What's the Name of That Book??? discussion
► UNSOLVED: One specific book
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Middle Grade realistic fiction with a side character named Tamsin who was from England, but had recently moved to United States. Read late 1980s/early 1990s.
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Was the book written in Australia, England or the USA do you think? Bit of a useless question since there are books from all three at that time. NZ is not part of Australia.No fantasy/sci fi rules out We are Tam by Patricia Bernard (Tamerisk, Tameron).
Books by Monica Edwards have a Tamzin.
Topcat of Tam by Mary Francis Shura (I think is a location).
Will have to search.
Just finding any references to Tamsin in juvenile fiction.Voyage of the snake lady
by Theresa Tomlinson
…gunwales, Tamsin wriggled out of her mother’s arms. There was no need to ask her — ^Tamsin was…
Story within a story has a Tamsin.When This Bell Rings Author: Allison Rushby
Thanks, guys!Lou, it's possible the girl was from New Zealand, but I'm about 99% sure it was England or Australia.
Bookel, thanks for your efforts. I read this book before 1994, so it could not be any newer than that. It was American for sure. Typical middle grade paperback with realistic characters in an American suburb. This girl named Tamsin was only a side character. She had moved to the US, and I believe she had to explain her name because the main American characters had never heard of it before.
OK will try to narrow down to American before 1994. Sorry, sleep deprived... Capn you'll have to do the research for your list. Plenty of book characters named Tamsin out there. A google search for "year old tamsin" book, brought up a few.
1985 the earliest or could it have been published 1960s, 1970s or early 1980s?
Thanks, bookel! I'd say roughly 1980 to 1993-ish. It felt like a typical modern kids' novel to me.
From openlibrary.org, a name definition. Cassell's Dictionary of First Names by Adrian Room
"Page 604
"Tamsin This name is a contracted form of THOMASIN, adopted for independent use. It has been generally current among English speakers from the 1940s and was in vogue in the 1970s and 1990s. The usual diminutive is TAMMY, now current in its own right, while variants are Tamzim, as for the UK actress Tamzin Outhwaite (b.1971) and Tamasin, as for the UK writer Tamasin Day-Lewis (b.c.1960)."
Perhaps too old (the characters)?Google Books search Tamsin "children's"
Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books › books
1983 · Snippet view
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 5
... Tamsin , the classmate he adores respectfully , to visit . He hasn't planned on Rebel , an amoral runaway who is taken in out of pity and who becomes a leech and a burden . Seth moves out , and Ryan borrows his car to drive a pregnant .
Worldcat.org search Ryan Seth 1980-1983
Seth and me and Rebel makes three
Author:Jeannette Eyerly
Summary:Ryan, seventeen, leaves home to move in with his best friend, Seth, and together they cope with independence and a girl named Rebel who needs their help
Print Book, English, ©1983
Edition: 1st ed
Publisher: Lippincott, New York, ©1983
Free to borrow https://openlibrary.org/works/OL52800...
82 results for Tamsin
Page 24
One of the reasons Ryan wishes to have his own place is Tamsin Fitzgerald. Actually, it is Tamsin for whom he took CPR, spending practically an entire Sat¬ urday in a Red Cross class at the public library learning how to do it.
Tamsin (characters) https://www.librarything.com/characte...Not many mentioned unfortunately.
https://www.librarything.com/search.p...
Thanks for your efforts. None of these. I'm pretty positive Tamsin was in middle or elementary school, like the rest of the kids in the book.
Have not given up. It is hard to search a minor character or secondary ... have you looked at the main authors from that time? I have not read all books by them.
I really thought it was Ann M. Martin! I have this memory of one of the babysitters meeting a girl from England or Australia whose name was Tamsin. There is an Australian family in the series, the Hobarts, but they have four boys named Ben, James, Mathew, and Johnny. No girls.
Maybe it wasn't a series book after all, but it had that Scholastic Apple feel to it. That's my memory anyway, which could be off after so many years. Nothing jumps out at me from Scholastic, and I'm super familiar with that imprint.
