We all love free stuff, right? And avocados, we love them too, don’t we? Okay, well maybe only some of us love avocados, but I would venture to assume that there isn’t a one of us who doesn’t like free stuff, especially if the free stuff involves books!

Deslily is hosting fun giveaway that involves nothing more than you posting about a character from a book. Here, I’ll let her tell it:

“I want the post to be about a character in a book that you really like. One that for whatever reason, you can’t seem to forget. Or one that you related to. Or one that made you laugh. Just make it about a character you can’t seem to forget. Tell about how you found this character, and most of all… why you like him/ her/ it… post it before August 3rd and leave a link so that others can read your post.”

What a great idea! Now, to choose which character…

I know many of you are like me in that the act of turning pages in a book can often lead to deep and lasting relationships with characters. You identify with them, they become real to you, and you have difficulty letting go as the words “The End” attempt to sever that relationship. One of my early experiences with this came from reading that wacky Daniel Pinkwater novel, The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death.

My relationship with the main character, Walter Galt, began with a trip to my local library in 1982 when the book was first published. My library had the habit of displaying new young adult books on a particular shelf and the crazy cover art (not the same as this paperback) and nonsensical title caught my eye. I checked the book out and promptly came under the spell of Pinkwater’s giggle-inducing writing style. Many, many years later, prior to the days of the internet (yes kids, we’re talking the jurassic era here) I was working in a bookstore and something…maybe a wayward avocado…brought this book to mind. At the time I could not remember the title other than it had the word ‘avocado’ in it.

Those of you who have worked in bookstores may recall that there was a reference book that showed in-print and out-of-print books, but with no hint other than ‘avocado’ I did not have any luck. Many months later I had and epiphany as I was checking someone out at the register and low and behold the word “Snarkout” came to me. A little checking, some ordering, and this little gem found its way back into my life.

Walter Galt, and his friend Winston Bongo, are both kids that I could readily identify with. Though they were both fat, a characteristic that I did not share with them during my youth, there were many other aspects of their insane adventures that spoke to my young self. Walter Galt is a fairly new addition to Ghengis Khan High School, but eight months of education had only taught him that school was mind-numbingly dull. How bad could Gengis Khan High School have been? Well, here is one of the high points:

“…This is one of the few positive things that I’ve notiched at Genghis Khan High School. This Mrs. Macmillan has something against Jews. Years ago she used to make speeches about Jews in her classroom. So this tradition got started: Every semester, kids who aren’t Jewish, and Jewish kids who don’t have them, borrow Jewish stars to wear around their necks in Mrs. Macmillan’s class. It’s fun to watch her panic when she realizes that she’s facing another all-Jewish class. She believes that Jews creep around plotting the end of civilization–and seeing all those Stars of David make her crazy.” Walter’s sanity was saved, however, because of his new-found friendship with Winston Bongo.

Winston’s claim to fame was that he invented “Snarking Out”. Snarking involves sneaking out of the house at night, catching the Snark Street bus all the way downtown to the Snark Theater, an old theatre that shows double-bill classics and is open 24 hours a day. That in essence, is ‘snarking out’…except for the stipulation that you wear a hat of course!

What called to me in the lives of Walter and Winston is the simple joy they get out of their adventures. Adventures that, while somewhat wacky in the imagination of Daniel Pinkwater, were actually quite doable for a kid. By sharing Walter’s adventures I got to revel in his first snark, in the joy of being out at night, when all is peaceful and still a tiny bit scary. Even as an adult I still love to take walks at night. On one adventure Walter and Winston end up in a very bohemian part of the city, one in which they had never ventured. We get to see them experience some coming of age events, like having their first alcoholic beverage and participating in live, late-night public speaking events at the local park. And slowly but surely Walter and Winston find themselves caught up in a plot that could mean the very destruction of earth itself!

Daniel Pinkwater is an amazing author. I have read and loved many of his books. This one has always been my favorite. The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death is a truly madcap adventure, with a mad scientist (Flipping Hades Terwilliger), the world’s greatest detective Osgood Sigerson (who dresses up like Sherlock Holmes) and of course the one and only avocado that might save Earth from an alien invasion! In the midst of all the silliness…and these books are very silly, but so masterfully written that they are captivating…Pinkwater captures the essence of what it is to be a young man craving good friends and exciting adventure. And that spirit of adventure and exploration is what I love about Walter Galt and Winston Bongo.

Unfortunately this book itself is out of print, but it can still be purchased in a collection of five of Daniel Pinkwater’s novels. If you are looking for a fun and quick read I highly recommend a trip to the bookstore or library to check this out.

And now you do it! Go forth and write a post about one or more of your favorite characters and get the link to Deslily by the end of Friday. I look forward to reading your thoughts.
____________________

Psst….just so you know, tomorrow is Tiny Stories day! 😉