Harry Cat's Pet Puppy

Chester Cricket and His Friends #3

by George Selden

"Get that thing out of here!" Tucker shouted.



Tucker Mouse was waiting impatiently in the drainpipe in the Times Square subway station where he and his friend, Harry Cat, made their home.  And when Harry finally came home, he was dragging with him what looked like a dirty dish mop.  It was a puppy.



"It's staying for supper?" asked Tucker incredulously.



Huppy was to stay a good deal longer than that, and Tucker and Harry were kept busy seeing to the needs of their new pet.  As their fondness for Huppy grew, so did the dog, until the day came when he no longer fitted into the drainpipe.  A new home had to be found for him-but where?  Surely not with Max, leader of the Bryant Park pack of strays!  If only Miss Catherine, the high-toned Siamese cat of Mr. Smedley, the music teacher, could be persuaded to accept an addition to the family . ..

Genres: Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy, Middle Grade, Cats, Chapter Books

176 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1974

About the author

George Selden (1929-1989) was the author of The Cricket in Times Square, winner of the 1961 Newbery Honor and a timeless children's classic. Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Selden received his B.A. from Yale, where he was a member of the Elizabethan Club and contributed to the literary magazine. He spent three summer sessions at Columbia University and, after college, studied for a year in Rome on a Fulbright Scholarship.

People often asked Selden how he got the idea for The Cricket in Times Square. "One night I was coming home on the subway, and I did hear a cricket chirp in the Times Square subway station. The story formed in my mind within minutes. An author is very thankful for minutes like those, although they happen all too infrequently." The popular Cricket series grew to seven titles, including Tucker's Countryside and The Old Meadow. In 1973, The Cricket in Times Square was made into an animated film. Selden wrote more than fifteen books, as well as two plays. His storytelling blends the marvelous with the commonplace realities of life, and it was essential to him that his animal characters display true emotions and feelings.

http://us.macmillan.com/author/george...

Reviews

[Stephanie Fitzgerald]

You can definitely tell that George Selden is a true New Yorker, by the turns of phrases he uses in his writing. Only a citizen of that big city could make even the unpleasant things about it sound attractive and exciting!
This story about Harry Cat, Tucker Mouse, and a stray puppy they rescue called Huppy, takes the reader beyond the Times Square Station and the famous drainpipe. One is shown specific NYC sites such as the Hudson River Promenade, Bryant Park, the alleys of Tenth Avenue, and the splendor of the Upper West Side residences in the narrative.
Once again, the Garth Williams illustrations are truly memorable. His ability to convey emotions on the faces of the characters and in their body language is nothing short of remarkable. (I dare the reader not to crack up at the sight of Tucker’s “mad mouse” antics)!
Sigh…I’ve enjoyed re-visiting these books from my childhood, and motherhood (I read them with my boys). Perhaps the wedding of my youngest son last week created a need for some “comfort book time”. Another sigh… Ironically, he and my new daughter-in-law are spending their honeymoon in New York!
Maybe someday, I’ll be reading these books with a grandchild…🙂💜

[Jen]

Cute, quick read. I prefer The Cricket in Times Square to this one, but it’s not bad and animal loving children will get a kick out of it I think. Good for younger readers who are out of the chapter book stage, but not quite yet ready for tomes the size of Harry Potter. 3, that cover is TOO CUTE, stars.

[Dave Reuter]

GREATEST book of all time !
Turned me on to reading.

[Luisa Knight]

This is book #3 in the series.

Selden created another fun tale! I enjoyed this one a lot. Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse have now added a member to their home ... though not exactly willingly from Tucker's side. There's some great scenes in here and some fun banter!

Cleanliness: Shut up, for heaven's sake, Gosh, darn, the heck with it, for land's sake, for mercy's sake are all said several times throughout the book. "Oh my lord" and "Good Lord" are said once each. "Stupid, vicious little mutt" is said. "Bl**dy" is used once to mean lots of blood.

**Like my reviews? I also have hundreds of detailed reports that I offer too. These reports give a complete break-down of everything in the book, so you'll know just how clean it is or isn't. I also have Clean Guides (downloadable PDFs) which enable you to clean up your book before reading it!

