With signature wit and whimsy, the inimitable Daniel Pinkwater introduces an eccentric, endearing babysitter every child will wish they could have. Nick and Maxine live in a tall building with one apartment on top of another. So when they look out their window and see a little house they never knew was there, of course they must visit (especially when their parents tell them not to!). Going through the boiler room, they're amazed to find to a secret

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Melvin recounts his extraordinary adventures in time and space with his 111year-old sort of great-Uncle Borgel.

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....

Arthur goes to pick up the turkey for Thanksgiving dinner but comes back with a 260-pound chicken.

Kelly Mangiaro, who has wanted a pet for as long as she can remember, gets more than she bargained for from her new dog, Mush.

Irving and Muktuk, two muffin-eating polar bears from the frozen north, have some trouble fitting into life at the zoo in Bayonne, New Jersely.

Big Bob and Big Gloria, who are friends because they are both large for their age, start a new trend when their second-grade class is supposed to make turkey decorations for Thanksgiving.

When a seagull drops a can of orange paint on his neat house, Mr. Plumbean gets an idea that affects his entire neighborhood.

Nick and Maxine have a new babysitter--the eccentric Mrs. Noodlekugel who lives in the funny little house behind their drab high-rise apartment building along with her feline butler, Mr. Fuzzface, and three myopic mice.

The Watson Elementary School Werewolf Club goes on a field trip to Basketball Hall, where Sir Hugo hopes they will solve the mystery of the hound which has plagued his family for generations.