The Education of Robert Nifkin shares a common setting with Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, even though the names of the schools and the cities may differ. Even the insane biology teacher makes an appearance in The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death. The background for each novel includes an unpleasant school where the main characters are outcasts and where teachers are indifferent or even hostile toward their students. The main characters of Alan Mendelsohn, the Boy from Mars and The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death have more fabulous adventures than does Nifkin, but Nifkin's escape into a better life is paralleled in The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, where the boys and their friends find a world of mystery and adventure beneath the city. These books share with Pinkwater's other...