Teen romance set in an old mill converted into offices. Girl has after-school job as evening receptionist/secretary. Meets boy she thinks works there but turns out he is a ghost. Set in Autumn/Winter in eastern US (PA? New England?) small town.
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 am looking for a book, it may have been in a compilation book, called Soap Soap Soap, Don’t Forget the Soap. My boyfriend read it as a child in the 1970s. There is a book with the same title that was published in 2003. It is not the same book, but it sounds like the same story. A young boys mother sends him to the store to get soap, and as he tries not to forget the soap, a bunch of things happen to him. The 2003 version says it is an Appalachian Folktale.
Forgotten author name, likely American or British – collection of short stories with sci-fi/horror-type themes. I read the book `eons ago’ – so probably 60s or 70s.
The story of interest describes where 3 characters wind up inside a room where there is “no time, only duration,” so they’ll supposedly live forever if they never leave the room. An epilogue then tells us “a building was torn down and 3 skeletons were found in it…..”
The cover had some odd-looking creature on it, reminiscent of the YELLOW SUBMARINE animation style.
Hi – I’m trying to find a book I loved as a child (UK, 1970s). I believe it was by Enid Blyton – so obviously written before then – but I can’t identify it from a list of her works. It was about a birthday party, where every child guest has their own story in a chapter. There were also great descriptions of the party food. The final chapter was a story for the reader, because you were also invited to the party. Does anyone recognise the book from this description?
I was born 1968. Sometime around 1978 I read a story about some kids who set out on adventures on their “ponies” and they would stop and camp in the woods and eat “tinned“ food. I believe it had a very UK British feel. They would talk about riding on the “moors” and through forests.
It is possible they were trying to solve a mystery, or just narrating their experiences along the way as they traveled to an ultimate destination- like maybe a beach or shore as on a summer adventure.
I will stop here because I do not want to confuse this with another story in my head.
I think this book might have been a hard cover, about an inch thick, with black paper on the cover inside the dust jacket, and MIGHT have had gold lettering embossed “ONYX” on the cover. MIGHT CONTAIN “nebula” That description might also pertain to a different book but, that is why I am here. They seemed to make a big deal about calling the horses ponies and they all seemed very independent to be traveling without adults. Approx character age 10-15?
I read the story when I was about 10 years old, around 1978, so there’s no telling how much older the story actually is?
I’d really like to get another copy of the story of those children traveling with and riding their ponies, camping or resting while eating food from tins and parcels, and traveling across the moors and forests to get to…?
Book was available for sale between at least 2000-2005- Most likely originally purchased it from the Scholastic Book Fair- Most likely (YA?) fiction- Front cover art either had a desktop computer in it or was technologically related- Protagonist was a male (high school?) student- Protagonist limited his number of possessions to 100 things or so- Some pages broke up the text with a picture of one of his possessions captioned with its number and description- I think one of them was a Buddha statue- He was most likely living with one parent, the other was deceased or unavailable- He was pursuing a woman (named Beth?)- I think he went with her to an outdoor music festival- Their relationship most likely ended poorly.
This is a book I read in the 70s or maybe early 80s. I believe it was set in England or somewhere not in the US. It was about a young girl who had been diagnosed with diabetes. Her parents bought her a horse. She has a mean sister and I remember at Easter she got all this sugar free stuff and her sister got a big chocolate egg and she lunged for it and her sister ended up busting her head open. That’s all I remember. I hope you can help!
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.
I am trying to find a story from 45 to 50 years ago. My mother was an English teacher and had a stash of older literature including a story that follows this story line. I believe it was English literature.
A man returns to the train station nearest his home after a long trip. His footman picks him up in a buggy and during the trip home they talk.
So Jeaves, how are things at home? Well sir, I hate to tell you but your fathers dog died. What? He wasn’t an old dog. Pray tell how did he die? Well sir, he overate himself to death. How could that be. What did he get a hold of that he was able to overeat? Well sir, he overate horse meat. And where would he get so much so much horse meat. All of your fathers horses died. Oh my, what killed my father’s horses? They died carrying water to put out the fire.
And on and on it goes. The house burned down from all the candles that were lit for the funeral of his mother.
I want to say the title is How To Tell Bad News.
I really appreciate your help on this.