alan french

Hi
I did read some of these. But remember I am 64 and was a comic reader in the post war 1940's and 1950's. I read an abundance of westerns but loved superheroes. My favourite was the original Captain Marvel and his family. Published by Fawcwet in the USA and L. Miller and Son in the UK. However, DC comics forced him out of business, which I gather upset and left a bitter taste with a number of people in the comic business. They also had a go at Republic Pictures for making a serial of him. Since then his name has been used for some other superheroes particularly Marvel comics. But what I gather not the same character. A version of the original has been published by DC.
My first introduction to American superheroes caused me trouble. I got carried away and flew out a window. Fortunately I was on the ground floor. Well actually I jumped. I was banned from Superman and Captain Marvel for a while after that.
Alan French.

batman

The Captain Marvel serial is marvellous and is available on DVD.

There are 31 excellent quizzes to bamboozle you on the Quiz Page. Just click on the 'Quick Links' icon and scroll down!

kawolski

The first book I can remember reading as a nipper was a collaberation between John Antrobus and Spike Milligan entitled 'Help! I'm a prisoner in a toothpaste factory'. What an amazingly bizzare and funny book. I'm also pleased to say that after years (well 4 actually) of trying to get a copy as it's no longer in print to give my ten year old son i managed to get one and we read it together.

Priceless!!

Hang on a minute, lads.
I've got a great idea.

Lord Brett

I remember going through a Wombles phase, then, atage around 8 or 9 going straight to Stephen E Whitfield's The Making of Star Trek, and never looking back.

Steve Crook

Next time you're trying to find a book, and it's out of print, try the Advanced Book Exchange (ABE)

They act as a clearing house for lots of second hand booksellers around the world and can usually find most books. If they don't have it immediately then you can add it to a "wants list" and they'll email you as soon as someone offers it for sale.

There are currently 6 copies of Help! I Am a Prisoner in a Toothpaste Factory ranging in price from £9.24 - £50 (plus postage)

When you buy a book you can either buy it directly from the seller or you can buy it through ABE. If you but it through ABE then they add a small percentage for their costs and you get the additional protection of their arbitration service. I usually think it's worth buying through ABE, not so much for their guarantee but just to help keep such a useful service running.

I've bought loads of books through them over the years and I've only had a problem with one not being as advertised. The seller immediately refunded my money and when they remembered that I was in the UK (they were in the US) they said I should keep it rather than them having to pay for the return postage as well.

Be sparse in what you search for. The sellers do sometimes make slight mistakes in their listings and might not list the full information. The search system can only search for what's listed. None of the sellers of "Toothpaste factory" list Milligan as an author (neither does the British Library) so searching for him wouldn't find any.

Being professional book sellers they usually include quite accurate descriptions of the quality of the book, if it has a dust jacket, if it's signed etc.

But watch out for the ones who get a book that isn't in their area of specialisation. They are liable to offer the book for sale at quite a high price to see if anyone nibbles. And unlike on eBay you can't see if anyone's bought it. You just see that it's no longer listed

Steve

phil

Two I remember are Charlotte's Web and The Borrowers.

kawolski

Thanks Steve,
thats a priceless piece of info.
Going by that sites prices, the book i paid £12 for is going for up to 50 quid

Hang on a minute, lads.
I've got a great idea.

Steve Crook

No, someone is offering it for £50. That doesn't mean that anyone is buying it at that price. It needs two to make a sale, a seller and a buyer

That's just what I was trying to point out in my last paragraph about ABE

Steve

CaptainWaggett

It's always worth checking Amazon as well as ABE. You can often get paperbacks on Amazon for £2.76 (1p plus postage) but they are always a fiver on ABE. And of course there's always you're local library who won't charge you a penny! (though they will want the book back!)

DaveJ

I remember when a library was first built in the village where I lived.
It meant we didn't have to travel into the nearest big town to borrow a book.
It was around 1970 when I was eight years old.
I couldn't believe it when the librarian gave me six tickets!

I still recall the first six books that I borrowed:

The great pram race.
Stig of the dump.
The Five Chinese Brothers.
Hop, Skip and Jump.
Chitty-Chitty-Bang-Bang.
Five are together again.

It woz arownd the tyme wen thows buks cayme owt with phonically spelled words. What was that system called? I glad we never had to learn it at my school.

Steve Crook

Very true, Amazon marketplace often has some rare and unusual items, even if Amazon themselves aren't selling it. And as the good Captain says, there's always your local library. We have a great library service in this country - despite council cuts.

Even if your library doesn't have the book you want instantly available, if they have it you can reserve it. And if they don't have it then for a small fee they will do a search and find you a copy. First they'll check other libraries in the same borough, then in the same region, then they'll search all libraries in the country including university libraries and the British Library. That's a great service

Steve

Steve Crook

It was called silly by many of us

Steve

John Llewellyn Moxey

When I was eleven or twelve I read a book titled Thunder On The Left, which made a great impression on my miniscule mind. I still enjoy rereading it.

John

smudge

It was actually called the I T A system; I can't for the life of me remember what it stands for. I DO remember that it was imposed on us infants back then, but when I made the grievous error of spelling a word aloud in that self same way in front of the Head, I got a resounding clip round the aural aperture!

thankfully for those of us who enjoyed school he was quite old fashioned and did his best to minimise the awful effects of that system. My brother in law was taught the same way (but without a Head who had common sense!) and it has - sadly - had a lasting effect on his language skills.

Smudge

Welcome to my house. Enter freely, and of your own will...

CaptainWaggett

Initial Teaching Alphabet