Scholastic book: "M for Mischief"

I brusquely dismissed this book as "fine" in a 2020 pandemic shelfie post, but it deserves more attention than that, especially given that it's one of the very first books that I distinctly remember having, circa second grade in Clayton, New Jersey (this cover, specifically). I've been invigorated lately by the posts and robust community discussion on the Vintage Scholastic Books and Vintage Paperback Books pages on Facebook, so here's a full look at this one...

• Title: M for Mischief
• Author: Richard Parker (1914-1990). He has an entry in the Encyclopedia of Science Fiction and I mentioned one of his other books in this 2014 post.
• Illustrator: Carol Wilde (born 1938). It appears that she was born in Virginia, studied art in Philadelphia and later in life moved to northern Italy, where she became a painter. I could not confirm whether she's still alive.
• Publisher: Scholastic Book Services (TX 1254)
• Cover price: 50 cents
• Year: Fourth printing, March 1972 (first published in 1965)
• Pages: 95
• Format: Paperback
• Provenance: A previous owner, likely long ago, wrote "Ruth" in pencil on the inside front cover.
• Random passage from the middle #1: "It was something more than ancient. None of the children had ever seen a stove quite like it. There were so many curly, twisty bits. The four legs were like eagles' feet, with the sharp talons really biting into the wooden floor. The scale and feathers were so clear they seemed almost real. Up the sides of the stove were sprays of fern made of iron, and clusters of odd flowers, also made of iron."
• Random passage from the middle #2: "Then the cookie dropped to the floor and their mother disappeared! Where she had been standing was a speckled brown hen, which looked at Peg with one eye, then began pecking up crumbs from the broken cookie."
• Rating on Goodreads: 3.89 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review excerpt: R. Lee Frankenstein recently wrote: "This is just a great kids story that is partially responsible for a lifetime of reading enjoyment so, the 5 stars may be based slightly on sentiment."
• Rating on Amazon: 4.5 stars (out of 5)
• Amazon review excerpt: In 2013, R.M. Clinkscales wrote: "I still have my 1971 Scholastic Book service copy that I remember my mom reading with me on the porch of our house. My copy still has my elementary school aged handwriting on the inside cover giving my name and address. As you can tell this book had an impact on me and helped launch my love of reading. I have read the book to many children over the years and it continues to be a well loved early reader story."
• One last memory: In a 2014 post on Gransnet, Upsydaisy writes: "M for Mischief by Richard Parker was my favourite ever children's book. The story of a magic oven. That is as much as I can remember about the book, but I can remember reading it so many times. It was funny so I always read it either when I was poorly or feeling sad and it always cheered me up and made me feel better. Its funny but as an adult I always tend to go for books that are lighthearted and are a good laugh out loud kind of a book."

Yinzer blepping.

Swooning over "The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet"

I posted the 1966 Scholastic cover of The Wonderful Flight to the Mushroom Planet, pulled from my 2014 blog post, over on the Facebook group Vintage Paperback Books this morning. It got a tremendous response, with 120 likes as of this writing.

Here are some of the comments and memories people shared:

• "I'm amazed how many people also loved this book in school. I read and re-read it many, many times."
• "I have two in the series and loved these as a kid."
• "This is the first book I remember reading."
• "I think mushrooms were involved in the writing of this book somehow."
• "I've taken that flight."

The book is still extremely popular and in print and on Amazon for less than $8. People are still discovering it or rediscovering it and still writing reviews. Here are some excerpts just from this year on Goodreads:

• "An absolute delight of a children's science fantasy — this was the first science fantasy I read, when I was a 10 years old."
• "Thanks for my sci-fi loving Uncle Charlie who recommended this book to me. I can’t wait to pass along to my grandson. He is 9 and I know will love it too."
• "I found this book while shopping on Ebay for mushroom identification books for my mycologist-in-training twelve year old. A middle-grade fiction book where we visit a mushroom planet? Yes, please! I had hoped she would be inspired to read this herself, but alas, this book-loving mama has produced an accelerated reader that doesn't enjoy reading for pleasure! We do have a tradition of reading out loud at bedtime, which I will hold tightly to until she protests, so this went on the TBR-at-bedtime list."
• "I first read this in 1975, I think. And by then it was already an older book, gathering dust on the library bookshelf. But I was an 8 year old boy and this was a book about boys, rocket ships, and an alien planet. SO I checked it out and read it. It turns out to be a fantastic adventure story for young boys and girls to read. If you can find it, get it. Even if you're 80 not 8."

If you want to know more about author Eleanor Cameron (1912-1996), Paul V. Allen has written a well-received biography titled Eleanor Cameron: Dimensions of Amazement. It's great to see such scholarship on women authors of the 20th century, especially those whose are less well-remembered with the passing of the decades.

Giving schoolchildren a proper monster education in 1976

Fifty years ago, in our bicentennial year of 1976, Scholastic published an amazeballs guide to monsters. School was just cooler then, wasn't it? Movie monsters, mythical creatures and cryptids could be mixed into the lesson plans alongside multiplication tables, the metric system and spelling quizzes. I'm guessing Pennywise, Slender Man and the backrooms don't get that same treatment today, but what do I know? 

Well, what I do know is that this 32-page staplebound booklet rocks. I mean, it has Blacula (William Marshall) right there in the center of the cover, alongside such icons as Lon Chaney Jr., Medusa, Frankenstein's monster and King Kong. Fredric March's Hyde gets a very prominent spot, as does one of the Village of the Damned kiddos. 

What a cover! According to the credits, it was designed by Bonnie Bishop, who also served as the booklet's overall designer and art director. Some of Bishop's papers ended up at the University of New England Library, which notes that she had loved drawing, writing and making books ever since childhood and later became a full-time book artist. That love shows on this cover.

