Mrs. Biddlebox

by Linda Smith, Marla Frazee (Illustrator)

On a knotty little hill,
In a dreary little funk,
Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over
On the wrong side of her bunk.
Mrs. Biddlebox is having a really bad day. The birds are screeching, her belly is grumbling, and even her crumpets are stale. What is she to do?
Then, suddenly, Mrs. Biddlebox has the most bewitching idea!
With a pinch of magic and just the right amount of humor, Linda Smith and Marla Frazee have whipped up an enchantingly original tale that will charm anyone who's ever woken up on the wrong side of the bunk.

Genres: Picture Books, Childrens, Fiction, Humor, Storytime, Fantasy, Emotion

32 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 2002

About the author

Linda Smith is the author of When Moon Fell Down, Mrs. Biddlebox, There Was an Old Woman Who Lived in a Boot, and the Charlotte Zolotow Award Honor Book Mrs. Crump's Cat. Linda lived a full life in a short period of time. On June 28, 2000, she passed away after a two-year battle with breast cancer, but she left behind a world of language, love, and good humor that shines through in her books.

Reviews

[Shiloah · Rating 4 out of 5]

Everyone has days when they get up on the wrong side of the bed. Mrs. Biddlebox figures out a way to have a better day.

[Anastasia Tuckness · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the perfect book to share with children or adults who feel like nothing is right with the world; it's made all the more poignant when you read the jacket flap.

Everything is going wrong for Mrs. Biddlebox--birds are too loud, chairs too creaky, breeze too windy. In frustration, she decides to bake the day into a cake. She starts with some grass and then proceeds to rolling up the sky and unravelling the sun. After some tension-releasing kneading and pounding, the cake is ready to bake.

She does a happy victory dance while it bakes, then consumes it. Having conquered the day, she settles in and welcomes the night.

The jacket flap reveals that the book was published posthumously, the author having died of breast cancer after two years of fighting it.

I picked this up because of Marla Frazee's illustrations; she really is my favorite!

[Abigail · Rating 4 out of 5]

"On a knotty little hill, / In a dreary little funk, / Mrs. Biddlebox rolled over / On the wrong side of her bunk." So begins this rollicking rhyme of a picture-book, as the eponymous Mrs. Biddlebox finds that everything about the day either gives her a headache or makes her grumpy. Finally, having had enough, she uses her magical broom to sweep up the dreary, gray day, baking it (together with some sunshine) into something altogether better. Delightedly feasting on her cake, Mrs. Biddlebox confronts the beauties of the night, before heading to bed...

Having enjoyed author Linda's Smith's Mrs. Crump's Cat , as well as numerous titles from illustrator Marla Frazee, from her own The Farmer and the Clown to Liz Garton Scanlon's All the World , for which Frazee was awarded a Caldecott Honor, I was sure that I would enjoy Mrs. Biddlebox, particularly as I have a weakness for witchy picture-books. I was not wrong, and although I had to wait quite a while to read it - the very kind children's librarian at my local branch personally brought a reference copy of the book from another branch, so that I could read it on the library premises - it was worth the wait! The story has a matter-of-factly magical quality that is quite appealing, and the text itself is a pleasure to read. The accompanying artwork is delightful - beautifully expressive, and perfectly suited to the enchanted nature of the tale. The final scenes, in which stars sparkle against a bluish/blackish night, were simply gorgeous! Although Mrs. Biddlebox is never named as a witch, her magical broom, and the fact that she is described at one point as taking "witchety" pleasure in her spell, make it clear that she is. Highly recommend, to all picture-book readers who enjoy magical tales, as well as to fellow fans of Frazee's lovely artwork. I was sad to read, on the rear dust-jacket blurb, that Smith died of breast cancer in 2000, having only penned five picture-books. What a terrible shame!

[Samantha · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my mom's favorite children's book so I asked her to read it to me the other day. Mom hasn't read to me in decades so this was pretty neat. However, I loved it too. It's a beautiful story, and in some way, as much an adult's book as for children. It's dark and sad and sweet and hopeful. It tugged at my heartstrings from page one.

