Houndsley and Catina Plink and Plunk

Houndsley and Catina #4

by James Howe, Marie-Louise Gay (Illustrator)

Now in paperback, this Candlewick Sparks title offers newly independent readers the chance to experience early fiction from one of today’s most talented author-and-illustrator teams.

Houndsley loves to canoe. Catina loves to ride bikes. But when Houndsley takes Catina out canoeing, she chatters the whole time, drowning out the sounds Houndsley loves, like the call of birds or the plink and plunk of the paddles. And when Catina wants to go biking, Houndsley balks at going. What is wrong with Catina? And what is wrong with Houndsley? From the creators of the E. B. White Read Aloud winner HOUNDSLEY AND CATINA comes another adventure about a charming pair of friends.

Genres: Animals, Friendship, Dogs, Cats, Childrens, Picture Books, Fiction

48 pages, Paperback

First published April 14, 2009

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the Goodreads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

James Howe has written more than eighty books in the thirty-plus years he's been writing for young readers. It sometimes confuses people that the author of the humorous Bunnicula series also wrote the dark young adult novel, The Watcher, or such beginning reader series as Pinky and Rex and the E.B. White Read Aloud Award-winning Houndsley and Catina and its sequels. But from the beginning of his career (which came about somewhat by accident after asking himself what kind of vampire a rabbit might make), he has been most interested in letting his imagination take him in whatever direction it cared to. So far, his imagination has led him to picture books, such as I Wish I Were a Butterfly and Brontorina (about a dinosaur who dreams of being a ballerina), mysteries, poetry (in the upcoming Addie on the Inside), and fiction that deals with issues that matter deeply to him. He is especially proud of The Misfits, which inspired national No Name-Calling Week (www.nonamecallingweek.org) and its sequel Totally Joe. He does not know where his imagination will take him in the next thirty-plus years, but he is looking forward to finding out.

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Reviews

[Calista]

I love this series. It has been wonderful and I am sad to see it end. I love the gentle way Houndsley and Catina have with each other. They help each other face their fears and do things they didn't do very well. These books model respect, compassion and gentleness towards others. They are fantastic.

These are possibly my favorite series of James Howe's, maybe the Misfits series is his best. This is some of his best work.

Great for beginning readers, might not be the most exciting for them, but it has deep characters.

[Betsy]

I first heard about Houndsley and Catina in the best possible way. The way that's even better than librarian recommendations, blog reviews, or advanced reader galleys. A year or so ago I was sitting at my reference desk, minding my own business, when a child that couldn't have been much more than six years of age came up to me. "Do you have Houndsley and Catina?" Part of my training is meant to encourage me to avoid the-blank-stare. The-blank-stare is death to any reference question. I covered up my confusion with a perky, "Let's see!" and then desperately started searching the catalog. To my amazement we did indeed have something called Houndsley and Catina in the collection. More amazing still, it appeared to be by that James Howe fellow. You know the guy who wrote all those Bunnicula books then turned around and started doing awesome YA novels as well like Totally Joe? Now he was doing early readers? I gave the now ecstatic girl one copy, then snatched the other from the shelf and started reading it on the sly. You know how sometimes something brilliant falls through the cracks? Yeah. That was definitely the case here. Within seconds I was enthralled, then depressed. How had I missed this? It was small comfort when the book won the E.B. White Readaloud Award later that year. I still wished I'd known enough to read it and recommend it and review it when it was first available. Now I have that chance again. Houndsley and Catina have continued their small, quiet adventures unabated and the fourth of these Plink and Plunk manages to use the easy reader format to cover issues like acceptance and masking your real feelings for the sake of your friends (to the detriment of everyone). Heavy stuff in a nearly weightless little package.

Houndsley has a bit of a difficulty. He would very much like to go canoeing on this simply beautiful day but his friend Bert is unavailable. That leaves Houndsley's best friend, Catina, who is a wonderful person but a jabberjaws when it comes to canoeing. While Houndsley would prefer to just sit and enjoy the "plink" and "plunk" of the canoe oars, Catina insists on talking nonstop, until some bumpy water renders her eerily silent. Later, Houndsley receives a bike from his cousin and at Catina's urging joins her on a bike ride. The trouble? He doesn't know how to ride a two-wheeler. Fortunately Catina and Bert teach Houndsley and Catina confesses that the reason she speaks without cease when she's canoeing is because she's nervous and doesn't know how to swim. Houndsley and Bert (who is apparently good at everything) teach her as well, and in the end the three friends go canoeing at last in sweet and utter silence.

