Camilla Aikin

September 4, 1999

here’s my response to your request for the book….

I’ve been reading DMP’s books for years but as I’ve gotten older, I can now fully appreciate them. They all have this special quality- it’s like his books have this wild fantasy element to them, yet the kids in the books are very real and easy to relate to. All of DMP’s book have inspired me in many ways- from daily life to my writing and creativity.

Lauren

September 4, 1999

i am a big fan of yours.i also like horeses,but thays another story.im 10 years old and my mom is a librarian.i try 2 write books like yours with titles like “killer potatoes from outer space”or “the attack of the tomato king”but i dont have a long enough attention span.n e advice?

lauren

ps.how big are the large neptunian horses in slaves of speigel?

pps.horses cant have red eyes as in the last guru.

James Alexander Kazymiri

September 1, 1999

Dear Daniel,

In a nutshell: I am thirty-eight…I have worked as a radio announcer…did stand-up for five years…wrote comedy material for Joan Rivers, Robert Orben, Paul Harvey, others…was one of the Usual Gang of Idiots (contributors) to MAD Magazine…acted in plays, commercials and did voice-over work…and now I know what I want to do, what I was meant to do to leave this world better than how I found it: write books for children and younger readers. Will you help me? I know this type of pleading desperation is very unprofessional (and I despise unprofessional behaviour), but I refuse to edit an emotional fan letter.

Will you be my Navin Diebold and I the humble (if somewhat aged) apprentice? Of course I have no idea in what capacity you could assist, or what shape/form such assistance might take. I’m just saying this is what I really really want to do and you have been one of my favorite writers since I first read ‘Avocado of Death’ so many years ago.

Please don’t be put off by my effusive display; I really am quite sane and an extremely talented fellow. Please do what you can. I promise that I will leave you alone whenever you say the word (or if I never hear from you).

Brad Sondahl

August 31, 1999

Hurrah that 4 more Pinkwater classics are available again! Mr. Pinkwater has made a wonderful career of skewering the bogies that lurk in the shadows of our perceptions, from intelligent worms from outer space, to wolfmen and normal teenagers. In Yobgorgle, he transforms the search for a Nessie type sea monster into a hilarious hunt happening. Our family has read aloud and reread nearly every book he has written, and remains a favorite with us all.

Dan Gottfried

August 28, 1999

Mr. Pinkwater:

I began reading your books to my children, aged 5 and 9, several years ago after finding out your work was behind the stories that an old acquaintance of mine uses for her puppet shows.

More recently, I began scouring the local librairies for them each summer so that I could find one to read for each night of campfire at a camp my family goes to each summer.

What I really would like is to have every one of your books for young children. The bookstores seem to have some, but nowhere near all.

If you are like my dad, who has been writing books all of his life, you probably have at least a few copies of all of your books (unless your children have scarfed them all up).

If you do have copies, or know where I can get them, I would love to buy them all ( in paperback, if possible, as money is an object).

Thanks for any help you can give me,

Dan Gottfried

CSumerel

August 26, 1999

The offer of a barbeque sandwich stands. With a bottle of Texas Pete on the side and a glass of sweet tea.

E. S. Weiss

August 24, 1999

Some choice words about Borgel:

Saying that Borgel is delightful would be a gross understatement. A really gross understatement. About as gross as…hmm..

Borgel is simply delightful. Who would’ve thought the physics of time travel could be explained with a map of New Jersey?

Borgel’s a really fine book
as long as you try not to look
at Alfred the blob
(but hey, that’s his job)
or worse – even think he can cook!

Ed W.

Anonymous

August 23, 1999

Dear Daniel,

Think second grade. Think second graders reading aloud in a small group. Think second graders reading a collection of your books aloud in a small group.

Which books? And in what order? I would very much appreciate your advice. TOOTHGNASHER is a particular favorite. Poor Mr. Sandy. I wonder what type of cologne he wears too much of.

I noticed many references to food on your page. Next time you’re in South Carolina (First in fireworks), I’ll treat you to a barbeque sandwich with mustard and slaw.

Mike Stranges

August 20, 1999

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

It sure is a privilege to be able to write to you. As a member of the Lizard Lovers Club (Columbus, Ohio chapter) I hold your books almost sacred and Winston Bongo and I go way back (he might as well be getting me free coffee and doughnuts from Rat).

My question is this: Do you have any one particular writer who has greatly influenced you? I have certainly noticed a “Beat” influence.

P.S. I am in the middle of Afterlife Diet, now. Great book! My father found it at my house and has constantly reminded me that he would like to borrow it. You have a new fan in the making.

Mary Lou Bjorkman

August 19, 1999

Mr. Pinkwater,

Thanks for making us so happy with your books! My husband (57), my son (newly 12) and I (40something) all love them. Eirik, the son, has started to write some on his own…a curious cross between Pinkwater and Coville. Any words of encouragement for him? (At age 7, he found RL Stine “boring and all the same”. Never can say that about you!! Keep them coming, we’ll keep reading! If you’re ever in upstate NY, just north of Syracuse, you have an open invitation to dinner!

