Oddballs, in a way, is related to all of Sleator's books because family members pop up as characters in various novels. For instance, Tycho (also Newby in Oddballs) has his name appear in the title The Green. Future of Tycho, and Danny is likely the original for Dominic in The Spirit House and Dangerous Wishes. Furthermore, it was Tycho who told Sleator about mole rats, thus inspiring The Beasties. Because his family is a strong influence on Sleator's fiction, Oddballs offers insight into where Sleator has found some of his ideas for plots and characters and strongly suggests that the offbeat characters that populate most of his work have their origins in an eccentric family life.