Category Archives: 1970s

325V: Funny Poems with Black and White Illustrations

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This book I believe would have been published within 1960-80. It was a collection of limericks and poems, black and white pictures only on rough pulpy paper, hardcover woven material,off white. No slip cover (sleeve) photo as I believe it likely had a slip cover at one time, but not once I had it as a child.

The illustrations, there was one for each, I think and they were very character based and they were all black and white. The very closest stories and illustrations that I can find that bear a resemblance is “Backward Bill” by Silverstein.

There is only one poem in the collection that I remember clearly. The illustration was of a skinny man walking on his hands in the sand. He has a pail hanging from his foot by the handle. The poem talks about this certain man collecting periwinkles on the beach and using his foot to carry the pail. I can’t remember the reason he has for doing this. I do remember it being a very comical book.

It would mean great deal if you were able to find this book. If there are any other details that come I can let you know.

325N: Children’s book of holiday stories from 60’s/70’s?

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I was born in the late 70’s and my mom would read to me a used children’s book of holiday stories with anthropomorphic characters. I remember an owl (or maybe a family of owls); a mouse that ate paste in the Valentine’s story; a Halloween story and a Christmas story. I seem to remember the cover was orange and the illustrations were in black & white with a dash of orange. The illustrations were definitely done in the unique style of the late ’60s/early ’70s. Any ideas? Thanks!

325A: Pubescent Children Develop Telepathic Powers

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There’s a novel that I read years ago (late 70’s or early 80’s) from a library in England for which I can no longer remember the author or the title; so if you recognize the content, I’d be a happy camper. 🙂

The only things I can remember are…

1/ It was about mental powers, telepathy, etc

2/ Children developed these abilities at or around puberty (I think). If I remember correctly, the general populace/government reacted badly to these children.

3/ There was a woman scientist who studied these children and came up with a way to synthesize the catalyst, which she then tried on herself and, after a really rough transition, found that she had the same abilities.

3.1/ I’ve also got a vague recollection (so take it with a grain of salt) that other adults who tried to gain these powers died.

4/ The initial symptom of these powers was an increase in sensory perception and intense pleasure – enough to lock the affected person into repeating whatever felt good regardless of what it was doing to them.

4.1/ The woman scientist/doctor who managed to synthesize the activating chemical and used it on herself ended up “making love” to a tree (I’ve got a dim memory of the description of the feel of the bark against her naked skin).

4.2/ Another scene (probably just a paragraph or sentence) had a description of a boy who kept “pleasuring himself” for hours; even though he was now raw and bleeding, he couldn’t stop. (I think this was one of the notes the scientist/doctor compiled about the affected children, rather than being a central theme or character development).

4.3/ The powers allowed the children to feel the emotions of others (though I do not remember if it was limited to others with powers or everyone in general) and they banded together to feel safe/loved/etc. when the rest of the world turned against them due to fear. I don’t remember if it was true telepathy or just extreme empathy.

5/ Once she had the same abilities as the children, the woman scientist joined up with a group of them – presumably to help defend them against the haters.

Beyond that, I have no idea. The only other non-story items I know are…

  • I read it late-70’s or early 80’s.
  • Given the more grown-up content, it is not likely to be a children’s book; though it could be Teens and older.

I know it’s not much to go on, but it’s been driving me batty trying to remember the title.

 

324Y: Fairies and Giants and Creatures In One Massive Compilation

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I am looking for a children’s book I read in the late 70s or early 80s that was about fairies and giants and other mystical creatures. It was huge (to a 6 year old!), 13 to 15 inches in height & hundreds of pages printed on very thin tissue-like paper that was pastel multi-coloured, in sections. A pink section, then a yellow section, then a pale green section, etc. I believe the coloured sections coordinated with the sections of the book which i think were divided into “stories about giants”, “stories about fairies”. It may have had “A Great Big Book….” or “The Big Book of….” in the title. It was large print with pictures here and there.

Thank you!!

324Q: Aesop’s Fables and Fairy Tale Collection

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Looking for an illustrated hardcover children’s book, a collection of fairy tales from the late 1970s to the mid 1980s. It contained stories from Hans Christian Anderson (including The Princess and the Pea), the Grimm Brothers, and other authors. It included The Happy Prince by Oscar Wilde. It also had a section of Aesop’s Fables. The table of contents separated out the Aesop’s Fables from the other types of stories. Please help me find this book, thank you so much!

324P: A History of Sturdivant Hall

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In the mid-1970s, I enjoyed a family vacation through the Southern States. We stopped in Selma, Alabama, and toured Sturdivant Hall.  During the tour, I remembered a book displayed on a table in the entrance that I wanted, but my parents thought otherwise.

The tour guide said that it was about the history of Sturdivant Hall (or family). I believe it had a photo of one or two girls whose portrait was hanging on the wall of the front parlor. It was a creepy painting because their eyes seem to follow you as you moved about the room.

I failed to note the name of the book. I remembered it being fairly thick.  I cannot find anything close on the internet (archive.org, amazon.com, google.com) to what I remember seeing.

324M: Girl’s Best Friend Moves To New York City (Solved!)

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This was a thin paperback, and I think the cover was yellow/gold with a b & w photo of two teenage girls taken in a photo booth. I read it in the late 70s/early 80s. It was about a girl whose best friend moves to NYC. After being separated for awhile she is excited to visit her friend there, but when she arrives her friend is now a stuck up “city girl.” I remember her friend mocking her for calling 6th Avenue by its other name, Avenue of the Americas, stating only tourists call it that. There is also a subplot abut the girl’s dog, a sweet old yellow lab (?) named Nora/Lorna. Near the end of the story, Nora/Lorna dies under a lilac bush and the devastated girl wraps her in a special towel that was used for the dog’s baths.

324L: A Hidden Room Mystery Story (Solved!)

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1960’s-1970’s YA mystery short story–people search a castle for a missing keep or room wherein may be hidden a fortune.  Many people search.  They decide to put a cloth in each window as they search; then they can see from the outside which window has no cloth and is therefore the hidden room.  The story is possibly from one of the Alfred Hitchcock Presents Anthologies. It certainly had that feel.   Although many others are searching this castle for a missing keep or a room in a keep, only one person finds it.  There is some sort of secret entrance, I recall.  When the finder discovers the entrance and room, another character (the bad guy) goes with him and murders him there and “hides” the secret entrance to the room again.

 I recall (or believe I recall) a line at the end—part of the thoughts of the skeptical castle groundskeeper, I think– “there was no Norman keep.”

 

324A: Painting in Colors

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Hi, I’m trying to find a book from the 70’s.  It was given to me by my father who was a professional photographer.

I’m not 100% sure of the title but I think it was called “Paint in Color.”

It had different color “gels” in the book of primary colors that when cleverly combined made a new color. Ex. Blue and yellow made green and so on and so on.

Any one remember this book?