Mrs. Noodlekugel and Drooly the Bear

In a wonderfully loopy third episode, Nick and Maxine are surprised to meet Captain Noodlekugel, back from the sea with a somewhat untrainable bear.

When their father decides to compete to be speed-knitting champion of the world, Nick and Maxine are happy to stay with their babysitter, Mrs. Noodlekugel, along with her talking cats and four mice who wear glasses. What they don’t expect is a dripping-wet, whiskered man in the kitchen the next morning! Captain Noodlekugel has left his seafaring life to train animals for the circus, and he’s even brought with him a hefty bear named Drooly for practice. But whenever he tries to teach Drooly to dance, the bear wobbles and falls asleep on the tulips. When Drooly goes missing, the siblings must try to figure out where a big clumsy bear might go!Fans of Mrs. Noodlekugel’s delightfully wacky and whimsical world will rejoice in Pinkwater’s newest offering.... Pinkwater presents another silly glimpse into the world of Mrs. Noodlekugel and her talking cats and mice.
—School Library Journal

The appeal is the loopy conversations about sardines—and the pictures.... Utterly, endearingly ridiculous.
—Kirkus Reviews

Abundant descriptions and eccentric humor showcase Pinkwater’s considerable ability to entertain. The amusing line drawings support the story. Fans will be lining up for this one
—BooklistDaniel Pinkwater is the wildly popular author of many books for children, including the Mrs. Noodlekugel series, illustrated by Adam Stower, and Bear in Love, illustrated by Will Hillenbrand. 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.

Adam Stower has illustrated a number of children’s books, including Bottoms Up! and Sing a Song of Bottoms!, both by Jeanne Willis. He lives in Brighton, England.