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M94 (Magic stove dial invisible siblings)
is M FOR MISCHIEF by Richard Parker, ill.
by Charles Greer 1966. I read this book over and over and am
lucky enough to still own my childhood copy, so I am pretty
positive this is the one. ~from a librarian
More on the suggested title M for
Mischief by Richard Parker, illustrated by
Charles Geer, published by Duell 1966, 90 pages "Three
children, two girls and a boy, who have just moved into an
unexciting old house, find an ancient rusty stove, complete
with its own baffling cookbook, hidden away in a
long-neglected summerhouse. Two settings on a dial - O for
"Ordinary" and M for "Mischief" take the place of the usual
oven gauge. Life grows hilariously complicated for everyone in
the family when the children experiment with the recipe for
boiled eggs which will render the eater invisible. But
Shoberg, Lore, Machine, McGraw-Hill (1973). Card catalog
description: A boy becomes worried when the machine he
receives from a TV celebrity keeps growing and the people in the
city want to make it king. ISBN: 0070569886
I saw the listing for my book query today and was so excited to
find the book had already been identified. Thank you so much for
your help. My 2 1/2 year old son is enamoured with all things
mechanical (he already knows the names of most construction
vehicles and calls out their names when we pass road crews;
"backhoe, pay-loader, grader!"). My wife and I don't know
where he gets this (we're a couple of book-nerd professors at
the U of Utah); but when he recently become enthusiastic about
robots, too--I thought, 'here's my chance to share with him a
book I loved from my childhood.' I just couldn't for the life of
me remember the author's name (and searching under "Machine" or
"Robot" was returning thousands of hits). I had all but given up
hope when I found Loganberry books and you. I am so grateful to
you. This will be such a wonderful xmas present (for both my son
and me). Thanks again and happiest of holidays.
Primers featuring Jeff, Mary, and Mike
should appear under the heading "Macmillan Reading Program
preprimers." The three books definitely in the Jeff,
Mary, and Mike series are Opening Books, A Magic Box, and
Things You See, all by Mae Clark and all
published by Macmillan in 1965 in softcover, and in 1970
possibly in hardcover. These three are all classified as
"preprimers." Another, Lands of Pleasure,
is classified as a "first primer," but I don't know if it also
features the same characters or is a regular textbook with poems
and stories, as are some of the other ten books I found listed
under this author and publisher. One book of Mae Clark's I
would be interested in which is not Jeff, Mary, and Mike is Worlds
of Wonder. It seems to be Book #1 in the
"California State Series." You might make another heading
for "California State Series, School Readers" and list Worlds
of Wonder, Book 1(?), Much Majesty, Book 4, First
Splendor, Book 5, and Wider Than the Sky, Book 6,
and maybe someone will know what Books 2 and 3 are and I can put
together the set.
The entry under Macmillan Reading Program in
your "solved" section seems to indicate that someone would like
more information about these books. When I started teaching
first grade in 1968 we used this series of readers. Opening
Books was preprimer1, A Magic Box
was preprimer2, and Things You See was
preprimer3. The next book in the series was Worlds of
Wonder and it was called the primer. That book was
followed by Lands of Pleasure which was the
first reader. Children who did well in school would be expected
to go through all of these books in first grade. I have the
second grade books from this series also; one of them is called
Enchanted Gates. There were 2 books for second
grade (teachers referred to them as the 2-1 and 2-2 books).
There were also 2 books for third grade. There was just one book
each for fourth, fifth, and sixth grades. One thing i
liked about these books was that each title was a phrase from a
poem about books and reading; the poem would be printed before
the title page of the book.
Sounds like Bertrand Brinley's The
Mad Scientists' Club from the early 1960s. It was
followed by The New
Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club
and, in the 1970s, The Big Kerplop -
which is a prequel written in
novel form. (That one is not so terrific.)
The illustrator was perfectly chosen. The Club is made up of 7
boys aged 12 to 15 or so, and they get involved in all sorts of
hijinks with the help of all sorts of WWII surplus electronic
equipment that they collect. (Examples: gas balloon race,
long-lost fortune, "high-tech" prank at the mayor's speech,
night rescue of a downed pilot, a cleverly "haunted" house, bank
robbers, submarine, "flying saucer", rainmaking, and kidnappings
by the rival club.) They are all out of print, but the reviews
at you-know-what dot com are many and passionate - the first two
books ARE very funny and you may have to read them first so you
won't burst out laughing with every other page when reading to
your kids! While somewhat socially dated, as you
might expect, they are very much worth it
and a fascinating look at what kids could (sometimes) really do
even before the computer age (though Henry does, in the first
story of NAotMSC, reveal that he has a homemade computer!) I
often wonder just where it's supposed to be - it's very rural
and you know from one story that they're in a Yankee state, but
my guess is it's not in New England, anyway.
Probably the Mad Scientists' Club or
the New Adventures of the Mad Scientists' Club by
Betrand R. Brinley. I know there is a fake monster
in the lake chapter in one of those two books.
yes, I'd love to get all three of the Mad Scientist Club
books. Just let me know.
Brink, Carol Ryrie, Madamoiselle
Misfortune
Madeline is Sleeping
Book came out about 5 years ago,
3 girls (and a baby?) in Victorian dress on the sepia-toned
cover, author Katherine perhaps? Professor at USC or UCLA or
some university in California (I think), the book was very
surrealistic and fantastic, the baby was in an interminable
state of sleep, there was a trio of circus-like odd people, a
pedophile was in there, very strange book. Somehow connected to
Alice in Wonderland.
SOLVED: It's "Madeline Is Sleeping" by
Sarah Shun-lien Bynum, who teaches at UC San Diego (close!).
It was nominated for the National Book Award in 2004 (or maybe
2005). I did pretty well, all things considered!
You sure did! Thanks for your Stumper.
This looks like the same book as M 68: The
Maggie B by Irene Haas. It's recently
been reprinted and is an adorable book.
I'm the author of G48 and am pleased to say that, yes indeed, The
Maggie B. (same as M68) was indeed the book I was looking
for! I checked it out of the library and have shared it
with my daughter and she loves it too! As a matter of fact
I've read it with all my mom friends as well and have told them
about this wonderful site. Thank you very much for solving
my querry!
---
I read the book to my kids in the late
seventies, early eighties.It was a paperback and belonged to
my younger brother. It was a picture book story about a little
girl, Maggie and her baby brother, who she cared for on their
little boat. Actually, I think that "The Maggie B." may have
been the name of their boat. She kept a goat, a little
garden and fished from her boat. A sweet book. Can you
help me find it, or more info. about who wrote it, etc.?
Thanks for your help.
I was just browsing through your website,
when I came across this "unsolved mystery": "M61: Maggie B."
I think I know the title of the book -- it's
simply called The Maggie B. by Irene Haas;
it was recently reprinted (Aladdin Picture Books). Hope this
helps!
M61 is The Maggie B by Irene
Haas. A *great* book.
This does sound like The Maggie B,
by Irene Haas (on Solved list) published New York,
Atheneum 1975, reprinted various times, 32 pages. "Before sleep
one night, Margaret Barnstable wishes for a ship named for
herself. The next morning she awakes on the Maggie B. and the
adventure begins! The ship has a garden growing on it, and she
cooks and cares for herself and baby brother James. Full color
paintings loaded with detail." See also G48 Girl on boat
---
I am desperately searching for a children's picture book my mom
read to me as a child, probably published in the 70's, - seems
thre was a child with his/her grandma out to sea on a ship ...I
think they caught crab or lobster and cooked and had warm cozy
dinners in the cabin of the boat - I think there were
descriptons of food and smells? ...may have been a storm, but I
can't quite remember - this book reminds me of warm, cozy, safe
memories...Please help me find it once again!:)
The Maggie B. This book may be The Maggie B., although that is
about a girl and her baby brother - no grandmother. The girl
does catch and cook their dinner and there is a storm - but they
are snug inside and the ship rides it out safely. Definitely a
strong feeling of comfort and safety. My daughter & I love
this story. I bought it for my daughter in the 80's, but I think
it may be back in print.
Irene Haas, The Maggie B, 1975. I think this must be The Maggie B. -- maybe you
thought of a grandmother because the illustrations of little
Maggie show her wearing an old-fashioned dress and apron, with a
kerchief on her head (and of course she does all those grown-up
things like cook the lobster stew and bake the muffins, and lash
down the ship against the storm).
---
1970s, illustrated. Girl
lives on small boat. She's alone, except for animals
(including a caged parrot). Smooth sailing for a while,
but then a storm hits. Girl gathers animals in cabin; all
are warm and cozy inside as girl prepares dinner.
Irene Haas, The Maggie B. This is one of my
favorite books! "A little girl's wish to sail for a day on a
boat named for her "with someone nice for company" comes true.
Maggie's little brother is that "someone nice" and the two of
them spend the day on their little boat living the sea life. The
boat is fully equipped with an apple, peach and orange tree
bearing fruit (and a beautiful toucan). There is an abundance of
fresh eggs and milk to be had from various chickens and the
goat. Maggie herself fishes and serves up sumptuous meals of
lobster and peaches with cinnamon and honey for dessert. The day
is simple and homey, the only real source of concern a
thunderstorm that crashes and booms towards the end of the day.
Even then, Maggie thoughtfully battens down the hatches and
plays her fiddle to her brother, tucked snugly in his bed."
Irene Haas, The
Maggie B.
Yes, this is the
book! Thirty years muddled a few specifics
(toucan/parrot, I forgot the little brother), but your
description has rekindled the memories. For weeks
after first reading of them, I was absolutely relentless in
bothering my mother to make peaches and cinnamon.
Outstanding - thanks so much!
-------------------------
Picture book about an old woman living on a houseboat of sorts,
with only animals as companions. She eats oatmeal with
milk from the cow. I don't remember much of a plot.
As a child I was just really impressed by her independence, and
also the fantasy of living on a boat.
Shot in the dark, but could it be THE
MAGGIE B. by Irene Haas?
SOLVED: Irene Haas, The Maggie B. Someone solved my
stumper! Thank you! Thank you!
Mary Grannan, Maggie Muggins. Several others in series e.g. More
Maggie Muggins, Maggie Muggins and Benny Bear, The Wonderful
World of Maggie Muggins, Maggie Muggins in the Meadow,
etc.
Mary Grannan, Maggie Muggins series. Maggie Muggins and Her
Animal Friends (1959), Maggie Muggins Again (1949),
Maggie Muggins and Benny Bear (1962),
Maggie Muggins and the Cottontail (1960),
Maggie Muggins in the Meadow (1956), More
Maggie Muggins (1959), New Maggie Muggins
Stories (1947), Maggie Muggins and the
Fieldmouse (1959), Maggie Muggins by the Sea
(1959).
Condition Grades |
Grannan, Mary. Maggie Muggins and Her Animal Friends. Illustrated by Bernard Zalusky. Pennington Press, 1959. Dust jacket frayed at extremities, otherwise a nice copy. VG/G+. <SOLD> |
M71 - could this be Nicholas Stuart
GrayThe Applestone ? Some similarities.
I have to say, the only similarity with The
Apple Stone is the size of the item. Gray's book
contains no aliens, no force-fields, no blue. Instead, the Apple
Stone is golden and speaks for itself, instructing the group of
children how to use it. This book sounds more American than
English, and more science fiction than fantasy.
Maybe Carl Biemiller's Magic Ball
from Mars New York, Morrow, 1953?
M83 and M71 seem to be asking about the same
book. Not that that helps either searcher much.
M71 and M83: Carl Biemiller, The
Magic Ball from Mars
---
I remember this book from the mid
fifties. It was an adventure story about a boy who finds
a marble that turns out to be magic. Not sure about
title, author. What a fun site to reminisce about the
books we loved. Another favorite of mine was The
Book of Live Dolls.
Magic Ball from Mars, by Carl
L.
Biemiller, illustrated by Kathleen Voute, published Morrow
1953, 127 pages. "An amusing bit of science fiction about
Johnny Jenks' adventures with a mysteriously glowing ball of
'marsquartz' given him by a kindly man from 'Out There' who
comes to Earth in a flying saucer. Johnny's visit to the
Pentagon to show the ball to the authorities and his
subsequent kidnapping are lively enough adventures." (HB
Oct/53 p.360)
I tripped over your site and noted with
interest that my father's book, The Magic Ball From Mars,
was the subject of one of your stumper questions. About a year
and a half ago, I developed a web site devoted to Dad's books
and getting them back in print. This link to, "The Magical Stories of Carl
L. Biemiller" may be of some help to your project. The
Magic Ball From Mars should make it back in print
this Fall as part of a Forrest Ackerman "Martianthology" to be
published by The Sense of Wonder Press. Funny how projects
and web sites grow. I'm still learning.
-------------
Children's science fiction book
about a boy visited by an alien, a tall thin man if I remember
correctly, from the Andromeda galaxy. The man gives
the boy a shining marble that he says will protect him, and I
think is also a transmitter to the man's spaceship. When
the boy is threatened -- I think by thieves with guns -- he
almost doesn't believe it will help him but then he takes it out
and it makes a cocoon around him and bullets can't get
through. There's a song the man's crew sings: "Out in
the Coalsack there's nothing but dust, and nucleonic (?) storms
make the instruments rust, Patrols head through but only on
trust, we'll be back in old Andromeda, in the
morrrrrning." Anybody know this book?
I remember the book,
but not the title. I do recall that the space marble responded
to the boy's thoughts, when one thief took it he told it to burn
the man's pocket he called it back
when it was lost, and the like. The friendly alien may have
taken his marble back when he was worried about what would
happen to the boy, but don't recall much more. Hope this helps.
Biemiller,
CL, The Magic Ball From Mars. Just remembered the
name of the book, about the Martian ball, you can find the text
online. It does have the chorus you're talking about.
That song sounds like
a
Cordwainer Smith
space chanty, but the story is not one of his that I know of.
The author could have been a Smith fan. Possibly orHarlan
Ellison, James H. Schmitz William Rotsler?
Carl
L. Biemiller, The Magic Ball
From Mars, 1970,
approximate. I think B794, Boy visited by an alien,
might be The Magic Ball From Mars. A "stranger" visits a
boy on earth and gives him a gift, small ball/marble that will
protect him.
Carl L. Biemiller, The
Magic Ball From Mars, 1952, 1953. This is The Magic Ball From Mars by
Carl L. Biemiller. It was serialized in Jack and Jill under
another name, which is where I ran into it as a child. The
author's son has a website you can check:
http://www.biemiller.com/bchapt1.htm
The book has the song, and the
marble, and the boy escapes from people who want to steal the
marble.
SOLVED: The mystery is
solved! This is the book, The Magic Ball
from
Mars, by Carl Biemiller. I visited the website below and
the whole book is online, with the rest of Biemiller's
childrens' stories, and with the original illustrations.
Thank you so much to the people who gave me this information, it
was so delightful to read it through again.
A couple of possibilities: The
Magic Bicycle the story of a bicycle that found a boy
/ John Bibee /1983/ "The Spirit Flyer, a rusty old
bicycle found in the city dump, surprises its new owner, John
Kramar, when it magically lives up to its name, introducing John
to an unknown world and changing his life for good." Or
maybe The Fabulous Flying Bicycle / Glen
Dines / 1960/ (I think this is the one with the ice cream
man, but I'm not sure)
Bibee, John, The Magic Bicycle: the
story of a bicycle that found a boy, 1983. Sounds like the first book in the
Christian-fantasy "Spirit Flyer" series. Young John Kramer
finds a rusty old bicycle in the city dump and discovers that it
can fly. This ends up bringing him into conflict with the
boys in the Cobra Club, who represent the evil Goliath toy
company. There are at least eight books in the series -
sequels include "The Toy Campaign", "The Only Game in Town",
"Bicycle Hills", "The Last Christmas", "The Runaway Parents",
"The Perfect Star" and "The Journey of Wishes".
MICHAEL AVI-YONAH , No More Magic, 1975. 1990 re-issue. Matches
poster's details. If this helps: Bike is lost when left out on
Halloween. Dad is a librarian.
Could the "box of candy" possibly be Masefield's
Box of Delights? Just a thought.
I just wanted to drop you a short note to say that M130b is NOT
Masefield's Box of Delights.
more info about the story: the story's
main character is a young girl, who when she goes to bed each
night can chose two candies from the box, if she takes more
the box will emply, if she takes only two, the box will
magically re-fill.
Found- Magic Bonbons by L.
Frank Baum. But the candies do not refill-rather each
different color bestows special talent on the eater.(musical
talent,etc.) Little girl starts playing Beethoven! Story is
found in the Bobbs-Merrill Best in Children's Literature
set-The book: Beyond the Horizon. (authors:
Smith,Hart,Baker)
Maurice Dolbier, The magic bus, 1948. The story of what was an ordinary
bus until a little boy discovered the gold button on its
dashboard...and then the most exciting things happened!
Maurice Dolbier, The Magic Bus,1948. "This bus was just an ordinary bus until a
little boy discovered the gold button on the dashboard and then
the most exciting things happened. The cover has a picture of
the magic bus flying through the sky with the children looking
out the window."
various, Best in Children's Books.
1960s.
This
series
of
children's
books
was
one
of
my
all
time
favorites
as
a
child.
They
are
published
by
Nelson
Doubleday,
Inc.
I
don't
know
which
one
has the stories mentioned but I'm absolutely sure of the
publisher and series because I have it - just can't find it
right now! I found another in the series to get the
publisher info.
Or could it have been a set of The
Children's Hour? You can read the contents of
the 1953 edition online
here, and the books do include Mr. Murdle and Gudbrand.
C394 Mr Murdle has been included in
more than one book. The
ff website lists in detail the contents of 42 vols
of Best in Children's books. Vol 40 has Mr M but
none of the other titles being sought
I have researched the Best In
Children's Books and, while the stories listed here are
scattered among their collection, they are not the solution to
my stumper. I truly appreciate the knowledgeable input
from everyone who is attempting to help me. It is
amazing that I remember everything about this book but its
title and its cover. One thing that I remember is that
it was a discontinued, school-issued anthology textbook, and
not part of a store-bought, or bedtime collection. All
of the stories that I have listed, (plus the recently recalled
There Once Was A Puffin,) were contained in one book.
This book and Over A City Bridge were the only two
anthologies in the house where I grew up.
This is Magic Carpet by Eleanor
Johnson and Leland Jacobs. (Charles Merrill-1954) It is
part of the Treasury of Literature- Readtext Series. All the
stories match and many, many more. A wonderful school text.
Magic Cave
A brother/sister are in a park
when lightning strikes a tree and frees a Merlin character. They
take him home, hide him and have several adventures. They
have a real pirate adventure in the wading pool when some of
Merlin's magic dust (?) gets in it. He has a long beard
and likes peanut butter.
Chew,
Ruth, Hidden Cave. 'When lightning splits an old
oak tree, a brother and sister discover Merlin who has been
sleeping inside the tree for many centuries.
Chew,
Ruth, The Hidden Cave,
1973. First
published in 1973 as The Hidden Cave and reprinted in 1978 and
subsequently as The Magic
Cave. When
lightning splits an old oak tree, a brother and sister discover
Merlin who has been sleeping inside the tree for many centuries.
Ruth Chew,
The Magic Cave.
SOLVED: Ruth Chew, The Magic Cave. That's
it! I've been looking for this book for 20 years.
Thank You!!
Lee Kingman, The Magic Christmas
Tree, 1956,
copyright. This story matches the poster's description
exactly. By the way, it was reprinted in American Girl
Magazine in the November/December 1996 issue.
YAY!!!!!!!!!! You guys are awesome. I found out the title
and just ordered a copy from Alibris. THANK YOU!!!
Christopher Logue, The Magic Circus, 1979. I stumbled on this while browsing
the internet. I hope this is your book. Christopher
Logue, Illustrated by Wayne Anderson, The Magic
Circus London: Jonathan Cape, 1979 Hard Cover.
ISBN:0-224-01555-9. Book about The Magic Circus, a group of
bizzare circus people who meet a man who hates circuses (Dr.
Growser). Cover has a mouse balancing a unicycle on a
tightrope.
HURRAY!!!!!!! I just looked this up and indeed The Magic
Circus is the book I was looking for! It has been about 25
years since I have set eyes on it, and that cover is just as
freaky as I remember! Cant wait to get my copy!
C42- The Magic Clown
(Treasure Books #876)
A little more on the suggested title: Sutton,
Felix
Magic Clown (A Treasure Book) NY Treasure Books,
1954, 8vo; color illustrations by James Schucker, 28 pages. "Join
that famous TV show character Magic Clown and his puppet
Laffy"
Could it be Hitty, Her First Hundred Years by
Rachel Field? But there's only one doll...
The second book must be Magic
Elizabeth by - oh darn, the book is upstairs right
now, so I can't check the author - it is actually only one doll,
but has two main girl characters - one in modern day and one in
the past - the modern day girl has to stay with her aunt and
while in the attic discovers a diary about a girl in the past
with a doll named Elizabeth who gets lost one Christmas Eve and
isn't ever found. The modern girl dresses up in the old clothes
from the chest and, with the help of an old mirror, is
transported back in time to the life of the other girl where she
relives the entire experience of having and then losing her doll
Elizabeth - the modern day girl's goal becomes finding lost
Elizabeth.
Kassirer, Norma. Magic
Elizabeth. Scholastic,
Inc., 1966. Young Sally while staying in creepy old house
with her Aunt Sarah, tries to find an old doll named Elizabeth.
B&W Illustrations by Joe Krush.
---
Love your site! I'm looking for a
book about a girl (around 12) who is sent to live with her
stern maiden aunt for a summer. I think the aunt's name
is Sarah, and she's incredibly stuffy. This girl starts
rooting around in the attic and finds a diary, some clothing,
a doll, etc. of a girl named Sally and eventually comes to
believe either that she *is* Sally reincarnated, or haunted by
her ghost. In the end it turns out that Aunt Sarah was
Sally. Any help would surely be appreciated.
S64 is Magic Elizabeth by Norma
Kassirer. My copy has the title page torn out, so I
don't know the year, but it's a pretty common Scholastic Book
Services title. Elizabeth is the doll's name.
S64 Stern Aunt Sarah: This is MAGIC
ELIZABETH by Norma Kassirer, and it is
listed on your solved
stumpers page and may appear on most
requested page too. It was recently republished.
The book you're thinking of is called "Magic
Elizabeth". I don't know the author, but I know it had
wonderful illustrations by Beth and Joe Krush. The story
was of Sally, who went to stay at an elderly aunt's house and
finds in the bedroom allotted to her a portrait of a little girl
her age who looks just like her, holding a wonderful doll.
Aunt Sarah tells Sally that the doll's name was Elizabeth and
the girl's name was Sally also. Through the book, Sally
gets to know and love old Aunt Sarah and her black cat Shadow
and has dreams in which she experiences going back in time to be
the other Sally. She wants to find Elizabeth, whom Aunt
Sarah says disappeared a long time ago. Finally Shadow
finds the doll and Sally finds out that the other Sally was her
Aunt Sarah and the doll was hers. A favorite book of mine
and of my daughter's, who I believe has it now which is why I
can't put my hands on the author's name.
S64 has got to be Magic Elizabeth,
by Norma Kassirer "A grumpy aunt, a black cat, a
spooky old house, and a doll named Magic Elizabeth," says
the front cover. The aunt is named Sarah, and the little girl is
named Sally.
Thanks for the answer! I'm thinking about this book as a
gift for a neighbor girl for her birthday later in the
year. If I can't find it locally, I'll turn right to
you. I appreciate the service you provide. Your
website is a lot of fun and brings back tons of good memories!
---
i read a book when i was a child in about 5th grade. that would
be around 1969, a young girl spends the summer with her cranky,
aged aunt who hates children. while there, the young girl goes
into the attic and finds some victorian clothing just right for
a girl her age. she puts on the clothing and eventually falls
asleep. in her dreams she goes back in time to become her aunt
as a child and is able to locate the beloved lost doll her
aunt had lost as a child when she finally wakes up out of her
time travel dream, for it is the same house her aunt lived in as
a child. i dont know the title of this book but i would love to
read it again. i have been all over the net looking to find it.
thank you.
I think this one is Magic Elizabeth
by Norma Kassirer. The little girl goes to stay with her
a grandmother, not an aunt, but otherwise the details seem to
match.
I think both G66 and T101 are thinking of Magic
Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer. It appears on
your Solved Stumpers page, and it was recently republished.
~from a librarian
Sounds like Magic Elizabeth
to me!
A few years ago, on a fluke after I
happened to find your website, I entered a request for a
search on a book I had read as a 5th grader in 1969 and had
loved very much.. Forgetting about the website, about 4
years went by and just this week, I happened to fall upon it
again. lo and behold! you had found my book, allthough i
havent a clue when. Not even knowing the name of the
cherished book, I soon found out it was called, MAGIC
ELIZABETH. I want to thank you from the bottom of my
heart for that because I just came home today to find it on my
computer desk, a gift from my husband. I have never forgotten
how much I had loved this book. It will always be a treasure
to me. thank you.
--
Someone has asked me to help identify a
story with a secret garden with a character in it named
Elspeth. The person has read the Burnett Secret
Garden and that is not it.
I have a suggested book for your stumper, Mandy,
by Julie Edwards, published in 1971. The
description calls it an "enchanting bestseller in the
tradition of The Secret Garden. Ten-year-old Mandy lived
in a lovely orphanage where the kind Matron Bridie looked
after her well. The good houskeeper, Ellie, slipped her
special treats from the kitchen. Mandy was happy, but nothing
Mandy had was hers alone. Until that magical day when
she climbed the stone wall at the bottom of the orchard,
followed a little path through the forest and found the most
beautiful deserted, small cottage, sitting in the sunlight, as
if it were smiling at her." I only read this once,
years ago. I don't know if Ellie was ever referred to as
Elspeth, but it's worth a look if the date is right.
Not too likely, but there's Nobody's
Garden by Cordelia Jones, illustrated by
Victor Ambrus, published NY Scribner 1966, 190 pages. Outgoing
Hilary Toft decides to make friends with sullen, withdrawn
Bridget, whose parents were killed in WWII. They find a common
interest in their love for "The Secret Garden" and in recovering
the garden of a deserted, bombed-out house, which becomes their
own 'secret garden'. No mention of an Elspeth character.
Perhaps ... My Horse Says, by
Mary Schroeder, illustrated by P. Stone, published
London, Chatto & Windus 1963, 170 pages. "An imaginative
story about three children and their widowed mother who have
been given notice to quit their home. They start on the
difficult search to find another house to rent and Elizabeth
(the youngest), who is visited by a make-believe horse when
she is alone, insists that they follow the instructions given
to her by the horse. These lead eventually to an old deserted
house in a walled garden. This was once the home of the
squire, but it holds so many sad memories for him that he will
not live in it himself or let it to anyone else. The children
find an ally in the squire's sister and they are allowed to
restore the garden to its former beauty. In time they get
their wish and the house is theirs." (Junior Bookshelf
Jan/63 p.26) The latter part of the plot is similar to The
Secret Garden and Elizabeth is a similar name to Elspeth
...
Perhaps, it is Elizabeth and her
German Garden, the first book by Marie Annette
Beauchamp--known all her life as "Elizabeth",
originally published in 1898. It starts like a diary. It is freely downloadable.
Hi - don't know how much this will help (or
how old the question is!) but I think I know the answer to the
above stumper. The book sounds like Ginnie and the
Mystery Doll. There is a secondary character named
Elspeth, whom Ginnie befriends while staying at her crabby
elderly auntie's house. Together Ginnie and Elspeth try to
discover the whereabouts of a lost doll mentioned in an old
diary.
Hi there - I made a mistake earlier! The
book in questions is, I believe, Magic Elizabeth,
by Norma Kassirer, as referenced in your #T101. I had
the general plot right, but the wrong book. It's even
still in print. Here's a short summary: Eight-year-old
Sally faces an entire summer trapped in a creepy old house
with no one for company but her spooky Aunt Sarah and a black
cat named Shadow. But soon Sally uncovers a mystery about a
beautiful old doll in a portrait -- and a little girl who
looks just like Sally herself! In search of clues, Sally is
drawn toward the attic and the old mirror that sits there. And
when she looks into it, something magical happens....
---
Probably close to 30 years ago there was a childrens book that
I read at school. It was kind of a scary mystery about a
girl who went to visit her Aunt or her Grandma, and while she
was there she found a doll in the attic in a trunk. The
doll had special powers. I don't recall the doll being
evil or anything . . .but I remember that it was a fabulous
mystery. Can you help me locate this story?
A common theme.... Behind the Attic Wall by
Sylvia Cassedy? Rachel Field, Hitty:
Her First Hundred Years? Checked Solved
Mysteries for details. (More likely the former.)
I've checked several of the options, Hitty and Behind
the
Attic wall, but neither were the one I was thinking
of. Additionally it came to me that either the girls name
or the dolls name may have been Elizabeth. I also checked
the solved stories for that name - but couldn't find it there
either. Thank you so much for the assistance in trying to
find this book.
Could this be Magic Elizabeth
by Norma Kassirer?
So many hidden dolls...some titles you might
try: Ruth M. Arthur, A Candle in her Room, 1966.
Very scary. The doll's name is Dido, and it tries to
control the girl who finds it. Janet Lunn, Twin
Spell, 1969. This one has twins, a hidden
doll, a missing doll, and an angry ghost. Jacqueline
Jackson, Missing Melinda, 1967. More twins,
another missing doll, found in an attic, but not scary.
More of a treasure hunt mystery. If it has an
old-fashioned feel, it could be one of Rumer Godden's
doll books, and I think Mary C. Jane had a missing doll
book as well. The others mentioned might be it as
well...especially Magic Elizabeth, which is a
wonderful story.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth.
Magic Elizabeth, that's it! I've found a copy and
the front cover is exactly the same as I remember now.
Thank you so much!! I'm buying the copy for my 11 year
old niece so she can enjoy it to. Thanks again!
---
1960's-70s. I can remember everything so
vividly EXCEPT for the important parts: The title &
author! A child goes to stay with their Aunt who lives
in New York City {I believe} in the only Victorian house
remaining on the block, surrounded by apartment
buildings. The child is frightened at first thinking the
aunt who has a black cat, is a witch. Also remember a
player-type of piano. The child while playing on an old
sled in the carriage house is somehow transported back to the
Victorian Era. I believe it was the sled that was
magical but it could have been an old diary perhaps?? I
really loved this book & remember reading it around the
time that, "The Wednesday Witch" was popular. Thanks so
much!!
Norma Kassirer, Magic
Elizabeth, 1966. I'm pretty sure this is the
book you are thinking about. Sally has to go stay with her
aunt who lives in old Victorian house. She finds a diary
of a little girl who use to live in the house and lost her
favorite doll. Sally has dreams that correspond to events
in the diary. One includes a sleigh ride.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth. See solved
stumpers!
kassirer, norma , Magic
Elizabeth. One of my favorites! I recognized the
storyline right away. Sally must stay with her Great Aunt Sarah
while her parents and usual caregiver are away. At first she is
frightened of her aunt, but is won over as she becomes
fascinated by the "mystery" of a lost doll, named
Elizabeth, and is transported back in time.
Magic Elizabeth.Your details
aren't bang-on but they're close enough that this must be the
book--sorry it is so hard to find, I'd like a copy myself! Sal
goes to stay with her Aunt Sarah and finds out about a doll,
Elizabeth, that had been lost in the house years before.
She keeps having dreams about going back in time, and eventually
she and the aunt's cat find the doll. The "player piano" is a
melodeon in the parlor.
Norma Kassirer, Magic
Elizabeth, 1966. Sounds like this could be the book
because Sally, whose parents are out of town, goes to stay with
her Great-aunt Sarah at her large and scary-looking old house
which is surrounded by apartment buildings. Sally
discovers that when she looks into a wall mirror, she sees
another girl from the early 1900s, also named Sally, who lived
in the house then. She also discovers her diary in the
attic.
etc.
Miriam Blanter Huber & Frank Seely
Salisbury, Magic Everywhere. Thanks,
I found the book I was looking for via the Book Sleuth
forum. The seller confirmed with pictures.
B113---sure this isn't The Sign of
the Beaver?
B113 boy in wilderness: I don't think this
is it, but in The Magic Forest, by Stewart
White (first published 1920s, reprinted many times) young
Jimmy sleepwalks from a stalled train into the forest, wearing
only pajamas and slippers. He is found at the river's edge by
canoing Indians who give him native clothes to wear because his
are wet through from the snow.
Gladys Baker Bone, The Magic Friend
Maker. A book
that sounds exactly like this came up on the Abebooks booksearch
board. It was identified as The Magic Friend Maker by
Gladys Baker Bond.
Thanks -- not sure it's the same one, but it sounds like it
could be! I've sent for a copy and will let you know if
it's the same story.
Yes, that was the book. Thanks so much.
----
1960s-1970s. This was a book
about a young girl and a friend. They were near the ocean
or a lake. There were stones/rocks that they washed in the
water and traded, I think. There were drawings of the
rocks, which were very pretty when wet. Maybe one of the
friends was moving away?
Baker Bond, Gladys, The magic friend-maker. Illustrated
by Stina Nagel It was published in large format by Whitman in
approx 1966. The series was "A
Whitman Small World Library Book" It
was also published as a Golden Book and I think there were several
re-issues.You can see some of the illustrations from the golden
book version herehttp://mywaybackmachine.blogspot.com/2009/03/magic-friend-maker.html
Gene Stratton-Porter, The Magic
Garden. This is
definitely the book!
Gene Stratton-Porter, The Magic
Garden, 1927.
"The Magic Garden is about a little boy and girl (Amaryllis)
that meet in a beautiful garden and the little girl promises the
boy that some day she would meet him there again. He goes off to
study the violin in Italy and when he returns he finds the girl
in the garden."
Gene Stratton Porter, The Magic Garden.
Whoooooooooooooooooooohooooooooooo!! That's it!! Now, the big
question is does Harriet have it? I would prefer to buy it
here!!
<yes, sold. thanks!> really
casts them into ludicrous predicaments when they bake cupcakes
"for changing someone into a harmless domestic animal"; for
while they manage to turn a thoroughly unpleasant neighbor
into a lovely brown donkey, they also inadvertently transform
their mother into a speckled hen." (Horn Book Jun/66
p.307)
This is a book about I think four children
who move to a new neighborhood into a little house that they
describe as looking like a shoe box. Their mother sends
them from the house on the moving day complaining that she is
allergic to dust and they find this shed in their new back yard
with a stove in it. I believe it is missing a dial, and a
strange man comes and brings them a dial with a setting on it
that says something like 'magic' on it. They cook recipes
which become magical when they use this setting. The only
magic I remember is that one or all of the
children become invisible. I can't
remember what the conclusion is except that I think the man
comes back and takes away the dial. Please help me find
this!!
Jay Williams, The Magic Grandfather,
1979, copyright. Sam is the
boy, it's his grandfather that gets stuck in Beta, and the girl
is Sam's cousin, Sarah, who finds out at the end that she got
Grandpa back through the portal because she's a witch.
---
A boy learns to do magic from his
grandfather, who goes back in time to a tavern and brings a
pewter(?) tankard into the present time (to sell) whenever he
needs some money. The boy must develop his concentration
skills, and practices by imagining a brick wall, one brick at
a time.
Could this be The Magic Grandfather,
by Ruth Chew? or maybe another Chew title? She wrote
shortish (100 p+/-) books that got picked up by the book clubs
in the 80's.
The Magic Grandfather was
actually by Jay Williams, but I haven't read it so I
can't tell you whether this is the right book. Plot of The
Magic Grandfather: "An 11-year-old discovers that not only
is his seemingly ne'er-do-well grandfather a bona fide sorcerer
but he too may have an untapped talent for magic."
Jay Williams (author), Gail Owens
(illustrator), The Magic Grandfather, 1979.
This is definitely the book you're looking for! Eleven
year old Sam Limner accidentally discovers that his seemingly
unemployed, unambitious grandfather is actually a powerful
enchanter. His grandfather decides to cast a spell over Sam to
make him forget what he has learned, but agrees to let Sam
witness one spectacular feat of magic first. (Sam has
already seen his grandfather perform some small acts of magic,
like mending a broken window, pulling a child's chipped tooth,
and repairing a car that won't start. He also sees his
grandfather earn money by transporting a pewter tankard from a
tavern in 1790 to a present day antique shop, where he sells it
for $100.) When Grandfather decides to summon a creature
from another world, he allows Sam to hold a necessary piece of
equipment. Sam drops the equipment during the spell, and
Grandfather is sucked into the other world, where he becomes
trapped. Sam, with the help of his cousin Sarah, decides
to rescue his grandfather. Sam studies his grandfather's
magic books and discovers that he has a talent for sorcery that
has been obscured because an addiction to television has ruined
his powers of imagination and concentration. He
strengthens his imagination by reading a passage from The
Wind in the Willows and imagining Badger' kitchen.
He has trouble picturing the kitchen's brick floor, and
concentrates so that he can imagine it in detail, brick by
brick. After many mishaps, Sam rescues his grandfather,
who acknowledges his talent and promises to help him develop
it. If the author's name sounds familiar, it's because he
is also a co-author of the Danny Dunn science
fiction series---and he plugs the first book in The Magic
Grandfather! Sam Limner hides his
grandfather's magic notebook on his bookshelf between Treasure
Island and Danny Dunn and the Homework
Machine!
The Magic Grinder, 1975.
Part
of
the Disney's Wonderful World of Reading series.
Thank you so much for this site! I sent you this stumper and
that's absolutely the book I was looking for. If you can, please
post my thanks to the person who solved it. I've been looking
for that piece of my childhood for years and I'm delighted to
finally have the name!
#T105--Two siblings travel with
magician: in some ways this sounds like Mr.
Mysterious and Company by Sid Fleischman,
only in that book the children were his own, so there would be
nothing about picking up or leaving
them.
