Category Archives: 1980s

275E: Unfortunate Monsters in a Flood? (Solved)

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I was born in 1978 and remember a picture book full of bizarre creatures whose anatomy blended real-world objects, e.g. a monster with a “bird feeder mouth” into which rain was falling and on which birds were perched, and a forlorn-looking monster with a faucet for a nose or mouth, sitting on a rock. I think water was a theme in all the illustrations, and my brother seems to remember that the book was about “fantasy creatures that missed Noah’s Ark”. (I’ve ruled out “The Lost Zoo” by Cullen.) I recall the art style being painterly and/or airbrushed, with colorful graded shading that gave the creatures great depth. The facial features were detailed, not unlike what you see in a Google Images search for “antique sea monsters”.

275D: Bodysuits change colour

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This was a children’s novel about a advanced human society living separate to an abandoned post-disaster world.

The inhabitants now live in a peaceful and educated way, having somehow atoned for the previous mistakes. Everyone wears a bodysuit that changes colour dependant on the mood of the wearer. One scene describes a young girl’s family living room where the children ‘paint’ an image on a kind of computer screen that is displayed as an artwork.

In another, the children visit the old city, a chaotic abandoned world. My memories are sketchy but I think they find something there and the protagonist – I think it was the young girl – must walk through a super modern hall, a busy public area, with her bodysuit flashing colours wildly. The bodysuits glowed gently when the wearers were calm, and most were calm, so it was obvious to all when one was upset or aggressive.

Really quite incredibly prophetic as it must have been written before 1985. I borrowed it from a library in Australia in the early 1980’s.

 

275C: Crocodile grabs boy in river (Solved)

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This was a very short story that was read to me when I was a child in the early 80s.

The story was one of many in a collection in one book. My mother seems to think it came from Reader’s Digest.

I believe there are 2 or 3 black boys who are trying to cross a river in Africa when a crocodile came up through the water at one on them. The water was muddy so he couldn’t see it coming. The crocodile grabbed his leg then his arm. The croc had him in a death roll. I forget how he got out of it, but the boy survived to tell the tale.

This story had me on the edge of my bed when my mother read it to me.

275B: Story involved small men riding sparrows (Solved)

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I am looking for a UK children’s book from the 70s/80s. The book was a hard cover and had very detailed illustrations. Almost similar in style to “look and search book.”

The story involved small men (elves) riding sparrows and other woodland animals fighting equally small monsters who were wearing grey uniforms (similar to storm troopers/nazis uniforms) who rode on bats and rats.

 

Thank you,

274F: Wordless series of holiday books featuring rabbits

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The books I have in mind are a series of wordless picture books that were probably published in the 80s or early 90s. While they weren’t graphic novels or comic books per say, the images were arranged in panels on each page and you’d “read” it by following the story from left to right, top to bottom. The stories centered on a family of rabbits (or I’m pretty sure they were rabbits, they might have been mice) and there were books for each holiday—the ones I remember most vividly was the Halloween book and the Valentine’s Day book. The rabbits were anthropomorphic and were shown putting on coats for fall, trick or treating in a neighborhood, and so on.

I can still picture the books in our elementary school library and so the author’s name must have come closer to the end of the alphabet, since I remember them being nearer to the end of the shelves—possibly in the R, S, T section?

274E: A horse goes exploring

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I’m looking for a children’s paperback picture book (ages 4-6 ish) about a horse that escapes his/her stables to explore for the day – particularly in fields of strawberry patches. It was accompanied by a cassette tape, and the woman reading on the tape had a British accent, similar to Haley Mills or Julie Andrews (though she definitely had an expressive quality more similar to Haley Mills). I read it/listened to it as a child in the 80’s, but the illustrations seemed reminiscent of the 60s or 70s – similar in both colors and style to this image: www.pinterest.com/pin/550987335638025397/ Or similar to the lines of the hair in these pictures: www.pinterest.com/pin/550987335638025364/ Or similar to the clouds and sun in these pictures: www.behance.net/gallery/Bella-Butterfly-Childrens-Book-Illustrations/3105177

Unfortunately I don’t have a clue as to the title of the book or the author. The above is the most I can remember. Thank you!

274D: Girl with Possible Shepherd (Solved)

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Here’s what I can tell you about the book: It was published in or before 1988; which was when I read it in paperback. It was intended for young adults or children. The story is about a girl who either moves in with a farmer/shepherd and his family or she goes to live with them for an extended period of time (possibly a summer). I think it may be her cousin and his family. While  there she gets into a great deal of mischief. She climbs into the rafters inside the house and is afraid to get down. She tastes fresh milk for the first time while it’s still warm. She learns to ride a horse and won’t get off when they tell her she should and then she’s so sore that she can neither sit nor stand comfortably. There is some sort of celebration she’s to attend – she goes into her room to see lots of colorful skirts laid out for her. She wonders which one she should wear and is told to wear all of the skirts.

 

I genuinely appreciate any help you can give me. My mother and I read this book together and laughed until we cried over parts of this story. I’d love to find it again. 

274C: Children’s Book About Pelicans (Solved)

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I am looking for a hardback book I read to my daughter in the early 90s.  It was about a family who visited a place and the child (boy, I believe) watched for a pelican.  I am fuzzy on the plot, but the most distinctive feature of the book is that every other page was a half sheet vertically, so that the illustration and text would change when turning the half page.  I would love to find this volume and purchase for my grandson.  Any help is greatly appreciated.

274B: Non-fiction series with striped spines

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I’m trying to hunt down a series of nonfiction young reader picture books from the 80s. My family had 12-15 of them when I was growing up, and I recall them all having the same pattern on their spines – muted stripes of yellow, green, red, and blue. I’m under the impression that each book in the series had a different author/illustrator. Unfortunately I can’t remember any specific names or titles, but there are certain books from the series that I’ve tried to pinpoint:

Book 1: An instructional book on how to make costumes for various magical creatures and characters. There are instructions on how to make fairy and pirate costumes, among others I can’t recall. Vignette illustrations of fairy cakes and mushrooms are placed throughout. In the last spread, all of the magical characters have a feast.

Book 2: Title something along the lines of “On the Go” or “On the Move”? A more cartoonishly illustrated book on the progression of vehicle technology. Double page spread of horses and wagons mired in mud, illustrating life before the invention of roads. Some very 80s illustrations of sports cars. An image of a very nervous man in a tiny sedan being sandwiched between two Mac trucks.

Book 3: An instructional book on caring for pets, including detailed illustrations on how to build aquaria for turtles.

That’s pretty much it! I hope something rings a bell for someone. Good luck, everyone!

274A: Female character called “Thingy” (Solved)

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This is a fantasy book from the mid-1980s to the early 1990s.  The story centers around a young girl who is raised as a servant by a witch.  The setting is the swampy area near a river.  Because the witch has told the girl she is ugly, when the girl comes in contact with other people (which is rarely), the girl wears a mask to hide her ugly face.  The witch calls the girl “Thingy.” In the story, the girl accompanies a stranger in a boat on the river.  She is escaping (?) the witch or acting as a guide(?) for the man.  During the journey, the girl learns her true identity and the truth about her appearance.