Let's hear it for the rest of the booklet's production crew, too. Lewis Gardner (1943-2020) was the editor and contributed a poem and a short story. Katherine Robinson was the supervising editor and Eve Sennett was the production editor. Ira Peck and Margaret Ronan handled some of the writing, which included retellings of classic horror stories. As a teenager, Ronan corresponded with H.P. Lovecraft (!!) according to the website Deep Cuts in a Lovecraftian Vein, and those letters informed some of her work at Scholastic.

In addition to those already mentioned, this book pictures and/or mentions the big-headed alien from 1957's Invasion of the Saucermen, Paul Wegener's 1920 performance as the Golem, the Loch Ness Monster, The Thing from Another World, Cat People, Bigfoot, zombies (but only the kind who obey masters — Romero's flesh-munching zombies might have been a bit much), The Incredible Shrinking Man and Michael Landon's teenage werewolf. 

There are photos of both Bela Lugosi and Christopher Lee as Dracula. The book doesn't sugarcoat Lugosi's life for the young audience. Ronan notes: "When Lugosi was 70, he admitted to being a drug addict. He kicked the habit in a hospital. A year later, he died. He had no money left from his days as a monster star. About all he had left was his Dracula cape. So he was buried in it."

The last page of the book is titled "People and Monsters" and has this introductory paragraph: "Why do some people believe in monsters? And why are monster stories popular? Here are some possible answers. Which ones do you think are true?" There are then 11 short paragraphs, all of which seem plausible but some of which are very bizarre for a school activity book:

• Some people fear others who are strange looking or deformed. They may have trouble seeing such people as fully human. They may believe such people have special powers and are evil.
• Drugs have been used in magic and religious ceremonies. After taking drugs, people have seen monsters. They have also imagined themselves as having supernatural powers.
• Monsters usually do horrible things. Deep within us, we may wish to do horrible things. Normal people keep these wishes under control. They may not even be aware of having such wishes. But they may enjoy hearing about monsters that break human laws.

If you're hankering to get your hands on one of these absolute-gem booklets, there's an eBay seller who apparently has a whole stash and is selling them for $12.99. It's well worth the trip down monster memory lane.

 

Book cover: "Blackbeard's Ghost"

This novel is, very loosely, the inspiration for the 1968 Walt Disney movie of the same name. I never saw the movie as a kid (though surely it was on The Wonderful World of Disney at some point), but our family watched and enjoyed it in the summer of 2021 via Disney+.

• Title: Blackbeard's Ghost
• Author and illustrator: Ben Stahl (1910-1987), who is more notable for his work as an artist and illustrator but also wrote two novels: Blackbeard's Ghost and its sequel The Secret of Red Skull.
• Cover design: No one credited. The front and back covers feature stills from the Disney movie version with Peter Ustinov.
• Publisher: Scholastic Book Services, Starline edition (TK 1115)
• Year: Second printing, March 1968. The novel was originally published in 1965.
• Dedication: "For my wife, Ella"
• Pages: 144
• Format: Paperback
• Price: 60 cents
• First sentence: "Jonas Pepper clamped his lopsided tricorn hat firmly down upon his gray head."
• Random excerpt from middle #1: "Night and the arching branches of the trees had transformed Elm Street into a quiet, deserted green tunnel, lined with houses and gleaming windows that revealed people moving aimlessly about, watching TV, or reading newspapers."
• Random excerpt from middle #2: "Brandishing his cutlass, he strode out from between a Dairy Queen truck going north and a ratty station wagon going in the opposite direction."
• Rating on Goodreads: 3.27 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review excerpt #1: In 2024, C.G. Koens wrote: "I don't even know what to think of this book. I got it because I grew up watching the 1960s Disney movie by the same name, after I saw it was based off of this book by Ben Stahl. It's not the book's fault that it is NOTHING like the movie, but it tainted my enjoyment of the book for its own merit."
• Goodreads review excerpt #2: In 2021, Deborah wrote: "The book is well written and entertaining. The artwork is beautiful. Most likely middle-grade readers would enjoy this the most. It might be a little scary for younger readers."
• Rating on Amazon: 4.7 stars (out of 5), which is quite the difference from Goodreads. That might be due to some folks mistakenly rating the movie instead of the book, though.
• Amazon review excerpt: In 2011, octobercountry wrote: "This is a pleasant little diversion, a fun light ghost story. While Blackbeard the pirate was a rather terrible person in life, readers cannot help but feel sympathetic towards — or even fond of — his ghost. And I greatly appreciated the subtext of historical architectural preservation."

From the readers: Sock monkeys, film posters, Phillies hex sign & more

As we barrel headlong into the final six weeks of 2024, here's the latest roundup of contributions from Papergreat's readers. Thank you, as always, for sharing your thoughts!

Obscure and fabulous movie poster: Betty Bruce writes: "I have this Lake of Tears movie poster. I received it from a Canadian Consulat serving in Cuba from 1966-7 to 1970. I have many original posters from that time period. They are beautiful."

How to make the Red Heel Sock Monkey and Sock Elephant: Anonymous writes: "Edna Clapper published instructions for the Sock Monkey (with permission from Nelson Knitting) in Pack-O-Fun magazine. She subsequently created the Sock Elephant. Nelson Knitting bought instruction sheets for both and included them in every package of red heel socks. She also created the book, 'How to Make Sock Toys,' which Nelson Knitting packaged with a dozen Red Heel socks and sold in the Sears catalog."

I received a related email from author Dee Lindner, who writes: "Hi Chris, I saw on your website that you like history, folklore, etc. I have been interested in sock monkey minutia for decades and have great news! Red Heel Sock Monkeys: Pop Culture Icons is now available in the marketplace. Individuals can purchase this book on Amazon. If you can help spread the word that this book is now available, I would appreciate it."

