Lizard Music   Daniel Manus Pinkwater
Fantasy
Reading Level 5-6

Dear Reader,
   One of my all time favorite stories is told by a twelve year old Victor, in D. Manus Pinkwater�s fantasy novel Lizard Music.  Victor tells his story in retrospect, about a year after the events he describes.  As any young reader would, I was immediately taken in by Victor and his seemingly tall tale.  The events that occur are so strange that even the reader, the one person Victor trusts to believe his tale, is not always convinced.  He records his adventure accurately and innocently, never forgetting that he is just a twelve-year-old boy. Many of the adventures he has are not situations he usually handles in his normal life.   
   His parents have gone away for a couple of weeks, leaving his big sister in charge of Victor.  Right after his parents leave, his sister takes off with her friends on a camping trip and she promises to return before their parents.  Left alone, Victor now is ready to vacation himself.  He goes to the town pool, eats anchovies on his pizza, and stays up late watching his favorite news anchor, Walter Cronkite.  Strange things start happening to him and he eventually decides that he needs to investigate in order to save his sanity.  He meets up with the Chicken Man, who had popped up throughout the story, and they go on an adventure to a hidden land.
    I so thoroughly enjoyed this book, that I have read it a number of times.  It�s so completely far fetched that the reader never knows what to expect next.  Everything in this book is a surprise.  There are also some interesting parts where Victor faces his fears and remembers some things in the past that were painful.  As a child reading this, I was able to connect with his fears and felt bad for Victor.  The entire book was a great adventure that any reader would enjoy.

Dear Teachers,
   Most every child wonders what would happen if they had the chance to be alone for a while.  What would they do? What would be the ultimate adventure?   How far could or would, you go?    Well, this book Lizard Music, by D. Manus Pinkwater takes the reader to a place only a twelve-year-old could imagine.  The story is fast paced and never boring.  This is just the novel that got me interested in reading on my own.  It was read to me when I was in fourth of fifth grade, but I think I re-discovered it in the sixth grade.  I read it from then on for a number of years and still read it every so often when I feel I need a bedtime story to cuddle up with.  It�s a mystery-adventure novel for young readers that will always keep them on their toes.  I think the experience I had with this book has given me more than just a great story.  I now have interest in reading to my students.  I think they would enjoy being read to at any age.
   What this book had also shown me as a reader and a future educator, is that books don�t have to be �educational� or �literary� to be educational.  Lizard Music got me reading and set off a life long passion for making worlds come alive through reading.  I was a fully functional, reality-gripping student when I read this book to myself and I believed that what happened in the story could happen.  That�s what made the book so good for me and students who read it.  It could happen and in our own minds it did. 
   G. Robert Carlson, in his article, �Adolescent Literature,� talks about the rites of passage that teenagers experience.  He suggests three stages of passage, the first being a separation from childhood.  This evidence suggests that young teens seek out literature about growing up, surviving on their own, and having adventures away from the home.  This is exactly what happens to Victor.     
   I would read it aloud to students starting with the youngest group and maybe even try the older groups I may have.  I�m also on the lookout for another copy or two of this book to add to my classroom collection because my own beaten copy stays with me.  I think that I could conceivably start a pattern of reading to my students on a regular basis and even use their books to follow this one.  If you get students to enjoy reading early, most of the battle is fought.  After young readers have experienced a book like this, they may seek out books of their own.
    This book also explores various issues that can inspire great discussions.  The issue of the friendship between the Chicken Man and Victor is something to discuss.  Victor is uncomfortable with him at first because he is an older black man and he hasn�t had experience with either an older or a black person.  He becomes the Chicken Man�s right hand man.  He had to deal with being on his own for the first time and, when they arrive at their destination, towards the middle of the book, Victor is faced with his childhood fears and joys, both very difficult for him to handle.  These issues can certainly generate a handful of discussions.  Because of my experience with this book, I feel it�s important to include it in my collection and plans for reading to students.
      
                                  Teresa Mary Myers(2000)