Category Archives: 1970s

378D: Mid-century Modern Insect Homes

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Alan Strickland, a_strickland@carolina.rr.com

I’m trying to identify a book that my two children (one born in 1981, the other in 1983) remember from their childhoods. I’d like to make it part of my grandson’s library.

Below is my daughter’s description of the book. Thanks for the help!!…

70’s/80’s vibe.  That memory might be because the main image I remember was a neat mid century modern home “split” so you could see the inside. That was the whole concept of the book.  A look into the homes.   The owner of this particular home was maybe a grasshopper?  Or a caterpillar?  The home was outfitted with modern furnishings, as if it were human.  I think each image was the same in the fact that all of the interiors with their creatures featured modern living quarters versus realistic “homes.”  This home was located on a cliff, lots of clean lines and overhangs.  A cool place.

All of the images of the book were drawn with great attention to detail.  A book someone of any age would enjoy to look at verses just a young kid.

We’re they all insects?  Maybe.  It wasn’t a story.  It was more like each page was its own display.  I’m sure there were some words or descriptions, but I don’t remember.

378C: The Friendly Monsters (Found!)

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I’m looking for the title of a picture book that I read as a child in the mid-1990s. I believe the book was written in the 1980s or 90s, though it could also be from the 70s. I don’t remember any part of the title. It was a large-format hardcover edition.

It features illustrations with a watercolor style and a brightly colored, somewhat flat, surreal aesthetic with greatly exaggerated proportions. Its protagonist is an explorer who is dressed in a blue 19th-century naval outfit and sailing a large (and very tall) ship by himself.

He is searching for a rare creature that has some giraffe-like features and eats bananas, and on every page you can see that this creature is following him just out of sight. During his exploration, the protagonist meets several huge, frightening monsters, one of which I seem to recall was named the “purple lumpy thumpet”.

When the explorer finally finds his creature, it is revealed that it has many babies, and also that the monsters he encountered earlier were all friendly. All characters then have a picnic together on an island.

As a young child I read this book over and over again, captivated by its unique blend of unsettling, dreamlike visuals and mischievous, lighthearted storytelling. I have now been searching for its title for nearly a decade with no luck, and just found out about this service.

378B: Little Witch Children’s Book

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When I was 4 years old, (roughly 1970) we went to the library in Red Oak, IA for story books.  My mother remembers this book as well. It sparked my love for reading, and I would like to find it again, and read it to my grandchildren.  It was about the size of the Little Golden Books.  The story is of a little girl witch and her mother is a witch and they make blueberry muffins. The recipe was included in the back of the book. I was so thrilled to make the blueberry muffins and have remembered that book every time I’ve made muffins for so many years. I think it states in the story that if you use the blue berry juice, the muffins will be purple. 
The only one I’ve been able to find is the Old Black Witch – which is Not the same story. 

377W: Painting the town red (literally) and cucumber sandwiches

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This is a middle-grade book that I read over and over in the early 70s. Here’s what I remember about it: –It was about a group of 4 boys who had adventures in their small town. –One of the boys had a wealthy grandmother and they used to go to her house for cucumber sandwiches (which one boy didn’t like because they gave him gas) –They heard the phrase “paint the town red” and went out one night, broke into the hardware store, stole paint, and literally painted the town red –One of the boys’ moms wanted to visit Schenectady because she liked the way it sounded. This makes me think that it was set in NY.

377T: My Aunt is a Witch? (Solved!)

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I read this book in the mid-1970s.  It was set in about the witch trial time.  A young boy had an single aunt (she would be called a free-spirit now).  Because she did not conform the the norms of the day, she was accused of being a witch.  He tried to save her from being a witch by plunging a needle repeatedly into his leg.  She ran away rather than be tried as a witch.  He went after her and she was claimed to have kidnapped him.  At the end of the book, the aunt was in jail and two brothers, both ship captains, offered to marry her.  One brother wanted her to finish the jail term and then he would marry her.  He claimed his sterling reputation would make her acceptable to the community.  The other brother said he would break her out of jail that night and sail away with her, never to return to the colonies.  She took the second brothers’ offer.
It has been at least 50 years since I read the book.  I seem to remember the title contained the witch, silver or wake but I could be completely wrong about the title.  I checked the book out from a bookmobile in Oklahoma.