In some ways this is a spoiler but after my mom read the book, she informed me that the author had terminal cancer, and that writing this book was a form of therapy for her. No wonder, because there is such unusual power in both the story and the illustrations. I can't explain it--you just have to give it a try.

[Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance · Rating 4 out of 5]

It's a bad day. Mrs. Biddlebox feels terrible. She decides to do something about it. She cooks up the rotten morning into a cake and eats it!

Marla Frazee's illustrations are bewitching and the text of Linda Smith comes from a deep place of knowing the pain of many bad days during her two-year fight with breast cancer. Remarkable.

[Miss Ryoko · Rating 4 out of 5]

I loved this book. Great vocabulary and creative story!

[Ishta Mercurio · Rating 5 out of 5]

A delightful tale about making good out of a bad day.

[Ангѣлъ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Много красотни космати думички е използвала авторката. А те вдъхновиха долния космат превод, в който римата отстъпи, за да ги запазя. Наздраве:

На едно мърляво баирче
в една печална безнадеждност
Мис Бидълбокс се изтърколи
кисела и с дупето нагоре

От птички бръмна ѝ главата
и столът взе да ѝ поскърцва
повя усоен бриз, посърнал
косата цялата разпръсна

Вратата тръшна тя за Д'брутро
поседна в мисли що да стори
горчив и черен бе ѝ чаят
а жилав и корав краваят

С търбух изпълен само с ропот
подпряла се с ръце на кръста
идея експлоадира в нея
и на езика ѝ забръсна

Ще сготвя таз изгнила заран
На мармалад ще я направя
Пещта си само да запаля
деня да ври веднага слагам

Мис Бидълбокс се заразшета
метла и тенджера нарами
и тежко в утрото нагази
унинието да сбере тя

Изскубна стрък трева противна
Сборичка се и с калищака
Изтиска си кирлива сянка
от гънки вехти на полата

А щом запуфка ѝ мъглата
тя здраво стиснала метлата
прониза право в мрачноляка
като спагет го заразмята

Мис Бидълбокс се по пресегна
и един слънчев лъч прихвана
и заусуква като прежда
разплете го съвсем до края

Като килим нави небето
(птичките отлитнаха далеч)
Преля казанът, забълбука
от този ден окаян, сдухан

И взе да бърка, удря, шиба
Разстла деня и го разточи
Мис Бидълбокс се смя щастливо
Ръцете пат-пат-пат ритмяха

Когато втаса ѝ тестото
и бухна пухкаво, дебело
натъпка го с крака в тавата
с възторг и вещерска наслада

И, о! Денят изпече чудно
И, о! възбуда ароматна / разгорещена манна
Мис Бидълбокс не би отрекла
вървеше сладостно уханно

Чудесна чаша чай наля си
И сложи хубава чиния
доволно парче кекс отряза
и яде, и яде, и яде

С коремче пълно със сладкиши
тя нощна шапчица пристегна
вратата със замах разтвори
с Добре дошла нощта посрещна

На едно мърляво баирче
в удобна купчинка уютна
Мис Бидълбокс се леко врътна
затвори клепки, в сън потъна

[Cassie · Rating 5 out of 5]

While researching books by Marla Frazee (for my review of “All the World”), I was reacquainted with an old friend; Mrs. Biddlebox. Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith was one of the first book purchases I made as a new children’s librarian. The dark, yet vibrantly exciting cover caught my eye and I wanted to read for myself what this Mrs. Biddlebox was up to. Upon reading the book, I became instantly enthralled and shared the book with all I came in contact with. Then more books were published, and there were more storytimes to prepare for, so eventually, I lost contact with Mrs. Biddlebox. What a joy to find this grumpy woman again. Yes, she does wake up on the wrong side of the bed and just has a dreary awful day, but she doesn’t sit around stewing about it! She takes action! Mrs. Biddlebox grabs her brooms and attempts to gather up that bad day so that she can bake it into a cake and eat it! Sounds good to me. If it truly could be done, I’d be eating a lot of cake lately, but alas, it is nice to fantasize, and in the midst of that, gain a bit of hope that the bad days isn’t going to last forever. That’s what Mrs. Biddlebox does; she teaches you to take action, dump that gloomy day, eat it up and move on. You can’t help but smile yourself when you see her smiling face at the end of the book when she looks out into the beautiful night. Know someone who’s having a bad day? Introduce them to Mrs. Biddlebox.

