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eoshinsky.bsky.social
oceans' key
@eoshinsky.bsky.social
31 followers 180 following 70 posts
Printmaker and copywriter in and of NJ
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eoshinsky.bsky.social
Yahrzeit
February 6, 2024 at 10:44 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 19:

My Teacher Fried my Brains, by Bruce Coville. Illustrated by John Pierard
Front cover to My Teacher Fried my Brains, by Bruce Coville: The illustration, by Steve Fastner, shows the view through a schoolroom window. A boy in a red sweatshirt sits on a wood chair with a futuristic glass contraption over his head. The glass contraption has three huge electric insulators, sparks of lightning flying everywhere. The boy’s hair is spiked up and his tongue lolls out of his mouth, his legs up in a fit. In front of him, a green-faced alien with three eyes pulls a rubber face mask off her head and stares through the window at a boy and a girl who look on in horror. The illustration is framed in orange on a purple field. Above, the copy line reads: THE SEQUEL TO THE BESTELLING MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN! Rear cover to My Teacher Fried my Brains, by Bruce Coville: Huge purple type on a yellow field, bordered in orange: BRAINS ARE SIZZLING IN THE SEVENTH GRADE… The first day of seventh grade was probably the worst day of Duncan Dougal’s life. He knows that things are really bad when he finds an alien’s hand in a dumpster and then gets plugged into an alien brain fryer! Can Duncan find out which of the four new teachers in his school is an alien before his brains get fried to a pulp—or before the aliens try to fry the whole planet? “Coville deftly picks up the first book’s plot threads while weaving a new tale from Duncan’s point of view. The fast-paced plot and terse, familiar narration will attract readers to Coville’s continuing tales.”—ALA Booklist Illustrated by John Pierard Cover Illustration by Steve Fastner A GLC Book A Minstrel® Book Published by Pocket Books RL: 5.0 008-012 PRINTED IN U.S.A.
January 4, 2024 at 3:38 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 18:

Still More Tales for the Midnight Hour, by J.B. Stamper
Front cover of STILL MORE TALES FOR THE MIDNIGHT HOUR, by J. B. Stamper: A black cat stands in aggressive/defensive posture with its butt way up, behind a fancy golden clock in a tall glass dome on a white doily. The cover copy promises "13 STORIES OF HORROR." The title and author's name are in red, all-caps "Misfits" style font, dripping red bits of blood or paint. The cat stares at the reader with emerald eyes, its red mouth open in a wicked grin. Back cover of STILL MORE TALES FOR THE MIDNIGHT HOUR by J. B. Stamper. Below the yellow "Scholastic" trade markings, a detail of the cat's face from the front cover breaks out of its square border, next to copy in dripping red "Misfits" lettering: THIRTEEN CHILLING TALES Below that, some body copy in normal black type: The room is dark and silent. Through the window the full moon shimmers in the fog. Could that be someone ... or something moving against your window pain? Or is it just a shadow? Suddenly a chill runs down your spine and you wish you weren't alone. The clock sounds the stroke of midnight. It's time for *Still More Tales for the Midnight Hour.* Thirteen tales of horror that will make you turn pale with fear. Beware...the grip of terror tightens with every page. SCHOLASTIC INC. RL6 011-013
December 27, 2023 at 6:03 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
Tis the season... to season!
A new molcajete my wife gave me for my birthday, next to a 20lb bag of Carolina white rice for seasoning it. My arms hurt already.
December 27, 2023 at 5:44 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
A poem for my birthday and the end of 2023.
Lilacs on My Birthday  BY JOYCE PESEROFF The flowerets look edible before they open, like columns of sugar dots on tiny strips I bought as a child. Hard to bite the candy without some paper adhering, as adding machine tape will to large, red numbers. Lilacs are like that: another year unspools without major accomplishment, while I question "major" and "accomplishment." And when I find in Costco those clusters of pointillist pastel, I hope they will become someone else's nostalgia—honorable emotion propelling Ulysses toward Ithaca, and a woman to set lilacs in her dooryard as her mother did.
December 25, 2023 at 1:03 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 17:

Audubon Society Pocket Guides:
Familiar Dinosaurs
Front cover of The Audubon Society Pocket Guides: Familiar Dinosaurs. An illustration of a family of triceratops, bordered by a teal-green rectangle. The triceratops is beautifully rendered, its scaly armored back a dark grey fading to orange toward its belly. Back cover to The Audubon Society Pocket Guide to Dinosaurs. Teal-green border with a white rectangle inside that reads: THE AUDUBON SOCIETY POCKET GUIDES Each Guide is illustrated with 80 full-page full-color photos. Other guides in this series: Animal Tracks * Birds (Eastern and Western) * Butterflies * Cacti * Flowers (Eastern and Western) * Fossils * Insects and Spiders * Mammals * Marine Mammals * Mushrooms * Reptiles and Amphibians * Rocks and Minerals * Seashells * Seashore Creatures * Trees (Eastern and Western)
December 20, 2023 at 2:54 AM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 16:

Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Weird Inventions and Discoveries
Front Cover of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Weird Inventions and Discoveries, with the "Ripley's" logo in bright yellow against a psychedelic blue and black wood-grain pattern and "Believe it or Not!" in bright red The subtitle is written in a yellow ribbon over an old-timey lithograph illustration of a bunch of men pedaling a ridiculous Victorian tricycle contraption. The wheels are so big you can see their full bodies framed inside the rims. The men all wear chauffeur's uniforms, because of course. The bottom left of the illustration is marked "An 8-MAN TRICYCLE." The illustration is framed against a psychedelic blue and black wood-grain pattern. The upper right corner has a badge reading "100th ANNIVERSARY EDITION" Rear cover of Ripley's Believe It or Not! Weird Inventions and Discoveries, with the "Ripley's" logo in bright yellow against a psychedelic blue and black wood-grain pattern. The subtitle is written in a military-esque stencil font: WEIRD INVENTIONS AND DISCOVERIES Inside you will find amazing-but-true stories about: A real flying saucer The dogmobile The gun that shoots around corners The underwater bicycle The human target The world's oldest map and oldest book The eyeball massager The invention of the sandwich, the comma, the decimal point, the letter zero, the first automobile, the dimple maker, the hole in the donut, the robot guide dog, and much more. A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book
December 18, 2023 at 2:28 AM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 15:

Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch, by Donald J. Sobol; illustrated by Leanoard Shortall.
Front cover of (an extremely beat up) Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch, by Donald J. Sobol, illustrated by Leonard Shortall: A pencil-and-watercolor drawing of a boy in a suburban garage, reading a book, with a pile of books next to him on a workbench, facing out the open barn door of the garage turned into a makeshift office. Another boy in a little league uniform approaches the doorway of the garage, resting a baseball bat over his shoulder and accompanied by a beagle. A handwritten sign next to the doorway reads: BROWN DETECTIVE AGENCY Rover Avenue LeRoy Brown President No case too small 25¢ per day plus expenses The log line above the title forms a semicircle around the giant number 2 that indicates the book's place in the EB series: Meet the world's greatest boy sleuth Beat-to-hell back cover of Encyclopedia Brown and the Case of the Secret Pitch, by Donald J. Sobol; black text on a tan background: HOW DID ENCYCLOPEDIA KNOW THE SECRET PITCH WAS A FRAUD? One clue solves the mystery! How good a detective are you? --- Can you put a penknife in your pants pocket with your right hand while running? Where does the sun fall at 9 o'clock in the morning? The color of grass ... a frozen glass of ginger ale ... a two-fisted poet ... a check dated June 31st ... with clues like these[,] the #1 Sherlock Holmes in sneakers solves ten tricky new cases—and keeps the peace in Idaville. Below that copy is a sign in faux-children's handwriting; backwards Ns, etc: BROWN DETECTIVE AGENCY 13 Rover Avenue LeRoy Brown President No case too small 25¢ per day plus expenses Below this illustration is a list of other books in the series: DON'T MISS THESE OTHER EXCITING ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN BOOKS: ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN Boy Detective—1 ENCYCLOPEDIA BROWN Finds the Clues—3 ENCYC...
December 16, 2023 at 2:28 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 14:

The Witching Hour, by Stephen Krensky
Front cover of The Witching Hour, by Stephen Krensky, illustrated by Jeffrey Lindberg: Two teenagers stare in horror at a display of 8 grinning jack-o-lanterns. The boy is wearing a denim jacket with pins on the front pocket. His sister, wearing a boxy cardigan, stands in front of him, her arm out to keep him from approaching any closer to the menacing jack-o-lanterns. Orange light pours out of the eye and mouth holes of the pumpkins, bathing the children in an eery glow. The log line above the illustration screams: THIS TIME THE TRICKS ARE FOR REAL! Rear cover of The Witching Hour, by Stephen Krensky: The denim color continues from the front cover. The title is in red type with white outline, with the summary below: THE WITCHING HOUR It's Halloween weekend, and there is a convention at the Westrbridge Inn—a convention attended by thirteen strange, sneaky people, all of whom have cats. Alison Wynd is the assistant to Miss Harding, the director, and she's fascinated by the job. A few unusual people don't bother her . . . until her brothers and sisters make a chilling discovery. It's a WITCHES convention. Westbridge is in danger. And only the Wynd family—who have magical powers of their own—can save their town. "[Full of] eeriness and magical pizzazz."—Booklist "A generous supply of both laughs and shivers." —School Library Journal OTHER ALADDIN BOOKS ABOUT THE WYND FAMILY The Dragon Circle * A Ghostly Business STEPHEN KRENSKY is the author of many fiction and nonfiction titles for middle readers, including Scoop After Sco...
December 15, 2023 at 1:22 AM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 13:

The Secret of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks, illustrated by Ted Lewin
Front cover of The Secret of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks: Below the authors name and price ($3.50!) is an illustration by Tom Newsom inside a teal cruciform border. The illustration shows a man in stereotypical native american drip—deerskin vest and pants with feather trim, beaded armband, moccasins, two feathers in his hair, which hangs in two braids, and a quiver and small bow on his back. The man hangs from the red ribbon tied to a key above him, as if swinging from a rope. He appears to be about three inches tall. Below him, the copy, yellow on a red rectangle: The SECRET of the INDIAN an incredible new adventure of THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD Rear cover for The Secret of the Indian, by Lynne Reid Banks: White knock-out type below a yellow headline in an "old west" style font: THE MAGIC CONTINUES... It began with the highly acclaimed classic THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD when Omri discovered he could bring to life the miniature plastic Indian, the American cowboy, and his other toy figures. In THE RETURN OF THE INDIAN, Omri found he could even transport himself and his friend Patrcik into the dangerous 19th-century world of their miniature friends. Now, in an incredible new adventure, Omri and Patrick are forced to share their secret with Patrick's cousin Emma. All of England is threatened by the disastrous cyclone they have brought back from the American West, and Emma may hold the key to survival. The New York Times called the award-winning THE INDIAN IN THE CUPBOARD "the best novel of the year." The magic continues with its sequel, THE RETURN OF THE INDIAN and now in THE SECRET OF THE INDIAN, an ABA American Booksel...
December 13, 2023 at 2:16 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 12:

A Pack of Lies, by Geraldine McCaughrean
Front cover of A Pack of Lies, by Geraldine McCaughrean: An illustration of two people sitting in an antique shop—a young man with a trim beard, and a teenage girl with straight blond hair covering her shoulders. He wears a tweed jacket and his arms are up, mid-gesture as he spins some tale. His eyes point toward the young woman, searching for validation. Her chin rests on her two fists. Her eyes, pointing sideways at him, are skeptical but intrigued. In the foreground and all around them are vintage knick knacks. A PACK OF LIES Winner of the 1989 Carnegie Medal Don't believe everything you hear... Geraldine McCaughrean Rear cover of A Pack of Lies, by Geraldine McCaughrean: A cut-out detail from the front cover illustration, the character's raised arms breaking through the border, suggesting a broken 4th wall. The text below reads: Truth. Or consequences. She chose consequences... The new employee in Alisa's mother's antiques shop is strangely attractive. And a little strange. But Alisa finds herself listening to the stories he begins to tell—weird and wonderful stories, woven around the antiques in the shop and people who come in. She doesn't believe a word he says, of cours. Tall tales. WIld imaginings. A pack of lies, really. Then Alisa realizes that all of his stories are coming true. What if one day he begins to tell a story about Alisa? Could she trust him with her life? SCHOLASTIC INC
December 13, 2023 at 2:21 AM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 12:

Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville
Front cover of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, illustrated by Catherine Huerta: A boy with a 90s haircut stares in shock at an infant dragon as it hatches out of an incandescent shell. The dragon is red and pink, saurian, with full bat wings and four limbs. It looks up at the boy, imprinting on him. His hand reaches forward, as if to pet the small creature, but hesitant. Pieces of rainbow light seem to emanate from the shell toward the boy. The cover copy, set in a rainbow border around the illustration, reads: BRUCE COVILLE Author of The Monster’s Ring JEREMY THATCHER, DRAGON HATCHER She was just a little dragon... until she grew, and grew, and grew… A MAGIC SHOP BOOK Rear cover of Jeremy Thatcher, Dragon Hatcher, by Bruce Coville: White text on a blue field, enclosed in a rainbow border. The illustration is a detail of the pink dragon hatching out of an incandescent egg from the front cover. A rainbow starburst on the top left announces: The adventure begins… If Howard Morton and Freddie the Frog Killer were trying to hold you down so that Mary Lou Hutton could kiss you, you might run as fast as Jeremy Thatcher did the day he stumbled into Mr. Lives’ Magic Shop. And if you stumbled into that strange shop, you, too, might be asked to make a choice. What would you buy? The Chinese rings? The Skull of Truth? Or the dragon’s egg? And if you did buy the dragon’s egg, what would you do when you found out you were supposed to hatch it? “A funny, enjoyable, imaginative story…” —Kirkus Cover art by Catherine Huerta Interior Illustrations by Gary A. Lippincott A MINSTREL BOOK PUBLISHED BY POCKET BOOKS RL: 5.8 008-012 PRINTED IN U.S.A.
December 11, 2023 at 2:03 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 11:

Johnny Tremain, by Esther Forbes
Front cover of Johnny Tremain, by Ether Forbes: A full-bleed illustration of two men in colonial dress. In the foreground, a young man in a tricorn hat and blue vest holds a pamphlet under his arm inscribed with the title “Sons of Liberty.” Just behind him, a redcoat in a bearskin cap, holds a long gun at his side and stares intently at the younger man. Behind them, more redcoats stand in formation in front of a line of red brick rowhouses. The sky, heavy with clouds, forms the backdrop for the title and log line in red type: JOHNNY TREMAIN The story of Boston in revolt against the British ESTHER FORBES Rear cover of JOHNNY TREMAIN, by Esther Forbes—red type on a yellow field: A story filled with danger and excitement, JOHNNY TREMAIN tells of the turbulent, passionate times in Boston just before the Revolutionary War. Johnny, a young apprentice silversmith, is caught up in a dramatic involvement with Otis, Hancock, and John and Samuel Adams in the exciting currents and undercurrents that were to lead to the Boston Tea Party and the Battle of Lexington—and, finally, a touching resolution of Johnny’s personal life. JOHNNY TREMAIN is historical fiction at its best, portraying Revolutionary Boston as a living drama, through the shrewd eyes of an observant boy. “This is Esther Forbes at her brilliant best…Johnny may well take his place with Jim Hawkins, Huck Finn, and other young immortals…” —BOOK WEEK “…an outstanding novel…” —HORN BOOK “This story of Johnny Tremain is almost uncanny in its ‘aliveness.’ Esther Forbes’s power to create, and to recreate, a face, a voice, a scene...
December 10, 2023 at 10:56 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 10:

Rumble Fish, by S.E. Hinton
Front cover of Rumble Fish, by S. E. Hinton: An illustration of two hard-looking greasers in black leather "Perfecto"-style motorcycle jackets at a pool hall. The younger greaser leans forward with his pool cue to take aim at the 3-ball, looking past us. The other stands behind him, fist on hip, looking directly at the viewer. The overhead light casts hard shadows on them both, leaving everything beyond the greasers and the pool table in total darkness. The cover copy reads: By the author of The Outsiders and That Was Then, This Is Now S.E. HINTON Rumble Fish Beaten-up rear cover of Rumble Fish, by S.E. Hinton—white type on a black background, with the title in teal. It reads: Rumble Fish Rusty-James is the number-one tough guy among the junior high kids who hang out and shoot pool at Benny's, and he enjoys keeping up his reputation. What he wants most of all is to be just like his older brother, the Motorcycle Boy. He wants to stay calm and laughing when things get dangerous, to be the toughest street-fighter and the most respected hood on their side of the river. But by his own admission, Rusty-James isn't a particularly smart person, and he relies more on his fists than his brains. Up until now he's gotten along all right because whenever he gets into something he can't handle, the Motorcycle Boy bails him out. But Rusty-James' lack of direction, his longing for the days for the street gangs and his blind drive to be like his brother eat away at his world until it all comes apart in an explosive chain of events. And this time...
December 8, 2023 at 4:33 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 9:

Something Upstairs, by Avi
Front cover illustration of Something Upstairs, by Avi: A box of books in an attic room with dark purple walls. Two ghostly hands reach out of a puddle of ectoplasm on the floor in front of the box, pushing the box out of the way. Whisps of spectral steam rise from the puddle to frame the log line and title: The room held an ancient secret... compelling, mysterious… and terrifying SOMETHING UPSTAIRS by the author of The Devil’s Race AVI Rear cover for Something Upstairs, by Avi. It starts with a pull-quote from the author in yellow type… “This is the strangest story I’ve ever heard… I think it’s true.” Avi IT ROSE FROM THE DARK STAIN ON THE FLOOR… A white glow, almost shiny, filled the windowless space. TWO HANDS, THEN TWO ARMS, REACHED UP FROM THE STAIN… Kenny stood staring. It was beyond belief. A HEAD ROSE FROM THE STAIN. THEN CAME A NECK… The humanlike shape radiated a soft, pale, pulsing glow… ITS HAND REACHED OUT TOWARD KENNY… Relentlessly it beckoned… luring him with the unknown horror that haunted the room. Ensnaring him in an unspeakable history from which he might never escape. “Readers will be hooked till the last tension-filled page.” Booklist “A thoughtful, spooky, ingenious treat for ghost-story fans.” Kirkus
December 5, 2023 at 7:56 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 8:

The Ghosts of Cougar Island, by Peggy Parish.
Front cover for The Ghosts of Cougar Island, by Peggy Parish: An illustration of three barefoot children on a scrub-covered shoreline, with the wind from a coming storm blowing in their hair. In the foreground, a girl in a pink top and stiped shorts holds a picnic basket, overflowing with grapes and other food. Next to her, a boy in shorts and a striped shirt holds a conch shell to his year. Behind them, another boy leans on a stick of driftwood. Seagulls fly against the wind as storm clouds loom in the distance behind them. The title is imposed over the storm-dark sky in gold italic type: The Ghosts of Cougar Island Peggy Parish Illustrated by Deborah Chabrian Above the illustration, on a pink field, is the log line: Have Liza, Bill, and Jed met their match? Rear cover for The Ghosts of Cougar Island, by Peggy Parish The headline appears in red italic script on a pink field: The Ghosts of Cougar Island Peggy Parish Illustrated by Deborah Chabrian Below that, black text reads: Summer vacation is nearly over, and Liza, Bill, and Jed know it’s almost time to leave their grandparents and the exciting adventures they’ve shared on Pirate Island. Before they had for home, the trio is itching to solve the mystery of Cougar Island. But it’s private property, and according to legend, trespassers will be haunted forever by the ghosts of the Cougar family. Ghosts or no ghosts, Liza, Bill, and Jed won’t be satisfied until they’ve done some exploring. And when they do, they make the most amazing discovery! Are those old stories true? Could the island be haunted after all? PEGGY PARISH, a longtime schoolteacher, now lives in her native South Carolina. Young mystery fans will find her other books about sleuths Liza, Bill, and Jed available in...
December 4, 2023 at 5:33 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 7:

Wayside School is Falling Down, by Louis Sachar
Front cover to Wayside School is Falling Down (with a fair amount of damage from years of neglect in a damp basement): The illustration shows a close-up of a brick building tipping over at a 45º angle. Most of the image is taken up by the window, which shows three kids mid-air as the building gives way, their arms, legs and pigtails up in the air to suggest momentum. All around, the air is filled with school supplies—a globe, an eraser, a lunchbox, books, pencils, a school desk—as they fly toward the wall. A student with short blond hair, up legs in the air, stares at us through the window in terror. The illustration is framed by a yellow outline on a blue field, forming a cross shape, that holds the marketing text: By the author of SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL Rear cover of Wayside School is Falling Down: More fun in THE WACKY WORLD OF WAYSIDE SCHOOL "Watch closely," said Mrs. Jewels. "You can learn much faster using a computer instead of paper and pencil." Then she pushed the new computer out of the window. The children all watched it fall thirty floors and smash against the sidewalk. "See?" said Mrs. Jewls. "That's gravity! I've been trying to teach you about gravity, but the computer showed you a lot quicker!" That's the way things happen at Wayside School. There are 29 kids in Mrs Jewls's glass and this book is about all of them. There is Todd, who got in trouble every day . . . until he got a magic dog; Paul, whose life was saved by Leslie's pigtails; Roon, who dared to try the cafeteria's Mushroom Surprise—and all the others who help them turn a day at Wayside School into one madcap adventure after another. But, after the things that happened in SIDEWAYS STORIES FROM WAYSIDE SCHOOL, what would you expect?
December 3, 2023 at 5:09 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 6:

