Book Search, Please Help!!!

[ditmars1929]

Hi, everyone! If you could help me identify a children's sci-fi book, I'd very much appreciate it. Here are the details as best as I remember them:

I'm born in 1965 and I read this book in the early/mid-seventies. I believe I ordered it through that Weekly Reader we used to get in school. The plot involves two kids (a boy and girl) who take a spaceship to Saturn, all sorts of drama occurs while they're exploring the rings, but all is well in the end. Aboard their ship, they have some sort of friendly alien creature with them. His name is Buzz, and he's a spider-like creature, only not scary (this book had illustrations in it).

Does any of this ring a bell with you, and if so, could you please post a response? I wish I could remember the name/author of this book.

Thanks!

[admin]

I know I read this. It's a children's book, and I don't remember the author, but I think the title is "By Spaceship to Saturn", or something like that. Good luck in finding it.

[ditmars1929]

Admin, thank you so very much for that lead!!! Do you think it could possibly be "Spaceship to Saturn" by Hugh Walters? He's a British author and wrote that and a whole series of books about this team of kids exploring the solar system. I read a plot summary of his book and on the one hand it sounded familiar, but on the other I don't remember anything about telepathy (although I admit it's been quite a while since I read the book I'm looking for) and the summary didn't mention this alien Buzz character.

Anyone else out there have a suggestion?

Thanks!!!

[admin]

Spaceship to Satrun sounds right, but I'm not certain. I also remember the spider pet. Have you searched amazon and wikipedia?

[ditmars1929]

Yeah, tried Wikipedia, several other sites, to no avail.

Today, I emailed a used bookstore that had a copy of "Spaceship to Saturn". I asked her to flip through her copy and let me know if there was any mention of an alien character named Buzz. That would pretty much confirm it. Unfortunately, she said it wasn't in there.

Damn, back to square one, but I sincerely appreciate your help and input.

[wipers]

Not that I can help with this search but I was wondering how you can search amazon and wikipedia if you don't have a title or author? I too have a book I am searching for (see posts on this forum)but have nothing more than a basic description of the story line. If there is a way to search other sites or if someone has a suggestion other than posting on forums like this one I would love to hear it.

[ditmars1929]

Wipers, thank you for responding to my post. I can't believe my original post has had almost 1,000 views and nobody knows of his book I'm looking for. Damn, I'm either really old, or I'm imagining things.

Regarding searches in Amazon or Wikipedia, if you don't know the author/title, just type in key words that might describe the book you seek, and hit the search button. In my case, for the book I'm desperately trying to find, I type in things like "children's science fiction - saturn - space - buzz", etc.

Then again, this obviously hasn't worked for me yet, so if anyone else has a fine idea, I'd love to hear it too.

What are you looking for, Wipers? I'll try to help you if you do likewise for me.

Thanks.

ditmars1929
NYC

NYC

[ditmars1929]

Hello again, everyone!

Well, over 1,200 views and still no answer for my search. But I'm a patient person, and I'm still doing other things to find this book.

I just wanted to thank everyone for the page views. Even if you're not familiar with the book I'm seeking, it's good to know that other readers out there are at least checking out discussion topics.

Thanks.

[admin]

I know I read this book, but no longer have a copy. Two titles I remember are "By Spaceship to Saturn" and "The Secret of Saturn's Rings". It might be one of those.

[ditmars1929]

Thanks again, Admin, but those two are not the book I'm looking for. I also looked into the Lucky Star books (Paul French but I think that's a pen name for Asimov) and Saturn Patrol by King Lear (EC Tubb). But they didn't match either. Damn.

Next up, I'm going to look at Starman Jones from Heinlein's young adult catalogue to see if that's it. After that, if it doesn't pan out, I'm back to square one. But I'll keep trying.

Thanks again, everyone, for the page views.

[admin]

Yes, the Lucky Star books are by Asimov, and are great fun. Starman Jones is about a trip to the stars, not to Saturn, and so not the one you're looking for. Heinlein did books about Venus, Mars, and the moons of Jupiter, but I don't remember one about Saturn.

[ditmars1929]

OK, thanks for that, Admin. It'll save me search time. But from what I hear, the Heinlein young adult books are great, even if it's not what I'm looking for, so I'll check it out anyway. Besides, it is Heinlein, so it should be great. I'm also getting curious about this Asimov series, so I'll probably check that out too.

However, I really do want to find this book I originally posted about. If you, Admin, have some other sources, I'd sincerely appreciate your help in finding this book I am seeking.

Thanks again for all the fish.

[ditmars1929]

FOUND IT!!!

Trapped in Space by Jack Williamson. Someone outside of this discussion group suggested it to me, I looked it up, and the second I saw the cover art, I knew this was the book I've been seeking.

Today is the day after Thanksgiving, should you be an American. I'm very thankful for having found this book.

I would like to thank the 1,500+ people who viewed my post and tried to help me find this book. Very much appreciated. I hope I can return the favor to one of you sometime.

Thanks!!!!!!