Hannah

September 16, 2017

Hello Mr. Pinkwater! I’m Hannah, long time fan. I read (read: my folks read to me, over and over) my first book of yours around age 4 at my Icelandic great grandmother’s home and I loved it. It was The Big Orange Splot and as I think back on it as an adult, I can probably attribute my very first “up the punks!” type feels to you and this book! Being a kid growing up in Kansas, any message that’s encouraging you to go your own way and also embrace others going their own way as well, is appreciated more than I can express.

Then my dad, a veterinarian, realized that he had you and your partner’s book, Super Puppy, in his office, and BOOM: the family was now a Pinkwater family. Over the years there were so many- my big brothers and I nerded out over the snarkout boys, I found a lot of solace in Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars, and I read Lizard Music more times than I can count.

There’s one very (very, very) special story, though. It’s the Wuggie Norple Story. This was the first thing to ever made me laugh so hard that I cried (I thiiink it started with Exploding Poptart, and ended never). I remember being around 5 or 6 years old, and so vomit-fever-lots more vomit-sick on a family vacation, ruining everyone’s time. My folks got this book for me and the three of us read it and laugh-cried together, making my favorite memories of the trip.

My best friend had a daughter named Lou about two years ago. This is the first kid I’ve ever held, interacted with, loved (I mean, she calls me Auntie Haha, c’monnn). I want to share everything special with her, and even more so now that their family is moving away from Brooklyn to Ohio, where it will be oh so much more difficult for me to be there with Lou through her milestones and journey into becoming a strong woman.

SO- here’s the thing: I’ve searched every thrift store for The Wuggie Norple Story to no avail. “New” copies of it are going for $400 on the web, used for $50 .

Do you have any insight into whether or not there’s a better option to purchase this book? Please let me know- I can’t let them leave town without giving Lou The Wuggie Norple Story from Aunty Haha, and I’ll spend $50 on a used copy if I must, but if there is a resource that you know of that I could look into, please let me know!

Thanks,
Hannah

You know, Hannah, I see this a lot...some crummy book I wrote is offered for a ridiculous amount on like Amazon, and someone else gets it for a dollar-ninety-seven on Ebay.  There are books around, in different places, not necessarily the same places all the time.  No rhyme or reason.  A wonderful bookseller with fair prices is Cattermole 20th Century Children's books books@cattermole.com ask for their catalog, it is a pleasure in itself.  And thanks for appreciating my stuff!



P.S.



http://www.ebay.com/itm/The-Wuggie-Norple-Story-by-Pinkwater-Daniel-Manus-dePaola-Tomie-/302450169010?epid=1516197&hash=item466b6f54b2:i:302450169010