Geez, maybe today is not the day to hang out at /r/whatsthatbook....

[conuly]

OP: Hey, looking for a board book series from when I was a kid! It was traditional fairy tales and fables, and the part I really remember is the illustrations! I'm sure if I see those illustrations I'll know it's the right book!

Me: Care to describe these illustrations? Even a little? Were they brightly colorful or more muted, or maybe black and white? Were they realistic or cartoony?

OP: Oh, they looked similar to the hare and the tortoise board game! Like, when I saw that I first thought it was the books!

Me: Oh, I guess you're gonna make me google that instead of providing a link, cool.

Guys, it turns out there are at least five different editions of this game, each one with a totally different art style.

Meanwhile, on a different thread on the same post:

Other Commenter: Could it be Aesop's fables?

Me, silently: WTF, buddy? That's not a suggestion.

OP: Oh, no, it was more colorful than that!

Me, a bit less silently: WTF? Like... what edition are we talking about? You need to help us help you!

All comments are paraphrased, but seriously.

Edit: I am absolutely dying at this point to ask who, exactly, OP thinks Aesop is, but that conversation is not going to go anywhere productive. I'd really better forget the whole thing.

Comments

[profiterole_reads]

LOL

What I like on Bluesky is how specific some people are: "Hi! Do you guys have book recs?"

[conuly]

Yup, sure do!

[silveradept]

We can crowdwork miracles, sure, but we've got to have more to go on than that! Get people at least looking in a direction instead of having to decide what's right and wrong.

[conuly]

I'm used to having to drag description out of people, but this is just a bit much.

[tielan]

I feel like there needs to be some setting of definitions involved:

"Can you please define 'a book'?"

"Do you know what is the difference between an 'author' and an 'illustrator'?"

Also, I hate this kind of 'doling out of information' when trying to help someone. Give us all the information you have! Similar styles! Parallel stories! It would have been helpful to know it was a fairytale book series...

[conuly]

I swear, most posters there are not that frustrating. This one... I don't know. I'm starting to think that we're gonna find out they're not a native English speaker and the books were written in probably Greek or something.

[glaurung]

You may have seen that the OP updated to say they found the series, which was “Baby Bear's read along books”

Now that I have googled the series and seen the cover art, I need an aspirin.

[conuly]

That doesn't look anything like the edition of the board game they pointed to!

[glaurung]

This is my totally unsurprised face.

[ethelmay]

I will say I found a Cinderella in that series with a blue dress and possibly brown hair! (Also possibly red hair) But yeah, not very similar to my eye at all. Oh, and The Tortoise and the Hare from that series does not resemble his description.

[conuly]

Maybe we were all the victims of an elaborate, and kinda dumb, practical joke.

[cimorene]

I read the thread about Aesop and am not at all sorry that I did. 😂

[conuly]

I don't usually like to link to people but honestly, that last comment before I posted, I just....

[watervole]

'fairy tales and fables' I'd include Aesop in that...

[conuly]

Sure, but I wouldn't talk like he's a contemporary author!