Category Archives: 1970s

291P: Suddenly No Men on Earth/No Women on Earth

I read a science fiction book in high school (1969-1973) about some kind of catastrophe that resulted in the sexes living in separate worlds. In the “Women’s World,” planes fell out of the sky.  Maybe the women didn’t know how to operate heavy machinery?  In the “Men’s World,” other things happened because they were lonely…?

I found it totally mesmerizing at the time.  I thought it had a title like “Island of Vipers,” but I have never found that title.  All help appreciated!

291N: Keyo the cave boy (Solved)

I read this probably in the early 80′ maybe late 70’s. The title may in fact by Keyo but I can not find it anywhere. Keyo is a boy. Probably a Neanderthal. Or an early modern human. In the opening scene he leaves the cave. He hunts some small birds perhaps with a sling. He has a grandfather and sister(s). Later he takes part or witnesses a woolly rhinoceros hunt which I think involves a pit trap.

291J: Boy befriends man with a donut cart (Solved)

I read this book in maybe 1978. Black and white Illustrations with hidden objects throughout, like a giraffe under a man’s hat, etc. A boy runs away from home and befriends a man who sells donuts from a cart on the street. The donut salesman falls in love with a woman who has a pretzel cart and this makes the runaway boy jealous. Then a bull escapes from a pet store and runs into a giant tank of coffee, which the boy is sure to drown in as he gets trapped in a basement filling with coffee. The donut salesman saves the boy by dumping all his donuts in the coffee. The boys goes home at the end.

291A: A Native American parable

Wow! I just read in the NYT that there is a possibility of finding this book that I remember ! I believe I read it in the 1970’s or 80’s. As I remember it, it is a  Native American story. A  father does many things for his child. The child says to the father, “when I grow up I will do things for you”  The father replies,” when you grow up the important thing is not that you care and do things for me, but that you care and do things for your own children .” Or something to that effect. The moral of the story being that a parents actions are to teach a child how to be a good and loving person, a parent does not teach a child how to be good using the idea of reciprocity.

290V: Transcendental Meditation (Solved)

I just read about your bookstore and the Book Stumper in today’s New York Times. Amazing! And I have a book: written perhaps in the 1970s or early 1980s, it concerned two kids, an old house, and a crystal or other glass ball on a pedestal in the yard of an old house, and the kids used transcendental meditation to perhaps travel into the ball, maybe solve a crime or something.

290T: The colours mix and all is well (Solved)

A book bought in late 70s Australia (possibly UK published) picture book about a kingdom in black & white & wizard. Under the direction from the king who decides to make it colourful,  first turns blue and everyone is miserable, then red and everyone is angry, then yellow everyone becomes ill. Eventually the magic goes crazy and the colours mix to give full pallet and all ends well.