Mr. Putter & Tabby Pick the Pears

Product Description It is fall and juicy things are growing in Mr. Putter’s backyard–apples, tomatoes, and pears. Mr. Putter dreams of all the juicy things he loves to eat, but most of all, he dreams of pear jelly. There’s only one problem–cranky legs keep him from climbing up to pick the pears. His ingenious solution will have young readers cheering him on. From School Library Journal Grade 1-3?In this fourth book about the two seniors who are special friends, Mr. Putter dreams about the many ways he will use his ripe tomatoes, apples?and especially pears. But when he tries to climb the ladder to pick the green edibles, his cranky legs force him to stay on the ground. Remembering his younger days, he makes himself a slingshot and uses fallen apples as ammunition. Unfortunately, he is unable to hit his targets. But what fun to sling those apples and watch them go “…over the tree, over the chimney, over the house.” The next day, he and his old cat Tabby feel sorry for themselves until their neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, arrives with her dog and a feast of apple turnovers, pies, jelly, and cider. Mr. Putter then decides what to do about the pears?just wait for them to fall. Rylant’s originality continues in this autumnal adventure. She uses repetition to reinforce vocabulary development and word recognition; however, she also uses both simple and compound sentences, dialogue, and expressive language so that the story is neither stilted nor boring. Howard’s watercolor illustrations fit the text perfectly, providing humor and warmth.?Mary Ann Bursk, Bucks County Free Library, Levittown, PA Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc. About the Author CYNTHIA RYLANT is a Newbery Medalist and the author of many acclaimed books for young people. She’s well known for her popular characters for early readers, including Mr. Putter & Tabby and Henry and Mudge. She lives near Portland, Oregon. ARTHUR HOWARD created the lively illustrations for all of the Mr. Putter & Tabby books and has written and illustrated several picture books of his own. He lives in New York City.