Looking for a book by a first time author, Harvard grad. Outstanding effort. I believe it was a political or medical thriller. A car (limo or cab) explodes in an assassination attempt but there’s no debris, just vapor or dust. That’s one scene, not sure it’s the actual plot. Late 1990s.
This was a picture book from my childhood (so, early 90s). The kingdom wants to rid itself of some kind of insect (I think), so they spread pesticide or dust which I believe was purple all around. I think everything up the food chain starts getting purple spots, until the princess ends up with a purple spot on her nose and they realize the error of their ways.
I have been looking for this young adult’s book for some time without success. I can’t remember any words of the title, it was aimed at 10-12 year olds. I read it in around 1990-1995, but it may have been published in the 1970s or 1980s. I’m pretty sure it was a British author, but it may have been American/Canadian. It was a slim paperback and I seem to remember that it came in a boxed set with a 3 or four other books, not necessarily by the same writer, but similar fantasy/magic genre. The story followed a young boy or girl who was staying with a relative somewhere, perhaps on holiday, who one day crawled under a hedge in the neighbourhood and into the garden/grounds of a wealthy and mysterious family, who turn out to be magical (possibly wizards). S/he meets and befriends the young girl who lives there who shows her various magical things but they keep their friendship secret as the other wizards/magical relatives would be angry if they found out she had come in to the garden. The family lives in a large and beautiful house and there is a magical lake in the garden which the two children sail across to an island in the center. They are later placed in danger when someone finds out the child is in the magic garden. I remember this being a wonderful story and would so love to find it! It is not Tom’s Midnight Garden or Timothy and the Witch.
This was a YA or middle-grade novel that I read in the late ’90s. It was a very loose Greek myth retelling that mashed together many familiar mythological elements into an original plot. Possible characters: Perseus, Medusa, Pan, Echo, Iphigenia. Some or all of it took place on an island which had a network of caves. One of the characters–maybe a plucky young girl–was stranded(?) on the island and encountered someone who became a friend/ally while exploring these caves. I also remember music magically wafting through the caves. Maybe that’s where Pan comes in?
The copy I had was paperback with some blue and purple on the cover. The physical book and style of writing didn’t strike me as “old-fashioned,” so I’m guessing it had been published in the ’80’s or ’90s…but I could be wrong about that.
I’m fairly certain the author was a woman.
Thanks so much for helping me solve this mystery! I remember absolutely loving this book.
I was born in 1985 so I must have had the book in the late 80’s early 90s, My mother purchased it from ToysRUs and it was a hardcover book with what I believe was a blue and white dust jacket. It is not the blue book of fairytales or the Richard Scarry book. It included Henny Penny, The Princess and the Pea, I believe also Anasi the spider and a story about a jackal or fox. There were about twenty stories in it. Please help! Thanks!
The book (or possibly book series) I am looking for (to the best of my memory) is a children’s collection of short stories involving myths or legends or fairy tales. I had the book in the early 90s and it may have been an older book. I believe some (or all) of the stories may have been foreign tales. I remember a story with a chimera. I also remember a story about a village and a small dragon/lizard type creature. I think he hid in wicker baskets along the streets possibly visiting a particular two story house. These two stories fascinated me as a child because the creatures were scary. I believe the other stories in the book may not have had monsters like this. I seem to also remember a story about a tree. possibly the moral of this story was one bad apple spoiling the bunch, or an apple not falling far from the tree. I seem to remember that most of these stories had a moral theme like this. I feel like the book had an older vibe like the Brothers Grimm or Hans Christian Anderson. There may have been pictures but the book was mostly words. Please let me know if i can provide any further detail. I don’t remember the name of the book but i seem to think it may have had the word MYTH in the title. I really hope you can help!!
I’m looking for children’s picture book from the 90’s about a child’s visit to the beach for the day and going back home at the end of the day. It explored the sights with realistic pictures and a simple narrative.
