Daniel Manus Pinkwater (b. 1941-11-15 in Memphis, Tennessee, United States) is an author (mostly of children's books) and occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. For the movie, see 1941 (film) 1941 (MCMXLI) was a common year starting on Wednesday (the link is to a full 1941 calendar). ... November 15 is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 46 days remaining. ... Nickname: The River City, The Bluff City Official website: http://www. ... Official language(s) English Capital Nashville Largest city Memphis Area  - Total  - Width  - Length  - % water  - Latitude  - Longitude Ranked 36th 109,247 km² 195 km 710 km 2. ... // Basic characteristics There is some debate as to what constitutes childrens literature. ... NPR logo NPR redirects here. ... Bard College For other meanings of the word Bard, see Bard (disambiguation). ...

Pinkwater tends to write books about (frequently obese) social misfits who find themselves in bizarre situations, such as searching for a floating island populated by human-sized intelligent lizards (Lizard Music), exploring other universes with an obscure relative (Borgel), and discovering that their teeth can function as interstellar radio antennae (Fat Men from Space). Obesity is a condition in which the natural energy reserve, stored in the fatty tissue of humans and mammals is increased to a point where it is thought to be a significant risk factor in certain health conditions, leading to increased mortality. ...

They are often, though not always, set in thinly disguised versions of Chicago or New Jersey. A recurring character in many of his books is the Chicken Man, an elderly man who carries a performing chicken on his head. Chicago (officially named the City of Chicago) is the third largest city in the United States (after New York City and Los Angeles), with an official population of 2,896,016, as of the 2000 census. ... Official language(s) None, English de facto Capital Largest city Trenton Newark Area  Ranked 47th  - Total 8,729 sq mi  (22,608 km²)  - Width 70 miles (110 km)  - Length 150 miles (240 km)  - % water 14. ...

He varies his name slightly between books (among, e.g., "Daniel Pinkwater", "Daniel M. Pinkwater", "Daniel Manus Pinkwater", "D. Manus Pinkwater", etc.); allegedly, he claims that he does this in order to annoy the librarians who have to catalogue his books.

In addition to his large following of four to eleven year olds, Pinkwater has inspired a small cult following, consisting of young adults who find undeniable truth in his work. This is evident in the quotes recommending Pinkwater's two collections of novels. These recomendations consist solely of young men (generally) who have found his work inspirational to an extent rarely found in children's authors.

Mr. Pinkwater is also known to avid fans of the NPR radio show "Car Talk", where he has appeared as a (seemingly) random call in. The most recent involved the hosts' search for a car most suited to large drivers. Mr. Pinkwater offered a combination of truly humorous insight into the physics of the buttocks, and practical advice as to the choice of automobiles. He also has his own radio show.

Partial bibliography

Children's books

• Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars (1979)
• Blue Moose (1975)
• Borgel
• Fat Men from Space
• The Hoboken Chicken Emergency
• The Last Guru
• Lizard Music
• Looking for Bobowicz: A Hoboken Chicken Story
• The Magic Moscow
• The Magic Pretzel
• The Muffin Fiend
• Slaves of Speigel
• The Snarkout Boys books:
  • The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death
  • The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror
• The Worms of Kukumlima
• The Wuggie Norple Story (1980)
• Yobgorgle: Mystery Monster of Lake Ontario

Young adult novels

• The Education of Robert Nifkin
• Young Adult Novel

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Picture books

• The Big Orange Splot
• Bongo Larry
• The Devil in the Drain
• Doodle Flute
• Ducks!
• Guys From Space
• Toothgnasher Superflash
• Wempires

Adult fiction

• The Afterlife Diet

Non-fiction

• Hoboken Fish and Chicago Whistle: a book of essays, combining essays from two previous books:
  • Chicago Days, Hoboken Nights
  • Fish Whistle
• Superpuppy: on raising a dog
• Uncle Boris in the Yukon: and Other Shaggy Dog Stories

References

• Daniel Manus Pinkwater. Entry in Contemporary Authors Online, Thomson Gale, 2005. Accessed 2005-09-27.

2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 27 is the 270th day of the year (271st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 95 days remaining. ...

External link

• Daniel Pinkwater's web page