6. Alan Mendelsohn: The Boy From Mars

Alan Mendelsohn, The Boy From Mars by Daniel Pinkwater (E. P. Dutton, 1979)

Genre

Humor, Fantasy/Science Fiction 

Review

Leonard Neeble begins his life at a new school.  The children and teachers ignore him, and he finds them all dreadfully dull.  Things begin to look up when Alan Mendelsohn arrives at the school and befriends him.  Their quest to find strange books and rare comics leads them to Samuel Klugarsh who sells them a device he claims will allow them to control minds.  Their return trip to see Klugarsh and get more information sends them on the strange path to learning Hyperstellar Archaeology and traveling between dimensions.  Eventually they end up in the parallel universe of Waka Waka and have to hatch a plan to remove the Nafsulians Manny, Moe, and Jack who have been terrorizing the residents of Waka Waka.  

Opinion

The book is quite humorous and bizarre: perfect for a reader who likes play with his/her imagination.  It also speaks to anyone who’s ever felt out of place or unusual; children having trouble fitting in at school may find a kindred spirit in Leonard Neeble. 

Ideas

The book would be appropriate for a library display on humor, but would be equally appropriate among books on aliens and science fiction.