Sincerely, Mary Lou

Steven Faynor

August 18, 1999

Dear Mr. Pinkwater,

I can’t believe that John Craig already asked about this, but is it possible to receive a transcript of your commentary from “All Things Considered” a few years ago on Chicago hotdogs? If I remember correctly, it was about a hotdog stand that you found in New England that made them like they do in Chicago. I am originally from the Chicagoland area. In spite of the fact that hotdogs are just about universal in the U.S., no one makes them like they do in Chicago, and folks don’t believe me when I tell them how good they are. Your commentary reminded me of that. The place that I used to buy hotdogs at in the Northwest Chicago suburbs has been torn down to make room for a MacDonald’s. The tofu ones sound great and all, but I’d like to get the real thing every once and a while. I promise I won’t eat too many.

Christel Gause

August 17, 1999

Pinkwater-

Thank you for your congrats on my recent nuptuals. Your blessing was much appreciated by both of us. I wrote this essay last spring and I put it on my amatuer web site. It’s about how Borgel changed my life:

It was between the eighth and ninth grades that I first read Borgel, the book by Daniel Pinkwater that changed my life. I had randomly picked it off the shelf of the bookstore, intrigued by the cover illustration and interested by the synopsis on the back. I bought it along with a few other books, took it home and forgot about it for a while. During the boring summer vacation between junior high and high school, I got it back out and read it. It was funny. The characters and the dialogue made me laugh. But somehow it was more than just an amusing book. I had read many of those. This book was different. It was as if someone had pried open the confines of my mind and then wrote down what they saw, only made it better.

That’s where the wisdom of Pinkwater comes in. His books gave me a message I had never been given before. He showed me that you don’t need to be accepted to be worthy as a human being. I could identify with his characters and was familiar with many of their situations, being dismissed as eccentric by the “normal” people in society. I learned that I could do what I wanted, and that I didn’t have to do it by anyone else’s standards.

Melvin Spellbound, the main character in Borgel, was different too. He didn’t fit in with his average, ideal family and was left alone, bored with his circumstances. When uncle Borgel became involved in his life, he was able to experience the new and different things that he had been missing. Borgel tells Melvin one night that he is leaving, and in a leap of independence Melvin decides to go with him. Suddenly, Melvin is the most normal being in the galaxy, having left his frustrating expectations behind.

Melvin learns all sorts of interesting things about the universe from his uncle; space is like a bagel and time is like a map of New Jersey. In this context the unconventional seems commonplace, even logical. When Melvin decides to return to his family he does so on his own terms. Anyone who felt left out in high school, is considered a little “off”, or is unafraid to test the boundaries of their imagination, will appreciate the writings of Daniel Pinkwater. His words can help make this standardized society a little easier to bear. Now we know we are not alone.

Noah Tevye Warner

August 16, 1999

Dear Mr Pinkwater:

In accordance with your wishes we have pushed the chitlins into the harbor and restrung the harp with various herbs and spices. The radiator was also a bit noisy so we basted it with horseradish and sung it to sleep with “I’m going back to Indiana” in soft, sweet undertones. In addition to this, we have responded to your request for emotionally charged serial numbers by faxing over our entire data base. This should satisfy your lust for obtuse figures. And, just to let you know, I disagree with your analysis of the latest organization chart as “dispensable mish-mosh.” I personally found the section on Crime Stoppers quite regal and the documented oyster trilogy nothing short of breathtaking.

Love, Noah Tevye Warner

Avalon Books

August 14, 1999

Kurt Vonnegut for kids? Perhaps not, but I suppose it’s as good as any other way to describe the indescribable writing style of Mr. Daniel Manus Pinkwater. He has been my favorite author for over twenty years, ever since I picked up Lizard Music in the third grade and subsequently raided local libraries for every single book of his I could find. The two Snarkout Boys books are among the cream of the crop, and I routinely recommended them to friends before they went out of print. How wonderful that they are back in print and available again! Now a whole new generation of kids can experience the subversive wit, wacky characters, and the wild adventures that make Daniel Pinkwater books such amazingly good reads.

Rainer Dittert

August 13, 1999

I first read a Daniel Pinkwater book when my oldest son, Jon, brought home Ducks! from the school library. He was in kindergarten at the time. He is now a senior in high school. Since then Jon has grown a lot and now wants to go to college, and I have read everything I could find with the word “Pinkwater” on it. Both the growing and the reading have been fascinating experiences.

I have eight children. Some of them have also become Pinkwater aficionados after their introduction to this fine literature. These children show signs of becoming fascinating and productive members of the world community. Those children who remain uninterested or unaffected by Mr. Pinkwater’s works I hope to somehow keep out of prison.

While I must admit that I believe Go, Dog, Go by P. D. Eastman is the finest piece of literature on the planet, anything by Daniel Pinkwater is a close second. I have read Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars several times, and feel compelled to read it yet again. I cry each time I read Wingman. The Blue Moose never fails to ease my passage through bleak winters.

While life devoid of Pinkwater is certainly possible, I wouldn’t recommend it.

Rainer Dittert

University of Kentucky