Barbara Berger

October 4, 2001

Dear Mr. Pinkwater:

I’m writing from my desk at the drug and alcohol treatment facility where I’ve worked for over 15 years. Needless to say, I hear a lot of funny stories (and I use that word in all of its shades of meaning). I don’t think of myself as particularly zany, however, so don’t feel compelled to post this message publicly. I have no intention of tattooing anything on myself or changing my name to honor a piece of writing however much I may like it.

I just finished listening to “Fishwhistle” for the third time since I checked it out of the library. I absolutely loved it and have my husband listening nightly while he does the dinner dishes. (Oh yeah, he works in a school for preteens with emotional problems and must be given not only a daily debriefing at the door upon arriving home, but also regular humor infusions.) Also, my 5 1/2 year old son heard a few of your tales while we were riding in the car and now approaches complete strangers with the line, “There vas a man, and he vanted to catch a trrrrain . . .He vas daft!!!” Our local library seems woefully lacking in the area of your children’s books, so we’re expanding our search.

I thank you for brightening my commute over the past couple of weeks. I was also delighted to see your byline in the “Funny Times.” Please keep writing and recording for adults, too!!

Best wishes to you and your wife.

Barbara Berger

Tommy Salami

October 4, 2001

This is from Tommy Salami your biggest fan in Alaska.

I just found your site after discovering the address on the cover of Fat Camp Commandos. What an odd group of fans you have.

But bein one of them, and pra’lee an odd one at that, i hereby join the ranks of the webset. I do prefer communication via postcards as they force a certain succinctness. but hey there here we are!

I am amazed at the 80 book figure. Do you know anyone but your mother who has all of them? your biggest fan in Alaska

Tommy Salami

P.S. fan trivia: I have actually met WINSTON BONGO in person

Cathya Jentis

October 4, 2001

Hi!

Don’t know if you remember me from many years ago at Curtis Brown, but of course I remember you. Back then I was young and ambitious and now I am a suburban New Jersey housewife. How scary is that! I do remain ambitious and keep myself busy with various freelance type projects. But, enough about me. I have kids 10 and 8. I have given them your books to read which they enjoy and in fact, my eight year old is reading The Hoboken Chicken Emergency in class – I had just bought the book and she exclaimed that they were already reading it!

Anyway, any chance of paying a visit to a Bergen County Elementary School? In fact, if you don’t have time for one class, our School has a guest author lunch in the Spring…

Regardless, glad to see you’re still actively writing, and wanted you to know that I remember the good ole days…

Caytha Soling Jentis

Colin Blair

September 27, 2001

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

I have read your books for many years. My favorite is the “Snarkout Boys and the Avacado of Death.” Recently, while I was observing this website, I noticed a picture of you sitting with Kurt Vonnegut. As he is another favorite author of mind, I was wondering if y’all were friends, and what situation that picture was taken in. Thankyou

Julia Johansen

September 20, 2001

I am so happy to have found this forum. I am a 25 year old fan of yours, I majored in English, have read the “greats,” and still find myself rereading Lizard Music and the such. Your books are so original and fresh that I find myself still rereading them and experiencing the same joy as when I first “discovered” them. My absolute favorites are Alan Mendelsohn, the boy from Mars, Lizard Music, and Young Adult Novel. I must have checked these out from the library dozens of times before realizing I could buy them ^_^.

Anyway, I’m really more of an armchair fan of the non-rabid kind. I haven’t read all your books, am by no means a Pinkwater expert, and have never even been to the east coast. That said, I do love the books of yours that I have read, reread them on a regular basis, and on Monday, September 17th, 2001, I finally fulfilled a ten year dream of mine and got the large lizard from the back of the original hardback copy of Lizard Music, tattooed on my right calf. People think it’s the Sobe Lizard, but really it was my way of capturing the joys of my youth. I had a reasonably unhappy childhood and thanks to authors like you and the public library, I was able to escape these “horrors” for hours on end.

Thank you so much for creating the likes of Kevin Shapiro and Alan Mendelsohn and my “Pinkwater” Lizard.

Julia Johansen

David Sinclair

September 18, 2001

Daniel, If you wish, you have my personal permission to read this or have it read to your audience.

I wrote this poem in 1990.

Yours truly, Dave Sinclair

Michael Barnes

September 18, 2001

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

To find a bit of solace in a troubling week, my small family visited Maymont this past Sunday. Maymont is a city park, formally a 100 acre Victorian estate in our fair city of Richmond. The park includes the mansion, carriages house, stables, zoos, and extensive gardens. As we wandered through the lower gardens the good wife and I came into a clearing where there was a grotto. Unlike the rest of the gardens, the grotto was unkempt, the tesserae covered with dirt, the fountain dry, and the benches in disrepair. The good wife observed that the grotto look abandoned, to which I replied that it was “persona non grotto.” That’s where the trouble began. The good wife grimaced, but I found myself highly amused by the speed and daring of this pun. Repeats only elicited moans. When we met back up with my jogging 17 year old step-daughter, there were additional moans. I maintained that it is a brilliant and witty pun, but to be fair, I would put it up to arbitration, and that the best judge was none other than yourself. Therefore, good sir, we submit this case to you: is this a worthy pun, or should I abandon such efforts? Thank you for your consideration.

