Most Popular Books by Paul Zindel

Join the millions of readers who have discovered The Pigman, the beloved bestselling young adult classic from Paul Zindel, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds. The Pigman is the perfect read for fans of modern classics like The Outsiders by S. E. Hinton and Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher. When high school sophomores John and Lorraine made a prank phone call to an elderly stranger named Angelo Pignati, what starts as a practical joke quickly turns into a friendship that changes all of their lives forever. But when their friendship ends in tragedy, the only way for John and Lorraine to find peace is to write down their friend''s story—the true story of the Pigman. “Headline news…remarkable…Zindel has written a story that will not be denied.” —Publishers Weekly “An intensely moving story of believably alienated young people.” —School Library Journal

Paul Zindel''s compelling and inspirational Pulitzer Prize-winning play that was made into a motion picture directed by Paul Newman starring Joanne Woodward. The old, converted vegetable shop where Tillie lives is more like a madhouse than a home. Tillie''s mother, Beatrice, is bitter and cruel, yet desperate for her daughters'' love. Her sister, Ruth, suffers epileptic fits and sneaks cigarettes every chance she gets. In the midst of chaos, Tillie struggles to keep her focus and dreams alive. Tillie — keeper of rabbits, dreamer of atoms, true believer in life, hope, and the effect of gamma rays on man-in-the-moon marigolds.

Jackson is looking forward to visiting his aunt who has been busy working on an anthropological dig at Stonehenge in England. Jackson can''t wait to finally see the massive and mysterious stone formations in person. But then he witnesses a vicious attack on a young man, and another on his beloved aunt Sarah. A savage beast no one has ever seen before is on the prowl. Now it''s up to Jackson and his new friend, Alma, a gravedigger''s daughter, to stop the beast. All the clues lead back to Stonehenge, where he and Alma must risk their lives to solve the mystery of the monster stalking the countryside-before it''s too late.

The Pigman has been dead for four months when John and Lorraine visit his empty house-and discover a down-and-out old man on the run from the tax collector. Convinced he''s a sign from beyond the grave, John and Lorraine decide they''ve been given a chance to make up for what happened to the Pigman. Suddenly they''re deep in another zany adventure with a surprising old man. What the learn along the way is the Pigman''s Legacy.

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel comes this powerful and deeply moving study of the destructive effects of lovelessness and loneliness on a sensitive adolescent. Presented to critical and popular acclaim by New York''s highly regarded Circle Repertory Company, the play probes unerringly into the unsettled lives of its characters and finds the compassion and simple humanity which circumstances have driven within them. "AMULETS becomes gripping and disturbing...the characters are invariably fascinating..." —NY Times. "...absorbing and vividly written study of mid-50s lower-middle-class alienation and emotional hunger...it''s the work of a true playwright." —Variety. "This is the play Williams or Inge would have written if they had been born 30 years later and avoided the sexual repression of their times." —BackStage. Drama Full Length 9 men, 3 women (of the 9 men several roles can be doubled): 12 total Interior

Two teenagers believe a neighbor, an undertaker, has murdered his wife but can''t convince anyone else.

Pulitzer Prize winner Paul Zindel''s brilliant Broadway success. This biting, touching and often wildly funny play probes deeply into the tortured relationship of three sisters whose lives have reached a point of crisis. "In Paul Zindel we seem to have that rarity—a playwright who can write intelligent, sensitive, entertaining plays for a wide public." —Newsweek. "It is funny and fierce and, well, absolutely extraordinary." —Boston Globe. "...he has created three parts that most actresses would trade their souls to play." —Hollywood Reporter. The Story: Their father having deserted them in their childhood, the three Reardon sisters have grown up in a house of women, dominated by their mother, who is only recently dead. But time has erased the tender closeness of girlhood; one sister has married and cut herself off; another has begun to drink more than she should; and the third, after a scandalous incident at the school where she teaches, is on the brink of madness. When the married sister comes to dinner to press the need for committing her sibling to an institution, the simmering resentments of many years burst alive and are exacerbated by the intrusion of a well-meaning but boorish neighbor couple, whose unexpected arrival impels the action towards its shattering conclusion—in which all the pathos, humor and searing honesty of the play combine with overwhelming effect.

