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8th out of 29 books
—
8 voters
Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy From Mars
Leonard's life at his new junior high is just barely tolerable until he becomes friends with the unusual Alan and with him shares an extraordinary adventure.
Paperback, 224 pages
Published
September 28th 1983
by Bantam Books
(first published 1979)
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This is one of those books that you read as a kid and the scenes get stuck in your head for the rest of your life and you don't remember where they're from - did I dream about Hergeschleimer's Oriental Gardens? Did I actually study the art of mind control? - and then you reread it 15 or 20 years later and realize that all of your cool childhood 'memories' were just planted in your brain by this giant bald guy. Thanks, Pinkwater.
This was a very odd book about a somewhat geeky twelve year old Leonard Neeble and his experiences with his eccentric best friend Alan Mendelsohn, who, among other things, claims to hail from Mars. After moving to a new town, Leonard is bored to tears until he meets Alan Mendelsohn, the only person who seems interesting at his junior high school. They quickly become friends and together explore mind control methods, buying books and instruments from a somewhat suspect storekeeper named Samuel Kl...more
latest re-read 3/4/2012
My freshman year in HS I read several books by DMP... this was my favorite.
I remember, in college, volunteering at the local library to read this book to the 8-10 year olds. I started with 5 kids. In the two weeks set aside for me to finish this book my class grew to over 20 kids (and most of their parents) each night and the local bookstore told me they had to order 50+ copies for special orders and now they keep at least 2 copies in stock at all times.
Great book.
My freshman year in HS I read several books by DMP... this was my favorite.
I remember, in college, volunteering at the local library to read this book to the 8-10 year olds. I started with 5 kids. In the two weeks set aside for me to finish this book my class grew to over 20 kids (and most of their parents) each night and the local bookstore told me they had to order 50+ copies for special orders and now they keep at least 2 copies in stock at all times.
Great book.
From this book I learned that if you smoke a cigar, you should chew bubblegum at the same time so you don't get sick. I have never tried this, because cigars are utterly disgusting, but the two times I've had one I had no access to gum and both times ended up feeling nauseated afterward so probably Pinkwater was right, just like he was right about the lizards and the fat men from space and the avocados.
I read this in college and it blew me away, but it's been a long time, so I had to re-read it to see if my memory of it was accurate. A lot of it, I'd forgotten, but the wonderful sense of surrealism that permeates the novel is definitely still there.
It's basically about a boy who moves to a new neighborhood and junior high school. He doesn't fit in with the students, but his life improves when another new student arrives—Alan Mendelsohn—who's even weirder than he is. They team up to play prank...more
It's basically about a boy who moves to a new neighborhood and junior high school. He doesn't fit in with the students, but his life improves when another new student arrives—Alan Mendelsohn—who's even weirder than he is. They team up to play prank...more
Is Alan from Mars? Can you make Omega Waves? Why is Leonard Neeble allowed to smoke cigars? Who are those time-traveling bikers, and why are they addicted to chili? Pinkwater is the imagination you fantasize you have. All of his novels should be read repeatedly.
I really liked this book, and I wish I had Daniel Pinkwater books as a kid, but I didn't. I did have The Adventures of Pete and Pete on Nickelodeon, and I feel like the creators of that show much have been heavily influenced by Daniel Pinkwater.
The book manages to be timeless, even though it's from 1979 and the main character, Leonard Neeble, smokes cigars in his counselor's office even though he (Leonard) is in high school.
Almost everything in the book is completely absurd, but it all works p...more
The book manages to be timeless, even though it's from 1979 and the main character, Leonard Neeble, smokes cigars in his counselor's office even though he (Leonard) is in high school.
Almost everything in the book is completely absurd, but it all works p...more
This book is perfect for young adults who are fascinated with the paranormal, just as I was when I read it. A remarkable attribute of Pinkwater's works is, on top of being downright hilarious to the point of inducing tears and schoolgirl giggles, his whimsical, unpredictable stories engage the reader and stretch the imagination while having virtually no conflict. This story, while low key, is a gripping adventure in exploring the limits of our minds, reality, and other realities. It's told in su...more
First things first. This book had no point other than being ridiculous and try to make you laugh. You need to be in the right mood to appreciate Klugarsh's method for Interstellar Archaelogy or the 26th State by Klugarsh Inc. a misfit boy Leonard befriends a human looking Martian and embark on wacky adventure that leads to mind control tummy rubs and hat lifting to staging a coup in the lost continental dimension of Waka Waka. The funniest character goes to the psychologist Dr Prince who insists...more
This was a strange, strange book. It was on a list of all-time great YA books, so I got it from the library, however: it is too cute for its own good, and not as good as it thinks it is; a collection of funny sounding words and names that come at you fast and continuously so that you have no idea what ties together; and a potentially wonderful and amusing science fiction story about loners and friendship if only the rest of that nonsense had been cut out. Loved the beginning, loved the end. Othe...more
This is the stuff. Pure, unadulterated Pinkwater. With this book he put together everything he loves and made it all work. Sure, the ending is a bit of mish-mash. But it's still great absurdist fantasy science fiction adventure comedy.