377M: “Be Thankful for Pain”

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I read a book in elementary school (1978? 1979?) that has stuck with me. Can’t remember the storyline or any characters except for, after a battle, a dying dwarf saying something like, “Be thankful for pain. It’s how you know you are still alive”. Bleak, but comforting. Any ideas at all what fantasy book this was? TIA!

377L: The White Blob From The Moon

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Hi there! I’m seeking Stump the Bookseller’s help in finding a lost book from my childhood. It was about a white, blobby creature that came down to the earth from the moon and had adventures. This book was available in the Huntingdon Valley Public library in the Philadelphia area in the 90s (I’ve looked there and asked the librarians without success) but I’m sure it was not self-published. It was a picture book or perhaps an early-reader chapter book (I believe it was portrait orientation) and I think it was part of a series. It was illustrated–if not fully illustrated–on the interior. It was not new in the 90s–it had a slightly vintage feel–perhaps 60s, 70s, or 80s. The art style was graphic and cartoony–more akin to the Space Case books by Edward Marshall than something illustrative like Moornhorse by Mary Pope Osborne (and no, it’s not either of these–It’s also not Moon Man by Tomi Ungerer, the Matthew Looney series, or Dmitri the Astronaut by Jon Agee.) There were themes of loneliness–perhaps the moon creature came down to earth to make friends? It’s possible he was not from the moon but rather a different planet. I believe the background color of the cover was black. It’s possible that this unsolved query is describing the same book: http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stumpthebookseller/145x-moon-creatures/. [EDIT: I now believe this is a book in the Moonbird series called The Unicorn and Witch. I don’t think it’s the book I’m looking for, though.] My mom remembers the moon creature as having had a pear-shaped body, maybe a bit of neck, and then an oval or round head, whereas I more clearly remember a white horse or perhaps unicorn. There could have been a little boy protagonist too, but I don’t remember clearly.

377J: Looking for a teen funny book from 70’s (Solved!)

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I read a book in the early 70’s. It was about a teen boy and his misadventures in a small town. It had a cover with a kids driving and old blue jalopy In the book. In One of the stories he gets a commercial propeller and puts it on a car to make a go faster. It flies loose and goes flying through the town, destroying things. I think the book had a white hardback cover, and the picture of the boy in the car was like light blue drawing I think it may have been a Scholastic book. But it was about this young early teen boys misadventures. And I recall the propeller wrecking havoc story. The book may have been from the 60s. But I read it in the early 70s. It may have been one of my older siblings book. And it probably was from the Scholastic catalog.

377D: Older Children’s Book Set in Charleston, SC

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I know this is a long shot- but i don’t know where else to turn. There was a children’s book written about a brother and sister who found arrowheads on either the wappoo bridge or the bridge going to folly. As you can tell it was written in the Charleston area. I had checked the book out from the old Charleston Library when visiting with my grandmother one summer- it had to have been in the early 80’s, but I feel like the story took place in the 50’s (not sure), but I loved the book. I just wish i could remember its name. If anyone can help i would be extremely thankful.

376W: Vampire Tosca

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I’m looking for a vampire novel published between 1970-1989.
The plot revolves around a vampire who runs some kind of sleep disorder/research clinic on a college campus and uses that to cover for feeding (not enough to damage the subject). There is a detective, I think named Tosca, after the opera, who figures it out and confronts the vampire, who is a good guy. They maybe join forces to combat another vampire?  There is a sequel, where the main character has moved to the southwest. Help, please!