[Kelly Holmes · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is possibly my favorite picture book of all time, and I don’t say that lightly. Unfortunately, it’s out of print. The good news is you can get a used copy in good condition on Amazon.

Mrs. Biddlebox wakes up in a bad mood, but instead of sitting around like a grouch, she tackles that bad mood and turns it around in time for sleep. We reach for this book anytime my little ones and I have butted heads during the day, and it’s the perfect tool to help us process the bad mojo and end the day on a positive note.

Find more fantastic picture books in The Ultimate List of the Best Picture Books, Endorsed by Kids And Parents.

[Gryphon · Rating 1 out of 5]

I work at a Public Library in Georgia. A patron stated that when she finished reading the book to her son he commented, "Well, that was boring, wasn't it?"

Such a strange comment made me want to read the book to find out why he would say such a thing.
The book is about a witch that tries to turn her funky awful day into something good but.... it is weird!

There is no feel-good at the end of the story.
There is no moral in it.
There is no reason to read this story.
I do not recommend it.

[Jim Erekson · Rating 4 out of 5]

The idea for this story was tired, and the cute name for the main character either too kitschy or too schmaltzy. But man, did Frazee bring energy to this project! I think the page where Mrs. B hooks a ray of sun and yanks on it with a broomstick is among my favorite picturebook pages ever, and the next one where she rolls up the sky is right behind it. I could look at this book over and over again. The words, not so much. I can still give it a four, because I'd definitely re-read it and would certainly consider it as a read-aloud.

[Mary · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't care what Marla Frazee illustrates, I would love it. This is a fun story about taking a bad day and turning it into a cake. It's sort of implied that Mrs. Biddlebox is a witch (all black clothing, black house, etc., and the word "witchy" is used once) but never overtly stated. She gathers up the gloom, some shadows, and a rope of sunshine and squishes them into a cake pan. After baking and eating, she goes to bed feeling much better. If only we could actually do it!

[Kim Zarins · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is one of the best picture books ever. The text and art are whimsical, with delightful rhymes, rhythms, and collages of an energetic witchy lady and her animal familiar. I've recited this one to a screaming baby, and he fell asleep to the words. The power of language! And Linda Smith's battle with cancer makes for a powerful story behind the story. A truly amazing book.

[Anthony · Rating 4 out of 5]

When Mrs. Biddlebox wakes on the wrong side of the bed, in a bad mood, and in a funk, so uses her magical skills to bake a cake that works wonders and improves her attitude, and the day until her bedtime.

[Cassie Veselovsky · Rating 5 out of 5]

While researching books by Marla Frazee (for my review of “All the World”), I was reacquainted with an old friend; Mrs. Biddlebox. Mrs. Biddlebox by Linda Smith was one of the first book purchases I made as a new children’s librarian. The dark, yet vibrantly exciting cover caught my eye and I wanted to read for myself what this Mrs. Biddlebox was up to. Upon reading the book, I became instantly enthralled and shared the book with all I came in contact with. Then more books were published, and there were more storytimes to prepare for, so eventually, I lost contact with Mrs. Biddlebox. What a joy to find this grumpy woman again. Yes, she does wake up on the wrong side of the bed and just has a dreary awful day, but she doesn’t sit around stewing about it! She takes action! Mrs. Biddlebox grabs her brooms and attempts to gather up that bad day so that she can bake it into a cake and eat it! Sounds good to me. If it truly could be done, I’d be eating a lot of cake lately, but alas, it is nice to fantasize, and in the midst of that, gain a bit of hope that the bad days isn’t going to last forever. That’s what Mrs. Biddlebox does; she teaches you to take action, dump that gloomy day, eat it up and move on. You can’t help but smile yourself when you see her smiling face at the end of the book when she looks out into the beautiful night. Know someone who’s having a bad day? Introduce them to Mrs. Biddlebox.

