Category Archives: 1990s-

362D: Appalachian Storm (Solved!)

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I’m looking for a beautifully illustrated children’s book, I *think* was called ‘Come a Flood’. It was set in I believe, the Appalachian mountains, and was written in that vernacular, about a coming rainstorm, that the grandma was forecasting, from the perspective of the damage it would cause to their farm, and the “holler”. Oddly, it was funny, and very cute, and neither of those qualities would come through, minus the illustrations. I came across the book in the early 2000’s, and feel in love, but couldn’t buy it, then – and haven’t seen it, since. I don’t know if it was a first edition, or a reprint.

I sincerely hope you can help me find it, so I’ll be able to read it to my grandchildren, someday…
Thank you!

361Y: Emily’s Animals Join the Family

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Children’s picture book (title unknown) involving a blonde girl who brings home a menagerie of animals to live with her and her family. The animals were the basic variety e.g. dog, cat, bird, horse, etc. . . The illustrations I would describe as whimsical. The little girl’s name might have been Emily (asked a family member what they remembered, and they thought this but obviously could be wrong). The book was read between 2003-2007, it could have been published around or before this time. I’m located in Edmonton, Alberta so the book was at least likely published in North America. So far books that I can confirm aren’t it: Emily’s house, Tierparadies Emily & Co, Thanks for telling me, Emily

 

361Q: Pig Not as Knowledgeable About Human Objects as He Appears (Solved!)

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I’m looking for a book that I can’t remember the title, author, or illustrator of. I believe it was a collection of children’s stories with different contributors. I know for sure that one of the stories involved a group of animals finding a pencil. They’re all very confused by the pencil, so they take it to their friend the pig, who they believe is very knowledgeable about human matters because he wears a suit jacket and maybe a hat. But he puts the pencil on his snout, and is eventually corrected about the true use of the pencil by another animal who writes with it instead.
This collection or another in the series may have also involved two animal friends meeting for lunch, and one of the animals having a robot that serves them lunch. The robot malfunctions and keeps saying “More lunch!” and serving food that they can’t eat.
If I had to guess, I’d say it was published probably somewhere between 1980-2000.

361O: Underwater explorers meet advanced dolphin society (Solved!)

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This was a children’s fantasy book from the 1990s for older children about a group of human explorers on a submarine or other exploring vehicle who become wrecked in underwater caverns with lush vegetation and waterfalls which are inhabited by an advanced society of intelligent dolphin people with three fingered hands instead of flippers. In one memorable scene, a dolphin doctor works with octopi on his hands to perform a delicate medical procedure. It had a bit of a “Journey to the Center of the Earth” vibe and plotline. The cover of the book had an image of people and dolphins against a lush jungle and water backdrop, maybe with a submarine on it too.

This was a wide format, 30-50 page hardcover children’s fantasy book illustrated with full-page and full-color realistic style acrylic or oil paintings. The book was in the exact same dimensions, thickness, and rectangular format as the original hardcover Dinotopia books, and purchased around the same time in the 1990s. However, it does not appear to be by Dinotopia author James Gurney – instead someone else creating a book in the same style and perhaps for the original publisher, Turner Publishing?

Edit: Oh gosh, with a bit more sleuthing I actually solved this one myself! In case anyone else ever asks, the solution was The Secret Oceans by Betty Ballantine, as noted in the description “in the tradition of Dinotopia”

361K: Four Girls at the Beach

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Looking for a book about 4 girls spending summer at beach, they each have different color tote bags, one swims in the sound and I think almost drowns, one bakes muffins with granulated sugar on top. I think it was published between 2000-2010, it’s a middle school/YA book with chapters.
 
I have tried to find it everywhere. It’s not a Sarah Dessen novel, but I’m pretty sure the author is a woman. I want to say it’s between 150-200 pages, but I could be off. It’s been a while since I read it. I really appreciate your all’s help!

361I: Colorful Girl Spooks Monsters in Haunted House

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I wonder if you can help me find a book!

Here’s what I can recall:
– A children’s book with a cover that, I believe, featured a pretty girl in a bright pink dress, cool 60’s cat-eye sunglasses, and perhaps a head scarf to cover her blond hair, driving a convertible into what looks like a dark tunnel in a mountain.
– I want to say the main character’s name is Lydia but I’m not certain
– She ends up in a dark, spooky house and freaks out the people? monsters? living there because of all of her bright colors
– She doesn’t seem scared of any of the spooky details, and she tries to turn their house into a nicer place with bright colors
– It’s not a spooky book, it’s silly and light, probably designed for readers in the 6-10 years age range?
– Based on the way she was dressed I’d say it was set in the late-60s but can’t be sure that that’s when it was written. The colors felt more 80s or 90s to me (lots of hot pinks and neon greens).

361E: Boy lives in lighthouse, has AI companion, fights elemental monsters (Solved!)

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This is a children’s series
Boy lives in lighthouse with an AI companion who designs all-terrain ships/vehicles. Boy uses advanced technology mods to fight elemental monsters. There was a secret base underneath, and the main character fights elemental monsters that occur beyond the borders of human habitation. the areas are separated into the prime elements such as water, earth, air and fire along with mixed elements such as mud and lava.
My son was reading this at school in 2010/2011 and waiting for new publications at this time. He has confirmed that it is not ’The Edge’ series or ‘Monsters of the Earth’.

361C: African folktales children’s book

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I am looking for a book from my childhood and I’m hoping you can help me. It is a children’s book of short stories/folktales/fables, all of which were set in Africa. Each story was different and had different characters. It was written in English, but all of the characters had African names. I think there were around 20 different stories.

It was a large, hardcover book, maybe 15-18 inches tall by 8-10 inches wide. The cover definitely had orange on it. I think it also had brown and dark green. I also am pretty sure that there were vertical stripes on the cover. I think the book had around 80-100 pages, but that number could be way off.

My mom read it to me in the mid to late 1990s, and it was probably purchased from a Scholastic book fair, Barnes and Noble, or Borders.

361B: Trilogy With People That Absorb Magic Power (Solved!)

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This is a high fantasy trilogy that I read in the early 90’s where the magic system had a very unique requirement that required a person that was sensitive to magic power, who would dedicate his life not to casting/making magic but only with the ability to absorb the magic power around him like a battery and then was able to give that power to an actual mage that could then use it to make magic.  The mage would be useless without having access to this other person who would feed them magic power.

Also by the third book the magical world gets invaded by a world/reality that has modern technology like tanks and guns.

360Y: “Lead us to you Sarah!” or “Keep knocking Sarah!”

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I read the book in the late ’90s? I had to have been in the 5th grade. I read a lot of paranormal books around that time! The book itself might have been a collection of ghost stories.  I don’t think it was “Stories to Tell in the Dark,” but I could be wrong.  All I know is that this particular story stuck with me for over twenty-five years.

A family moves into a house with their daughter. Could be just a single mom. The house was purchased after the woman who lived in it before passed. Soon after they move in the daughter starts having nightmares or is getting sick. She starts to talk about the ghost of a girl.

A medium is eventually called in and he holds a seance. The ghost’s name is Sarah (or Sara) and he asks that she knock to answer questions. Eventually, it is discovered that she is in on the property. With the knocks, she leads them to her resting place. “Keep Knocking Sarah!” or “Lead us to you Sarah!” is shouted by the medium. Her coffin is found behind the wall of the closet or the wall of the girl’s bedroom. Sarah is moved and buried next to her mother.