Dear Mister Pinkwater,
I read “Lizard Music” when I was a little seven year-old Weirdo (26 years ago) and I have adored your work ever since. Not only did you have odd characters and fun situations; you captured the vocabulary of my childhood inner self in a way no other author ever did. Your young characters were strange but not stupid, whimsical but not baseless. Their patterns of speech never seemed unreal or worse- condescending.
“Lizard Music” became my lifelong friend and it showed me that other Weirdos besides myself, my family and Dr Demento were out there and thriving. I will always be indebted to you for filling such a deep void in my life and for providing me with countless days and nights of joy and kinship through your books and radio appearances.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Hally
Well, that is about as handsome a compliment as a book can receive. Except for this one: The magnificent New York Review of Books children's collection, which only reprints books of genuine quality, has selected the very same Lizard Music for publication next year! So you can give copies to others. Meanwhile, maybe you'd like to read The Neddiad and/or Adventures of a Cat-Whiskered Girl and let me know if you think I am still on the same track 40 years later.
