area of young adult literature want to author Sharon Draper.

A complete listing of book and media awards presented today by the American Library Association may be found here.