Category: Name That Book Request

Ok, I think the title was maybe about sixth or seventh grade, or possibly hairspray. Protag befriends an artsy loner weirdo who introduces her to the concept of third eyes and gets bullied by Xan (maybe Zan) the popular girl. At some point they have to paint sets, and Xan gets paint all over herself, either by accident or on purpose? Can’t quite remember.

Our teacher read us this book in 7th grade (so 1985). A boy wants to ride the family’s riding lawnmower, and dad says no. For some reason, the boy is home alone (the family is away for the day). The boy gets on the lawnmower, falls off, and dies when the mower goes over him. There is a younger brother in the story also. Can’t remember the author or the title. Suggestion: Nobody’s Fault? by Patricia Hermes

The book that I have been unsuccessfully searching for is a book of short stories for girls that was published in the mid 1960’s. I recall purchasing it at a school book fair, most likely in junior high. The stories were mostly coming of age stories for teenage girls. One story told of a girl who did not fit in in high school, and she wanted new clothes that she believed would help. I remember she wanted to buy “shoes that look like ballet slippers and a string of pearls. I seem to recall that she also played the piano. Another story was about a girl who felt very unattractive and her dad said something to the effect of she was not a pretty girl but she was going to be a beautiful woman. I have searched for this collection of short stories for many years and have found many collections, but not this particular one. I would be very grateful if you might have any information about this elusive book. Thank you for any suggestions you may have. Partial update from Barbara: the specific story,  “In Tempo” by Sue Moskowit, has been found in another collection, A Matter of Choice, but we’re still on the look out for another short story collection in which it appeared! 

I only read the 1st few chapters of this one; it had been left in the lounge at my local YMCA and wasn’t there the next time I went. A Jewish American girl gets a letter from her German boy cousin describing how he’s being bullied at his school after Hitler comes to power. I think it was published in the late 70s/early 80s.

I’m trying to remember the title of a book that I read, probably as a tween in the late 70s, early 80s. It was set in the first person, I think, and it was meant to be more funny than dramatic. The main character was maybe 11-13. She was shy, maybe a bit of a social outcast and hated school. It seems to me that her home life wasn’t that great either. I think I remember that she was sent to the AV closet at school to retrieve something and found a place where she could hide and watch TV all day. She did this every day. Nobody seemed to miss her and this went on for quite some time. Eventually she was discovered by a guidance counselor and she agreed to stop trying to escape her problems and stay in class. It might be a Scholastic book, and I have this memory of an orange and pink cover but I don’t remember anything else about it. I’m Canadian so it might have been Canadian and style-wise, I think it was maybe from the mid 70s. It would be great if someone could prove that it isn’t a figment of my imagination.Suggestion: Wendy and the Bullies By Nancy K. Robinson 

 I’ve been looking for a certain book for years, maybe someone here can help.

It was a young adult novel about two teen girls. They were friends, spending time together before the new school year started. There was an annoying little brother who pestered them constantly.

One of the girls wore glasses, but was getting contact lenses for the first time. She wanted to be prettier for the new school year. They called the makeover “Operation Chrysalis” or “Project Metamorphosis” or something like that. I think I remember them sitting in the backyard discussing their plans, with the brother spying and teasing them.

One of the major plot points involved the girls finding out that one of their distant, elderly relatives had died. The family drove to the relative’s house a few weeks/months later, and found that all of the furniture had been stolen. They eventually found it being sold at an auction, and were able to identify it as theirs by bite marks on one of the chairs.

At some point, the girls found an old diary with a pretty drawing inside. It appeared to be just a pretty pattern, but upon further inspection, the girls noticed it was actually a monogram of someone’s initials. It could have been hidden inside a desk?

At another point, the girls were cooking something with syrup. The little brother made a mess licking the bowl clean. The girls tried to tell him that he needed to use soap to clean it, but he insisted that syrup is made of sugar, which is water soluble and can be easily cleaned by licking it. He licked his finger and touched a napkin to prove he wasn’t sticky, but the napkin stuck.

I read a lot as a kid, so it’s possible I’m combining parts of several books. Most of the books I read were written from 1950-1995, and I would guess this one was written around the 60s. I thought it might have been one of the Trixie Belden books, but I’ve looked through most of them and couldn’t find this story. Suggestion from Lost Classics Reader Kelly L.: The Mystery of the Singing Mermaid By Ann Young

I don’t really have a lot to go on, but when I was in 6th grade (so around `94) I read this scifi book my teacher had and literally all I can remember is they travelled from at least one planet to another, and there was something to do with a green stone and it may or may not have given the heroine special abilities. I’ve been trying to search for it for years, as I believe this may have been one of the catalysts for my interest in the scifi genre. Suggestions: The Edge Chronicles by Paul Stewart and Chris Riddell, Forerunner Foray or The Zero Stone, both by Andre Norton.