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From: HUMMING RK <HUMMINGRK>
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 11:39:03 EDT
I second Daniel Pinkwater as one of the funniest children's writers. His books, such as the picture book Wallpaper From Space or the novel Borgel, take unexpected and quirky turns in their plots. The books are funny without being gross.
The main characters are real boys (with whom the reader can sympathize) placed in bizarre situations. Borgel tells the story of a boy off with his elderly relative on a space-time tour in an old car. "Time is like a map of New Jersey and space is like a bagel," says Borgel to the boy. Right. And wait until you read about the pet peach pit... Granted. The reader must have a quirky sense of humor of his or her own, but Daniel Pinkwater makes the reader feel smart when he/she gets the inside joke.
My boys (ages nine and eleven) have loved Daniel Pinkwater's books for several years now. We read Borgel aloud first, then went back to the picture books. My boys were inspired to expand their own quirky imaginations: they have pet peach pits of their own--and take good care of them, I may add.
The other writer that makes my sons and me laugh also makes us cry. The two emotions are tied so closely together... Jerry Spinelli. His stories are serious, but his phrasing and use of metaphor can be truly humorous. Using his latest book, Wringer, as an example (not a humorous book by any means); there is the goofiness of the birthday party when his new friends give him garbage for gifts, or the irony of a pigeon knocking on the window of a boy in the town where they kill pigeons.
Should I send this message? How can I find humor in a book as frightening as Wringer? Please don't take this message the wrong way. What I mean to say is that laughing can make a horrible situation easier to bare, and many of my favorite authors use this tool. (Katherine Paterson in The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Lasky in Memoir of a Book Bat...)
Is good humor part of good writing?
Lee Sullivan Hill Clarendon Hills, IL
Received on Mon 04 May 1998 10:39:03 AM CDT
Date: Mon, 4 May 1998 11:39:03 EDT
I second Daniel Pinkwater as one of the funniest children's writers. His books, such as the picture book Wallpaper From Space or the novel Borgel, take unexpected and quirky turns in their plots. The books are funny without being gross.
The main characters are real boys (with whom the reader can sympathize) placed in bizarre situations. Borgel tells the story of a boy off with his elderly relative on a space-time tour in an old car. "Time is like a map of New Jersey and space is like a bagel," says Borgel to the boy. Right. And wait until you read about the pet peach pit... Granted. The reader must have a quirky sense of humor of his or her own, but Daniel Pinkwater makes the reader feel smart when he/she gets the inside joke.
My boys (ages nine and eleven) have loved Daniel Pinkwater's books for several years now. We read Borgel aloud first, then went back to the picture books. My boys were inspired to expand their own quirky imaginations: they have pet peach pits of their own--and take good care of them, I may add.
The other writer that makes my sons and me laugh also makes us cry. The two emotions are tied so closely together... Jerry Spinelli. His stories are serious, but his phrasing and use of metaphor can be truly humorous. Using his latest book, Wringer, as an example (not a humorous book by any means); there is the goofiness of the birthday party when his new friends give him garbage for gifts, or the irony of a pigeon knocking on the window of a boy in the town where they kill pigeons.
Should I send this message? How can I find humor in a book as frightening as Wringer? Please don't take this message the wrong way. What I mean to say is that laughing can make a horrible situation easier to bare, and many of my favorite authors use this tool. (Katherine Paterson in The Great Gilly Hopkins, Katherine Lasky in Memoir of a Book Bat...)
Is good humor part of good writing?
Lee Sullivan Hill Clarendon Hills, IL
Received on Mon 04 May 1998 10:39:03 AM CDT