If you are unfamiliar with the format of a Houndsley and Catina book then the first chapter of this title is going to confuse you. Often an early reader contains short little chapters that are self-contained stories. Frog and Toad books do this a lot. In this book, however, the first chapter ends on a mystery. Houndsley and Catina have just experienced some rough water and her stream of blather has come to an abrupt cease. Why? Chapter Two immediately switches scenes, and if you didn't know that the story was going to solve the mystery later on you might get the feeling that James Howe had the attention span of . . . well . . . of Catina. Instead, parents who are reading this book to their children (or are having the books read to them) can ask what the kids think after that initial chapter. Why do you think Catina got so quiet? Are there clues in the illustrations? Spoiler Alert: yep.

From book one, the pairing of Marie-Louise Gay and James Howe was inspired. I saw both Ms. Gay and Mr. Howe speak at an American Booksellers Association dinner where they accepted their E.B. White Readaloud Award. From the audience where I sat it seemed to me that Ms. Gay was Catina-esque. She had a lovely French-Canadian accent and beautiful flowy clothes. James Howe was quieter and less prone to effusion, but pitch perfect in his choice of words. They are very much a kind of Houndsley and Catina of their own. Howe provides the heart and the simple touching phrasing. Gay brings, on her end, sweet watercolors that capably convey both the tone and the feel of the book in full.

Ms. Gay knows her way around a paintbrush, and if you've seen her work on books like Please Louise or Stella Princess of the Sky then you will know what I am talking about. On top of all that is the fact that the clothing choices in this book are inspired. Catina is prone to delicate little fabrics that contain full swirls of color. Even her bike helmet (tangerine with tiny holes at the top for her ears) is decorative. Houndsley, in comparison, is perfectly comfortable working in his garden in an old undershirt and some beat up workpants. They are what they wear, without ever really overdoing it.

I'm so pleased to finally, belatedly, get around to reviewing one of the books in this series. It's a review that is long overdue. Finding good easy readers is a chore for a lot of parents. You want something simple, but meaningful. Quiet, but also fun. Howe and Gay provide with each and every book they do. And this fourth in the series constitutes the perfect spring or summer read. Everything you want in an easy reader. Everything you need in a book.

Ages 4-8

[Josiah]

With the release of this fourth book of the award-winning Houndsley and Catina series, we find out more about some other friends that live in Houndsley and Catina's world, Bert and Mimi; the story, though, as always, is mostly focused on the friendship of Houndsley and Catina. By really listening to each other and being sensitive of the other's needs, the title pair is able to overcome any hurdles to their friendship that might ever arise, and I don't see that changing anytime soon.

Even the best of friends don't have all the same natural likes and dislikes, nor do they share the same fears. While Houndsley loves the quiet bliss of canoeing out on the lake and drinking in the sounds and sights of nature, Catina isn't very fond of the water. To her, time spent on the lake isn't relaxing at all. Catina does, however, enjoy bicycling, though Houndsley isn't so sure how he feels about it. After all, one has to learn to ride a bike first, and without knowing how to do that, attempting to go on a biking trip probably isn't going to be much fun. One's passion for an activity can certainly rub off on a friend, though, as Houndsley and Catina learn when they take the time to show each other the hows and whys of enjoying the activities that they love. Just when it appears that a friendship is complete, it seems that another new piece is right there waiting to be added, ready to enrich the quality of what is already so fulfilling. I guess that's the way a friendship is, constantly growing and shifting and never standing still, continuing to get better as long as we pay it proper attention and make sure to help it grow the right way, weeding and pruning to ensure that it stays healthy. There's nothing sweeter or more rewarding than a strong, close friendship.