Scholastic book: "Chilling Ghost Stories": Tom from the Garage Sale Finds blog, which just finished an amazing run of Halloween-themed October posts, writes: "I loved Scholastic, and their ghost story collections in particular. I never had this one, but definitely would pick it up if I came across it. I had 13 Ghostly Tales and Arrow Book of Ghost Stories."

A neat piece of Phillies history: Anonymous writes: "Great to finally see something online about this bizarre little chapter in Phillies history! I attended that doubleheader as a 12-year-old with my father & two of my brothers. This being Philadelphia, many of those hex signs were frisbeed onto the field between games. But not by us — in fact, mine has accompanied me to every place I’ve lived over the past 54 years."

1978 Halloween movie marathon at MacArthur Drive-In in Orange, Texas: Wendyvee writes: "I'm not much of a horror fan. I think that is due to the fact that my first exposure to them was when I was probably too young and I had friends with cable TV. The films that stick out to me from that era would be the weird Chuck Connors Tourist Trap (go figure), Harvest Home, Carrie (original), and The Sentinel (Burgess Meredith)."

Advertisements in the final 1960s issue of "Horror Monsters" magazine: Tom quips, "Why do I think you would just receive a pair of those plastic fangs for both the Vampire and Werewolf kits?"

Many great memories of Wintrode's Garage in Littlestown: Mary Wildasin Staub writes: "My dad was the Leroy Wildasin you mentioned in your post! I tagged along with Dad on occasion and he would buy me an ice cream as a treat. Do you have any idea where I could find employee records, as I am researching the time he worked for A.W. Feeder in Silver Run, Maryland, and then the Buick dealership. staubmk@gmail.com would love to hear from you."

It would be great if someone out there could help Mary with some leads!

Triad and Stevie and witches, oh my: Wendyvee writes: "Much like 'Edge of Seventeen,' the origin story [for 'Rhiannon'] does change a little bit over the years; but remains essentially the same."

1967 advertisement for a flying saucer lamp in Saucer News: Tom, who has found some amazing rare pieces at garage sales and estate sales over the decades, writes: "That is one cool lamp. I have never seen anything like it in all my travels."

I'd be stunned if an original one even exists in the wild, given how few were produced and how flimsy they probably were. But there's always hope in someone's attic or basement.

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Anonymous writes: "I, too, sold cards for the Cheerful Card Company when I was 10 and it was a wonderful and huge growing experience. I am 83 now and vividly remember my excitement when I received my sales kit in the mail! The whole experience gave me independence and confidence to achieve more — and I did! Thank you Cheerful Card Company!"

And, finally, Sallie Ann O'Neill writes: "My mother's uncle, Thomas Doran, was the owner of the Cheerful Card Company. When she was a little girl he use to take her door to door with him selling his cards when he first started out. He was a big man, and he thought people would be more likely to answer the door if they saw the cute little girl beside him, and it worked. He was a hard worker and very driven. We miss him dearly."

Thank you, Sallie Ann, and to everyone who comments and shares stories on Papergreat.

Scholastic book: "Chilling Ghost Stories"

We must have at least one spooky Scholastic book from the olden days each October!

• Title: Chilling Ghost Stories
• Author: Bernhardt J. Hurwood (1926-1987). Another of his books was featured in this 2021 post.
• Awesome cover illustration: Don Dyen. There's also one uncredited interior illustration of a skeleton standing at a child's bedside.
• Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
• Year: First published in 1973. This is a Scholastic reprint from the late 1980s or early 1990s, though there's no confirmation on the copyright page. The front cover is missing the TK 2167 that appears on the original editions.
• Pages: 110
• Format: Paperback. 
• Dedication: "To Laura"
• Some of the story titles: The House That Didn't Want Anyone to Live in It; What the Gravedigger Saw; The Pirate Ghost of Gombi Island; The Woman in Green Velvet; The Headless Princess; The Banshee Whose Feelings Were Hurt; and The Poltergeist with the Heart of a Genie.
• Random excerpt from the middle #1: He was mean to his family and to his hired hands alike, so when he died no one was particularly sorry to see him go.
• Random excerpt from the middle #2: Of course, everyone in the village tried to guess what it was that the ghost had told Tom, but he never would say anything more about it. 
• Random excerpt from the middle #3: Moya loved to tell wild and hair-raising tales about ghosts and goblins and wolf-men and fairies.
• Rating on Goodreads: 3.32 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review: In 2020, Gary Sites wrote: "This is one of the first books I owned. I was 10 years old when I selected it from the Scholastic reader at school. What wonderful memories of going through that thing, choosing a few books. (They averaged about .75 cents) Then, in two or three weeks, we'd walk into the classroom one morning, and find stacks of new paperbacks that our teacher would pass out at lunch time. Do they still do this in schools? I hope so. This book of little ghost stories isn't very remarkable, but I loved it as a ten year old." (Yes! I remember walking into my classrooms and seeing the new books on the teacher's desk and/or along the long shelf under the window.)
• Rating on Amazon: 3.8 stars (out of 5)
• Amazon review excerpt: In 2013, Mark Geary wrote: "I was about eight years old when I bought this book from a Scholastic Book Fair, and it was probably my favorite book for the longest time. ... While there were other collections and anthologies put together over the years from Scholastic, 'Chilling Ghost Stories' still stands out as the best, at least, the best to me. I recently was able to get a copy and after 35+ years, I went back and read it. The book still holds up fairly well, and I look forward to sharing it with my Grandchildren."
• Another view: Kristi Petersen Schoonover raved about this book on her blog in 2011, concluding "Even if you’re an adult, you’ll want to own this. I can guarantee a scare in under three minutes. And if you’re as busy as I am — well, then there’s a certain beauty in that, too." [Her blog is still going strong, too.]

