Mrs. Noodlekugel

Young Nick and Martine discover a little cottage, the home of little old lady Mrs. Noodlekugel; a talking cat named Mr. Fuzzface; and four extremely farsighted mice. Together the children and their newfound friends make gingerbread. While the cookies bake, Mr. Fuzzface entertains the guests with a piano recital. Stower's pencil drawings perfectly echo the joyous insouciance of this benign--if surreal--backyard world.

In novels and picture books we've seen Pinkwater in a variety of modes -- absurd, satirical, anarchic, deadpan, funny-melancholy. In this offering, an early chapter book, we see yet another color in his palette: cozy. Nick and Martine discover a little cottage, hemmed in by their own tall apartment block and others and accessible only through the basement boiler room. It is the home of Mrs. Noodlekugel, "a little old lady with bright, dark eyes, a pointy little nose, and rosy cheeks"; a capable talking cat named Mr. Fuzzface; and four extremely farsighted mice. Together the children and their newfound friends make gingerbread. The recipe is traditional, but the method is innovative: the mice lie on the dough and the others trace around them with toothpicks. While the cookies are baking, Mr. Fuzzface entertains the guests with a piano recital. Will it all end with the classic cozy ending of a tea party? Almost. There is one more nursery rhymish surprise in store as the baked gingermice jump off the pans and scuttle out into the garden. Stower's pencil drawings perfectly echo the joyous insouciance of this benign -- if surreal -- backyard world. sarah ellis