The inimitable Daniel Pinkwater brings his zany wit and wisdom to this charming and silly slice-of-life adventure story, in which a boy seeking guidance embarks on an adventure around the city of Poughkeepsie with his brother, an eccentric guru, and their misfit friends.
CRAZY IN POUGHKEEPSIE
by Daniel Pinkwater
illustrated by Aaron Renier
Tachyon, May 2022
(via JABberwocky)
Mick is a good kid, but maybe he can use just a little guidance. But it’s unclear who will be guiding whom, because Mick’s brother came home from Tibet with the self-proclaimed Guru Lumpo Smythe-Finkel and his dog Lhasa―and then promptly settled both of them in Mick’s bedroom. The thing about this kind of guru is that he doesn’t seem to know exactly what he’s trying to do. He sure does seem to be hungry, though. So Mick agrees to something like a quest, roaming the suburbs with the oddest group of misfits: Lumpo and Lhasa; graffiti-fanatic Verne; and Verne’s unusual friend Molly. Molly is a Dwergish girl―don’t worry if you don’t know what that is yet―and she seems to be going off the rails a bit. Along the way, the gang will get invited to a rollicking ghost party, consult a very strange little king, and actually discover the truth about Heaven. Or a version of the truth anyway, because in a Daniel Pinkwater tale, the truth is never the slightest bit like what you’re expecting.
Daniel Pinkwater is the author and sometimes illustrator of over eighty (and counting) wildly popular books, including The Neddiad, The Hoboken Chicken Emergency, Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. He has also illustrated many of his own books, although for more recent works that task has passed to his wife, illustrator and novelist Jill Pinkwater. Pinkwater is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio’s All Things Considered and appears regularly on Weekend Edition Saturday, where he reviews kids’ books with host Scott Simon. Pinkwater also contributes to Wondertime, and has in the past been spotted on the pages of the New York Times Magazine, OMNI, and many other publications. He lives with his wife and several dogs and cats in a very old farmhouse in New York’s Hudson River.
Aaron Renier (Illustrator) is the author of three graphic novels for younger readers; Spiral-Bound, Walker Bean, and Walker Bean and the Knights of the Waxing Moon. He is the recipient of the Eisner award in 2006 for talent deserving of wider recognition, and was an inaugural resident for the Sendak Fellowship in 2010. He teaches drawing and comics at universities in Chicago.
When a rough sailor called Ishmael turns up on a family’s doorstep, even loyal dog Zeke knows that the news is ruinous. Ishmael comes bearing the tragic tale of the Pequod: the whaling ship that fourteen-year-old Josiah’s father served on as first mate. Ishmael presents himself as the sole survivor of the deadly journey, fatally lead by the vengeful Captain Ahab and his obsession with the legendary white whale, Moby Dick. But Josiah is not so certain his father’s death was that simple. Especially when Ishmael looks so boldly at Josiah’s devout Quaker mother. Josiah is almost of age in Nantucket, and he still cherishes his dream of following in his father’s footsteps. He is yet too young to sign on to a ship’s crew, but he yearns to be at sea. Yet adventure has a way of finding a boy and his dog. The true vision of his father’s death―as well as the difficult tasks of surviving, growing up, and finding his strength―await Josiah, when he and Zeke discover the secrets of the Pequod at the mysterious Arch of Bone.
Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron Age world through the suspenseful dual narrative of a boy and girl both battling to survive. In an utterly one of a kind blend of fiction and history, a master storyteller explores the mystery and life of the 2,000 year old Windeby bog body. Estrild is not like the other girls in her village; she wants to be a warrior. Varick, the orphan boy who helps her train in spite of his twisted back, also stands apart. In a world where differences are poorly tolerated, just how much danger are they in? Inspired by the true discovery of the 2,000 year old Windeby bog body in Northern Germany, Newbery Medalist and master storyteller Lois Lowry transports readers to an Iron age world as she breathes life back into the Windeby child, left in the bog to drown with a woolen blindfold over its eyes. This suspenseful exploration of lives that might have been by a gifted, intellectually curious author is utterly one of a kind. Includes several arresting photos of archeological finds, including of the Windeby child.
It’s Christmas and the Miller family is celebrating their first holiday with the new baby. Uncle Jake is visiting which makes Billy very happy. But Sal? Not so much. In fact, nothing about this holiday is making Sal happy. The baby is a noisy nuisance and is hogging all of Mama’s attention. Plus, the baby doesn’t even have a name yet. And to make matters worse, Sal has lost her favorite pair of brand new underpants one of the very special set of seven Santa gave her for Christmas! Will Sal find her present? Will the Millers find a name for the baby? Will Billy always be an obnoxious big brother? Will Uncle Jake constantly put his foot in his mouth? The holiday season is full of surprises and warmth, kindness, family, celebration, and love in the hands of award winning house author Kevin Henkes . Oh, Sal is an excellent choice for younger middle grade readers, as well as a terrific family and classroom read aloud. Illustrated throughout with black and white art by the author.
On a remote Scottish island, fourteen-year-old Max’s life changes forever when he loses his hearing in a boating accident. Struggling to make sense of his new life and resenting having to attend the ‘special class’ at his local high school, he begins to notice strange changes that take place when a new wind farm appears off the island’s coast.