Four friends, Two couples, One year that will change their lives. Liz and Sean, both beautiful and popular, are madly in love and completely misunderstood by their parents. Their best friends, Maggie and Dennis, are shy and awkward, but willing to take the first tentative steps toward a romance of their own. Yet before either couple can enjoy true happiness, life conspires against them, threatening to destroy their friendships completely.

Near the end of World War II, scientists in Los Alamos, New Mexico, are working on a project that will alter the fate of the world. Thirteen-year-old Stephen Orr is living at a top secret military base with his father who is a leading physicist building the atomic bomb. Stephen realizes the dangers involved when one of the scientists becomes hospitalized as a result of working with the project. The scientist alerts him to disasters that could come from The Gadget. Stephen feels it is up to him and his friend Tilanov to find the answers that lie behind this veil of secrecy.

This collection of stories for young adults feature award-winning authors including Paul Zindel, Adele Griffin, Jon Scieska, David Lubar, and others, who share real-life experiences of their youth through fiction. Each story is introduced with an essay by the author that describes the experience in the author''s life that inspired the story.

"Eight hundred and fifty-three horrifying things had happened to me by the time I was a teenager. That was when I met my Pigman, whose real name was Nonno Frankie." The year Paul Zindel, his sister, Betty, and their mother lived in the town of Travis, Staten Island, New York, was the most important time of his teenage life. It was the year he and Jennifer Wolupopski were best friends. It was the year of the apple tree, the water-head baby, and Cemetery Hill. And it was the year he met Nonno Frankie Vivona, who became his Pigman. Every word of his story is true. And The Pigman & Me has an added bonus--one crucial piece of information: the secret of life, according to the Pigman.

Loch and his sister are with their father on a scientific expedition to track lake monsters. Their father''s boss, Anthony Cavenger, a ruthless publishing mogul, is determined to prove that the legends are fact. Until now, it has been a fruitless exercise. But suddenly, on a routine exploration, a hideous water beast explodes out of the water, and a photographer, hoping to get the picture of a lifetime, loses his life instead. The plesiosaurs terrorize the secluded lake community, but Loch encounters a baby plesiosaur and realizes that the monsters only attack when threatened. So he risks his life-and the lives of his family and friends-to save the prehistoric creatures from destruction. 1995 Quick Pick for Reluctant Young Adult Readers (ALA) 1995 Books for the Teen Age (NY Public Library)

P.C. travels with his uncle to Australia on a mission to find a mysterious buried treasure. Soon, its secrets lead him to a beautiful Aboriginal girl and a terrifying monster that haunts the ocean reef. But an evil geologist is also on the hunt for the hidden fortune and P.C. must race to find it first. It’s a deadly game—who will find the treasure, and who will lose their life?

From Pulitzer Prize-winning author Paul Zindel comes this touching, humorous, and delightful play that earned wide recognition in its National Educational Television (NET) Network production. The action is set in the laboratory of the American Biological Association Development for the Advancement of Brain Analysis, where curious experiments involving various mammals are taking place. Helen, a newly engaged cleaning lady, is particularly drawn to a dolphin and is shocked when she learns that, having failed to "talk" as hoped for, it is slated for brain dissection. She makes a desperate attempt to rescue the dolphin from the scientists, incurring first their indignation and then, when the dolphin does indeed "talk" for Helen, their futile pleas that she change her mind about leaving and stay on to help them in their experiments. But the gentle Helen has had enough—both of "Custodial Engineering" and of schemes to change man''s relationship to the other creatures with whom the world must be shared. Comedy/Drama One Act 5 women (or can be divided between men and women): 5 total Interior

Fifteen-year-old Eugene Dingman records in his personal diary his summer spent as a waiter in a hotel in the Adirondacks, learning to cope with rejection from the girl he has a crush on as well as from his own father.

THE STORIES: LET ME HEAR YOU WHISPER. The action is set in the laboratory of the American Biological Association Development for the Advancement of Brain Analysis, where curious experiments involving various mammals are taking place. Helen, a newly