What vintage Scholastic books most say

"October" or "Halloween" to you? 

Share your memories in the comments section.

I believe this is Socks' first photo appearance on Papergreat 

Scholastic classic: "How to Care for Your Monster"

• Title: How to Care for Your Monster 
• Author and illustrator: Norman Bridwell (1928-2014). Bridwell was previously featured in a 2019 post about The Witch Next Door.
• Publisher: Scholastic Book Services (TX 1688)
• Year: First published in 1970. This is the seventh printing from October 1973.
• Pages: 64
• Format: Paperback. Perfect bound, but with a pair of staples near the spine, to boost durability.
• Dedication: "To Eddie Stalling" ... There's a neat story behind this dedication. In the 2000 reference book 100 Most Popular Picture Book Authors and Illustrators, Sharron L. McElmeel writes: "One of Bridwell's most faithful fans was a second­ grade boy, Eddie Stalling, who wrote to Bridwell several times each year. By the time the boy was a fifth grader, he wrote Bridwell and asked him to write a book 'for fifth graders.' Bridwell responded by writing How to Care for Your Monster (Scholastic, 1970), which he dedicated to Stalling, and Monster Holidays (Scholastic, 1974). Stalling grew up and became a forest ranger in Alaska."
• First sentences: If you are lucky enough to live in a town that has a monster store, getting a monster should be easy. Just show Dad the ad and ask him for some money.
• Last sentences: There, that's all you need to know about monsters. Now go out and catch one. Don't be the last in your neighborhood to have a monster.
• Random excerpt from the middle #1: You might also try looking through the museum's trash barrels. Perhaps an old, used mummy is being thrown away.
• Random excerpt from the middle #2: Never give a silver medal to a vampire. Vampires are terrified of silver for some reason. Toss a vampire an old dime sometime and see what happens. [The illustration for this is pictured below.]
• Random excerpt from the middle #3: Werewolves are always thinking of their stomachs. Give them a prize they can eat. Give them the judge. 
• Rating on Goodreads: 4.46 stars (out of 5)
• Goodreads review excerpt: In 2017, Jeffrey Anderson wrote: "Second grade and I'm blessed to have the Scholastic Book Services and their catalogs. I chose this one and for years it sat in the bottom shelf of my nightstand. ... I cherished this book on that long ago autumn day when it arrived in my classroom, and today I cherished it again. This is a cool book. Snag a copy if you can."
• Rating on Amazon: 4.6 stars (out of 5)
• Amazon review excerpt #1: In 2014, Obi Wan wrote: "This was one of my favorite books as a kid. I got a copy in a school used book fair when I was about 8 years old. It was torn up and tattered, and I loved every minute of it! I had forgotten it for 25 years until it just recently popped into my head for some reason. So I found it again and sure enough it really holds up as a good kid's book. ... There are no hidden messages or redeeming social issues discussed. There is nothing to be learned from this book. It's just pure fun!"
• Amazon review excerpt #2: In 2010, Robert Marsh wrote: "One of my all-time favorite books from childhood. Got it through the Scholastic Book Club and read it over and over until the binding snapped. Taped up the spine then read it some more."
• Amazon review excerpt #3: In 2000, Rocky Morrow wrote: "Consider it a primer to the 'Goosebumps' series: introducing pre-schoolers to the Monsters which informed our pop-culture during the 20th Century. ... This would be a great book for a child who has a fear of the 'boogieman' in the closet, in that it treats the subject of Monsters with EMPOWERMENT: it lets the child know they CAN tame that Werewolf or Dracula."
• Blog excerpt: There's a wonderful essay on the Frankensteinia blog from 2008 in which Geof Smith writes: "Though it mentions castles, labs, pyramids, and swamps, the pages are populated with smiling suburban kids wearing turtlenecks and Chuck Taylors and playing with their big monster buddies in TV rooms, backyards, and basements. It was the perfect synthesis of lore and reality for a six-year-old mind, and it charged my imagination. ... It’s funny and slightly comforting to see the image of the Frankenstein monster cowering under the basement stairs. It tells children that they can master their fear, but it’s also true to the hulking man-child nature of the character; it hints at the pathos that makes the monster so timeless and especially appealing to children."
• Other blog links: This popular book has also been featured on The Haunted Closet and marklewisdraws.com, among many other places on the internet. 

Comments from readers while we melt in this summer swelter

From an America that doesn't much exist anymore. Plus, it's too hot for road trips.

Sharing some reader comments on this sweltering summer day — 113 here in Florence, 117 in Phoenix, 114 in Las Vegas, 124 in Death Valley. Plus two million people without power thanks to a rare early July hurricane in Houston. When I'm done I'll go put ice in the outdoor water bowls for the poor, roasting birds and animals (including community cats Mamacita & Creamsicle).

Saturday's postcard: America House Motor Inn: Anonymous writes: "America House was one of my family’s favorite vacation stops in the early 1970s. So much to do: the beach, pool, game room and observation tower. Perfect for a young person. Food in the restaurant was very good and I loved the grape Nehi, it was a great treat. Years later I returned with my wife and we found the motel run down with rusted doors, etc. The renamed motel now has campers and RVs parked in its spacious grounds and makes me leery about trying it again."

From the Rare Dust Jacket Files: Hucca's Moor by Manning-Sanders: Anonymous writes: "The dust jacket is by the wonderful artist William Nicholson."

I'll take the commenter's word for this. Nicholson lived from 1872 to 1959 and was involved with a lot of book design, in addition to his other artistic endeavors. According to Wikipedia, he illustrated The Velveteen Rabbit, and he designed the costumes for the original stage version of Peter Pan (article, illustrations).

