Looking for a children’s book. It’s a goodnight book, what they’ve done during the day, including “grapes that go pop” when you eat them. I read it to my son in 1992-3, so it’s earlier than that. Included a picnic and possibly grocery shopping.
I came across a website called “what to do when you can’t remember the title of a long lost children’s book” and I used their guide to scrape the inside of my skull for details to give your group-mind.
Now, I’m only assuming the title of the book is “Dragon of the Mountain,” but I could be mistaken. That’s just… what the book was about, and since nothing comes up on Google or Amazon, I’m probably mistaken. Maybe it was Tears of the Dragon, or who knows, uh, Dragon Mountain and How the River Came To Be or…. take a guess and yours is as good as mine, honestly. So, here are my scrapings:
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STORY–Write down what you do know about the story.
It’s about an Asian (Chinese? Japanese? I don’t know where, just somewhere in Asia…) folk tale of a village that lives in fear of the Dragon of the Mountain, except for one little boy who goes up to visit the dragon, because he thinks the dragon must be very lonely, and then the dragon starts to weep with joy, and floods the land, and the boy is going to drown, but the dragon takes him on his back and they float down the river of tears together, and the dragon turns into a boat, and sacrifices himself to save the boy.
Do you remember character names or where the story took place?
The title character is the dragon, and it takes place somewhere in pre-industrial Asia. Can’t be more specific than that.
Were there anthropomorphized animals in the story?
Only the dragon, insomuch as he was able to speak and reason. He was still fully a dragon, of course.
Do you think the person reading the story to you may have “improvised” a bit?
No one read the story to me, but given that it is a folk-tale, I would assume the author probably did.
ILLUSTRATIONS–What do you remember about the illustrations?
Were they colorful or monotone?
Very colorful illustrations!
Very detailed or line drawings?
I have the impression in my mind that they were watercolors, but that might just be because of the subject matter, with all the tears and the flooding and the boat and it being an Asian story.
Did they fill the page or just accompany the text?
Just like a Dr. Seuss book.
Do they remind you of any specific illustrator or artist’s style?
Uh, watercolors. They were beautiful watercolors, at least in my mind’s eye they are.
BOOK FEATURES–Physical features are important, too: was the book you read hardback or paperback?
It was hardback.
Was it a picture book or chapter book?
It was a picture book.
What color were the covers?
My memory is extremely vague on this, but I remember a predominantly maroon-ish feeling. I honestly never paid much attention to the cover, I was interested in the inside, not the outside.
Was there a dust jacket?
I don’t remember one, but I don’t have dust jackets from any of my books from back then.
How big was the book?
Similar to a standard Little Golden Book or Dr. Seuss Book.
Were the pages glossy or matte?
I believe they were glossy.
MEMORIES–Personal information is also helpful. How old were you when you remember reading the book and what year was it?
I’m pretty sure I had it at least by the age of eight, which would be 1979.
Were you able to read it yourself or did you need someone to read it to you?
I read it entirely on my own.
Do you think it was a book bought for you at the time or was it a hand-me-down from an older sibling or a parent?
I believe it was bought for me, though I could be mistaken.
Was it borrowed from a public library for you to read?
No, I owned it.
Did you read it in school or at home?
It was my own book, I read it at home.
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I just would love, as all your customers would, to be reunited with my old friend.
I’m looking for a book I read in the seventies (or maybe 1980), it was a children’s book about kids that lived in a high rise and never went on the streets because of too much pollution/a ruined world. They may have gone outdoors only once a year. They may have worn gas masks or breathing masks. I remember dark illustrations and it being a cautionary tale. I believe that all the remaining world’s population lived in one high rise building. I think there may have been one remaining plant or flower and that going to look at it was extraordinary/special. Definitely a picture book.
In the 1960’s, my mom used to read the book about Ricky the Rooster who was very proud of his brightly colored feathers and pushed the other animals out of the way to eat their food. He grew so fat that all his beautiful plumage fell out and he was disgraced. He learned to let the other animals eat first before he did. His tail feathers grew back without the extra colorful splendor.
My mom is 91 and remembers the story well. She is about to get her first great grandchild and would like to find a copy of the book. I haven’t found one but any leads would be great.
