5 Novels: Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars; Slaves of Spiegel; The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death; The Last Guru; Youn

When i picked this book up I was about nine I started reading it. it is really somthing you have to read, alen mendelsohn the Boy from mars is my favorite story you can't explain how good it is you have to read it. if you liked harry potter you will love it if you didn't you'll still love it.daniel pinkwater is a genius when it comes to writing .i just don't know how he does it but he really is good at it and he's got to keep up the good work if he is going to keep us going it should be a sin not to read this EXCELLENT book. i wish i could explain how good it is but you'll have to read it to find out don't hesitate just do it it is the longest book i ever read it is the best book i ever read as well.

I have an M.A. in English Lit and teach at a local University. That said, I can think of no book I enjoy as much, or can read as often with as much undiluted pleasure, as "The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death." Possibly "Lizard Music," also by Pinkwater, or possibly "Hamlet." I give them as gifts often; the typical reaction, for example from someone with a Ph.D. in Medieval Studies, is less than gushing enthusiasm, but I pester and pester and berate if necessary until they begin reading. After this they join the list and begin giving them out too. The multiple levels on which Pinkwater's books function are endlessly fascinating; read it, then give it to a friend, then buy it again.

Since I first read The Big Orange Splot I have been a Pinkwater fan. Although a lot of his best stuff is out of print, and Chinwag Theatre is not widely available on public radio, Pinkwater hunting is worth the effort. This collection helps remind us all that "normal" actually ends up being very strange, and the stranger, the more interesting. This is a great book to get into the hands of boys who need affirmation that they are just fine the way they are.

Alan Mendelson is the best book ever. It is a triumph for those of us who didn't fit in when we were young. Truly mind-blowing in its creativity (it's about two eight grade boys, mind control, and motorcycle riding aliens), funny and inspiring. And I do mean it, I still think it's the best book ever.

There is a whole subculture of young people such as myself who met D. Manus Pinkwater at a tender young age and are hopelessly corrupt because of it. I mean that in a good way, I think. Here's a seven-year-old kid in the late 70's reading the Hardy Boys and suchlike, then he reads this thing about lizards and chickens and force-fields and, most importantly, a kid whose parents go on vacation and leave him alone and he's able to Stay Up As Late As He Wants! Or aliens who look like fat guys and come to the earth to eat junk food. Or any other order and permutation of wackiness. Pinkwater is a genius. I suspect that he himself is an alien, sent to perform the opposite task as the pod-implanting creatures. He has been sent to wake us up from our pod-like existences. I love Pinkwater. My friend Max introduced me to him in second grade, and twenty years later I remain Blatzed.