Mrs. Noodlekugel and Four Blind Mice

by Daniel Pinkwater

Overview

Four farsighted mice get glasses — and a talking cat solves a family mystery — as the charmingly eccentric Mrs. Noodlekugel returns. When Mrs. Noodlekugel’s four mice make a terrible mess with cookie crumbs at tea, she decides to take them on the bus to visit the eye doctor — and invites Nick and Maxine to come along! The mice ride on Mrs. Noodlekugel’s hat, while Mr. Fuzzface, her talking cat, has the indignity of riding in a carrier. Afterward, the hungry crew head to Dirty Sally’s Lunchroom, but the mice overdo their cheesecake and run out the door. Luckily a policeman is at the ready to help with the search — as is a rough-edged, yarn-spinning alley cat with a surprising connection to Mr. Fuzzface! It’s all a day in the life of Daniel Pinkwater’s whimsical characters, in a chapter-book series whose comical tone and cozy illustrations are sure to keep young readers coming back for more.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780763667184
Publisher:	Candlewick Press
Publication date:	09/24/2013
Series:	Mrs. Noodlekugel , #2
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	6 MB
Age Range:	5 - 9 Years

About the Author

Daniel Pinkwater is the wildly popular author of Mrs. Noodlekugel, illustrated by Adam Stower; Bear in Love, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand; and many other books for children. He is a well-known authority on children’s books who appeared for many years on NPR’s Weekend Edition, and now appears on The Bob Edwards Show on Sirius. Daniel Pinkwater lives in Hyde Park, New York.

Editorial Reviews

11/01/2013
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

School Library Journal

If Pinkwater’s first Mrs. Noodlekugel book didn’t persuade readers, the second one will: it’s Mrs. Noodlekugel’s matter-of-factly loopy world—we just live in it. Even her babysitting charges, Nick and Maxine, now show little surprise at how life unfolds under Mrs. Noodlekugel’s watch. When she announces that her four pet mice are “very farsighted” (just look at the mess they’ve made of teatime) and need to visit an oculist, the kids’ only question is, “You want us to come with you on the bus?” Three pairs of tiny eyeglasses, four pieces of Dirty Sally’s famous cheesecake (served by a monkey), and one mice escape later, Mrs. Noodlekugel’s cantankerous talking cat hears the words he’s been longing to hear ever since he was a kitten: “Fuzzface, I yam yer fadder.” Stower’s sly, sweet illustrations provide piquant punctuation for Pinkwater’s special brand of nonsense, and certainly clear up any questions about how a mouse eye exam works. And is the model for that policeman who helps Mrs. Noodlekugel in her hour of need none other than Pinkwater himself? Ages 5–9. Agent: Jennifer Laughran, Andrea Brown Literary Agency. Illustrator’s agent: Arena Illustration. (Sept.)

Publishers Weekly

If Pinkwater’s first Mrs. Noodlekugel book didn’t persuade readers, the second one will: it’s Mrs. Noodlekugel’s matter-of-factly loopy world—we just live in it. ... Stower’s sly, sweet illustrations provide piquant punctuation for Pinkwater’s special brand of nonsense...
—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

A savory episode for noodle—er, newly independent or struggling readers.
—Kirkus Reviews

Clever, as always, Pinkwater’s quirky story with a touch of whimsy will amuse many readers.
—Booklist Online

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.
—School Library Journal

From the Publisher

Mrs. Noodlekugel lives with a cat named Mr. Fuzzface and four mice; nearby live Nick and Maxine, siblings who have become Mrs. Noodlekugel’s friends. The mice need new glasses and Mrs. Noodlekugel invites the siblings along. She also takes Mr. Fuzzface, who goes in a cat carrier in spite of his protests. The mice ride on Mrs. Noodlekugel’s hat. They travel by bus and the driver does not seem to mind mice on the hat or Mr. Fuzzface in his carrier. Mr. Fuzzface tells about his past and how he met Mrs. Noodlekugel. After the eye doctor visit, everyone dines on cheesecake. The mice run out of the restaurant. As Mrs. Noodlekugel looks for them, she discovers an older cat with a ragged ear. This older cat has a connection with Mr. Fuzzface, and he may get a new home with Mrs. Noodlekugel. The illustrations add extra humor to a rather fantastic second adventure with the eccentric but big-hearted Mrs. Noodlekugel. This particular adventure does not seem to be well-titled. The story’s plot seems to be more about Mr. Fuzzface than the mice’s blindness. In spite of this, elementary readers who are not quite ready for the hijinks of Nanny Piggins may find this to be a nice beginning chapter book. Fans of the first book can enjoy this one and perhaps look forward to visiting Mrs. Noodlekugel and the cats again. Reviewer: Elizabeth Fronk AGERANGE: Ages 8 to 11.

Children's Literature - Elizabeth Fronk

The archetypal babysitter introduced in Mrs. Noodlekugel (2012) takes a quartet of farsighted mice to the oculist for an exam in this equally offbeat second chapter. As Pinkwater fans know to expect, the plot zigzags from one wild twist to the next. On the bus, Mrs. Noodlekugel and her loquacious cat, Mr. Fuzzface, regale enthralled young human charges Nick and Maxine with exploits from her previous career as a railroad engineer. Rising to the challenge of testing four mice who can't read, the doctor cheerfully whips out a unique eye chart. Then, new eyeglasses merit a celebratory stop at Dirty Sally's Lunchroom, where the waiter is a monkey and the sugar rush caused by the cheesecake touches off a chase that culminates in an astonishing family reunion. Printed in short, well-spaced lines of easily visible type with much room for spot art (finished illustrations not seen), the outing offers plenty of action, easy yuks and characters--from the visually challenged mice to Mrs. Noodlekugel herself, who plainly carries literary DNA from Mary Poppins, Mrs. Piggle Wiggle and perhaps Pippi Longstocking too--who will seem familiar to young audiences. A savory episode for noodle--er, newly independent or struggling readers. (Fantasy. 8-10)

Kirkus Reviews