Borgel

Borgel is a children's novel by Daniel Pinkwater published in 1990.

Borgel
AuthorDaniel Pinkwater
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreScience fiction, Young adult novel
PublisherMacmillan Publishers
Publication date
April 1990
Media typePrint (hardback & paperback)
Pages170 pp (first edition, hardback)
ISBN0-02-774671-2 (first edition, hardback)
OCLC20489636
LC ClassPZ7.P6335 Bo 1990

Plot summary

The story is narrated by the young Melvin Spellbound who joins his eccentric Uncle Borgel and pet dog Fafner on an interglalactuc adventure involving time travel and multiple alternate realities.[1]

Travelling along the Interstate Highway connecting the various realities, Borgel is separated from the others by a mischievous teleportation (called a 'bilbok'), and Melvin and Fafner stranded at a roadside root beer stand. Having waited for him, Melvin and Fafner take control of his car, and recover Borgel en route. Thereafter the three rest at a public campsite, where they acquire a new companion in 'Pak Nfbnm*', alias 'Freddie': a self-professed expert on popsicles, in search of an immortal 'Great Popsicle' whose existence maintains the integrity of the Universe. Pursuing that search, they receive directions from a computer made in the image of the Popsicle, to the anthropomorphic gorilla 'Glugo', who conveys them to an island on the River Styx. There, and elsewhere, Freddie is identified as a Grivnizoid, a shape-changing, cephalopod-like predator, desirous of achieving insurmountable power. Can they stop Freddie in time and save the world?[2]

Controversy

An excerpt from Borgel was used as a question in a New York State test for 8th grade students in 2012. The question caused controversy over it's nonsensical nature leading stumping both students and teachers as to the correct answers.[3] The confusion led to articles in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, and other publications.[4] In the original novel, Uncle Borgel tells another absurd fable about a eggplant and a rabbit having a race. The New York state exam changed the characters to a pineapple and a rabbit and then asked students a series of ambiguous multiple choice questions based on the story.[5]

Availability

This book is out of print in its original form. However it is still in print as a part of 4 Fantastic Novels (ISBN 978-0689834882), a compilation of four popular Daniel Pinkwater books: Borgel; Yobgorgle: Mystery Monster of Lake Ontario; The Worms of Kukumlima; and The Snarkout Boys and the Baconburg Horror. It was reprinted in 1993 in the United Kingdom, under the title The Time Tourists.

gollark: How will you make one though?
gollark: You can buy a Licensed Uninstall/Debug Disk for just 5000KST.
gollark: It's not?
gollark: Why's it bad?
gollark: Or make your room entirely from potatOS computers.

References
  1. Pinkwater, Daniel. Borgel. p. 36. Retrieved May 13, 2013.
  2. Schnelbach, Leah (2017-05-10). "The Quest for Truth and Popsicles: Daniel Pinkwater's Borgel". Tor.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  3. Monahan, Ben Chapman, Rachel. "Talking pineapple question on state exam stumps ... everyone!". nydailynews.com. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
  4. "When Pineapple Races Hare, Students Lose, Critics of Standardized Tests Say". The New York Times. Retrieved 2012-10-04.
  5. Fleisher, Lisa (2012-04-20). "Daniel Pinkwater on Pineapple Exam: 'Nonsense on Top of Nonsense'". Wall Street Journal. ISSN 0099-9660. Retrieved 2020-08-15.
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