[H Li · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a book about of How Mrs. Biddlebox turned bad day into a yummy cake. The story is whimsical, and totally out of box. It goes on into every details of how a bad is not a deal at all. The illustration by Frazee is again amazing. Her use of lines, motions, and her humor all made this good fantastic.

Something I read here is that the book is about the author's fighting of breast cancer, while it is not written anywhere in the book. I wish there could be something that give a little bit hint about this fact in the book, so that children can relate it to their everyday life, good days and bad days, what to do when they are facing different choices of life.

[FM Family · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is very strange. I found it because I was looking for other Marla Frazee books, and this one came highly reviewed. I have mixed feelings about it because it's fun and has a great rhythm and a good silliness. But its such an odd premise. She's having a bad day so she just bakes it into a cake (literally rolling up the sky, etc) and eats it, and then feels better. It's enjoyable as a sort of ludicrous exercise but leaves me feeling like... huh? My two and a half year old and my wife both really enjoy it though, so we're giving it an unmitigated 4 stars.

[Brett · Rating 2 out of 5]

So I feel like the biggest jerk because of the author's fight against (& loss to) breast cancer being part of the point of the story, but...meh. It's an important message, & the rhymes are good, but it just didn't really speak to me. The darkness of the illustrations made perfect sense considering the material, but I still couldn't quite get past their bringing me down a bit. I guess I'm just that person.

[Amanda Geske · Rating 5 out of 5]

Adore. This and GRUMPY PANTS are now my crabby day go-to books. And this one is honestly doing something great for my post-election feeling that there's a lot to clean up in the world. Time to start wringing the shadows out of my skirt!

[Tom M. · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly enjoyable tale about taking a bad day and baking something delicious out of it.

It's sad that the author succumbed to breast cancer so early in life. She clearly had a knack for telling a great children's story.

[Charlene · Rating 4 out of 5]

Strange and fascinating tale of an old woman who woke up one morning and everything went wrong so she used a little magic to mix it all together and bake a cake out of all her problems. Then she walked toward the light.

[M · Rating 5 out of 5]

It is cheating to read a kids book for the reading challenge, but I am so far behind! And, this book has been on my list to read since 2013, when my kids were much younger. It was so worth it! Such a fun, upbeat book. Who doesn’t need upbeat nowadays? Mrs. Biddlebox will put a smile on your face!

[Cheryl · Rating 4 out of 5]

Story rhymes, is fine. Illustrations make the book. Oh I really want her talent! Making something sweet out of a dreary funk, somehow, would be a life-saving skill.

Which reminds me, don't read the bio of the author on the back flap unless you want to cry.

[Destiny · Rating 4 out of 5]

After waking up on the wrong side of the bed, Mrs. Biddlebox set out to get rid of her bad day. The story is told with beautiful rhyming prose and a great use of vocabulary.

[Day · Rating 4 out of 5]

I really liked the idea of working hard to turn a gloomy, bad day into a beautiful, good day. I really enjoyed the illustrations as well.

[Jaime · Rating 3 out of 5]

Change your day around!

[Jess · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 2019 - a delightful solution for a grumpy day. I always love Marla Frazee's illustrations, and Ben was astounded to see her sweep up the whole world.

[Angela · Rating 4 out of 5]

This made me giggle and the illustrations were uniquely detailed.

[Chrysa · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is so cute! I love it! A+! Beautiful art and cute, clever little story. What more could you want?