Unfortunate apparel of 1980: The official Star Trek duty jacket: The Canadian author of My Curio Blog writes: "I posted a matchbook which also promotes the same jacket ... at a discount price!" 

Thanks! Good luck with the blog! 

1938 holiday postcard from Leinhardt Bros. of York: Anonymous writes: "I recently was passed a cedar box with items in it. It was stamped on the inside of the top: 'Lane presented by Leinhardt Bros. York, Pennsylvania.' Thank you for posting this information so that I had a frame of reference."

Phonic Talking Letters from 1941: Anonymous writes: "There is a new version available at talkingletters.com."

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Gary Liljegren of Florida writes: "My story is like so many others. This was my first job as an 8 year old. As I recall, I was plenty successful. That was 75 years ago. ... I'm now 83 and been in sales my whole life. Still am."

Elizabeth Alexandra Mary Windsor (1926-2022): Anonymous writes: "This is Queen Elizabeth 11. I am alive and I live in Tacoma WA."

Um.

Queen Elizabeth 11?

Or Queen Elizabeth II?

In either instance, I have so many questions. 

We can start with, "Why Tacoma?"

"Jim and Judy," a 1939 grade-school textbook with a York connection: Anonymous writes: "Tags and Twinkle was the next book in the series, I believe."

A label for Frostie Root Beer (a jailhouse-born beverage): Margaret Harris writes: "I am 82 and have always lived in Catonsville, the birthplace of Frostie Root Beer. I remember when it was made on the Baltimore National Pike, but would l like to know the address of the abandoned jail which became the first home of Frostie. Do you have this information?"

Hmmm. As the blog post I cited notes: "George Rackensperger, president of The Frostie Company, decided in 1939 to open his own bottling plant. Renting an abandoned jailhouse in Catonsville, Maryland, a suburb of Baltimore, he used the garage that formerly housed the police wagon for setting up his bottling equipment ... and the various cells were employed to store sugar, crowns, and other supplies."

But despite further Google searching, I can't locate any specific information about the jail or its location. I cannot imagine the building is still standing, but who knows? Can anyone out there, especially Maryland history experts, help Margaret with her query?

Scholastic book: "Spooky Tricks": Anonymous writes: "I was just thinking of this book. Now in my 30s."

It's quite common to think back to the books of your childhood, whether you're in your 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s or 90s! See the next comment...

Alan Ormsby's 1970s: Summoning zombies and a Scholastic book: Anonymous writes: "I have this book, and, as someone else mentioned, I think in 2nd grade. My mom actually helped me make the paper bag Frankenstein head. I just wish I had a picture of that now. Still have the book in my basement."

Special events booklet from a 1973 VFW convention in New Orleans: Anonymous writes: "Here's a postcard sent in August 1973 by 'Betty,' who had just attended this convention: https://www.ephemerasearch.com/ephemera/5112887"

Great find! Thank you!

From the readers: Saving the cats, McCall's chairs and baseball stickers

The latest collection of comments and questions from Paperback readers...

Postcard of good old Harry Truman:  Anonymous writes: "Love this postcard and love your thoughts on it. I too struggle with the idea of him staying simply on behalf of the 16 cats, BUT, as you said, it would have been more difficult than we could imagine today for him to have up and left with 16 cats in tow back in 1980. Where could he have gone and where would he have been welcomed with so many pets (and raccoons!)? I like to think what some of his family think — that he wouldn't have been able to survive much longer seeing his beloved home demolished. And not only that, had he not been able to take his cats with him, the mere thought of them being alone in the end would have added that much more heartbreak for him. His sister said she couldn't imagine a more 'fitting end' for him, and I think especially given the times and his cats/regular forest friends it was the inevitable, possibly most beautiful outcome."

I appreciate this thoughtful comment. It was an incredibly difficult situation. Given that we now have more cats than Harry Truman¹, I think about his situation and similar plights quite often. Of course, we are unlikely to have a volcanic eruption here in the Sonoran Desert. But Mother Nature has many other disasters up her sleeve, as we've seen throughout this year and, devastatingly, just within recent days in Greece and Libya, and Morocco.

Our cats are our family, just as Harry Truman's were. We talk about action plans for immediate emergencies (no time to get out) and for emergencies when we might have only minutes, hours or a day to safely leave the premises. My stance is firm: I'm going to evacuate these cats or do everything in my power to do so, regardless of my safety. Hopefully such an awful moment never, ever comes.

Katherine Sturges Dodge illustration: Linda Drury writes: "I have that collection, the 1960 edition, and the illustrations have stuck with me for 50 years. Her work is beautiful, as are so many of the illustrations in these volumes." 

Vanished place: Old South Bar-B-Q Ranch in Clewiston, Florida: Anonymous writes: "Never visited, but will always remember the road signs they placed on US-27 in the manner of the old Burma Shave signs."

Speaking of which, I highly recommend the book The Verse by the Side of the Road: The Story of the Burma-Shave Signs and Jingles.

The elementary school in the City Behind the Fence: Anonymous writes: "I attended Cedar Hill (from) 1944-48. Have fond childhood memories of that area."

Receipt and more tucked away inside 1967 sci-fi paperback: nocynic writes: "Raimi's Curtains was funded and run by my grandfather, Jacob Raimi, and his wife, my grandmother Sylvia. They were Sam Raimi's uncle and aunt. My father ran it after his parents more or less retired. It was founded in 1924 and was a fixture in Detroit for more than 60 years." 

Very cool! Kind of neat to have, via ephemera, a tangential connection to the director of the original Evil Dead movies and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (which comes off delightfully as an Evil Dead homage). 

