I recently acquired four Dungeons & Dragons talking story books: Quest of the Riddles (x2) and Attack of the Assassins (x2)

They are from 1984 and still in their original shrinkwrap.

I find these two products very amusing for their subject matter and for being directly marketed to children just beginning to read. I can't picture any marketing business executive trumpeting this as a great business idea today but back in the 80's, these found their way on the market. I have heard from a source that store owners shortly after release of "Attack of the Assassins" were contacted by TSR and asked to return any of these still on their shelves back to TSR and that this accounts for their rarity in comparison to the other children's books TSR produced. This makes perfect sense to me and I don't doubt the explanation. However, I was wondering if anyone had any source material or read anything anywhere or had heard any interview with TSR personalities at the time to back up this anecdote.

Many thanks in advance for any light anyone might be able to shed on this!