Ralph S. Mouse, by Beverly Cleary. Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky.
Front cover of Ralph S. Mouse, by Beverly Cleary: A mouse looks out the driver's side window (assuming you're British) of a sleek grey toy car. The illustration is framed on a puce field; words "Beverly Cleary" hang above the car in red, with "Ralph S. Mouse" imposed over the hood of the car, both set in a Cooper-ish type. The log line reads: Vroom-vroom-vroom... He's off on a new adventure! A DELL-YEARLING BOOK Rear cover for Ralph S. Mouse, black type on a puce field: By Beverly Cleary Illustrated by Paul O. Zelinsky Ralph "Smart" Mouse is fed up with living at the country inn with his rowdy mouse cousins who always want to ride his motorcycle. When his pal Ryan Bramble takes him to school, Ralph is delighted with his new home and instant rise to fame. But Ralph doesnt like it one bit when he's in a mouse exhibit and a reporter writes that there are mice throughout the school! What's worse is Ryan's quarrels with his classmate Brad, who ends up breaking Ralph's motorcycle. Can anything replace his treasured motorcycle> Why can't they all be friends?
December 2, 2023 at 11:50 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 5:

Sherlock Holmes: The Complete. Novels and Stories Volume I, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle (Bantam Classic edition)
Front Cover of Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories Volume I, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, with an introduction by Loren D. Estleman The title hangs in white knock-out type over a sepia-toned photo of a cobble-stoned London street, wet with with mist. A man in traditional Victorian dress—bowler hat, tweed suit, the whole bit—walks in front of us, mostly in silhouette, drawing our eye through the canyon on brick buildings. At the end of the street, a block of row houses disappears upward into the fog. Rear cover of Sherlock Holmes: The Complete Novels and Stories I, chock-a-block with white type knocked out of a sepia field: A BANTAM CLASSIC Since his first appearance in Beeton’s Christmas Annual in 1887, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle’s Sherlock Holmes has been one of the most beloved fictional characters ever created. Now, in two volumes, this new Bantam edition presents all 56 short stories and 4 novels featuring Conan Doyle’s classic hero—a truly complete collection of Sherlock Holmes’s adventures in crime now available in paperback! Volume I includes the early novel, A STUDY IN SCARLET, that introduced the eccentric genius of Sherlock Holmes to the world. This baffling murder mystery, which the cryptic word “Rache” written in blood, first brought Holmes together with Dr. John Watson. The next, THE SIGN OF FOUR presents Holmes’s famous “seven percent solution” and the strange puzzle of Mary Morstan in the quintessential locked room mystery. Also included are Holmes’s feats of extr...
December 1, 2023 at 4:19 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 4:

The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling
Front cover of The Chocolate Touch, by Patrick Skene Catling: The illustration shows a boy leaning forward to kiss his mother on the cheek as she sits in a rocking chair. Her body is halfway through transforming into pure chocolate—while her arms and everything below her waist still appear alive, her torso and face have already turned brown and rigid. One of her still-living hands seems to be wiping a tear from her face. Behind his back, the boy holds a chocolate apple with one bite bitten out of it. A fluffy cat looks on, unmoved. The log line reads: John Midas was crazy about chocolate. But this was too much of a good thing. With illustrations by Margot Apple Rear cover of The Chocolate Touch: Everything King Midas touched turned to gold. John Midas had... The Chocolate Touch! It all started when John found the funny old coin. The man at the candy store was more than glad to trade John a box of chocolates for it. And John loved chocolate more than anything else in the world. Or so he thought... At first, John was disappointed because inside that big box was just one piece of chocolate. But after he ate it, everything tasted like chocolate! That's when John discovered that his chocolate touch was more—much more—than he bargained for! The Chocolate Touch A Bantam-Skylark Book
November 30, 2023 at 1:46 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 3:

