Mrs. Noodlekugel

Mrs. Noodlekugel
by Daniel Pinkwater
Illustrated by Adam Stower
80 pages
Elementary+

Nick and Maxine just moved into a new apartment.  One day, Nick has Maxine come to his room to see his discovery: a small house surrounded by apartment buildings, with its own little yard.  When they tell their parents, they tell Nick and Maxine not to go there, so of course, they do.

What they find there is bizarre and fun- a little old lady, a talking cat and mice that help them make cookies.  Mrs. Noodlekugel's house has a little fun, magic and excitement!

So, I read this because a couple of my fellow librarians recommended it to me.  I had lots of fun with it, but there were a couple things that bugged me.

First of all- good things.  Yay for a simple chapter book that is not the Magic Tree House series!  It was cute, fun and should keep the kid's attention. While it has a simple plot line, there are enough challenging words that it isn't boring.  This would be a great early chapter book for young readers.

Okay, now to the things that bugged me.  Whether on purpose or not, it kind of talked down to the kids in places.  I don't think they are going to get that mice on cookie dough is not good, but Nick and Maxine talk about it.  In places where contractions could have been used, they weren't.  This especially bugged me when it was when one of the kids was speaking.  What kid says "I did not" instead of "I didn't"?

Anyways, overall view- I will probably still recommend it to kids.  The details that bugged me won't bother the kids (but they might the parents!) and the kids will have fun with this.  Looks like it is the beginning of a series, so lots more fun will be had!  Fun book, just a couple details that disagreed with me.