Harry Cat's Pet Puppy
by George Selden

In this sequel to The Cricket in Times Square, the "odd couple" of Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse adopts a stray puppy found abandoned in a dead-end alley. The puppy is a sheep-dog type mutt, the kind with hair hanging in front of its eyes, very shaggy, cheerful, good-natured, and mischievous, and also pretty sensitive. He starts out talking baby talk, which is how "Harry's Puppy" gets shortened to "Huppy" as his name.

The cat and mouse have their share of difficulties raising a growing dog, but when the dog finally outgrows the drainpipe things come to a head: they have to find him another home, or else abandon him to a pack of feral dogs running around the park. They decide the perfect candidate is a fussy old music teacher named Horatio Smedley, who lives in a huge apartment with his late mother's Siamese cat, Miss Catherine. Problem #1: persuading Miss Catherine to let Huppy move in. Problem #2: convincing Mr. Smedley. With the help of a pigeon named Lulu who talks the language of a hippie (the one thing that dates the book) they tackle these problems in an amusing and heart-warming tale.

Robbie Fischer
Arizona USA

Recommended Age: 8+

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