Hi, my book stumper is #T105, "Two Siblings Travel With
Magician," and I am just writing to let you know that the book
I'm looking for is definitely NOT Mr. Mysterious and Company
-- I checked it out. The details I listed are all very accurate
-- I remember the plot clearly, but unfortunately I just blanked
on the title. I hope someone is able to figure this one out, as
I would love to get my hands on a copy of this great book!!
Thanks for all your help.
Good news! I went back to my "childhood" library this weekend
and they still have the book - it's called The Magic Hat of
Mortimer Wintergreen. Now I just need to locate a copy of
it that I can keep (I tried bribing the librarian but to no
avail!) Thanks.
On the talking raven or crow, I *think*
there was such a creature in Alley Magic, by Mary
Calhoun, but as I never finished the book I have no idea
if it gave up its powers.
This is really a long shot, but could this
be Magic in the Alley by Mary Calhoun?
The main character is a girl, with a friend who's a boy, and she
reanimates a stuffed crow with magic, which can then talk. At
the end of
the book she must decide whether to use her
last magic to turn the crow into a real non-magic crow, who will
lose the ability to talk. As I said, really a longshot.
I looked this up and found only one expensive ex-library copy, but
here's the info:
Calhoun, Mary: Magic in the Alley. New York:
Atheneum, 1970.
Oh My! It could be-- as I said all I remember are very vague
things. I just remember being really affected by the choice that
had to be made... I will now go out looking for this book.
Was Mary Calhoun the author of the Katie John books?? I
loved them too & could have read this because of that.
Thank you so much for your help. I love poring over your site
& hope to be able to help someone the way you have helped
me!
P-43 is, I think, another Ruth Chew
book. It MIGHT be Earthstar Magic, but I'm
not sure.
P43 Pigeons Who Were Once Children:
The other person who answered that it was a Ruth Chew
book was right on track, but the title is MAGIC IN THE
PARK, 1972.
Just wanted to confirm that P43 is
definitely Magic in the Park by Ruth Chew.
Plot summary: "Jenny and her friend Mike discover a magic
tree and an old man who feeds the birds in the park. They
discover that the tree moves around and that they can go
underground and become birds with the help of the magic beech
tree."
---
A chapter book was handed down to me in
the early 1970's about a brother and sister who discover an
old tree in a city park (New York Central Park?), and climbing
up through the trunk they are turned into crows. The
setting is in winter. Thanks for any help!
C230 Sounds like it could be MAGIC
IN THE PARK by Ruth Chew, 1972 ~from a
librarian
---
Fantastic website and idea! The
book I am looking for was probably a scholastic book from the
70's. I think it was about a girl who moves to the city
into an apartment and befriends a boy. Together they
discover a tree in the park that is sometimes there and
sometimes not (when it is not there, a man who feeds the
animals and keeps them safe in the pockets of his coat is
there - he of course turns into the tree). They learn
how to turn into birds (or squirrels - I can't remember which)
and then back into humans by eating nuts (I think from that
tree). Any help remembering the title and author is much
appreciated! Thanks.
Ruth Chew, Magic in the Park.
I
posted this question last week but think I soon found the
answer on your website. I am pretty sure the book is Magic
in the Park by Ruth Chew. Thanks!
Magic in the Park by Ruth
Chew? What's amazing about her is how she makes
writing books for that age level look so easy. She's written
about two dozen fantasy books and one non-fantasy book. See
Solved Mysteries for her name.
Ruth Chew, Magic in the Park
_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Possible titles are: A Tree in
Winter, or A Tree in the Park, or The Park in Winter. A
Boy and Girl meet an old man who feeds the birds in winter, who
turns green in the spring, then disappears, but a big tree
appears. Kids fall into the tree and turn into birds --
maybe crows. Adventurous tales.
Ruth Chew, Magic
in the Park,
1972, approximate. Definitely this one! "It is winter, and
Jennifer Mace is new to Brooklyn. She visits Prospect Park and
meets an old man who feeds the birds, a raven named Napoleon,
and a boy named Michael Stewart. Jen and Michael explore a magic
island in the lake that turns into an underground tunnel, and a
magic tree that temporarily turns them into pigeons. In the
spring, Jen gets a bike for her birthday, but a mean boy named
Steve tries to steal it. Mike helps her get it back, but almost
gets stuck as a pigeon!"
Chew, Ruth, Magic in the Park. Sounds like Magic in the Park.
If thats not the right one, it could be another one by Ruth
Chew, like The Wishing Tree or The Secret Tree-House~from a
librarian.
Ruth
Chew, Magic in the Park. I am sure that the book you
are looking for is Magic in the Park by Ruth Chew. Plot summary:
"Jenny and her friend Mike discover a magic tree and an old man
who feeds the birds in the park. They discover that the tree
moves around and that they can go underground and become birds
with the help of the magic beech tree."
Ruth Chew, Magic in the Park, 1974, approximate. I am the original requester. I recognized it immediately. I also recognized the plot of the story from some of your stumper solver comments. Yay. I am so happy. It's really been bugging me trying to find this book. I really want my children to read it, cuz I loved it so much. I see they reprinted it in the 80's, so it must have been pretty popular.
Mady Lee Chastain, Magic Island,1964. Every detail matches. It's an
interesting cultural artifact, and a book that couldn't be
written today. Set in the early 1850s, Barbados is
depicted as a beautiful, idyllic place, with the dark shadow of
slavery lying upon it nearly unnoticed - although the
protagonist, Angel, has relationships with some of the
slaves! My copy is a withdrawn library copy with the usual
defects, but no story pages missing.
---
i remember really enjoying this book but the details in my mind
are sketchy. a few girls were taken on a trip, probably with
relatives, to a tropical island. i remember that there was
a friend named dodie, who thought she wasn't included. when
informed of the trip, she said, i h-hope you all have a good
time, sniffling. and the person taking them on the trip said,
why, dodie, dear! and informed her that of course she was going
along. i don't know when it was printed, but i read the book in
the sixties. thanks.
I've been looking for this book too. For
some reason, I think it's by the author of the Best Friends,
books, Mary Bard, if that's any help.
I found it! "There was a muffled sniffling near the
door. It was Dodie putting on her cloak. "I---I---I
hope you all have a wonderful time," she said tearfully.
"Dodie!" cried Aunt Abbie. "Dodie, dear. It includes
you, too." From page 45 of Magic Island by Madye
Lee Chastain (1964). Angel Thorne, a sickly ten year old,
is sent to stay with her grandfather's boyhood friend. He
decides to send her to Barbados to recuperate, along with his
granddaughter Lissa, and her two friends, Emmy and Dodie.
This is the third book Madye Lee Chastain wrote about these
girls. The first, Dark Treasure (1954), is about
Lissa and her cousin Andy, the captain of a clipper ship.
In the second, Emmy Keeps a Promise (1956), Emmy and Lissa
encourage a romance between Emmy's sister, Arabel, and Lissa's
cousin, Andy. By the third book, Magic Island, Arabel and
Andy are married, and they take Angel, Lissa, Emmy and Dodie to
Barbados. I don't think Dodie ever got her own book!
---
I remember reading this book during the
sixties. It was about three children- all girls, I think- who
were taken on a trip to a tropical island. I think two of them
belonged to the same family. The third was named Dodie, and
she thought she wasn't invited. She cried, "I hope you all
have a very nice time," and then some adult in the romm said,
"Why, Dodie! Dodie, DEAR! Of course you are invited too."
Madye Lee Chastain, Magic
Island. This is the same book as T104, which has
been solved. It is MAGIC ISLAND, by Madye
Lee Chastain.
K1: this book was called The
Key That Fit Fairyland I read it in first grade and
we used it for a school play. I too thought it was a Little
Golden Book.
Well, I looked it up and there is no LGB, Wonder or Elf title
exactly like that.
There was another series of books in the
1950's that was similar to Little Golden Books called Jolly
Books. One of the Jolly Book titles is The Magic
Key - perhaps this is the book.
I too had a 20 year search for this book
after giving our copy to a doctors office when I was a child. My
sister (born in 1949) always held me responsible for losing "her
book" so we had a 20 year quest along the east coast to
find it. My first bit of luck was finding the cover in an
antique shop (near home), the shop owner thought it was cute and
that someone might want to frame it. It was a bargain at 5
cents. It gave us a starting point. The book
is The Magic Key by Mary Francis,
illustrated by Sylvia Holland it was published by Jolly
Books NY , Avon
Publishing, with a copyright of 1952.
I called my sister in VA for the storyline (since after locating
it from a book dealer, I gave it to her for Christmas in 1998).
The storyline is, Tommy and his sister are walking through the
woods when they find a key on the ground, They look around and
notice a hole in a large rock or boulder and when they put the
key in, they are transported to a new place. In this place
the toadstools seem to grow (or are they getting smaller?) and
as they explore they come across fairies and elves
building tables and benches. They meet the head elf,
Gruffy who asks them how they got there and if they know the
magic words. Tommy tells him the only magic words he knows are
"by hickory and by dickory" (which happen to be some of "the
magic words of the elves" ) and Gruffy takes them off to the
Queen Fairy to decide what should be done with them. They go to
the biggest tree in the forest and a door opens for them to
enter. Once inside they meet the queen and it is decided that
the children will have to stay till after the Queen's party. The
children get to see the fairy party dresses and Tommy gets to
sail in an Oak leaf boat.(about 3 pages from the end of the book
is a full page illustration of Tommy in the boat.) Whoever
was asking about this book had a pretty good recollection to
remember the boat part. For me it was the fairy party, the
toadstools and the Big rock with the keyhole.
---
Hi - hope someone can help me find the titles/authors/sources
of 2 stories I dimly remember from many years ago.
... The other had a child, boy I think, finding a
mysterious key which opens a door in an old stone wall - I think
a horse and a crow or raven also appear in there somewhere.
Anybody out there ever read anything that sounds like these
beginnings? I can't remember anything more than that, and
would like to know how the stories finished!
The second story ounds like stumper S69
stone wall holds key to mystery
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret
Garden, 1911.
Regarding the second part of this request: There are two main
boy characters in this story, and a girl- she finds a key to a
locked garden, and helps her cousin to discover the real world,
after being bed-ridden all his life. They make friends
with Dickon- a boy from the moors or dales, who has a pony and a
crow or some other bird.
I think I missed the second part of this one previously.
Also check out The Magic Key on the Solved
Mysteries page, that's one that eluded me for a long time since it
sounded much like The Secret Garden, but clearly
wasn't.
---
1955. This was an illustrated story
of a brother and sister who found a gold key in the woods. It
opened a tiny door at the base of a large tree, and that led
them into fairyland. My memory tells me the illustrations of
fairies were wonderful.
The Magic Key by Mary Francis, illustrated by Sylvia Holland, Jolly Books, 1952. It's on Solved Mysteries.
Took me a moment, but here it is: Elizabeth Koda-Callan, The Magic Locket. Workman Publishing, 1988.
Condition Grades |
Elizabeth Koda-Callan, The
Magic Locket. Workman Publishing,
1988. Used copy, VG but lacking locket. $6
Elizabeth Koda-Callan, The Magic Locket. Workman Publishing, 1988. New copy. $12.95 |
|
Key, Alexander, The Magic Meadow, Westminster 1975. Maybe this one - "The
author here writes, as he did in a number of books, of isolated
children with extraordinary mental powers. In this
fantasy/science fiction tale, five crippled kids, confined to a
hospital ward, are about to be separated because the hospital
has been condemned -- then one boy discovers that he has the
power to teleport them to the beautiful other world that they
had conjured up in their imaginations." "Five crippled children
in Ward Nine--Brick, Diz Dobie, Princess, Charlie Pill, and Lily
Rose--play a game of imagining themselves in another world. Just
imagine what happens when one of them finds out he can really
take them there." The adult is Mrs. Jackson. Oh yeah, this is it
- the first chapter is called The Dandelions.
Alexander Key, The Magic Meadow. Brick, Diz Dobie, Charlie Pill, Lily
Rose, and Princess are the Incurables. They can't move
their bodies much but they play the "traveling game" every night
and imagine themselves away from Ward Nine. One night
Brick is able to go to their magic meadow and no one believes
him when he returns until Nurse Jackson sees a dandelion under
his neck. He is able to transport all of the others to the
meadow in the nick of time since their hospital has been
condemned and the kids are going to be split up. Very
memorable story.
Thank you, thank you. Too bad The
Magic
Meadow is out of print and hard to find. However,
I did find a website to re-read the book online. What a
gem.
---
A story about a group of hanicapped
children who find a way into a different world (maybe through
a construction site?). Once there they notice that they
develope psychic powers (and I think their handicap challenges
resolve) The stronger (maybe older) children help the other
ones to "come over". There are a few back and forth visits
until finally they decide to stay. The natives of this new
place sing to bring up the sun and everyone communicates
telepathically.
Key, Alexander, The Magic Meadow. Several severely handicapped children in
an institution manage to escape by using the power of their
minds. They travel to another place (earth in the future)-
the one with the most ability has to make several trips back and
forth to bring them all there and he almost doesn't make
it. Their nurse caregiver comes with them and they all
start on a wonderful new life. The people already there do
sing to the sun and are welcoming and kind.
My sister just lent me this book and the
details match the poster's memories. There is more information
on the solved mystery pages.
Alexander Key, The Magic Meadow, 1975. This is definitely the book.
See the Solved Mysteries M page for more information.
Alexander Key, Magic Meadow
Alexander Key, The Magic Meadow, 1975. H196 sounds like it *might* be The
Magic Meadow by Alexander Key. "Five
crippled children in Ward Nine--Brick, Diz Dobie, Princess,
Charlie Pill, and Lily Rose--play a game of imagining themselves
in another world. Just imagine what happens when one of them
finds out he can really take them there."
Sounds like THE MAGIC OF MILLICENT
MUSGRAVE written and illustrated by Brinton
Turkle, 1967. A magician gives Millicent a doll instead of
a rabbit, and she and her father try to find the magician
again.~from a librarian
Brinton Turkle, The Magic of
Millicent Musgrave,
1967. "Turn-of-the-century story of a little girl, a
deceitful magician & a doll named Melinda Melee " and
"outwitted by a magician who gives her a doll instead of a
promised white rabbit, Millicent and her father travel to Paris
and London in pursuit of the trickster."
Turkle, Brinton, The magic of
Millicent Musgrave,
1967. Viking Press, written and illustrated by
Turkle. Outwitted by a magician who gives her a doll
instead of a promised white rabbit, Millicent and her father
travel to Paris and London in pursuit of the trickster.
#H24--Hucka Pucka: Man, I JUST saw
this in a local thrift store! Was looking at it just
before the answer to the "Pot called Peep" stumper was
posted. Looking in the store just now, I couldn't find it,
meaning it was probably sold, although things around there do
have a funny way of disappearing and reappearing. Anyhow,
it was called something like The Imp in the Pot
and was about an imp that took the form of one of those large
black three-legged cooking pots. It was one of those small
cheap hardcover easy readers which appeared in profusion in the
'60s. The pot kept jumping around and the imp popping up
shouting, "Hucka pucka!" Seriously weird,
yes.
Junior Bookshelf review again: Patricia
Coombs "The Magic Pot" published by World's Work,
1979, 32 pages "The demon who turns into a black iron pot with a
'Hucka-pucka' and robs the rich to feed the appreciative poor,
hucka-puckaing off with the rich man in a fine mystery ending
... enchanting two-colour crayon illustrations in fine red
frames ..."
It is The Magic Pot! Thank you so
much for finding these, your site is priceless!!
Maurice Dolbier, The Magic Shop, 1946. This was also anthologized in
"Best in Children's Books," Vol. 28, Nelson Doubleday, 1959.
Could this be David Cory, The
Magic
Soap
Bubble (N: Grosset & Dunlap, '22), part of a
series, Little Journeys to Happyland, in which Ned
journeys to Happyland, rather than the moon? There is a
voyage to the moon in Bobbie Bubbles(Chicago:RAnd
McNally,1916), but this is a longer book, with both
b&w & color illustrations
Could this be Lilian Moore, The
Magic Spectacles & Other Easy-to-Read Stories ,
ill. Arnold Lobel (Parents' Magazine Press,'65)?
I have often wondered the same myself. Grandfather Owl wears
spectacles and answers questions and solves arguments for all the
other animals in the woods. Little Toot aspires to be as
knowledgable and attributes this knowledge to Grandfather's
Spectacles. One day he gets to try them, but alas, they tell
him nothing. Grandfather Owl explains "Spectacles are
for seeing and not for knowing. Knowing comes with growing
and growing." Not exactly the same as the stumper, but
in case the story became confused over the years, I do have a copy
for sale!
Moore, Lilian. The Magic Spectacles and Other
Easy-to-Read Stoies. Illustrated by Arnold
Lobel. Parents' Magazine Press, 1965. Cover
slightly soiled and binding worn, otherwise G. $10
Just another possibility, if it was the
grandmother instead, but probably too recent: Beattie, Ann Spectacles
New York, Ariel Books, 1985 "When Alison puts on Great
Grandmother's glasses, they become magical and enable her to
understand some of her grandmother's frustrations and
unfulfilled aspirations."
---
My grandparents used to read my sister and me a book that
featured a train (freight train, locomotive), I believe at
night. There was a boy in his bed, who either couldn't sleep and
was told a story about this night train, or dreamed of this
train speeding through the countryside at night. Most of the
illustrations were dark and pen-and-ink-like, and I specifically
remember a page where the train was out of control and the boy
or conductor (or both) were pulling back hard on the throttle to
stop it. I believe the cover was dark, like night. It was a
relatively thin hardback. I would love to find this book for my
sister, who is now a reading teacher. We read it in the mid- to
late-70s, but I think it was used even then.
Chris Van Allsburgh, The Polar
Express. Just a
suggestion.
David M. McPhail, The Train, 1977. Could this be it? When
Matthew lets baby brother operate his train, the youngster
crashes it Matthew goes to the rescue in a life-sized
dream. Ages 4-8.
Lilian Moore, The Magic Spectacles, 1965. I was
the original requester and I found it! The train story was a
part of "The Magic Spectacles, and other easy-to-read stories,"
by Lilian Moore, illustrated by Arnold Lobel. Published by
Parents' Magazine Press 1965. I found the other stories (The
"Now Really" Time, Janey's Boss, The Pet that Benjy Wanted, The
Silver Bird Express, Wait for a Windy Day, Little Willie) and it
rang a bell! Thanks!
Might be Penelope Farmer, The Magic
Stone. When I read the description I
immediately thought of this book, and went looking for
descriptions on the web to confirm. Couldn't find any, but
I'll make the suggestion anyway. I think it's Farmer's The
MAGIC STONE which I remember featuring two girls, and a piece of
stone (white, IIRC) with a sliver of metal stuck in it, and when
they touch it together, or try to pull out the metal something
magic happens. Hope this helps.
Farmer Penelope, The magic stone, 1964. In this remarkable fantasy a girl
from London's slums & a girl from the country find a magic
stone that gives them heightened perceptions..
Farmer, Penelope, The Magic Stone.
Yes, this is definitely it. Thank you!
Later: This was probably set
during the second World War and involved about 4 children,
siblings I believe, who were sent to the country to stay with
an elderly relative. The only good clue I can give you
is that the one of the children's cats was named
Ozymandias. I tried looking under Noel,
Streatfield and Ozymandias but no
luck. I have read a lot of the titles, hoping to
recognize my description, but no luck. I did find
references to lots of other books I read as a child tho!
I have this book. It is called The
Magic
Summer by Noel Streatfeild. The
children stay with an aged great aunt who is extremely
eccentric, to say the least.
Hi-I found the Noel Streatfield book I
was looking for about the children and a cat named Ozymandias
-it's the Magic Summer. I hope you can find a
copy cheaper than $121, which was what was offered on
amazon.com. I don't know why this book has become so
important for me, but I am getting the strong desire to own
the books that were important to me as a kid, and I hope I can
find them here. I can think of no more rewarding
collection that the pursuit of books one has loved.
Thank you so much for your info!! Magic
Summer is out of print and it would be great if you
could find a copy for me.
Condition Grades |
Streatfield, Noel. The Magic Summer. Illustrated by Edward Ardizzone. Random House, 1967. First edition. Ex-library copy with usual markings. G/G. <ON HOLD> |
|
I may have the answer to stumper A20-
Anthology, multiethnic It may be MAGIC TALES
retold by Frances Ross, Elisabeth Harner, Wilhemine Mohme,
Stella M. Rudy and Eugene Bahn.Illustrated by Arthur
Griffith, helen Osborn and Phoebe Flory. Published by Charles E.
Merrill Company, 1946, 1950. The stories included are The
Pig That Was Really a Troll; The Fisherman and His Wife;
Little Daughter and the Lion; The Ugly Duckling; The Lost Axe;
Rapunzel; The Bear and the Goblin; The Prince of Engalien; The
Silver River; East O' the Sun and West O' the Moon; The Rabbit
and the Monkey; Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs; Cinderella;
The Straw Ox; The Green Monkey; The Flying Ship; Blunder; The
Emperor's New Clothes. I did not find one about a magic
fruit tree and a tortoise. However, The Straw Ox matches
the description. The Rapunzel in this book does kill the witch
by cutting her hair at the right moment. And a troll (who turns
himself into a pig) does kidnap three sisters (on three separate
occasions) and the one sister saves them by making the troll
bring sacks of wood to the mother, but instead of putting wood
in the bag, a sister goes in instead. Illustartions are black
and white. The person who wants this book should try to get it
through his/her local library first to make sure it is the right
one. At the very least, the person has the names of two of the
stories- The Straw Ox; The Pig That Was Really a Troll.
Thanks, I'll assume it is Magic Tales.
Now does anyone know how to find the story about the tree and
the tortoise? Another detail: the other animals keep trying to
find out the magic word but they all forget it on the way
home, but the tortoise is more diligent and simply keeps
repeating it as he returns.
---
This is part of a collection, I think.
The story I remember is about hungry animals and a tree that
drops its fruit only when the right word is spoken - the
animals keep travelling to find out the magic word but they
all forget it on the way home. The downtrodden tortoise is
more diligent and simply keeps repeating it as he returns and
is lavished with gratitude. I think the word was something
like "Bonjo".
How about this - The Bojabi Tree,
by Edith Rickert, illustrated by Anna Braune, published
originally in 1923, reprinted by Doubleday in 1959, 46 pages "This
once-popular picture book 'adapted from an African folk tale'
will with its satisfying adventure, repetition of action,
humor, and precise, colorful details, give fresh delight to
kindergarten storytelling. In the land of All-the-Beasts, the
so-HUNGRY animals seek the name of a strange fruit so that
they may enjoy eating it. It looked like an
APPLEORANGEPEARPLUMBANANA but it smelled like a
BANANAPEARPLUMORANGEAPPLE. Four visits to King Leo are
required before one of the creatures can remember the name of
the fruit. Amusingly illustrated with pencil drawings."
(Horn Book Feb/59 p.32)
The Bojabi Tree was published in at least
one collection - Told Under the Magic Umbrella,
collected by the Literature Committee of the Association for
Childhood Education, illustrated by Elizabeth Orton Jones,
published
Macmillan 1939. The first story is Ask
Mr. Bear, by Marjorie Flack, and the last one is Elsie
Piddock Skips in Her Sleep, by Eleanor Farjeon.
Well, Edith Rickert's version certainly
fits the plot - but the one I'm looking for is much less
cutesy - the animals have no names, IIRC, and they certainly
don't wear clothes. In all, it's more streamlined. I remember
that one animal forgets because he bumps his head and another
because he falls and rolls and bites his tongue too often to
pronounce the word properly. The one picture I remember is
that of the tortoise looking sadly at the angry wise man.
B96 bonjo: aha! there's another version of
this story - The Bojabi Tree: a Folktale from Gabon,
written and illustrated by Gerardo Suzan, published
Scholastic, isbn 0590728903. I haven't been able to find a
publication date or any more information though.
This sounds a lot like a book I spent years
looking for... it turned out (in my case) to be an African Bantu
folktale commonly known as The Name of the Tree.
I found a nice description of it online
about halfway down the page. One version is The
Name of the Tree by Celia Lottridge.
Sun-bleached illustrations by Ian Wallace are intended to convey
the shimmering heat and noon-day mirage of the African
landscape. In this Bantu tale from Africa, a humble tortoise
saves his hungry animal friends. Only those who know the name of
the tree can reach its fruit. When haughty Gazelle and Elephant
fail to bring the tree's name all the way back from the king,
Tortoise attempts the task. On his journey, Tortoise repeats the
name over and over until he reaches the foot of the tree, where
the branches respond by bending down to the waiting animals. An
enjoyable retelling conveying a theme common to folktales -
effort and dedication succeed over talent and pride.
B96 bonjo: another version is called The
Magic
Tree, and is found with other stories in The
Magic Horns, by Forbes Stuart, illustrated
by Charles Keeping, published Abelard Schuman 1974. "The Hare
and the Tortoise
apparently originated with the Hottentots -
and it is good to see our old friend Tortoise once again the
hero, in a delightful story called 'The Magic Tree', the humour
of which is typical of these African tales. Charles Keeping's
running lion, prancing ox and snapping alligator add to the
delight of this collection." (Children's Books of the Year 74,
p.42)
I posted both stumpers and here's the
real answer to both: Magic Tales, retold by Adelaide
Holl, 1964. The contents are similar to the other identical
title, but not quite. They are (in this order): The Bojabi
Tree, Wishing Gate, Cat and the Parrot, Cinderella; Five
Peas in a Pod, The Flying Ship; Golden Pears, East O' the
Sun and West O' the Moon; The Lost Axe; The Monkey's Heart,
Troll of the Cave, The Silver River; Prince of Uppland, The
Rabbit and the Monkey; Rapunzel; The Straw Ox; Snow White
and the Seven Dwarfs; The Steadfast Tin Soldier, & The
Tinderbox. Three tales are from India. The
illustrations, unfortunately, are annoyingly generic. Other
than that, the collection is unique and quite good.
I am not sure about the secret language
part, but Ruth Sawyer's Enchanted Schoolhouse
has to do with an Irish lad bringing a leprechaun to America!
Might be worth a look!
I can't identify the book but was wondering
if it might be one of Patricia Lynch's many books
possibly one of her Brogeen books.
L99 I think this one may MAGIC TO
BURN by Jean Fritz, 1964. It is technically
a boggart that stows away with them on the ship, but I remember
thinking that the illustrations or description made him sound
like a leprechaun. I don't remember him speaking in code, but
that doesn't mean he didn't. I think he travels with them
because the woods are being torn down to make a road. He comes
to America and is really freaked out. Magic happens when he
smokes his pipe. I think it ends with the boggart knowing some
important information or having an important document of a
famous author, which helps the children's father who is a
historian/professor/writer? ~from a librarian
L99 Fritz, Jean Magic
to
burn illus by Beth and Jo
Krush Coward, 1964. Irish boggart [like
a leprechaun] goes to America - secret code - every 10th word
gives the message
THE MAGIC TOUCH by Peggy
Bacon, 1968
The standard musical adaptation is John
Morley, Pinocchio -- lots of song &
dance, but I don't think it's the play you recall. Thre is a
musical by Patricia Clapp called The Magic
Toyshop, but I don't know anything more than the
title. She's been writing since the early '70s.
Thanks for your e-mail. The reply certainly sounds promising
and I am keen to find more information about "The Magic Toy
Shop" as it could well be the play that I recall. A search
on the internet
uncovered a play by Patricia Clapp called something like "The
Toys
That Took Over Christmas" about some toys in a toy shop
that were brought to life, but was advertised as being a 10th
anniversary performance, which dates it to 1990. Perhaps
Patricia Clapp has written several plays along similiar lines --
the play I recall was performed by us as seven or eight year
olds in about 1975 or 1976. As well as groups of toys having
their own songs, I seem to recall a toy train taking all the
toys to a location outside the toy shop. Pinocchio had a leading
role, but I am pretty sure that this was not a musical
adaptation of the Pinocchio story. Hopefully someone might have
details about "The Magic Toy Shop". Thank You! [And
later...]
Thanks to everyone who thought about the possible answer to my
stumper.I have actually found out the answer, which is quite
different from what I expected it to be. Eventually I managed to
find an e-mail address for my old primary school of 25 years
ago, and wrote to ask about the play I remembered. After making
various enquiries, the Principal wrote me and said that the play
I recall was written by a group of teachers after they had
gathered ideas from the children, and incorporated various
popular songs. They called it The Magic Toybox, but it
is no longer known if a script exists or ever did exist. It's
great to have an answer after wondering about this for so long.
I just picked this one up for the store. It's called The Magic Tunnel by Caroline Emerson, and it's $8. Shipping is an additional $3 within the U.S. for a total of $11...and you have a $2 credit from the stumper, so if you want our copy the amount due would be $9. It's a Scholastic paperback in G condition (well-loved but the title is not that common), copyright 1966. Sticker removal mark from spine and homemade? card pocket taped to inside back cover. Interested?
S192: The Magic Tunnel by Caroline
Emerson, 1940. See Solved Mysteries for details the book
doesn't cover!
Caroline Dwight Emerson, The Magic
Tunnel
Caroline Dwight Emerson, The magic
tunnel,1964. Two
children enter the New York subway and suddenly find themselves
in a time tunnel that takes them back three hundred years to New
Amsterdam where they watch history in the making and compare
colonial and modern ways of life.
Emerson, Caroline Dwight, The Magic
Tunnel. Illus by
Jerry Robinson, Four Winds Press, 1968, c1964. "Two
children enter the New York subway and suddenly find themselves
in a time tunnel that takes them back three hundred years to New
Amsterdam where they watch history in the making and compare
colonial and medern ways of life."
Caroline Emerson, The Magic Tunnel, 1940s. This is on the Solved
Mysteries page.
Caroline Emerson, The Magic Tunnel. "Juvenile time travel adventure of two
kids who take a subway ride, but it doesn't
let them off at the zoo."
For over 10 years I have been dreaming off
and on about a book I read when I was a pre-teen in the early
50s about a brother and sister who are on the NY subway and it
crashes and they wake up in Dutch New York- a book made more
vivid ny the fact that I first read it actually riding on the NY
subway- and this evening on a whim decided to try to Google a
description to find the title ("new york subway stuyvesant
children's book"), never expecting to actually get a result, and
lo and behold your site came up and there it was- The
Magic Tunnel by Caroline Emerson, first
published in 1940 Thank you.
Thank you for your comments on TheMagic Tunnel, one of my two favorite childhood stories. The mysterious adventure of the storybook children transported from then-present day New York to 1664 New Amsterdam via the underground system captivated me and in hindsight, greatly contributed to my own move to New York in 1971, to find adventure, mystery, and, of course, magic.
Mary Graham Bonner, The Magic Universe, 1930, copyright. I'm pretty
sure this is it. It'\''s the story of a boy who travels around
the Universe visiting the planets and stars. It has your Jupiter
poem (on page 64), but it's copyright 1930. The cover is dark
blue with a picture of a man covered in stars. It has cool
deco-ish illustrations by Luxor Price.
Roy
Rockwood, Great Marvel series, 1906-35. A long shot, but a
series running concurrently with Tom Swift was the Great Marvel
series. Thought there doesn't seem to be a book devoted to
Jupiter, several volumes featured space travel (Through Space to
Mars Lost on the Moon By Air Express to
Venus...). Some of the earlier titles in the series are
available in full text at Project Gutenberg, so they can be
checked easily.
It would appear
the mystery is solved - I can't imagine that poem showing up in
more than one book! Now I have to
find a copy!! Thanks!!
Mary Graham Bonner, The Magic Universe,1930,
copyright. SOLVED - Definitely solved.Thanks so much!!!
C.S. Lewis, The Silver Chair. I think this might be the one you are looking
for.
Tolkien, Hobbit, Lord of the Rings
Trilogy. Has to be too
easy. But in the Hobbit, Bilbo is helped by dwarves & wizard
LoR trilogy includes men and elves
Raymond Feist, Magician:
Apprentice. There
were 4 books in the original series, published late 1980's -
early 1990's.
A youth gets caught up in a war between the
people of his world,including elves, dwarves, etc., and invaders
from another planet. While following the dwarves to safety
after a battle, he finds armor and weapons that turn out to be
enchanted. His friend is apprenticed to a magician (hence
the title of the book).
Brooks, Terry, The Sword of Shannara, 1977. It's a long shot, given the date,
but there are elves, dwarves, a magic sword and high adventure!
It is neither C S Lewis nor
Tolkein. I have just finished reading Sword of
Shanarra and can rule that one out. I have
acquired the Feist: Magician Apprentice, and this one
looks promising.
Raymond Feist, Magician: Apprentice (1982, 1999) is
definitely the one. My thanks for solving this mystery.
This sounds like The Magician's
Nephew, which is part of the Chronicles of Narnia
series. The two children in it enter other worlds through
a doorway in the attic which connects their houses, and one of
the worlds has a red, dying sun.
R8 is definetely The Magician's
Nephew. The book G5 isn't remotely like The
Magician's Nephew.
I know the book being refererred to in R-8.
It's The Magician's Nephew, the first book in C.S.
Lewis's Chronicles of Narnia. The Lion, the Witch and
the Wardrobe is the second book in the series.
I was reading through the "Stump the
Bookseller" page on your website, and I think the book the
reader is looking for under "R8: Red Sun" is The
Magician's Nephew also by C.S.Lewis, and is
part of the Narnia series. I actually loved these books as a
child and recently re-read them, and the plot described in R8 is
the same as in The Magician's Nephew. All the
Narnia books are worth a second look.
Condition Grades |
Lewis, C.S. The Chronicles of Narnia. Macmillan, 1955. Complete series of seven books. Book Club hardback editions from the sixties (see image). VG/VG <SOLD> |
Magoose's Grocery, 1970's. I know this book well. This was a
Parent's magazine book club book.
H87: The Magpie's Nest,
which shows up in many collections. Here's
Joseph Jacobs' edition.
Other editions of The Magpie's Nest include those
by Addison Barker (Wings Press, 1950), Jason Bolles
(Martha Bolles, 1943), Joanna Foster with illustrations by
Julie Downing (Clarion Books, 1995), William Stobbs and Joseph
Jacobs
(Follett, 1970) and Isabel Paterson (John Lane/Bodley
Head, 1917). I'm not sure which edition you're looking for
(or if indeed you remember one in an anthology, which broadens the
scope considerably). But this is certainly the (folk) story
you're looking for.
I think there is a chance that I11 may be The
Magus by John Fowles. There are some little
differnces, but the general plot line is the same...
The island and the teacher...could this be A
Breath of Air by Rumer Godden? (loosely
based on The Tempest).
I agree with the person who thought the
answer might be "The Magus" by John Fowles.
Just to give a few more details that might help, the protagonist
is Nicholas Urfe. The old man is Conchis. The
daughters are Lily and Rose. And there is another woman,
who is in the end Nicholas's true love, named Alison. This
book was made into a film as well. Best Regards
John Fowles, The Magus, 1965. Per the "What Do I Read Next?"
database at our library, this book is a novel about a teacher
named Nicholas Urfe, who takes a job on a Greek island and makes
friends with Mr. Conchis, a wealthy estate owner. "After
numerous violent erotic encounters, including a staged murder,
the man is left fighting for what little sanity he has left."
Descriptions online give a similar picture of the plot.
John Fowles, The Magus. Sounds similar to The Magus
by John Fowles: The story concerns young and intelligent Oxford
graduate Nicholas Urfe, who takes up with Alison, an Australian
girl he meets at a party in London. The affair gets more serious
than Nicholas can stand, so he leaves her to take a position as
an English instructor at the Lord Byron School in the Greek
island of Phraxos. Bored, depressed, disillusioned, and
overwhelmed by the Mediterranean island, Nicholas contemplates
suicide, then takes to long solitary walks. On one of these
walks he stumbles upon the wealthy Greek recluse Maurice
Conchis, who may or may not have collaborated with the Nazis
during the war and apparently lives alone on his island estate.
Inez Irwin, Maida's Little Shop. It's the first in one of those
Startemeyer series Maida is a rich girl who opens a shop
in a poor area of Boston. She makes friends in the nieghborhood,
one of whom turns out to be her nanny's grandson from
Ireland. Only I think the diamond was in a necklace...
Ed Emberly, Big Green Drawing Book. Sounds like Ed Emberly's series of
drawing books - the Green one was my favorite as a kid.
Emberley, Ed. This sounds like it could be any of the
many drawing books by Ed Emberley.
Ed Emberley, Ed Emberley's Drawing
Book: Make a World. This definitely matches the
description, although there may be others as well. I adored this
book--you really could make a whole little world, without any
particular drawing talent.
Have you looked at the Ed Emberly drawing
books? There are many and they are in the right time
frame.
S399 Sounds like the drawing books by Ed
Emberley~from a librarian
Ed Emberly had several drawing books
that fit your description. The Big Green Drawing
Book, The Big Purple Drawing Book, and the Big
Book of Drawing Faces come to mind because I have
them in our elementary library!
Ed Emberley, Make a World. From description, most likely this one of his
many books. Finally back in print. It's one of my favorite gifts
for children in elementary school--this book, a big blank book,
and a set of markers, with the invitation to "make a world." The
results are incredible. My favorite is a child who made an atlas
of his "planet."
Ed Emberley, Make a World, 1972. Thanks!
After doing a search on Ed Emberley, the exact book I believe I
was looking for is Make a World copyright 1972.
Not sure who was the solver but, I thank you!!!
H5: I don't know if this is the right
book, but it's worth a check Hay-Foot, Straw-Foot
by Erick Berry.
I saw the inquiry about a book with the
saying "hay foot, straw foot, left foot, right foot." This
comes from a Wonder Book titled the Make-Believe Parade
published in 1949. The author is Jan Margo.
All I remember about this book is a little
boy who would march around with a paper hat on his head and
chant "hayfoot, strawfoot" as he marched.
One I read around 1968 about a little boy
who would march around with a paper hat singing "Hayfoot,
Strawfoot."
