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! K-Gr 2—Fans of Mrs. Noodlekugel's delightfully wacky and whimsical world will rejoice in Pinkwater's newest offering. The latest installment welcomes new characters Drooly Bear along with Captain Noodlekugel, Mrs. Noodlekugel's "mister" who is usually "lost at sea." During a rare stint on land, the captain treks home and declares that he has given up a life on the water in the hopes of becoming an animal trainer. Young neighbors Nick and Maxine spend a whole four days in Mrs. Noodlekugel's care—their father is competing in the speed-knitting world championship and their mother is going along—and they tag along with the captain as he attempts to train Drooly. Antics and hilarity ensue as readers follow Nick, Maxine, and the captain on their journey to train the bear, all the while grappling with Drooly nodding off and wandering away during training. Readers should know that the captain acquired Drooly (along with a canoe) from an "Inuit fellow" while shipwrecked on a piece of flotsam. The Inuit man takes a great liking to the captain and explains that he is poor and has difficulty feeding the bear, who also fights with his husky dogs. The inclusion of this unfortunately stereotyped character is both odd and unnecessary. Readers encounter the Inuit man only in this brief scene. After trading the bear to the captain for a "Mexican dollar," a gold watch, and a fish, the Inuit man paddles away on a piece of driftwood. VERDICT Pinkwater presents another silly glimpse into the world of Mrs. Noodlekugel and her talking cats and mice, but here's hoping the archaic stereotypes get lost at sea in the next installment.—Amy M. Laughlin, Darien Library, CT 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 —Booklist Daniel 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.