My Teacher Flunked the Planet, by Bruce Coville
Front cover of My Teacher FLUNKED the Planet: Two teenagers in baggy 90s clothes look angrily at a green alien with yellow eyes dressed in a tan corduroy suit, as the alien makes ready to press a glowing red button in the middle of what appears to be the control room of a space station. One of them barely holds the other back from hauling off and punching the alien. Behind the three of them, hanging in the balance, is the planet Earth. (As illustrated by Steve Fastner.) Underneath, the log line reads: The Thrilling Climax to MY TEACHER IS AN ALIEN Rear cover of My Teacher FLUNKED the Planet, with red and yellow type on a field of stars: ALIEN INVASION OF EARTH! Peter Thompson, a typical seventh-grader, finds himself touring the planet with his friends Susan Simmons and Duncan Dougal, and three aliens in disguise! Their mission? To file the final report that will determine Earth's future in the universe. As the clock ticks away the hours before their meeting in space, the tour becomes weirder and weirder. The three friends come face to face with a plague of poots and "Big Julie" — the weirdest alien yet! Meanwhile, Peter discovers a secret hidden for decades. Will his discovery save the Earth, or is it already too late to stop the aliens from destroying the planet? Illustrated by John Pierard A Minstrel Book Published by Pocket Books
November 29, 2023 at 2:29 PM
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All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 2:

Dare to Go A-Hunting, by Andre Norton
Front cover of Andre Norton’s DARE TO GO A-HUNTING: It’s full-bleed drawing of a fairy with green skin, a short black mohawk and gigantic blue butterfly wings, flying away from a couple of humans and a yellow humanlike gila monster thing (dragon?). The fairy wears knee-high black boots and a black leather vest over his white tunic. The marketing copy says: The heroes of FLIGHT IN YIKTOR are back for a brand-new adventure by “one of the most popular writers of our time.”—Publishers Weekly The back cover of DARE TO GO A-HUNTING, with black type on a yellow field: Throughout the civilized galaxy, in spacers’ ports on the most far flung worlds, an ancient Terran legend echoes…about a race of magical beings called the Little People or the Fairy Folk. What if there is truth behind the old stories and songs? What if such a race really exists, fleeing from world to world one step ahead of mankind’s ships? Farree has to know. Orphaned as a child, his earliest memories are of a life of near-slavery in a squalid port town—but he knows he was not born on that world, and the wings on his back are proof that the People may be more than mere legend. He has never seen another of his kind, but if they exist, he means to find them. Yet there are others equally determined to find the home of the People, others with more sinister reasons to go a-hunting… DARE TO GO A-HUNTING A Tom Doherty Associates, Inc. Book
November 28, 2023 at 3:46 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
All the Books I'd Left in My Mom's Basement (Even the Embarrassing Ones), Book 1:

The Dragon Circle, by Stephen Krensky
Front Cover of The Dragon Circle, a YA book by Stephen Kresky. It shows an illustration of a young boy sneaking up on a dragon in its lair, surrounded by gold treasure. The log line above the illustration reads: "DRAGONS HAVE INVADED MASSACHUSETTS!" Back Cover of The Dragon Circle. It reads: The five Wynd kids—Alison, Edward, Jamie, Jennifer and Perrry—have a secret that no one else in Westbridge knows about: They've got magical powers. When their spells begin to have unexpected results, the five decide to hold a seance and get to the bottom of the mystery. But the answer isn't in their crystal ball. It's in an underground cavern, occupied by five terrifying, vengeful inhabitants— Dragons! What are they Wynds going to do now?
November 27, 2023 at 2:08 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
Stop wanting to earn any thanks from anyone or thinking someone ever can be grateful. All are thankles. Acting kindly counts for nothing. No, in fact, it's tiresome, even hateful— as with me, whom no one treats with crueler hate that he who was my "one and only friend" of late. (A translation of Catullus 73 by Susan McLean, found in The Classical Outlook LXXX.3, Spring 2003.)
October 27, 2023 at 10:03 PM
eoshinsky.bsky.social
RIP to the great Keith Giffen, creator of Ambush Bug.

Here's a sketch he drew of Olive Oyl that I'll always cherish.
October 12, 2023 at 10:54 PM