For interest's sake - my father long ago
told me the joke this comes from, about a country boy who joins
the army and can't learn to march because he doesn't know left
from right. His sergeant, also a country fellow, asks him
if he can tell hay from straw. Of course he
can, any durn fool can do that! So Sarge ties a wisp of hay to
one foot and straw to the other, and drills him by calling
'hay-foot, straw-foot' instead of 'left, right, left'.
A couple of possibilities: By
the Sandhills of Yamboorah by Reginald Ottley
(1965, "The story of a boy who lives alone on the edge of the
sandhills of the Australian desert. His only companions
are a dog named Brogla an her puppy Rags." Or -- Rags,
the Firehouse Dog by Elizabeth Morton, 1952.
I was enquiring about a book my family
read 30 years ago. It was about a dog named "Rags" who
loves his owner, a rancher, very much but is not appreciated
by his owner because he is not pure-bred. At one point,
the owner's two dobermans(?) attack Rags but he beats them
decidedly, however, the owner sees the fight, but not the
beginning and forces Rags, badly injured to leave. Just
after Rags runs off, a boy on the ranch runs up to the owner
and tells him the other two dogs started the fight and crying
tells him how much Rags loves him. The owner is unable
to find Rags no matter how much he looks for him.
Finally, they meet in a blizzard and Rags almost dies getting
the owner to safety. Then while Rags is dying the owner
lays down with him and tells him over and over how sorry he is
and Rags finally gets better.
by Laura Bannon, Make Room for Rags,
1964.
Bannon, Laura. Make Room For
Rags.
Houghton Mifflin, 1964. Illustrated by Vee Guthrie.
When the small dog Rags appeared at the farmhouse in the middle
of a storm, the family knew they would have to make room for
her, for a short time, anyway. Danny hoped that the place could
be permanent, but the more Rags teased the kittens and chased
the chickens, the slimmer the chances seemed to be.
Mary Lois Dunn, The Man in the Box. The description sounds exactly like a
book that my teacher read to me in 6th grade, approximately,
1971. It was about a man kept in a box in Vietnam and I
think the local boy helps him escape to a cave.
Dunn, Marylois, The Man in the Box, 1968. Maybe this one: "Compassion
for an American soldier suffering from torture in a small wooden
box compels a young Montagnard to give up his family, free and
care for the big, blond stranger in a jungle cave, and lead him
to safety through the uncertainties of his war-torn land."
Thank you, thank you to the people who responded to my stumper
"C is for Charlie." The correct title is The Man in the Box,
and I was able to find it at my children's school. I am enjoying
rereading it very much.
ARGH! I read that story over and over
in eighth grade (1978)! It made me want to learn fencing,
though I never did. I keep thinking it is Richard or
Robert somebody. If anyone can track down the literature
textbook it is in, that would help me solve an earlier book
stumper I sent in about a boy named P.S.
unknown, A Man of Peace
(?). This description sounds just like a short story I too
had to read for an English class in junior high! I THINK
the title was "A Man of Peace." I seem to remeber that the
theme - or at least, what we had to write our essays on - had to
do with how an old fencer considered himself to be a 'man of
peace' who didn't like fighting (or by implication, war), but in
the story he winds up fighting really hard to defeat some
arrogant, 'bad guy' fencer (a student or another instructor) and
put him in his place. The point is that he does this so
that the other students won't learn to look up to the arrogant,
conflict-loving fencer and come to think of him as the "better"
fencer, but instead realize that a peace-loving person could
still be the better fighter if need be. I also have a dim
idea that the theme was made important by an association with
real fighting/war - like maybe all the students were set to be
drafted when they came of age, or the country was facing
impending war, or recovering from war, or something? I
DINTINCTLY remember writing an essay answering the question "Was
[so-and-so] really a man of peace?" about this short
story! The only problem is, Googling "A Man of Peace"
coupled with "short story" doesn't yield any results, so perhaps
I've got the title wrong. For some reason, I also feel like the
story MIGHT have been translated from French, and/or set in
France, and/or that the characters had French names, but I may
have imagined the French angle just because of the fencing.
I'm still thinking about that fencing story
(now it's driving ME crazy!), and I found this by
Googling. On this
website I found this bit about a television drama:
"Leonard Nimoy, by the way, worked with my teacher Ralph
Faulkner in a little tv drama called "Man of Peace" back in the
early, early 1950s. It was about a fencing master dedicated to
the art of fencing who has a student who only fences for the
brutality he can put into his game. Nimoy played one of Mr.
Faulkner's students. The story was later remade starring James
Mason in Mr. Faulkner's role. Mr. Faulkner directed the fencing
in this one, and doubled for Mason. This time, the bad fencing
student was patterned more along the line of James Dean, as Dean
was the reigning "delinquent" at the time." This sounds
like the story I remember, but it was definitely a STORY I read
for school, because I know I wrote an essay on it. It
looks like the story I remember may also have been made into a
tv drama. But I don't know if this is related to the
solution sought by the stumper poster, or if it will help the
detective work.
Lawrence Williams, A Man of Peace, 1976. After
MUCH searching, I finally found the answer to my own
stumper! "A Man of Peace" by Lawrence Williams was a
short story in the 8th grade literature textbook, "Counterpoint
In Literature", copyright 1976 by Scott Foresman and Company. It
is the story of a duel between student Ramone De Parma and the
fencing professor Claude LaFleur. The textbook is out of print,
but I was able to find numerous used copies.
Mary Barrett, Man of the House at Huffington Row,
1998, copyright. SOLVED. Someone on one of my loops
heard about our query and emailed me. They said this is
definitely the book. Looks charming! Thanks anyway!!
A possible from online search: Krasilovsky,
Phyllis The Man who Cooked for Himself NY,
Parents Magazine Press, 1981. First Edition, Hardcover "A
man who lives at the edge of the woods discovers that he need
not rely on the store for a supply of good things to eat."
Color Illustrations by Mamoru Funai.
F53 food on trees sounds like H6 hungry
walk.
H6 hunger walk: a bit more on the suggested
story by Krasilovksy - "A story about a man and his
cat who live at the edge of the woods and buy everything to
eat from the store. When his friends goes on vacation and he
runs out of food, he finds he can live on the garden food he
finds in the woods." Which does fit. The cover of the book
is white, though, not yellow, with a picture of a plump balding
man with a hat and apron, flipping pancakes while his cat looks
on.
Sounds close to THE MAN WHO DIDN'T
WASH HIS DISHES by Phyllis Krasilovsky, the
man does load his dishes in a truck and the rain washes them,
but he doesn't hang them on the line to dry, and there is no
little boy in the story. ~from a librarian
Krasilovsky, Phyllis, The Man Who
Didn't Wash His Dishes.
I'm not 100% sure, there could be another book where someone
washed dishes outside, but I do remember this story.
---
A bachelor/widower decides one day to
leave the dishes for the next day; after a while they fill his
whole house. He's saved and learns his lesson though when it
rains and he puts everything outside to get clean at once.
(What a great site... thanks for The Furious Flycycle!)
The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes by Phyllis Krasilovsky.
Condition Grades |
Krasilovsky, Phyllis. The Man Who Didn't Wash His Dishes. Illustrated by Barbara Cooney. Scholastic, 1950, 4th paperback printing, 1971. Trade paperback size, some wear, but a clean copy. G. <SOLD> |
It's THE MAN WHO LOST HIS HEAD
by Claire Huchet Bishop and illustrated by Robert
McCloskey, 1942, 1970,1989. A man wakes up one day without
his head. He carves out substitutes from vegetables - I remember
a parsnip and perhaps a pumpkin. But everyone laughs, so he
rejects the vegetables. He carves a head out of wood, and that's
better, but he still wants his head back. So a young boy, who is
making a ball out of tightly wound rags says he can get the head
back. He hits the man with the ball, and the man wakes up with
his head back.
---
Can't remember title. Story is about a
man who wakes up without his head, tries a bunch of things as
substitutes (including a parsnip, which for whatever reason is
etched in my memory). 1970's? Possibly published by
Bobbs-Merrill, since my dad used to work for them and get
books through them.
Claire Huchet Bishop, The Man Who
Lost His Head,
1970. More on the Solved Mysteries page.
Clare Huchet Bishop, The Man Who Lost
His Head
Paul Gallico, The Man who was Magic, 1966. The title isn't "Adam", but the
protagonist's name is, and the plot fits. Searching on
Google will get you several synopses.
Paul Gallico, The Man Who was Magic. I'm pretty sure about this one. Adam appears in
the heroine's life and goes to a magicians' convention (or
similar). He scrambles and unscrambles an egg, and makes a
wooden staff burst into bloom (white roses). The other magicians
turn him away ... he changes the child heroine's life for the
better, but leaves in the end.
Hal Dresner, The Man Who Wrote Dirty Books. About a writer who's being sued because of the similarity of one of his characters to a woman named Bibbsy Dibbs. It's written in the form of letters.
Leppard, Lois Gladys, Mandie and the
Secret Tunnel (Mandie
bk 1). Bethany House 1983. A long-running series
with Christian values. The first book is set in 1900, when
Mandie is 12 and her father has just died. She runs away to the
city and finds her Uncle John, discovering that he and her
father are half-Indian. Her father's friend, Uncle Ned, is full
Indian.
Lois Gladys Leppard, Mandie series. These sound like the Mandie
series, published by Bethany House. Probably more than 30 titles
in the series by now, and still in print as far as I know.
They're sort of Nancy Drew-type mysteries with an inspirational
twist. Set in the NC mountains, although Mandie travels a lot in
her adventures.
Lois Leppard, Mandie and the Secret
Tunnel. I
am positive that you're looking for the Mandie books. The
series starts with Mandie and the Secret Tunnel.
In that book, Mandie's father dies and she leaves her stepmother
and stepsister to find her father's brother. Her Uncle
John (a Native American)who was a friend of her father's, helps
her. She eventually finds her uncle and her birth mother,
whose name is Elizabeth. Mandie also has a boyfriend-type
character whose name is Joe.
This is a mystery series. In later
books, Mandie does go to boarding school and eventually, on a
trip to Europe. There are twenty-some books in the series.
Julie Edwards, Mandy. Could this be Mandy? It sound a lot like
it.
I'm sure you'll get several other responses
to this one, but O20 definitely sounds like Mandy
by Julie Andrews Edwards.
Edwards, Julie Andrews, Mandy, 1971, reprinted 1983. plot description
from amazon.com: "For an orphan child whose life is filled with
comfortable, predictable sameness, with no particular hardships,
life is, well, all right. Really, what does Mandy have to worry
about? So it comes as a surprise even to Mandy when a small
restlessness begins to grow in her. This lonely ache sets her to
wandering farther afield, and leads her to a startling and
wonderful discovery over the orphanage wall--a very old, very
small, seemingly abandoned cottage. Embarking on a clandestine
domestic fantasy involving gardening tools and soap flakes,
Mandy finds herself being less than honest about where and how
she's spending her days. Holding her secret closer and closer to
her heart, this imaginative dreamer inadvertently endangers her
reputation--and her life."
Could the solution to O20 be, plain and
simple, The Secret Garden? There isn't a cottage,
but she does get into an off-limits garden and lovingly fixes it
up. And she is orphaned.
Julie Andrews (may be under Julie
Edwards), Mandy. The story is similar
to that of "The Secret Garden" but without so much death.
I haven't looked at it lately, but it was a favorite of both
mine and my sister's. Her 10 year-old daughter also loved
it.
Julie Edwards, aka Julie Andrews, Mandy.
1971.
Wow,
a
stumper
I
actually
know,
and
a
book
I
love!
You're
describing
Julie
Andrews's
first
book
for
children.
Hope
you
enjoy
it
now
as
much
as
you
did as a child.
This reminds me of a book that I have been
looking for too. Is there some kind of windowseat with old
curtains that she curls up in and reads while she looks out over
the delapidated yard?
Mandy by Julie Edwards
(Andrews)--Lots about gardeniing--I think she gets adopted
in the end...
Edwards, Julie, Mandy. This book was written by Julie (Andrews)
Edwards, the wife of director Blake Edwards. I think she
wrote it for her daughter. I just unpacked my copy from
childhood books.
Julie Edwards, Mandy, 1971. This is a wonderful book, written by
the actress Julie Andrews writing under her real name Edwards
(husband is Blake Edwards). Mandy the orphan finds a
deserted cottage in the woods with one room covered in seashells
all over the walls and ceiling. She fixes up the house and
restores the neglected garden, and ultimately is adopted by the
family who owns the land and cottage. It's a wonderful story.
Julie Andrews/Edwards also wrote one other children's book, The
Last of the Really Great Whangdoodles.
Julie Edwards (better known as the
actress Julie Andrews), Mandy, 1971, 1989.
This fits the description, but I seem to recall from another
stumper (here or elsewhere) that there was another book with a
similiar theme. Worth taking a look at Mandy, though. ~from a
librarian
This has to be Mandy by Julie
Edwards, aka Julie Andrews, the actress. Mandy is rescued
from her cottage when she falls ill, and eventually is adopted
by the family whose estate it's on.
Mandy by Julie Andrews,
Harper & Row c. 1971 This sounds like the book she's looking
for. From the flyleaf: "For ten-year-old Mandy, the old
stone orphanage on the outskirts of the pretty village was the
only home she remembered....Then one day, when Mandy climbed
over the high orphanage wall to explore, there it was--a tiny
deserted cottage in a clearing in the woods. Here at last
was her very own, very secret home. She would tidy it up
and plant a garden. All through the spring, summer and fall,
Mandy worked for--and sometimes "borrowed"--the little things
she needed for it. And to guard her secret, she even
lied..."
Julie Andrews Edwards, MANDY
---
My teacher read this book out-loud in Grade 5 or 6. A girl goes
exploring and finds an abandoned cottage. She cuts overgrown
folliage back and starts tending to the garden. She steals some
soap to clean the dusty place. The fireplace or maybe all
the walls in one room are decorated with shells.
G108 Sounds like it might be MANDY
by Julie Edwards. ~from a librarian
Andrews, July, Mandy. See Solved Mysteries.
Dandelion Cottage. This is a
book about a little girl who fixes up an old house. Don't
know if it's the same one or not.
Sounds like Mandy by Julie
Edwards
(Julie
Andrews)
Elizabeth Enright, Goneaway Lake. I am not positive that this is the right
book, but the part about the deserted cottage is correct, and I
believe I remember a room lined with shells.
Julie Edwards (aka actress Julie
Andrews), Mandy. This is of course Mandy,
by the actress Julie Andrews writing under
her pen name. It's on the Solved pages
with more descriptions. A great book.
Julie Edwards (Andrews), Mandy, 1960s. My favorite book of all time!
Mandy climbs over the wall of the orphanage and
finds this cottage. Lucky for her, it
is owned by a wonderfully nice rich couple who discover her one
stormy night when
she is tending to her cottage but falls very
ill. They take her in and eventually (surprise!) adopt
her. This one is also a previously solved stumper that i noticed
a few days ago.
Julie Edwards, Mandy. This could be the book Mandy by
Julie Andrews Edwards. Mandy is a girl who lives in an
orphanage. She goes exploring on the
property next door and finds an abandoned cottage. I
believe it has been reissued.
Julie (Andrews) Edwards, Mandy. I have the book on tape read by Julie
Andrews Edwards. I believe the book was published in 1971.
Julie Andrews Edwards, Mandy
Julie Andrews, Mandy
A Secret Garden??
Julie Edwards, Mandy. See entry in Solved Mysteries page.
--
I'm looking for a book I read as a child about a girl named, I
believe, Marnie. She discovers a secret little house and a
secret garden and spends time re-doing them both. I'm
almost sure the name Marnie is involved somewhere because that
is my middle name. This book was probably not published
after 1980 because I read it before that date. If you can
help, I'd be really grateful! Thanks!
Julie Edwards, Mandy. (1970) Lonely for a place of her own, a
ten-year-old orphan creates a secret home in a deserted cottage.
Andrews, Julie, Mandy. How about Mandy instead of Marnie.
Ten-year-old Mandy feels lost among the thirty children who live
in the old stone orphange. She dreams of a home of her own, a
place where she belongs. When Mandy climbs over the high
orphanage wall to explore the outside, she is lucky enough to
find a tiny deserted cottage hidden in the forest. With a few
"borrowed" items, the cottage becomes a refuge. To guard her
secret, Mandy even lies — but when she falls terribly sick, no
one knows where she is. No one, that is, except for a special
admirer she didn't know she had.
Julie Edwards, Mandy. This is probably the book you're looking
for...but maybe you also read Joan G. Robinson's book "When
Marnie Was There," about a lonesome little girl who meets a girl
named Marnie, whose real nature remains unexplained?
Julie Edwards (Andrews), Mandy
Julie Andrews (Edwards), Mandy. Could it be Mandy, by the famous Julie
Andrews, but originally published as by Julie Edwards?
Mandy is an orphan who finds an abandoned cottage in the
woods. She cleans up the cottage and brings tools to work
on the garden.
Julie Edwards, Mandy (1971) A wonderful book about a ten-year-old
orphan who one day climbs over the wall and discovers a small
cottage and garden. She keeps them a secret, cleaning them and
creating a private refuge from the orphanage. See Solved
Mysteries.
Edwards, Julie Andrews, Mandy. (1971) I know it's not Marnie, but how
about this one? Description: "Longing for a place of her
own, a ten-year-old orphan creates a secret home in a deserted
cottage in the village of St. Martin's Green." From the flyleaf:
"...Then one day, when Mandy climbed over the high orphanage
wall to explore, there it was--a tiny deserted cottage in a
clearing in the woods. Here at last was her very own, very
secret home. She would tidy it up and plant a
garden. All through the spring, summer and fall, Mandy
worked for--and sometimes 'borrowed'--the little things she
needed for it...
Julie Edwards, Mandy. (1971)
Julie Edwards, Mandy. Is this Mandy by Julie Edwards (aka
Julie Andrews)? Sounds very similar "Longing for a place of her
own, a ten-year-old orphan creates a secret home in a deserted
cottage in the village of St. Martin's Green." There's
another book When Marnie was there by Joan G Robinson, but not
this storyline - this one is a time-slip/ghost story. Perhaps
you've read them both and are remembering bits of each as one
book?
When Marnie Was There, maybe?
See Solved Mysteries.
Could the person be thinking of MANDY
by Julie Andrews Edwards? Originally published in 1971,
and republished several times since.~from a librarian
Julie Andrews, Mandy. I think that M381 is on your Solved
Mysteries page.
Julie Edwards, Mandy. Could you be thinking of Mandy, by Julie
Edwards (Andrews) where orphan Mandy discovers an abandoned
cottage and spends a lot of time there? Plot line sounds like
the book you are thinking of.
Julie Edwards, Mandy. Except for the name, this sounds
a lot like Mandy...
---
I'm 34 years old now, but I read it when I was in grade
school. It was about a lonely and unhappy girl that climbs
over a stone wall and into a forest area where she finds an
abandoned cottage. She spends each day sneaking away over
the wall to it, and cleans and sweeps it up and plants a garden,
I think they were roses. I can't remember much more than
that about it. I hope you can help me because it is
driving me crazy.
Edwards, Julie (Andrews), Mandy. Mandy
is an orphan who discovers the cottage in the woods and sneaks
away to fix it up.
Frances Hodgson Burnett, The Secret
Garden. I'm almost
embarrassed to suggest the reader may be thinking of The
Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett.
Too obvious, but still . . .
Francess Hodgson Burnett, The Secret
Garden. If, instead of
climbing over the wall, she might have found a key and gone
through a doorway, this could be the one you're looking
for. Mary, with the help of her sickly cousin, Colin, and
new friend, Dickon, restores the overgrown garden hidden behind
a wall on her uncle's estate, at the same time transforming
herself and Colin from miserable, lonely, spoiled children to
happy, healthy ones.
Julie (Andrews) Edwards, Mandy. "For an orphan child whose life is filled with
comfortable, predictable sameness, with no particular hardships,
life is, well, all right. Really, what does Mandy have to worry
about? So it comes as a surprise even to Mandy when a small
restlessness begins to grow in her. This lonely ache sets her to
wandering farther afield, and leads her to a startling and
wonderful discovery over the orphanage wall--a very old, very
small, seemingly abandoned cottage. Embarking on a clandestine
domestic fantasy involving gardening tools and soap flakes,
Mandy finds herself being less than honest about where and how
she's spending her days. Holding her secret closer and closer to
her heart, this imaginative dreamer inadvertently endangers her
reputation--and her life."
Patricia St. John, Rainbow Garden. This wouldn't be Rainbow Garden,
would it? A very slightly edgy Christian novel. Single mom
realizes daughter Elaine isn't having much of a life in London
flat, sends her off to North Wales to board with minister's
family. She's shy, gruff and somewhat snooty. The minister's
younger children Robin and Frances are nice, but the two older
ones Peter and Janet are covertly nasty to her -- they don't
even realize it themselves -- because she's not Christian. While
exploring alone, she finds a beautiful forest and an abandoned
cottage with a garden which she undertakes to fix up. And this,
as Spike Milligan said, is where the story really starts!
It's been a year and a half since I posted this
question regarding a book that I couldn't remember the title
of or the author's name. I thought to check on it today
and am THRILLED, because it's been solved!!!!!
YAY!!! I'm so happy!! THANK YOU! Yes, it is
indeed titled "MANDY" and written by Julie (Edwards)
Andrews. I just wanted to thank you sooooo much for
helping me figure that out, I couldn't have done it without
you.
Condition Grades |
Edwards, Julie Andrew. Mandy. Illustrated by Judith Gwyn Brown. Harper Collins, 1971, 1989, 2001. 30th Anniversary edition. New paperback, $5.95 |
|
Try Munro Leaf's Manners Can Be Fun, 1936.
Sesyle Joslin/ Maurice Sedak, What Do
You Say, Dear?
Another suggestion, though the Munro Leaf seems more likely.
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Manse.
Here is a quote from the
story: "And I know not which is the more strange, that I
should carry about with me some fibres of my
minister-grandfather or that in him, as he sat in his cool
study, grave, reverend, contented gentleman, there was an
aboriginal frisking of the blood that was not his tree-top
memories, like undeveloped negatives, lay dormant in his mind
tree-top instincts awoke and were trod down and Probably
Arboreal (scarce to be distinguished from a monkey) gambolled
and chattered in the brain of the old divine."
My searches have returned quotes from Darwin,
Huxley,
and Stevenson
Don Marquis, The Revolt of the Oyster. This book looks likely!
Judd, Frances , Mansion of
Secrets. A Kay
Tracey Mystery. Abandoned house is filled with secret
rooms and passages.
Manwolf
Fantasy novel or set in Middle
Ages in Europe. I read the book in 1999 or 2000. It starts from
the POV of a woman in a village where a knight visits. The
knight has a facial disfigurement so he keeps his face covered.
She leaves with him and ends up sleeping with him. Rest of book
follows their son. Updated:
My brother got it from his middle
school library so I think it was a young adult book. I went
there but they do not have records from that long ago
anymore. The knight had a squire with him when he went to
the village, and when they stopped at night with the woman who
went with them she takes off his helmet/mask to see his
disfigured face. Like I said before the rest of the book is from
the POV of the knight and woman's son. At one point
the son, now a man, gets thrown into a cage and set in the
middle of a town. Everyone gathers and starts to throw things at
him.
Gloria
Skurzynski, Manwolf
SOLVED: Yes Manwolf is the
book that I read. I borrowed it from the library and read it and
yes it is the book. Thank you so much for helping me locate it.
It has been bugging me for a couple months now. I love the site
and now know if I have any more book questions where to go to
get them answered.
P81 - Think this is Paul Gallico's
Manxmouse - potter makes a mouse without a tail by
mistake, which comes to life.
Gallico, Paul, Manxmouse. 1960s/70s. Potter overtired (and possibly drunk)
makes mouse with large ears but not enough clay for tale -
somehow comes to life and has adventures.
Thankyou so much for the reply, you truly are a genius!
If you do happen to find a copy I'd definitely be interested.
Could this be Patricia B. Ardley, Mr.
and Mrs. Hedgehog (London,1936) ?
I haven't had any luck tracking down info
on Mr. & Mrs. Hedgehog, but appreciate the tip.
Lifton, Betty Jean, illus. by Yasuo
Segawa, The Many Lives of Chio and Goro. NY
Norton 196. This fits for date and is an Asian folktale.
The plot is similar, except it is foxes. Perhaps there is
another version with hedgehogs, or badgers? "The Japanese
folktale of the old farmer Goro and his forgetful wife Chio
who decide to be foxes in their next life when they die.
However, Chio forgets what animal to be and chooses a chicken
instead. Goro, the fox, goes to catch a chicken to eat but is
mesmerized by the chant that Chio always said, and he
leaves her alone. He cannot live with himself as a failure fox
so he dies and becomes a rooster to take the chicken for
his wife. They are happy and again pass on to become people
again and live happily ever after, until the next life. 60
pps."
H10 hedgehog love: it's not hedgehogs, but
it is reincarnation gone wrong and based on an Asian folktale -
The Many Lives of Chio and Goro, by Betty Jean
Lifton, illustrated by Yasuo Segawa, published NY Norton
1968 "Japanese folktale of an old farmer and his wife who decide
to be foxes in their next life. Instead several things go wrong
and they end up as a rooster and a chicken."
I would like to thank the person who
responded to my now very old stumper with The Many Lives
of Chio & Goro, even when I gave the wrong
details. I haven't checked in for a while and was
thrilled to see a new response. This may very well be
the answer. I may have confused that story with Grimms'
Hare and Hedgehog tale. (I suspect I was
eavesdropping, not participating, in the storytelling
session!) The wife becoming easily confused strikes a
familiar note.
James Thurber, Many Moons, Harcourt Brace 1943.
Sullivan, Peggy, Many Names for
Eileen, Follett Pub.
Co., 1969. "Eileen doesn't really object to being called
"Missy," "Princess," "Tiger," "Curlytop," and other nicknames,
but she wonders why people can't just call her Eileen."
#B64--Big Imagination Boy: No
answer, but I have a lead: someone at the Alibris Boards
is looking for a copy of an obscure Dr. Seuss story titled
"Marco Comes Late." Since they have a typed copy of it,
I'll get back to you as to whether it's the right one.
Later...
Marco is the name of the boy in a number
of Dr. Seuss stories, including his first book, And to
Think That I Saw It On Mulberry Street! I KNEW the
one I was looking for was like And to Think That I Saw It
On Mulberry Street! only in reverse, as that is about a
boy coming FROM school and this is about a boy going TO
school. "Marco Comes Late" is a narrative poem which
appeared in the collections Treat Shop and More
Read to Yourself Stories, but seems to have never been
published as a book by itself. Didn't find the whole
poem online, but enough so that I'm sure it's the one I'm
after.
---
I am writing you this letter to see if you might be able to
help me locate a couple of my favorite books. I'm
now a school teacher myself for my son that I am home
schooling and would like very much to find the following
books. They helped me so much throughout my ele. years as
I believe they will do the same for him. I would
appreciate it emensely if you could help me locate all these
books and i am willing to pay! One story in
particular is "MARCO COMES LATE." Marco comes
late is about a boy who arrives to school late and tell
this long story of what happened on Mulberry street that
made him late. It's all rhymes!
Well, I can certainly help with the "Marco Comes Late"
story. It is Dr. Seuss, And To Think That I
Saw It On Mulberry Street.
Your response to M252 (Marco Comes Late) is
not correct. The poem she is referring to is named "Marco
Comes Late", is written by Dr Seuss and happens on
Mulberry Street, but it is not the book And to Think That
I Saw it on Mulberry Street. I went that route
a few years ago when I was searching for "Marco Comes Late" and
spent way too much money on the wrong book. I have been
searching for this poem for years because I memorized it for a
speech contest as a 3rd grader. A librarian in my family
finally got tired of me begging her to help, and used her vast
resources to locate the poem. I'm told it can be found in
the book Treat Shop, 1966 edition. I
am about to order this book, to see if it is really there.
Dr Seuss, Marco Comes Late. For the
full text of Marco Comes Late, go
to this website, and then go to page 25. I cant
imagine this isn't protected by copyright, but there is is.
I couldn't find any book with the title Marco
Comes Late, and and in the Geisel (Seuss) entry of
Something About The Author - which lists a comprehensive list of
everything done by an author - this poem is not listed.
But I did find a copy of the poem on the Internet by doing a
Google search it's on the Elementary Speech Meet site.
Yes, Yes! It is, indeed, in Treat
Shop-one of the Treasury of Literature-Readtext
Series. Charles E. Merrill Books, Inc.1960 Written and
illustrated by Dr. Seuss.(pp 119-124) Nicely done.
Janette Sebring Lowrey, Margaret, 1950? For M418, how about Margaret
by Janette Sebring Lowrey? If this is the right one, it
is the book upon which the Annette series of the Mickey Mouse
Club was based.
Margaret Smith, Margy. I am the one who suggested Margaret might
be the solution for this book, but now I think it is Margy by
Margaret Smith: Margaret Smith's novel Margy is a Canadian
Children's Book Centre choice. In this well-written narrative,
the protagonist, thirteen-year-old Margy Stratton, lives with
her father in Manitoba. Margy's mother has been dead for four
years. When her father is faced with friction between Margy and
her stepmother, he contacts Children's Aid to find a home for
Margy. Through the intervention of a kindly neighbour,
arrangements are made for Margy to live with her two maiden
aunts in Bancroft, Ontario. Although her mother's family was
affluent, the depression has left them with few resources. Margy
originally suspects that the aunts have taken her in through a
sense of "duty", but she and her aunts slowly come to appreciate
and love each other. Margy and her aunts are likeable, real
characters who are in fact based on actual people. Margaret
Smith skillfully portrays the hardships of the depression
without melodrama.
I don't think that this book was written that early but I could
be wrong. Do you have any further details on what the book
was about? I tried to find descriptions of it
on the internet, but haven't found anything so far. I
remembered something else about this book. The girl
(Margie or whatever her name was) discovers a book of poems by
Robert Frost and really enjoys them. I think she lives
with her grandparents or maybe a strict aunt or something like
that. I remember that a lot of the book was set during the
wintertime.
Yes, I think Margy is it! As soon as I read
"Margy Stratton" I knew it was the right one. Thank you so
much, I can't wait to read it again! By the way, this site
is great... I'm sure I'll come back to it with lots more
stumpers!
Dorothy Haas, Maria, Everybody Has a
Name,1966. I still have
my copy of this book!!! Saved it for my son. It was a "Whitman
BIG Tell-a-Tale" book. Illustrated by David K. Stone.
Story was about a kindergarten type class. Jonny was was
one of about 5 students. All the kids were trying to help Maria
start talking. Eventually they went on a field trip & Mr
Elephantopoulous was finally able to tease her into saying at
least her name . . .!!!
---
I'm looking for a book (could be a golden book--I think it was
that standard size anyway) about a girl named Maria that
couldn't talk. She finally spoke aloud while visiting a market
with her classmates. It might be called, "Maria can talk"--but
I'm not sure. Thanks!
M77 is Maria, Everybody has a Name
by Dorathy Haas A whitman Big tell a tale book.
M77 maria can talk: this sounds like Maria,
Everybody has a Name, already listed on the Solved
list. The class is visiting Mr Elephantopoulos' fruit market
when he gets Maria to speak.
This sounds like a book whose name I of
course cannot remember; it was made into a movie (marketed as
horror, but not!) called "Paperhouse."
This book was also published under the
title, The Magic Drawing Pencil.
C34 is Marianne Dreams by Catherine
Storr. It's a good, but very creepy book. At
one point she draws rocks with eyes around the house.
"Paperhouse" is based on the book Marianne
Dreams.
I don't know this book or movie, but
according to Robert Ebert's review, the movie "Paperhouse"
was based on a novel by Catherine Storr called Marianne
Dreams.
I have an answer for one of the
stumpers...C34 is Marianne Dreams by Catherine
Storr. Marianne is recuperating from a long illness
and finds a magic pencil in her mother's mending basket.
What she draws with the pencil during the day, she dreams about
that night. She draws a house and a boy in that house and
then learns that the woman who is tutoring her through her
recovery is also tutoring the boy Marianne has been
dreaming. It's a wonderfully eerie book. There is a
sequel entitled Marianne and Mark.
Hi. I am looking for a book that I read over and over in my teens in the early 70's. It was a paperback book that was about either a boy or a girl who is sick and confined to bed and every night dreams about the mountains or something of the like that are outside the house or maybe just in the dream. the person gets scared as they get closer and closer in the dream or in real life. a child friend helps this boy or girl. I remember the sick child has to do drawings and whatever the sick child draws also occurs in the dream. I cannot remember what happens in the end. sorry to be so vague. Hope u can help.
M49: Sounds like Marianne Dreams,
which was turned into the very good 1980s low-key horror movie
"Paperhouse". She's ill and
delirious, and she can't drive away her nightmares, but through
her drawings, she can influence them.
M49 Definitely sounds like Marianne
Dreams. It was written by Catherine Storr
and she wrote a sequel as well, called Mark and Marianne.
Thank you so much!! I have been looking for this book for
years. It was one of my favourites from my early teen
years. i am also very interested to hear that it was made into a
movie. what a wonderful service!! i cannot thank you enough.
***
Do you have any information regarding the television series
based on the book Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr. I
can find plenty of information about the movies "Paperhouse" but
it is the television show I remember vividly.
---
The Magic Drawing Pencil, or
The Magic Pencil. This book is about a
little girl who gets sick with scarlet fever or smallpox.
She is quarantined at home and put to bed...then she is given a
sketch book and a new drawing pencil -- one that is not too
scratchy and not too light, but just right. She draws some
pictures of a house, trees etc., places some large rocks outside
of it. Soon she drifts to sleep and finds herself in her
drawings -- not everything she has drawn is kind, either.
The book details her adventures as she adds to her drawings
while awake, and returns to the magical land when asleep.
I remember enjoying it very much when I read it, some 30-odd
years ago, and wish I could locate a copy to purchase for my
kids.
I'm a friend of Catherine Storr. Marianne
Dreams was reprinted a while ago in England.
I've been using the
paperback in my Fantasy class (U of
Illinois--I recently retired).
First of all, thanks for a great
website. I found it entirely by accident, and have been
perusing it all afternoon. I'm sure you hear this all the
time, but having recently had a daughter, I am trying to
accumulate many of the books I remember from childhood, and the
most infuriating are those where I can't remember the
title. On your site, I found reminders of several great
books I had forgotten, AND the answer to MY number two stumper
-- Marianne Dreams by Catherine Storr --
incredible!
---
I'm interested in a book I read when I
was about 11. It is about a girl who goes off to stay in a
house (maybe a lighthouse?) by the sea. There are big rocks
all around the house that she perceives as strangely
threatening. Gradually she becomes ill, and starts
having strange dreams about the rocks. She battles back, and
ultimately triumphs over them. I recall the stones at the end
shouting "Not the light, not the light!!" That's what makes me
think it might have been a lighthouse she was in. It was very
spooky and I loved it. Any idea what it was?
The book you're looking for is Marianne
Dreams by Catherine Storr. It was
first published in 1958 but has been reprinted many times.
The back cover reads: "Soon after Marianne found the pencil in
the old workbox, she began to have strange dreams of an old
house, with a boy in the upstairs room. Then the amazing
truth dawned on her: it was she who had created the house
and the boy because whenever she drew something during the day,
that night she would dream about it." Marianne drew the
one-eyed rocks that watch the house and become more menacing
each time she dreams. The lighthouse she drew as a place
of refuge its light blinds the rocks as she and the boy
make their escape. It's a mesmerizing story, and one of my
favorites.
MARIANNE DREAMS by Catherine Storr.
First published in 1958, Catherine Storr's deservedly popular
children's story has been through numerous reprints.
It also became a movie titled "Paperhouse." It is
now available from Lutterworth
Publishing.
Catherine Storr, Marianne Dreams, c.1965. This is in the solved mystery
section!
S156 sounds like Marianne Dreams
by Catherine Storr to me. It was also made into a movie
called "Paperhouse" in the late 80s.
Catherine Storr, Marianne Dreams. A sick girl has strange dreams about the
things that she draws, including
some evil-looking stones.
Condition Grades |
Storr, Catherine. Marianne Dreams. Illustrated by Marjorie-Ann Watts. Puffin Books, 1958, 1964. Paperback. VG <SOLD> |
Marianna May and Nursey by Tomie
dePaola. (1983)
dePaola, Tomie, Marianna May and
Nursey. Holiday House,
1983. Actually, the servants dye all her dresses different
colors so that stains don't show up - she can roll in the grass
in her green dress, make mud pies in her brown dress, eat
strawberry ice cream in her pink dress, etc.
Is this the same as W201?
Tomie De Paola, Marianna May and
Nursey.
(1983) See stumper W201 for more details.
Tomie dePaola, Marianna May and
Nursey. See
stumper W201 below
Tomie dePaola, Marianna May and
Nursey.(1983) A little
rich girl is miserable because she isn't allowed to do anything
but sit still and keep her white dress clean, until the iceman
comes up with the suggestion to dye her dresses different
colors, so that she can make mudpies in brown, eat strawberry
ice cream in pink, roll in the grass in green, etc. When she
paints pictures, her dress is rainbow colored.
Carlson, Natalie Savage, Marie
Louise's Heyday, 1975,
Charles Scribner's Sons. It starts out "today is my
heyday, because I have found the sweetest, fattest banana on the
Man's tree....Shall I play with my seashells and eat banana or
swing in my swing and eat banana or just eat
banana?" But babysitting five little possums
gets in the way and she doesnt get to eat her banana till the
end of the book.
Natalie Savage Carlson, Marie
Louise's Heyday,
1975. Marie Louise is a mongoose who thinks it is her
heyday when she finds the biggest, fattest banana ever.
But she has to babysit the five naughty Possum children, and
they keep interrupting her attempts to eat that banana.
Try MARIE LOUISE'S HEYDAY by
Natalie Savage Carlson, illustrated by Jose Aruego &
Ariane Dewey, 1975. Marie Louise is a mongoose who has to
babysit for 5 possum children. (And in case you're interested,
there are 2 or 3 other books about Mary Louise the
moongoose)~from a librarian
Carlson, Natalie Savage. Marie
Louise's heyday,
illus by Jose Aruego & Ariane Dewey. Scribner, 1975.
