Could this be *Jim's Gift: Fastforward the Future*? ------------------------------------------------- There is a very obscure movie called *[Jim's Gift][1]*, released in 1996. [![enter image description here][2]][2] It was based on an even more obscure novel by an equal obscure author named Sylvia Wickham, written in 1994. [![enter image description here][3]][3] According to the movie description: > When Jim gets home, he tries the VCR, which has an interesting > feature: Jim can see events from his past—from birth to just a few > moments ago. He uses this to find some lost money and the like, > leaving his parents thinking he's psychic. Soon Jim finds Bossy, but > he's not done with the VCR. Naturally, he won't be able to resist > pushing that fast-forward, and when he starts trying to foil robberies > that haven't happened yet and picking horse races, there's trouble. > When trouble hits, the stranger repossesses the VCR, which means Jim > and a pal must solve a mystery themselves. I can't find any book description. There are some IMDB reviews [here][4] that offer additional details. This fits several of the criteria, assuming that the book is similar to the movie: 1. It was published in the early 90s (1994), and features 2. a VCR that 3. can record the past and the future and 4. probably is controlled by buttons, not dials (to judge from the book cover). 5. The main character is a boy. 6. It is 96 pages (under 100, though not under 50). [1]: http://www.dvdverdict.com/reviews/jimsgift.php [2]: https://i.sstatic.net/nKJ9I.jpg [3]: https://i.sstatic.net/KNZLX.jpg [4]: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0219104/reviews?ref_=tt_ov_rt