McCall Chair Co. ink blotter: Anonymous writes: "My Daddy drove for McCall's for many years. I rode with him on a lot of trips until I started kindergarten. My favorite chair though was the #90 Swivel. Mom and Dad had one until their house burned in 2005. My sisters and my brother, as well as some of my cousins, still have the rockers from Mom & Dad, and from my grandparents. Good quality, though time has forced some re-upholstering to be done."

Thank you for sharing these memories!

Scholastic book cover: "Alvin's Secret Code": poslfit writes: "Thanks for sharing the cover of my favourite childhood book. I went on to read the abridged paperback edition of Kahn's book before eventually finding a copy of the full original."

The commenter is referring to Dave Kahn's 1966 book The Codebreakers – The Story of Secret Writing, which was revised and republished in 1996 as the 1,200-page The Codebreakers: The Comprehensive History of Secret Communication from Ancient Times to the Internet.

Down memory lane with 1983 Topps Baseball Sticker Album: Anonymous writes: "I would package and sell my doubles to friends, and cheated by using that money to order the stickers I needed and filled the book."

I don't think that's cheating! The stickers were available for mail-order purchase, so buying the ones you still needed to fill the book was a perfectly legitimate path toward completion.

Also, wow, this post was 12 years ago. Do I still have this sticker book? I'll have to look. When I wrote this post, Bryce Harper was an 18-year-old minor leaguer in the Washington Nationals' farm system.²

Cheerful Card Company can help you earn extra money for the holidays: Here's the unedited version of what Anonymous wrote: "I sold four years Cheerful Cards and gadgets back in 1954 what fun I had helped to be more self confident and proud for selling. Every kid should have the great feeling I had all those years ago!"

We're up to 40 comments on this 2012 post. So many folks writing anonymously over the years about how memorable it was to be involved in this enterprise. Are all of these posts legitimate, or are there some spam bots at work in some instances? What do you think? What good would it do to post spam comments on a little-trafficked blog for a company from so many decades ago? It's an enduring mystery.

Footnotes

1. Household pet cats (19): Titan, Monkey, Banjo, Orange, Panda, Bandit, Toffee, Spice, Autumn, Smoky, Nebula, Bounds (aka Osmond Portifoy), Dusty, Socks, LP, IceBear, Pengin, Phantom and Pete.

Household temporary foster cats (8): Stubby, Venus and Mercury (via Cirque); Oliver, Poundcake, Transformer, Snugs and Stripe (via Mamacita dropping them off at our back door at age 3½ weeks)

Outdoor feral cats we care about but couldn't save in an emergency (9): Big Boi and Mamacita. Plus Mamacita's kids Cirque, Creamy, Fjord, Waffle and Splash. Plus Cirque's kids Drac and Jiji. And, yes, we continue to work our butts off to TNR them, though the fosters are consuming most of our time at the moment.

2. The Phillies, with Bryce Harper, defeated the St. Louis Cardinals 6-1 today, taking another step toward clinching a playoff berth. Kyle Schwarber hit his 44th home run and Ranger Suarez was the winning pitcher.

1974 Scholastic book: "Captain Ecology, Pollution-Fighter"

This Scholastic book by Tom Eaton, Captain Ecology, Pollution-Fighter (TK2651 of 1974), sought to use humor to help instill compassion and concern for the environment in schoolchildren who were too young to tackle Silent Spring. 

Captain Ecology takes on the topics like people tossing garbage from their cars, wasteful consumption, giant corporations, vehicle exhaust, smog, pollution-spewing factories, solar power and single-use packaging. He even takes jabs at the mindlessness of television, including the barrage of commercials urging kids to consume, consume, consume. Heady but important stuff for kids in elementary and middle school.

Tom Eaton, who died in 2016 at age 76, was best known for the comics and illustrations he provided for Boys' Life magazine for three decades, starting in 1984, including “The Wacky Adventures of Pedro,” “Dink and Duff” and “Webelos Woody.”

Boys' Life art director Joe Connolly said Eaton “never missed a deadline or made excuses. He is one of the most important contributors the magazine ever had.”

After Captain Ecology but before Boys' Life, Eaton did a comic strip called "Oliver Cool," which is highlighted in this 2021 post on the Who's Out There? blog.

In a 2005 review of Captain Ecology, Pollution-Fighter on Amazon, Andre writes: "I have fond memories of this book. It was in my classroom at Moultrie Middle School near Charleston SC in 1977 when I was in 7th grade and I read it frequently. It was a tough school filled with bullies at the time and this book brought me some needed relief. Basically, it's the somewhat comical adventures of a cartoon crime fighter who tries to protect the environment. Pretty amusing, as our man is often more well intentioned than successful. But near the end, the book takes a serious turn as our man closes by brooding about the fate of the planet. Worth a read for your kids and for you to have a discussion with them about when they're finished. If you like this, I would also recommend Tom Eaton's Book of Marvels that was also in my classroom at the time and that I enjoyed so much that I ordered it again 25 years later. Tom Eaton was a pretty underrated cartoonist who brightened up a pretty dark time in my life."

It's inspiring to see all the ways Eaton entertaining, encouraged and educated young people over the many years of his cartooning career.

Meanwhile, Captain Ecology wouldn't be happy this March 20 news. (Nor should any of us be.)

SARAH KAPLAN

THE WASHINGTON POST

"The world is likely to pass a dangerous temperature threshold within the next 10 years, pushing the planet past the point of catastrophic warming — unless nations drastically transform their economies and immediately transition away from fossil fuels, according to one of the most definitive reports ever published about climate change.

"The report released Monday from the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) found that the world is likely to surpass its most ambitious climate target — limiting warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 degrees Fahrenheit) above preindustrial temperatures — by the early 2030s.

"Beyond that threshold, scientists have found, climate disasters will become so extreme that people will not be able to adapt. Basic components of the Earth system will be fundamentally, irrevocably altered. Heat waves, famines and infectious diseases could claim millions of additional lives by century’s end."