Sequel: Runaway Marie Louise. Scribner,
1977
Thats it!! I had no idea there were other
books in the series...can't wait to get my copy!
Condition Grades |
Carlson, Natalie Savage. Marie Louise's Heyday. Illustrated by Jose Aruego and Ariane Dewey. Scribner, 1975, Ex-library edition in library binding with usual marks. Soiled, slighty musty, owners name on flyleaf; overall Good-. $7 |
|
Not too likely because of the date, but
perhaps Esther Bates' Marilda series, which
includes Marilda and the Bird of Time illustrated
by Gustav Schott, published New York, McKay, 1960. The
first two books are Marilda's House(1956 and Marilda
and the Witness Tree (1957). The only description I
have is "When young Marilda is orphaned, she and her friends
raise the money to enable her to keep her house. The later books
follow her growing-up period." There's enough resemblance
(orphan, which would explain an uncle, and the witness tree,
which could be the redbud tree) that it seems worth mentioning.
B28 bird on the wing: More on the suggested
title Marilda and the Bird of Time, by Esther
W. Bates, illustrated by Gustav Schrotter, published McKay
1962. "Marilda, as Class President, begins to grow up in this
lively new story by the author of the popular Marilda books.
Ages 12-14."
Mildred Lawrence, Peachtree Island, 1940s. I don't have a copy to check, but
I vaguely remember the girl staying with her uncle. Or I could
be thinking of another book.
Wells, Carolyn, Marjorie's Vacation,
1935. One
possibility: Wells, Carolyn. Marjorie's Vacation -
Marjorie #1 Grosset & Dunlap 1935. VG/VG- Orange cloth
binding, glossy frontispiece, full-color dust jacket.
Lorna Hill, Marjorie & Co. Lorna Hill wrote a series of books about
Marjorie and Friends - Guy, Patience, Esme. The live in
Northumberland England, ride horses, have picnics, go to
Gymkhanas etc.
MARJORIE SERIES: 1 Marjorie
and Co (Art & Educational 1948); 2 Stolen Holiday
(Art & Educational 1948); 3 Border Peel (Art &
Educational 1950); 4 Northern Lights (privately pub.
1999); 5 Castle in Northumbria (Burke1953); 6 No
medals for Guy Nelson (Nelson1962) PATIENCE
SERIES: 1 They Called Her Patience
(Burke 1951); 2 It Was All Through Patience (Burke
1952); 3 So Guy Came Too (Burke 1954); 5 The Five
Shilling Holiday (Burke 1955).
M137 marjorie: perhaps All About
Marjory, by Marian Cumming, illustrated by
David Stone Martin, published Harcourt 1950, 148 pages. "Texas
in the early 1900s is the scene of this sensitive story of
8-year-old Marjory and her little sister Nancy. The band
concert in the park, the stolen dream and Miss Louisa's
wedding are among the highlights of their lives. Interesting
and unusual line drawings." (HB Nov/50 p.473) There's at
least one sequel Just Like Nancy, published
Hale 1953, 174 pages. This is probably too late a publication
date, though, as someone born in 1938 would have been 12-15 and
likely too old to read about an 8 year old. Another possible,
with a better date, is Dandelion Cottage and its
sequels, which include The Adopting of Rosa Marie
(1908), by Carroll Watson Rankin, published Holt 1904
and reprinted a few times since. It's about four young girls,
Bettie, Jeanie, Mabel and Marjory, who earn the right to use a
small cottage for the summer by digging dandelions from the
lawn.
Hill, Lorna, Marjorie and Co. The "Marjorie" series sounds like
the one required. The quality of the writing would stick in
anybody's memory. So Guy Came Too from the
"Patience" series has the same hero, Guy Charlton, as all the
Marjorie stories. Guy (and some of the others) also crops up in
quite a few of the Wells series. This year (2002) and this week
mark the 100th anniversary of Lorna Hill's birth.
Sonia Levitin, The Mark of Conte, 1976. Due to a computer error, Conte Mark's school thinks he's two people: Conte Mark and Mark Conte. He decides to take advantage of the error and attends HS as 2 people taking twice the courseload in order to graduate in 2 yrs instead of 4.
Could this be it? Hark, Ann. Market House
Mystery: Adventure in a Pennsylvania Dutch Market House.
Philadelphia: The John C. Winston Co., (1955).
Thank you! I do believe that is probably the book! You are
amazing. I will let you know if I decide to order it. I am
referring you to everyone I know!
Craig, Margaret Maze, Marsha, 1955. I just finished reading this
so it is absolutely the right book. All the details are right
except that it is towards the end of the book that the sister
buys the dress and Marsha finally stands up for herself. Also,
you should buy Trish by the same author- they are
quite similar. Both are terrific books and really sweet.
I can't remember author or title, but I also
remember the book. The selfish sister was named Diane or
Diana, the mother expected the aunt to wear something 'town
& country' and Marcia/Marsha the decent daughter says
"jeans. Probably paid all of $3.95 for
them.' The selfish sister has been recognized
as a loser by the important characters including classmates in
the end. Marcia works for the census to earn a few hundred
dollars for college. The breaking point comes when her
sister, admitting she doesn't need another dress, spends more
than half the amount she earned on yet another dance
dress. Maybe these additional details will spark someone
else's memory. The author *might* have been Betty
Cavanna - if not, someone like enough to share the space
in my memory.
What a great service! I have been trying for years to
remember the names of those books and you got them solved in a
matter of days. W178 is Patricia's Secret (I
checked on the Internet and they even had one with the cover,
which I remember, so I know it's the right one), F204 is The
Unchosen and M325 is Marsha, thank you, thank
you. The last one, V40, sounds like Miracle on Maple
Hill which I have read, but I don't think it is that one,
although I want to get it from the library and double check
before submitting a denial, it was a very good guess. You
have made my day, you have no idea!
Marta Finds the
Golden Door
I'm looking for a book I read in third or
fourth grade (about 1989 or 1990) but which I'm sure was
published much earlier than that (maybe the 60s) which
involved a little girl escaping from Nazi germany with her
doll which is her favorite posession. It turns out that
her father (who I think she gets separated from at some point)
has hidden some diamonds inside the doll. I also seem to
recall a train ride where a soldier nearly discovers the
secret but doesn't. Perhaps there is a scene with the
diamonds getting put in a glass of water in which they can't
be seen? Thanks for your help!
D46 is Marta Finds the Golden Door
by Frances Cavanah, 1941 later reissued as Marta
and the Nazis. Marta's father hides the diamonds in
her doll's baby bottle which is filled with water. She
travels to America to live with her uncle and his son.
D46 diamonds in doll: more on the suggested
- Marta Finds the Golden Door, by Frances
Cavanah, illustrated by Harve Stein (b/w) & Janice
Holland (color), published Grosset & Dunlap 1941, reprinted
by Scholastic 1974 as Marta and the Nazis, illustrated by Wayne
Blickenstaff. For some reason, plot information is very hard to
find.
I read this book in 1954. Marta hides
the family's diamonds in her doll's bottle containing water
which concealed them especially as the Nazis paid little
attention to a little girl playing with her doll. Thanks
for the memory!
A very similar sounding query was posted on
the Alibris board, but the only suggestions so far are the two
I'm repeating here: The plot sounds like Star Girl,
by Henry Winterfeld, published Lutterworth 1963, 168
pages, but that's illustrated with line drawings by R.
Ackermann-Ophuls. It's about Little Mo, from Venus, who falls
out of her spaceship, is befriended by children and protected
from officious and greedy adult humans. Otherwise, maybe: Martin
and his Friend from Outer Space by Ivo Duka and
Helena Kolda, illustrated with photographs. "A new story
about Martin, the young hero of "The Secret of the Two
Feathers", and a girl from one of the nine moons of Saturn who
comes to New York for a day of amazing adventures. 96 pages,
ages 7-11, published Harper, 1955. (from an ad in the Horn Book,
Apr/55 p.147)
Ivo Duka, Martin and His Friend from
Outer Space. This
is definitely the book. Martin builds a radio and contacts
a girl from another planet with gold hair.
---
This is a 1950s children's book about two little boys who have
a transistor radio. At night, they somehow use the radio
to communicate with a little girl from a distant planet.
She has a silver streak in her hair.
Duka, Ivo, Martin and His Friend
from Outer Space.
Harper 1955. I've just been talking with someone on the
ABE boards who has this book and we are pretty certain this is
it: "Martin builds a tele-spacer using odds and ends ... radio
tubes, copper wire, aluminum foil, knobs, keys, an old fashioned
space helmet (like a fishbowl), a bit of meteorite. He is
able to contact Aknele-Alpha, a girl who lives on Saturn.
Her face shows up in the space helmet. They have lots of
interesting discussions, telling each other about their
respective planets. Finally, they make plans for her to
beam herself to Earth, where they meet at Coney Island for a day
of fun. Later in the day she tells him that the golden
hanks of hair in her bangs are real gold and she needs this
metal hair in order to space travel. A bad guy overhears
this and tries to kidnap her, in order to steal her golden
hair. After a hair-raising getaway (couldn't resist), she
and Martin go to the top of the Empire State building and she is
able to beam herself back home. The best part of all is
that the book is illustrated with page after page of black and
white photographs, so we know this story is TRUE!". Va-li-bree
adds: "Since the photo illustrations are black and white,
Aknele-Alpha's hair looks black with white (or silver) streaks
in the bangs. There is one scene fairly early on in the
story where Martin is able to reverse the picture transmitted in
the tele-spacer's space helmet so that he sees himself.
There is a photograph of this scene and may account for why the
stumpee is remembering two little boys."
W66 has to be the Marty
books by Elisa Bialk. There are three books--Marty,
Marty Goes to Hollywood,and Marty on Campus.
Marty is set during her senior year of high school. She
works on the paper, and the cover of the paperback edition shows
her sitting at a typewriter. She is athletic and lives in a
small town outside of Chicago. Marty Goes to
Hollywood is set during the summer between high school and
college when she has a paper assignment in Hollywood.
Marty on Campus is her first year at Northwestern University in
Chicago in the
journalism school.
Sounds like it might be THE
MARVELOUS INVENTIONS OF ALVIN FERNALD by Clifford
B. Hicks. ~from a librarian
Clifford B. Hicks, The
Marvelous Inventions of Alvin Fernald The Foolproof
Burglar Alarm. The Sure Shot Paper Slinger. The Portable
Fire Escape. "Alvin Fernald invented them all. His
brain's working a mile a minute -- just ask his best friend,
Shoie, or his little sister, the Pest. But even Alvin needs to
think twice around the old Huntley place. It's like something
out of a horror movie -- especially because no one's seen Mrs.
Huntley in days. Can Alvin and his inventions crack the case?"
Condition Grades |
Baum, L. Frank. The Land of Oz. Illustrated by John R.
Neill. Rand McNally & Co., 1904. Trade
paperback. VG. $8. |
|
How about Mary Changes Her Clothes by Ellie Simmons (D. McKay Co., 1960)? It's earlier that the years you gave but the title fits.
The Mary Frances Cook Book, or,
Adventures Among the Kitchen People, Jane Eayre
Fryer, 1912. "The first Mary Frances book. Mary
Frances spends 3 magical weeks in fairyland with the Kitchen
People (humanized kitchen utensils) including Aunty Rolling Pin
and others. By the end of the book, the young reader can cook a
variety of dishes. Illustrated by JANE ALLEN BOYER with color
frontis plus a profusion of color and line illustrations
throughout the text by Margaret Hays."
The Mary Frances Cook Book by
Jane Eayre Fryer (1912). This book and the others
in the same series were recently reprinted by Lacis
[la-SEECE], a needlework shop in Berkeley, CA, and are available
by mail order. Thanks again for your wonderful website!
You're amazing - my sister will be ecstatic! And her
children will be able to pass on the book too.....thank you,
thank you!
Sounds like Jane Eayre Fryer's Mary Frances series. There's The Mary Frances Cook Book, 1912, The Mary Frances Garden Book, 1916, The Mary Frances Housekeeper, 1915, The Mary Frances First Aid Book, 1915, The Mary Frances Knitting and Crocheting Book, 1918, as well as the one you might be looking for, The Mary Frances Sewing Book, 1914.
D11.5 I remember reading a book
called Tessiethat was written in the late 1960s,
about a black girl who goes to a white school. I don't
remember anything about her grandma working there, but I
do seem to remember Tessie straightening her hair, and there
might have been something about her white blouse (hmm...maybe
she was ironing both her hair and her blouse?). Does this
sound like what you're thinking of? I looked up Tessie
in a library catalog, and the only likely candidate I found was
written by Jesse Jackson- I assume the same person who
ran for president.
I have found the book, it is called Mary
Jane and the author is Sterling.
thanks for such a great service!!
Must be Clara Ingram Judson.
Published in the 1920's by Barse in green, and reprinted in red
by Grosset & Dunlap. Many titles -- Mary Jane
in Canada, Mary Jane: Her Visit, Mary Jane's Winter Sports,
Mary Jane: Her Book, Mary Jane's City Home, Mary James'
Summer Fun, Mary Jane in Scotland, in France, at School, in
New England, Down South, in Holland, in England....
I believe that M86 is the Mary Jane
series by Clara Igram Judson. There are 19 books
in all. They are as follows: Mary Jane Her Visit,
Mary Jane Her Book, Mary Jane Down South, Mary Jane in
England, Mary Jane in Canada, Mary Jane in New England, Mary
Jane at School, Mary Jane in Switzerland, Mary Jane in
France, Mary Jane's City Home, Hary Jane's Kindergarten,
Mary Jane's Country Home, Mary Jane's Vacation, Mary Jane's
Friends in Holland, Mary Jane's Winter Sports, Mary Jane in
Italy, Mary Jane in Scotland, Mary Jane's Summer Fun and
Mary Jane in Spain. I hope that this is what
the person is looking for.
Thank you so much. I do remember the
"green binding". If you could find any one of the books, I
would appreciate it. I am particulary
interested in Mary Jane Down South or Mary Jane in
the City. If you do come across any books in the series,
please send me price information.
Mary Jane by Dorothy
Sterling, illustrated by Ernest Crichlow, published
Doubleday 1959 "Mary Jane was one of six Negro students to
enter newly integrated Wilson School which had junior and
senior high in the same building. She knew there might be
problems but Wilson was a better school than Dunbar and she
was ambitious to take advantage of this opportunity. She saw
herself as a "foreign ambassador" to Wilson. There were
shocking experiences for a twelve-year-old girl to face but
Mary Jane kept her head high and veiled her unhappiness and
fear. ... Girls between ten and twelve can find here two
engaging new friends, and will probably be as much concerned
over the trouble caused by an ingratiating but obstreperous
pet squirrel as over the problems of school integration." (Horn
Book Jun/59 p.216)
Chase Craig, Mary Jane &
Sniffles,1941.
There are numerous entries for this on the Internet. It was
apparently a comic strip series created by Chase Craig that
first appeared in "Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies Comics" in
1941. According to www.toonopedia.com/maryjane.htm, "[Sniffles]
was teamed with a little girl named Mary Jane, who could shrink
to his size and have fantasy adventures with him in a land of
living toys. At first, the series was titled ‘Sniffles &
Mary Jane,’ but eventually that was reversed, giving its true
star top billing…Mary Jane's exact technique for shrinking
varied. At first she would sprinkle magic sand on herself,
saying, ‘Magic sand, magic sand, make me small at my command!’
or sometimes ‘Oh, magic sand upon me fall, and make me very,
very small!’ In 1949, the words became ‘First I shut my eyes
real tight, then I wish with all my might! Magic words of poof,
poof, piffles, make me just as small as Sniffles!’" Ebay.com is
a likely resource to obtain copies.
There was a comic book about Maryjane and
Sniffles. To make herself small she would say, "Magic words of
poof poof piffles, make me just as small as Sniffles."
I'm one of those who sent you a stumper after the spot on NPR
last Sat. I just checked and someone has figured it out
already!!! Thank you so much. As soon as I read the
'magic words' Mary Jane used to make herself small (‘First I
shut my eyes real tight, then I wish with all my might! Magic
words of poof, poof, piffles, make me just as small as
Sniffles!’) I knew this was it. I remember that!
Thank you so much.
---
This is a book that had a character that was a mouse named
"Sniffles". The book followed the adventures of Sniffles
and a young girl. The girl could make herself the same
size as Sniffles so she could go where mice went. My
father's older siblings nicknamed him "Sniffles" after the book.
My Dad was born in 1941.
Chase Craig, Mary Jane and Sniffles. Seems to be the same book as M148
Chase Craig, Mary Jane and Sniffles. 1940s-1950s. This was a comic strip
series that debuted in "Looney Tunes & Merrie Melodies
Comics" in 1941. See the Solved Mysteries page under "Mary Jane
and Sniffles" or check
out their website for more details.
Chase Craig (creator), Mary
Jane & Sniffles, 1941. Sniffles was a
cartoon mouse created by Warner Brothers in 1939. He was
licensed in 1941 for a Dell Comics monthly anthology where he
was teamed up with Mary Jane. Go here for the
whole story.
This has got to be the Bad Wednesday
chapter 3 from Mary Poppins Comes Back by P.L.
Travers. Though it's Jane that goes into the plate, not
Michael. She's angry and throws her paint-box at the plate,
cracking one boy's knee. They try to keep her as their sister,
but Mary Poppins rescues her.
Garner, Alan. "The Owl Service." 1968. Through an old dinner
service found in the attic, three teenagers unwittingly awaken
an ancient evil and are caught up in the reenactment of a tragic
Welsh legend. May be a pretty far cry from three boys
playing "hosey," but again someone might look through it to see
if it is NOT the china plate story. Won a Carnegie medal
and went into lots of paperback editions so should be easy to
find.
The C57 story is chapter three "Bad
Wednesday" from the book Mary Poppins Comes Back
by P.L. Travers
C57: Sure sounds like the chapter "Bad
Wednesday": from Mary Poppins Comes Back - except
it's Jane who goes into the Royal Doulton Bowl and finds more
than she can handle. BTW, the illustration in that chapter is
based on a real dish which can be seen at the Donnell(?) library
branch in Manhattan - on the children's floor, of course! You
can also see the umbrella (with a wooden parrot's head) and a
reproduction(?) of the Dutch doll that Mary Poppins is based on.
In another glass case around the corner are the original
Winnie-the-Pooh toys!
---
A little old woman had a bakery and a boy and girl would visit
her. She would somehow break off a couple of her old
wrinkled fingers and come up with these beautiful stars to put
up in the sky. Hope you can help me.
Travers, Mary Poppins.This is a chapter from Mary Poppins, but
I understand it appeared in a slightly different version as a
picture book, so maybe that's what you're thinking of.
#P115--Pasting cookie stars in the
sky: Man, Harriett, I can't believe you even posted this
as a stumper. It's so well-known and has appeared so often
I thought everyone had it memorized by now. There are two
versions, one of them a chapter in Mary Poppins,
by P. L. Travers, and the other a Little Golden Book
from the 1950s illustrating just this story.
Yes, yes, head hung down abashedly. Especially since I
brought up the Golden Books variant the last time this was a
stumper. That one is listed on the Solved Mysteries page
under Gingerbread Shop.
This may be one (or a combination of two) of
the stories found in the Mary Poppins? It's one
of the visits into town (maybe to Mrs. Correy?), and the woman
breaks off her fingers and they become peppermint sticks. I
remember vaguely a story about putting the stars in the sky,
too.
---
I'm looking for a book that was read to
me as a child in the 1950s. I have always thought it was
an early Mary Poppins book but this could be wrong. It's about
a nanny who takes care of two children, a boy and a
girl. This particular story involves them going to a
shop and buying gingerbread. Each piece of gingerbread has a
gold star on it. The last line in the book runs
something like "Were the stars gold paper, or was the gold
paper stars?"
Travers, Mary Poppins. The chapter you want is "Mrs. Corry."
Travers, P.L, Mary Poppins Comes Back, 1935.Mary Poppins takes the gold paper stars
from the cookies and pastes them in the sky.
Travers, P.L., Mary Poppins, 1934. The story "Mrs. Corry" is in the
first Mary Poppins book. It was also published as a Little
Golden Book (called The Gingerbread Shop)--in that version,
there were only two children, Jane and Michael (the babies were
left out).
This is the "Mrs. Corry" chapter from Mary
Poppins, or the little Golden Book, Gingerbread
Shop, that was based on this chapter.
Travers, P.L. , The Gingerbread Shop: a story from Mary Poppins. NY:
Golden Books 1952. I think this is on the Solved pages
already - this excerpt from the books was published as a
separate story by Golden Books (Simon & Schuster) in 1952,
and is fondly remembered by a good many people who may never
have seen the original books.
P. L. Travers , Mary Poppins. If it helps, the scene described is from
the "Mrs. Corry" chapter in Mary Poppins, including the question
about the gingerbread stars.
Yes, this is from Mary Poppins
(the first one). You'll probably get 8 million other
people saying so too, but am chiming in anyway.
P. L. Travers, Mary Poppins, 1934, 1962. You're right! I looked
it up in the first book, Mary Poppins, in the chapter entitled
"Mrs. Corry." Mrs. Corry returns in other Poppins books,
but the quote you cited is in the first one.
P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins, 1934. The episode you describe is in
chapter eight of Mary Poppins, titled "Mrs. Corry". You
remember the story pretty well, except that Mary Poppins is
taking care of four children (Jane, Michael, and twin babies
John and Barbara) and the "last line" isn't at the end of the
book (which has twelve chapters), but close to the end of
chapter eight. Please note that there are two editions of
this book: the original version, and a revised edition that
expunges racial stereotypes from chapter six, "Bad Tuesday".
P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins. I'm pretty sure this is indeed the
one Mary Poppins pastes gold paper stars on the sky in one
of the stories.
Condition Grades |
Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins.
Illustrated
by Mary Shepard. Reynal & Hitchcock, 1934.
Early American edition, beautiful condition.
F/F. $60 Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins in the Park. Illustrated by Mary Shepard. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1952. Nice copy. VG/VG. <SOLD> Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins Opens the Door. Illustrated by Mary Shepard and Agnes Sims. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1943. with dustjacket, VG/VG, $25. another copy, VG. <SOLD> Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins Comes Back. Illustrated by Mary Shepard. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963. VG/VG <SOLD> Travers, P.L. Mary Poppins and Mary Poppins Comes Back. Illustrated by Mary Shepard (augmented color plates). Harcourt, Brace & World, 1963. Larger format with color illustrations. VG-. <SOLD> |
|
Hurd, Edith Thacher, Mary's Scary
House, 1956.
Sterling Pub. co. Illus. by Clement Hurd.
There is a book entitled Mary's Scary
House, by Edith Thacher Hurd, but it wasn't
published until 1956. Illustrations by Clement Hurd, who
also did Goodnight Moon.
Sounds like MARY WORE HER RED DRESS
AND HENRY WORE HIS GREEN SNEAKERS, adapted and
illustrated by Merle Peek.
Merle Peek, Mary Wore Her Red Dress
(And Henry Wore His Green Sneakers). Could be this one- it's about animals at
Katy Bear's birthday party. They all wear different
colored clothing and the color is emphasized in the text.
I don't believe there is alliteration, though, so it may not be
the title you are seeking.
Long
overdue update and thank you. The book I was looking for
in stump the bookseller request R187 was in fact Mary Wore Her Red Dress by Merle Peek. My husband
and I met during a class project about this book in
first grade and we thank you for helping us track in
down. |
Mara Kay, Masha. Or possibly one of Mara Kay's other books?
Mara Kay, Masha. This is the original
poster. I did some research after posting and I think that
this is indeed Masha and the sequel is The Youngest Lady in
Waiting. Unfortunately this seems to be a very difficult
and expensive book to find now (the going price is $366.00!)
I think the book they are talking about is
Masqueradeby Kit Williams. It is a
series of puzzles that when put together, tells you the location
of a golden rabbit that Kit Williams had hid somewhere. I
think there is an edition out now that has the solution
too. I also wanted to say that this webpage is absolutely
terrific! What a good idea!
I love your site...and I think I have a few
more answers for some of the stumpers. This is Masquerade
by Kit Williams. And yes, alas, the treasure has been
found.
see also Untitled
---
Treasure hunt picture book from the
1970's. The book is beautifully illustrated and is about
a rabbit that is travelling somewhere. There are large
medieval-looking letters surrounding each illustration.
Most are black and some are red. Supposedly, this is a
code and the reader is challenged to break the code using the
letters and hidden hints in the illustrations. The code
will lead you to a a real life rabbit made of gold and
jewels that the author himself buried. I remember
staring for hours at one illustration involving bees. I
am dying to find another copy of this book and to know whether
anyone ever found the treasure.
Kit Williams, Masquerade, 1979. This is definitely the book
you're searching for! It was re-released in a paperback
edition in 1993 as Masquerade: The Complete Book with the Answer
Explained. And yes, the treasure was found---you can read
all about it in the book Quest for the Golden Hare by Bamber
Gascoigne.
Kit Willams, Masquerade, 1993. I'm sure this is the one. It was a
Hare, rather than a rabbit, and yes, it was found. It was
republished (including the answer) in 2001, the ISBN is
0894803697 . He laos worte several other 'puzzle' books.
Kit Williams, Masquerade, 1980. As far as I can tell this must be
the book you are looking for (this is one of my sister's
favorite authors actually). "On his way to deliver a
splendid necklace to the Sun from the Moon, Jack Hare is
diverted by a series of odd characters and when he finally
reaches his destination he realizes that the necklace is
missing. The reader is invited to answer several riddles and
solve the mystery from clues given in the text."
---
I remember a book from my childhood, but I have been unable to
remember the name of the book. The book was in my
elementary school library between 1985-1988 so I figure that it
was published sometime in the 70's or 80's. The book is an
illustrated book, and the last two pages are a picture
find. You have to find the rabbit in the garden (I think
it was a rose garden). If you find the rabbit, you write
to the address in the back of the book, and you won an
incredible prize (I think it was alot of money, autograph, or
meeting with the author/illustrator). I never found the rabbit,
but the illustrations were beautiful, Amazing! I am 99.9%
sure it is NOT a Beatrix Potter or Velveteen Rabbit book.
I think the front or inner cover page had a picture of a brown
rabbit running, and a beautiful leafy background. I think
it had to do with a rose garden. If it helps any, I think
the book was an English/British book, because I think the
address you had to write to was in England (or pretty far away
for a little kid) and some of the words seemed to be spelled
different (like "colour" instead of "color"). I would love
to find a copy of this as a personal keepsake, and to find out
if any child ever found the rabbit in the last two pages!
Thanks!
Kit Williams, Masquerade, 1979, copyright. This was a best seller,
and a lot of kids remember the illustrations and the promise of
a treasure hunt, the search for the Golden Hare.
Kit Williams, Masquerade. Possibly Masquerade by Kit
Williams? There was a golden rabbit prize associated with
deciphering the clues in it.
Williams, Kit, Masquerade, 1979, copyright. Definitely this book.
Kit Williams, Masquerade. Perhaps this is the famous puzzle
book by Kit Williams? Every page does have either a
hidden or obvious hare in the beautiful paintings, and there was
a real buried treasure associated with the book. You can see
page by page reproductions of the paintings here:
http://www.bunnyears.net/kitwilliams/masq.html.
Williams, Kit, Masquerade, 1979. There was a later copy released
with the solutions - Masquerade, the complete book with
the answer to the riddle.
Kit Williams, Masquerade, 1979,
copyright. Lot's of people remember this book fondly, though the
treasure scandal marred it's reputation temporarily (not the
fault of the author).
Kit Williams, Masquerade.This
is
definitely
your book. You can read an in depth description of the book, the
hunt , the clues and the scandal.
Kit Williams,
Masquerade,
1979, copyright. This is the book you're looking
for. If a reader solved the book's puzzle, he or she would
be able to find the treasure in England.
Kit Williams, Masquerade.I believe this is
Masquerade.
Kit Wiiliams, Masquerade,1981,
copyright."The
Moon has fallen in love with the Sun, and sends a rabbit off
with a beautiful necklace as a gift for her But along the way
the necklace gets lost. You are supposed to look for clues in
the pages, in the riddles and find the hidden pictures to solve
the riddle." This was a world-wide treasure hunt, and the winner
received a real necklace.
Kit Williams, Masquerade,
1979.The treasure was a golden hare, buried in the ground.
People had to find clues hidden in the book's pictures in order
to find the treasure. The hare was found by someone who
claimed to have figured out the secret clues in the book, though
I seem to recall it later transpired that he had cheated -
someone, possibly his girlfriend, had given him inside
information about the hare's hiding place.
Solved: Masquerade
Hello- this was solved! Thank you- is ther e anything i
should now do on the web site ? Great ! So happy it was "found" !!
wondeful service, thank you. I willnow try an d find a copy to giv
e to my son , who is only 10 months,
but its never to early read to read aloud ! :)
Condition Grades |
Williams, Kit. Masquerade. Schocken Books, 1979, 1st American edition 1980. A fine copy with no detectable flaws. F/F. $20 |
|
Condition Grades |
Williams, Kit. Masquerade. Schocken, 1979. Fifth printing, 1981. Ex-library edition, VG-/VG. $15 |
|
Noel Streatfield , The House in
Cornwall
Elizabeth Goudge, Linnets and
Valerians, Dec. 2001, reprint. I am sure of
this one. It's been reprinted. "When the four orphaned
Linnet children are sent to live with their nasty grandmother,
they decide at once that their new life is unbearable-and run
away. Making their way through the English countryside, they
first charm the gruff but lovable Uncle Ambrose and his
gardener, Ezra, then stumble upon the eccentric Lady Alicia, who
seems to have lost her family. And then the real fun begins! The
Linnets start their search for the missing Valerians-but will
they be thwarted by the witch Emma Cobley and her magic cat?" It
is Ezra the gardener who is missing his tongue, I believe.
This is not Linnets and Valerians
by Elizabeth Goudge. Ezra is not missing his
tongue and the children are never kept in a tower by the
sea. The previous person is possibly confusing a plot
point in Linnets and Valerians where Lady
Alicia's missing son has been put under a voodoo curse (the
voodoo doll has a pin in its tongue) so that he can not speak.
This stumper has come up in rec.arts.books.childrens and several
people have suggested The Master by T.H.
White. I have not read The Master and
cannot confirm the plot to submit it as a stumper solution.
Well, I've just received a copy of The
House
in Cornwall by Noel Streatfield and it's not the book
I'm looking for. There are 4 children, not 2 the
chauffeur indeed has no tongue, but he's not a tall Negro man
who's been their caretaker and the children were informed of
his missing tongue at the beginning of the book. That
being said, I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the
novel, and I'll let you know if The Master by T.H.
White is the book I'm looking for. (Oh, the joy of
discovering all these books I never knew I missed!)
White, T. H., The Master,
1957. This is it! I'm so happy! (Dancing
around my cubby and making my co-workers stare at me...) Thank
you, thank you - I hope I can now become the instrument of
someone else's delight I will continue to scan the
stumpers and see if I can help others become as crazy/thrilled
as I am. Y'all are just the greatest!
Bill Harley, Dinosaurs Never Say
Please, 1987. The
story is called Master of All Masters and I think
it is a folk tale. We have a very funny version on a cassette
tape by Bill Harley called "Dinosaurs Never Say
Please." I'm sure there are other book
versions. The wording in the story he tells is identical
to your version.
A 'net search for "high topper mountain"
pulled up several sites reprinting the short story "Master
of All Masters." Apparently it's contained in the
compendium English Folk and Fairy Tales collected
by Joseph Jacobs. The story's punchline is: "Master of
all masters, get out of your barnacle and put on your squibs and
crackers. For white-faced simminy has got a spark of hot
cockalorum on its tail, and unless you get some pondalorum high
topper mountain will be all on hot cockalorum."
Master of All Masters.
This is an English folktale that's been published in many
compilations. It was also published as a children's picture book
in 1972, illustrated by Marcia Sewall, entitled "Master
of All Masters." I'm not sure if her version had the
man on a farm or not, though.
H59 Sounds like a version of the english
folktale MASTER OF ALL MASTERS. Anne Rockwell
and Marcia Sewall both did versions. Or it could be the
one by Dick Gackenbach called ARABELLA AND MR
CRACK ~from a librarian
The Marcia Sewall illustrated book
was published by Little, Brown. There's another edition,
also from 1972, published by Grosset & Dunlap that was
illustrated by Anne Rockwell, ISBN 0448214334 &
044826210x.
H59: "Master of all Masters." Shows
up in many collections. I remember it from the My Book
House series, 1920s. Here's
Joseph Jacobs' edition.
Condition Grades |
Jacobs, Joseph. Master of All Masters. Illustrated by Anne Rockwell. Grosset & Dunlap, A Thistle Book, 1972. An oblong, hardback picture book. Worn at edges and especially corners, clean and crisp inside. Hard to find. VG-. $35 |
|
Fairweather, Jessie Home. Matilda,
MacElroy and Mary,
1950. The answer to this one appears under stumper #T116.
Fairweather, Jessie Home, illustrated by I.E. Robinson, Matilda,
MacElroy and Mary. Racine, Whitman Tell-a-Tale 1950.
Fairweather, Jessie Home. Matilda,
MacElroy and Mary.
It's a Whitman Tell-A-Tale book from 1950.
#H61--The House of Mrs. Mouse:
The
solution
of
this
was
one
of
several
recently
offered
as
possible
solutions
for
another
stumper,
I
don't
know
was
solved.
If
not
solved,
it
should
still
be
under
"Stump the Bookseller," perhaps the Ms--something about three
mice with names beginning with M.
Don't recognize the plot, but the "Marvin
or Melvin" etc. in title memory and the description of the
artwork reminds me of Jerome Beatty's MATTHEW LOONEY
space series, illustrated by Gahan Wilson. Some of the art can
be seen on
this website.
A191 Could they be Moomins? See the Back in Print page.
Beatty, Jerome, Matthew Looney and
the Space Pirates.
NY Avon, 1974. I agree with the first suggestion. The
illustrations (Gahan Wilson) do show a rather puffy doughboy
character, and the name Matthew Looney could be remembered as
Melvin or Moony. Matthew is an alien - native to the Moon, and
in this book he is leading an expedition to another planet when
he is captured by space pirates - so he spends time in
captivity. I haven't read this one, so I can't answer for the
brewery or the book (but surely one CAN change the future? it's
the past that can't be changed!), but otherwise this seems a
likely answer.
Yes! It is Matthew Looney and
the Space Pirates by Jerome Beatty, Jr. I checked
it out of the library today. Very cool! Thank you
so much for your help everyone!
---
Matthew Looney's
Voyage to the Earth
I believe this was a Scholastic series
(around the 70's) about people who lived in the craters of the
moon. They were silly books with cartoon-like
illustrations. The one I remember had a judge who sucked
some libation through his fountain pen and was caught when he
actually sucked up some ink. Also - the children were
always being warned of not bouncing too much, because they'd
be sucked into outer space.
Jerome Beatty Jr, Matthew Looney Series. This sounds like the Matthew Looney
series. The first is Matthew Looney's Voyage to the Earth.
In that one, Matthew's uncle is in charge of an expedition of
Moon people who will go explore Earth. Matthew wants to be on
the crew. The people on the moon are convinced the Earth is
lifeless because of all the poisionous water on it. The
illustrations are very cartoonish--the moon people have large
round heads.
Shot in the dark, but could this be the Mushroom
Planet books by Eleanor Cameron? Scholastic
did republish them in the 1970's.~from a librarian
That's IT!!! The Matthew Looney
Series. The one I was remembering was Maria and the
Red Planet. I have been looking for this book for
15 years! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!!!
Condition Grades |
Beatty,
Jerome, Jr. Matthew Looney's Invasion of the
Earth. illus by
Gahan Wilson. William R. Scott, 1965.
Ex-library in library binding. Usual marks and
stamp, pocket on front free endpaper. Pages
clean. G. $16
Beatty, Jerome, Jr. Maria Looney on the Red Planet. illus by Gahan Wilson. Avon/Camelot Books, 1977. First paperback printing. VG. $16 |
|
Madeliene L'Engle, And Both Were
Young.
This is possible though unlikely. An American girl goes to a
Swiss boarding school and befriends a boy living nearby, who
lives with a scholarly type. She is not supposed to meet any
boys but the scholar and her school's art teacher facilitate
their relationship because it helps the boy.
Madeleine L'Engle, The Small Rain, 1945, reprint 1985. The Small
Rain, focuses on Katherine Forrester, the daughter
of distinguished musical artists, whose career as a concert
pianist evolves through loves and losses. Katherine is a child
growing up in a refined, yet bohemian, artistic
ambience--theatrical as well as musical . . . . [Her]
adolescence is lonely and difficult, but as Katherine advances
to young womanhood, her heart as well as her talent is
promisingly engaged. Katherine has a relationship of sorts
with her piano teacher, Justin Vigneras, at boarding school. In
ther sequal, A Severed Wasp, she reflects on her
life and you find out she does indeed marry him.
Francoise Sagan, A Certain Smile, late fifties. The girl was named
Dominique and the man was Luc.
Janine Boissard, A Matter of Feeling, 1981. Boissard wrote several books about
4 french sisters: A Matter of Feeling (which is,
I think, the book described), A Question of Happiness,
(it could be this) and Cecile. Here's the
description I found for A Matter of Feeling:
Events of a winter and spring in the life of the Moreau family,
who have a happy, comfortable home outside Paris. Centers on
seventeen-year-old Pauline, who hopes to be a writer, and her
bittersweet romance with Pierre, a forty-year-old Parisian
artist.
Today I checked and you definately solved it. There were a
couple of other tries, but the one posted today was it! A
Matter of Feeling by Janine Boissard. I already found it
at my library and have started reading it. I am so
impressed with your service. Thanks so much for helping
find this old book!