My mom bought me a hardback collection of fairy tale stories in December of 1996, 1997, or 1998. She remembers purchasing it from Barnes and Noble, and recall it was a special holiday edition. I do not know the title, though I think I vaguely remember the worlds “Once Upon a Time” on the cover. I remember that the cover was a royal blue, and I think there was a picture of a castle/kingdom centered on the front. I think the book was almost square in shape. The pages were gold, that was one of my favorite things. I remember a couple stories from it, the Princess and the Pea I remember distinctively, and I know there was one about a man stealing herbs from a witch’s garden because they would heal his wife’s illness, but they made a deal to give the witch their first born child, so maybe this is a Brother’s Grimm book? I know there are a lot of stories I think may be in there, but those are the two I remember very well, so I don’t want to accidentally give a story that is not there.
It was such a beautiful book, and all I want is to find it and have it for my children to enjoy as well.
I’m hoping you’ll be able to help me find a picture book from my childhood that I have been searching for for years. My mum borrowed it from our local library (in Victoria, Australia) sometime in the 90s, perhaps any time from 1997 onwards. It was a dark (both in theme and illustration style) picture book with detailed illustrations similar to those of Gary Crew’s The Watertower. I think it was designed for older readers (8-12 years). I used to think the title was Is Any Body There?, but I’ve searched so many libraries, bookstores and databases for it that I must have got the title wrong.
In the book, the protagonist is walking through different landscapes that have recently been destroyed by something or someone. The protagonist walks into the woods and says “Is any body there?” (or something along those lines). The wood’s inhabitants reply something like “Yes, somebody was here”, and the trees say something like “It took our branches”. I think other animals in the woodland also said that they had parts stolen from them, but I can only remember the trees.
The protagonist continues journeying and reaches a lake, where they also say, “Is any body there?”. The inhabitants of the lake also respond “Yes, somebody was here”, and say that something stole their body parts too. I can only remember the fish saying “It stole our eyes”. The illustrations very vividly depicted the fish under the water, with empty eye sockets.
The protagonist follows the trail of destruction through several other landscapes (sorry, I can’t remember them) and arrives at a house in a forest (I think). The protagonist makes their way to the basement, where they say for the final time, “Is any body there?”. A response comes from the darkness: “Yes, some body is here”. On the final page, there is a detailed illustration of a monster that is clearly constructed from all of the parts stolen from the animals, trees and environments.
The illustrations were in dark, earthy shades and I think it’s possible that the narration was either first- or second-person to heighten the immersion, but I can’t remember much more about the book than that. I’ve spoken to several librarians (including one who worked at the library we borrowed the book from originally) and booksellers, and no one knows of this book. Only my sister remembers it, otherwise I would have thought I’d fabricated it entirely.
Any help in solving this would be very, very much appreciated – this mystery has been annoying me for too long!
Many thanks,
I’m looking for a book that I would have read no later than 1992. It was almost certainly published in the mid/late 80s or very early 90’s. A light, funny YA (possibly upper-middle grade or tween) book in the vein of Ellen Conford or Paula Danziger, although I don’t believe it was actually by either of them. The version I read was a hardcover, with an illustrated cover that was more cartoonish than realistic. I believe the cover features a girl in a dumpster or garbage can, although it’s possible that was just an episode in the book that I’m conflating with the cover in my memory.
It’s about a girl who wants to be an investigative reporter. She’s working for the school newspaper and begins to uncover some kind of light mystery. (Not a murder or anything like that.) The most specific thing that sticks out in my mind is that the girl and her friend use a lot of lingo and abbreviations in casual conversation, including the shorthand “L.L.A.” to mean “lifelong ambition.”
I believe the title has the girl’s name in it. I feel like the title might have a similar construction to Otherwise Known As Sheila the Great, although it’s obviously not that book. The book is also not Buffalo Brenda by Jill Pinkwater. Anyway, it’s driving me crazy. (I still think about my L.L.A.’s all the time.) Please help me put this to rest!