Tyler Reynolds's Blog - Posts Tagged "the-neddiad"
Epic Weird!
Last year, I recommended The Adventures of Odysseus. That's a classic road trip, of course. Well, now I want to introduce you to a more wacky road trip book: The Neddiad: How Neddie Took the Train, Went to Hollywood, and Saved Civilization, by Daniel Pinkwater.
Neddie is a kid in the 1940's whose family moves from Chicago to Hollywood, California by train (with a car full of canaries!)
Right away he collects a secret Native American talisman and meets a ghost of a bellboy (which is a job kids used to have). And there are these fat aliens at the donut shop...Okay, so this book is completely weird. But Neddie has to save the world and it all comes together.
The thing is, with all this stuff coming at him, Neddie can handle it because his whole childhood reading adventure novels has prepared him. Plus, he meets some awesome friends (who will continue to have strange adventures in later books). And he has a strong sense of responsibility for the world and his part in it--which makes him the kind of hero I like to read about!
If you have an adult who will read to you, get them to read this book out loud. It is hilarious to see your mom shocked and confused when she turns the page and something really unexpected happens!
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
RANDOM HUMOR, WHOA!, BACK IN THE DAY, SOMEONE READ IT TO ME, and TOTAL CRACK (it will crack your brain).
Find the Bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
Neddie is a kid in the 1940's whose family moves from Chicago to Hollywood, California by train (with a car full of canaries!)
Right away he collects a secret Native American talisman and meets a ghost of a bellboy (which is a job kids used to have). And there are these fat aliens at the donut shop...Okay, so this book is completely weird. But Neddie has to save the world and it all comes together.
The thing is, with all this stuff coming at him, Neddie can handle it because his whole childhood reading adventure novels has prepared him. Plus, he meets some awesome friends (who will continue to have strange adventures in later books). And he has a strong sense of responsibility for the world and his part in it--which makes him the kind of hero I like to read about!
If you have an adult who will read to you, get them to read this book out loud. It is hilarious to see your mom shocked and confused when she turns the page and something really unexpected happens!
On the Dudes Summer Book Bingo card, here's how this book qualifies:
RANDOM HUMOR, WHOA!, BACK IN THE DAY, SOMEONE READ IT TO ME, and TOTAL CRACK (it will crack your brain).
Find the Bingo card here: https://emilykayjohnson.com/TheDudesC...
