Ned Feldman, Space Pirate

by Daniel Pinkwater

Ned Feldman joins Lumpy Lugo, a.k.a. Captain Bugbeard the Pirate, on a fun-filled, action-packed journey into outer space aboard a kitchen-sink spaceship and through a perilous encounter with dangerous space chickens.

Genres: Childrens, Pirates

48 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1994

About the author

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 task has passed to his wife Jill Pinkwater.

Reviews

[Phil J · Rating 4 out of 5]

An early chapter book with all the usual Pinkwater trademarks- whimsy, dada-influenced dialogue ("as fast as a grape"), an outsider going on an adventure, clueless adults, professional wrestling, and lots of chickens.

I enjoyed it, especially the wild illustrations. As usual, Pinkwater prioritizes bold shapes and colors over things like proportion and perspective. Great fun.

[Brenna · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ned Feldman is just a typical kid. Maybe he's the little guy who lives next door. Maybe he's the dorky nephew with a penchant for drawing space aliens. Heck, maybe he's you.

But as far as that goes, Ned Feldman remains one of the more memorable (if sadly obscure) characters in modern children's literature. He does nothing in particular to stand out, other than his colourful rendering of intergalactic battles alongside his abominably handwritten school essays. Yet somehow, he is incredibly endearing.

Ned Feldman, Space Pirate brings the titular character face to face with a bona fide space pirate who just happens to shore his spacecraft where the Feldmans' kitchen sink is located. Upon investigation, Ned finds himself journeying through unknown portions of the Universe, facing battle (of sorts, anyway) with giant Space Chickens, and the scariest Yeti ever. ("Not only was it the scariest thing I had ever seen in real life, it was also the scariest thing I had ever seen on TV or in a movie, or in an ad for a movie I was not allowed to see because it was too scary. It was also the scariest thing I had ever heard of or imagined.")

In addition to the story come illustrations (drawn by author Daniel Pinkwater himself) reflective of little Ned Feldman's own works of art. The story cannot be read without admiring - and giggling at - the goofy expressions given to the characters.

Ned Feldman, Space Pirate is nothing short of sheer fun. It doesn't pretend to moralize or educate. But for a brief escape from the mundane, this exceptionally funny book blasts past the doldrums or daily life and lets the imagination of a child become a part of us all once more.

A more enjoyable children's book would be a rarity. This one is fantastic.

[elstaffe · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pull quote/note
"'Space chickens,' Bugbeard said.
'There are chickens in space?' I was surprised.
'They are not the same as Earth chickens,' Bugbeard said. 'When we get closer, you will notice that they are about twenty feet long, and probably weigh a ton.'
He was right. When we got closer, I could see that each chicken was bigger than our kitchen-sink spacecraft.
'Are these chickens dangerous?' I asked.
'What a funny question!' Bugbeard said. 'Are chickens dangerous? Hee hee hee!'
'Well, are they?' I asked.
'I don't know,' Bugbeard the Pirate said. 'Maybe we should get away from here.'" (18-20)

[Dan Blackley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Outer space tale of a pirate and his friend.

[Emily · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summary (CIP): One day when Ned's parents are out, he meets Captain Lumpy Lugo, a space pirate who comes from the galaxy Foon-ping-baba, and they spend the afternoon travelling through outer space

Review: I laughed out load, several times! This story reminded me creative writing in the fourth grade. The concept, voice, and details capture that level of sophistication and silliness. For instance, the summary mentions that Ned's parents are out and at the end of the book we learn that they were out watching professional wrestling.

School Library Journal review found the characters appealing and amusing with Pinkwater's unique brand of humor.

Booklist refers to the book as science fiction in one of it's milder forms, and comments that "Pinkwater fans will enjoy the zany author/illustrator's latest trip into the light fantastic."

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

A bored young boy, left home while his parents go to see a wrestling match discovers that there is an alien space ship under his kitchen sink. He is then shanghi'd by a space pirate and whisked across the universe.

The space ship/ sink reminds me of Doctor Who's Tardis, we learn the Yeti may be be an alien, there are chickens in space and the space pirate is cheerful, goofy and blue.

Lots of great Pinkwater ideas, but this time he doesn't seem to know what to do with them. So, this books only gets a 'really good' rating.
Still there are no bad Pinkwater books and I keep hoping he'll do a sequel.

[Scott · Rating 4 out of 5]

Pinkwater is by far my favorite writer but there are a few of his books that I missed growing up so I'm going back and reading through them.

This one is pretty good - turns out that Ned's kitchen sink is a space ship with a pirate living in it - Ned and the pirate go to outer space, visit a planet, ride giant chickens, slide on warm snow and got chased by a yeti so.......your basic Pinkwater plot (does Pinkwater even have a plot).

[Katherine · Rating 3 out of 5]

Samuel and I made a rocket ship in the children's tent at the downtown arts festival today. We named it the USS Pinkwater. I suppose we should have made it look like a kitchen sink. . .

With Jonathan's help, Samuel read ahead without me. I have to catch up because I missed several chapters involving space chickens!

[Mark Milotay · Rating 5 out of 5]

As always Pinkwater amazes me with his brilliance and humour.