Can Mr. Putter Train Tabby to Stow Away Where She's Unwelcome?

When I was little, my family used to go for a drive to a relatively nearby town, where we would catch a train that would take us on a scenic ride through the countryside. I think we spent more time in the car than on the train, but we always looked forward to the expedition, on which my brother and I would wear our conductor's hats proudly and gaze out at the passing scenery. Nowadays, when I think of trains I'm more likely to recall the Hogwarts Express before my own childhood adventures, but in either case, there is just something inherently exhilarating about riding in a train.

That's what Mr. Putter thinks, too, when his neighbor Mrs. Teaberry proposes a four-hour train ride in Mr. Putter and Tabby Take the Train, written by Cynthia Rylant and illustrated by Arthur Howard. Mr. Putter may be a rather old man now, but he remembers his boyhood and the joy he felt when he accompanied his parents on train rides.

Howard shows us one idyllic scene in a flashback illustration; we see the young Mr. Putter as a freckle-faced redhead wearing glasses and sitting next to his tattered teddy bear, while his father dozes and his mother, looking elegant with her pronounced fingernails, eyelashes and golden hair in a bun, begins reading the second chapter of Tom Sawyer. What a relief to the polite Mr. Putter that Mrs. Teaberry has proposed an idea that actually suits him, unlike some of her previous schemes, which he has often found outlandish and uncomfortable.

The book is divided into three sections: An Idea, Another Idea and Taking the Train. Between the first two sections, Rylant employs a technique that she often uses throughout the easy-reader series. She ends An Idea with a definitive statement and starts Another Idea with a complete contradiction of that statement. The effect is very funny, especially when amplified by the horrified expression on the usually placid Mrs. Teaberry's face.

I like the way this particular book emphasizes the fact that not only are Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry friends, his cat Tabby and her dog Zeke are friends as well. While the humans are chatting with one another on the phone, the pets go to their windows and greet each other, and throughout the book they are often within inches of each other but never seem in danger of snarling or hissing.

I've noticed that in Rylant's world - or at least in the worlds of Mr. Putter and Tabby and Henry and Mudge - pets have a free rein to do pretty much anything they want. They can go to stores and zoos and amusement parks. They can explore farms and hotels and beaches. They generally have free access to any place a human can go. So I was a bit surprised that in this book, cats and dogs are not allowed on trains. Perhaps the glance at Tom Sawyer near the beginning is a bit of foreshadowing, because Mr. Putter turns mighty mischievous when faced with such a restriction, and Mrs. Teaberry gladly follows suit. Interestingly, when they approach the ticket lady a second time and she grants them passage on the train, her eyes are closed and a smile is on her face, as if to say, "Okay, have things your way, but I don't want to know about it."

Mr. Putter and Tabby Take the Train is another charming installment in this series that shows again and again that fun and adventure can come at any age. Take a relaxing ride through the countryside with Mr. Putter and Mrs. Teaberry... and perhaps a stowaway or two!