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[Orinoco Womble (tidy bag and all)]

If I had read this at about age 8 I'm sure I would have loved it. But now, well. Not quite "meh" but very nearly. For overweening Schmalz, you can't do better than Selden. I don't know, it just didn't quite fly for me. It's not as bad as Tucker's Countryside, as this time the author has the sense to keep human interaction to a minimum. I don't have a problem with animals talking and acting like humans; however, this was just...odd. It reads like he was hoping to turn it into an animated film or something. The animals have become character types (though I'm glad to see less "yiddishe Mousie" on Tucker's part), and the hippy-pigeon who constantly wraps her wing around someone's head or pats them on the shoulder left me cold. The "dramatic" bit near the end was just weird. WHY would an alley cat care about a puppy, particularly one he found quite a distance from his stamping ground? If he'd turned up in the subway station or the entrance, well okay. If Selden's objective was to interest kids and their parents in adopting strays, he forgot to develop the thread sufficiently to show them how to go about it.

My test of a really good children's book is, "Does it engage and interest an adult?" True classics do (even...geh...Harry Potter). I read this one in about an hour on a sleepless night. It was okay, and better as I say than Selden's transitional book. But too many things seemed like a warming-over of leftovers from The Cricket in Times Square: the animal dinner party, Tucker's obsession with his money, the "let's convince the humans to adopt the animal"--even the musical motif has been seen before.
Three stars because it's not bad, it just didn't do it for me.

[Holly]

One of my all-time favorite childhood books.

[Cynthia Egbert]

Another 3.5 star that I dropped to 3 stars because there were a few moments where the story dragged for me. But it is another adorable installment in the lives of these animals that I love. And the ending is so very happy. I missed Chester Cricket but still enjoyed spending time with Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse and a few new characters. What a fun series to revisit as an adult.

[Maeve]

In the book Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy by George Selden, it started off at the drainpipe in the Times Square subway station where Harry cat and his friend Tucker the mouse lived. One evening tucker mouse was preparing dinner and harry cat came in with a puppy that looked like a dirty mop. So, they gave him a bath and gave him a name. His name was Huppy. But then one day Huppy had outgrown the drainpipe and they needed to find him a home for him quickly. So, they gave him to Max, the leader of the pack of strays in Bryant Park, so they would have some time to try and find him a home. If only Miss Catherine, a siamese cat who was owned by Mr. Smedley would let Huppy be an addition to her family.


I thought this book was adorable, the way Harry the cat and Tucked the mouse were friends. When usually a cat would rather chase a mouse and a mouse would usually run from a cat. Also it was cute because Harry cat brings this puppy into the drainpipe and basically wants to adopt it. The strengths of this book are that all these different types of animals get along so well. When they would usually want to be with their own type instead of being with a different type of animal. I would definitely recommend this book to a classmate because it is a very good book.

[DivaDiane SM]

I know I read this when I was 8, 9 or 10, but I don't remember any of it at all except the drainpipe, that is.

Be that as it may, it is such a lovely book. I'm delighted my son likes them just as much. And there's humor which can probably only be appreciated by a more mature reader.

This one was not quite as poignant at the end as the Cricket in Times Square. Probably because we don't really get to know Huppy very well.

[Katja Labonté]

5+ stars & 6/10 hearts. I was hesitant to start this story, because I didn’t quite love book 2. But THIS one!! Oh my!! I loved it so much! Harry & Tucker have the BEST friendship, and Huppy is so super cute! Miss Catherine and Lulu were unexpected additions but so super fun!! There were a few euphemisms and a couple mentions that someone swore, but that was all the content I can remember. It was even funnier than book 1, I think! I definitely enjoyed it a LOT. :D

A Favourite Humorous Quote: “The last Thursday of every month … was house-cleaning day in the drainpipe. This meant, for all practical purposes, that Tucker rearranged the clutter of everything he’d ever collected…. So he moved all the junk to new locations—at least it made the drainpipe LOOK different—and called it cleaning house…. Huppy had watched him all afternoon, lugging this thing here, and that thing there, and the other thing into the opposite corner. (It was really redecorating, not cleaning at all.) And the puppy had been most impressed when Tucker had said to himself, “I guess I can throw this out”—and tossed the hairpin to whatever fate awaited it.”

[Diane]

A charming story, purely entertaining, with delightfully human animal characters. Wonderful pen illustrations by Garth Williams Perfect reading for a soggy day outside. The animals are hilarious and resourceful, living and thriving through many adventures in Times Square. 4.5 stars upgraded to 5. Because... Christmas.

