Lizard Music

Lizard Music
By Daniel Manus Pinkwater
Bantam Doubleday Dell Books for Young Readers, 1976, reprinted 1988

While rearranging the family room in our house today, we decided to move the bookshelf. Big mistake. There were enough books packed onto the shelf to start our own library, and it took the better part of the morning to empty the shelf so we could transport it. Staring at my pile -- or rather, mountain -- of books, I have begun to wonder whether it's possible to own too many books. Hmmm... nah.

But on the plus side, I managed to rescue a book that had gotten wedged into a far corner of the shelf, and in the process I rediscovered a treasured gem of a book from my junior high and high school days. Flipping through Lizard Music, I found it still brings an incomprehensible joy to me.

(This book is not for the serious-fantasy set, however -- a reviewer on Amazon.com rightfully describes Lizard Music as "drug-free tripping" and "putting your brain in a blender and pushing frappe.")

Eleven-year-old, Walter Cronkite obsessed Victor is left home alone when his parents go on vacation and his older sister (who is supposed to be his caretaker) leaves for a camping trip, threatening to kill him if he tells Mom and Dad. Victor takes great advantage of his time alone, exploring his hometown, trying smoking (and wondering what all the fuss is about), and watching the late-night movies. Then, after the late-late movie one night, something strange happens -- giant lizards come on the TV screen and start playing music. When this happens night after night, Victor starts to wonder what's going on and sets out to investigate. His quest will introduce him to the Chicken Man and the exceptionally intelligent hen Claudia... and introduce him to the dangers of the pod people and the fabulous lizards of Thunderbolt City.

Reader be warned -- your first time reading Lizard Music will have you wondering what substance Pinkwater was high on when he wrote it. But it's such a fun ride, and so full of subtle and not-so-subtle commentary on society in general, that you'll find yourself saying to yourself "I'll have what HE'S having!"