It’s an elementary school textbook in which a story is about a Nightmare. Probably from the 1950’s to 1963.
373J: Textbook Nightmare
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Author Archives: Julie Beckers
372P: Petey and Friends
As a child I would periodically visit my grandparents, in the mid 1960’s. They had a children’s book at their house that I still remember (as does my cousin). If I could find the name, I’d love to get us each a copy for the holidays.
Children’s chapter book, green cover, we think, but aren’t 100% on that.
Published definitely prior to 1970, more likely in the 1950’s. The story line was pretty didactic, and that would fit the era. Also, while folks had cars, the vegetable man had a cart.
Generally simple plot: family with several kids move to a new location. The youngest child is named Petey, and he is the main character. Each chapter basically follows one event in Petey’s life. Chapters I can remember:
** Petey makes friends with the vegetable man who comes into town to sell his veggies. Petey and family are invited to go out into the country to visit the veggie man’s family. There was some cross-cultural awareness, but I can’t remember what.
**Christmas is approaching and all the townspeople ask Petey what he wants for Christmas. “Oh, just one of those little cars” (referring to Matchbox cars). Everyone is astounded he wants so little. In the end, everyone in town gets him a little car.
** Bad snowstorm keeps Petey and his siblings indoors. After complaint about nothing to do they all sit and start to create a quilt from leftover fabric. They work all day and succeed in creating quilt.
It wasn’t great literature, but it has sentimental value for us. ☺️
Thank you for any help you can provide! I have been searching for this book for over a decade!
371Z: Keywords: summer, swimming, towels, pink lemonade
I’m trying to remember an illustrated hardcover book probably under 30 pages. If I had to guess I would have read this around 1989 and I’m thinking it was already a few years old at this point but not sure. If I remember correctly it was the story about two boys during summer I would guess set in the 1960’s but don’t quote me on that, reminiscing about the things they did. I remember them drinking pink lemonade with one of the boys grandfathers and walking to either a pool or a beach with rolled up towels under their arms to go swimming. I’m not too sure but I feel like one of them had trouble swimming but can’t remember anymore that that. It was pretty colorful and had a nice art style.
369J: Two Sisters share room with secret alcove or passageway
My daughter is looking for a book that she checked out of the library in the early ’90s. This was probably a middle schoolers book. Two Sisters move with their parents a long drive away from where they previously lived. The first night they have to sleep on the floor in sleeping bags. They both want the bedroom that has some sort of alcove or passageway that ( might) lead to the outside. They fight, and one sister climbs out the window (?) and falls and possibly breaks her arm (?) . The story is told from the POV of the younger sister. They possibly have moved to a small town and the house might be a Farmhouse type house or older home.
368X: Hobbit-esque Fantasy
Bella Luna’s Flowers, [email protected]
Looking for a book read to me by my dad in mid 1990’s. Fantasy. Could ride on birds. Had things like trolls or goblins and elves. In a forest setting. Not the Hobbit or Tolkien related. But does remind me of the Hobbit.
367R: The Odd Fae Child
I read this book about 20+ years ago when I was Junior High in the US. It was about this guy who fell in love with a woman from a fae race I believe? I honestly don’t remember that much about it except I think the cover had some art but was green in binding. They had some sort of huge struggle with a type of villain and they ended up together and pregnant. He thought it would be a normal 9 month pregnant like for humans and her race actually had a 3 year gestation. Their baby was a girl who was very different and inquisitive and wasn’t a normal human child. That’s essentially all I remember. If you could help me find it, I would appreciate it!
367L: Late ‘80s Teen Romance – Ghost (Solved!)
Teen romance set in an old mill converted into offices. Girl has after-school job as evening receptionist/secretary. Meets boy she thinks works there but turns out he is a ghost. Set in Autumn/Winter in eastern US (PA? New England?) small town.
365F: Inventions for Children (Solved!)
Can you please help me find a book I read at primary school??
I read it in 1985 or 86 (87 at the very latest) when I was in primary school in the UK.
I would have been 7 or 8 years old.
Book title: Possibly ‘Inventions for Children’ / ‘Top Secret Inventions for Children’ (but that’s just a guess, as I really don’t remember!)
Book description: It was a hardback picture book. Each page, which were mostly double page spreads I think, had roughly 2 to 3 fictional inventions on (all aimed at children).
Some of the inventions I can remember: an armoured vehicle for a child, driving down a street (narrowly missing a cat and a lamp post I think??). Some kind of periscope / binoculars that let you hide behind your desk in school without the teacher noticing (possibly in the shape of a boy sitting upright??). Some little booster rockets (disguised as decorative circular medals?) that went on your swimming trunks to make you swim faster.
I remember all / nearly all of the inventions having a cross-section / cutaway section to them, so you could see the internal mechanics.
That’s about all I can remember, it’s been driving me slightly crazy for years (having tracked down nearly all the other books I loved as a child already).
I will give you any more information if I can, just let me know!
365E: Romantic short story about two strangers: a carny and a young woman together on a carnival ride
I think it’s a paperback book from about 25-30 years ago. I’m sorry I don’t recall title nor author, nor cover.
I’ve tried googling what little I remember in nouns, but no luck. It could be a short story
anthology or a book of short stories by one writer. As I recall, the carny, a kind of rough guy meets a young woman and takes her on a ride on what we used to call ‘the wheel of death’ but I don’t think it was called that in the story. That carnival contraption is usually a huge metal mesh cylinder that people enter through a door, and then line up, standing up, around the edges of the cylinder/metal cage.
When the machine starts up, the cylinder starts to whirl in a circle, faster and faster until all the people are plastered by centrifugal force to the walls… then the floor drops out so that people are whirling through space in this cage with no floor beneath them, held up only by centrifugal force.
How the wheel was actually constructed in story, not sure. But that’s the idea.
The carny might kiss the young woman while on the ride, not sure, but it was romantic leaning a tidge into eros I think. I’m sorry, cannot remember any of the other stories in the book. At age 77 now, a lot of memories are softer, but good memories have gotten stronger. One of the blessings of aging sometimes.
364T: Little girls playing dress up
Description of book with helpful details: 2 girls (friends) playing dress up, hanging clothes on a line, and maybe a tea party. Book had pen and ink illustrations I believe. I remember a drawing of one of the girls wearing high heels that were of course too big for her. I checked this book out of my grammar school library many times, probably in the late 60’s.