Matthew Looney's
Voyage to the Earth
My son found a paper back book in the 60's, which I seem to
remember was called 'Matthew LOONY'S VOYAGE TO EARTH, or
something like that. It's about a boy who lives on the moon,
where they don't believe life is possible on earth, who stows
away on his father's spaceship and lands on earth. Zany drawings
and funny story. does this ring any bells.?
You've got it. Here's the scoop:
Beatty, Jerome Jr., Illustrated by Gahan Wilson MATTHEW
LOONEY'S
VOYAGE TO THE EARTH. William R. Scott,
1961. Avon Paperbacks, 1972.
Norah Lofts, The Maude Reed Tale. Thanks to
Cathy from Google's rec.arts.books.childrens. Solved
quickly. Hooray!
---
late 60's or 70's,
juvenile. This book is about a girl, the daughter of a
widower noble, who's sent away to be a page in a medieval
castle. Normally only pages are boys, and she trains with
the other boys. She observes the behavior of adults at the
castle and learns some hard lessons (one of the women she
befriends commits suicide, in fact). At the end she
returns home as a young adult, only to find her father enfeebled
and childhood home falling apart. She takes over running
her father's estate and I think falls in love with one of the
pages she knew from her time at the castle. I checked this
out several times from the library as a young girl, but now I
can't find it anywhere online or at the library. I hope
you can help me!
Norah Lofts, The Maude Reed Tale. This sounds like The Maude Reed
Tale, which was a children's/YA book that was based on
a section of one of Lofts' novels for adults; I'm pretty sure it was The House at Old Vine, but
could be wrong. In any case, The Maude Reed Tale was different than the
original story in a several ways. Not all the details of
the description match my memory of the book, but overall it
seems like a good match.
Norah Lofts, The
Maude Reed Tale. At first I didn't think I
was looking for this book (I didn't remember the wool
merchant part) but as soon as I saw the cover art I knew it
was. Thanks! I can't wait to reread this.
This site is great.
---
Read when aged 11, circa 1974. Adolescent girl is sent to
a castle, maybe to train as a ladie's attendant. Her
unenthusiastic chaperone (Melisande?) wears a pointed cap, they
eat onion soup and use the garderobe (toilet). I can't recall
anymore; coming of age, adventure, mystery, romance? Help!
Norah
Lofts, Maude Reed Tale. This is a long shot because I remember
reading that book but I think that the castle life is not the
main part of the story. I don't have this book in front of me so
I''m not sure it's this one.
Norah Lofts, The Maud Reed Tale. The Maud Reed Tale is a shortened form of one of Lofts'
adult novels, and the ending is changed.
When I read your description, I ran up to
my daughter's room where all my old Cinderella books are.
The good news is that I found the oversized, thin picture book
with the yellow-green hard cover. The bad news is that all
I have left is the front cover and the text- no title page
(assuming there was one), spine, back cover, or identifying
info. The title is in bluish-purple capital letters, no
author named. I would describe the illustrations as
stylized, with clothing and settings in a mishmash of styles
from Elizabethan to Victorian. The most amusing thing
about it is how mod the Cinderella figure is- she could be a
Bond girl, "I Dream of Jeannie," or a blonde 99 from "Get
Smart," with long legs, late-60's hair, and almond eyes that
look loaded with dark shadow and false lashes. The text is
different from the standard Perrault retelling, and from any
other I've seen. The fairy godmother is given the name
Rowena. Cinderella's ball gown is described as "a gown of
pink silk, delicate as the petals of the rose and embroidered
with crystals as blue as a summer sky. Her headdress was
of silver, spun by a fairy spider, and her veil, transparent as
moonlight, was bordered with petals which bathed her in sweet
perfume." The illustrations, however, show no headdress or
veil but a small pink coronet the spun silver component is the
huge, Elizabethan-style stand-up collar you described, and
there's a transparent Watteau train extending from it, bordered
with a sheer pleated frill. I have no idea if all this
will help you, but assuming this is the same book you
recall, details might make it easier to
locate!
Thank you so much for the response to #F47, but the dress worn
by the Cinderella I remember was white; the predominant colors
in the story were greens and grays. Also, the name
"Rowena" doesn't ring a bell. Thanks, though!
The Maxton Series. Hello! I'm the person who
submitted this stumper, and I'm writing to let you know that I
found the answer. This fairy-tale series was printed in
Italy in 1960, each story featuring a different author and
illustrator. Published in the US as the Maxton series, the
books were distributed in the UK by Odhams. The words "My Book
of" appeared in the title of each volume in the series--My
Book of Cinderella, My Book of the Sleeping Beauty, etc.
If you ever come across any of these books in your shop, will
you let me know? Thank you so much!
I'm almost sure I remember this book too,
from the early '70's, and that would make me think it might be a
Parents Magazine Press book since we had a lot of those.
If it's the book I'm thinking of, the title could be something
like "How to catch a..." (whatever it is), and the name is
something like a squeezle or teazle or something silly like
that...although I could be confusing that with PMP's Never
Tease
a
Weasel which I know we also had. Sorry I can't
be more help, I tried searching a used books site but only came
up with books on catching butterflies and heffalumps. :-)
Alexander, Martha G., Maybe a Monster, 1968. Must be this one: A little
boy builds a huge cage for the monster he thinks he is going to
catch. Then he checks the trap he has set and finds a
rabbit.
Martha Alexander (author and
illustrator), Maybe a Monster, 1968. This
is definitely the correct book: the text and
illustrations match the stumper's
description exactly. The boy digs a pit and covers it with
branches, then builds a cage to hold the monster he expects to
catch. The cage (a large wooden structure that looks like
a fort) is huge, with room to accomodate the creature's two
heads, enormous tail, and big wings, as well as holes to allow
fire to come out of its nose. Then the boy puts on his
football gear and arms himself with a slingshot, water pistol
and rope before retrieving
the monster, which turns out to be a
rabbit. The last illustration (on the back cover of the
book) shows the boy, a smaller boy, and the rabbit all
eating ice cream cones while sitting on top of the cage. A
cute little book, illustrated primarily in greens and browns,
with one or two sentences per page.
Thanks for solving my bookstumper. My boy, almost three,
likes the book perhaps as much as his dad did. I didn't
respond right away because I had to wait for weeks to get an
interlibrary loaner book to arrive to be sure it was the book.
Dorothy Gilman, The Maze in the
Heart of the Castle. I
was obsessed with this book for a while, so I know it's the one!
Dorothy Gilman, The Maze in
the Heart of the Castle, 1983. I think
you'll find that this is The Maze in the Heart of the
Castle by Dorothy Gilman. Gilman
referenced Maze (without noting title or author) many times in
her adult mystery The Tightrope Walker, citing it
as a childhood favorite of the heroine of that novel. So many
people wrote to her asking for details on this children's book,
she had to admit that she hadn't yet written it!! Of course she
did finally write and publish it, and its since become a bit of
a cult favorite. It's a lot of fun to read Maze in the
Heart of the Castle and Tightrope Walker
as a pair, since one literally gave birth to the other!
Dorothy Gilman, Maze in the
Heart of the Castle. This is Maze in the
Heart of the Castle. Interestingly, the book is
heavily featured in another Gilman book, The Tightrope
Walker. I've always wondered which she planned out
first
Dorothy Gilman, The Maze in
the Heart of the Castle, 1983. Definitely the book
you're looking for. I LOVED this one as a kid, and read it over
and over.
Dorothy Gilman, The Maze in
the Heart of the Castle, 1983. It sounds like The
Maze in the Heart of the Castle...from the CIP data:
Consumed by grief after the deaths of his parents,
sixteen-year-old Colin accepts the challenge of the maze of
Rheembeck Castle and begins to unravel the mystery of the maze
within himself. (And yes, it is that Dorothy Gilman)
etc.
Andre Norton, Lavender Blue Magic. This story has a group of siblings, not just
one child--but they definitely walk through a maze and time
travel, and to get back, they have to walk it again.
So...maybe worth checking out.
Andre
Norton, Lavender-Green Magic, 1974, copyright.
Eleven-year-old Holly Wade and her twin siblings, Judy and
Crockett, are sent to live with their grandparents in the small
town of Dimsdale, Massachusetts when their father is declared
missing in action in Vietnam. Dimsdale is nothing like
Boston there are only two other African-American children
in the entire school. Even worse, Grandpa and Grandma Wade live
in an old junkyard! While exploring one day, Holly, Judy, and
Crockett wander into an overgrown hedge maze—and find themselves
transported back in time to Dimsdale’s past. Can they right an
ancient wrong and free the town of Dimsdale from a witch’s
curse?
Andre
Norton, Lavender-Green Magic, 1974, approximate.'Excerpted
from Macmillan's website: "Holly Wade and her twin siblings,
Judy and Crockett, are sent to live with their grandparents in
the small town of Dimsdale, Massachusetts . . . Dimsdale is
nothing like Boston there are only two other
African-American children in the entire school. . . . While
exploring one day, Holly, Judy, and Crockett wander into an
overgrown hedge maze—and find themselves transported back in
time to Dimsdale’s past. Can they right an ancient wrong and
free the town of Dimsdale from a witch’s curse?"
Catherine
Dexter,
Mazemaker, 1989. Playing in a maze,
twelve-year-old Winnie is hurled back in time and marooned on a
nineteenth-century estate until she can solve the maze and
return to the present.
Helen
Cresswell, Moondial, 1987, copyright.Thought I sent
this in earlier but I don'\t see it yet so am resubmitting.
Catherine Dexter, Mazemaker, 1989. Someone found the book on your sight! The book I was looking for ward Mazemaker by Catherine Dexter. Thanks so much!
K73 I think I may have the answer.
Try MAY I STAY? by Harry Allard,
illustrated by F.A. Fitzgerald, published by Prentice-Hall,
1978. A traveler stops at a castle and asks if he may stay the
night. The man sends the traveler to his father, who sends him
to his father and so on until the final father who is ancient
and very small. I remember as a kid finding the illustrations
creepy but fascinating. My only hesitation is that I didn't
think the fathers were kings, but they were some kind of
aristocrats because the ancestral home looked like a castle (but
maybe my memory is faulty - I haven't since the book since
I was young). And I don't remember it being a matter of the
oldest father being the wisest, but rather that he could grant
permission as the eldest male. The book was based on a German
fairy tale "Der Hausvater" so that be another avenue to
pursue.~from a librarian
I just wanted to thank you for finding the book I remembered
reading as a child. I finally found a copy of May I Stay?
By Harry Allard and was happy to have this finally solved. About
15 years ago I went back to the public library where I had
checked it out before, and went book by book trying to find this
title. That is how obsessed I was with finding this book. Anyway
another mystery solved in my life, thanks so much!
This is one of the McBroom books by Sid
Fleischman. McBroom has about eight kids whose names all
rhyme (except for little Clarinda). I think this
particular title might be McBroom's Zoo--I know
they accumulate various animals because of some harsh weather,
and it might be because it's cold.
Could this be one of Sid Fleischman's McBroom
books? (Probably Here Comes McBroom -- the
Booklist review refers
to words freezing in midair.) The
family had numerous children:
WillJillHesterChesterPeterPollyTimTomMaryLarryandLittleClarinda.
This has to be Grandpa's Farm
by James Flora (Harcourt, 1965) Tall tales where words,
as well as bullets, freeze in the air till spring! From your
Solved Pages!!!
Sid Fleischman. This is one of
the McBroom series of books. There are several, all filled with
outrageous claims, and I don't remember which this particular
claim came from.
Sid Fleischman. One of his
books about McBroom- though not McBroom tells the Truth
(just had a quick look through that)
Sid Fleischman, McBroom series.
There are several books about the McBroom family, all tall tales
about Ma, Pa and the
kids:
Willjillhesterchesterpeterpollytimtommarylarry and little
Clarinda--they have a farm that grows things in a single day,
etc etc.
Sid Fleischman, McBroom's Wonderful
One-Acre Farm
P190 McBroom has many children, including
Little Clarinda, and he tells tall tales. The freezing incident
is in McBroom's Ghost which can be found by
itself, or can be found in HERE COMES MCBROOM! by
Sid Fleischman. ~from a librarian
P190: HAS to be one of Sid Fleischman's
tall tales about the farmer McBroom. Don't know which, but
they're all wonderful and funny. McBroom had 11 children in the
series, I believe.
Sid Fleischman. Of course
this is just a guess, but this reminds me of books by Sid
Fleischman--I think he had a farmer character named McBroom.
Fleischman, McBroom's Ear. The grasshoppers consume a phenomenally large
ear of corn growing on McBroom's farm. He has multiple
children (some w/rhyming names) and when he calls them, the
names are all run together (I think the first two are Will &
Jill).
Mccall's Giant Golden Make-It Book,
1953. I had this too (I may still have it buried
somewhere) but I think it had the projects mentioned plus a lot
more. It definitely had the shiny cellophane binding.
I think this is the one: Mc
Calls Giant Golden Make-It Book. Copyright:
1953. Author: Peter, John. Illustrator:
Malvern, Corinne & Riley, Bob
Yes, that is it. McCall's Giant Make-It Book.
Thanks
so much!
Robert Lawson, McWhinney's Jaunt.
(1951) Professor
McWhinney, while on summer vacation from his duties as a physics
professor at the local university, creates a marvelous gaseous
concoction in his basement laboratory..."Z-Gas"! He proceeds to
inflate his bicycle tires with this new gas and, after hours of
practice, is able to pedal briskly and glide over trees and
houses. A new flying machine! Professor McWhinney informs his
wife, immersed in her needle work, that he is taking a journey
across country to Hollywood to see the movie star Gloria
Glamorous.
Robert Lawson, McWhinney's Jaunt. (1951) Haven't read it, but here's a
description: Professor McWhinney, while on summer vacation from
his duties as a physics professor at the local university,
creates a marvelous gaseous concoction in his basement
laboratory..."Z-Gas"! He proceeds to inflate his bicycle tires
with this new gas and, after hours of practice, is able to pedal
briskly and glide over trees and houses. A new flying machine!
Professor McWhinney informs his wife, immersed in her needle
work, that he is taking a journey across country to Hollywood to
see the movie star Gloria Glamorous. The journey across the
country by flying bicycle is beautifully chronicled and
illustrated by Robert Lawson.
Robert Lawson, McWhinney's Jaunt. (1951) Written and illustrated by the
author. Professor Ambrose McWhinney is the creator of
z-gas, a remarkable substance that causes the tires of the
professor's bike to ride at least a foot off the ground. The
professor sets off on a cross-country jaunt filled with
adventures.
Wow! I'm stunned. In just 24
hours your crack children's book experts solved my
stumper. Guess my memory of the book was rather flawed -
the protagonist was a professor, not a boy. Duh.
However, a tremendous thanks to those who took the time to
help me out.
Saroyan, William, Me.
My husband wrote his master's thesis on William Saroyan and was
very fond of Saroyan's works. He bought the book _Me_ for our
children, probably sometime in the mid 1960's. We would like to
know if it is still in publication. (I don't remember the
publisher - we no longer have our copy)
William
Saroyan, Me, 1963. Hi, I put this in once
before but it hasn't been posted. I am sure that this is
ME by William Saroyan. Illustrated by Murray
Tinkleman. I have a copy and most of the details are
correct. Cover - pink and purple. The word that
changes everything is actually "no" not "you". "If there
could be me there could be you, if there could be no there could
be yes...Soon people were speaking to one another. They
were asking and answering questions. They were finding out
what it is all about. They are still finding out.
William
Saroyan, ME, 1963. First Page: "Once upon a
time there was only one word - me. If you wanted to say
here I am, you said - me. Illustrated by Murray
Tinkleman. A Modern Master's book for children.
LOCCC# 63-17468
ME. Thank you! You solved the mystery!
K53 Acting on a hunch, but this could be AMY
& LAURA by Marilyn Sachs. Amy and Laura
are sisters, and there is some envy involved. I couldn't find a
detailed summary, and my copy is still packed away in storage.
But it would be worth looking at. ~from a librarian
Doris Orgel, Bartholomew, We Love
You!, 1973. This
must be Orgel's Bartholomew, We Love You!
(Also published by Scholastic under the title: Me and
Emily and the Cat)
I cannot recall the title or the name of
the author, but I remember reading a book like this. The family
(mom, dad, boy, girl) comes to a new town in a converted garbage
truck. The parents are hippieish vegetarians and the kids make
alphabet burgers. The mother loves to sketch or photograph
spiderwebs (even does it in the realty office) and she refuses
to live in a modern home (crackerbox) so they eventually move
into an old (Victorian?) home. That's all I can recall but
perhaps 'twill help.
Lila Perl, Me and Fat Glenda. I've been trying to figure out this stumper for
weeks. I couldn't remember anything more than the alphabet
hamburgers part either, but whenever I'd type that phrase into
Google I'd get a bunch of recipes. I just now tried again on a
whim and this time pulled up "Me and Fat Glenda." One site's
synopsis mentioned eccentric hippy parents -- the mother wore a
black leotard and painted her room black, and the father drove a
garbage truck and collected junk.
A105 alphabet hamburgers: I think I can
confirm the suggested title, Me and Fat Glenda,
by Lila Perl, published Clarion 1972. "Sara Mayberry,
characterized by the family's former landlady as the only normal
person in the 'pixilated' Mayberry family, becomes friends with
Glenda, a very fat girl her own age, soon after Sara, her
college professor father, and her mother move from California to
conservative Havenhurst, New York in a secondhand garbage truck.
Despite a number of complications, caused in part by Sara's
father's outdoor junk sculpture and Glenda's mother's ensuing
petition against the Mayberrys, the friendship between the two
7th graders manages to survive ... Sara's favorite food,
alphabetburgers." (dustjacket blurb)
Thank you! That was it. I bought a copy
and read straight through. It's amazing anyone could have
identified it with all the details I forgot. I didn't mention
the alphabet burgers, hippy parents, or even the character of
Fat Glenda.
Perl, Lila, Me and Fat Glenda, NY Clarion 1972. I'd like to add my vote
to this suggested solution, based on this blurb. "Sara
Mayberry, characterized by the family's former landlady as the
only normal person in the "pixilated" Mayberry family, becomes
friends with Glenda, a very fat girl her own age, soon after
Sara, her college professor father and her mother move from
California to conservative Havenhurst NY in a secondhand garbage
truck. Despite a number of complications, caused in part by
Sara's father's outdoor junk sculpture and Glenda's mother's
ensuing petition against the Mayberrys, the friendship between
the two 7th graders manages to survive." It also mentions that
readers may want to try Sara's favourite food "alphabetburgers".
Which looks like a strong resemblance.
---
I believe I read this book in the 80s, but my impression is
that it was originally written much earlier than that. A young
girl (perhaps around 12) and her family move to a new town. They
don't fit in very well because of a few oddities. The father
made large sculptures out of tin cans on the front lawn. And
there was an older sister who painted her room in an odd way. I
think she painted it black with white arrows going up the wall
and across the ceiling. (That may not be exactly right.) The
house was old, and I think the older sister's room was round and
on one corner of the house. I don't remember the plot at all.
The only incident I remember is that on Halloween the girl is
trick-or-treating, and sees someone dressed as a ghost running
towards her. There is a long paragraph at this point where she
reflects that in such a situation where you don't know the
intentions, or even the identity, of the person, it is
impossible to know how to react, if you should run or stay. She
was undecided, so she stayed put. It turned out to be her friend
from school who was coming to warn her that vandals were at her
house destroying her father's sculptures. That's all I can
remember.
This sounds like Lila Perl's Me and
Fat Glenda, which I also suggested for A105:
"Alphabet Hamburgers." The protagonist, a young girl, has a
mother who wears a black leotard, paints her room black and
photographs spider webs her father drives a garbage truck
and collects junk.
P7 pipecleaner man: wow, another one I
thought was unfindable - this has to be Me And Frumpet:
an Adventure With Size and Science, by Evans G.
Valens, introduction by Dr. Edward Teller, published
Dutton 1958 "A model railroad, a little pipe-cleaner man, and
an imaginative story introduce the basic laws of physics to
young children. Illustrated with photographs. Ages 7 up." (HB
Apr/58 p.79 pub ad)
A291 and T314. Mayer, Marianna
and Mercer, Me and My Flying Machine. This
is the book! A Parents' Magazine Press book. My
brother had it as a child and now my 10 year old son has a
copy. They both specialize in building contraptions out of
whatever is lying around the garage.
it has been solved I am so
grateful thank you sooooo much.....
---
from the late 70's early 80's a book about a boy who builds an
airplane in his garage and cant gt it out..last page is tomorrow
I will build a rowboat....
A291 and T314. Mayer, Marianna and Mercer, Me and My Flying Machine. This is the book! A Parents' Magazine Press book. My brother had it as a child and now my 10 year old son has a copy. They both specialize in building contraptions out of whatever is lying around the garage.
Eleanor Estes, ?Rufus M.
I
have
a
similar
memory
of
a
similar
uncle/niece
situation
and
something
about
the
little
boy
being
"the
youngest
uncle
in
town."
I've
always
remembered
it
as
one
of
the Moffats series by Eleanor Estes, but
this could be completely wrong.
Stella Pevsner, Me, My Goat, and My
Sister's Wedding,
1986. Sounds like this one, but I can't remember any plot
details.
Stella Pevsner, Me, My Goat, and My
Sister's Wedding,
1986. "Doug and his friends are delighted to goatsit for
Rudy. They fix up their clubhouse, build a feeding trough, and
fill it with goat fodder. But they have to keep Rudy a
secret--and that's not easy when Doug's family is always around,
trying to plan his sister's wedding."
Thank you so much for finding the book! It's been driving
me crazy for over a year.
Vera and Bill Cleaver, Me Too,
1973. "Left to look after her retarded twin for a whole
summer, Lydia determines to be the one to really change Lornie."
Vera and Bill Cleaver, Me Too. This may be the one it is about a
girl called Lydia whose twin Lornie has an intellectual
impairment.
Betty Ren Wright, The Dollhouse
Murders, 1983.
This book is a possibility. Amy and Louann aren't twins, just
one year apart. Amy does specifically refer to Louann as
"exceptional" and she goes to a school for "exceptional
children." The main plot is, of course, about the children
solving the 30 year-old murders, but Amy's frustration at always
being expected to look after Louann and how they work it out is
a major sub-plot.
Stella Williams Nathan, Me Too!,
1962. A Whitman book--one
of our favourites when we were very small. Little Anne
follows her slightly bigger sister Rhoda around, trying to ride
on her tricycle and so on, always saying "Me too." At the
end they are so tired out from playing that they fall asleep on
a couple of cushions.
Stella Williams Nathan, Me Too!, 1962, copyright. A Whitman Tell-A-Tale
Book, illustrated by Jessica Zemsky, about 2-year-old Anne, who
tries to do everything her big sister Rhoda does. This is a
small book, with a pink cover showing a blue-eyed, blonde
toddler in a flower-print shirt pointing at herself.
Hope Campbell, Meanwhile, Back
at
the
Castle, 1970.
"The Henderson family's plan for an island retreat takes an
unusual turn when they discover the island they have just
purchased in the St. Lawrence River is an independent country."
Solved already! Thank you so much-
Herbert, F. Hugh, Meet Corliss Archer, 1944. There was also a TV sitcom called "Meet Corliss Archer" during the 1954-55 season, as well as 2 movies - "Kiss & Tell," and "A Kiss For Corliss," starring Shirley Temple.
I sssumed from the description that you
were talking about a real person, but if it's a fiction book
you're looking for, maybe it's Last of the Dixie Heroes by
Peter Abrahams. "When an Atlanta businessman is
invited to a Civil War reenactment, he becomes drawn into a
world that somehow seems more real than his own."
Tom Dyja, Tom Dyja. Sounds like this one, though I haven't
read it myself.
Correction to my previous entry: that
should be author Tom Dyja, title Meet John Trow :
a novel. Publication date 2003. Summary:
When Steven Armour becomes a Civil War re-enactor to help gain
control of his life, he gets more than he bargained for.
Your site solved one of my two postings
so far. C181 - Civil War Re-enactor is a book
called Meet John Trow which I just ordered. I
know it's not a kids book, but I tried to find it on other
sites before the NPR story. Keep up the good work. This is a
great site!
This is Madeleine L'Engle's Austin
family series. The book where Vicky meets Zachary at the
national park is The Moon By Night the first book
is Meet the Austins, and the others in the series
are A Ring of Endless Light, Troubling a Star, The Arm of
the Starfish and The Young Unicorns.
Madeleine L'Engle, The Moon By Night, 1963. I think the reader is
looking for a series of books by Madeleine L'Engle.
One is Meet the Austins others are The
Moon By Night, A Ring Of Endless Light, Troubling a Star,
Stone For a Pillow, and The Twenty-Four Days
Before Christmas.
I think you will probably get alot of
responses to this, and more precise ones, if my hunch is
correct: Vicky Austin is the heroine and she appears in a series
of books by Madeleine L'Engle.
Madeleine L'Engle, Meet the Austins. This is the first of L'Engle's books in which
the Austin family appears.
Madeline L'Engle, Meet the Austins. The first book is Meet the
Austins and I think the second is A Ring of
Endless Light.
Holly Beth Walker,Ghost of Hidden
Springs. Sounds
like one of the Meg Mysteries. Meg Duncan and her friend,
Kerry, solve mysteries. I believe Ghost of Hidden Springs
involves a little girl and her mother coming to Meg's town
because of an inheritance. One of the conditions of the
inheritance is that the girl has a birthday party which is a
reenactment of the tragic birthday party many years ago where
noone showed up to the party and the little girl ran down to the
river. Ends up the sister of the girl who died was jealous
and had taken all the invitations and hidden them in a window
seat and nailed it shut. The sister lived to be an old
lady and regretted her actions so she wrote in her will about
having another birthday party.
Might M130a be one of the Trixie
Belden books? This was a series with Trixie as
a "girl detective" similar to Nancy Drew. I read them as a
kid, and seem to remember one of them having a story line
similar to the one described here, though I can't remember the
title of it. Trixie also comes from a large family, as the
person asking thought,...and her friend was either an only child
or only had one sibling, I can't remember which.
M130a mystery: I've found a copy of the
suggested Meg and the Ghost of Hidden Springs, by
Holly Beth Walker, illustrated by Cliff Schule, published
Whitman 1970. There are some very close correspondences - the
two girl detectives are Meg Duncan, who is an only child, and
her friend Kerry Carmody, who has 6 siblings. Kathleen Hannigan
and her mother will inherit the old Hannigan mansion if they
fulfill the terms of Amelia Hannigan's will. Kathleen looks just
like Amelia's sister Kathleen, shown in a family portrait. The
dead Kathleen's room is kept as she left it, and the pink satin
dress she drowned in was cleaned and left lying on the bed.
Kathleen died on her sixteenth birthday, when no one from the
town showed up for the grand party, and she ran crying from the
house, slipped by the stream and knocked her head on a rock. Meg
discovers that Amelia had hidden the invitations, and finds them
in a nailed-shut window seat.
Walker, Holly Beth. Meg: The Ghost of
Hidden Springs. Racine,
WI: Golden Press, 1978. "Meg and her friend Kerry tackle the
oldest mystery in Hidden Springs. These twelve year-old
supersleuths get haunted by the ghosts of the Hannigan family.
When fifteen year-old Kathleen, the heir of the old Hannigan
mansion, arrives from California with her mother, the girls put
on their bravest faces and look for answers to the ghosts that
haunt the mansion. This book is fun and exciting and is a
non-stop read all the way through. This is a great book for
young middle-schoolers. It would probably appeal to both boys
and girls, and it is a part of a series of books, which could
offer some foundation for the discussion of mystery as genre."
---
I read this book (I think) between the ages of 8 and 12.
I was born in 1978. I don't think it is a Nancy Drew book,
although it could be. The story involves a mystery of a
young girl who suffered some kind of untimely death. Years
later another girl (either at her home or summer home) is
haunted by her presence. The only other thing I remember
is that the culmination of the book takes place on the night of
the living girl's birthday party. I think the book was set
in the 60's or 70's and I remember there being a lake and
possibly a gazebo. The birthday girl is wearing a yellow
or a white dress. I think it was a 16th birthday and I
also think that it was a dance.
Holly Beth Walker, Meg and the Ghost
of Hidden Springs,
1970. I haven't read this book, but the description on the
Solved Mysteries "M" page certainly sounds appropriate!
Please check it out and let us know if this is the title you
seek!
Holly Beth Walker, Ghost of Hidden
Springs. See
Solved Stumper - Meg and the Ghost of Hidden
Springs
This seems to be Volume #4 of the "Meg"
series, by Holly Beth Walker, published by Whitman
Publishing Co 1970. I'm uncertain if Meg is a legitimate
part of the title, but we'll keep it for now, unless someone can
clarify that.
Holly Beth Walker, Meg and the Ghost
of Hidden Springs,
1970. This one is on the solved mysteries page.
For some reason I was thinking of the Miriam Mason 1950s
series, with The Middle Sister, The Sugarbush Family and
Matilda and Her Family, but I don't know if this
right...
Elizabeth Enright, The Melendy
Family. The first
three books about The Melendys (The Saturdays, The
Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five) were also
published together in one volume maybe that's why you remember
the book being so big?
Perhaps the Moffat family series
by Estes? The "magic" part doesn't fit, but other
than that....
Frank B., Jr. Gilbreth, Ernestine
Gilbreth Carey, Cheaper by the Dozen and Belles on Their Toes.
While the titles don't match the request, these books are about
the hilarious adventures of a large family. Cheaper by
the Dozen - No growing pains have ever been more
hilarious than those suffered loudly by the riotous Gilbreth
clan. First, there are a dozen red-haired, freckle-faced kids to
contend with. Then there's Dad, a famous efficiency expert who
believes a family can be run just like a factory. And there's
Mother, his partner in everything except discipline. How they
all survive such escapades as forgetting Frank, Jr., in a
roadside restaurant or going on a first date with Dad in the
backseat or having their tonsils removed en masse will keep you
in stitches. You can be sure they're not only cheaper, they're
funnier by the dozen. Belles on their Toes - Life
is very different now in the rambling Gilbreth house. When the
youngest was two and the oldest eighteen, Dad died and Mother
bravely took over his business. Now, to keep the family
together, everyone has to pitch in and pinch pennies. The
resourceful clan rises to every crisis with a marvelous sense of
fun -- whether it's battling chicken pox, giving the boot to an
unwelcome boyfriend, or even meeting the President. And the few
distasteful things they can't overcome -- like castor oil --
they swallow with good humor and good graces.
??Tove Jansson, ??Finn Family
Moomintroll It's
not one of the Moominvalley books, is it?
Did they have a lot of children? Were they ever published as a
set?
This is probably The Melendy Family by
Elizabeth Enright (1941) 241pp. This orange volume
consists of 3 novels about the Melendy family. The mother died,
the father is often away working, and except for Cuffy, the
housekeeper, there is little adult presents. No actual magic-
but Enright does MAGICALLY recreate childhood and wonderful
sibling adventuring with these exceptional children: Mona, Rush,
Randy, and Oliver. Some feel that Enright has created, in the
Melendys, one of the most realistic and memorable families in
childrens literature. In the introduction to this volume Noel
Streatfeild says "she writes better for children than any other
living writer."
just guessing, but could this be Melissa
Ann: a little girl of the eighteen twenties, by Ethel
Parton, illustrated by M. A. Lawson, published
Doubleday 1931? The story is set earlier than described, but is
about Melissa Ann, called Mitty and how she "went to visit her
cousin Lucy in Newburyport and of the home she won for herself,
of the dolls the little girls played with, and the games they
shared with plucky Dicky Purvis. But also it tells of traveling
by stage, of the return of a sailor from a long voyage, and the
launching of the brig, the 'Fair Melisssa'."
M88 melissa: possibly Melissa,
by Ina B. Forbus, illustrated by Sue Felt, published
Viking 1962. "Missy, a country girl, finds it hard to adjust
to city ways. But her talent in music and a fortunate accident
make her a real part of a city family. Ages 9-12." (HB
Oct/62 p.524 pub ad) "Melissa goes to visit her cousins and
has many adventures with them."
Thanks for the replies! The name
Ina B. Forbus rings such a bell, especially since it matches
the place where the book was shelved in the library, and the
summary and date fit well enough that I'm sure that's the one.
Tomi Ungerer, The Mellops Go Flying
Tomi Ungerer, Mellops Go Flying, 1957. Yes,
that's the book! Thank you so much
G145 It might be worth taking a look at MEMO
TO MYSELF WHEN I HAVE A TEENAGE KID by Carol
Snyder, 1983. It's about a girl who thinks her mother will
never understand her. Then her mother gives her the diary she
keep when she was a teenager. ~from a librarian
Maybe -- Memo: To Myself When I Have
a Teenage Kid by Carol Snyder (c1983).
"Reading the diary her mother wrote when she was thirteen helps
Karen understand both her mother and herself better."
Snyder, Carol, Memo: To Myself When I Have A Teenage
Kid. I think I found the answer to my
bookstumper. Since the book is (apparently?) out-of-print,
I had a hard time verifying if "Memo" was the book I
remembered. But the title sounds familiar and the brief
synopsis I was able to glean seems about right.
D13: Possibly it sounds like Memoirs
of a London Doll by Richard Henry Horne. It
traces the life of a doll and her owners. It is from the 1900s.
Another title tracing a doll through
generations is Deborah Remembers.
Unfortunately, I forget the author and our copy is not at hand.
Could this be Hitty ? I
don't remember the author but it is still on the bookstore
shelves, it is a Newbery book, I think. Or, there is
a book by Rumer Godden about a simple "penny" doll who
lives in a dollhouse with other dolls and the evil, conceited
Marchpane. I forget the name of this one, but it is
certainly by Rumer Godden.
Hitty is by Rachel Field, illustrated by Dorothy
Lathrop, 1929. The doll's name is, of course,
Hitty. Rumer Godden has written several doll books,
including Candy Floss, Dolls House, Mouse House,
and The Fairy Doll. But I'm not sure any of
these are a match, although from the scant description, it might
be hard to pin this down. Not forgetting the favorite Wonderful
Fashion Doll by Laura Bannon.
Probably too late, but from Horn Book again,
Nov-Dec/50, ad for children's books published by Thomas Crowell:
Angelina Amelia, a Doll, by Henietta Jones
Moon. Illus. in three colors by the author. An appealing
picture-story of a doll that lived through several generations
in the same house. Ages 3-6
Tracy Friedman, Henriette: The Story
of a Doll, 1986.
This is just a guess, but it might be Henriette: The Story
of a Doll by Tracy Friedman. It's about a
French doll named Henriette who belongs to a very old woman on a
Southern Plantation just after the Civil War. She was handed
down to the old woman's daughter, but she was killed during the
war and the granddaughter Amanda (Henriette's rightful owner) is
living in an orphanage. Henriette travels to join her,
meeting people, animals and having adventures along the way.
Well, 'Araminta' is the name of Grandmother's
Doll in the 1931 book by Elizabeth Bouton
Gladwin. Though that doll only goes from Grandmother (who
got her from London in 1875) to Betty. Araminta is found in the
attic and has 'all her furniture and clothes' and even a diary
she wrote herself.
The red poster mentions Deborah
Remembers. It's by Lillie V. Albrecht,
published by Hastings House 1959. "Deborah is a doll in a
museum reminiscing about her 250 years of life for a group of
younger dolls. Unlike Hitty, she is merely a device to connect
a number of stories of New England life and history, from the
Deefield massacre, the Revolution, the Underground Railway,
the Civil War, to World War I. The stories are lively and
interesting."
#D13--Doll hand-me-down: An obscure
doll story is The Journey of Bangwell Putt, based
on the history of a famous early American doll. Since she
was around for many years before ending up in a museum, she may
well have gone through several owners, though the same person
did possess her for eighty years!
D13 doll hand-me-down: probably way too
late, but Little Lottie, by W. Mathiessen,
published Burke 1961, 124 pages is about "Little Lottie, a doll
which belonged to Ruth's grandmother. This story tells of her
adventures
after Ruth acquires her. These adventures
are all quite natural and in the course of them the doll has
several devoted owners. The interlude with the doll-collector is
very charming and will intrigue little girls." (JB Jan/61
p.25) Actually, it would be very helpful to
know whether the poster means that the book itself was published
in the early 1900s, or whether it tells the story of a doll made
in the 1900s!
Mary Fielding Moore, Dorcas the
Wooden Doll,
1944. The other suggestions also sound plausible but here
is an additional one, which I remember from my childhood.
D13 doll hand-me-down: another possible is Dorcas
the Wooden Doll, by Mary F. Moore, 16
drawings by Peggy Fortnum, published by Sylvan Press, London
1945. "The adventures of Dorcas, the wooden Doll, start in the
reign of Queen Anne and go up to the present day." Not much
detail though.
If you are placing this book in the early
1900's the suggestion of Memoirs of a London Doll
seems a good possibility. Published first in 1846 it spans 100
years of London history as the doll Maria Poppet tells her
tale.Over the years it has appeared in newer editions . In 1922
there was an edition illustrated by Emma Brock. Most recently,
in 1967, it was reprinted. This is considered a minor classic.
Saw this online Memories Live
Forever : A Memory Book for Grieving Children by Sharon
Rugg, Julie Rugg, Amanda Mullis, Leah Haider (Illustrator)Reading
level: Ages 9-12 Paperback 3rd edition (May 1996) ISBN:
0965241009 Probably too recent to be the one wanted, but may be
a substitute if it can't be found.
D32 death and losing someone: perhaps the
book wanted is an earlier edition of the book suggested, since
the 3d edition was published in 1996 and the book wanted was
bought in 1995.
I think you're looking for the Meg mysteries by Holly
Beth Walker. Meg and the Mystery of the Witch's
Stairway, Meg and the Disappearing Diamonds, Meg and the
Treasure Nobody Saw, etc. We don't have any in
stock right now, but let me know if you'd like me to look for
them. And let me know if I'm totally wrong about my overly
confident answer!
Yes, that sounds like the series I'm looking for. I would
appreciate it if you could look for a set or even one at a time,
it doesn't matter. I'll be happy with whatever you can find!
