Pinkwater, Daniel. The Neddiad.

Pinkwater, Daniel. The Neddiad. Houghton Mifflin, 2007 [978-0-618-59444-3 // 0-618-59444-2]
WOW.. I have met several authors at conferences, dinners, etc. and would LOVE to meet Mr. Pinkwater. His middle school books are an absolute riot (although strange,) It is the 1940's and Ned's father made a fortune selling shoe laces to the army. They decide to move to LA, taking the train across the country. Ned misses getting back on the train at one stop and ends up on a wild adventure getting to meet his parents. There are many plays on words throughout the book that I am sure most kids will not catch. For example, Ned meets a famous movie star, Aaron Finn. On the trip Ned is given an ancient carved turtle by a shaman and ends up having to save the world from disaster. I LOVE his books but it is always a sell, to get a kid to read them. I have turned on a couple kids to his wacky sense of humor.. maybe because I have one also. This 307 page book is not a totally crazy as the Snarkout Boys books or Lizard music... and I think I love it the best. You go, Daniel!