Penny Kohn

September 17, 2001

Dear Daniel,

Could we have a word or two from you about recent events? You are a hero to us, and we’d appreciate hearing from you. Penny Kohn

Dana Stone

September 16, 2001

Mr. Pinkwater, I thoroughly enjoyed your program yesterday on NPR. I believe Scott Simon was the anchor. You both read a poem on the seasons but I was driving at the time and can’t remember the name of the book. I believe Jonathan London was the author. Could you tell me the title? I’m a school librarian and would like to use it with classes. Thanks! Dana Stone

Nitin Savur

September 14, 2001

Dear Mr. Pinkwater:

I have been a fan for decades. Unfortunately, I have been having trouble purchasing some of your titles from Barnes & Noble and Borders (They usually only carry Hoboken Chicken Emergency, 4 & 5 Novels). I currently own about 20 books, and I’m looking to expand my DMP Jr collection. Can you please send me an address of a retailer or wholesaler that carries a large inventory of your books. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Nitin Savur

Brooklyn, NY

Maggie Krzywicka

September 13, 2001

Hi Mr. Pinkwater,

Ever since I came to this country from Poland, I’ve been looking for something that’d make America a place different from Poland – the two countries seem to be equally depressing and sad with mean people and stuff. That’s when my friend Hal! recommended that I read Lizard Music. That was the first novel of yours that I’ve read. Then came the 5 Novels, The Education of Robert Nifkin, and the rest. By now, I have read almost all of your young adult novels and loved every single one of them. My favorite is The Education of Robert Nifkin. My friend Hal! is a great fan of yours – he even lives in Hoboken because you once lived there too.

But anyhow – the secret identities business. Recently it became more and more necessary in my life to escape the reality of everyday-ness and go on these long road trips around the U.S. with my friend. As a part of the escape, we came up with alter egos for ourselves. This is where you may feel either flattered or angry because I used your last name, because it’s just so cool. I hope you will not mind this (if you do, I’ll try to change it, but I’d prefer not to, as the character I have is a kick-ass character who’s kind of punk and insane and reads comic books, wears arm warmers, and sings really really badly). My alter ego is named Sarah Pinkwater and my friend’s alter ego is Ethan Ironhorse. During our road trips, we always have a copy of Borgel in the trunk of our car along with the giant road atlas. Our favorite line from Borgel is (I paraphrase), “I don’t know how this space-travel machine works – I just use it. You don’t know how your car works either, no?”, which is basically how our road trips go. So far we have gone to Niagara Falls and deep Jersey (we live in NYC). Next stop: Montreal (a whole new country – apparently if you go there and don’t speak French, just English, they’re really mean to you. Imagine, a whole country full of jerks! What a treat!).

I hope you’re doing okay, Mr. Pinkwater, especially in the light of recent insanity in Manhattan (I saw it all from my job’s window when I went to get a soda from a fridge).

Happy on,

Maggie Krzywicka (going on 22)

Jennifer Butler

September 12, 2001

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

A few months ago, you graciously signed a bookplate or two for us here at the Prendergast Library. We recently wrapped up our summer reading program and had the drawing for the books and signed bookplates. We have been taking photographs of the children who won each prize. I have attached a picture of the prize winner of your book and bookplate to this email. We gave away “The Big Orange Splot.” The winner was Joshua Chase.

Thank you again for your time and for signing a bookplate for our library and young readers. It was much enjoyed and appreciated.

Sincerely,

Jennifer Butler

Children’s Room Assistant

James Prendergast Library, Jamestown, NY

Tammy Mannarino

September 7, 2001

Mr. Pinkwater,

My family loves your books. It all started when we first checked out The Wuggie Norple Story from our local library. Alas, it has disappeared from the shelves–it was kind of beat up, now that I think about it. If I’d known they were going to get rid of it, I would have stolen it and nursed it back to health. I know you wouldn’t condone stealing from libraries. Isn’t there some way we can get some of your books out of the “out of print” category?

Do you ever visit Elementary Schools to read your work? We just can’t get enough Daniel Pinkwater!

— Tammy M

Jamie Stack

September 1, 2001

I think that ‘The last Guru’ is the first work of fiction that my mother ever read. She reads mostly techical things, you know, stuff that talks about the cerebellum and the left frontal lobe-just try and guess what a Psychologist reads. Besides, there was supposed to be a message. She wasn’t supposed to LIKE the book.

Anyways, if you don’t want people to like your books, why do you keep writing them? Tell me what YOUR idea of a good book is, and I’ll try to find it and read it, but I think I’ll still continue to read ‘Alan Mendelsohn, the boy from mars’ again and again.

Thank you for the…uh…reply.

Jamie Stack

p.s. is ‘Young adult novel’ the only Dada Duck book? If not, where can I find the other/s?

Jamie Stack

August 19, 2001

Hi DP,

Greetings from Ireland! It’s 1 am now, as I sit hunched over my mothers laptop. I am only 12 years old, but an aspiring writer. Your books are mind expanding, inspiring, original and most importantly lovable. I have not yet attempted anything as…daring as you, but I am getting there-only yesterday I wrote my first Kevin Shapiro story. You see, I believe your literature has an effect on people, or maybe, people, certain people, GRAVITATE towards your works. I don’t know what it is Mr. Pinkwater, but your books have got something that others lack. I can’t put my finger on it, but it’s there, and its good. Just the other day, I sat my mother down with The last guru. After she had finished it, some hours later, she declared it was the best book she had ever read.

Now, If it could be done, to print out 6 billion copies of Borgel, in every language on this planet, and distribute them, the world would be a better place. Of course, they’d have to be printed on recycled paper, if it could be done.

Waka Waka,

Jamie Stack, Ireland

ps I used to live in California

pss Did kids look at you strangely when you were a kid? Only recently I overheard a conversation at school, “Jamie’s crazy all right, but he isn’t THAT cracked”. Should I take it as [a compliment?]