I'm not sure what James Howe has planned for this series. As of the time of this writing, Houndsley and Catina Plink and Plunk is the final volume, but that could change. I hope it does, as Houndsley and Catina have a unique way of modeling friendship that speaks well with few words, demonstrating admirably the ways in which caring friends treat each other and warming the hearts of those who have memories of their own good friends, their own Houndsleys and Catinas. This is an invaluable series for anyone open to reading and learning about friendship, and getting to know the characters is an experience that holds its own rewards. I fondly and gratefully recommend the Houndsley and Catina books.

[Felicity The Magnificent]

In this book there was a bird named Bert. Bert's aunt was in the hospital. Bert was staying with her. Bert's aunt was named Aunt Martha. Houndsley gave some vegetables to Bert. Houndsley went canoeing with Bert at the lake every weekend, but because Bert was in the hospital with Aunt Martha, Houndsley went with Catina. Every time Houndsley went canoeing with Catina, she talked and talked and talked and talked and talked the whole way when they were canoeing. She talked because she didn't like water. She didn't like water because she didn't know how to swim. One morning when Houndsley was working in his garden, he saw the mailman Mimi coming to deliver his mail. Catina asked what it was. And then Houndsley opened the box and there Catina saw a bicycle. Catina asked why she never went biking with Houndsley. She said biking was one of her favorite things to do. They went on a ride. Catina asked if Mimi wanted to ride on his bike with them. Mimi said no because he had more mail to deliver. Then they heard a voice saying, "Can I ride with you?" It was Bert. Aunt Martha was out of the hospital. Bert said he could get his bicycle, but it was really a tricycle. Houndsley wibbled, Houndsley wobbled, and Houndsley fell into a cluster of azalea bushes. Bert started laughing. Catina started laughing, and soon Houndsley started laughing, too. After they were done laughing, Bert told Houndsley he could use Bert's tricycle. Houndsley wibbled, Houndsley wobbled, and Houndsley stayed out of the azalea bushes. Before Houndsley knew it, he was ready for two-wheelers. They set up the picnic that they had brought. Catina asked Houndsley if he remembered how Catina talked the whole time while they were canoeing. Houndsley said yes. Catina said it was because she was afraid of water. Houndsley asked her why she was afraid of water. Catina answered because she didn't know how to swim. Houndsley asked Catina if they could go down to the lake the next day. Bert asked if he could come with them. Houndsley said sure. The next day they all went to the lake. Catina learned how to dog paddle. -by Felicity

[Julie]

About first-second grade, lexile score 480L - Beginning reader

This book is really cute, about two friends who go on small everyday adventures together, like paddling a canoe and riding a bike. The watercolor illustrations are really sweet and add a lot of clues to the text. There is not too much text on the page, and each page is largely illustration.

I really like that this book, although filled with animal characters, is relatable for children. Houndsley is scared to ride a bike for the first time, and he crashes his bike. But his friends are supportive and he is brave and gets back on the bike.

Although the language in this book is not too difficult for the most part, there are a few words that surprised me. When Houndsley crashes his bike, he lands in an azalea bush. Instead of going on a boat, they go canoeing. I kind of like that the author doesn't shy away from these harder words.

This book would be great for a end of year first grader or beginning of the year second grader. They would be pleased because it is a chapter book, and the plot of the book is very clear and simple so that the student could discuss plot with the teacher. We could also talk about aspects like conflict, because each of the characters has a small conflict (such as not knowing how to ride a bike or swim) and they must solve their problem with the help and support of their friends.

[Jessie Bear]

Two friends embark on outdoor activities, discovering the power of friendship through conquering fears and acquiring new skills. This heart-warming tale spans three chapters. Together, the story is stronger than if the chapters were read as a stand-alone, as the third chapter unites the first two and provides a satisfying resolution. The worries and new skills Houndsley and Catina deal with, swimming and riding a two-wheeled bicycle, are appropriately relevant to the target reading audience. The text is broken up unevenly, with varying amounts of words on each page. Some pages have only a few sentences while some have an unbroken page of text, transitioning early readers into a more text-heavy format. The illustrations still break up the story well, and like the text, vary in size up to an entire page. This book is illustrated using watercolor, pencil, and collage, which is especially successful in depicting the trees and water of the outdoor settings. Each picture shows the characters moving or interacting, capturing the main elements of the story. This early reader carries excellent morals about honesty, facing fears, and trying something new, supported by a tale of strong, solid friendship. It is highly recommended for children ages six through seven.

