Category Archives: 1980s

330J: Interactive red/yellow circle piece board book

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This is a children’s board book.  I believe the pages are all white with black font writing.  This is an interactive pull tab book where, to start, you drop an actual red and yellow sided counter disc into the book.  Each page changes the color of the disc going from red to yellow.  I am not sure if the red/yellow color is necessary as perhaps other color counters may have been used?  It may have been about shapes.  I suspect it may have been a 1980’s or 1990’s book.  You can pull tabs, slide, flip and open pages to reveal the counter.  It was my son’s favorite book for years.  We cannot find it and he mentioned it to me the other day.  I would like to find it for his 14th birthday if I can.  Thank you.

329X: Young adult science fiction book featuring an alien boy hiding on Earth with an caretaker/teacher (Solved!)

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I remember reading this book in the late 80's and I think it was the 2nd book in a series. The only details I really remember of it are: 1. The boy had to fake his death in the beginning (involving a bus) and move to another town. 2. He had special powers and could turn invisible 3. He kept having premonitions about upcoming events. 4. One of the premonitions involved lightning during a little league baseball game. I also think the planet he came from was something like Altair or another "A" name.

329R: A Choose-Your-Own-Adventure Space Exploration Picture Book

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I’m trying to track down a book I read a lot as a kid.

It was a large picture book, maybe 8×10 inches. Probably hardcover. Full-page color illustrations. Not very long, if I remember correctly.

It was choose-your-own-adventure style. You were an astronaut/space explorer who landed (or crash-landed?) on an alien planet.

There were mild role-playing game elements to it. For example, you selected a couple pieces of equipment at the beginning of your adventure, and there was a part where you turned to the back and studied a xenobiology index for exactly 2 minutes and then weren’t allowed to reference it again.

You navigated the dangerous alien planet and tried to avoid toxic atmosphere, poisonous plants, and dangerous creatures.

I would have read it (from my school’s library) sometime between ’91 and ’96. I’m guessing it was published in the 80s, but it technically could have been the early 90s or maybe even the 70s? Just feels like an 80s thing.

Would love to track this down. It had a big impact on my imagination and creative inspiration over the years, I’m sure.

Thanks!

329O: Time Traveling Girl Becomes Subject In Colonial Sampler

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My search is for a children’s book, probably in the 1970-1997 time frame.  The book was a time traveling mystery involving a shy, loner-type girl who escapes to sit in a nearby very old tree.  On rare occasions, while in the tree, the girl time travels back to colonial times where she meets two girl friends in the tree.  At this point, the tree is much younger.  The colonial friends remark about the traveler’s shoes and how different they are.  The shoes are modern sneakers.  On a subsequent meet up, the time traveler brings an alphabet book which shows a picture of a giraffe listed for the letter “G.”  The colonials have never seen a giraffe.  At some point, the time traveling stops and the loner girl wonders what became of her colonial friends.  On a library day, the loner looks up colonial samplers.  She finds the sampler her colonial friends made when they couldn’t find her in the tree anymore.  The antique sampler is of the alphabet with a giraffe for the “G” letter and a stitched picture of the modern girl with her sneakers!  The title of this book is not known to me and i remember it had nothing to do with the possible subject matter of the book; therefore, not colonial samplers, mystery, time travel, etc.  The author was a woman, but I don’t know the name.  Please help locate the title and author of this book.  I am sure my two grand daughters would love this book, which  my daughter read years ago in Virginia.  Thank you!

329N: Magical World Past A Hole In The A Hedge

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Seeking children’s picture book, pre-1999 but probably after 1980. Round brothers and sister with straw hats (maybe sailor outfits too) find a hole in a hedge. They get all dirty in a mud puddle and find a magical world with a very geometric castle on the other side of the hedge. One of them might get lost/want to stay. Found in a library in 90s. Driving me insane.

329C: Ghost of California chicken racer

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Published before 1989, likely current setting is late 70's or early 80's. Teenage girl with mom and brother, no dad, move to a 3 story house off the California coast line. The house has a curved driveway with a tree stump in the grass. The family does not have a car, but the girl keeps hearing a car idling in the driveway. Then starts to see an oil leak when everyone else sees dirt. Later she sees a 50's style car (blue if I remember correctly) and a man in his late teens or early 20's in a bomber jacket. Man died in a chicken race when his car went over the cliff. He is asking the girl to help him find his girlfriend from that time, who used to live in the house. Detail about the house is that the circular window on the 3rd floor always breaks out even after the tree was cut. Which used to be tall enough to reach the 3rd floor window. Below the house is a small cottage surrounded by lots of flowers and the person who lives there befriends the girl. She is the new girl in school and everyone thinks she is crazy, especially when the ghost of the man in the bomber jacket starts to dance with her on the school's cruise along the coast. Of course, no one can see him and everyone thinks she is dancing by herself. The cover has the picture of the girl, brunette I think, standing in the driveway, with a see-through image of the man in the bomber jacket and his car behind her.

328R: Red Head Girl Falls In Love With Ghost Of Civil War Soldier

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When I was in high school, likely 1999-2002, I read a young adult romance novel that I thoroughly enjoyed but cannot remember much about it.
I believe it was a paperback book and the cover artwork was drawn…no photos…likely 1980s or early-bird 1990s looking work. There was a red headed girl…high school age I believe…sitting at a headstone in a cemetery…with the ghost of a soldier looking on.
I believe the plot, from what I can recall, is that this red headed high school girl was somewhere back east visiting family…aunt and uncle, perhaps, for the Christmas holiday. She was a history buff and helped her aunt in the family antique shop. She somehow met the ghost of a solider…Civil War, perhaps? He died as a young man and they fell in love and had a relationship. I think it’s the same book but…I believe she met a living young man in town who wanted to romance her over her holiday break, and threw a New Year’s Eve party. Hope this helps. I remember wanting to read all the authors’ books because this one was so enjoyable!

328O: Teenage Girl Learns About Jealousy (Solved!)

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I’ve been looking for this book forever! I read this book around 1985, in Taiwan. The book was written in another language, not sure which, mostly likely English, and translated to Chinese.

Kids / Young Adult / Teen book about a teen / pre-teen girl competing with one of her classmates about everything. The entire book was written in 1st person telling the reader how much she envies one of her classmates because that person had everything. I remember her describing the other girl’s hair and the smell of her shampoo. She loves photography and drama. Once she took a close-up photo of a tree for a contest, thought it was perfect lighting, perfect shapes… etc, but it ended up getting her in trouble because there were a curse word on the photo upside-down that she never saw. She went to a drama camp and completed for the leading role, only to found out that she had stage fright so bad that she can’t do anything.  At the end she realized that she was a great director, as soon as the spot light is not on her, she does very well.

Hope you can help.

328I: Boy Destroys “Talking” Gorilla Costume

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I read a book when I was between 9-12, I’m 38 now, I’m not sure if that helps with the timeline, I borrowed it from my grandma but it wasn’t really old, and it was paperback.
There was a little boy, maybe 11, he found a gorilla/orangutan costume (but enough for a grown man) and he started to believe it was talking to him. I remember him holding his hands over candle flames and if I’m remembering correctly, he ended up destroying the costume in the end by throwing it in the fire.
It would be amazing if you can find it, it’s been bothering me for years! Thank you again for your time and I look forward to hearing back!!