Mrs. Noodlekugel
Pinkwater takes his fey brand of humor into early chapter books with this story about a jolly little lady who lives in house within a circle of high-rises. Siblings Maxine and Nick discover the house and are determined to find out who lives there. Mike the janitor tells them that buildings grew up around the house—which is owned by nice, old Mrs. Noodlekugel—and that you can get there through the boiler room. Their father orders them not to go near the house. But of course they do, and soon the kids are having gingerbread cookies and tea with Mrs. Noodlekugel—and her cat, the piano-playing Mr. Fuzzface; and the mice, who serve as cookie cutters; and the gingerbread mice who seem to have a life of their own. The book is quite short, even for the genre, but it’s full of odd twists and amusing turns that will get new readers giggling. The cover art is so delicious readers will immediately pick this up and, when done, happily await the next Mrs. Noodlekugel adventure. Grades 1-3. --Ilene Cooper