Looking for Bobowicz : A Hoboken Chicken Story

Rating:
Summary: A Welcome Return to the Old Neighborhood
Review: I yelped with delight when I saw this on the shelf, and tore into it without further ado. Two minutes in, I was wearing a wide grin-- this is classic Pinkwater.

Pinkwater's Hoboken, like his Hogboro, is a dream city, one that opens itself up to explorers, revealing eccentric locals, funky hangouts and esoteric eats and drinks along the way (Avocado-Lime Soda, anyone?). Books, comics and pirate radio abound-- and there's nary a website in sight. In Pinkwater's hands, Hoboken has a timeless, shopworn feel, grounded in history (fictional and not) but glowingly alive.

The story's not much-- mostly a means of propelling the protagonists through the city-- but it provides a strong framework on which Pinkwater hangs his characteristically sharp dialogue, insightful kid's-eye observations, and obscure cultural references. Figures from previous Pinkwater stories appear here, sometimes with altered names. And you may want to consult your local Blockbuster's collection of Italian Neo-Realism when you're done reading.

Bobowicz certainly feels like late Pinkwater. The book starts with the narrator's family moving out of the suburbs and back into the city, and the characters from The Hoboken Chicken Emergency loom in the background as hazy figures from the past. Still, it's nice to know that, at least in Hoboken, Classic Comics will always be read in basements and librarians will always provide useful, if loopy, assistance to questing urbanites.

Rating:
Summary: Pinkwater's back on the Hoboken Beat
Review: Nick Itch's mom wants him to have "an urban experience" so the family moves from Happy Valley to an old house in the waterfront city of Hoboken. Nick bonds with the kids next door over over bottles of Dr. Pedwee's soda and Classic Comics. Soon the friends get caught up in a search, not for meaning, but for Bobowicz. Delivered in Pinkwater's seemingly effortless, jazz-like prose style, this sequel to his classic HOBOKEN CHICKEN EMERGENCY is a delight.

Rating:
Summary: Hoboken Hijinks
Review: The Pinkwaters at work -- always a cause for celebration. Like its 20th century predecessor, "The Hoboken Chicken Emergency," this book is full of wit, wile, and the kind of assorted nonsense that fans young and old will appreciate.