NameTheseBooksFilter

October 5, 2007 6:09 PM

Please help identify a book I read as a child in the late 80s or early 90s. It was either a series of books on ghosts, vampires, etc., or maybe just one book broken down into sections. Humorous text describing different types of each creature, with black and white line drawings. I remember the tone being funny, not scary. Bonus scifi name-this-book inside if this one isn't ringing a bell.

I know this isn't much to go on, but we've done Name This Book on less, so maybe I'll luck out.

If you don't know but want to take a stab at the one other book I've never been able to re-identify: Vaguely trashy sci-fi novel purchased probably in the mid-80s, gold paperback cover featuring the top half of a blonde girl's head, with DNA strands for eyes. Dim recollection of the plot is that a scientist who's developing a strain of super-smart, peaceful rats decides to experiment with his daughter's DNA, and she grows up to be very smart, telekinetic, possibly other ridiculous superpowers. The mother dies while she's young (possibly in an accident caused by her superpowers?) and she's raised by her father, goes to college at a very young age, etc., etc. Predictably, she hits puberty, her powers go psycho just as the father's super-smart rats suddenly regress and turn feral. Eventually she sacrifices herself to save her father's life when her powers rage out of control and threaten to harm him. Possibly she telekinetically brings a building down on her own head? Her name might be Sophie or Sylvia.

I've tried Loganberry "Stump the Bookseller" and the Abebooks forum on both these with no luck, but if you've got other suggestions for good places to post "name that book" questions, links would be great even if you can't name these particular books.

posted by Stacey to writing & language (4 comments total)

Could the first one be The Book of Weird?
posted by bac at 6:15 PM on October 5, 2007

Scary Stories by Alvin Schwartz
He did a series...they are not science fiction but the illustrations are pretty cool
crazy long link


posted by madmamasmith at 12:33 AM on October 6, 2007

It's definitely not Scary Stories - I do remember those books. But the books I'm thinking of weren't stories, just short funny descriptions of different types of various vampires/werewolves/whatever. Thanks, though!

I'm not sure about the Book of Weird. It doesn't sound quite right, but I could be remembering wrong. I'll try to track down a copy to get a closer look at it.
posted by Stacey at 4:56 AM on October 6, 2007

Witches, Wit & a Werewolf by Hardendorff, Jeanne B.
My Mama Says There Aren't Any Zombies, Ghosts, Vampires, Demons, Monsters, Fiend (Paperback)
by Judith Viorst
posted by madmamasmith at 10:47 PM on October 27, 2007