Mr. Putter Finds Solace in Friends Through His Sickness

In Henry and Mudge Get the Cold Shivers, Cynthia Rylant gives us a good picture of a boy coddled through a brief illness. In Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold, she shows us a man who remembers what it was like to be spoiled while sick. But Mr. Putter hasn't lived with his parents in years. He's creaky, gray and balding, and he has no one to look after him but his rickety orange cat Tabby. Or so he thinks.

This story, which is illustrated by Arthur Howard, comes in four sections: Blowing and Hacking, Mrs. Teaberry, Zeke and The Best Cold. It's a charming tale of friendship, as Mr. Putter comes to realize that he doesn't have to fight this nasty cold all by himself. Tabby does her best, of course, sitting on his head after Mr. Putter first goes outside without a hat to get the paper and subsequently fears catching cold. But there's only so much a cat can do. She cannot make soup for Mr. Putter. She cannot brew tea for him. She can't even bring him an adventure book. But there is someone who can...

Howard's illustrations are delightful; I really do enjoy them more than Sucie Stevenson's Henry and Mudge pictures, though those are perfectly acceptable. But Mr. Putter is such an adorable little old man, with his shiny head, chubby cheeks, bristly gray mustache and square glasses. Tabby, too, is endearing, with her scruffy orange stripes and wide, expressive blue eyes, as is neighborly Mrs. Teaberry, with her curly gray hair, flowered dress and coy smile, and her stubby, jowly, good-natured bulldog Zeke. I love the little details, too; we see that Mr. Putter has a cat calendar while Mrs. Teaberry has a dog calendar, and when Mr. Putter is reading the comics, there are clear nods to Peanuts, Shoe, B. C. and Hagar the Horrible.

Mrs. Teaberry's clever solution to Mr. Putter's woes, sidestepping his protests over the phone that if she visits, she will catch his cold, brings a smile to the face, and the results show that just because you have to grow old doesn't mean you have to grow up. Childlike Mr. Putter is a charmer through and though, and getting a look at illness from another perspective promotes empathy. Mr. Putter and Tabby Catch the Cold but warm the heart.