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.

This is a very unusual collection of stories. Where the common denominator is the setting. Each has compelling characters and writing that will bring a wry smile to your face.

"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.)