[Angie]

I didn’t spend the afternoon re-reading Dandelion Wine I read this cute book instead. A little bit ago I came across an excellent illustration online of a cat, a mouse, a pigeon and a small dog half-drowned in an alley and I remembered this book! I promptly tracked down a used copy and ordered it. It arrived with a very sweet inscription on the outside cover itself, in a child’s writing “for Mom.” It is a very cute book with awesome Garth Williams illustrations. I enjoyed it very much and the loved illustrations.

[Brittany]

it has a strange tone that is almost compelling but doesn't quite get there. the characters aren't developed well. loved the illustrations by Garth Williams, though.

[Kris]

I read this book several times as a child and loved it, and recently it popped into my head again after almost 40 years. When I saw it was available and inexpensive on Kindle, I bought it and spent a wonderful nostalgic weekend with characters I enjoyed. I'm thinking of rereading the rest of the series.

[Bhg]

Enjoy this tale for its portrayal of a New York (and a New York Times that had ceased to exist. Selden prefers things, and people, as they ought to be.

The illustrations (they sell the book to even a reluctant reader) by Garth Williams would elevate this tale from a three star to a four but its message - subtly and skilfully interwoven in the midst of the comedy - is what earns it that extra star.

Manners, civility, chivalry, empathy, courage, sharing, tradition, antiques, classical music, discipline, and grammatical English are good things. He demonstrates convincingly why good is not only attractive but necessary.

My favorite example is the scene when the leader of the gang of dogs, Max, cuffs Miss Catherine, the Siamese cat.

"But for Miss Catherine, the blow was worse than the pain. She'd been insulted - truly, deeply insulted. Even the fright of being gripped in the none-too-gentle hand of the law was nothing to be compared with this. With almost a kitten's helplessness, she turned away and began to cry.

 For the others, her tears were dreadful to see. It is awful when a real lady cries - either human ladies or dogs or cats. It makes you feel ashamed and angry and powerless all at once, the way a person always feels, against all written and unwritten rules, something happens that simply should not."

[Amy Gourley]

I love A Cricket in Times Square and for the longest time I thought Tucker's Countryside was its only sequel. I've read a few of the others and now this one. It started out slow but it picked up and I couldn't wait to see what happened next. Chester Cricket doesn't play a part in this book but of course, Harry Cat and Tucker Mouse do, and also another minor character from ACITS. My favorite character is Tucker; love him!

[Kali]

What a strange little book! I kept finding myself wondering at the sheer inanity of the goings on in here... and how, in any other book, they'd likely seem ridiculous and contrived. But here, where we're familiar with the main characters and their unusual circumstances (a Cat and Mouse living together in a drainage pipe in a Times Square subway station), it seems like... well, it's still a bit of a madcap adventure!

Harry the Cat somehow, inexplicably (seriously, they don't really explain it, it just is) adopts a small abandoned puppy from an out-of-the-way alley and brings him home to the drain pipe. The Cat and Mouse duo name him "Huppy" (short for Harry's Puppy) and the story is underway.

For this installment of the Chester Cricket story, one must first of all forgive the lack of Chester Cricket (he's mentioned, but does not play a role in the story), and also suspend any disbelief they might still have, because things in this story get a bit... weird. All of the new characters you'll meet here are definitely characters in the figurative sense of the word, as well. Lulu is even stated by the other characters (and herself) to be a bit kookoo, and Huppy himself is a mischievous little scamp who seems to think endangering poor Tucker's life is a hilarious pastime. There's also an entire gang of miscreant dogs who enjoy their own form of sledding, and an uppity prima-donna Siamese Cat with a heart of gold.

At any rate, the story itself (as unusual and unexpected as it is) is told with Selden's usual charm and poetic prose - making this another enjoyable segment in the Chester Cricket series, and ultimately a book worth reading. Though one should make sure they read the two earlier books in the series before this one, as I can't even imagine what someone might make of this one without the benefit of knowing at least a little of what's going on at the start!

[Jen Michalski]

Summary from "Jen's Scholastic Summer," a video series based on a lot of vintage 1970s MG books in varying condition I bought from eBay:

https://www.instagram.com/jenmichalsk...

This is a spinoff of George Seldon’s more popular A Cricket in Times Square, which featured Harry the cat, Tucker the mouse, and Mr. Smedley the piano teacher.

What I liked
This is an adorable book with just enough plot to keep one reading. Will Harry and Tucker find Huppy a new home, or will they have to leave their beloved drainpipe in the Times Square subway station and find a new one? An adorable cross-species cast of characters—Lulu the pigeon and the regal Miss Catherine the Siamese cat help on the journey. Seldon is a native New Yorker and gives the reader an intimate look at several Manhattan neighborhoods, along with its early 70s grittiness. Even though it’s dated, I don’t believe children will even notice. Although Tucker and Harry do feel like they’re based on the Odd Couple—however, so were Bert and Ernie, who are popular to this day!
Also, this book is bursting with illustrations by Garth Williams, famous for his drawings in the Little House on the Prairie books and Charlotte’s Web.

