"Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby take time off from napping to play on the Yankee Doodle Dandies baseball team." --Provided by publisher.

In the historic town of Norvelt, Pennsylvania, twelve-year-old Jack Gantos spends the summer of 1962 grounded for various offenses until he is assigned to help an elderly neighbor with a most unusual chore involving the newly dead, molten wax, twisted promises, Girl Scout cookies, underage driving, lessons from history, typewriting, and countless bloody noses.

Reluctantly, Mr. Putter and his cat, Tabby, agree to go ballroom dancing with Mrs. Teaberry and her dog, Zeke.

While enjoying autumn weather and activities, Mr. Putter, realizing how much he misses going to school, takes his cat Tabby, their adventurous neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, and her cake-loving dog Zeke to "Show and Tell."

A young python does not want to grow slow and boring like the older snakes he sees in the tropical jungle where he lives.

Mr. Putter's neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, decides that they should join a band, but finding the right one isn't as easy as it sounds--for them or their pets.

When he gets too old to climb up the ladder, Mr. Putter and his cat Tabby figure out an ingenious way to pick pears for pear jelly.

Samuel, an eleven-year-old Kentucky slave, and Harrison, the elderly slave who helped raise him, attempt to escape to Canada via the Underground Railroad.

Sophia knits a special hat for her elderly neighbor and knitting teacher, Mrs. Goldman.

Mr. Putter is convinced to run in a senior marathon with his neighbor, Mrs. Teaberry, when he learns that second prize is a train set.