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Four Hoboken Stories
"Daniel Pinkwater is so obviously the funniest writer of children's books that he should be made a Living National Treasure," declared The Washington Post Book World. Young readers can join Pinkwater on a rollicking visit to his beloved New Jersey metropolis of Hoboken with these four hilariously imaginative tales — collected together for the very first time!
The Magic Moscow — An ice cream vendor adopts a pup descended from Hercules, canine companion of Sergeant Schwartz of the Yukon, leading to chaos at the dog show and a mysterious case of dognapping.
Attila the Pun — When a middle-aged hippie calling himself Lamont Penumbra, Mystic Seer, conjures up a reincarnation of Attila the Hun's brother, the fifth-century jokester quickly wears out his welcome with his nonstop witticisms.
Jolly Roger, A Dog of Hoboken — Part Husky, part Chow, Jolly Roger likes to hang out with the tough dogs along the riverside. But he has to defeat the top dog, Brutus MacDougal Bugleboy, to become king of the waterfront.
Looking for Bobowicz (A Hoboken Chicken Story) — Nick's not crazy about moving to the city, but things start looking up when he meets new friends with a stash of Classics Comics and a radio tuned to the sweet sounds of a pirate station. There's also the intriguing matter of catching a bicycle thief and figuring out the truth behind reports of a rampaging giant chicken.
The Magic Moscow — An ice cream vendor adopts a pup descended from Hercules, canine companion of Sergeant Schwartz of the Yukon, leading to chaos at the dog show and a mysterious case of dognapping.
Attila the Pun — When a middle-aged hippie calling himself Lamont Penumbra, Mystic Seer, conjures up a reincarnation of Attila the Hun's brother, the fifth-century jokester quickly wears out his welcome with his nonstop witticisms.
Jolly Roger, A Dog of Hoboken — Part Husky, part Chow, Jolly Roger likes to hang out with the tough dogs along the riverside. But he has to defeat the top dog, Brutus MacDougal Bugleboy, to become king of the waterfront.
Looking for Bobowicz (A Hoboken Chicken Story) — Nick's not crazy about moving to the city, but things start looking up when he meets new friends with a stash of Classics Comics and a radio tuned to the sweet sounds of a pirate station. There's also the intriguing matter of catching a bicycle thief and figuring out the truth behind reports of a rampaging giant chicken.
224 pages, Paperback
Published September 13, 2017
6 people are currently reading
12 people want to read
About the author
Daniel Pinkwater
156 books414 followersDaniel 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.
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Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews
August 16, 2017
"I Don't Know Why I Do Things Like This", D. Pinkwater
This is a fine and neat collection, but like all Pinkwater collections it is disorganized and incomplete. Pinkwater must dislike, or at least enjoy tormenting, compulsive completists. Each of his books can be found in a single edition, although many are out of print, and some are fairly rare and pricey. But, there are oodles of collections. Any particular collection may or may not have all the books from one series, (usually not). Any particular collection will have at last one or two books that you already have in one or two other different collections. Heck, his most popular book's name is just "5 Novels".
That said, I am one of Pinkwater's greatest fans, my opinion should not be trusted to any degree, and I am perfectly happy to have more rather than less Pinkwater. The theme here is that all of the included novels are based in Hoboken. The Hoboken books all seem to be middle grade and tween, so that's an organizing principle too.
This book opens with a charming introduction by Pinkwater, which is a nice treat. You also get brief but insightful intros to each book. There are two Magic Moscow books collected here - "The Magic Moscow" and "Attila the Pun". The third Magic Moscow book, "Slaves of Spiegel" is collected elsewhere, as is the related spinoff "Fat Men From Space". I think "The Magic Moscow" is the best of them all, so you're still ahead of the game with this book. (As he admits, "Attila..." is silly even for Pinkwater.)
This collection also includes "Looking for Bobowicz", which is my favorite of the Giant Chicken of Hoboken books, so again this collection scores high marks. Indeed, while Pinkwater has written for early elementary level readers and for teens, if you want an all around solid introduction to what makes Pinkwater so appealing to middle grade and discerning tween readers the Chicken books are your best bet. And of the three Hoboken Chicken books, this one, the middle book, is my favorite. Ivan Itch is an engaging hero narrator, and his pals, his parents, the supporting cast, and of course Henrietta, will show you everything that makes Pinkwater so beloved.
Finally, you get "Jolly Roger: A Dog of Hoboken", which I never saw before. This shorter piece is more like non-fiction, telling the story of a well loved actual Hoboken dog. Pinkwater is very charming when he's just telling a cheerful story, as opposed to his really antic fiction, so this story is a nice change of pace and an interesting and different view of Pinkwater's style. It's short but ends up as the prize hidden amongst the other better known pieces.
So, some classics, a lesser known item, and a few special words from Pinkwater. This is a fine and entertaining collection, and nice as something of a sampler.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
This is a fine and neat collection, but like all Pinkwater collections it is disorganized and incomplete. Pinkwater must dislike, or at least enjoy tormenting, compulsive completists. Each of his books can be found in a single edition, although many are out of print, and some are fairly rare and pricey. But, there are oodles of collections. Any particular collection may or may not have all the books from one series, (usually not). Any particular collection will have at last one or two books that you already have in one or two other different collections. Heck, his most popular book's name is just "5 Novels".
That said, I am one of Pinkwater's greatest fans, my opinion should not be trusted to any degree, and I am perfectly happy to have more rather than less Pinkwater. The theme here is that all of the included novels are based in Hoboken. The Hoboken books all seem to be middle grade and tween, so that's an organizing principle too.
