Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice

K-Gr 3—Mrs. Noodlekugel is back with more of her signature unapologetic quirkiness. The four mice who live with her need eyeglasses, so she loads them, along with her cat, Mr. Fuzzface, and the neighbor kids, Nick and Maxine, onto the bus. Once downtown, the group visits the oculist's shop, where the mice have eye exams and are fitted for glasses. The next stop is Dirty Sally's Lunchroom for a cheesecake treat served by a monkey. While the mice are lovable and cute-especially during their eye exams, as they mime whether they see a piece of cheese, a cat, or a mouse wearing a cowboy hat on the eye chart-Mr. Fuzzface really steals the show. His contributions to the dialogue reflect a cat who takes himself seriously; when Mrs. Noodlekugel reminds him that he'll need to ride in a cat carrier on the bus, he informs her that he resents being treated like an animal. In a serendipitous turn of events, he is reunited with his long-lost father, the seafaring Oldface, toward whom Fuzzface has long harbored resentment. When the cat hears his father's story and Oldface announces, "Fuzzface, I yam yer fadder," all is forgiven, and Oldface finds a new home under Mrs. Noodlekugel's roof. Readers will appreciate the characters' distinct personalities and the book's wacky humor. Plenty of black-and-white illustrations bring every step of the group's journey to life. Mrs. Noodlekugel's fan base will undoubtedly continue to grow with this addition; her books will surely join the canon of must-read beginning chapter-book series.—Amanda Struckmeyer, Middleton Public Library, Madison, WI