Thanks for your help in searching. :)
I've read a lot of Scholastic but not a huge number of BSC, have a few of the series books and the super specials. So you do not think it is Scholastic? Any thoughts on cover or is that too vague?
Not expecting this to be it. It's a main character too, not minor.Another for the list found on abebooks.
Deep sleep by Frances Fyfield
227 p. New York : Pocket Books, 1991.
When her father dies, fifteen-year-old Tamsin is sent to live with her grandparents in the country. Tamsin is excited to be away from the city, but she's not prepared for the darkness that descends on her when she's not sleeping. Tamsin is diagnosed with narcolepsy, and her sleep-deprived state leads to wild hallucinations and dangerous behavior. With the help of her doctor and her grandparents, Tamsin learns to manage her condition and find peace in her sleep.
I think it could be Scholastic. Or if not Scholastic, a pretty similar type of American middle grade fiction. Nothing from the rest of Martin's work is jumping out at me. I think this is just a very minor part of the story, which makes it hard to search for. It's possible Tamsin only appeared briefly in one chapter of one book. I have a memory of her maybe being snooty? But that could be completely wrong, so take it with a grain of salt.
On an interesting note, I looked up Deep Sleep, and that appears to be an adult crime novel with no Tamsin. I wonder what book your description came from. Google and Worldcat were no help. It's not my book, but I'm curious!
Hmm that's strange, the abebooks.com entry I came across seemed to indicate it was teenage fiction, but searching title and author brings up other covers with an adult mystery plot, completely different! Searching Google with the beginning of the plot brings up the copy I found on a Haye on Wye site. "father dies, fifteen-year-old Tamsin is sent to live with her grandparents in the country." It does not appear to be connected to another book.As for yours, Scholastic being likely is a good clue. So modern plot about 1980-1993. Tamsin from England (or Australia) maybe snooty. Minor character. Read late 1985-1993. Recently moved to the USA, her unusual name remarked on and explained.
I'll keep an eye out when reading my Scholastic books too.
Another Tamsin character, published too late.Olivia by Rosie Rushton
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL24616...
Eliminated, fantasy, 1989.
The golden thread by Suzy McKee Charnas
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL21823...
Did you ever read Sweet Valley Twins? I haven't read many so not sure if there's a Tamsin.
Trying another search.Google Books
tamsin is the new girl
Growing Point - Volumes 27-30 - › books
1988 · Snippet view
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 5475
... Tamsin goes along as a matter of course , especially while she is in her first term in secondary school , involved in making new ... girl to realise that she is finding the card - games , blaring radio and ... new responsibilities and ..
Searched Growing Point to see Tamsin in context. It mentioned Tamsin's personality.
Then searched names on Google Books, but recognised Omri.
omri patrick tamsin emma cousins
Return of the Indian - Page 40 › books
Lynne Reid Banks · 1988 · Snippet view
FOUND INSIDE – PAGE 40
... Patrick ? ' He spoke very casualy . ' Of course I remember Patrick . ' ' He moved to the country . ' ' I know ... Omri frowned , remembering . ' With those two revolting little girls ? ' " Tamsin and Emma . Bonkins or something . Donkins
I know you said no fantasy but ... another Tamsin character! I won't delve any further since I intend to reread and read the rest of the series ...
Thanks again, bookel!I only read the first Sweet Valley Twins book, so that series can be eliminated.
None of the others mentioned. The last two are British, so I guess it wouldn't be unusual for them to include Tamsins.
I hope someone is adding all the above finds to the Tamsin list. There are heaps of adult romances too with Tamsin in them. Each juv fic book takes ages to research. I'll keep searching!
Here's a suggestion that you can do (especially if you'll recognise a book by cover, title, author or plot, that you've read it). And if internal details aren't available online.Try searching a book site methodically. Start with abebooks.com. Move to worldcat.org later. If you think Scholastic Book Services is the publisher, try that in publisher field.
Year range: begin with 1992-3, or one year 1993-1993. Then go down to the next year range. 1992, 1991 etc. This minimises results.
