Daniel Pinkwater
Paperback | Pages: 136 pages Rating: 4.14 | 1904 Users | 217 Reviews
Declare Of Books Lizard Music
| Title | : | Lizard Music |
| Author | : | Daniel Pinkwater |
| Book Format | : | Paperback |
| Book Edition | : | Deluxe Edition |
| Pages | : | Pages: 136 pages |
| Published | : | January 29th 1996 by Yearling Books (first published 1976) |
| Categories | : | Fantasy. Young Adult. Fiction. Childrens |
Narrative Toward Books Lizard Music
I had lizards when I was young, so it stands to reason that a book titled “Lizard Music” would appeal. With allergies to fur and feather, but a fondness for all things non-Hexopod, lizards were an obvious option (well, to me at least; I can hear you dissenters. Let this be a warning to those with children). I remember Barney, one of my anoles, who looked something like this:
(more pics at my blog: https://clsiewert.wordpress.com/2019/...)
So if you say to me, “hey, here’s this book about an eleven-year-old kid whose parents leave him alone on vacation and he ends up doing kid things like staying up late and watching tv, where he discovers a late-night local program of lizard musicians. He also rides the bus to a neighboring city, goes to the zoo, meets the Chicken Man and his chicken sidekick, discovers Hidden Things, and travels to Lizard Island,” I’m down with that, especially if the plot doesn’t devolve into the lizards eating the kid or the chicken.
I rather liked this. I found it through Beth’s suggestion during a discussion on Interstellar Pig, another 1970s era book where parents are conveniently removed from the picture, allowing for Adventures. Victor is particularly logical in his approach to the world, and instead of feeling left out that he wouldn’t be going with his parents to Colorado, he is thankful they won’t be taking him and making him look at scenery: “I mean, it is very nice if there are some big mountains or something in the background while you are doing something, but just standing around all day and saying, ‘What a lovely view,’ strikes me as sort of dumb.'”
Unfortunately, or fortunately as it turns out, his sister, Leslie, forgot about a camping trip with some hippie friends, so she asks him if he minds if she leaves. He offers his thoughts: “I went outside and told them I’d be surprised if they ever got out of the state in a wreck like that. They all said stuff like “Far out!” and “Heavy!” and all that dumb talk, and drove off in a black cloud of burning oil.” No anxiety. In fact, he strategically types out ten letters to his parents, one for each day they are gone. “They don’t have typing in the sixth grade, so it was hard to get the letters looking right.”
I loved the tone of the narration, and the subtle humor, particularly in a recurrent call-back to Walter Cronkite (!). Victor’s isn’t mean about what he notices, but he is starting to get curious about how the ‘real world’ works. He displays some interesting problem-solving, although I have to say that I wouldn’t have arrived at quite the same conclusions (“I learned something–you can eat egg shells”). I also applaud his adventuresome spirit and self-reliance, such as when he decides to make scrambled eggs and take the bus to the zoo.
The lizards themselves are interesting. The grown-up me wishes they were a bit more lizardly. The young me would have enjoyed them. Both mes found/would have found the lizards’ tendency to name themselves ‘Reynold’ hilarious. But, in retrospect, it’s probably a solid way to introduce the idea of an alien-looking culture while still generating empathy. The ending comes quickly, and perhaps feels a little bit too quick of a wrap-up given everything Victor has learned about the lizards, and about being adventuresome.
Had I been reading this when I was ten, I would have quite enjoyed it. Now, however, I have a reservation, and that is the Chicken Man, who is almost literally the Magical Negro for this story. The interesting thing, however, is that Victor acknowledges this in the text in a brief discussion on his personal history of race relations. I also appreciated that Pinkwater does tricky and clever things with Chicken Man’s character, so that he portrays a variety of personalities (perhaps like an inconsistent Coyote spirit).
I particularly loved when Chicken Man was interviewed on the news as part of a ‘man-on-the-street’ opinion on whether or not public employees should have the right to strike, and he gave an extremely literate and concise nutshell of the challenge between public safety and the rights of collective bargaining (seriously! wth, 1970s!). So I think I’m inclined to forgive it, as his role as ‘guide’ (as the business card said) was honestly well done, and the relationship between the two characters hit both compassionate and respectful notes.
Overall, a fun read. Shout-out of thanks to Sarah B!
Particularize Books During Lizard Music
| Original Title: | Lizard Music |
| ISBN: | 0440413192 (ISBN13: 9780440413196) |
| Edition Language: | English |
| Literary Awards: | Dorothy Canfield Fisher Children's Book Award Nominee (1978) |
Rating Of Books Lizard Music
Ratings: 4.14 From 1904 Users | 217 ReviewsPiece Of Books Lizard Music
LIZARD MUSIC, y'all. I was feeling an urge to re-read, and I'd been drooling over the NYRB's recent maximum class edition with the geometric lizard cover, so I found a copy of that at Powell's.It's always hard to decide which part of this book to explain to people, so maybe just a cluster of thoughtlets is in order.* When I read this for the first time (age what, 11?), it seemed subversive as hell. It's about a young kid in a modern milieu navigating the world on his own, caring for himself,Warning: this rating and review based on severe nostalgia.One of my all-time favorite young adult books. Weird, funny and creepy all at the same time. Victor the first-person protagonist is an incredibly identifiable character. My favorite moment is when he becomes so overwhelmed with his discovery of the lizards, The Chicken Man and the pod people, his mixture of fear, excitement, and his love of the beautiful lesser kudu he saw at the zoo that he weeps uncontrollably. Pinkwater's wandering
Ok, after four decades it's pretty dated. Walter Cronkite, and no TV overnight, and the kid doesn't order pizza until his third or fourth night on his own. But do take note; those details reveal aspects of the boy's character and culture. Don't update the book, whatever you do!Original cover, the one I chose to review, much cooler than the more popular one with the blue sofa and the lizards coming out of the TV.Anyway, fun adventure, with 'easter eggs' galore (which how could a pre-internet
You have not actually lived until you have read this book, in part because the Chicken Man is a necessary and essential guru for true life, and in part because you must learn to find the Lizard Music that is permeating the airwaves all around you when you stay up too late at night, but most of all because truly living most definitely involves absorbing the worldview of Daniel Manus Pinkwater. If you disagree, but cannot articulate why, then you are, I am sorry to say, existing in a soulless void
This is a hoot, but probably only to those who remember the times: Walter Cronkite on a B&W TV & stations that went off the air after the late movie around 1am or so. It's more of a mood piece filled with Easter eggs. It doesn't really go anywhere, but it was fun & appealed to a young me. Now it just brings back some memories.
I received this book as a birthday or Christmas gift from my parents when I was a child. We lived in kind of an isolated area, and I couldn't get to the library whenever I wanted, so needless to say I read this book a LOT. I got kind of obsessed with it around 5th grade, not just for the great story, but because I thought the rockin' lizards on the cover were TOTALLY BADASSSSSS!Lizard Music is a hilarious adventure about a young teenager who is left alone when his parents go out of town. His
The kids agreed that that was good in parts but a bit of a letdown at the end. Alan Mendelsohn was better.
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