I read stacks of his fiction when I was a kid. I wish more were available as eBooks, I'd be chewing through them all, one after another. This little collection of essays is superb - the ones on art appreciation, building habits, and his love of dogs are especially delightful. ( )

A 1989 collection of very short non-fiction pieces by children's author Daniel Pinkwater, most of which originated as radio segments on NPR's All Things Considered. They seem, by and large, to be about whatever random subjects Pinkwater happened to be thinking about at the time: writing, travel, food, reminiscences about his childhood and youth, personal anecdotes, odd little musings... There's an entire series about his dogs.

Pinkwater was one of my favorite writers as a child, and I still like his quirky style. But I had somewhat mixed feelings about this collection. Some of the pieces are terrific. Most of them are vaguely interesting or mildly amusing. A fair few seem kind of pointless. I bet the dog ones will appeal a lot to dog people, though. (I liked them OK, myself, but I'm a cat lady.) ( )

Fish Whistle is an opportunity to spend a while in the pleasant company of Daniel Pinkwater as he reminisces about his father, Africa, dogs, art, writing, and what not. Unlike some collections of short pieces, it doesn't become monotonous after a while. Only a few pieces drag a bit--not surprisingly, the longer ones. Pinkwater's angle on life is always worth experiencing and his sense of humor is part of the wisdom that pervades these pieces. ( )