Category Archives: Unsolved

371Y: The colorful mud people, and metallic foil birds

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I’m looking for two books for my sister for Christmas. She was born in the mid 70s and they were books that she loved as a child but she doesn’t remember much about either.

1) mud golems or mud people who may be feel drab, and then find paint or color puddles and absorb the colors and become colorful? I’m so sorry I don’t have title or author, and it sounds vague.

2) the second one was a black glossy book for children about starlings? The unique thing about this particular book is it had metallic foil illustrations. She absolutely loved it. If she sends any more details about either book, I’ll pass them along but thank you for such a cool and quirky service.

371X: If I had a pony

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I’m hoping you can help me find a book my grandmother used to read me. I believe it was called ‘If I Had A Pony’ it was a long thin rhyming book. A line from the book was, If I Had a Pony I’d name him baloney…but we do have a turtle and his name is Fred. I know that’s not a lot to go on. Thank you for your help. Have a wonderful day, 

371W: Doily cut out Valentine’s Day book

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I don’t remember it being explicitly about Valentine’s Day, but it was always put out with the children’s books around Valentine’s Day. The art style was very distinct and was doily/paper cut outs. What I remember about the story is that it was about a set of sisters who were princesses. There may have been 12 sisters. I encountered it in the 1980’s in rural Ohio.esssister

371V: Dark illustrated ghost book

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I remember this illustrated book from when I was a kid. It had dark drawings somewhat similar to Scary Stories to Tell in the Dark but not quite. Some of the elements I remember are that there’s a ship or boat?
There’s at least two men. One man is possibly stabbed. I remember a ghost maybe. Blood as well.The men’s bodies are shown from various strange perspectives to look stretched out and ghostly or long.

Fiction.

Plot: Not sure.

I read this between 1997-2005 roughly.

Book’s intended audience: Seems too scary to be a kids book but there wasn’t much text. It was definitely heavily based in illustration. 

I read it in Ohio, USA.

That’s about it !

I know it exists.
Thanks for your time.

371T: Power Armor Fantasy

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Hello! For the past few years I have been looking for a novella whose title and author has escaped my mind. In the spring of 2017 I was perusing Old Firehouse Books in Fort Collins, Colorado. They had a display of new novellas available. Among the display were books like Neon Yang’s “The Black Tides of Heaven” and others. One of the paperbacks present described a “power armor fantasy” by one or more of the marketing blurbs on the back. The summary talked about a female warrior who was concerned with ensuring her sons were able to become men and warriors themselves. The cover art included a head-and-neck portrait of this mother character wearing the power armor. This was centered above some kind of landscape or battle scene. The whole thing had a Warhammer 40 vibe to it. I have scrolled through the available books offered at this bookstore, searched the archived articles and posts, and even called the store outright to no avail. If you have any luck finding this book, you would put this nagging thought of min.

371R: Pedestals

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I am trying to remember a book from the 70s or 80s (or before) that was stories based on artwork. Probably science fiction. One of the stories was about a planet? Galaxy? With pedestals. And a whole city would lower down onto the pedestal and then at some point lift off and move to a different pedestal.

371O: Children’s book about boy who writes poems outside on a typewriter

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Looking for a children’s picture book we read at our local library about 2-3 years ago about boy (maybe called max) who sells/gives poems out on the sidewalk (maybe at a stand?). Kids pass him on the street and ask for poems. One is about buttons and repeats the word multiple times, like, buttons on your buttons buttons, one is about seashells after a friend is headed to the beach, one is about kittens because someone is giving them away and the last one is a gift for his sister whose birthday it is the next day.

371M: Stubborn Muslim nobleman leads to death

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I am trying to recall the name and author of a work of historical fiction.  It is set on an island kingdom in the Mediterranean.  A Muslim nobleman ends up on the island and is taken prisoner as an “infidel.” He refuses to convert to Christianity despite the threat of execution by an Inquisitor.  He warns his captors that his nation will send a fleet to rescue him and destroy them if he is harmed or killed. Ultimately he is put to death.  At the end of the book a fleet is on the horizon in search of the now dead leader.  Destruction of the island kingdom is assured.  Can someone help me call the title and author of this wonderful and thought provoking tale?  Thanks.