A quick fanart! There was a book I read in 5th grade, called "Lizard Music" by D. Manus Pinkwater. So I ordered a copy, and it was funnier, stranger, and more enjoyable than I remembered. I was sad not to find any fanart of it around here, though I guess it's pretty obscure. It involves a weird kid named Victor, a mysterious "Chicken Man", and lots and lots of lizards. And Walter Cronkite. Definitely one of the books that shaped my childhood.
Yesssss! Loved that too - Reynold, Helena, Raymond. The one thing I thought when I read those were, those HAVE to be old TV characters. No specific names came to mind though.
You may well like him, I suggest starting with a later work like Mort or Witches Abroad, his early works hadn't developed his true potential and his last few books are pretty hefty.