The kid in the book receives a desk from his grandpa (uncle?) and a note stating there is a clue hidden in the desk. The note also imposes a time limit that the kid has to meet in order to get the treasure. The kid finds a secret compartment that contains a key and that key takes him to a bus/train station where he uses the key to unlock a locker. There is a duffel bag in the locker that is full of chopsticks. I believe the chopsticks lead the kid to a Chinese restaurant. I can’t remember specifically where it goes from there but I think it ends up leading him back to the desk and the treasure is hidden inside.
Other details:
Trying to help out someone I know. They remember a children’s book
that was available in libraries in the US in the early 2000s (pre 2006
for sure), unclear when exactly it was published but didn’t seem like
a new book at the time it was first checked out and read.
Seems like it was a pretty thin book / short story, completely
fiction, talked about a woman that owned an old oven (or otherwise
damaged it during the baking process), that entered a competition to
win a brand new oven. (Or it was money that she used anyway to buy a
new oven. Like 300$ or 500$ or 1000$) Could have been a picture book,
they don’t remember. But most likely just normal book dimensions, not a
super wide one with big illustrations.
The competition was most likely a cake baking one? But there’s a
chance it could have been pies or food possibly. (unlikely)
There was an Amelia Badelia book they found with a cake baking contest
for money, but it didn’t match the old oven being damaged and getting
swapped out for a brand new oven by the end of the story part.
I’m trying to find a children’s book my mother read me over 50 years ago.
I remember vividly.
The mouse tells all the animals at the waterhole:
There’s a creature in my house yelling and screaming and throwing the furniture out of the windows.
He says this to lions, tigers, giraffes. In the end, it turns out the creature is an owl that the jungle animals trumpet and roar at, and it flies out of the mouse’s house in the tree.
Then, the lions realize they are hungry, and the giraffes and zebras etc. run away before the lions and tigers can get them. The mouse returns to his house in the tree.
Looking for a children’s book from late 60’s? About a girl with a big ball of string that helps find a boy lost in the woods. I thought it was entitled Maryellen and the Big Ball of String but can’t find a trace of it so I could be mistaken.
Can you please help me find a book I read at primary school??
I read it in 1985 or 86 (87 at the very latest) when I was in primary school in the UK.
I would have been 7 or 8 years old.
Book title: Possibly ‘Inventions for Children’ / ‘Top Secret Inventions for Children’ (but that’s just a guess, as I really don’t remember!)
Book description: It was a hardback picture book. Each page, which were mostly double page spreads I think, had roughly 2 to 3 fictional inventions on (all aimed at children).
Some of the inventions I can remember: an armoured vehicle for a child, driving down a street (narrowly missing a cat and a lamp post I think??). Some kind of periscope / binoculars that let you hide behind your desk in school without the teacher noticing (possibly in the shape of a boy sitting upright??). Some little booster rockets (disguised as decorative circular medals?) that went on your swimming trunks to make you swim faster.
I remember all / nearly all of the inventions having a cross-section / cutaway section to them, so you could see the internal mechanics.
That’s about all I can remember, it’s been driving me slightly crazy for years (having tracked down nearly all the other books I loved as a child already).
I will give you any more information if I can, just let me know!
As a small child in the early 2000s I compulsively read a picture book in the school library but for years have been unable to track it down.
It followed the history of a single hilltop in I believe England. Every page would open to a new period of history with a new drawing, as new groups of people would use the hilltop for its advantageous position.
The first were Celts, who built a stockade around the hill along with dirt walls.
Then a Roman fort with intricate buildings and brickwork.
Eventually there was a Manor House with a rudimentary wall.
And finally a huge castle with lots of towers and a moat.
There were other examples I don’t remember but these are what have stuck with me. Each page includes people in the various forts living, working, and doing activities. Parts of roofs and walls were cut out in the drawing so you could see inside.
And there was even a “Where’s Waldo” type game. In each variation of the hill were a pair of “lovers” (for lack of a better word) who were hidden among the people and activities and you had to seek them out.
Around the drawing was information about the time period, the purpose of why they built something (e.g. a drawbridge), and interesting facts like stuff about defending a medieval castle from attack.
I know this sounds like a lot of depth, but I promise this was a children’s picture book. Somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10 I was obsessed with it. Please help!