Name That Book: The Great Illustrated Railroad and Blah Blah Blah Blah!
February 5, 2023 1:49 PM Subscribe
As a kid in the 70s-80s I had a large-format paperback joke/activity book that was quirky and weird. It was called something like "The Great Illustrated Railroad and [something else nonsensical here]!" What was it??
The book was approx 8.5x11 but definitely a paperback. The cover was blue with wacky mixed fonts and collage-style images. The inside was black & white, rough thick paper (not glossy), and the images and text were unusually placed - sometimes falling off the margins of the book.
It was not about railroads at all, btw, but I feel strongly that "railroad" or "railway" was in the title.
The crazy thing is I FOUND this book online at one point, bought it, and had it in my house within the past ten years. Now I can't find it - maybe I donated it, because it wasn't as fun as I remembered it being - and I don't need to own it again I just need to remember the #&@* name before I lose my mind.
Google fails me, and I just downloaded my entire ebay history and it's not there. Hopefully another mefite of a certain age (as myself) can point me in the right direction...
The book was approx 8.5x11 but definitely a paperback. The cover was blue with wacky mixed fonts and collage-style images. The inside was black & white, rough thick paper (not glossy), and the images and text were unusually placed - sometimes falling off the margins of the book.
It was not about railroads at all, btw, but I feel strongly that "railroad" or "railway" was in the title.
The crazy thing is I FOUND this book online at one point, bought it, and had it in my house within the past ten years. Now I can't find it - maybe I donated it, because it wasn't as fun as I remembered it being - and I don't need to own it again I just need to remember the #&@* name before I lose my mind.
Google fails me, and I just downloaded my entire ebay history and it's not there. Hopefully another mefite of a certain age (as myself) can point me in the right direction...
Response by poster: No, infinitewindow, but it was definitely in that spirit!
posted by nkknkk at 3:18 PM on February 5, 2023
posted by nkknkk at 3:18 PM on February 5, 2023
Best answer: Is it... The Animated Thumbtack Railroad Dollhouse and All Around Surprise Book (Evening Edition)?
posted by redfoxtail at 3:22 PM on February 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
posted by redfoxtail at 3:22 PM on February 5, 2023 [3 favorites]
Response by poster: YES! And I saw that ask about Peter Stuyvesant but didn't put 2+2, and didn't check back to see the answers. Thank you!
And now that I click the link, Amazon tells me I indeed bought a copy in 2018.
posted by nkknkk at 6:52 PM on February 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
And now that I click the link, Amazon tells me I indeed bought a copy in 2018.
posted by nkknkk at 6:52 PM on February 5, 2023 [1 favorite]
Best answer: The collection of previouslies is starting to edge this towards Infrequently Asked Question status:
What was this surreal children's book with Peter Stuyvesant?
It was like "The Something, Something, Something & Something Else Book"
Help me find a creepy book from my childhood.
posted by zamboni at 11:23 PM on February 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
What was this surreal children's book with Peter Stuyvesant?
It was like "The Something, Something, Something & Something Else Book"
Help me find a creepy book from my childhood.
posted by zamboni at 11:23 PM on February 5, 2023 [2 favorites]
This thread is closed to new comments.
posted by infinitewindow at 2:45 PM on February 5, 2023