The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened To All The Ghosts, Found Out Where TheyWent, And Went There (2008) - Plot & Excerpts
So SILLY! Iggy is the child of an old-timey movie star and a psychiatrist who believes in letting kids do whatever they like. She lives in an old Hollywood hotel that is full of ghosts. Her friends, who attend a military academy, also are friendly with ghosts. When the kids notice the ghosts are all disappearing they follow a ghostly bunny into an alternate universe that seems a lot like New Jersey, except for the evil witches and mean dictator. The kids battle evil, relate lots of information about life in mid-century Hollywood, and return home to L.A. with their ghostly friends. Kids will enjoy this breezy book, but may miss some of Pinkwater's references. Fun, but not life-changing. I never reviewed this when I added it to my list here, but I have notes I made at the time I read it: I liked how Pinkwater shamelessly exploited his knowledge of Yiddish to create a bunch of funny insider jokes. For example, in the second book there is a Nisei character named Ken Ahara who is studying ghostology. (His name sounds like a common Yiddish expression for averting the Evil Eye--his advisor is Professor Malocchio.) Kid A liked it that people said "Bupkis!" Really there were a lot of funny things. I was also impressed that the one identifiably Jewish character was the one named Seamus Finn. My kid liked that the heroes of both the Neddiad and the Yggyssey "finds something peculiar is happening and take a few steps to accomplish what they want to do. In the second book, you learn a turtle and a bunny can be the same thing. The books are set in the 1950s in LA. They had tiny televisions, pizza wasn't popular yet and people liked healthfood."Daniel Pinkwater could definitely write more female protagonists. He did great with this one.
What do You think about The Yggyssey: How Iggy Wondered What Happened To All The Ghosts, Found Out Where TheyWent, And Went There (2008)?
i just love daniel pinkwater. his books are so strange i can't imagine how kids read them. but i do!
—Hannah
I enjoyed the book, but not as much as the Neddiad.
—jaz
Sequel to the Neddiad. Almost as good.
—mariahsadie