Tick: Books, Used, Softcover (paperback correct?).
It's fun to browse. Check plot and cover on other sites if necessary.
If anything triggers a memory, write it down here.
Or if you can keep the window open, to come back to it, just do a year range 1980-1993. Sort by date ascending or descending, or sort by title A-Z etc. Use Scholastic instead of the full name if it is too narrow. Set country in advanced search to USA.
Sorting by Z-A makes it easy to quickly scan past the same covers/titles to the next one.
I am having a browse too. You never know there may be something interesting to read!
I'll add to this list, going from Z upwards.Scholastic Apple Paperbacks
https://www.librarything.com/nseries/...
I have not forgotten this, have been adding to the Scholastic Apple Paperbacks list nonstop, checking a two-year range from 1980 upwards, Z title up to A then will move up in years. I found some I had not heard of too. You'd have to check to see if you recognise any.
Hi, late to this one! :) @bookel - yeah, the list was already built when Rainbowheart started this thread. We got all the WorldCat and the obvious hits, but I'll make sure there isn't one you mentioned that we missed (I think we had all of them, though, apart from the disputed 'Deep Sleep' one)Rainbowheart - did you read the Adrian Mole series? Looks like Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years has a Tamsin in it, but I didn't check setting (I haven't read the series, but it's British, innit? So perhaps not. 1993 ;)
EDIT: I'm at my maximum 100 votes, and tried to avoid filling them up with all the romance titles, but, yeah - there are more out there, if any kind soul wants to vote missing books into that list.
(For anyone reading who isn't well-versed with Listopia - anyone can vote on ANY list. You can vote for books already listed, or vote in books that aren't there already, to a maximum of 100 votes... which typically you never hit, unless you're a Listopia addict... see the thread in this group for them). ;) Listopia: https://www.goodreads.com/list
Thanks again, bookel!I don't think it's Scholastic, and I'm pretty sure it's not something on my read-as-older-kid shelf, unless I'm just totally forgetting the Tamsin character. Sadly, I don't think this is the type of book that can be found through Worldcat, Tamsin was such a tiny, tiny part of the book that she wouldn't come up in plot summaries. Archive.org might be a possibility though. I'll have to do some deeper diving there to see what I can dredge up.
Capn, thanks mucho! Not sure but I don't think I ever read Adrian Mole. Too British, sadly. Who knew there were so many Tamsin characters out there??
No worries. Someone may recognise it one day! Meanwhile I'll keep adding books to Scholastic Apple Paperbacks publisher series on Librarything. No voting required and anyone can add. There's also Avon Camelot and A Dell Yearling Book series lists
https://www.librarything.com/nseries/...
https://www.librarything.com/nseries/...
That will be added to when more are found.
bookel wrote: "No worries. Someone may recognise it one day! Meanwhile I'll keep adding books to Scholastic Apple Paperbacks publisher series on Librarything. No voting required and anyone can add. There's also ..."
Bookel - I created and/or filled up an existing list for Dell Yearling, Avon Camelot, etc. in the past couple of years - have a look if you're interested in cataloguing:
Dell Yearling
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/7...
Avon Camelot (links to other lists, too - see header):
https://www.goodreads.com/list/show/1...
What's the Name of That Book???
Books mentioned in this topic
Adrian Mole: The Wilderness Years (other topics)Deep Sleep (other topics)
Capn created a Tamsin, Tamsyn, etc. list, and that sparked a memory of a book from my childhood.
This would have been read in the late '80s or early '90s, definitely before 1994. It was contemporary middle grade realistic fiction, nothing historical, no fantasy. There was a side character from England named Tamsin. She had recently moved to the US, and her unusual name was remarked upon and explained. There's a slight chance she could have been from Australia, but my memory is of England.
I really thought this was one of the zillion Baby-Sitters Club books by Ann M. Martin, but I've done extensive googling and can't find any mention of a Tamsin. There is an Australian family, the Hobarts, but they only have boys.
Thanks mucho for any help!