Author Archives: admin

360R: I hate the dope that thought up soap

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When I was a child in the late 90’s there was a book of I think children’s rhymes in my grandmother’s house in North Carolina that she used to read to me. I think it was already an old book at that time, possibly from her years as a teacher or from my father’s childhood.   It had the phrase “I hate the dope who thought up soap.” And something like “I wish he’d eat it!”   Something along those lines. I’ve googled this phrase and found only the books by Megan McDonald, but those were published starting in 2000 so are too recent to be what I’m thinking of.  Help please?

360Q: Picture Book about a farm with huge vegetables (Solved!)

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This is a larger-format picture book, in full color, with illustrations that cover most/all of each page.  I read it in the early- to mid-80’s.  There’s a farmer who grows vegetables and something happens to his farm where he starts growing GIGANTIC vegetables.  There’s a bad guy (I think he’s dressed in a black suit and might have a black top hat?) who wants to get his hands on the farm or the stuff that makes the farm miraculous.  I can’t remember if the thing that makes the vegetables big starts to affect the farmer’s kids or not?
Thank you for reading!

360P: Black & White picture book, people climbing ladder to eat clouds

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I read this book in the early 80’s, but it might have been published much earlier.  It’s a larger picture book with black & white illustrations, done in a rough pen & ink style that reminds me of the 60’s (think The Beatles’ “Yellow Submarine”).  The characters do many surreal things, but all I can remember is one two-page spread where people are climbing up a ladder to eat clouds with a spoon (they might be leaning into/out of a tower window?)
Thank you for reading this!

360N: Older man with suitcase

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From what I remember, it is a male author within the last 20 years.  There are two books I remember.

First it starts out with a homeless man under a pier and an older gentlemen talks to him, and tells him to start reading biographies on famous historical people.

Second book (same author) talks about an older gentleman who always carries an old suitcase.  He helps others throughout the book.

I think the author’s name is Andy (but not sure).  He is a best selling author.  The first book is actually about himself and he goes on to be a multi-millionaire businessman.

I’m just looking for the author’s name.  I know he’s done more recent books, but I can’t remember his name.

Thanks for your help in this area.

360M: Sociopath Child Makes “Music” Out of Animal Screams

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I'm writing with a book stumper request. I checked out this book from the Evanston Public Library in Evanston, IL sometime between 1994 and 1999. It is an adult fiction book with a thief as the narrator. I remember it was a thinner book (probably 300 pages or less) with a white cover. One of the memorable moments in the book is where the thief breaks into a home of a wealthy family. This family had built a music room / recording studio for their child, which I believe is hidden behind some type of concealed wall with padding to muffle the noise. The music studio is stocked with high end equipment, including a piano keyboard and a portable tape recorder. The thief enters this hidden music studio and listens to some of the recordings that the child has made. Apparently the child is some type of sociopath and has made recordings with sounds of animals screaming. I wish I could remember more detail but this is the only real scene that stands out. Please let me know if I can provide any additional information. Thanks!

360L: Abandoned Lake House

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The book I vaguely remember had something to do with a child or maybe siblings going to spend the summer with an elderly aunt (I think) who was living on a lake where most of the houses were abandoned. It had once been a vibrant summer community ca. 1900 (I think), but was now mostly deserted sans aunt’s household. There may or may not have been a mystery component to it. I think I read it around 4th grade maybe ca. 1977?

360K: Last blue canister plagues cop

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Book is from the late 70s/early 80s, I think, because I believe I read it in high school or college. Paperback. Author name was something ridiculously simple that I was sure I would remember. I was naive in that assumption. Many thousands of books later, I still remember this as worthy of re-reading.
Plot: cop searching for a serial nerve gas bomber. Four blue canisters of gas in total, first attack was on a subway or train, with nuns and children among the victims. Cop eventually finds the culprit, but not the last canister. We, the reader, know it’s hidden in the desert and unlikely to ever be found. Last scene in the book is the cop in bed with his honey, unable to sleep, and she asks what he’s thinking about. Answer of course is the location of the last canister he’ll never find.
I remember thinking someone ought to alert the authorities that such a terrible plot was now “out there” for people to see. Again, naive, but it was a very different time than we know now.
I was reading a lot of Robert Ludlum and Jack Higgins at the time, so someone of the similar mindset might remember this one. Great writing, engaging characters, enough plot twists and storyline development to be worth trying to find.  I have googled “blue canister nerve gas fiction book” so many times I’m surprised the authorities aren’t looking for me. Oh well.

360J: Children’s book about animal characters, including a fox who gets his tail wet in a stream and meets a mermaid (Solved!)

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I think the title was bedtime stories or goodnight stories, something like that.
The cover was a scene with trees and leaves, might have been autumn. In the foreground is a witch and a fox in a raincoat (maybe?) and they are surrounded by iridescent bubbles. 
The book was a few short stories about animal characters: 
In the first, a young fox (his name might have been Freddy)’s mother makes him a new raincoat and sends him off to play with friends, warning him not to get his tail wet. The friends end up sailing down a stream in an upturned umbrella and the fox’s tail hangs out and gets soaked. 
In another one, two other animal characters sneak into a local witch’s house and mess around with some spells, turning the sky green and grass blue. 
Another one had all the animal children go to the beach with school. The fox character meets a mermaid who gives him a shell to remember the sound of the sea.

360I: Magic Ball (Children’s Sci-Fi)

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I read this book as part of a children’s summer reading program at a small branch library next to my Dad’s hardware store in Clarksville, Indiana. The timing was some time between 1965-1968. Every book you read would earn a balloon stamp on a clown bookmark. You only received the stamp after giving a verbal recap of each book to the librarian.

I do not recall the title but I believe there were limited graphics inside the pages. A young boy finds a red ball in a field near his home. He quickly realizes that the ball can respond to his wishes. It can change color and size. Become heavy or light. It can even fly around the room and come to home when he calls.

Late in the book the ball starts to exhibit strange behavior as if it wants to escape. The boy follow the ball into the field where he meets the ball’s true owner: an alien child from a nearby space ship that has landed. The boy gives the ball back to the alien child and is thanked by the alien parent.

This book started my love of science fiction writing and led me to the likes of Wells, Verne, Asimov, Bradbury, Clarke and many others.