What I Didn’t Like
I’m nit picking here, but I hated the title. Yes, Harry finds Huppy the puppy, but Tucker is just as instrumental in finding him a home and loves him just as much. I think I would have called it Happy Home, but you have to read the book to figure out exactly why I prefer this title. The animals can be little mean to each other at times and say hurtful things, so that’s something to consider for young readers.

Verdict
Harry Cat’s Pet Puppy was a real treat! I really felt emotionally invested in the characters and hated leaving them. Luckily, George Seldon felt the same way, and there are a few sequels—seven books in all—featuring Tucker, Harry, and Chester Cricket, who anchored the first book. Get this book and read it!

[Joseph Grice]

I've been reading the Cricket series to my daughter. She loved the first two, Cricket in Times Square and Tucker's Countryside. We've also read Harry Kitten and Tucker Mouse, and Chester's Pigeon Ride. But, Harry Cat's Pet Puppy, is the only one so far that she hasn't wanted me to finish. She said it was boring. But for me, what I didn't like is it lacked the warmth and sweetness of the other books- Harry and Tucker spend a lot of this one mad at each other and, frankly, being kind of rude to each other. On the plus side, it still has the delightful sense of a fully imagined world, getting to experience life as a mouse and cat... It's got all the vivid imagination of the others we've read..and I certainly like the complexity of their relationship... It's just missing that magical something, and my personal feeling is it's the warmth and sweetness. https://curiositypetshop.com/collecti...

[Robert]

This book, Harry Cat's Pet Puppy, is full of adventurous events with animals that understand English and speak English, but also with humans that speak English but don't understand animal-spoken English. Harry, a cat, found a dog stranded in the middle of a street. Together, Harry Cat and his friend Tucker Mouse raised the puppy up. They named him Huppy, because Harry had found it, but it was a puppy, which made Huppy. But later, they realized that Huppy was too big, and had to somewhere else. They found a dog gang, and Huppy stayed there for a while. That changed when Tucker found the gang inappropriate for a proper dog, and Huppy changed homes once more to a friendly musician they knew, who lived in an apartment. And Huppy was coincidentally renamed Happy by the Musician.

This book has lots of extremely difficult conflicts inside regarding Huppy. For example, Huppy didn't know much at the beginning, and was caught dumping money! They later seemed to resolve his conflicts by planning to move Huppy to a hospital... but, once again, conflicts arose. The list went on and on until they finally moved him to the apartment building. These conflicts were all solved by friendships & teamwork, which also made the story fun and adventurous.

[Jen]

I read this out loud to my kids. They enjoyed the story and the characters. We read The Cricket in Times Square first and loved that one. My one gripe with this book is that the animals tell each other to "shut up" pretty frequently. We teach our children that it's not a kind way to speak to each other, so I don't like that a children's book says it so often.

[Angie]

James gave this 5 stars, but it was a little difficult for him to read on his own. I will say, it was hard for me to read to him, because there is a lot of dialogue that switches between characters without always including who said what. It can be confusing. Still, he thought Tucker Mouse was funny, and enjoyed the story a lot.

[Sarah]

I didn't like this one as much as the first two. Some scenes were great, but a lot of it felt like a slog. I'm giving it three stars since my kids still really enjoyed it, especially Tucker Mouse's antics.

[Rory Jewell]

3rd book in the series that I read to my children (5&8) at bedtime. They continue to enjoy it but I feel like I lost some of enjoyment in this chapter. After finishing we switched to a different series, though we may return.

[Jennifer]

Not a particularly memorable story, but entertaining enough to finish. I didn't like any of the animals enough to become attached to them, and I did think Tucker got shafted quite a bit.

[Nathan]

A Favorite.

[Shanna]

A cat and a mouse rescue a puppy, then work with their pigeon friend to find him a permanent home. Adorable and adventurous tale.

[Kimberly Collins]

Loads of fun

My daughter and I loved this. Lots of new characters to meet. We are going to buy the next one now!
.

[Joyfully Jules]

This was pretty good! I think I liked the last book in the series better, but overall it was cute and interesting!

[Samantha]

This was a fun series to read.