Thank you so much.
Pizzey Erin, The snow leopard of
Shanghai, 1988.
Could the stumper be confusing two books? Erin
Pizzey'sThe Snow Leopard of Shanghai tells the
story of twin daughters of a diplomat in China who flee after
political unrest in 1917.
Madeleine Brent, Merlin's Keep. Have you looked at some of
Brent's other titles? I mention this one, even though the title
isn't similar, because the plot is. Stormswift is
another possibility.
Madeleine Brent, Merlin's Keep, 1978. This is it. One of Peter
O'Donnell's (he wrote as Madeleine Brent) wild adventures: "The
distance between a Tibetan monastery and Merlin's Keep, in the
English countryside, was a long one and to Jani, reared in
Tibet, nearly incomprehensible. Nor could she grasp the full
meaning of the high Lama's words to her that wintry day: "I see
the woman in red who will be your friend, and through her will
come the one to fear, who will be your enemy, the Silver Man..."
Brent, Madeleine, Merlin's Keep, 1977. The mention of Madeleine Brent
brings to mind this title of hers, where Jani lives in the
Himalayas with her protector Semburr, they flee from pursuit by
a British soldier, and Semburr dies. Jani develops diphtheria
and almost dies, but recovers and is sent to England. She leaves
an orphange and goes to live at Merlin's Keep. After some years
she discovers a letter to herself written by Semburr pasted
between the endpapers of a book, and learns the truth about her
parentage and inheritance. She returns to Tibet eventually, to
help her rescuer and friend.
THANK YOU!!! Merlin's Keep must be it! I remember
the part about the "woman in red," "the Silver Man," and the
name, "Semburr," and the rest of the description is
correct. I would never have thought the title was Merlin's
Keep. I have requested the book from my library!
M43 sounds like Elaine Horseman: The
Hubbles' Treasure Hunt ; 1965, W.W. Norton & Co.
Hardbound picture cover, 175 pages. Illustrated by John
Sergeant. Sequel to Hubble's Bubble. When five children find a
cryptic message referring to hidden treasure inside an old doll,
they use an ancient volume of spells to travel back in time and
solve the mystery. I haven't read this, but I have Hubble's
Bubble, and the children are British, so this sounds close, and
the date is probably about right.
Another possibility: An ad from the Jan/53
issue of Junior Bookshelf: Merlin's Magic (by) Helen
Clare. This is the story of six children who, on a lovely
summer's day, set out on an ordinary enought treasure hunt. But
it is not long before strange things begin to happen: and the
weathercock on the stable arch becomes enchanted and points the
children towards the four quarters, where they are to search for
their treasure. With the help of a
very practiced magician and a fabulous and
funny beast of great antiquity called a hippogriff, they are
carried away on the most remarkable adventures, back into times
past, away into far planets and distant seas, and at last to the
very stronghold of imagination itself ... On their way they meet
many heroes, some who lived once on this earth, others from the
world of myth and story. At last, with the help of the sword of
King Arthur and the drum of Francis Drake, the enemies are
defeated and the treasure saved. Helen Clare is a
pseudonym for Pauline Clarke (Return of the
Twelves)
Thank you very much! Someone has
correctly identified the book I queried in your Stump the
Bookseller section. Helen Clare's Merlin's Magic
is it!
---
I am terrible at remembering the names of
books I loved as a kid- and you seem to be able to get all the
answers!. The one I'm inquiring about is set in England
and involves a group of children who set off on a fortune
hunt, following clues written on slips of paper that have been
hidden in secret places, each clue leading to the next.
The children break off into groups, and the story quickly
slips into fantasty. In particular, I remember one group
being suddenly taken up by the god Mercury and transported to
the planet bearing his name. Judging by the few illustrations
there were in the book (all black and white pen drawings) I
suspect the story was written in the 1930's. I was so
enthralled by the idea of fortune hunts that I started
creating them for my own friends in the neighbourhood.
Do you have any idea what this book might be?
#F37--Fortune Hunters: see
#M43--Mercury.
Isn't this the same as M43 Mercury?
A possibility. Here's the Junior Bookshelf
(July 1953) review: Clare, Helen. Merlin's Magic,
illustrated by Cecil Leslie. 204 pages, 8x5. Bodley Head
(1953): "We begin by following the trail of what appears to be
an ordinary summer afternoon's treasure
hunt, though the mention of a "classical beast of great
antiquity" and the fanciful names of some of the children should
have prepared us for the flight into the world of fantasy which
soon follows. Each child has to follow a clue which leads to the
intangible treasures of his own heart and mind, and in each case
the search is imperilled by the appearance of an army of
robot-like monsters, who, lacking imagination themselves, want
to seize it from those so gifted. The contrast betweent the
glories of the days of King Arthur, Elizabeth I or Kubla Khan,
and the Wellsian atmosphere created by the robots is too sharp
... the characters of romance are not always true to their
periods either; no one minds the delightful hippogriff lapsing
into Cockney, but to find Queen Morgan le Fay speaking of people
"barging about" or Sir Walter Ralegh mixing himself up with
Edward Lear's Jumblies is a bit odd."
------------------------------------
am looking for a British
children's book which I read in early 80s - maybe written/set in
60s or perhaps earlier. It was about a group of siblings who
were somehow split up and transported to separate historical
worlds. One or two of the children met Kubla Khan and one or two
went back to King Arthur's time. Can't remember any more about
it although I think there were one or two other historical
settings.
Edith
Nesbit, The Story of the
Amulet. A long shot, but might be worth
looking into. The Story of The Amulet is third book in
Nesbit's Psammead trilogy, after Five Children and It and The Phoenix and
the Carpet. In this story, the children embark on a
quest to find the missing half of a magical amulet. The half
that they do have allows them to travel through time, visiting
(among other places) ancient Egypt, Babylon, Tyre, and Atlantis.
I don't know if they meet Kubla Khan, but they do meet Julius
Ceasar - and inadvertently convince him to invade the British
Isles. They also travel into the future. While this is a very
old book (first published in 1906) it has been reprinted many
times - including during the 1980's and 1990's, and the first
book of the trilogy (Five Children and It) has been adapted to film
and television.
Helen
Clare, Merlin's Magic. A group of
children ask a friend staying with their family to organise a
treasure hunt for them. He (Merlin
in disguise, as it turns out) sends them on their way separately
or in pairs and gives each one the adventure they most want: one travels to ancient China and
becomes a messanger for Kubla Khan, eventually meeting the great
Khan. Another fights with Sir
Francis Drake, one encounters Morgan le Fay and King Arthur, and
another Pan. Yet another travels to another planet with Mercury. Their separate adventures end by
bringing them all together to defeat an invasion from another
planet (I think). It's a bit patchy
but still a very pleasant read.
SOLVED: Thank you!! My stumper
has been solved! The book was indeed Merlin's Magic by Helen Clare as
described by the poster on your website - now I just have
to try to track a copy down.
Might be Merlin's Mistake.In
Merlin's Mistake by Robert Newman.
There' a black knight, a 15 (or so) year old boy on a quest with
the brown haired sister, while her blonde sister stays
home. The questing sister has used makeup to age
herself. Don't remember anything special about the moon,
though. The black knight turns out the be the questor's
father, who'd had amnesia. There's also a companion,
Tertius, on whom Merlin cast a spell which gave him knowledge of
science, instead of magic. Does that sound familiar?
They get Merlin out of Nimue's hold w/gunpowder.
Edward Eager, Knight Magic,1999.Your
stumper reminded me of Knight Magic by Edward
Eager, who has a wonderful series of books that take the
rules of magic very seriously! Here is the description of the
book I think you might be looking for: Four cousins, Roger, Ann,
Eliza, and Jack, have an extraordinary summer when, after an old
toy soldier comes to life, they find themselves transported back
to the days of Robin Hood and Ivanhoe.
Robert Newman, Merlin's
Mistake, 1970.I think this must be it - and was a
favorite of mine. Tertius has been given all future knowledge by
Merlin, which is a bit of a curse in medieval England. He joins
forces with an idealistic young squire, Brian, to find Merlin.
Brian's father, who had disappeared, is the Black Knight. The
dark-haired sister disguises herself as an old woman and joins
them on the quest.
The Perilous Garde. This may be a
long shot, but it did involve a quest with one sister. They go
underground, to land of evil fairies and he is kept enchanted
for a while, but the sister is able to bring him out of it
through her love. There is a full moon ceremony and he is
supposed to be sacrificed, but they escape. Then, she's afraid
he will fall in love with her more beautiful sister, but of
course, he doesn't.
robert newman, merlin's mistake.this is definitely merlin's
mistake by robert newman. thank you all so much! :)
Are you thinking of Jane Yolen, The
Mermaid's Three Wisdoms ('78)? The girl (about 12
yrs old) is deaf.
M3--Merrylegs by Paul
Brown-this is a really cute book about a little boy and
his toy rocking horse, with great illustrations.
---
At night a boy's rocking horse (or perhaps statue of a horse?)
becomes real. The horse is white with a black mane and
tail. It's possible that, like Pegasus, the horse flies. I
think this was a short book, with lots of illustrations.
The illustrations were bright and colorful, and rather
cartoonish and flat, not realistic.
Merrylegs the Rocking Pony by Paul Brown, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1946. Scarce!
Elizabeth Upham, Little Brown Bear, 1942? Maybe not the same book, but
pretty similar. Little Brown Bear has a birthday party for
his mother and they eat a white cake with pink frosting he
goes blackberry picking, and his mom make a pie with the berries
(no mention of dying his shirt) he invites his friends to
a party and has doughnuts and milk. There are 10 stories
in all. The cover of the book is orange with a drawing of
Little Bear in black, and the book is illustrated by Marjorie
Hartwell.
Elsa Holmelund Minarik, Little Bear. Could this person be looking for
one of the Little Bear books? The only one I can find just
now is the first one, which is not the one being looked for, but
there are several in the series, and the situations described do
sound familiar.
This book, as described, seems like the book
for which I am searching! Not sure if it's the same book,
but I would have read it in the late 1950s or early 1960s.
I remember a picture of a picnic that was very detailed (I was
most impressed by the variety of pies). I also remember
the dying of the shirt, etc.
Still think the original requester was
closer to the mark! I definitely remember the dyeing of the
shirt, the picnic (seems like there were 2, with the first one
all chocolate cakes, then they get it right -- the rich
full-color illustration I remember and the phrase "even
chocolate cake") AND the brick bedwarmer. I remember the
cover as red (somewhat like "Book Trails" covers). Minarik's
"Little Bear" has Sendak illustrations, which are not the same.
Elizabeth Upham, The Merry Adventures
of Little Brown Bear,
1952. This book contains ALL the stories you
mention. The cover for my 1965 reprint is green, however,
but an earlier reprint might have a different color.
(There is a 1955 reprint, also.) The illustrations are by
Marjorie Hartwell. The stories you mentioned are:
Little Brown Bear and the Picnic (everyone brings chocolate cake
to the potluck picnic), Little Brown Bear and the New Blouse
(the bear stains his new white blouse eating raspberries in the
woods and his mother dyes it red when she can't remove the
stains), Little Brown Bear at Grandmother's (the bear spends a
winter night at Grandmother's where she heats a brick to keep
his feet warm). There are 16 stories in this book (97 pp.)
---
Collection of little bear or little brown
bear stories in one book. Red hard cover book medium
size probably 50's or 60's. this is a collection of stories
about a little bear not the little bear that is more popular
and had a show on nickelodeon. One of the stories was
specifically about his little tin cup he leaves out in the
rain by the water pump and when he goes to get it several days
later it is all rusty. His mom suggests painting it red
and he does and is happy now. I wish I could remember at
least one or two more of the stories in the book but that is
the only one I can specifically remember.
Elizabeth Upham, Little Brown Bear
and His Friends,
1952. This is definitely a Little Brown Bear book.
The story to which you refer is "Little Brown Bear and the Tin
Cup" the storyline is exactly as you describe. Elizabeth
Upham printed her stories in more than one book. I found
this story in Little Brown Bear and His Friends and
The Merry Adventures of Little Brown Bear (c.
1952) it may appear in others. Look in the Solved
Mysteries to see some of the stories of Merry Adventures
of Little Brown Bear perhaps that is your
book. Little Brown Bear and His Friends
includes: LBB and the Red Sleeve, LBB and the Birthday
Present, and LBB's Happy Thanksgiving (there are nine stories in
this book).
Elizabeth Upham, The Merry adventures
of Little Brown Bear. Solved my own stumper.
found several copies of this title and others by upham.
thanks.
There is a Disney book- Robin Hood
and the Great Coach Robbery (1974) that features a
fox as Robin and a bear as Little John.
There are green-covered versions that fit
the right date (say 1960-75) by Rosemary Sutcliff, Howard
Pyle, and Roger Lancelyn Green. However,
none of those seems to fit the description of a learning-to-read
book.
I'm the original stumper requester...
guess my description was unclear. It wasn't specifically a
learn-to-read book, and we don't think it's Disney because
Disney's had a fox as Robin Hood and the book we're looking
for didn't. Thanks for trying :)
Walt Disney, Robin Hood,
1973. Upon consulting with my husband's older sister,
I've decided to ask more details about the Disney version,
with a glossy green cover. Anyone seen this? I've come up with
some hits on searches that would be around the correct date,
now I just need to know which is 'glossy and green' Sure
appreciate the help!
Disney, Green and glossy- this fits: Robin
Hood
-story and pictures by the Walt Disney Studio-Golden
Press-1973. Cover shows Robin (fox) leaning against a tree that
has a wanted poster of himself. Endpapers have nice map of
Nottingham, Sherwood Forest etc.
Howard Pyle, Robin Hood. This edition of ROBIN HOOD sounds
very much like one I had and enjoyed while growing up --
unfortunately, I don't recall the publisher, and the book isn't
easily retrievable now. What I do remember: The book
was large, had a mostly-green color illustration on the cover,
and had a green spine and back. It was part of a series of
childrens' versions of classic literature --
possibly but not necessarily from Time-Life. (I want to
say that the Robin Hood book was #4, but that's a guess.)
Others in the series were Charles Kingsley's THE HEROES,
Owen Wister's THE VIRGINIAN, and a selection of Sherlock
Holmes stories. Although the back covers of the
books stated "complete and unabridged", this wasn't necessarily
the case -- in particular, I was peeved as a child that a
sizeable chunk of "A Study In Scarlet" had been omitted from the
Holmes volume. The interior pages had wide side margins in
which notes and annotations were inserted highlighting obscure
or unusual material in the texts.
Pyle, Howard, The Merry Adventures of
Robin Hood, 1968,
reprint. Classic Press (Santa Rosa, CA), 1968 ISBN
0716632039. I've now had a chance to do some
Web-spelunking which confirms in virtually all details my memory
of the series mentioned in my previous note (it seems to have
been called the "Educator Classic Library"). Moreover, the
publication date is about right -- I guarantee this is the
edition I had as a youngster, and I'm almost sure it's the one
the original poster is thinking of as well.
Illustrated by Don Irwin, #9 in a
series of 12 Educator Classic Series.
Anonymous, Story of the Merry Little
Grig: Rebus Riddle Reading, 1928. I
can't pin down the whole book you're looking for, but I can
steer you to this bit, anyway: "Collection of stories
about elf-like grigs told in rebus form with small pictures
replacing key words."
Publisher info for above: Newark, NJ:
Charles E Graham, 1928. Alternate title = The Merry
Little Grig & His Good Time.
HRL: I think I've seen this one before...
Lang Campbell, Merry Muprhy, the
Irish Potato,
1929. This is the book you want - all about an Irish
potato, from the right time period and contain the "Merry"
refrain :)
Re: D48, my sister was able to help me figure out that the
illustrator is Edward Gorey and from there I found a list of his
books and found it ... it's Merry, Rose, and Christmas-Tree
June. Thanks so much for the site ... it has gotten
us reminiscing happily!
D-48 is a wonderful old story called Merry,
Rose, and Christmas Tree June. It is by Doris
Orgel and the pictures were done by an Edward Gorey.
It was a Scholastic book and published in 1970. The tattered
cover on my book is pink and has 3 dolls and a cat on it.
---
I am searching for a book that I believe I got through the
Weekly Reader Book Club around 1970. It was about a little girl
who went to visit (I believe) her wealthy aunt. The aunt takes
her to a doll store so the little girl can buy a new doll. The
little girl bypasses all of the fancy talking dolls and chooses
a plain one. She may actually break one of the dolls causing it
to go slack jawed. The other thing I remember is that the aunt
holds a dinner party in which she has something like duck and
wild rice and cherries jubilee and the little girl would much
prefer chicken and tame rice. I believe the length of the book
was similar to "No Flying in the House". Any ideas on what this
might be? Thanks very much for your help.
I think both G66 and T101 are thinking of Magic
Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer. It appears on
your Solved Stumpers page, and it was recently republished.
~from a librarian
This is definitely *NOT* Magic
Elizabeth. No stores, no shopping trips, no
fancy dinner.
I appreciate your reader's comments
regarding Magic Elizabeth. I, too, looked at
that description but decided Magic Elizabeth was not
the book because in my book, the aunt takes the little girl to
a doll store and the aunt is pressuring her to choose a modern
doll that walks or talks. I'll keep monitoring the site to see
if others have recommendations. Thank you so much.
I originally posted that the answer was MAGIC
ELIZABETH when the only clue was that it involved an
aunt and a doll. With the addition of more clues, it's clear
that it's not MAGIC ELIZABETH. The book the
person wants about a great-aunt, her great-niece and three dolls
is MERRY, ROSE, AND CHRISTMAS-TREE JUNE by
Doris Orgel, illustrated by Edward Gorey, 1969. I'm sure
about this because I still own my very tattered copy from
childhood. It also appears on your Solved pages. ~from a
librarian
You're right, you're brilliant! The
title IS Merry, Rose and Christmas tree June. Thanks
so much! Harriett, do you happen to have any copies???
---
THE ORDINARY DOLL? My sister and I are going nuts trying
to remember this one..It's about a doll who lives on a dusty
shelf in a toy store who thinks she will never be sold because
she is ordinary. she is bought by a little girl with one or two
other dolls just like her...free associaltion memory:
brown hair, blond braids, plain dresses, illustrations and
Scholastic published it!
#D65--Dolls, Christmas, dusty store
shelf: Sounds a little like The Story of Holly and
Ivy, by Rumer Godden.
D65 dolls, christmas: I took a look at
The Story of Holly and Ivy, by Rumer Godden,
illustrated by Adrienne Adams, published Macmillan 1958 (also
illustrated by Barbara Cooney, published Viking 1985). Holly is
a blonde doll with brown eyes and a red Christmas dress. The
sinister stuffed owl Abracadabra tries to keep her from being
bought on Christmas eve. Ivy is an orphan girl with brown hair
and a green dress. Ivy gets both Holly and a family at the end
of the story. However, Holly is given as a gift, by herself, not
bought with others, and she had only just arrived at the shop
that Christmas, so there's no dust. Could it be Merry,
Rose, and Christmas Tree June, by Doris Orgel,
illustrated by Edward Gorey, published Scholastic 1970? That has
more than one doll and dusty shelves, along with a Christmas
theme.
D65 dolls christmas, dusty shelf: Merry,
Rose
and Christmas Tree June seems likely. In I.
Greedy's Distinguished Doll-arama, all the dolls "had strings
coming out of their bellies or buttons on their backs, and could
do the most distinguished things ... unlike ordinary dolls,
these had already been given names ... except the forgotten doll
up on her shelf" who doesn't have buttons or strings. When Jane
is in the shop looking at the distinguished dolls, none of which
are nice to play with, the cat Cheaperthanmousetraps knocks down
a box of Christmas ornaments from the "high, dusty shelf" along
with the forgotten doll. "She was a tiny bit taller than Rose
and a tiny bit smaller than Merry (the other two dolls Jane
owns). She wore a cobweb-covered dress under which, Jane knew,
there'd be no strings to pull and no buttons to press." Her eyes
and dress are green. Merry has "brown braids, just like Jane"
and Rose has short black hair, and they wear "cotton dresses -
the kind Jane wore herself." So it looks like a pretty good
match.
---
Dolls named similar to Mary Rose and
Christmas Tree June. Doll sits in store where toys play
at night till girl gets her.
Check several titles by Rumer Godden...
Rumer Godden, The Story of Holly and
Ivy. I know you've
already been directed to Rumer Godden, but reading your
description made me confident that it is The Story of
Holly and Ivy, which is about as sweet a Christmas
story as you can hope for. I have an ancient, well-loved
paperback of it.
Doris Orgel (author), Edward
Gorey (illustrator), Merry, Rose, and Christmas
Tree June, 1969. Definitely Merry,
Rose, and Christmas Tree June. When Jane goes to
visit her aunt, she forgets her beloved dolls Rose and Merry, so
her aunt decides to buy her a new doll - a wonderful, expensive
doll. But at the store, Jane has trouble choosing among all the
fancy dolls - including some that talk, walk, dance, etc.
(While trying them out, she gives bubblegum to Talking Tillie,
who has asked for it - causing the doll's jaw to drop off
completely. She also over-pulls the string on Bella
Ballerina, causing her legs to drop off.) Just when Jane
is about to give up on finding a doll she likes, the store cat
jumps onto a high, forgotten shelf, knocking down a box of
Christmas Ornaments - and an ordinary doll, which is exactly
what Jane wanted. She names the doll "Christmas Tree June"
because she came tumbling down with all the Christmas ornaments,
and because it was during the month of June.
Orgel, Doris, Merry, Rose, and
Christmas-Tree June.
Knopf, 1969. "Unhappy without the dolls she left at home,
a little girl is promised a new one by her great-aunt."
Doris Orgel, Merry, Rose, and
Christmas Tree June.
This must be the one.
Rumer Godden, The Story of Holly and
Ivy. Ivy is an
orphan, Holly is a doll. Ivy ends up with a home, and
Holly ends up with Ivy.
This is based on an old folktale called Stone Soup.
There are many versions and illustrations of it, most notably
Caldecott-winner Marcia Brown's 1947 version and Ann
McGovern's Scholastic version in 1968. I thought your
title was correct, as it sounds familiar, but I'm not bringing up
a book with that title. I think I have it confused with Rene
d'Harnoncourt's Mexicana.
Katherine Hitte (and William D.
Hayes), Mexicali Soup, 1970. This is a more
plausible solution here than Stone Soup.
Bedford, Annie North, Mickey Mouse
Goes Christmas Shopping, 1953. "Everyone has fun
when Mickey Mouse does his Christmas shopping Mortie and
Ferdie have an adventure they don't expect."
P88: This is The Middle Sister
by Miriam Mason, 1947. Written at the second-grade level
or so, it's about a timid girl who asks her uncle for his lion's
tooth to give her courage, and he agrees on condition that she
take care of an apple tree and make him an apple dumpling when
he comes back. On the back cover, it says "...but who would
expect it to be so hard - and so scary - to look after an
apple tree?" The family also, at one point, takes in
a small lost Sioux (?) boy in Minnesota until his family is able
to find him and take him home. By the time Sara fulfills her end
of the bargain, she has already learned how to be brave on her
own, but only the reader realizes this.
Thank-you so much for indentifying my childhood memory. I
actually found and successfully purchased the book from E-bay
the same day I learned the title. I hope to receive it any
day now. I will continue to check your web-site frequently
and help "solve" stumpers when possible. I just love this
site!!
I'm another NPR junky who visited your site
after listening to the NPR piece. I came to your site with
the plan to submit a book stumper, but after a couple hours
searching through your Mysteries Solved, I found what I was
looking for: The Middle Sister by Miriam
Mason. Yeah!! When I was young I read a copy
that had been my Mom's. I now have a daughter and am
excited that I might be able to share this with her. My
local library has a copy, but I'll be moving to a smaller town
soon, so if it is as good as I remember, I'll be back to your
site to purchase. Thanks for offering such a cool
service. I likely will be back, and will definitely
forward your web address to my mother-in-law who is a retired
librarian. Thanks!
Condition Grades |
Mason, Miriam. The Middle Sister. Scholastic, 1947. Softcover. Seventh printing, 1973. Previous owner's inscription on title page. VG. $5 |
|
John Verney, Friday's Tunnel?, c.1952. The combination of
England, horses and gobstoppers strongly suggests Friday's
Tunnel-- or at least another in the series of books
about the Callender family, by John Verney. The plasticine
models are *not* in Friday's Tunnel. I don't
remember the other books as well. They are February's
Road (quite likely), Ismo (not likely
at all), and Seven Sunflower Seeds (conceivable).
Ruby Ferguson, Jill Has Two Ponies;
Jill Enjoys Her Ponies
(many other titles), mid 50s / early 60s. This sounds like
the "Jill" series, details as above. They all featured the
same lot of horsey characters (including the splendidly-named
Captain Cholly-Sawcutt!). Narrated by Jill herself, with
tremendous gusto and humour.
EDWARDS Monica, The Midnight
Horse. Tamzin
makes several horses from plasticine. As well as Cornish
Cream, she makes Honey Bee (brown), Spanish
Gold and a white one, Silver Circus. Silver Circus is the
name of the Midnight Horse, a stolen racehorse which she and
friends Rissa, Lesley,Meryon and Roger rescue . This is the 3rd
of her Romney Marsh series, of which ther are
about a dozen. (She also wrote the Punchbowl Farm series)
Monica Edwards, Spirit of Punchbowl
Farm, 1950s? Gob
stopper cadies don't ring any bells, but Lyndsey Thornton, main
character in the Punchbowl Farm series, made horses and ponies
out of plasticine. the name Cornish cream sounds familiar. May
not be the title given, but could be one of the others in that
series.
Monica Edwards, The Midnight Horse,1949. One of the Romney Marsh adventures about
Tamzin and Rissa. My copy is in an anthology called 3
Great Pony Stories published by Collins in 1971.
Monica Edwards, The Midnight Horse, 1949. Sorry - got wrong series in
previous message. NOT Lyndsey Thornton from Monica Edwards' Punchbowl
Farm series, but Tamsin Grey and Rissa in The Midnight
Horse, one of her Romney Marsh series. Tamsin made horses
from plasticine, including Cornish cream, when, I think, they
were camping at the Merrow's farm on the marsh.
M136 mad about horses: well, February
Callendar is pretty horse mad (though her sisters aren't), but I
don't recall plasticene or Cornish Cream in Friday's
Tunnel (and the gobstoppers are silver and special).
The problem is that there were SO MANY 'pony books' published in
England during the 60s that this one will take real luck to pin
down. (One English reviewer expressed surprise about an American
kid's book being about a BOY's love of a horse).
Berta & Elmer Hader, The Mighty Hunter.
Solved my own mystery. The book name is the Mighty
Hunter. Its about a little boy named Little Brave
heart. He decides he wants to go hunting instead of going
to school. So one day he sneaks off into the woods and
goes hunting. Every animal he enounters leads him to a
bigger animal until he finds a grizzly bear. After a brief
conversation with the bear, the bear chases him out of the woods
and he runs back to school.
Flora Gill Jacobs, The Dollhouse
Mystery. Was the cover
predominantly red with a picture of a black cat? If so,
this is "The Dollhouse Mystery"---Jacobs owns the Washington
(DC) Dollhouse and Toy Museum and this was her first children's
book. The museum still sells the book though I don't know
if it's available anywhere else.
Possibly - Fun With Mrs. Thumb
by Jan Mark and Nicola Bayley, Candlewich Press,
1993. "A cat taunts the inhabitant of a dollhouse until a
human comes to offer him his dinner."
Mary Emett, Anthony and Antimacassar.Not sure if it's the one (haven't read it in
many years) but it's probably the only book for young children
with 'antimacassar' in the title!
D97 It's possible that it AMONG THE
DOLLS by William Sleator. Definitely creepy!
Can't remember the cat, but I'll check. ~from a librarian
D97 Doublechecked AMONG THE DOLLS.
There wasn't a cat in any of the illustrations. Sorry about the
false lead. ~from a librarian
D97 I think you can eliminate Sleator.
None of the b & w sketches inside.
I contributed the first clue, although I
went back and re-read it and I don't see "antimacassar" in
there. The cat definitely fits. Definitely not Among
the Dolls. There are so many doll books out
there!!
Unfortunately, I don't know the answer, but
I got here through a search engine when I was looking for the
exact same book! The only extra thing that I can remember is
that the girl thought that the antimacassar was a scary "Antie
Macassar." I remember the black and white pictures, and it
always reminded me of the Madeline books. I recall the book from
about 30-35 years ago.
Joan M. Lexau, Millicent's
Cat, 1962. This is definitely Millicent's
Cat by Joan M. Lexau. "A little girl goes to
visit her great-aunt who lives in a haunted house, full of
ghosts and goblins and witches."
Saw the blurb below on Millicent's Cat -
Title is actually Millicent's
Ghost by Joan Lexau,
illustrated by Ben Shecter. I have a copy of the book
from when I was a child - mostly
black and white illustrations with some touches of pink and
flesh tones here and there. There is a dollhouse, a cat
named Clementine, antimacassars, a ghost that is
not really a ghost - Millicent goes
to visit her Great Aunt Agatha and scares herself while
looking around the old house.
William Delf, Threescore
and Ten. This is
an old sea poem called Threescore and Ten, found in Songs
of the Sea.
Methinks I see a host of craft, spreading
their sails alee, / As down the Humber they do glide, all
bound for the Northern sea / Methinks I see on each small
craft a crew with hearts so brave / Going out ot earn their
daily bread upon the restless wave. / Chorus: And it's
threescore and ten, boys and men, were lost from Grimsby town
/ From Yarmouth down to Scarborough, many hundreds more were
drowned. / Our herring-craft, our trawlers, our fishing-smacks
as well, / They long did fight, that bitter night, their
battle with the swell.
H.
Ingamells, The Mine Sweepers. A Google search of the terms
"slowly" "carefully" "patiently" and "Grimsby town" turned up a
Google books result for "The Story of the Submarine" by Farnham
Bishop, published February 1916. The results-page
displayed is the header and beginning of Chapter XI:
Mines. The chapter header is part (or all?) of the poem
"The Mine Sweepers" by H. Ingamells. The attribution
indicates that the poem was printed in the "London
Spectator." No date given, but the quote is as follows:
''Ware mine!" / "Starboard your helm!"..."Full speed ahead!" /
The squat craft duly swings -- / A hand's breadth off, a thing
of dread / The sullen breaker flings. // Carefully, slowly,
patiently, / The men of Grimsby Town / Grope their way on the
rolling sea -- / The storm-swept, treacherous, gray North Sea --
/ Keeping the death-rate down. This seems to be exactly the poem
the requester was looking for. I compared it to the lyrics
of the folk-song a previous responder suggested, and though
there are similarities of setting, tone, meter and rhythm, they
are apparently not the same poem. Interestingly, I find
that the meter and rhythm are similar to that in many of the
Yukon/Klondike gold-rush adventure poems by Robert W. Service,
also published in the early 1900s. So the poem could relate to WWI or
to other conflicts (don'\''t know enough history to suggest any,
other ideas?) within the previous several decades involving
England, North Sea naval activity, and mines.
H.
Ingamells, The Mine Sweepers, 1914 - 1916, approximate. I just responded with a partial solution to this
stumper and now have the full solution. The poem "The Mine
Sweepers" can be found in its entirety in the book "These Were
The Men: Poems of the War 1914-1918." The entire poem is
located on page 82 and 83 and it has quite a few additional
stanzas to the ones I quoted from the other source. The
full text of the book "These Were The Men" can be found at http://www.archive.org/stream/theseweremenpoem00jaqurich/theseweremenpoem00jaqurich_djvu.txt, and you can then find the
poem by using your browser's find-on-this-page function to
locate "Ingamells" (authors'names are at the bottom of the poems
so you will have to scroll up to the beginning of the
poem). Hope this answers the question in time for the
requester's 80-year-old father to enjoy!
Hello,
I'm so very grateful to have
the answer.
My father is still living and
will be 87 in February. Just last night he asked me if
I'd found the poem yet.
I checked Loganberry again, and
there it was! I don't even know when it was submitted.
How wonderful to have the name,
author, and source!
I desperately want to thank the
person who tried to help us and the one who solved the
mystery.
Dad will be tremendously
excited.
Jane Louise Curry, Mindy's
Mysterious Miniature.
This is also published under the title "The Mysterious Shrinking
House."
Curry, Jane Louise, Mindy's
Mysterious Miniature.
(1970) This is definitely the book. "Mindy
found the miniature house hidden in the attic of the old barn.
It was so perfect it looked like a real house--that had somehow
shrunk. But she never guessed its terrible secret or that she
herself would be trapped inside."
Jane Louise Curry, Mindy's Mysterious
Miniature. (1970)
This book was also published under the title "The Mysterious
Shrinking House." I am sure you will get lots of answers
to your question as this seems to be a favorite book of many
people. "Mindy found the miniature house hidden in the
attic of the old barn. It was so perfect it looked like a
real house-that had somehow shrunk. But she never guessed
its terrible secret-or that she herself would be trapped
inside!"
Jane Louise Curry, Mindy's Mysterious
Miniature. (1970)
This might be Mindy's Mysterious
Miniature, also published under the title The
Mysterious Shrinking House, by Jane Louise Curry.
The Mysterious Shrinking House,
aka Mindy's Mysterious Miniature, by Jane Louise Curry.
Not as scary as the back cover implies - especially if you're
old enough to read it alone.
ohmy. you all ROCK!!! that definitly is the book. i've looked
for years, put in all the different combinations of words in
searches, and in a few days, you all got it! i've already called
the library and had her put the book on hold. Thank you all so
much!
There's a sequel to "Mindy's
Mysterious Miniature" called "The Lost Farm".
In that one, a boy and his grandmother are shrunk on the family
farm, and they have to keep things running. Eventually, Mindy
shows up and figures out the problem and unshrinks them.
Just if the person asking wanted more... :)
Brandel, Marc, The Mine of Lost Days,
1974.
---
in about 1972, i read a story, hard cover, thick volume (for a
kid) about a child/some children in england who come across an
old tin? mine (you know, the stacks you see in the english
country side?) and while walking around it they kick it or kick
a stone at it and a door opens to world below...i would love to
find out the name of this book.
David Wiseman, Jeremy Visick
hi- i don't think that jeremy v is the book - but thank you!!
Brandel Marc, The mine of lost days, 1974. Philadelphia, Lippincott [1974] On
a visit to Ireland, Henry falls into a "haunted" copper mine,
and discovers that he and his new friends can travel into the
past. Could this possibly be it - time frame is fairly
close and it appears to feature a group of people as the
requester remembers
brandel, mine of lost days. I just posted a solution and then noticed that
this also appears on your solved pages - with much more detail -
the chimney stacks match so I'm sure this is the right book.
The mystery has been solved through about half a dozen cat forums looking for me. The book's title is Minette. The author is Janice. I do not know if that is sirname or firstname. She/he may have another name but I was not able to find it. Glad to have the mystery solved. You can file it as done.
Arnold Lobel, Ming Lo Moves the
Mountain, 1982. A wise
man tells Ming Lo how to move the mountain away from his house.
Lobel, Arnold, Ming Lo Moves
the Mounain, 1982. Ming Lo's wife is angry. The
couple live beside a big mountain which causes them no end of
trouble. Shadows fall over their garden. Rocks fall through
their roof. And it is always raining. "Husband," says Ming Lo's
wife, "you must move the mountain so that we may enjoy our house
in peace." But how can a man as small as Ming Lo move something
as large as a mountain? Maybe the village wise man can help.
This whimsical literary folktale is set in China.
Arnold Lobel, Ming Lo Moves
the Mountain, 1993. This is definitely the book, a
classic.
Lobel, Arnold, Ming Lo Moves
the Mountain, 1972. Ming Lo and his wife lived in a
house at the bottom of a large mountain. They loved their
house, but they did not love the mountain. So Ming Lo's
wife decided that Ming Lo should move it. Ming Lo had no
idea how a man as small as he could move something as large as a
mountain. And indeed, it was not easy.
Arnold Lobel, Ming Lo moves
the Mountain. This is exactly the book you are
looking for - by the wonderful author and illustrator of the
Frog and Toad books and many others.
#T116--Three mice that live in a tree with
their mother: It couldn't have been a church? During
my long search for my "church mouse" book (solved only by your
site!) I found one book where the sister mouse, named Muffy,
went to be a missionary. Another series, published in
Australia, was about "Pip and Pippa" or something like
that. Similar names, anyhow.
Fairweather, Jessie Home, illustrated
by I.E. Robinson, Matilda, MacElroy and Mary.
Racine,
Whitman
Tell-a-Tale 1950. "Mrs. Mouse has three children, Matilda,
MacElroy and Mary. This book describes the day they live told in
rhyme." The story may begin "This is the house of Mrs. Mouse and
these are her children three." The mice are white, MacElroy
wears a red jacket with white collar, and the others wear
aprons. However, the cover is blue, with pink and white
lettering, showing the 3 little mice in front of some white
flowers. Otherwise it sounds like a good possible.
Tarrant, Audrey, Pip
Squeak...., mid-late 1970s. There were a
number of books about Pip Squeak, a woodmouse, but I didn't see
anything about 3 mice. However, there were two squirrels
named Hoppy & Skippy that joined in the adventures (kind of
like Flopsy & Mopsy?). Titles include Pip Squeak Sets
Sail, Pip Squeak Saves the Day, Pip Squeak Joins The Band, Pip
Squeak's Trouble, Pip Squeak And The Thieves, Pip Squeak's
Spring Holiday. There may be even more but these are all I
found. Sorry that I can't add more about whether the
mother wore an apron, or what the cover looked like, etc.
There is also a book called Pip Squeak, Mouse in Shining
Armor by Robert Kraus, but I can't find a
summary. Knowing Kraus, though, the illustrations were
probably cartoonish and colored with bright primary colors.
I did ask about Matilda, MacElroy and Mary, and this was not
the book. It would have been late 60's or early 70's that this
book came out. The author, it turns out is a British woman, and
we're still pretty sure that she illustrated the book as well.
