The description of the flavor of beer at the beer garden in “The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death” led directly to me wanting to try brewing beer. 13 years and thousands of gallons later, I’m still chasing that elusive, warm, nutty flavor.
Beanbenders.
Yep, that was it. As a (whadayacallem?) tween, I realized Beanbenders didn’t exist, but there might be places like it that did. As an adult, I sadly learned that zoning laws and the bad behavior of a tiny slice of society meant that such places could never exist. But hey, I still make excellent beer!
I am thrilled to see The Magic Moscow on the list. The first Pinkwater book I tried to read was Lizard Music. The strangeness of it threw me so much I didn’t get further than twenty pages before quitting, although with a strange feeling of regret, which led me to pick up The Hoboken Chicken Emergency at the library, which I then never got around to even opening.
Then one Christmas my mother, bless her, for some bizarre reason gave me The Magic Moscow. Again the strangeness of it threw me, but it was my book, so I felt an obligation to read it. And something snapped. I got it. This was funny, but not in an obvious setup/punchline kind of way. It was funny in a way that I think can’t be described, only illustrated with the titular ice cream shop’s signature dish, the “Moron’s Delight”:
It has six flavors of ice cream - two scoops of each - a banana, a carrot, three kinds of syrup, whole roasted peanuts, a slice of Swiss cheese, a radish, yogurt, wheat germ, and a kosher pickle. It is served in a shoebox lined with plastic wrap.
NOTE:
There’s Young Adults and Young Adult Novel.
Young Adult Novel is a novella that introduces the characters.
Young Adults contains some additional stories about the hapless story-within-a-story character the Young Adults create and put through horrible abuse. Plus an additional short story, in which the Young Adults get sucked into their school’s guidance / psychiatric help labyrinth.
Young Adults contains Young Adult Novel – the original story, Dead End Dada – in which the characters give up Dada and try Zen, and my favorite, the “first” (and only) chapter of The Dada Boys in Collitch, where the characters enroll in and begin attendance at a college.
If you’re trying to find it used, the giveaway that you’re getting the Young Adults volume is the publisher, Tor; it’s 183 pages, copyright 1985.
Wow, I love Daniel Pinkwater, but are we sure this is DRM-free? All I see are links to Amazon Kindle Ebooks, which are DRM-Full.
Fat Men from Space was the subject of a book report I wrote in 1979. Loved that book, and found an old library copy for my son.
Holy wow. I had the exact same revelation as a kid: beer (that nasty, watery, sour-tasting stuff in cans that I got to taste on the sly at a party once) is supposed to taste rich and nutty and creamy! And should be enjoyed with a baked potato that some guy has slapped a pat of butter into a hole he made with his thumb.
Actually, the publisher tells me that they opted out of Amazon’s DRM, and sure enough, a copy of Fat Men From Space converted readily to other formats. Simply wonderful.
Thanks, I guess the Dada Boys in Collitch was the “short story” I mentioned. I need to reread it. I still have the paperback! (I’m not sure if it was one of the things I sent to get autographed five or so years back.)
No, it sounds like you were talking about Dead End Dada – that’s the second, 60-page story where the characters have a run-in with a psychiatrist. I have the paperback on my shelf – can you tell? 
I went here to get info on getting things autographed:
If you want Daniel and/or Jill to autograph something, send it along with a self-addressed stamped envelope, or a pre-paid courier envelope.
I also recall seeing him suggest that you mail him a book plate to autograph instead of the book itself if it was a rare item like the Norb comic collection.
Hopefully the instructions include “no horrible fluff-filled Jiffy envelopes.”
I can’t tell you how many nights my mom and I would laugh ourselves speechless reading Pinkwater out loud as a family on camping trips. And I still always look for the chicken man and all those fantastic characters and seek out odd diners. There MUST be a city like that in/under Troy, NY!
In 5th grade we had to write a letter to our favorite author. I wrote to Pinkwater and he wrote back a really nice letter. I remember his stationary had the names of all his stories around the edge. I’d love to say I still had the letter but the librarian “borrowed” it to put it on display and I never got it back (33 years later and I still hold a grudge).
So, yay for Daniel Pinkwater and I know what I’m reading tonight before bed!
My favorite Pinkwater book is an audiobook, Fishwhistle. A couple of dozen pieces, many originally NPR commentaries, about . . . hot dogs, dog training, world travel, memorizing poetry while working a machine in a factory, art school, military school, and more.
I kept my cassette in my car for years, and played it for friends when I drove them places. This would lead to many “driveway moments,” listening to the end of a story, or one more story (“He was daft!”) in the destination drive. I had heard the pieces a dozen times, but I loved hearing friends snort and giggle on hearing the Captain’s account of eating a hot pepper that sent him down the long tunnel into the afterlife.
Eat pudding!
Can you tell me how? I’m stuck in the Kindle Cloud Reader and want an epub file for my Nook.
I downloaded the AZW file from Amazon because I have an old Kindle DX still registered.
So… technically DRM-free, but you can’t download the file unless you own a kindle.
Thanks, I was able to download it using the Kindle for PC and then convert it.
please tell me, what is the approximate age range that would most appreciate these stories? is 9 too young? if not, which ones would be best to start with?
i was told years ago you have to read faulkner in the proper order or it’s hopeless, which explains my lack of success in that ouvre