It's got mind control! Aliens! Time travelers! Comic books! Alternate dimensions! Insanely hot chili! Terrible cocoa!
If there was any justice, this would be on the required reading list in every high school.
It's got mind control! Aliens! Time travelers! Comic books! Alternate dimensions! Insanely hot chili! Terrible cocoa!
If there was any justice, this would be on the required reading list in every high school.
This is one of my all-time favorite books, and one of Pinkwater's best (and that's saying something, in my opinion!). Images from this book will be forever burned in my mind, like their school's notebook system, the cigar-smoking, and the various ways to trip people. This book is just simply fantastic, a joyous, strange, wonderful book.
This was the first Pinkwater book I ever read, at one of my sons urging. I loved when I first read it, and rereading it I was impressed by the way Pinkwater throws together cliched genre elements like mysterious bookstore owners and ancient secrets with genuine childhood sorrows, in this case moving to a new school. This is a classic.
Great silliness from Mr. Pinkwater. I like how the protagonist is just an average boy, perhaps a little less accomplished than most. The people around him are all mostly average as well in their attitudes until Alan Mendelsohn shows up and adds a dash of excitement and otherworldliness to the tale. Very fun and silly, if a bit long.
Not a deathless classic, but lots of fun, two boys on adventures in mysterious alternative realities that shift in and out of focus, boys whose parents have no idea what is going on (no surprise to anyone who has had parents, right?) Pinkwater's books are delightful romps through city and space.
Our main character moves to a new school and is thrilled to finally make a friend, Alan Mendelsohn. Alan and our main character go in search of comic books and end up with a machine that allows a person to control other people’s thoughts and actions. Will it work? And is Alan really from Mars?
One of my best friends recommended Daniel Pinkwater to me, and this is one of the short novels from his book 5 Novels. I LOVE IT!!! It is adolescent science fiction, so maybe not for everyone, but I don't love science fiction and I loved it. It is just so great; I can't really say anything else.
The boy from Mars, the horrors of Bat Masterson Junior High, Klugarsh Mind Control, and the Bermuda Triangle Chili Parlor -- Daniel Pinkwater serves up zany like no one else. Fun YA nonsense with a serious message about fitting in as a kid when you're not like everyone else.
from the NPR poll of best young adult fiction
I know from NPR that Pinkwater can be hilarious, so even though this doesn't sound all that engaging, maybe I'll give it a try. Or maybe I'll just recommend it to my daughter.
I know from NPR that Pinkwater can be hilarious, so even though this doesn't sound all that engaging, maybe I'll give it a try. Or maybe I'll just recommend it to my daughter.
This was my absolute favorite growing up. I must have read it 50 times! I still love it and am in the process of getting another copy so my 12 year old son can read it and hopefully enjoy it as much as I did!
This book saved my life as a child. Pinkwater's protagonists are geeky social outcasts who discover wild creative worlds that allow them to prevail. This story is so memorable. Easily my favorite childhood book.
Oct 27, 2009
Leslie
added it
I found a list of books I read during the summer when I was about 14. This was one of them. I don't remember anything about it, but I pretty much love anything Daniel Pinkwater touches.
One of my ALL TIME favorites from when I was a kid - used to re-read this one constantly. I read it again a year or so ago and it was just as good as I remembered!
If you constructed elaborate genetic algorithms designed to produce the perfect book to delight an 11-year-old me, this is the book you would end up with.
funny and interesting book. Loved the way that Alan and Leonard interacted and the way that Leonard grew because of his friendship with Alan.
Checking out some YA stuff. I'm sure I would have really liked this 40 years ago. Now, eh, it's sort of cute. I was reading better stuff, I think.
This is one of my favorite books on the planet. I reread it every couple of years or so. At this point, I almost have it memorized.
My first Pinkwater, read for a personal project. Very interesting and enjoyably wacky without getting irritatingly out there.
This is the most surreal story I've ever read, bar none - and it has stayed with me for over 35 years. It's THAT good.
This is a quirky, funny book that I first read in jr. high. My son liked it enough to read it aloud with me, but it sometimes gets so weird that it ends up being disjointed. Kids with imaginations that can appreciate stuff that is bizarre just for the sake of being bizarre will love it. Also, if you've read any Pinkwater before, this is exactly the kind of book you have come to expect him to write.
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| What's The Name o...: A boy who smokes cigars in his psychiatrist's office [s] | 7 | 130 | Feb 13, 2013 09:51am |
Daniel Manus Pinkwater is an author of mostly children's books and is an occasional commentator on National Public Radio. He attended Bard College. Well-known books include Lizard Music, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, Fat Men from Space, Borgel, and the picture book The Big Orange Splot. Pinkwater has also illustrated many of his books in the past, although for more recent works that...more
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May 04, 2012 11:14am