This was a cute story that took us months to read, for some reason. The characters were well drawn (and fun to do different voices for). We like Rylant's shorter books (Mr. Putter & Tabby, Henry & Mudge), so we decided to give this a try. My 8.5 year old gave it 3.5 stars. When we got about 3/4s of the way through the book, he asked, "Is this WHOLE book about finding Stumpy?" And I had to say yes. So, I think he wouldn't have liked a little bit more action or possibly variety or something. I rounded up to 4 stars, because it's sweet, and the pictures are cute. This would be a great read aloud for extra sensitive kids, as there isn't too much in the way of stressful situations or suspense. We did laugh aloud at Murray the bat's antics. :) ( )