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

It's the children who are _not_ my readers you hope to keep out of jail? This is a turnabout from the usual. Or maybe just a typo.