This book opens with a charming introduction by Pinkwater, which is a nice treat. You also get brief but insightful intros to each book. There are two Magic Moscow books collected here - "The Magic Moscow" and "Attila the Pun". The third Magic Moscow book, "Slaves of Spiegel" is collected elsewhere, as is the related spinoff "Fat Men From Space". I think "The Magic Moscow" is the best of them all, so you're still ahead of the game with this book. (As he admits, "Attila..." is silly even for Pinkwater.)
This collection also includes "Looking for Bobowicz", which is my favorite of the Giant Chicken of Hoboken books, so again this collection scores high marks. Indeed, while Pinkwater has written for early elementary level readers and for teens, if you want an all around solid introduction to what makes Pinkwater so appealing to middle grade and discerning tween readers the Chicken books are your best bet. And of the three Hoboken Chicken books, this one, the middle book, is my favorite. Ivan Itch is an engaging hero narrator, and his pals, his parents, the supporting cast, and of course Henrietta, will show you everything that makes Pinkwater so beloved.
Finally, you get "Jolly Roger: A Dog of Hoboken", which I never saw before. This shorter piece is more like non-fiction, telling the story of a well loved actual Hoboken dog. Pinkwater is very charming when he's just telling a cheerful story, as opposed to his really antic fiction, so this story is a nice change of pace and an interesting and different view of Pinkwater's style. It's short but ends up as the prize hidden amongst the other better known pieces.
So, some classics, a lesser known item, and a few special words from Pinkwater. This is a fine and entertaining collection, and nice as something of a sampler.
(Please note that I received a free advance ecopy of this book without a review requirement, or any influence regarding review content should I choose to post a review. Apart from that I have no connection at all to either the author or the publisher of this book.)
November 9, 2018
Daniel Pinkwater is my favourite author. His brain works in an entirely different way than anyone else, I'm convinced. He absolutely cracks me up!
The 5 stars is mostly for Looking for Bobowicz, the last story in this collection. Hilarious!
I had the funniest dreams after reading this before bed. I wish I could train my brain to be more Pinkwater ish.
Ps: Daniel Pinkwater is an automatic buy for me, and I wanted to mention how nice this book is to touch. It's like a smooth, yet velvety matte. Nice to rub. (#thatswhatshesaid #icouldnthelpmyself)
The 5 stars is mostly for Looking for Bobowicz, the last story in this collection. Hilarious!
I had the funniest dreams after reading this before bed. I wish I could train my brain to be more Pinkwater ish.
Ps: Daniel Pinkwater is an automatic buy for me, and I wanted to mention how nice this book is to touch. It's like a smooth, yet velvety matte. Nice to rub. (#thatswhatshesaid #icouldnthelpmyself)
March 29, 2025
The Magic Moscow: 4 stars
Attila the Pun: 3 stars
Jolly Roger, a Dog of Hoboken: 3 stars
Looking for Bobowicz: 4 stars
Pull quote/note
"Now this is interesting in a literary way. It is part of a trilogy. A trilogy, as you probably know, is three books that go together. Either they are sequels and continue a story, or have the same characters, or are set in the same place, or for some reason or other the author thinks they're related. The second part of this trilogy is Attila the Pun, included in this book. There is a third part, Slaves of Spiegel, which wasn't available for publication in this volume, but you can find it elsewhere. Also interesting in a literary way is the fact that Slaves of Spiegel, while part of what let's call The Magic Moscow Trilogy, is also a sequel to another book we don't have in this collection, Fat Men from Space. I don't know why I do things like this". (2)
Attila the Pun: 3 stars
Jolly Roger, a Dog of Hoboken: 3 stars
Looking for Bobowicz: 4 stars
Pull quote/note
"Now this is interesting in a literary way. It is part of a trilogy. A trilogy, as you probably know, is three books that go together. Either they are sequels and continue a story, or have the same characters, or are set in the same place, or for some reason or other the author thinks they're related. The second part of this trilogy is Attila the Pun, included in this book. There is a third part, Slaves of Spiegel, which wasn't available for publication in this volume, but you can find it elsewhere. Also interesting in a literary way is the fact that Slaves of Spiegel, while part of what let's call The Magic Moscow Trilogy, is also a sequel to another book we don't have in this collection, Fat Men from Space. I don't know why I do things like this". (2)
April 13, 2018
One can never go wrong with Daniel Pinkwater! I loved his Mrs. Noodlekugel books, so many great reads I've promoted to kids! This one is no different. It's just a real fun read! 4 stories by a great writer. Quirky tales, but amusing! Not for kids so much as teen and adult fans of the writer.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
I received a Kindle Arc in exchange for a fair review from Netgalley.
June 13, 2025
baffled!!
dont have a clue as to how to describe this book. it seems stupid and childish but is fascinating. sort of reminds me of a stand up comedy routine by a NJ comedian. funny and peculiar.
dont have a clue as to how to describe this book. it seems stupid and childish but is fascinating. sort of reminds me of a stand up comedy routine by a NJ comedian. funny and peculiar.
Want to read
April 25, 2021Note: I received a digital review copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.
June 19, 2021
Always love Daniel Pinkwater and his creations. Props to dogs and chickens worked into the stories
June 20, 2024
Four Great Stories that take place in Hoboken.
Read
September 15, 2017Ebook.
Displaying 1 - 9 of 9 reviews