Mrs. Noodlekugel

Check out Mrs. Noodlekugel on Goodreads and you'll find that it has an overall rating of three stars. But the number is misleading as the majority of reviews fluctuate between one or two stars and four or five. Reviewers either exclaim how wonderful this short chapter book is--"quirky and fun"--or bemoan its undeveloped plot--"the story also kind of goes nowhere"--and stilted language. How can this be?

I'm always fascinated when a book receives wildly divergent reviews. Sometimes I'm on the side of the pro-reviews and other times I'm with the naysayers. Either way, I'm unshaken in my belief that my take is the correct one, and I suspect that's true of the reviewers of this book as well.

And while I can certainly see the charms of Mrs. Noodlekugel, I have to cast my lot with those who gave the book two stars. The book has an engaging premise. A brother and sister move into a apartment building and soon after discover a little house eclipsed by the surrounding tall buildings. Inside the house lives a cheerful old woman (Mrs. Noodlekugel) with her talking cat and four far-sighted mice. Disobeying their parents, the children visit Mrs. Noodlekugel and have tea with her. On a second visit--this one with their parents' permission--they bake gingerbread mice and listen to the cat play the piano. And that's pretty much it, although the book ends with the promise of another book in the series.

The lack of a plot, of any serious conflict, bothered me, as it did a number of reviewers. I was also put off my the simplistic, unnatural-sounding dialog. Here's a sample:

He looked out the window and down. "I see grass. I see trees and flowers. There is a little old-fashioned house."

While easy readers often eschew contractions, short chapter books usually don't. Here, the stilted sentences and formal language gave the book a dated feel.

Interestingly, a handful of reviewers mentioned that while they didn't care for the book, their child did. One reviewer, quoting her second-grader, a reluctant reader, wrote: "His review: 'It has no scary parts, only fun parts. The exciting parts are fun without being scary fun.'"

As reviewers all we can do is deliver our opinions as thoughtfully and truthfully as we can--and let the chips fall where they may.

Mrs. Noodlekugel
by Daniel Pinkwater
Candlewick Press, 80 pages
Published: April 2012

Maybelle and the Haunted Cupcake

With Halloween just around the corner (although it looks to be a rather wet one here on the East Coast), what better time to curl up with a book about a haunted dessert? The cupcake in question is  decorated with pink icing, chopped nuts, and chocolate sprinkles. The eponymous Maybelle is a cockroach. Yes, cockroach. She lives under a refrigerator in an apartment owned by Mr. and Mrs. Peabody. The couple's cat, Ramona, is home and meal source to Maybelle's best friend, Henry the Flea.

Mrs. Peabody has just baked a batch of cupcakes for a bake sale and Maybelle can't wait to get her six legs on them. Henry reminds her of The Rules:

"When it's light, stay out of sight; if you're spied, better hide; never meet with human feet."

Maybelle intends to wait till night when fate intervenes in the shape of Bernice, a picnic ant with a bad head cold. Unable to find her way back to her nest, Bernice crowns Maybelle her new queen and does her best to fetch food for her sovereign. Heedless of The Rules, Bernice puts herself in danger time and time again and it is up to Maybelle to rescue her. In gratitude, Bernice hijacks an entire cupcake, albeit a mini one, carrying it on back. The silliness continues after the Peabodys discover what appears to be a haunted cupcake walking on its own across their kitchen floor.

An entertaining read, this book is sure to resonate with kids just starting to read short chapter books. The story bounces along at a lively place, the humor is abundant, and the clever black and white illustrations add to the charm. The Haunted Cupcake is number three in a series. I certainly intend to pick up the first two, Maybelle in the Soup and Maybelle Goes to Tea. 

Maybelle and the Haunted Cupcake
by Katie Speck
illustrations by Paul Ratz de Tagyos
Henry Holt, 65 pages
Published: August 2012

Lulu Walks the Dogs (CYBILS Nominee)

Judith Viorst and Lane Smith have paired up again for a second chapter book about the incomparable Lulu, "a girl who wants what she wants when she wants it". And what Lulu wants this time out is so out-of-this world outrageous that readers don't even learn what it is until the final pages. Trust me, it's a lulu.

The bulk of the story is taken up with how  Lulu attempts to earn money to buy her heart's desire, since her parents refuse to shell out the moolah. She quickly hits upon the idea of dog walking. Fleischman, a nice polite boy who's yin to Lulu's yang, helps her manage her workload--Brutus, a belligerent bulldog, Pookie, a spoiled toy fuzzball, and Cordelia, a vain dachshund. Lulu is less than pleased with Fleischman's help--even though he asks for nothing in return and is an ace dog whisperer. Lulu just doesn't like him, mostly because he's a goody-two-shoes.

Viorst tells her tale with plenty of authorial asides--all quite clever and amusing. There are frequent time-outs in which she humorously answers questions young readers might be asking, such as "What is it Lulu wants to buy with all this money she's earning?" The answer? "I really don't feel like discussing this right now." Smith's clever pencil illustrations match the book's satirical tone.

By the end, surprise, surprise, Lulu and Fleischman work out their differences. But to Viorst's credit, the mismatched pair don't become best friends. As she aptly puts it: "You want a happy ending? Read Cinderella."

Lulu Walks the Dogs
by Judith Viorst
illustrations by Lane Smith
Atheneum, 160 pages
Published: September 2012