Category Archives: 1980s

370O: Children’s Paperback Picture Book, circa 1980, girl monster/purple dinosaur with a red dress, beautifully illustrated

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Hello, Stumpers. To the best of my memory, this is a Children’s Paperback Picture Book, circa 1980.

It was set in a woods, populated with monsters, near a lake that featured heavily. I think our protagonist – a girl monster whose face resembled a purple baby dinosaur, and who wore a red dress with puffy sleeves – saw her reflection in the water and got scared, or didn’t understand it was her.

It was beautifully illustrated line work, trying to make things look realistic with texture and shading, versus the looser style and flat coloring of a Mercer Mayer or Richard Scarry.

370K: Teenaged Girl With Strict Mom Buys Pink Clothing And Wants To Ride Horses Like The Cool Girls (Solved!)

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I’m afraid I don’t have a lot of details in trying to identify this book, but here’s what I’ve got:

It was a young adult book that came out in the early to mid-‘80s – I want to say no later than 1985.  It was told first person from the view of a teenaged girl with a very strict mother who monitored everything she did.  The girl (I don’t remember her name) didn’t fit in at school and wanted to have clothes like the cool girls – I think the mom insisted on sewing all the girl’s clothes herself.  She secretly went shopping and bought a pink angora sweater and cranberry-colored corduroys and had to hide them from her mom.

I also seem to remember that the cool girls were riders at the local horse stables, and the girl wanted to ride there to be like them, even though she didn’t know how to ride. What sticks out most in my memory is that the writing style was very formal and stilted.  I remember one such sentence: “The following morning, rain was falling when I woke.”  Another was when the mom ultimately discovered the girl wearing the secret outfit and “Mother knelt to examine the construction” of the pants.

370I: Adult sisters with a troubled relationship/family wedding

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I read this book in the 90s, but I think I may have been published in the 80s.
It was a modern era story. There are two sisters, one is responsible with an adult daughter getting married. I remember at least one woman wore a tartan sash across her chest, but I am not convinced it took place in Scotland, though it is possible.

The other adult sister is kind of a mess. Alcohol or drugs, perhaps? I remember her as the beautiful one who got all the guys, but deeply unhappy. It is mentioned that she wore Poison perfume, and it spills in her room.

I associate the color red/burgundy with this book, so it may have featured on the cover of the book.

370E: The Fun Easter Bunny

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I’m looking for an Easter book from when my friend was a child (born in 1987 in Canada) from early 90s or before. She remembers a silly/mischievous bunny that says “quack quack” and something like “I flap my ears for fun.” The bunny also supposedly sings about calling out the days of the week. In the end she seems to remember that he turned into chocolate or candy.

369W: Illustrated Children’s Book with Child-snatching Witch

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It was a large hardback colour illustrated book. The story features a boy, a girl and a dog or cat, I think they have to stay inside because it’s raining. I think the girl is trying to scare the boy by telling a story about this witch that snatches children. The witch rides around on a vacuum cleaner like thing I think. I vividly remember the illustrations being the main focus, some taking up the entire page and I think some pages had special printing like glow in the dark patches. I think the girl was emphasising how she wasn’t scared of all these fantastical things going on and I definitely remember at the end of the book she is scared by a spider or mouse.

I read this book as a child, but I can say for certain when, I think the time frame for when the book was released is 1985-2005 though could be earlier. It was in the UK if that makes any difference.

It’s been bothering me a lot because every time I try to search it I end up getting the same results of Badjelly the Witch, Terry Pratchett’s The Witch’s Vacuum, Winnie the Witch, The Wednesday Witch, The Littlest Witch, etc – it isn’t any of these.

369N: Young Girl Makes it Through the Storm

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Looking for a book w/ very little info. It was a novel my 5th grade teacher read to the class in 1984 or 1985. All I know is the title was “Alee” (or contained that word) and the cover was a drawing of a girl walking in strong wind. I remember it was about a young girl making it on her own and there was a storm and tumbleweeds. It would have been a children’s or young adults book. Sorry – I know that’s not much to go on.

369I: Girl summer magic or witchcraft (Solved!)

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I read a book sometime in the late 70s/early 80s that was purchased from my school through a flyer or book fair.  It was a chapter book that may have had an illustration or two.  Best I can remember, a girl is spending her summer break maybe in a new home or at a relative’s home.  It seems like the summer may have been rainy and she was exploring the house.  She found something in a basement or cellar that was either magical or had to do with witchcraft.  She experimented with the magic but it seemed to turn out badly and there was  an explosion or climactic event in the basement.  In the end, all was resolved with a pleasant ending.  I don’t remember the book centering on any other characters so only one main female child.  I don’t remember the title or the cover but I have a vague recollection of orange and purple on it.  Here’s hoping someone remembers.