Happy Birthday, Mr. Putter!

About a month ago, my 26th birthday came, heralded by cards in the mail, presents on the table, dinner at Olive Garden, chocolate cake in my dog's stomach... Well, that last one wasn't really planned on. I had hoped to eat my birthday cake without Mokey's help, but she had other plans. Other plans expansive enough that a new cake was in order, to the soundtrack of some very strange canine intestinal noises. It was a good birthday.

In Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish, part of the series written by Cynthia Rylant, author of the Poppleton and Henry and Mudge books, and illustrated by Arthur Howard, balding, pot-bellied, bespectacled Mr. Putter suddenly remembers that it's his birthday. But Mr. Putter is no longer a child who can expect parties full of laughing kids, cakes full of candles, shiny boxes full of extravagant toys, ceilings full of brightly colored balloons. "I am too old for birthdays, Tabby," Mr. Putter sighs. But then he decides, darn it all, he wants one anyway! And at least he can create a more festive air by inviting his neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, over.

Mrs. Teaberry is Mr. Putter's best human friend. Not having read the volume in which she was introduced, I can't say for sure how long they've known each other. But in the flashbacks to Mr. Putter's childhood birthdays, Howard shows us a girl who looks suspiciously like a seven-year-old version of Mrs. Teaberry. Because Mr. Putter is so fond of his neighbor - and so polite - he doesn't berate her for keeping him waiting after he issues his invitation. But we can see just how impatient he's getting when his expression grows more and more aggravated each time she calls to tell him there's something else - doing the dishes, curling her hair, unclogging the tub, searching for Zeke's ball - she must do before she comes over. "Can you wait?" she asks. Mr. Putter begins to wonder whether he will end up waiting right through his birthday.

Tabby, too, seems to get more irritated by the hour, her watery blue eyes lowered in an expression of inquisitive annoyance. Eventually she gets so tired of waiting that she retreats to a bowl atop the fridge, where she curls up, peering suspiciously over the rim. Funny, I always thought my cat was odd for doing that; of course, the sight does prompt Mr. Putter to remark, "So far, this is a very strange birthday." Will Mrs. Teaberry and her dog Zeke ever arrive?

Mr. Putter and Tabby Make a Wish is divided into three sections: Good Heavens!, Can You Wait? and Finally. This is a funny and touching story about old friends coming together in celebration, and Mr. Putter and young readers alike will realize that you're never too old for birthdays.