Ducks usually lie
February 9, 2016 7:56 AM Subscribe
Daniel Pinkwater reads Ducks! [audio, about 7 minutes].
Ira Glass, host of This American Life, on Ducks!
Ira Glass, host of This American Life, on Ducks!
One of Pinkwater's other excellent children's books, The Big Orange Splot, has been reprinted. Given his popularity, I'm somewhat surprised that this book hasn't gotten a similar treatment.
posted by cubby at 8:32 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
posted by cubby at 8:32 AM on February 9, 2016 [2 favorites]
Daniel also wrote The Magic Goose, for those who look at books about ducks and go "Oie?"
(Apologies for the cheap sound effects; I only had some freeware stuff available when it was recorded.)
posted by greatgefilte at 8:34 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
(Apologies for the cheap sound effects; I only had some freeware stuff available when it was recorded.)
posted by greatgefilte at 8:34 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
This is awesome. Thank you.
Some previous Pinkwater.
My weathered copies of Alan Mendelsohn the Boy From Mars and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death are among my most prized possessions.
It might sound odd, but I honestly can't think of a single writer who who's left such an impression on me as Daniel Pinkwater did when I was a kid.
Shout out to the librarian who approached me when I was looking for books to take on a family vacation when I was...I dunno, nine or ten?
She handed me a copy of The Slaves of Spiegel and The Magic Moscow, and said something like "The Magic Moscow is a restaurant that's kind of like McDonalds but with crazy names for food that's really bad."
After reading those two, I was hooked on Pinkwater forever.
Librarians are awesome.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:45 AM on February 9, 2016 [10 favorites]
Some previous Pinkwater.
My weathered copies of Alan Mendelsohn the Boy From Mars and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death are among my most prized possessions.
It might sound odd, but I honestly can't think of a single writer who who's left such an impression on me as Daniel Pinkwater did when I was a kid.
Shout out to the librarian who approached me when I was looking for books to take on a family vacation when I was...I dunno, nine or ten?
She handed me a copy of The Slaves of Spiegel and The Magic Moscow, and said something like "The Magic Moscow is a restaurant that's kind of like McDonalds but with crazy names for food that's really bad."
After reading those two, I was hooked on Pinkwater forever.
Librarians are awesome.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 8:45 AM on February 9, 2016 [10 favorites]
When my daughter was little, we loved the Ice Cream Larry books, including those Two Bad Bears, Irving and Muktuk.
posted by briank at 8:47 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by briank at 8:47 AM on February 9, 2016
My user name is a Pinkwater book, so yeah, big fan here and also have some cherished copies of his books. I was at the annual book sale at my public library years ago and found the very same copies of The Worms of Kukumlima and Yobgorgle that I'd checked out many times were being sold off for a buck a piece. Instabuy.
His books are probably the only thing I actually collect. I've got at least three dozen of them. Always surprised that he's not better known.
For the uninitiated, Lizard Music is a great starting point. Or if you want bang for your buck, the 4: Fantastic Novels paperback collection includes the aforementioned book sale books. His stuff still holds up well as an adult reader.
posted by yobgorgle at 9:17 AM on February 9, 2016 [3 favorites]
His books are probably the only thing I actually collect. I've got at least three dozen of them. Always surprised that he's not better known.
For the uninitiated, Lizard Music is a great starting point. Or if you want bang for your buck, the 4: Fantastic Novels paperback collection includes the aforementioned book sale books. His stuff still holds up well as an adult reader.
posted by yobgorgle at 9:17 AM on February 9, 2016 [3 favorites]
I'm glad to hear him read this. I developed a similar deadpan delivery after reading Guys From Space aloud as a recurrent bedtime ritual (my son's, not mine)...
posted by jim in austin at 9:36 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by jim in austin at 9:36 AM on February 9, 2016
I was at the annual book sale at my public library years ago and found the very same copies of The Worms of Kukumlima and Yobgorgle that I'd checked out many times were being sold off for a buck a piece. Instabuy.
That's exactly how I came to own my copies of the two I have! And given the size of the library, they were indeed the copies I first read.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:46 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
That's exactly how I came to own my copies of the two I have! And given the size of the library, they were indeed the copies I first read.
posted by mandolin conspiracy at 9:46 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
My user name is a Pinkwater book...
And an excellent choice. That’s my all-time favorite of the dozens of his books I’ve read, which I’ve said here before. (Twice.)
posted by LeLiLo at 10:51 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
And an excellent choice. That’s my all-time favorite of the dozens of his books I’ve read, which I’ve said here before. (Twice.)
posted by LeLiLo at 10:51 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
From the fantastic Pinkwater Podcast
You are my favorite for today for teaching me that this exists (even if I don't have time for the podcasts already on my list)
posted by phearlez at 10:55 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
You are my favorite for today for teaching me that this exists (even if I don't have time for the podcasts already on my list)
posted by phearlez at 10:55 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
I learned about Daniel Pinkwater when I read an interview with him in (I think) the Globe and Mail in the mid-1980s. I was impressed by something that he said in the interview: he tries to use words and references that are above the reading level of his intended audience. In one of his books, he mentioned an obscure Dada artist. One of the kids who read the book got curious about the artist, found the one monograph about his work, borrowed it through interlibrary loan, photocopied it cover to cover, and sent the copy to Pinkwater.
Daniel Pinkwater is awesome.
I recommend The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death and The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror, and Lizard Music is excellent, too. His memoirs, Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights, is a good source of insight into how he got some of his ideas.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:27 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
Daniel Pinkwater is awesome.
I recommend The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death and The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror, and Lizard Music is excellent, too. His memoirs, Chicago Days/Hoboken Nights, is a good source of insight into how he got some of his ideas.
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 11:27 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]
he's an awesome writer of books for kids. and parents. this one especially was a favorite - Tooth-Gnasher Superflash
posted by TMezz at 11:40 AM on February 9, 2016
posted by TMezz at 11:40 AM on February 9, 2016
Okay, Pinkwater's Dada book, Young Adult Novel, is really awesome. It's about a bunch of teenagers who start a Dada club, but also kind of a meta-satire of teen fiction of the era? Like, the dada club writes all these stories about a kid named Kevin Shapiro joining a gang or getting pregnant or dying of drugs? It inspired some really good shenanigans on my part back in the day.
posted by Tesseractive at 4:08 PM on February 9, 2016 [3 favorites]
posted by Tesseractive at 4:08 PM on February 9, 2016 [3 favorites]
Okay, Pinkwater's Dada book, Young Adult Novel, is really awesome. It's about a bunch of teenagers who start a Dada club, but also kind of a meta-satire of teen fiction of the era? Like, the dada club writes all these stories about a kid named Kevin Shapiro joining a gang or getting pregnant or dying of drugs? It inspired some really good shenanigans on my part back in the day.
Oh yeah, this book was actually hugely formative for me when I was about, I don't know, 15? It introduced me to dada and surrealism in general, and I ran wild with it. I really cannot underestimate how important it was in making me the person I am today.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 5:48 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
Oh yeah, this book was actually hugely formative for me when I was about, I don't know, 15? It introduced me to dada and surrealism in general, and I ran wild with it. I really cannot underestimate how important it was in making me the person I am today.
posted by lollymccatburglar at 5:48 AM on February 10, 2016 [1 favorite]
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posted by Mchelly at 8:02 AM on February 9, 2016 [1 favorite]