The book could have been in rhyme, but maybe it wasn't. The
Pipsqueak name is probably a false clue, but the name of the
book was definitely the three names of the mice. Thanks again!
How about this? The midnight
flight of Moose, Mops, and Marvin by Suzanne
Wilson Bladow illus by Joseph Mathieu, pub 1975
Three little mice begin an unusual adventure when they are
accidentally caught in one of Santa's sacks and are left under a
Christmas tree.
I checked my 98 mouse titles and found 1
with 3 names, but couldn't work my way to its box to check
whether they lived in a tree. Here is what Lib of Congress says
about it: * Minnikin, Midgie, and Moppet : a
mouse story / by Adelaide Holl ; pictures by
Priscilla Hillman. New York : Golden Press, c1977.
Three mice leave their mother and comfortable home in the meadow
to find good food and adventure.
Adelaide Holl, Minnikin, Midgie, and Moppet: A Mouse Story.
(1977) Thank you so much for this solution. It is definitely
Minnikin, Midgie, and Moppet. Using this title, I found it on
the internet, bought it, and showed my fiancee and grandmother,
and they we sooo happy for having this book again, which they
value so highly! Thanks for making me a hero!
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say, 1954. I'm pretty confident about
this. I expect a dozen other people will be too...
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the
Say/The Minnow Leads to Treasure. I just read it. The second
title was the U.S. version from the 1960's Scott Foresman book
used in schools. It's been reprinted recently under the
original British title.
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say, 1954. A Google search for "Squeak
Wilson" pulled up Philippa Pearce's "Minnow on the Say." A 'net
description synopsizes the book thusly: "David can't
believe his luck when a worn wooden canoe mysteriously appears
on the banks of the River Say behind his house. With summer
stretching endlessly before him, it seems too good to be
true. "Soon there is another boy -- Adam, the Minnow's
rightful owner. Adam wants his boat back...but something else,
too: a trustworthy friend to help him find the long lost
ancestral jewels that could save his family from financial
disaster! "Can two boys find what history has kept an
untouchable secret for hundreds of years? Or will they lose the
race against time and against another treasure seeker lurking at
the river's edge."
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say, 1954. "Two English boys, David and Adam,
spend the summer canoeing on the River Say and, with just an old
riddle for a clue, try to find a treasure hidden along its banks
by one of Adam's ancestors."
A. Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say, 1955. Definitely the book you are
seeking. An English boy named David is delighted to find a
canoe at the bottom of the garden and tracks down the owner,
another boy whose name is Adam. Together, they spend the
summer canoeing on the River Say and, with just an old riddle
for a clue, try to find a treasure hidden along its banks.
One of the characters is indeed named Squeak Wilson. This
has been reprinted several times over the years, most recently
in 2000.
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say. I'm pretty sure this is the book
you're looking for. They search for treasure in their
canoe called the Minnow.
Philippa Pearce, Minnow on the Say, 1954. Thanks
to everyone who helped identify this book!!! I have just ordered
a copy from [blip] so should be reading it again before xmas!
I have it here in my hand: Wise, Winifred E. "Minnow"
Vail. Illustrated by Mimi Korach.
Whitman, 1962.
---
A typically grumpy pre-teen is forced to spend the summer
somewhere other than home. The family comes to California
and visits with someone who is a marine biologist. As part
of the plot, they go grunion hunting and find or look for
phosphorescent algae. Read this in the early 1970's, but
it was a library book so could have been published earlier.
Have you tried checking L'Engle's Arm
of the Starfish? I'm fairly certain that
Zachary (a grumpy character in some of her other books) runs
into Adam Eddington, who's a marine biologist. You might
want to check some of her other books, since I'm not 100%
certain that it's this particular title.
L'Engle, Madeleine, Meet The Austins,
The Moon By Night, A Ring Of Endless Light, Troubling A
Star. I think the
poster is looking for L'Engle's "Austin Family" series. All four
stories in the series are written in the first person, from the
perspective of Vicky Austin (the eldest daughter.) The Austins
travel to California in Book #2, The Moon By Night.
Vicky meets Adam Eddington, a marine biology student (whom you
correctly recall as a main character in The Arm of The
Starfish) in Book #3 of the "Austin Family" series - A
Ring of Endless Light. The latter book was
recently adapted for
television by our friends at The Disney
Channel. :-)
I can't tell you what this is, but it's not
anything of Madeleine L'Engle's. None of her books take
place in California except the very end of The Moon by
Night, but no one goes hunting grunion. The
Arm of the Starfish does have a marine biologist in
it, but it takes place on the island of Gaea, off the coast of
Portugal, not California.
Winifred E. Wise, Minnow Vail, 1962. Minna "Minnow" Vail is a teen
living in CA who watches the grunion run each year and pretends
to be one during the annual carnival. One summer, her
snooty cousin comes to stay and tries to steal her sort-of
boyfriend. There are some more subplots, but Minnow is
crowned Queen of the local carnival.
Condition Grades |
Wise, Winifred E. "Minnow" Vail. Illustrated by Mimi Korach. Whitman, 1962. VG-. $15 |
|
This could be Ride a Wild Horse by
Ruth Carlsen, published in 1970. It's been a long
time since I read it, but it's about a girl who's traveling from
the future. She's somehow gets lost, and ends up with no
memory. While staying with a foster family, she starts to
remember stuff, and her foster brother helps her find or fix a
carousel horse which is her means to get her back to her own
time. I do remember something about a whipping mane as
they travel, because she has to get goggles to keep the mane out
of her eyes.
Lindgren, Astrid, Mio My Son,
1960s.Could this be Mio, My Son by Astrid
Lindgren? Young boy travels to Farawayland where he learns
he is really Prince Mio. He has a horse with a golden mane
named Miramis. Don't remember if it can fly or not.
Lindgren, Astrid, Mio My Son, That's the one! Thank
you so much! I'm going to look for it right now!!
Betty Martin, No One Must Ever Know,1959. This is the one I remember, about a
young woman sent to the leper hospital in Carville, LA.
L58 I bet it is one of Betty Martin's
2 books. No one must ever know or
Miracle at Carville.
No One Must Ever Know is the
sequel, but Miracle at Carville is the one that
is actually about the girl's life inside the leper
colony.
U26 is NOT Maple tree by Selsam.
That has photos of a girl playing with maple seeds, but is
nonfiction about maples.
Sorenson, Virginia, Miracles on Maple
Hill, 1957. Could
it be this one, even though the author's name begins with
S? Her''s a brief synopsis from the Web: "A heartwarming
Newbery Medal winner. Dad has returned from World War II a
changed man: withdrawn, touchy, unable to work. The family moves
back to the family farm where dad gets the healing he needs.
Includes a great description of maple sugaring."
Sorenson, Virginia, Miracles on Maple
Hill, 1956.
Newberry Medal winner 1957. Marly and her family share many
adventures when they move from the city to a farmhouse on Maple
Hill. After her father returns from the war moody and tired,
Marly's family decides to move from the city to Maple Hill Farm
in the Pennsylvania countryside where they share many adventures
which help restore their spirits and their bond with each other.
Virginia Sorenson, Miracles on Maple Hill, Yeah,
this is the book. Thanks so much. I am very excited
to add this to my collection.
--------------------------------------
A brother & sister go hiking
in mts. They meet a man who herds goats & sells cheese. He
must watch his goats everyday so he has a sign saying "Take
cheese--leave money." No money is left & everyone takes the
cheese. The siblings want to bring him home but he smells bad
(cheese) & their Mom objects.
Sorensen, Virginia, Miracles on
Maple Hill,
1956. The cheese man is Harry the Hermit. When Joe and Marly go
up the mountain they discover his cheese stand, Where is says's
leave money. Later in the book Harry is injured and Joe brings
him back to his house, where Joe's mother doesn't appreciate the
smell. Harry is a wonderful wood carver and spends time teaching
Joe.
Virginia Sorenson, Miracles on Maple
Hill. I agree that this is
probably Miracles on Maple
Hill. In my recollections
of Miracles on Maple Hill,
I remember a girl who moved to a new town, and couldn't make any
new friends, especially in her class in school.
She met some people who spent their weekends gathering
mushrooms, so she thought she would join them.
Later in the book, the man who led the group ate some
mushrooms that made him ill, and he almost died.
I thought the cheese man character was from a different
book entirely. Perhaps I should
create another book stumper for the mushroom story, as it does
not appear to be Miracles on
Maple Hill. :)
sounds like jane-emily,
again (whick i was glad to see in your answers from a previous
question: i had "jane-Somebody" only) -- led here by a pointer
from rec.arts.books.childrens (we love figuring out books for
people!)
Pamela Sykes, Come Back Lucy. Again not 100% sure as I don't have a copy to
check, but the details
sound right from memory. It was
published in the UK in the 1960s (I think). There's also a
sequel called Lucy Beware which is much harder
to find.
#T88--Time Travel, Young Adult: Mirror
of Danger, by Pamela Sykes.
Sykes, Pamela, Mirror of Danger, 1976, reprint. I love this book! I
still have my copy, even though it's pretty
weather-beaten by now. A little blurb
on the inside says it was originally published in England as Come
Back, Lucy. My copy was published by Archway
Paperback/Pocket Books. I hope this helps!
Sounds like - Come Back, Lucy,
by Pamela Sykes, illustrated by Tessa Jordan, published
Hamish Hamilton 1973, 183 pages. "When Lucy suddenly lost
the only relation she had ever known, there was no choice for
her but to learn to live with her riotous cousins. This was
difficult enough for Lucy, who had led a sheltered life with
her gentle but old-fashioned Aunt Olive, and there seemed to
be no peace for her in this noisy house. Or was there? Shocked
by unhappiness and unwilling to accept her new-found family
Lucy was only too glad to turn to her mysterious friend Alice,
whose life was so akin to that which she had enjoyed with Aunt
Olive. But was Alice a true friend - or someone to be feared?"
(from the dust-jacket) When Lucy explores the attic room "The
third frame, a heavy gold one, held not a picture but a
mirror. Lucy crouched to peer into its mottled surface. Her
own pale face peered back at her. And then, suddenly, there
was another face beside it, a round laughing one. 'I'm Alice,'
said the girl 'and I live here.'" At Christmas "And
the tree! Instead of the lovely dark fragrant thing Lucy had
expected there stood an imitation one. Blue of course. Only
witch balls were hung on it, blue and silver. No colour
anywhere, no warmth."
---
All I really remember is that a girl
finds a mirror (maybe in her new home ?) and when she looks in
it, she notices the room in the reflection is different.
Somehow, she steps into the reflection, and is transported to
the very same home only now from a Victorian time in the
past. She meets another girl and they befriend each
other. She goes back and forth in this mirror
(from her current time to the Victorian time) to play with the
Victorian girl. She attends a lovely party with the
Victorian girl in the mirror, but when the first girl wants to
go home (back to her real time) the Victorian girl gets angry
and tries to hold her back from going thru the mirror -- maybe
breaks it so she can't go back. PLEASE help me remember
this book. I am very interested in purchasing it to read
again. It was one of my favourites. THANK YOU !
I was too quick to jump the gun since I am so tired... I got
all excited about your site, and didn't take the time to read
first about the solved books... The book I was seeking is
called: Come Back Lucy by: Pamela Sykes
---
I don't remember the title or author. I read this book in
the early eighties. The character, I think her name was
Lucy, lived with her great aunt. They were very
old-fashioned. Her great aunt dies, so she has to move in
with her aunt, uncle, and cousins, whom she has never met.
They are very modern, with a pink Christmas tree. She is
very unhappy, and every time she looks into a reflecting
surface, she gets sucked back into Victorian times and befriends
another girl. The Vic. girl gets jealous of her modern
life, especially as Lucy begins to adjust, and becomes very
possessive. At the end, Lucy is looking into some
water. The Vic. girl is moving away, and she wants Lucy to
stay with her permanently. She pulls her into the water
and Lucy almost drowns. She tells her aunt and uncle all
about it, and they find a diary that shows the Vic. girl used to
live in their house back at the turn-of-the-century.
Sykes, Pamela, Mirror of Danger. Also called Come Back, Lucy. I loved
this one too. My edition was called Mirror of Danger, but
apparently it was also released as Come back Lucy.
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger. This is on the Solved pages under MIRROR OF
DANGER (also published under the title COME BACK LUCY) by Pamela
Sykes.
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger / Come
Back, Lucy, 1973. Definitely
it.
Sykes, Pamela, Come back Lucy.Surely this is Come back Lucy by Pamela
Sykes. It was made into a tv series in Britain quite a while
ago. The plot seems to match it.
Pamela Sykes, Come Back Lucy,
1973. This is Come Back
Lucy, by Pamela Sykes. The US title was Mirror of
Danger, which was published in 1974 (year after the UK
release).
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger (Come
Back, Lucy). I
haven't read this one, but the description sounds like Mirror of
Danger (British title: Come Back, Lucy) on the "M" Solved
Mysteries page.
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger (aka
Come Back, Lucy). I'd
give a synopsis, but the stumpee seems to have it down pretty
accurately! :)
The stumper can be filed as Solved.
It had already been solved on the "Solved Mysteries" page.
---
A girl goes to stay with another family (cousins?) in possibly
England (I seem to remember them eating fish and chips at one
point). She feels alone, and makes friends with a girl
ghost from another time. She might even go back in time
with the girl ghost, not sure. In a climactic scene, the
girl is standing by an icy fountain/pond/pool where the girl
ghost appears to her (from within) and pulls her down. The
other children/relatives (a boy and a girl or two?) see this,
but they see the girl jump/fall in and drag her out to rescue
her. The girl then begins to appreciate her
cousins/relatives and ignores the lure of the ghost girl (who
could be petulant and mean) in favor of finding a place for
herself in the modern world. No idea of author or
title. It was read by me in the late 70's or early 80's
and I am pretty sure it is post WW2.
This is definitely Mirror of Danger
(also titled Come Back Lucy). Lucy is an
orphan raised by an elderly aunt and used to quiet and ladylike
ways. When the aunt dies she goes to live with distant
cousins who are friendly but loud and boisterous. She
becomes "friends" with a ghost in the house who wants her to
stay and tries to drown her at the end of the book.
Mary Downing Hahn, Wait Till Helen
Comes, 1986. It
doesn't have anything to do with England, but it might fit.
Molly's new stepsister, Heather, is just plain nasty. Heather
becomes friends with Helen, a ghost who eventually tries to
drown her in an icy pond. Molly pulls her out, and she and
Heather start getting along better. The ghost can be nasty (she
destroys Molly's room and all her things). No time travel, but
there is some detail about Helen's life in the
mid-to-late-1800s, and she tries to drown Heather because she
wants a friend to stay with her forever.
Sykes, Pamela, Mirror of Danger (also published as Come Back. Lucy.)
Lucy is an orphan who is sent to stay with cousins when her
elderly aunt dies. Unhappy with their boisterous ways she keeps
to herself and discovers that she can go back in time through a
mirror/reflection. The little girl she meets in her visits back
in time tries to get Lucy to stay in her time forever.
Plot sounds similar to MIRROR OF
DANGER (also published as COME BACK, LUCY)
by Pamela Sykes, but I can't verify the part about the
hand reaching out of the fountain~from a librarian
The person who wrote in Mirror of Danger was absolutley
correct, that was the book I meant. Thank you so much for this
service.
---
I’m looking for the name of a
book I had when I was a child in the early 80s (although I got
it secondhand and I’m pretty sure the kids in it wore flares).
It was an early teen novel about a girl (maybe called Lucy?) who
had no siblings and had been raised by her grandmother. The book
is about her going to live with a new family of “hipsters” who
seemed brash to her. The book contrasts the old-fashioned kind
of life she had had with her grandmother, with the modern life
of the new family. The key scenes I
remember are: * The girl going shopping for a
Christmas tree with the new family, and crying when they bought
a tinsel “themed” tree rather than an old fashioned one; *
Her playing with her grandmother’s collection of mother of pearl
combs which were kept in mini chest; and * The girl going
out for fish and chips with the hipster children and eating them
out of newspaper. Does that ring any bells? I’d really
appreciate any assistance you can offer!
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger,
1974, reprint. The American edition was first published in
1974 by Thomas Nelson. The British also made a TV show out
of it, called Come Back Lucy, so I assume that at one point
the book was also released under that title. Lucy is the
girl who goes to stay with her cousins; she travels into a past
via a mirror.
Pamela Sykes, Mirror
of Danger (Come Back, Lucy), early 1970s,
approximate. It's definitely this book. Lucy was raised
by her grandmother in an old-fashioned way and after she dies
goes to live with cousins who are very contemporary. She
also meets a ghost named Alice.
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger (Come Back, Lucy)
Pamela Sykes, Mirror of Danger. 11-year-old Lucy was brought up by her
eccentric aunt to love all things Victorian. When her aunt
dies and she has to move in with modern and loud (though
very friendly) relatives, she can’t handle both her grief
and the stress of change, and pulls away from her new
would-be family. A little girl who lived in the same house
in the 1870s, Alice, can peer into/haunt the future house
and has become determined to make Lucy her playmate...
forever.
Sykes, Pamela, Mirror of Danger (aka
Come Back, Lucy), 1974,
copyright. Oh this is a popular one! Poor
little Lucy felt so out of place with her 'modern'
relatives and their 'modern ways' after having been
raised by an elderly aunt (The blurb says "aunt" but I
want to say it was her great-aunt.) The scenes you
described are in the story. "11-year-old Lucy was
brought up by her eccentric aunt to love all things
Victorian. When her aunt dies and she has to move in
with modern and loud (though very friendly) relatives,
she can’t handle both her grief and the stress of
change, and pulls away from her new would-be family. A
little girl who lived in the same house in the 1870s,
Alice, can peer into/haunt the future house and has
become determined to make Lucy her playmate... forever."
---
I read this book in the 1970's.
It was about a young girl who lived with her elderly Aunt. They
lived as if it were in the 19th century (old fashioned
life). The Aunt dies and the girl is sent to live with her
cousins. They live a modern life. The girl is homesick and
she begins to see a ghost named Alice. Alice takes her back in
time to the 19th century. The relationship continues until Alice
tries to harm the girl. I remember a broken window and a cut
arm. I think the girl only sees Alice in a reflection when she
is in the current time. Alice may not really exist, I can't
remember. She may only be a figment of the girl's imagination
but to the girl she is real. I can remember one other seen
about the girl eating fish and chips out of newspapers with her
cousins so it must take place in England. I also remember
Christmas - the girl hates the modern fake tree and goes with
Alice to see her real tree. Like so many others I loaned
this book to friend 25 years ago and no longer remember the
title.
This sounds exactly the same as stumper G459, which has
been solved as Mirror of Danger by Pamela Sykes.
Sykes, Mirror of
Danger. Thank you everyone! The book was
definitely Mirror of Danger.
It seems a lot of people have been looking for it and remember
it fondly.
Pamela Sykes, Come back Lucy. This has been correctly
solved as Mirror of danger, but you might want to add
that this is the US title. The original UK title is Come back
Lucy. There is also a sequel, Lucy beware.
Marjory Hall, Mirror, Mirror,
1956. It sounds as if this could be Mirror,
Mirror by Marjory Hall, one of her "career
girl" series. Kim, after graduating from high school, gets a job
in the personnel office of a china company. She makes friends
with the daughter of the owner, Lisa, and Lisa and her friend
Christine give Kim a makeover. Naturally Kim grows up to her new
image, gets the right guy, and goes on to college at the end.
Yes, this is the book I remember.
Thanks so much!
Doesn't sound like William Sleator,
either.
#P74--Parallel Universe: Harlan
Ellison wrote a similar story, which appears in his
collection Shatterday, with a much grimmer
ending.
HE rarely sets anything outside of
the U.S.
I think this is MISPLACED PERSONS
(1979) by Australian writer Lee Harding--that's the US
title original Australian title was DISPLACED PERSON.
Harding originally published this as a short story in the
early 1960s, then expanded it to short novel length for teen-age
market under titles noted above.
Lee Harding, Misplaced Persons, 1979. Misplaced Persons
is indeed the book referenced. The premise sounded so intriguing
I found myself a copy and read it in one night! The plot is
exactly as the "stumpee" described (though it's set in
Australia, as the person who provided the solution pointed out).
Here's the blurb from the book jacket: "The change
began gradually. At first, Graeme barely sensed it. But people
were ignoring him. Not only the waitress at McDonald'\''s, but
his girlfriend and even his parents were looking right through
him, as if they could hardly see or hear him. And as it became
harder for him to make contact with people, Graeme noticed
another change. Everything and everyone was becoming grey in
his world -- everything and everyone except him. Was he going
crazy or was the world? Did anyone else feel as trapped and
misplaced as he?" As the "stumpee" mentioned, the
protagonist does meet an older man, Jamie Burns, and a young
woman, Marion, in the "greyworld" limbo, with whom he teams up
to survive and strive to master the mercurial rules of the
mysterious dimension.
M183 A shot in the dark - could this be THE
WITCH NEXT DOOR or one of the other witch books by Norman
Bridwell? They did come out in the 60s. However, I don't
know if she had a name. ~from a librarian
M183 Can poster think harder about the
witch's naem? I put Grimsby and witch into search engine
Google and got more than 400 matches. I quit after 400. The
British town of Grimsby is associated with wiches, but I
found no ref to a book.
Weales, Gerald, Miss Grimsbee Is a
Witch, 1957.
Gerald Weales, Miss Grimsbee Takes A
Vacation, Atlantic-Little
Brown, 1965. Miss Grimsbee Is A Witch,
Atlantic-Little
Brown,
1957. Sponge rubber streets in town?
Rumer Godden?
Rumer
godden, miss happiness & miss flower
Sounds like Carolyn Bailey's Miss
Hickory. "Miss Hickory is a country doll,
made of a hickory nut head with an apple twig body. Unexpectedly,
she finds that her mistress and family have left for the winter,
leaving her to fend for herself during the cold dark months in New
Hampshire."
---
twig body, nut (pecan?) head. Miss ____? 1940s This was a
story about a "lady" whose body was a twig (with two arms, two
legs) and she found a nut to serve as her head. At the end
of the book, she grafted herself back onto a tree, and
blossomed.
Bodecker, N. M., Miss Jaster's
Garden, Golden Press,
1972. A garden romance featuring Miss Jaster and a dear
little hedgehog named Hedgie.
Miss Jaster's Garden, written
and illustrated by N.M. Bodecker. "Myopia is an
endearing weakness, but in Miss Jaster it is nothing less than
enchanting. She scatters seeds on a hedgehog in her garden one
spring, then thinks someone is stealing her flowers when the
hedgehog wakes up in the summer and goes for a walk." (Children's
Books of the Year 1978 p.115) Bodecker was the illustrator for
several of the Edward Eager fantasy books.
---
I'm looking for a picture book for a friend. She
remembers the title as 'Mrs. Jasper's Garden' but I can't find
that title listed anywhere. The story is about a shy hedgehog in
a large (possibly English) garden. The woman who tends the
garden accidentally sprinkles some seeds on the hiding hedgehog,
who then sprouts flowers from it's back. My friend remembers a
picture of the woman watering her flowers when one clump begins
moving through the garden. Any help would be greatly
appreciated.
N.M. Bodecker, Miss Jaster's Garden, 2002,
reprint. Yaay! Solved my own stumper! The book
was out of print for a number of years (can find 1st editions
going for over $200!) and just came back into print!
Author/illustrator N.M. Bodecker also did the great
illustrations for the Half Magic series.
Bodecker, N. M. author &
illustrator, Miss Jaster's Garden, Collins
1973. Sounds like this title, which is on the solved list.
Short-sighted Miss Jaster accidentally seeds and waters her
little hedgehog friend.
I believe that's Hogglespike,
which is British and written before 1980. I can't find any
mention of it, though - I'll have to check my copy again. He
actually rolls around in a garden and then curls up to sleep in
a flowerpot, so people at the flower show end up thinking he's a
"multifloripricklium."
Miss Jaster's Garden.
It's "Miss", not "Mrs.", I believe. The book is at my mother's
house and I'll check for the publication info this
weekend. Follow-up message: Remembered the correct
spelling of the name and did a quick
search. The book was apparently reprinted last year, since the
original publication date was at least 10 years back. The
hedgehog is sleeping in the flowerbed when Miss Jaster scatters
and waters her flower seeds. The seeds "sowed" on him develop
into his own crop of flowers.
Bodecker, N. M., Miss Jaster's
garden, 1971.
This was a Golden Book about a hedgehog who became a walking
garden. It was reprinted in 2001, also as a Golden Book.
---
THIS WAS A BOOK FROM THE 70'S, AN OLDER WOMAN FINDS A HEDGEHOG
IN HER GARDEN AND I THINK IT WAS CALLED MS JENKIN'S GARDEN BUT
NO SEARCHES TURN IT UP. I REMEMBER IT BEING A BIG BOOK AND
LOVED THE ILLUSTRATIONS. THANK YOU!
You're close. Try N.M. Bodecker, Miss
Jaster's Garden, Golden Press, 1972. A garden
romance featuring Miss Jaster and a dear little hedgehog named
Hedgie.
---
This is a children's story about
a hedgehog who fell asleep in a new tilled flower garden and the
lady of the house sprinkled seeds on him while seeding the
garden. Beautiful flowers grew on him and I remember that at
first he was very upset and confused but at the end saw his
reflection and saw how wonderful it was. I remember loving the
color illustrations. I've loved hedgehogs ever since!
N.M. Bodecker, Miss Jaster's Garden, 1972, copyright. Charming
story about what happens after Miss Jaster mistakenly sows
marigold, Sweet William and Baby's Breath seeds on a hedgehog as
he napped in her flower bed. Published by Golden Press and
illustrated by the author.
Hogglespike by Patricia Drew, 1971? (The
details don't quite match.) There were two sequels.
Miss Jaster's
Garden. Yes, this is it! I remember the
Sweet William very well! Thank you so very much-this has
been bugging me for so many years!
Calhoun, Mary, The House of Thirty
Cats, 1965. This might
be the one... In search of a kitten for her own, Sarah befriends
eccentric Miss Tabitha Henshaw, who lives with (yes) thirty
some-odd cats in a tumbledown house - which looks a bit like a
cat. At first, Sarah is somewhat ashamed of her friendship with
Miss Tabitha, especially after she sees Miss T raiding
restaurant garbage pails for food for her cats (Sarah starts to
bring table scraps to prevent Miss T scrounging in town). The
atmosphere is wonderful, with detailed and funny cat antics,
Miss T is wise and understanding, and Sarah learns to value Miss
T's and her own individuality. This is reinforced when Miss T is
ordered to drastically reduce the number of her cats by the town
council after the "evil" cat Tarnish wreaks havoc in town with
his "gang". Sarah helps to find new homes for the cats, making
new friends in the process with many people she'd never have
approached before. Contains one of the most touching cat-death
scenes (Aramantha's) I've ever read. Originally published by
Harper & Row in 1965, I have a paperback published in 1970
as an Archway Paperback by Pocket Books, ISBN 0-671-42064-X.
Could well still be in print.
Gag, Wanda, Millions of Cats, 1928. This is the first thing that
occurs to me for someone who keeps getting
more and more cats! It's still in
print, so the questioner can check it out and see if it's the
right one fairly easily.
Sounds like Millions of Cats!
Millions of Cats?
Yes, but in Millions of Cats, the old man goes out
to find a cat, comes home with a million and his wife immediately
says no, choose the prettiest (thereby starting the famous cat
fight). However, the cats eat and drink plenty on their
journey with the old man to his home in the first place....
This is a complete guess, but possibly Millions
of Cats by Wanda Gag. It's the story
of an elderly man whose wife wants a cat. He has so many
to choose from that he can't decide. He asks the cats to decide
for him.
Chaos ensues. Published in 1928.
Black and white illustrations. A picture book classic.
Judy Varga, Miss Lollipop's Lion, 1963. This is a great book! She didn't just
get lots of cats--she got lot of
animals!
I don't suppose M118 refers to Miss
(or Mrs.) Lollipop and Her Lions? (The reader would
probably remembered lions instead of just cats.) If I
recall, Miss Lillipop felt sorry for the lions in the zoo and
brought them all home to live with her in her big Victorian
house. It was a lot of trouble at first and the lions had
terrible manners. Miss Lollipop, through her firmness and
love, tames the lions and the all live happily ever after.
I think I read this book in the late 60's
Just possibly - Mr. Petersand's Cats
(and Kittens), written and illustrated by Louis
Slobodkin, published Macmillan 1954, 64 pages. "Mr.
Petersand lived on Firefly Island and loved cats. Every summer
when the summer people came to the island they would borrow one
of his cats to make their summer home complete. Mr. Petersand
knew that all the cats would return to him when the summer
people went back home and he would take care of them during the
winter as usual - until one summer Mr. Petersand broke his toe
and had to go the hospital on the mainland. What happened to the
cats when the summer people went back home? and Mr. Petersand
wasn't on the island to take care of the cats? This is a
wonderful story."
---
The Scraggly Lion gets a home?,
1950-1960. An older poor woman has severly pets living
at her house that she takes in when they don't have a home.
One day a lion appears on her front porch and she thinks it's
a cat. She takes it in feeds it, gives it a bath and loves it.
The circus people are looking for the lion and finaly knock on
her door and tells her it's an escape lion. The lady ends up
getting a job as the lion tamer and all the animals are taken
care of and she isn't poor anymore. The pictures look a lot
like the ones in the "Happy Lion" and I think it might be one
in that serise but I can't remeber the name and looking under
that author hasn't helped.
Miss Lollipop's Lion.
It's an older book. I found one on e-bay.
Varga, Judy, Miss Lollipop's Lion. Morrow 1963. I'll agree with this
suggestion. Heres more plot "Miss Lola Lollipop takes in stray
animals and eventually takes in a lion, but when he tries to eat
all the other strays, she tells him he should be ashamed! She
even makes him take a bath. In the end she becomes a famous lion
tamer."
E21 is a line from a hand-clapping game we
played when I was a kid called "Miss Mary Mack". It goes
like this:
Miss Mary Mack, Mack, Mack / All dressed
in black, black, black / With silver buttons, buttons, buttons
/ All down her back, back, back // She asked her mother,
mother, mother / For fifteen (fifty) cents, cents, cents / To
see the elephant, elephant, elephant / Jump the fence, fence,
fence / He jumped so high, high, high / He touched the sky,
sky, sky / And didn't come back, back, back / Til the Fourth
of July, ly, ly. I typed Miss Mary Mack
into the bookfinder.com site as a title and came back with
several children's books, so that sounds like the best route to
pursue.....
This sounds like: MISS MARY MACK AND
OTHER CHILDREN'S STREET RHYMES (1990) by Joanna Cole
and Stephanie Calmenson. One reviewer of the book said that
street rhymes are one of the few ways kids can lash back at
commercialism - as in this line from a rhyme about McDonald's: "...but
don't forget those frosted shakes/They come from polluted
lakes!" Another rhyme is a take-off on "I'm a little Dutch
girl" - "I'm a little hippie all dressed in blue/Here are
the things I like to do./Spit at the captain/Kick the
queen/Burn my draft card for the U.S. Marines." Very
colorful.
The Miss Minerva books are a
series, begun by Frances Boyd Calhoun and continued by Emma
Speed Sampson. They were written in the thirties and
published by Reilly & Lee in Red hardcovers with black
illustrations and matching DJs. They take place in the
rural south of the late 19th century and featury blacks and
whites, children and adults. Much of the stories are
written in black dialect. Scallywaggs has a picture of
three children on the cover, two white and one black. The
books are about 300 pages long.
Miss Nelson is Missing!
Children's
pic book-Story of a young teacher with badly behaving
students. She is replaced with a new subsitute teacher
that the students suspect is a witch. The teacher is
mean and scares the students into behaving well. The
teacher comes back to reveal she was in disguise as the mean
teacher.
Sounds like
Miss Nelson is Missing!
by the dynamic duo of Harry Allard and James Marshall.
SOLVED: Yes, that is the book!!! Yeah, thank you.
Wilson Gage, Miss Osborne-the-Mop. This is almost certainly the book!
Wilson Gage, Miss Osborne The Mop, 1962, approximately. Very definitely
Miss Osborne The Mop. The girl who brought the mop to life
thought it resembled her teacher, thus the name.
Wilson Gage, Miss Osborne-the-Mop, 1963. "Two children are faced with the
problem of how to keep a mop busy, happy, and out of sight of
adults."
That was amazing! I am so surprised that anyone
remembered this book! I was afraid it was some obscure,
rarely read volume that I had a quirky affinity for....go
figure! Thanks so much to the 3 rapid responders! I
can't wait to see if I can find it in our library system. This
was well worth the $2!!!!
---
a children's book (4th grade
level) written in late 50s or early 60s about 2 children who
have a cantankerous broom for a nanny, she ends up in a tree
with a broken back (broom handle).
Actually, I figured it out. What I remembered as a broom
was a mop and the answer is Miss
Osbourne the Mop. Great book when I was in the
4th grade. Thanks!
Wilson Gage, Miss Osborne-the-Mop. Sounds like Miss
Osborne-the-Mop, who is created from a mop by two
children, named after a disliked adult, and acts as a
housekeeper.
Wilson Gage, Miss
Osborne-the-Mop, 1962. Could it have
been a mop instead of a broom? If so, you might want to
check out this one...
Miss Pickerell goes to Mars
1950/60/70s book about an old
lady who accidently goes to outer space. Has a few
illustrations. I think was part of a series, there might
have been another one about the same old lady who went in a
submarine. For elementary school kids, I think around 7-10 years
old.
Could this be Miss Pickerell? In Ellen MacGregor's series she
travels to mars (Miss Pickerell
Goes to Mars, 1951) and explores the deep (Miss Pickerell Goes Undersea,
1953).
You're right,
Harriet. This could only be Miss
Pickerell stories. They are a happy
memory from my childhood. I still
remember her magnetized hammer causing trouble with the rocket
instruments.
Ellen MacGregor, Miss Pickerell goes to Mars,
Yes, that is it, THANK
YOU so much! WOW that was fast too!
Could this be Flora Hood, The Pink
Puppy? I'm not sure this is old enough to be the
book you remember.
That doesn't sound familiar...I
appreciate you looking. Honestly, I really didn't expect
to hear from you!!! I have searched every web/auction site I
can think of and have had no luck. I am employed in a
used book store so I am hoping that someday it will show
up. It is amazing how many books we get that I remember
from when I was a little kid in the early 50's so there's a
possibility.
I just did some further research on The Pink Puppy and it appears to have been published in 1966
which would definitely not make it old enought to be the book
I have been looking for.
I Like Mine Pink, by Miriam
H.
Brubaker, published by the National Dairy Council, 1947,
about a little girl with short blonde curls, in a pink dress,
who loves pink and prefers strawberry ice cream when she visits
the factory. No idea whether she has a puppy.
I had a similar book back in the late 1940s.
I recall the illustrations as being mostly bright pink and black
with fuzzy elements that delighted me. The main character was
called "Polly Pinks" because pink was her favorite color. She
had a fuzzy black cat that her father described as always
getting into mischief. Polly named the cat "Miss Sniff" (which
was how she pronounced "mischief." I'd love a copy of it. Mine
disintegrated.
I, too, am looking for the book. It was a
"fuzzy" book, the fuzzy being a black cat. The little girl was
NOT named Polly however, she had an Aunt Polly. As another
reader noted, she called her cat Miss Sniff, because she could
not say "mischief." The little girl loved the color pink
her bedroom had pink rosebuds on it and she always dressed in
pink. She was blonde, with big blue eyes, as I recall. There was
an episode in which the cat got into yellow paint and it was
spilled all over. They had thought the cat was a male in
the end, it had been gone for several days. When they found it,
it had a litter of kittens....at least this is how I recall it.
I've thought about this book for years.
Well, there is a book called Miss
Sniff, but it's definately a cat. It's by Jane
Curry and was a Whitman Fuzzy Wuzzy Book, 1945.
"Miss Sniff the cat is fuzzy to touch on all the pages and front
cover. Adventures of a fuzzy black kitten named Miss Smith which
came to Polly Pinks in an Easter hatbox."
This one's easy: Miss Suzy by Miriam
Young. See more on Most Requested
Books.
---
Lady squirrel makes house in a
doll house she finds in an attic and has to defend it with a toy
soldier?
Young,
Miriam, Miss Suzy. What else can this be?
Miss Suzy. Definitely the one.
Miriam
Young, Miss Suzy, 1964. Bet you get a ton of
answers to this one! It is of course the classic Miss Suzy,
about a gentle gray squirrel whose treetop home is taken over by
a band of rough red squirrels, and the brave toy soldiers she
meets in an attic dollhouse who help her reclaim her home. It
was republished by Purple House Press in 2004.
Miriam
Young, Miss Suzy, 1964. This is definitely "Miss
Suzy", which I think can be bought on this site. First my
kids and now my grandchildren love this book I got our
copy at a garage sale way back in the 70's. It's getting a
little tattered now, but even the 8 and 10 year-old boys still
like to hear it. It's such a charming story. It also comes
up here on the Stumpers fairly regularly.
Miriam
Young, Miss Suzy, 1964. Miss Suzy is a little gray
squirrel who lives happily in her oak-tree home until she is
chased away by some mean red squirrels. Poor Miss Suzy is very
sad. But soon she finds a beautiful dollhouse and meets a band
of brave toy soldiers. This was reprinted by Purple Housse Press
- 2004.
SOLVED: Young, Miriam, Miss
Suzy. Hello
Harriett, I forgot about checking up on this for a while. Both
are solved! My wife is thrilled. I've been hearing about W322
(Ratsmagic) for years. She would inquire at every independent
bookstore we've ever been in. Thank you so much. Both have been
ordered, she can't wait.
That's certainly Miss Twiggley. To read more comments and fanfare about her, visit the Most Requested page.
