Category Archives: 1990s-

321A: Halloween Tales For Kids

I had this book when I was a kid, so around 15 years ago, and it might have been a few years old by then. I can’t remember the title, but here’s what I do remember. It was large. Not just thick, but tall and wide. (I was a kid though, so it might be smaller than I’m remembering.) The one I had was hardcover. The cover might have been dark blue/purple/green, but I don’t remember what was actually on it. It had full-page illustrations, I think through most or all of the book. It had several stories about Halloween characters for kids: – King Neptune was lonely, so he became friends with the ghost of a whale or dolphin. – The ghost of a castle was rambunctious and scared people off from his treasure. – Two witches lived near each other and didn’t get along. – A vampire wanted to act in his school play, and his vampire parents attended in the end. Please help! I love this book, and I would really like to have it for my kids someday! Thank you!

320V: Snail says slug needs to get a house

Dear Stump-Solvers, I'd love to find a children's book I read to my kids in the late 80s-early 90s. Here's what I remember: A slug is moving along and ridiculed by a snail, because the slug doesn't have a shell. The slug suffers a loss of confidence and sadly slimes along. I remember the slime to cross hot pavement. SPOILER: Eventually the slug meets another slug and is happy. Thank you!

320R: Four strangers find faith in tornado

Christian novel published no later than the early 2000s, possibly earlier. Paperback cover was dark blue or black with a horizontal photo of four tornadoes closing in on a church tower. The premise centers around four strangers (two men and two women) who are mysteriously summoned to a small town called Haven. One of the strangers is a man named Gabe who has some attitude/anger/commitment issues, and another is a housewife who feels stuck in her life. When they arrive in Haven, they are all shown to hotel rooms that mysteriously match their personalities; for example, one woman finds CDs to her favorite Broadway musicals, including Cats. During their stay, they all undergo various tests of faith which culminates in a church tower being surrounded by four tornadoes -- only those with faith in God escape with their lives as they all confront the issues that have been holding them back. Scattered details I remember: - One of the four strangers meets a young man named Art (it's possible that Art tries to rob a gas station in Haven, then finds himself unable to leave town?), and together they break into the local school. Art sees a sign light up that spells "A-R-T" and thinks God is trying to tell him something. - Toward the end of their stay in Haven, they're invited to a banquet with all of their favorite meals. Gabe's favorite foods are all described as "starch city." (The things that stick with you. . . ) - At the end of the book, everyone returns to their homes, only to discover that the town called Haven never existed on any map/in any history book. It's heavily implied, if not outright stated, that their guide(s) in Haven was an angel. Any help would be greatly appreciated, as I've been searching for this book for years to no avail!

320K: Medieval Girl Returns To Family, Wants To Belong

I’m searching for a book that I read in the summer of 1993 or 1994.  I believe it was set in medieval times (the family lives in a castle).  The book was very new at the time—I think I was the first to check it out (I miss stamping due dates)!

It begins with a fair haired and fair skinned girl returning to her biological family (refined family with fair hair) after returning from being raised by a rival family (a rougher family with dark hair).  She had been traded and her family had raised their son, who had died.  So, she was returned.

She’s spent her life feeling like she doesn’t belong and is now finding her place and adjusting to life back with her family.  She still feels like she doesn’t belong.

She has siblings—a beautiful sister & brother who are fraternal twins—and 1-2 more children.  There is a smallpox outbreak and her sister’s face is scarred.  

319Y: Elephant Behaves Badly, Suffers Consequences

My daughter checked the book out of her school library in first grade, the year being 2001.

The book is about an elephant who exhibits bad behavior and suffers the consequences. She gets angry and therefore stomps in the water due to her anger. Because of that, the water becomes muddy and she has no clean water to drink. She also gets angry and therefore knocks her tree over and therefore has no place to take shelter from the sun.

My daughter pronounced the elephants name as “Moolaui”  or “Moo lau ee”. I really hope you can assist in finding this book as we shared many laughs as she read it to me.

Thank you so much.

319U: Pike Threatens Duck Family

Hello! I am looking for a book that my father used to read to me when I was a kid (late 90s). As far as I can remember it was about a family of ducks(?) who were often threatened by a scary pike in the area. I remember it had pictures, and I could have sworn it was called ‘all through the night’ but haven’t been able to find that title. I’ve been searching for years without any success! 

319Q: The Inept Wizard

Seeking a fantasy series from the 80s/90s. In the series was an inept wizard who carried a satchel full of rune sticks leftover by a long lost race called the Rebus/Rhebus/Rhybus (I'm not 100% sure of the spelling). The wizard often failed because he had trouble decoding the rune sticks. Eventually his satchel caught fire and he lost them all. The enemies in the books were somehow made of ice and wary of sunlight - I think they were dark elves. When killed, they would degrade into a puddle of dirty water. In one of the books was a character who flew around inside a cavern while wearing an old-fashioned helmet with a hinged visor. He could blast fire from his eyes and regularly chuckled while firing at the trolls below. Any help finding this series would be much appreciated.

319P: Terrifying Baby Thief

I got a book from a scholastic book fair back in the 1990s. It was about a girl who lived in a house with her baby brother (maybe sister). There was a creature in the woods who stole the baby and she had to rescue him/her. The cover was terrifying (at least to 11 year old me) and I even bought it twice because the cover came off of one.

This creature was maybe a witch or something that needed the youth of the baby to survive – it fed off of the baby or something like that. The book would probably have been written between 1985 and 1995, young adult thriller/horror/fantasy.

Any help is appreciated!!!

319N: Stories Where Teenagers Reflect on Becoming Adults

I read a collection of short stories in the late 80’s (maybe very early 90’s.)  The stories from the collection that impacted me involved teenage girls coming of age.  One story involved two teenage girls shoplifting at a Woolworth’s (this helps date the collection maybe.)  There was a story of a teenager babysitting some little girls whose mother was in the hospital after a terrible car accident.  The mother passes away during the time the young woman was babysitting.  She must act as an adult to break the news (or not) to the girls.  This story had mermaids within the title.  Another story involved a young woman at a wedding in a faux chalet-like event space.  She goes off by herself (in a bridesmaid dress?) to have a moment alone reflecting on her new near-adulthood when some creep exposes himself to her.  I’m unsure if the collection was classified as YA, but the stories definitely resonated with me as teenager at the time.