By Cynthia Rylant
A lonely old man goes looking for a cat and finds one just as old and lonely as he is.
Mr. Putter lives alone, and some days the quiet of the house is a lot. He decides he wants a cat — someone to share his muffins and his tea and his stories. At the shelter, all the kittens are gone; what's left is one old cat with thin fur and creaky bones. Mr. Putter takes one look and knows: this is the one.
It reads like a real chapter book — a beginning, a middle, and a warm ending — but the chapters are short and the pictures carry a lot of the story, so a child who's just finding their feet can get through it and feel like they've read something whole. And it's a gentle way in when action isn't what grabs your child: the pull here is tenderness, not thrills.