# Help me find a book series!

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269>\
**Category:** Cafe Society\
**Created:** [January 1, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269 "2010-01-01T06:19:30Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 6:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269/1 "2010-01-01T06:19:30Z")

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When I was a kid, we had a series of books that I called The Red Books. They were a sixteen-volume set bound in red hardcovers and apparently intended to be an introduction or overview of literature for children. Each volume was a different type of story, I think. Mostly, I remember that the sixteenth and last volume contained science fiction and parents’ notes. I mostly read the science fiction. One of the stories concerned time travelers from late-1950s California (I think) who go to the year 2006, where every family has a helicopter and the floors are cleaned by humanoid robots pushing mops.

Does anyone know the series I’m talking about? I kinda want to read that story again.

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**Author:** ![Ronald\_C.Semone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/cc9497/32.png) [@Ronald\_C.Semone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ronald_C.Semone)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 3:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269/2 "2010-01-01T15:00:31Z")

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> [@Sunspace](#):
>
> When I was a kid, we had a series of books that I called The Red Books. They were a sixteen-volume set bound in red hardcovers and apparently intended to be an introduction or overview of literature for children. Each volume was a different type of story, I think. Mostly, I remember that the sixteenth and last volume contained science fiction and parents’ notes. I mostly read the science fiction. One of the stories concerned time travelers from late-1950s California (I think) who go to the year 2006, where every family has a helicopter and the floors are cleaned by humanoid robots pushing mops.
> 
> Does anyone know the series I’m talking about? I kinda want to read that story again.

It might help us if you gave us a hint as to when you were a kid. 1980s? 1960s? 1950s?

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**Author:** ![Little\_Nemo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/little_nemo/32/3120_2.png) [@Little\_Nemo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Little_Nemo)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 7:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269/3 "2010-01-01T19:45:10Z")

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The Childcraft series perhaps? I remember them having grey covers but there apparently were a number of different print runs with different designs over the years so one of them may have been red.

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**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\
**Post date:** [January 1, 2010, 11:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/help-me-find-a-book-series/523269/4 "2010-01-01T23:05:34Z")

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> [@Ronald\_C.Semone](#):
>
> It might help us if you gave us a hint as to when you were a kid. 1980s? 1960s? 1950s?

Sorry. I remember them from the late sixties (I turned 7 in 1970), but the design and artwork was very late-1950s.