1. Does Snarking Out seem like fun?

What purpose would it serve?

2. Walter prefers Mozart to rock 'n' roll. Given his personality, does this seem realistic? Why?

3. Why would Pinkwater not make any of his major characters— Walter, Winston, and Rat—physically attractive?

4. Pinkwater's books, especially The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death, are notable for appealing to a very wide audience of young readers, even though his main characters tend to be quiet, unpopular people. Even Pinkwater says that he is sometimes surprised by this. This broad appeal suggests that his books touch on "universals," aspects of the human condition that most people recognize as part of their lives. What universals are there in The Snarkout Boys and the Avocado of Death?

5. Did the ending surprise you? Is it a good ending?

6. Have you ever heard of a "Snark hunt"? What...