From the readers: "Wild Rivers," dragons, Crasimoff's World & more

There's a bundle of great reader feedback from the past month or so, plus some emails from 2022 that I absent-mindedly forgot about when I did the last roundup. So away we go...

1941 advertisement for the Modern Talking Picture Service: I got two new comments on this 2018 post. 

First, Keith Harter writes: "My father helped in the filming of the Susquehanna River for a film called Wild Rivers, made in 1965 by Humble Oil. I wish I could find it. Any leads would be appreciated."

I didn't find any leads on discovering a copy of the film, but I did find some additional background information about it. Maybe some readers will have more success than I did regarding the film itself.

I found an old eBay listing for what's described as a "1965 Humble Oil Esso 'Wild Rivers' Map Booklet / Film Tie-In." The image is shown at right.

And the January 1966 issue of National Parks Magazine notes that "during early summer [1965] the Humble Oil and Refining Company released a particularly fine film on a subject currently much in the minds of conservationists — the projected national wild rivers system. Wild Rivers, in full color and with commentary (the photographer was Larry Madison and the narrator, Burton J. Rowles) runs 28 minutes and looks at the scenic and outdoor recreational potentials of ten of the rivers, or parts of rivers, that have been mentioned for inclusion within the wild rivers system. The film is available on loan without charge, other than return postage, from Humble Oil, P.O. Box 2180, Houston, Texas 77001; or for persons or organizations strategically located, from Modern Talking Picture Service film libraries in 22 of the nation's cities."

The other comment I received about the Modern Talking Picture Service post was from Anonymous: "My mother was office manager for Modern Talking Pictures in Charlotte, N.C., from about 1958 to 1962. My brother and I loved going in on weekends to dig through the trash in the back room where films were repaired. We’d glue together bits of this and that to make our own movies! LOL we also loved previewing the new films at home."

Bet you'd love to still have those films, too! 

Dramatic postcard featuring a dragon and a ghost [help needed]: In a September email, Jess Chua wrote, "You have a remarkable blog, and I remember a little bit of Microsoft Encarta!" 

Chua was requesting to share a postcard image from Papergreat on her own blog: "I'd like to include it in a Halloween/spooky-themed post next month. I have more Western dragon art in the draft post and wanted to include some Eastern dragons. This postcard has a spooky element to it and the anonymous comment was enlightening."

Of course! Everything on Papergreat is for sharing. And there's no need to butter me up when you ask. Here's the post Jess published last October on Dragonsinn.net: "Halloween Dragons – October 2022."

1953 envelope from the Around-The-World Shoppers Club: Way back in March 2022, M. Yang Lu wrote from France to request permission to use a Papergreat image in a magazine article. He noted, "Thanks for your very interesting sharings on your blog Papergreat. Same as you, I love to reveal a piece of history through old documents and mails. One of your articles has caught my eye. ... I have done some research on one of the competitors of the company, International Gift of the Month Club. I'm revising an article ... to be published in la Philatélie française, the official magazine of the French Federation of Philatelic Associations. I would like to ask for your permission to reproduce in my article, the image featured in your blog page. I really appreciate that you have dug further on the Internet about the Around-the-World Shoppers Club. The sources that you cited were of great help to me."

Later, he sent a PDF copy of the article, which is written in French. Here's part of the page featuring the image from Papergreat:

Try these word problems from 1900's "School Arithmetic Advanced Book": Anonymous wrote a two-part note, trying to tackle a math problem from the old textbook:

"I like these. Perhaps I'm wrong but it seems like the answer to question d) would be 48 days and not 24? If 1/3 of the workers were released it would take 3 times as many days to do the same job. If it would have taken the full crew of 60 men an additional 16 days to complete the work then it stands to reason that it would take 20 men 48 days to complete the same task."

[Later...]

"Oops I am wrong. 1/3 of the workers released. That means 2/3 remain. That would be a factor of 1.5 times the number of days to do the job. 16 days x 1.5 = 24 days."

The movie books before the internet and IMDb: Joan wrote: "I'm not 100% sure I watched 20 new films in total in 2022 (!) but three of my favorites are on this list — Chungking Express, Grand Budapest Hotel and Licorice Pizza. They actually may all be in my top 20 favorite movies of all time list! Thank you for expanding my horizons. Not just with cats."

Now let's see if I can come up with some equally good picks for 2023!

Old school library copy of "The Glass Slipper": Joan wrote: "Hey, I know E.H. Shepard well from his work on Winnie-the-Pooh!"

1984 advertisement for play-by-mail game Crasimoff's World: Iain Wilson of the podcast and Twitter account Roll to Save shared these great memories of the game: "I LOVED playing Crasimoff's World! Although memories are hazy, I do remember sitting with anticipation waiting for the packet to turn up every week. Likewise, I remember my little crew protecting a town called 'Obin'. However, by far my best memory was attending 'Crasimeet' in the mid 90s, where myself and a few others turned up in Thornton-Cleveleys in the UK for a weekend of gaming. It was a ton of fun, and I remember corresponding (by mail of course!) with a few of the guys I met there as we tried to get our parties to meet up. That was when I also learned that there were two versions of Crasimoff's World — an older 80s version and one for those like me who started later. I can't quite remember the differences other than spellcaster in the 'new' version used powders to cast their spells whereas older casters didn't."

Delving into Henry K. Wampole & Company: Sheilah Forward of Jamaica first emailed almost exactly a year ago to comment on one of Papergreat's oldest posts: "As a kid in the 1950s I loved cod liver oil. I found your 'history' about Wampole in a trip down a rabbit hole this morning investigating Mother's attempt to make me enjoy my daily dose of Wampole's. I hope you don't mind that I used some of your work to create today's Facebook entry. I've been posting everyday since we were locked down here in Jamaica on March 25, 2020. Today is Day 668. In the beginning, I presumed it would be a couple of month's commitment."

