The old powers try to come back, and the planet is plunged into chaos, and civilization is destroyed, and it gets all violent and evil...the old legends tell that a hero...with the sacred turtle, always... Los Angeles, California. Neddie Wentworthstein is the guy with the turtle. Sandor Eucalyptus is the guy with the jellybean. Sholmos Bunyip wants the turtle...and he'll stop at nothing to get it. This is the story of how Neddie, three good friends, a shaman, a ghost, and a little maneuver known as the French substitution determine the fate of the world. Distributed by Syndetic Solutions, Inc.

In Pinkwater's (The Hoboken Chicken Emergency) wonderfully silly book set in the late 1940s, young Neddie Wentworthstein mentions to his father that he wants to eat in the famous restaurant shaped like a hat. Never mind that the Brown Derby is in Los Angeles and the family lives in Chicago-Neddie's eccentric father (who made a fortune selling shoelaces during WWII) also wants to eat there, so he packs up the family for a cross-country train ride to make California their new home. Neddie gets separated from the family in Flagstaff, Ariz., and meets a movie star's son, a friendly ghost and a shaman who gives Neddie a carved stone turtle. Neddie learns that the turtle "keeps things from getting out of order," a kind of "evolutionary compass." Trailed by the sinister Sandor Eucalyptus (aka Nick Bluegum), the young hero switches the turtle with a fake in a taxidermist's shop but Sandor simply purchases it, not knowing he's snagged the real thing. Police from outer space, and a prehistoric earth spirit figure into the finale of an evil plan concocted in the Hollywood back lots. The author creates secondary roles as interesting as the starring characters. Even if there were no quest at the heart of the tale (and there is a good one) this would be a highly entertaining road trip-thanks to Pinkwater's one-of-a-kind comic sensibility and his uncanny ability to access the language and mindset of boys. Ages 10-up. (Apr.) Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information

Gr 5-9-A bright and breezy adventure with a smart and funny narrator, this story is part historical travelogue, part Saturday matinee, with bits of turtle lore and Catskills stand-up comedy. Los Angeles in the late 1940s is a magical place of swashbuckling movie stars, restaurants shaped like hats and doughnuts, tar pits, fancy private schools, and Neddie Wentworthstein. His eccentric, wealthy father has decided to relocate the family from Chicago to L.A. On the journey, a shaman named Melvin gives Neddie a turtle carved from a meteorite, possibly the rarest and most precious one in existence, and the only thing standing between humanity and the destruction of all civilization. Accidentally left behind in Flagstaff, AZ, Neddie is befriended by Seamus Finn, his movie-star dad, and Billy the Phantom Bellhop. The four visit the Grand Canyon and are held up at gunpoint by Sandor Eucalyptus, who is looking for the turtle. When they make it to Los Angeles, well, then things get even weirder. The ending is a little abrupt and kids may not get all the references, but they'll get the mystery, the excitement, the friendships, the aliens from outer space, the battle between good and extraordinarily awful evil, and the live woolly mammoth that performs circus tricks in a replica of the Roman Forum (told you things get pretty weird). Fans of Sid Fleischman will find much to like in this goofy and lovingly nostalgic historical fantasy.-Mara Alpert, Los Angeles Public Library Copyright 2007 Reed Business Information. From: Reed Elsevier Inc. Copyright Reed Business Information