Synopses & Reviews
Big Audrey is a girl . . .
with catandrsquo;s whiskers . . .
and sort of catandrsquo;s eyes.
But, is there an other cat-whiskered, sort of cat-eyed girl?
Big Audrey waves goodbye to her friends Iggy and Neddie, Seamus, and Crazy Wig, in Los Angeles and hitches a ride with bongo-playing-while-driving Marlon Brando across the country to Poughkeepsie, New York, city of mystery. She finds she has questions needing answersandmdash;and a bit of inter-plane-of-existence traveling to do.
Big Audrey and her telepathic friend Molly zigzag off on an incredibly strange and kooky adventure, and solve the mystery of the cat-whiskered doppelganger.
Review
"Pinkwater saturates his customary eccentricities with a Beat-era flavor."--Kirkus
Review
"Pinkwater saturates his customary eccentricities with a Beat-era flavor."—
Kirkus"Pinkwater's talent for odd but unforgettable characters continues apace, and his storytelling ability is legendary."—Publishers Weekly
"Pinkwater's many fans will rejoice."—Booklist
Review
"Pinkwater saturates his customary eccentricities with a Beat-era flavor."
—Kirkus
"Pinkwater's talent for odd but unforgettable characters continues apace, and his storytelling ability is legendary."
—Publishers Weekly
"Pinkwater's many fans will rejoice."
—Booklist
"Plenty of teens will recognize the issues that Harold confronts—subjectivity of taste, the lure of selling out—as he tries to figure out what art is."
—Bulletin
"This is a paean to the transformative power of art, and vintage Pinkwater."
—School Library Journal
Review
andquot;Well stocked with the usual oddball characters and fabulous throwaway lines (andquot;Doughnuts are not unknown where I come from, but they are not used as foodandquot;), the book sails along in an airy and vastly entertaining way to an appropriately daffy resolution. Pinkwater is definitely on a rollandmdash;or in this case a fritter.andquot;--Kirkus
andquot;Mixing the absurd with the profound, Pinkwaterand#39;s odd narration will have even the most serious readers laughing at the chaos. As Audrey notes, andquot;Very often when crazy people are not actively being crazy, they are less crazy than regular people who are a little bit crazy at all times.andquot;--Booklist
andquot;Pinkwater meanders all over the place in his storytelling, weaving together nonsense and humor with bits of actual history and science. The story is fast-paced and laugh-out-loud funny, and though the ending, if it can be called that, doesnand#39;t let up on the weirdness, readers will find reasons to delight on every page.andquot;--Publishers Weekly
Review
"Once again, Pinkwater combines a goofy plot, myth and fairy tale references, and an obvious affection for yesteryear Los Angeles in a supernaturally funny read."--Booklist
"In this amiably goofy sequel to The Neddiad (2007), sharp-tongued Yggdrasil (Iggy) Birnbaum takes center stage . . . Iggy breaks her narrative off abruptly in the midst of the happy ending, promising a further sequel to readers who find trips into Pinkwater’s odd noggin diverting."--Kirkus Reviews
"Nobody does this kind of witty confection better than Pinkwater, the original point-and-click mind."--Horn Book
"Like The Neddiad, this sequel packs wacky characters, absurd plot twists and improbable outcomes—and every page offers goofy, offbeat fun . . . With his trio once again victorious, Pinkwater serves up another dose of lighthearted entertainment."--Publishers Weekly
"The latest Pinkwater is nothing special, only the usual wonderful . . . There is fun all along the way . . . in short, another Pinkwater, and that is enough."--New York Times Book Review
Review
...plenty of funny lines and scenes, though, and fans of Pinkwater will probably enjoy this messy, entertaining enterprise." Booklist, ALA
"The author creates secondary roles as interesting as the starring characters. Even if there were no quest at the heart of the tale (and there is a good one) this would be a highly entertaining road tripthanks to Pinkwaters one-of-a-kind comic sensibility and his uncanny ability to access the language and mindset of boys." Publishers Weekly, Starred
This amiable, old-fashioned adventure saga by the droll and prolific Pinkwater is a lot of fun to read, full of unexpected plot twists, LA atmosphere, and goofy names.
KLIATT
"Ned's compelling sense of wonder and delight at each new sight or encounter positively propels his account of the cross-country journey along." Kirkus Reviews
The first-person narrative's relaxed pace leaves ample room for Pinkwater's affectionate descriptions of the old movie house, the doughnut shop (where certain extraterrestrial fat men make a cameo appearance), the La Brea tar pits, and other interesting landmark of Neddie's L.A. neighborhood. Readers looking for a nail-biting thriller won't find it here; but those who do get drawn into Pinkwater's portrait of old Hollywood, embellished with loopy supernatural intrigue, will devour it like a double-chocolate doughnut.
