Category Archives: 1970s

327A: Collection of scary stories from the late 70s or early 80s (Solved!)

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I'm trying to track down a collection of short, scary stories that I read when I was young. I remember a story about a girl with a red cape (I believe her name was Lottie). There was also a story in the book about Sarah Winchester, the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune who continued building a mansion and never stopped construction because a medium told her she'd die if she stopped. I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to be able to find this book again.

326W: A Raven, A Boy And A Mosquito

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I am looking for a book that I believe is a children’s book, published in the 1970’s or 1980’s.  It has a dark green cover (pine color) and has a raven on the cover.  It has a God-centered theme.  Includes a boy and a mosquito.  The cover may also have red on it.  This is all according to my son who was born in 1980 and is recalling what details he can.

Thank you for your help.

326S: Book about a disabled girl who laughed but didn’t talk (Solved!)

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I read this book in the late 70’s or early 80s. It popped into my head today; I don’t know why, and now I feel driven to reread it, but again, I don’t know why. The cover was an outdoor scene — a grassy field with some blurred figures, hard to make out. The novel was about a girl who lived in a hospital or an institution. She was physically disabled (wheelchair) and also did not talk. However, she did laugh at least once, and it seemed that she may have had a sense of irony that others didn’t recognize. The point of view was, I think, from her brother, who was visiting her. There was something disturbing about the story, but I can’t remember what it was. The only other thing I remember is that she had a unique name. This may also have been the name of the book. It had a T and an I in it – Tig? Twig? Twich? THANK YOU!

 

326P: Mechanical Illustrations From The Future

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I was born in 1977, and remember a picture book with lots of detailed illustrations including cross sections of spaceships and people on conveyor belts being fed via mechanical arms from ceiling (I remember a woman tilting her head back to receive a giant claw full of salad). Also, a kind of altered lawn tractor that did everything, including cutting all the flowers off with a reciprocating hedge trimmer attachment. I thought I may be confusing this with “Little Monster Goes to Work”, which i also loved, but having recently looked through the latter, realized it is a different book. Please help!

326N: The Way of the Cross for Young Christians

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I’m looking for information on how to obtain a religious booklet from my childhood. Title: The Way of the Cross for Young Christians. Probably published in 1970. It has retro artwork, and I was able to find a picture of the cover. The images from this book are seared into my brain and were a huge part of my Catholic school childhood.
Also, I think the illustrator, Jeanne Hunt Miller, might have done handkerchiefs in a similar mid-century modern style, many of which are available on Etsy. Don’t know if that helps?
One last thing, the author may be Rev. William J. McLoughlin. There’s an updated version on Amazon, but it has different illustrations; I also called the publishing house, but they only had the new publication with the blue and yellow cover.
Any help would be appreciated!!

326M: Boy Has Adventures On River

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I’m looking for a children’s picture book from the 70s or 80s for my friend. Her mom used to read it to her, but she can’t remember the name. It’s about a boy who floats down a river and has many adventures on the way involving animals and food. She thought it was “In the Peanut Butter Colony” by Louis Ross but that doesn’t look right after all.  Thank you for any help!

326K: Young Kid And Travelers On Mission In Dark Cave

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1) Looking for an illustrated CHILDREN’s book from the 1970’s or possibly from the 1960’s.  (I was born in 1971 and had the book when I was 4-6 years old)
2) Themes:
    1) Dark Underground cavern / cave system or Dark Mountains
    2) Group of travelers on some sort of mission
    3) A young person was a central character
    4) 8 1/2  by 11 inches approximately  (i.e. larger size)
    5) Thin sort of book…..perhaps 20-25 pages?
  It almost seemed like it could be a Hobbit theme but I don’t think that was it….
Thanks!

326E: Planetary Creature Encyclopedia

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I had an amazing book when I was a kid that I haven’t seen for decades. I was born in 1973, so it would have been published sometime in the 70s or early 80s. It was a large, slim encyclopedia- or reference-style book, but it was about all of the planets and what each of their creatures would look like based on the physics, chemistry, and gravity of the planets. It was very colorful and there were wonderful renderings of all of the would-be creatures. I believe it also listed what these creatures’ habits, diet, lifestyle, etc. would be like as well.

I hope you can help me find out what it is!

326D: Air Force Pilot Takes On Dragon In Storm Cloud

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Short fantasy/sci-fi story in an anthology aimed at young readers in the late 70s/early 80s - I seem to remember reading it in late elementary school, though it could have been middle school. Story was about an Air Force pilot who lost a friend to a dragon in a storm cloud, but no one believed him, so he stole a plane and went back up to kill the dragon. He was catatonic and white-haired when the plane landed, and everyone thought he was just crazy, until they watched his gun-camera footage of his attack runs on the dragon.

326B: Warmth Of Friendship In A Smooth Stone (Solved!)

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I am hoping you can help me find a book I remember from my childhood (probably 40 years ago).  The book was about a young girl who lived in an apartment (I believe) and was very lonely.  Another young girl moved in and they became best friends.  One of the girls found out her family was moving and she was very sad and worried about making a new friend.  The first girl gave her a smooth stone and told her when she was lonely to hold the smooth stone and she would feel the warmth of their friendship.
At least this is how my memory recalls the story. LOL!


If I recall correctly the cover had a light blue background and the girls were sitting on the steps of the apartment building.
I have tried to Google search this to no avail.


I am assuming that this book may no longer be in print.  Thanks for any help you can provide.