Concerning Pinkwater, the "Oprah for Children's Books" (paraphrasing something I saw a few years ago in an article about the "Pinkwater Effect" from his gig on Weekend Edition):

Bobo is a bad dog. But he wants to be good. So he enlists the help of Cat. Together they find a way to get him out of the doghouse - and into the good graces of his owner, Mrs. Birdhead.

So goes the story "How To Be a Good Dog," written and illustrated by Brooksville artist Gail Page. Recently published by Bloomsbury, the book has already earned quite a reputation among kids and grown-ups alike. One California bookseller described Bobo's adventure as "the perfect children's book." Daniel Pinkwater, author of more than 50 children's books, read the book aloud on National Public Radio in February.

"The pictures [in this book] are pleasing and, to my eye, beautiful," Pinkwater said in a related NPR interview. "At the same time, they're genuinely funny. This, to me, is the best thing possible. And it's hard to do."

............................

We're all Martians, aren't we?

Sigh. You know the "Boy From Mars" subtitle concerned the feeling of feeling out of place in the social environment of Junior High School. You can take "Martian" a bit too far here.