Author Archives: admin

121I: Pre-Teen Romance Anthology (Solved)

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I read this book sometime between 6th and 8th grades, so between 1976 and 1979. It was not great literature but catered very much to pubescent and pre-pubescent girls. It was a mass-market paperback anthology of short stories, and I think they all dealt with romance and/or the characters’ first kisses. There might have been some that were just about the trials and tribulations of being that age, but if so, I don’t recall specifics. I do remember one of the stories mentioning chocolate pudding. In another -or maybe the same story- the protagonist went on her first date (possibly a school dance?), and when she and the boy walked home, he kissed her, and she said his lips tasted sweet like Coca-Cola.

 

121H: Daughter’s Favorite Children’s Book Wanted

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Book is approximately 30 years old.  Title and author unknown.
Part of the book went like this “knee pads, shin guards, ankle bracers, that’s what’s worn by roller racers” and another part talked about “Bethesda Fountain” which is part of Central Park in NY.  That’s all we can remember.  Any help in finding this book would be GREAT.  Our daughter is having our first Grandchild in November and she fondly remembers this book and would like to have it for her child. 

 

121G: Angel Cake

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I got this book from the picture-book section of the library in the 1990s, I think. It was quite new then. It is about someone who wants to make an angel cake as good as her mother’s (grandmother’s?) but she doesn’t know the secret ingredient. Some angels come and make the cake for her, I think. Maybe they eat it too? I am not too clear on the plot, but I thought the illustrations were BEAUTIFUL! The angels are obviously portraits of real people. Obviously, someone else loved this book too because it disappeared, and I could never find it again. The author’s name was at the end of the alphabet- I only remember that because of where the book was on the shelves.

 

121F: Upside Down Boy

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This was a book in the Dr Seuss/PD Eastman format (i.e. about that size, not very long, line drawings with only a few colors) about a boy who starts noticing footprints on his ceiling and it turns out there is a boy who lives upside down. They make friends, but they can only go some places together. I remember a scene at a dock, for instance, where one was on top and the other was underneath. It has to have been published by 1964 or so. 

 

121E: Magic Carnival in the Sky

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I am looking for a book my Grandmother had when I was a child. It was a children’s chapter book published in the 80s or early 90s, and was likely something she got either through a book club or at a yard sale. It seemed like it was intended to be part of a series, though I don’t know if any other volumes were ever published. The book was about a pair of siblings (I believe it was a brother and sister, though it could have been two sisters), who were attending summer camp. They were either not getting along with each other, or not enjoying camp and were unhappy. In the middle of the night, another brother and sister appear and invite them to come with them to a magic carnival. They ride a canoe up a moonbeam to the carnival in the sky somewhere. There they see all sorts of incredible characters and shows. There is an octopus running a game booth. And at the end there is a dolphin race where the children ride the dolphins and one of the siblings wins (their earlier angst may have been a result of one of them losing a race at camp??). Over the course of their adventures, the siblings mend their differences and at the end are returned to camp ready to enjoy the rest of their summer. Something about the book, either a summary in the back or something on the back cover, implied that there would be other books where different kids who were having problems would be taken to the carnival to sort them out. I have been searching for info on this book for years and any help would be much appreciated!

 

121B: Boy Runs Away with Pig (solved)

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In the late 1980’s when I was in high school we were assigned to read this book, it’s possible that it was a few years earlier in middle school. There was a young Asian boy, I remember him being Chinese or Vietnamese but he may have been Japanese because I also remember him talking about wanting a lot of “yen”. I remember it because I don’t think I ever really heard of yen before that book. Another thing I first heard of in this book was rice paddies, I don’t remember if he was running away from work on a rice paddy or if he passed by some on his journey.

I’m not sure he was running away at all he may have been on a quest of some sort, it may be that he was wanting to sell something the get money for some reason because I seem to remember he had a destination in mind.

Also, I remember a pig. I thought he had a pig with him or met a pig along the way that followed him but my mother read the book also and she doesn’t remember a pig. She doesn’t remember any more than I do about the book, all she knows is that I liked it so much I gave it to her to read. I’ve thought about this book several times over the years trying to remember it and I’ve looked all over the internet for it and I’ve asked people about it with no luck. I’m hoping it was on a lot of high school or middle school reading list and you will be able to help me.

 

120A: Girl with Real Golden Hair (solved)

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In the early 1970s, as a kid, I came across an extraordinary cloth-bound picture book: The story of a girl from another planet–a girl whose hair is made of actual gold. She is befriended by a young Earth boy who learns her secret, and tries to help her get away from bad guys who want to lock her up and harvest her hair.
The illustrations were photographs (or else very photo-realistic drawings).
I was fascinated by this little sci-fi tale. Years later I went back looking for it, and it was long gone.
I suspect it was not a new book even in the early 70s. It had the wear and tear of something that had been in circulation for years.
I would be grateful and astonished if you can find a title and author for this book!