Three hilarious, quirky tales about a young city girl's adventures big and small, from taking a taxi to meeting the president.

Lore Segal's classic children's book tells three stories about Mitzi and her family, whose lives unfold within a gritty and yet dreamy cityscape of stoops and row houses that seem to have emerged from a time out of time. In the first story, Mitzi dresses up her baby brother and sets out with him to visit their grandparents, a venturesome undertaking that takes a curious turn when a key piece of information proves missing. In the second, Mitzi's whole family falls sick, but a fool-proof remedy rides in to the rescue. In the last, the president comes to town and Mitzi's day is made. Lore Segal's droll dialogue and off-kilter storytelling are beautifully complemented by Harriet Pincus’s unnervingly earnest and goofy underground comic-book style illustrations, which won the praise of Maurice Sendak. These are stories about childhood independence and family closeness that capture childhood in all its puzzlement, resourcefulness, unsentimental wonder.

Lore Segal is a novelist, translator, short story writer, and author of children's books. Born in Vienna, she was raised in England after her parents sent her away during Hitler's rise to power. Segal has written five novels, including Other Peoples' Houses and the Pulitzer Prize finalist Shakespeare's Kitchen, and eight books for children. She lives in New York City. 

Harriet Pincus (1938–2001) was born in the Bronx and her first illustrated book was The Wedding Procession of the Rag Doll and Broom Handle and Who Was in It (1967) by Carl Sandburg. She illustrated other books and wrote one of her own, Minna and Pippin (1972).