Category Archives: Solved

379I:  Nefertiti with Glasses (Solved!)

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I’m searching for a teen/YA mystery novel from the 1960’s or perhaps the late 1950’s set on a college campus. Two students, along with their archeology professor, try to solve a mystery of a missing artifact. The one detail I distinctly recall is the male student nicknames the female student Nefertiti with glasses. As a very awkward fourteen year old with glasses, that stuck with me, leading me to believe there was hope yet for me! I’m sorry my description is sketchy after 60 years, but I do remember enjoying the story and would love to re-read it once again.

379A: Need Book Name (Solved!)

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I need help remembering the name of a book.

-I think it was set in Appalachia

-Opens with women in family/neighborhood bleaching a young girl’s hair

-Main character friends with neighbor girl

-father figure dying of cancer and secluded to front room of house

-Main character sexually assaulted by relative in an outbuilding/woodshed, but doesn’t remember it until years later

-Main character wins a beauty pageant and is awarded luggage

-Main character leaves home for many years only to return in adulthood to stay and teach


Thanks!

378Y: Just… Thank You (Solved)

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I have been hunting for the name of a book that I read in my childhood for literally years. Every so often I would come back to my search and try again. Finally, I don’t know what changed this time, but I happened upon your anthology finder page under collectible children’s books. It was Young Years. It was a book given to my mom in 1977 when she was only 8, and then she gave to me. I read it all through my childhood, but ultimately lost it in so many moves. I’m so sad I won’t be able to get back the one that had a note written to my mother inside it, but now I will at least be able to find another copy on ebay or something. Thank you so much for helping, even if you didn’t realize you were.

Signed, a very happy 30 year old in NY trying to find her inner child again.

378R: Surreal Nautical Quest for Strange Creature (Solved!)

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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.

378I: A sixth grade class of “losers” called the “dregs.” (Solved!)

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It was a story that reminded me of “The Boy Who Lost His Face” and other books by Louis Sachar and/or Andrew Clements, but I can’t find it by either of those authors. I think it’s about a group of students who get sent to detention or some kind of remedial class and they form their own community and refer to themselves as “the Dregs.”

378F: Mystery Back of the Mountain/Ginseng (Solved!)

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I’m recalling a book I read in elementary school approximately 1973-74.  It was a hardcover mystery with a red cover and the spine had a white section with the title and also an image of a ginseng root.  The story involved a group of children/youths exploring a remote wooded area, possibly on a mountain, who found ginseng roots and were collecting them for money.  Along the way they stumble across a mystery, although I don’t recall the details of that.  I thought the title might be something like “Mystery Back of the Mountain” or something similar, but I haven’t been able to spot it.
In 1974 my 4th grade teacher asked for suggestions to read for class story time, and I suggested the book and it was very popular with my classmates.  I’d love to be able to find it again and purchase a copy.

378D: Mid-century Modern Insect Homes (Solved!)

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Alan Strickland, a_strickland@carolina.rr.com[/private role]

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.

377V: Russle the Raccoon (Solved!)

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I am looking for:Children’s Book 

Title:Russle or Russell

Year read: 1972-1977 I was 4 years old and this was a favorite of mine. 

About:A raccoon named Russle (it is spelled incorrectly because raccoons don’t know how to spell). Russle doesn’t like to go out at night and look for food with his gang, she likes to sleep. Emma Jean the leader of the raccoons doesn’t like this. Emma Jean carries rocks in her purse. During the day on Russle’s adventures, he meets a little boy. He gives him a banana. They play together and eventually he moves in with his new friend. Emma Jean and the gang do come to visit. Russle always gives Emma Jean two bananas. Description of cover:Hardback. Russle is on the cover. I believe he is standing in flowi. The background is purple and black. 


This was a favorite book and I cannot find it ANYWHERE.