And here's an excerpt from her Facebook post, which she emailed to me separately: "Wampole’s Liquid, Tonic, Mixture or Elixir. I just called it 'Disgusting'. Mother used to dose us all with a spoonful of that wonderful, thick, golden liquid, cod liver oil, every day (probably just in the ‘almost winter’, ‘winter’ and ‘not quite winter’ seasons) to replenish winter’s vitamin deficit. I know that I looked forward to it, though my sisters may not remember it the same way. One day Mother gave us Wampole’s. What a ghastly surprise. It was red, runny and sickening sweet ‘cherry flavoured’ — supposedly children would swallow it with a smile. I did not smile. For some reason the name Wampole snuck into a dormant brain cell this morning and I sought to know more about this dreadful potion."

Scholastic book: "Arrow Book of Spooky Stories": There are two comments on this 2023 post. Tom from Garage Sale Finds wrote: "I've always said, my favorite day in school every month was the arrival of the Scholastic order form along with the books you ordered the previous month. I loved these spooky story books along with the 'mysterious monsters' books and was sure to order whenever offered. And I'll have you know, I do get these spooky story books out and read from then when my family has a campfire outside."

And Shawn Marie Mann from Cookbook Chat wrote: "My family was poor growing up but I was always given $1 to order from Scholastic. Back in the 1970s that dollar would go a long way, sometimes 4 books! And those books were well written, professionally illustrated and amazing. Today's kids have the magic of the internet but they will never have what we had back then. Thanks for this great post!"

Join the Wartime Reducing Party: Linda Whitney writes: "I love your site! Check out my Etsy store Hoozestuff. I have lots of ephemera there and booklets and such. I also have an older Lindlahr diet booklet from 1936."

Very obscure Manning-Sanders novel: "Mermaid's Mirror": The Brown Brontë writes: "I would also love to track down a copy of this! I found out that she wrote a letter on 6th June 1935 to her friend, the journalist Thomas Moult in which she mentions that 'Mermaid's Mirror' is out. She says she has asked Cassell to send him a copy, and that she hopes he will be able to write something nice about it. The letters are in Leeds University's Special Collections."

Indeed, it's a rarity. It appears that neither Selina Pennaluna (1927) nor Mermaid's Mirror (1935) is part of the Ruth Manning-Sanders estate auction that I mentioned in a recent post.

Scholastic book: "Arrow Book of Spooky Stories"

A few days ago, author J.D. King asked on Twitter, "Do you guys remember Scholastic Book Fairs? Did you have those in your school?" It's one of the great evergreen Twitter prompts for bookish types, because it always spurs plenty of enthusiasm and nostalgia in the replies.

But responses these days also leave me feeling a bit old. They're from people happily reminiscing about times long, long after I was attending Scholastic book fairs and filling out those monthly forms to order books. Some folks talk fondly now of the "good old days" when they got Goosebumps and Animorphs books.

For me, the heyday of Scholastic fairs and in-class order forms was about 1978 to 1983. So I was getting stuff by Judy Blume, Three Investigators books, Peanuts-themed novelty books like the Peanuts Lunch Bag Cook Book that's on my list to write about, and maybe a compilation of Garfield strips.

For me, though, the keenest nostalgia is for the time even before that. I love discovering and writing about Scholastic books from the 1960s and early to mid 1970s, and have have fifty-plus post on that topic over the years.

In 2015 I wrote about 1960's Arrow Book of Ghost Stories. Today, it's the paperback volume that was a followup to that title: 1962's Arrow Book of Spooky Stories, also edited by Nora Kramer¹, and this time illustrated by Erwin Hoffman. It's Scholastic book TX 331 and initially had a cover price of 35 cents.

Here's the table of contents:

• Horace the Happy Ghost, by Elizabeth Ireland
• Never Mind Them Watermelons, by Maria Leach
• The Tinker and the Ghost, by Ralph S. Boggs & Mary Gould Davis
• The Lucky Man, by Maria Leach
• The Stubbornest Man in Maine, by Moritz Jagendorf
• Here We Go, by Maria Leach
• The Friendly Ghost, by Elizabeth Yates
• The Dancing Jug, by Lupe De Osma
• The Strange Visitor, by Joseph Jacobs
• A Shiver of Ghosts, by Cyril Birch
• The Ghostly Fisherman, by Natalie Savage Carlson

Some of these authors show up in other Scholastic anthologies. Leach, a folklorist who wrote The Soup Stone: The Magic of Familiar Things, and Jagendorf have stories in Nine Witch Tales. Cyril Birch was also a folklorist who wrote a book about Chinese myths that I discussed last summer. (When you've blogged this long, you can almost always find ways to connect to past entries.)

There are, of course, a lot of fond memories of this book. Some folks specifically remember that it was through Scholastic that they discovered the book. Writing an Amazon review in 2011, The Grey Piper stated, "Great spooky stories! Aimed for kids of course, I had this when I was a kid and just wanted to revisit. Some of these might even make good stories for adults, told in a more mature style around a fireplace on a winter's night! Very nice introduction to the ghost story for young readers."

And in a short review for Goodreads in 2014, Pamela wrote: "I read this when I was in third grade. It is best read with a flash light in a tent with your girl friends or with your Girl Scout troop. Lots of fun."

Footnote

1. Nora Kramer lived from 1896 to 1984. Her obituary in the July 6, 1984, edition of The New York Times described her as an author, editor, and expert on children's book, adding, "She was founder and director of the Book Plan, a personalized book selection service for young people, which she began under the name of Eleanor Brent." She also went by Edna Mitchell Preston for some works.