Books like Mr. Putter & Tabby Run the Race
By Cynthia Rylant
For the kid who thinks grown-ups have everything figured out, here's proof that even Mr. Putter has silly, stubborn goals worth chasing. Gentle, funny, warmly old-fashioned, low-stakes comfort.
An older man and his cat nap far too much, so they join a baseball team with their neighbor and her rowdy dog — but creaky knees and canine chaos threaten every play.
A girl named Emily Elizabeth introduces her enormous red dog, Clifford, sharing the everyday activities they enjoy together and the ways they look after one another.
An older man who misses going to school arranges a show-and-tell visit with his cat, his neighbor, and her dog — but the class expects the pets to perform tricks.
An anxious squirrel who plans for every disaster decides to make the perfect friend, picking a toothless candidate and prepping mittens, a mirror, and a lemon — until his careful plan takes a toothy turn.
A worried elephant is down in the dumps, so his best friend pig dresses up as a cowboy, a clown, and even a robot — but none of it seems to be the right kind of cheering up.
A boy named Ned races a thousand miles to a surprise party, and every stroke of good luck — a borrowed airplane, a handy parachute — flips into disaster and back again.
A hungry frog and a clever fly face off in six short comic-style chapters, with frog always seeming to win — until fly gets the last word.
When hard times hit the farm, a hired boy is sent off to find his own way — but a runaway Journey Cake leads him on a wild chase that changes everything.
Five short stories follow two hippo best friends through everyday mishaps and mix-ups, including one memorable picnic where George drags along Martha's bed instead of letting her sleep in.
A small mouse's brand-new toy airplane ends up stuck in a tree, thanks to his well-meaning but accident-prone best friend, Rabbit, who then hatches an increasingly ambitious plan to get it back.
Giant dinosaurs try their hand at dog ownership, from splashing through baths to tossing balls in the yard, learning patience and gentleness with their beloved pups along the way.
A picnic goes sideways when rain and stormy winds send an umbrella (and Mouse!) flying into a tree — one friend calls it good news, the other bad, all the way through.