[Allison]

This was really cute. I really liked this book. It was all just a big misunderstanding. Houndsley and Catina were both not only being polite but being super nice to each other by not complaining. Catina knew Houndsley liked canoeing, so even though she was uncomfortable on the water, she still went along with him anyway because she knew it made him happy. Houndsley knew that Catina liked to ride her bike but he didn't know how to ride a bike but was being nice and doing what Catina wanted to do. When the truth came out they were all relieved. Bert and Catina taught Houndsley how to ride a bike and Houndsley taught Catina how to swim. They all went canoeing together and enjoyed the plink and plunk of the paddles. It was a great lesson for children. It is nice to do things for and with other people but if you are not comfortable doing something, speak up and they will understand. I also really enjoyed the illustrations. They were very colorful and I really liked the looks of the characters. I also liked they were all being good role models by wearing their helmets when they were riding their bikes and life vests when canoeing.

[Dolly]

Once again, I am really impressed with these books. We've read three of the Houndsley and Catina stories and each time, I am wow'ed by the sensitivity, creativity and humor as well as by the engaging stories. Even the illustrations are soft and comforting. Three fairly separate stories come together in the end to depict the epitome of friendship and to also offer a moral lesson. In this case, I love that they help each other overcome a fear and also that they are both willing to be uncomfortable or even a little scared in order to support a friend. We really enjoy reading these books together and I'm sad that there are only four so far. I sincerely hope that this author/illustrator team comes together to create more.

[babyhippoface]

Friends Houndsley the dog and Catina the cat both have to face their fears in three stories in this fun beginning chapter book. In the first story the pair go canoeing, but Catina chatters incessantly and nearly ruins the trip for Houndsley--until the smooth ride turns bumpy, and Catina turns mute. The second and third stories revolve around the arrival of a new bicycle, and Houndsley's fears of riding. When both are brave enough to admit their fear, the friends help each other through. Cheerful watercolors accompany the playful stories. This is a series worth purchasing.

[Grady]

A nearly perfect children's book, at least from this adult's perspective. The three chapters stand alone, but also tell a story about friendship - appreciating one another's strengths, and learning how to help a friend overcome their weaknesses. The characters - Houndsley the dog, Catina the cat, Bert the stork, and Mimi the rabbit - are distinct and lovable. The illustrations, in watercolor, pencil, and collage, are funny and so lively that they seem almost animated - you know exactly how these characters would look in motion. And it's mostly set outdoors.

[Rosa Cline]

This was a really nice storybook small chapter book about several friends recognizing each other's things they are scared of. Each friend didn't want to admit to being afraid of doing something but after they talked about it they each helped each other over their fears. Very nice book.

[Molly]

Another sweet Houndsley and Catina Story. The talk about their fears and things that annoy them. Again fun story and great for the fans of Henry and Mudge. Grades 1+

[Friend of Pixie]

Not our favorite H & C book, but we did enjoy it.

[Ashley]

This is suited to 2nd-3rd graders as it contains a few chapters. The stories are about two friends, a dog and a cat who overcome their fears and struggles with the help of each other.

[Jen]

Houndsley and Catina are best friends and help each other overcome fears in this sweet easy chapter book.

[Bethe]

More fun adventures in the spring this time as the friends tackle their fears for new outside activities. Love how they work together, such a sweet and gentle friendship.

[j]

A lovely book about learning to communicate fear :)

[Lahars_little_library]

Guided Reading Level: K

[J.]

AR Quiz No. 129564 EN Fiction
Accelerated Reader Quiz Information IL: LG - BL: 2.8 - AR Pts: 0.5

[Terry]

Read. Not reviewed.

[Anthony]

Houndsley likes to canoe and Catina likes to ride bikes. Catina is a chatter box when she goes canoe, but Houndsley enjoys the sounds of nature and plink and plunk of the oars. It is soon discovered why Catina talks during the canoe rides, and why Houndsley never wants to go bike riding. Their friend Bert helps them solve their problems.