Horn Book
"The title of this book ought to give you an idea of its goofy wonderfulness....What makes this book so delightful-apart from the zaniness of the storyline--is the author's lively, humane wit." The Wall Street Journal
"Pinkwater, master of nostalgia-tinged satire (or is it satire-tinged nostalgia?), sets this very funny encomium to the '40s in a swath of America stretching from Chicago to L.A....Neddie's pitch-perfect rendition of that '40s voice-- a tad formal, a smidgen hardboiled, faintly tongue-in-cheek -- should charm even the most jaded 12-year-old." The Washington Post
"Fans of Daniel Pinkwaters laugh-out-loud fiction will savor the tale of Neddie Wentworthstein, whose family moves to Los Angeles from Chicago. Invite kids to check out the novels Web site (www.pinkwater.com/theneddiad) for a peek at original draftsperfect for a lesson on revision." Instructor, Scholastic, Inc.
Review
"Pinkwater fans should appreciate the anarchy as well as the irreverent descriptions of high school life." School Library Journal
"Falling somewhere between Candide and Holden Caulfield, Robert is an inexperienced but savvy teen, with [a] capacity for sardonic observations that will have readers rocking with laughter." Kirkus Reviews
Synopsis
Another Pinkwaterpalooza, jam-packed with off-beat characters and wild happenings for a one-of-a-kind coming of age adventure!
Synopsis
Is Bushman alive? According to the papers he died a long time ago. Who was he anyway? What does he mean to Harold Knishke, a high schooler with a taste for hot dogs and fine art. It's a hot summer in Chicago, and people are on the streets late at night, including the Chicken Man, Molly the Dwerg, fondly remembered from Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl, and the ever-popular Wolluf.
Readers will ask themselves, "Why am I reading this?" and "Is Harold about to embark on a voyage of great adventure?" He is.
Synopsis
“What Pinkwater does is magic, and Im grateful for it.” --Neil Gaiman (about The Neddiad)
Is Bushman the gorilla alive? According to the papers, he died a long time ago. Why is he so important to the high school senior and aspiring Great Artist Harold Knishke? Its a hot summer in 1960s Chicago, and people are on the streets late at night, including the Chicken Man and Molly the dwerg. While reading this hilarious young adult novel (with illustrations by Calef Brown!) teens will ask themselves, “Why am I reading this?” and “Is Harold about to embark on a voyage of great adventure?” He is.
Synopsis
A new YA novel in the style of THE EDUCATION OF ROBERT NIFKIN
Synopsis
The old powers try to come back, and the planet is plunged into chaos, and civilization is destroyed, and it gets all violent and evil...the old legends tell that a hero...with the sacred turtle, always...
Los Angeles, California.
Neddie Wentworthstein is the guy with the turtle.
Sandor Eucalyptus is the guy with the jellybean.
Sholmos Bunyip wants the turtle...and he'll stop at nothing to get it.
This is the story of how Neddie, three good friends, a shaman, a ghost, and a little maneuver known as the French substitution determine the fate of the world.
Synopsis
Bestselling author Daniel Pinkwater's story of how Neddie, a shaman, a ghost, three pals, and a maneuver known as the French substitution determine the fate of the world.
Melvin the Shaman. Sandor Eucalyptus. Billy the Phantom Bellboy. Daniel Pinkwater's weird and wonderful tale of Neddie Wentworthstein's quest to save civilization features some of the most unique heroes and villains a reader could hope to meet. Despite the heavy responsibility that Neddie must carry (not every kid is charged with rescuing humankind from doom), his story is hilarious, warm, welcoming, and sweet.
Synopsis
A sequel to critically acclaimed THE NEDDIAD told from the point of view of Ned's friend, Iggy
La Brea Woman is missing. Valentino, too. The ghosts of Los Angeles are disappearing right and left!
Iggy Birnbaum is determined to get to the bottom of this mystery, no matter what Neddie Wentworthstein and Seamus Finn say.
There’s just the little matter of traveling to another plane of existence, first…and then, of course, not pissing off a witch once she gets there.
From L.A. to Old New Hackensack, fans of The Neddiad will be delighted to join up with Iggy, Neddie, Seamus, and the usual apparitional entourage for another weird and wonderful adventure by Daniel Pinkwater. As Neil Gaiman said about the first book: "it's funny and tender and strange and impossible to describe. What Pinkwater does is magic and I'm grateful for it."
THE YGGYSSEY is vintage Pinkwater: laugh out loud funny, incredible characters, dialogue, humor. And like THE NEDDIAD, this book will be similarly illustrated throughout by Calef Brown.
Synopsis
The Education of Robert Nifkin is the education of a beatnik. Set in 1950s Chicago and conveyed in the form of a college essay, Robert Nifkin details his journey from a mind-numbing high school that smells to the curriculum-free carnival of a private school ruled by bohemians, beatniks, and freaks.
About the Author
Daniel Pinkwater is crazy about writing, and has been trying to learn how to do it for fifty years. He has written about a hundred books, all but two or three of them good. People who own radios may know Daniel Pinkwater as a popular commentator and childrens book reviewer on National Public Radio. At one time, he lived in Los Angeles, went to a fancy private school with the children of movie stars, and ate in The Hat numerous times. He lives with his wife, the illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater, and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New Yorks Hudson River Valley.