Condition Grades |
Fox, Dorothea Warren. Miss Twiggley's Tree. Parents Magazine Press, 1966. Purple House Press, 2002. New hardcover, $17.95 |
|
The book about the two llttle girls and a
brown eyed doll might be Missing Melinda by J.
Jackson.The two girls were twins named Cordelia and
Ophelia and they had long blond braids.
M2-Missing Melinda by J.
Jackson.
I love your website! The message about
two little girls and a doll named Melinda triggered my
memory. I definitely remember it, but unfortunately not
the title. The two little girls were sisters, and they did
solve a mystery involving the doll they found in the attic soon
after moving into a big old house. One of the girls was
named Cordelia and the other possibly Ophelia (their dad was a
big Shakespeare fan). The mystery had to do with the doll
having brown eyes instead of blue, and I think it went into the
history of doll making… I believe it was part of
Scholastic book club or something similar. Sorry I can’t
remember more, but maybe these clues will help someone else!
Hi Harriett! I had just about given up on that one. The book I'm thinking of, involved two little girls who wanted to name the doll and they combined the names somehow--- I think it was Miranda and Linda = Melinda. Something like that. Can't remember another thing about it, but I think the book was smallish and had a yellow cover. Does this one match the one you found?
Katherine MacLean, Missing Man. Despite having read this twice, I had to
Google frantically for the title - it's one of those
hard-to-remember ones! The narrator, George, (who appears
for most of the book to have some sort of mental disability)
works to locate missing people in a very peculiar future
city. At the end he recovers from the trauma induced by
the incident you described - and the last sentence reveals the
name of the city in which the story takes place.
Bonham, Frank, Missing Persons
League
Frank Bonham, The Missing Persons League. (1976)
Hi Harriett. It looks like my mystery has been
solved. I can't find a detailed description of the book
online, but what I found looks to be a match. I also found
pics of the cover art and it looks familiar. I am hoping
to get a copy tomorrow. I am 99.99% sure it's right!
I am so excited. This has been driving me crazy for
years. Endless searches online never turned up
anything. It only took 2 days on your site. Thanks
so much!
---
I read this book in the early to late
80's. I remember a boy who lives alone and secretly grows
vegetables and raises a chicken for eggs in his basement. The
Earth is in bad shape so nothing grows naturally, the seas are
full of redtides, and the air quality is poor. People start
disappearing for no reason, and somehow he finds himself in a
silo where the missing people have gone. They will go to sleep
for some time in the silos while the earth renews itself and
then will wake up and live on the renewed earth.
Frank Bonham, The Missing Persons
League,1976,
reprint. A boy lives with his very absent minded professor kind
of father in an overcrowed world where lots of the brightest and
best people have gone missing. The boy's mother and sister
have been missing for a year. They keep chickens in a
hidden basement and they grow vegetables under special lights in
the basement, too. He finds a friend who he confides in
about half of his family disappearing and he finds out that his
friend is secretly alone too. In the end they both have to
figure out on their own how to get in the silo with the others
"missing" people who are in suspended animation.
Frank Bonham, The Missing Persons
League,1976, reprint. Yes, yes, yes! This is the book!
Thank you so much- I have been going nuts trying to remember!
This is the BEST website
---
Read in late 70s/early 80s,
global warming, no fresh food. Teen boy + his dad; mom
disappeared. Trapdoor in floor to gardens + rabbit hutches,
great scene of boy's female friend moved to tears biting into
fresh tomato; find mom at end in rocket ship in woods waiting to
leave Earth.
Frank Bonham, The Missing Persons League. It's actually not a
rocket ship at the end, it's a cryogenic bunker. The hero
and his family are among those secretly chosen to be frozen
until humanity has killed itself off and the Earth recovers,
then they will emerge to repopulate it. He's picked for
his farming skills, his female friend is artistic, his mother
was a dancer or something; they're trying to select a
cross-section of society. The key to enter the bunker is
mercury, hidden in things like a golf club or a ring.
Frank
Bonham, The Missing Persons
League. This is the book. My book is in storage so I
don't have it but all the particulars fit.
Frank Bonham, The
Missing Persons League. Wow! I can't believe
this was solved on just a few meager details! Thank you,
thank you so much, I have thought about this book for years
and I can't wait to read it again. Amazing!
M28 might be Mister Dog, the
Dog who Belonged to Himself, by Margaret Wise
Brown, S&S, 1950
---
HELP... I AM LOOKING FOR...CRISPIAN...A
LITTLE SCOTTIE DOG! IN THE FIFTIES..A LITTLE SCOTTIE DOG WHO
LIVED INSIDE A HOLLOW TREE AND WORE A SMOKING
JACKET..HIS NAME WAS CRISPIAN
(KRISPIAN?)...AND HIS LIFE WAS ALL HIS OWN..THEREFORE HE WAS
"CRISPIAN'S CRISPIAN!" IT SEEMS THIS ILLUSTRATED
CHILDREN'S BOOK MAY BE A LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK...OR SOMETHING OF
THAT NATURE (AND NATURALLY I DON'T KNOW THE TITLE..AND I DON'T
KNOW THE AUTHOR) HOPE YOU CAN HELP
This is definitely Mister Dog (the
Dog who Belonged to Himself) by Margaret Wise
Brown, illustrated by Garth Williams, Little
Golden Book published 1952.
I saw a couple of pages from the Golden Book
(on EBay), and the dog does seem to live in a hollow tree,
smokes a pipe, and wears something like a smoking jacket.
Couldn't read enough of the text to find whether he was called
Crispian, though.
Margaret Wise Brown, The Dog Who
Belonged to Himself.
This is definitely the book you're looking for - I have a copy
in front of me right now and the first line is "Once upon a time
there was a funny dog named Crispin's Crispian because he
belonged to himself."
---
Mister Dog
This is a kids book about a dog who lives alone and goes about
his day, wakes up alone, eats breakfast alone, goes to the
market alone and then somehow meets a little boy that lives
alone and does all the same things the dogs does. Somehow
the little boy ends up living with the dog and they go about
their days together from then on and are happy. It is
illustrated.
Margaret Wise Brown, Mister Dog.
This has to be Mister Dog, a
Little Golden Book written by Margaret Wise Brown and
illustrated by Garth Williams. It was my husband's
favorite book when he was a boy.
Margaret Wise Brown, Mister Dog.
This is from the Little Golden
Books series and it sounds like the book you described. The
dog's name is Crispin's Crispian and it is stressed that "he
belonged to himself." He meets a boy who also "belonged to
himself." It's a charming book with illustrations by Garth
Williams, I believe.
Margaret Wise Brown, Mister Dog.
I just wanted to let you know that I submitted this and the
people who suggest Mister Dog are correct!!! I'm
so excited to finally remember what this book is called.
Thanks so much!!!
S84 ss midshipman: maybe True Tall
Tales of Stormalong, Sailor of the Seven Seas, by Harold
Felton, illustrated by Joan Sandin, published
Prentice-Hall 1968, 64 pages. The cover appears to show a giant
sailor picking up an anchor in one hand. "Some people said
that the new arrival in the Stormalong family had been created
out of thunder and waves, that he was the result of rain and
wind and rocks. This unusual baby was eventually to becomet he
greatest sailor of all times, Alfred Bulltop Stormalong."
It may be too recent, though. The Giant Alexander went to sea
once, but I believe that was just a single episode.
S84 ss midshipman: an earlier version is Mister
Stormalong, by Anne Malcolmson and Dell
McCormick, illustrated by Joshua Tolford, published
Houghton 1952, 136 pages. "Freshly humorous version of the
Stormalong legends, in which Alfred Bulltop enters as a boyish
giant of 13 years ... Here are his fabulous tussles with the
giant octopus and the great white whale, the advanced
discoveries and inventions engineered for his giant windjammer
the Tuscarora, and her record-breaking contests with the
Flying Cloud and the Liverpool Packet. Rich in salty language
and sea lore and with a generous provision of vigorous
pictures."(HB Apr/52 p.108) The Kraken is sometimes
represented as a giant squid or octopus.
Anne Malcolmson and Dell J.
McCormick (authors), Joshua Tolford
(illustrator), Mister Stormalong, 1952.
This is the one you're looking for! According to Anne
Malcomson's Acknowledgements in the first three pages of this
book, Dell McCormick was the first author to envision an entire
volume devoted to Alfred Bulltop Stormalong. (All
previously published Stormalong stories were in general
collections of tall tales.) He completed his research for
the book, but died before he finished his final draft. In
a letter to his publisher, McCormick wrote, "The story of...the
dreaded Giant Kraken [was] told to me by a Swedish habor
pilot." In other words, this was the first time that
particular tale was ever published. It's in the chapter called
"The White Cliffs of Dover" and the Giant Kraken is described as
"...related to the octopus...In shape he vaguely resembles a
crab, with...great tentacles, like giant lobster claws, [that]
extend from the sides of the shell." (Please note that
there is another chapter in the same book called "The Fight With
the Octopus" which has nothing to do with the Giant
Kraken.) The book True Tales of Stormalong: Sailor
of the Seven Seas (by Harold W. Felton,
illustrated by Joan Sandin) does not contain the story of the
Giant Kraken and was published too late to be the one sought.
Hilda Van Stockum, The Mitchells:
Five for Victory, Canadian Summer, Friendly Gables, 1945, copyright. My daughter has read
these over and over and she says she is almost positive you are
looking for the Mitchell family series. These were
republished by Bethleham Books in the 1990's and are still
available from them.
Hilda van Stockum, The
Mitchells: Five For Victory, Canadian Summer, Friendly
Gables. It's been
a while since I've read these, so I can't confirm all the
details in the stumper, but the Mitchells' father is reported
missing in World War II and the telegram does come on somebody's
birthday, and the family does go to Quebec and the mother does
have twins! Not all in the same book, but in the course of
the series. So I'm guessing this is the right set of
books.
Hilda van Stockum, Friendly Gables, and others. You are thinking of Hilda
van Stockum's books about the Mitchell family (The
Mitchells, Canadian Summer, Friendly Gables).
The one with the baby twins is Friendly Gables,
and you can see a sample here:
http://www.love2learn.net/literature/samples/friendly.htm
. The books have been reprinted by Bethlehem Books.
Hilda van Stockum's website is here:
http://www.hildavanstockum.com/ .
My stumper (B591) has been answered--and
solved! Is that some sort of record for speed? I
am positive that the answer provided, Hilda Van Stockum's "The
Mitchells" series, is correct. I am so grateful to
these internet angels! It's been rattling around in my
head for many years, so it is a relief to say the least.
I'd like to say "thanks"!
Gustaitis, Rasa, Mixed Up Max, 1968. I found this description in my
local library network: "Two dachshunds trade places
because one travels to exotic lands with his master while the
other is continually left behind." Don't confuse it with a
more recent book of same title by Dick King-Smith -- that Max is
a hedgehog.
I think this may be it! THANK YOU SO MUCH. It's been driving me
crazy for years and no one in my family remembers the book. I
think they all thought I was making it up.
Patricia Haglund Nielson, et al., Mockingbird
Flight: Songs for Kindergarten Keys, 1975, 1982. I don't know where you can
buy a copy, but according to WorldCat, about 24 libraries have
copies. A search on Google also lists it as being used by
at least 2 school districts. Published by the Economy Company in
1975, and again in 1982. This is almost certainly the book you
are looking for, you may just have to keep looking until a copy
turns up.
Maybe Virginia Burton's Katy
and the Big Snow?
This sounds like Number 9 - The
Little Fire Engine on the solved mysteries pages,
but I checked the book, and the only vehicle pictured in the
story is the fire engine. His eyes are indeed the headlights,
and he gets stuck under the ice formed by the fire hoses.
No luck. My older brother (b. 1947) remembers this book too.
Being mostly a picture book makes it hard to identify.
Many full colour illustrations. The characters were cars
& their faces were in the grilles, bumpers and headlights. I
thought it might be Fire Engine by Mistake by Leila Berg
but don't think so. I will have to work on my brother some more.
I got a tip this could be a story/book called gears and
gasolene about a car that gets in an accident and spends
time in a repair shop where it is talked to by other cars and
trucks. I'm not finding any trace of anything with this
title though. Will keep looking
Regarding Gears and Gasoline-
It is found in an old Ginn 3-2 reader called Friends Far
and Near. The author is Caroline D.
Emerson. Under acknowledgements the story is attributed to
Story Parade, Inc. (1940) This is a possible solution!
The closest thing I could find in the Library of Congress (which
won't have the magazines or primers) is Caroline Dwight
Emerson, The little green Car, Grosset & Dunlap,
1946. Illustrated by Paul Galdone.
Wallace Wadsworth, The Modern Story Book, 1950. I
am surprised at how long it took me to identify this book,
even though it is readily available. I think the generic
title causes it to be skipped over. Too bad, because the
illustrations are very good. You can put this under the
SOLVED category now. Thank you for providing this service.
Another Parents' Magazine Press book: Moe Q. McGlutch, He Smoked Too Much. Written and illustrated by Ellen Raskin, 1973.
Condition Grades |
Raskin, Ellen. A Moe Q. McGlutch, He Smoked Too Much. Illustrated by Ellen Raskin. Parents' Magazine Press, 1973. VG. <SOLD> |
Cindy Black & Rich Ward, "Mojo
Swoptops"series,
c.1979. Mojo Swoptops Cleans Up, Mojo Swoptops Gets
All Mixed Up, Mojo Swoptops Goes to School, Mojo
Swoptops Goes to the Races. These are the titles I
could track down -- I don't know if there are
others. These four seemed to have the same date.
Cindy Black, Rich Ward, mojo swoptop, 1979.
Molly, Pete, and Ginger Reading for Interest Series published by D. C. Heath and Co., copyright 1955. Early reader. Ginger is the dog.
Linell Nash Smith, Mollly's Miracle. It's years since I've read this, but it
sounds as though it *might* be the one.
Eohippus--The 1969 movie "The Valley of
Gwangi" featured an adorable eohippus. It was based on the
story "Valley of the Mist" by Willis H. O'Brien.
Academy Award-winning special effects artist Ray Harryhausen
created the creatures and coproduced the movie.
H54 I doubt very much if it cld be
this:Rhodes, Eugene Manlove (1869-1934) Bransford
of Rainbow Range. New York: Grosset & Dunlap,
[1914]. 30626; PQ4; GL; TDB. [Originally titled Bransford
in Arcadia; or, The Little Eohippus. New York: H.
Holt & Co., 1914.]
Smith, Linell Nash (Ogden Nash's
daughter), Molly's Miracle, illustrated by
author. Boston, Little, Brown 1959. More on this
suggestion - 98 pages, "Story of Molly, an old mare, who
finds a young horse which she names Dawn. A lost race novel of
sorts, as Dawn is from a forgotten valley with a group of
Eohippus, Dawn horses." Most copies online are exlib from
church or school libraries.
---
Juvenile chapter book, I think. People
discover baby horse, name it Dawn because they found it at
Dawn. It's small, and I believe the other farm animals make
fun of it. It runs away to a cave, where it goes back in the
cave and finds that once it travels through the cave it goes
back in time to the time of the "dawn horse" or eohippus. It
is rejected by its herd and has to try to survive on its own.
With a name like Eohippus, it's gotta be: Smith, Linell Nash
(Ogden Nash's daughter), Molly's Miracle,
illustrated by author. Boston, Little, Brown 1959. "Story of
Molly, an old mare, who finds a young horse which she names Dawn.
A lost race novel of sorts, as Dawn is from a forgotten valley
with a group of Eohippus, Dawn horses."
Marilyn Sadler, It's Not Easy Being
a Bunny, 1983.
Not sure if this is the book you want, but both my daughter and
I flashed on this book when we read your stumper: PJ Funnybunny
wants to get away from his too big, too busy family. So,
he tries being other animals, but finds that he doesn't quite
fit in. In the end he decides that his family is just
right for him.
Susan Pearson, Molly Moves Out, 1979. This was one of my favorite books.
Molly decides she can't cope with her whining, fighting,
disruptive and destructive younger siblings, so she gets a
little place of her own and is very excited. She has things that
are all hers, like a little plant in a pot. But then she misses
her family, and realizes she would like some company sometimes,
even from her sometimes-stinky diapered brother. Bunny, of
course! The illustrations are really darling also. You can find
it online (for too much money. They should reprint it!)
M357 She has the title right. Author is Susan
Pearson.
M357 Seems to fit MOLLY MOVES OUT
by Susan Pearson, illustrated by Steven Kellogg, 1979.
Molly is a rabbit who gets fed up with her family and moves
out~from a librarian
Pearson, Susan, Molly Moves Out, 1979. illus. by Steven Kellogg. "Molly is
so upset by the things her brothers and sisters do, she finally
moves into a house of her own."
Ende, Michael, Momo. I'm pretty sure this is Momo,
by Michael Ende. The men are in gray, and the
storyteller's name is Momo, but the rest of the details fit. The
men in gray keep the free time in a time bank, and smoke it to
keep themselves in existance. Lovely book.
Ende, Michael, Momo. Penguin / Doubleday 1986. Another
translation was published in 1974 with the title The Grey
Gentlemen, but this edition is probably easier to
find. The gentlemen in grey are the time-thieves, and the ragged
little girl Momo is the storyteller who recognises what they do.
Momo by Michael Ende
Michael Ende, Momo, c.1985 Just read it this
year. The time-stealing is also symbolic: Momo and
her friends enjoy life (taking their time, doing what pleases
them) until the men infect the adults with busy-ness, filling
their days with rushing through work-related activities,
draining their pleasure in life. In her quest against the time
stealers, Momo is aided by a turtle (more symbolism...)
Jean Slaughter Doty, The Monday Horses. Yes, this is it! As soon as I read the title and author it sounded familiar! I looked up the author and realized I read some of her other books as well (Summer Pony, Winter Pony). Thank you!
William H. Hallahan, The Monk. (1983) 'Brother Timothy and a hawk from
hell hasten to find Brendan Davitt, an otherwise ordinary man
with an extraordinary purple aura, who can forgive Timothy for
the greatest of all sins and bring ultimate destruction to the
Inferno—unless the hawk finds him first.
William Hallahan (author), The Monk,
(1983). Yes! This is the book. Thanks for clearing this
up for me.
Could this be the poem Way down south/
Where the bananas grow/ The monkey stepped/ On the elephant's
toe./ The elephant said/ With tears in his eyes/ "Pick on
someone/ Your own size." -Anonymous. Anthologized in lots
of poetry books, maybe A Rocket in Your Pocket.
Not 100% sure, but might be worth looking at
THE MONKEY'S WHISKERS: A BRAZILIAN FOLKTALE, 1971
by Anne Rockwell. Very cranky monkey. But I don't know
about the elephant and the monkey ending up in a cast. So it
might be a false lead.
I don't know the name of the book the person
is looking for, but I can tell you that it is not The
Monkey's
Whiskers: A Brazilian Folktale.
That books does not have an elephant in it.
This could be a false lead, but has the
poster of M8 checked out William Wondriska's All
the Animals Were Angry? In that book, one
animal is having a bad day and takes it out on the next one,
ruining their day, which
continues until, well, all the animals were
angry. The lines I recall from it are things like "I hate
you because you're so big", "I hate you because you're so
colorful", etc... There were probably a monkey and
elephant in there as well...
M-8 I remember this book!!! I have no
idea what the name was, but I can fill in a few more details in
case
somebody out there knows what it is. I don't
remember why the elephant stepped on the monkey's foot, but I
believe the monkey then pretended to be so
hurt that he had to stay in bed and made the elephant get him
everything he needed. every day while the elephant was out, he
would get up and run around and dance and
stuff. Eventually he gets found out, I
think. Is this any help? Maybe I got your old book as a
hand me down and it's the only copy in existence??? *grin*
M8 I think I've got the answer! I
think it's MONKEY TROUBLE by Lisl Weil,
1971 (be careful, there are other books with this title) The
cover has an orange background and the elephant is carrying the
monkey on his trunk, and the monkey is crying huge tears. ~from
a librarian
In the Watty Piper anthology Folk
Tales
Children Love, there's a story called 'The Elephant
and the Monkey' but no description of plot.
T243 Try the monster books by Ellen
Blance & Ann Cook, illustrated by Quentin Blake
(for example, MONSTER COMES TO THE CITY; MONSTER LOOKS
FOR A HOUSE; MONSTER MEETS LADY MONSTER). He is
purple. I don't know how many there were, but I found a listing
of about 21 different titles in the series. They are on an easy
reader level~from a librarian
Blance, Ellen and Cook, Ann
(illustrated by Quentin Blake), Monster's
adventure series, 1970s. London : Longman also
published by Bowmar/Noble A 24 volume series of readers. 21 cm
tall. Titles include: Monster on the bus,
Monster meets lady monster, Monster looks for a
house, Monster looks for a friend, Monster, Lady
Monster and the garden, Monster goes to the zoo,
Monster goes to the museum, Monster goes to
school, Monster gives a party, Monster comes to
the city, Monster cleans his house, Monster at
school, Monster and the magic umbrella, Monster
& the magi, Monster gets a job, Monster goes
to the hospital.
M213 Could it be the series by Ellen
Blance? Monster Goes to the Circus, Monster Goes to
the Hospital, Lady Monster Helps Out, Lady Monster Has a
Plan, Monster Goes Around the Town, Monster Comes to the
City, Monster Looks for a House, Monster Goes to the
Museum, Monster on the Bus, Monster Goes To The Zoo,
Monster and the Magic Umbrella
Hi - I'm the poster of this stumper & I can't believe that
it only took one day to solve - it's been driving me crazy for
the longest time. I could picture Monster in my head, I just
couldn't find him. Thanks to the people who helped solve this.
Sounds very like Dr Seuss ...?
Thanks for posting my stumper. Definitely not Dr. Seuss,though
- the illustrations were water colors, I think, and I don't
remember the whole book being rhymed.
S97 see duck think: there is a book
involving a duck and turtles - The Story of a Bragging
Duck, written and illustrated by Juliet Kepes,
published Houghton 1983. "A boastful duck gets her
comeuppance when she must rely on four little turtles to save
her life."
Stevenson James, Monty, c. 1979. Could this be Monty?
Monty the alligator taxis Doris duck, Arthur frog, and Tom
rabbit to school. They complain about the way Monty does
things and so Monty goes on vacation. They then have to
come up with an alternative way to get to school (which may be
where the stumper remmbers the "think Duck think" part from.
Alternative title seems to be No Need for Monty.
Original poster here! I've finally tracked down copies of both "No Need for Monty" and "Monty" (two different books, btw), and the book I was looking for was indeed Monty by James Stevenson. Thanks so much!
Joseph Payne Brennan, Slime, 1953. I'm sure it's been anthologized
elsewhere, but I know this story appeared in Alfred
Hitchcock's Monster Museum.
Brennan, Slime, March
1953 in WEIRD TALES. "Slime" has been
anthologized or collected a few times, but the easiest sources
in which to find it are probably either of two Hitchcock
anthologies: STORIES MY MOTHER NEVER TOLD ME (1963)
or MONSTER MUSEUM (1965).
Brennan, Joseph Payne, Slime, 1953. Yes, I think
this is it! The title rings a bell - I might have found it by
Googling if I'd thought to look for "Slime," instead of getting
stuck on "Blob". I also checked out the Hitchcock
anthologies mentioned, and I'm pretty sure I must have read it
in Monster Museum, because other titles in that
anthology sound familiar too. I won't know for sure until
I get a copy of Monster Museum, but I'm betting this is
a "solved". Thanks to those who wrote in!
I posted this Stumper - sad to see no one yet knows what it
is...here is some more info...there is another pic where the boy
is laying in bed and I think the sheet starts flashing all these
different colors (or he is imagining), the pic shows him
surrounded by floating quilt pieces...at the end of the book he
has "chased" the ghosts (which we never really see) out of the
house and falls alseep on the porch swing - wakes up and sees
the snowball bushes in front of his grandma's house, feels proud
he chased the ghosts away...the pics were also done on a
blue/black ink wash
Richard Peck, Monster Night at
Grandma's House,
1977. "The illustrations, which are ink sketches with blue
highlights, have a great ability to show the scary, dark house
at midnight without being too dark... The story describes Toby's
summer vacation visit to Grandma's, where he thinks he hears a
monster at nighttime. He sleeps out on the porch swing to guard
the house from the monster. The story's open-ended conclusion
doesn't spell out whether or not there is a monster, but kids
will be comforted."
It IS Monster Night at Grandma's House! You guys
were a few days late though - my brother remembered the name
right before you posted the answer. But many thanks anyway! You
make many nostalgiaphiles (like myself) very happy!! Loganberry
Books rules!!
Andrews, All About Strange Beasts of
the Past. This
book is non-fiction, but some parts are written almost like
fiction, with dialogue among characters. It's about
unusual mammals from prehistory. The cover features a
saber-tooth cat springing onto a giant sloth which is sinking in
the La Brea Tar Pits, while other animals sink. Vultures
are sitting around, too. This was one of my favorite books
as a child and I checked it out of the library incessantly.
Andrews, Roy Chapman. All about
strange beasts of the past. Random
Charles M Martin, MONSTERS OF OLD LOS
ANGELES: The
Prehistoric Animals of the La Brea Tar Pits, 1950s.
IMPORTANT! Your solution is INCORRECT! The solution
is NOT the non-fiction All About Strange Beasts of the
Past, but the fiction title Monsters of Old
Los Angeles, The Prehistoric Animals of the La Brea Tar Pits,
by Charles M Martin! It fits the requestor's
memories EXACTLY. It is the story of a prehistoric Racoon,
Racky, who lives in a tree above the La Brea Tar Pits. He
is lonely but eventually finds a mate, Ricky. The
book is about 100 pages long, packed with scientific
information, written in collaboration with scientists at the La
Brea site (though for purposes of dramatization the racoons are
somewhat anthropomorphized), and with highly detailed
illustrations. It came out around 1950, by
Viking. I searched for this book for years,
remembering it as "Monsters of Old La Brea," but finally found
it was "Monsters of Old Los Angeles." Thank you!
Massie, Diane Redfield, The
Monstrous Glisson Glop,
Parents Magazine Press, 1970. "The Glisson Glop's favorite
diet was lantern fish and electric eels, but after eating them
all he discovered he was afraid of the dark."
Tove Jansson, Moomin Midsummer
Madness, 1955.
This book, part of the Moomintroll series, features a character
called Little My who is always causing trouble, but she is the
only one who is unusually small. She lives with
Moomintroll and his family -- they resemble domesticated
hippos. In this book, Moominvalley has flooded, and the
family and Little My seek refuge on a theater which has come
unmoored from its foundation and floats like a giant raft.
They put on a play which the audience watches from dozens of
little boats. No traveling up and down a river, though.
Tove Jansson, Moominsummer Madness.Great book
Jansson, Tove, Moominsummer Madness. London, Benn 1965. I'd suggest this one,
though it isn't a complete match. Moominvalley floods, and the
Moomins and others take shelter in a theatre, which floats away.
It takes them a while to figure out what the theatre is - they
discover curtains and costumes and props. A Hemulen (I think)
explains it all to them, and Moominpapa writes a play (The
Lion's Brides), which they perform as they float down the
valley. Little My is one of the characters in the book.
tove jansson, moominsummer madness.try moominsummer madness, by tove jansson. two
of the characters are mumble and little my.
Tove Jansson, Moominsummer Madness, 1971. This sounds like Moominsummer
Madness by Tove Jansson. The Moomins were little
creatures, sort of trolls, who lived in a valley, and in this
book there was a flood in the valley (possible leading to them
living on a boat I admit I have have read most of the
series except this one!). There was a character in the
books called Little My, who was always
getting into mischief this is what makes me think this is
the book you'\''re looking for. There was a whole series
of these books, and they were absolutely great.
??Tove Jansson, ?? one of her
"Moomintroll" series?? 1946 and after. "Little My"
is a prominent character in Tove Jansson's MOOMINTROLL
series. I don't recall if any of the nine or so books
involves any sort of showboat plot, but the name "My" is so
unusual that I suspect it must be one of them
Oh good, I did think of Jansson's Moomin
series, but I didn't know which one. Some of these gems
were reprinted in nice hardcovers, and some, like this one, are
already out-of-print again. See the Back in Print page for a
list of others in the series (hopefully still available; I have
a half dozen on the shelf now).
Condition Grades |
Jansson, Tove. Moominsummer Madness. Translated by Thomas Warburton. Farrar Straus Giroux, 1954, 1955, 1961, 1991. Recent hardback reprint, now out of print. F/F- <SOLD> |
Jansson, Tove. Could this
person be thinking of the Moomintroll series? The length
of the stories would fit with the beginning chapter books that
they remember. I wouldn't say they are creepy but it does
seem a good fit with the timeframe. There are good
pictures of the various covers at this site.
Tove Jansson, Moomintroll series. I think this may be what you
want. There are a series of books about the Moomintrolls,
they are illustrated as you described, and they are unusual but
well-loved by many.
Jansson, Tove. Possibly the
Moomintroll series? They look kind of like hippos without noses
or mouths. They were originally published in the 1950's
but have been reissued through the years. Some titles
are: Finn Family Moomintroll, Moominpappa at Sea, &
Moominsummer Madness.
Moomintroll series, Tove
Jansson. Perhaps this series? Finn Family
Moomintroll, Moominsummer Madness, etc.
Perhaps the Moomintroll
series by Tove Jansson? Not sure the date fits,
but the description seems to.
tove jansson, moomintroll series.
the reader suggestions are all definitely correct. this is
exactly what i was looking for! i am so amazed at this
book-stumper site. thanks so much to everyone. and i am kind
of amazed that a faint memory from 2nd or 3rd grade could have
resulted in people figuring out this unusual book series.
Asch, Frank, Moon Cake. Little bear wants to taste the moon so he builds
a rocketship. He climbs in- winter comes -he falls
asleep. The wind blow the ship over and the bear wakes up
thinking that snow is on the moon. Tastes the moon, climbs
back into ship, falls asleep again and wakes in the spring.
Litle Bear. In one part
of the the book Little Bear, Little Bear wears a box on
his head for a space helmet and pretends to go to the moon.
Well, there's Mooncake, by Frank
Asch (1983, Bear builds a rocket to take him to the moon
so he can taste it.) Or, Bobby Bear's rocket ride,
by Marilyn Olear Helmrath (1964, Bobby Bear wants to fly
like a robin so he gets a ride on a rocket to the moon and other
planets in our solar system.) There's also Lorenzo
Bear & Company, by Jan Wahl (1971),
Lorenzo Bear launches a space program for animals by building a
moon rocket), and SuperTed and the stolen rocket ship,
by Mike Young (1982, SuperTed, the teddy bear with super
powers, thwarts an attempt to steal a rocket ship). Also,
Rocket bear, by Katherine Redfern (2000,
board book, no description available). There's also a
Berenstain Bears book called, The Berenstain bears on the
moon, but you would probably remember if it was that
series.
Frank Asch, Mooncake, 1983. Bear and his friend Little Bird
make a rocket ship to travel to the moon. By the time winter
comes, Little Bird migrates south, and Bear winds up falling
asleep in the rocket ship. He wakes up mid-winter, thinking he
is on the moon, since he has never seen snow before. My
copy is a reprint by Scholastic, 1987
L54 Not sure if either one is the right book
about a bear and a rocketship, but take a look at YOU'RE
A GENIUS, BLACKBOARD BEAR by Martha Alexander
and WHAT NEXT, BABY BEAR by Jill Murphy.
~from a librarian
William Dixon Bell, The Moon Colony, 1937. So far this is the best guess I can
come up with: Juvenile SciFi "The story of Julian and Joan and
Bob and their hazardous adventures on the Moon Colony is a
fascinating preview of the future and the dangers that await
intrepid explorers of the heavens." : "When Julian Epworth
started on a special mission for a big Airline Company to search
for a missing plane, he never dreamed that his quest would take
him on a rocket ship to the moon. could he have foreseen.his
adventures with the whistling Ramphs and the Cricket army, even
his stout courage might have failed him."
T135 Is prob right. Bell, William
Dixon. The moon colony. Goldsmith, 1937
I have to think that a paperback found in a
discount store would be much more recent than the one mentioned
above. There is one called Tomatoes from Mars
by Arthur Yorinks that was published in 1999. It
does look pretty lighthearted. A scientist named Dr.
Shtickle (who resembles Einstein) has to figure out how to keep
the tomatoes from turning Earth into the second red
planet. From descriptions I've seen it seems that the
tomatoes do hover, like spaceships, but I haven't found anything
about cows, cowboys, or aliens.
M72 - I'm sure this is by Tomi Ungerer
- is it called Moon Man ?
M72 Moon Man -- Yes, this looks like Tomi
Ungerer's Moon Man Info from the reprint
edition: Niwot, CO: Tomico/Roberts Rinehart, 1998 Trade
Paperback. About 9" Wide x 12" Tall. ISBN:1570982074.
Unpaginated, about 40 pp. "One night, while watching the
people on earth dancing happily, Moon Man decides to fly
downand join the fun. But instead of giving their
distinguished guest the welcome he deserves, the people send
the mysterious visitor off to jail! Alone in his cell, the
Moon Man very cleverly uses his special lunar powers to slip
through the hands of the law. His ensuing adventures create a
gently satiric fable that Children are sure to find
delightful."
Enid Blyton, Five on a Treasure
Island, 1960.
Could be one of several Famous Five books set on an
island. The Uncle's name was Uncle Quentin.
My brother was just visiting me and I
told him I was searching for the book. He thinks it was
part of a Weekly Reader order.
Clyde Robert Bulla, The Moon Singer.
(1969) I have some
experience searching for my own lost books so this is what I
came up with for yours. It's supposed to have been weekly reader
book about a boy who sings to the moon. Good luck
Clyde Robert Bulla, The Moon Singer,
1968. SOLVED! SOLVED! Thank you so much for this
wonderful service and thank you wonderful readers for finding
this wonderful book for me so quickly. As soon as I saw the
cover of the book, I recognized it, even though I was only 4
years old the last time I saw it. I am so excited to
give this book to my brother for his 45th birthday. I am
deeply grateful to the person who solved the mystery for me.
The Moonball (1958) by Ursula
Moray Williams? Illustrated by Jane Paton. On the back
cover of one edition, it says: "It's alive! cries William,
holding the moonball. How can it be? asks Gloria. It doesn't
have nay mouth, or eyes, or anything! It's just a furry ball.
But it is alive, William says. It's licking my hand! Ever since
the children first found the mysterious moonball, it has made
them happy. But now the Professor has taken the moonball away to
study it. He won't give it back! And that's how the trouble
starts." Not to be confused with Jane Yolen's much more
recent sci-fi baseball book. Williams also wrote Adventures
of the Little Wooden Horse, Gobbolino the Witch's Cat, and
quite a few others.
Another possible solution to #M371:
Moon ball, is The Magic Ball From Mars. Biemiller,
Carl L. New York: William Morrow And Company,
1953. At least six printings. What magic happens one
lazy summer night when a "stranger" visits earth and discovers a
small boy catching fireflies in the gathering dusk?
Perhaps this child reminds him of another, a child many light
years away.... And so a "gift" is bestowed, with the best
of intentions, and thus begins the adventure.
The Moonball. That's it! That's the book! Move
this one to the "Solved" page! Thank you SO much!
---------
Date, '60's. Genre, childrens. A group of children find a hedgehog like creature and make
a pet of it. it is some kind of
supernatural thing. i seem to
remember that the creature changes size and floats in the air.
It is quite affectionate with the children and they become very
fond of it, maybe protecting it from some danger.
I remember the book as somewhat surreal a
Could be The Moonball, 1958. See Solved Mysteries.
(I didn't actually read it.) http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved-m.html
I remember reading this
book! I think it was called Moonball, but I don't actually recall the
author. There is a 1965 book by Ursula Williams called that. I
think the scholastic paperback had a different title than the
hardcover though, and this looks like both are the same, so it
may not be the right one. But still, worth checking out...
SOLVED: Ursula Moray Williams, The Moonball. That is
it. Even the cover looks familiar. I cannot believe
how quickly this was solved. I was not even sure whether
this was a book I had read or a dream the whole story was
so surreal and improbable.
Leonard Wibberley, The Crime of
Martin Coverly,
1980. This might be the one.
J Meade Faulkner, Moonfleet, 1898. I'm sure this is it. It's a classic
English story with smugglers, a lost diamond, a shipwreck and a
pub called the 'Y not'. The Y is a family symbol and represents
choices, paths not taken etc. It's a masterpiece and should be
easy to find.
H159 Author is spelled Falkner.
The
book is published online.
M45: this sounds like Moose, the
thing, and me by W.E. Butterworth
freeman, donald, Mop Top, 1955. I am happy to help you out- you
helped me out a great deal and made me
very happy by helping me find the title of
"Secret of Stone House Farm" by Miriam Young , a childhood
favorite! thank again!
Don Freeman, Mop Top, 1955. Could this book be, Mop Top,
by Don Freeman,copyright 1955? I remember having this
read to our kindergarten class,about the boy with the long bushy
red hair called Moppy.Moppy resented getting a haircut,even if
it was on his birthday,and hid in a hardware stroe.Then a man
grabbed his hair,mistaking it for a mop.This caused him to get a
haircuit right away-and on the last page,when he returns for his
birthday party we learn his real name is Marty.
R55 could be MOP TOP by Don
Freeman, 1955. He needs to get his hair cut for a birthday
party (his perhaps, I can't recall) and is stalling. He goes
into a store, and ducks behind a barrelful of mops, and a lady
grabs his hair, thinking he is a mop! He finally gets his hair
cut in the manner described in the stumper.
Don Freeman, Mop Top. Mop Top doesn't match the description exactly.
Moppy, a.k.a. Marty, doesn't come from a large family that I
know of. The book is in black, white and (what else?)
ORANGE! Moppy goes to get his hair cut, and on the way
enounters a dog, a lawn, etc. getting a cut. He chickens
out when he gets to Mr. Barberoli's barber shop and hides in a
store next door behind a barrel of mops. A woman grabs his
head, trying to purchase it as a mop, and this convinces Marty
that he needs a cut. It is cut short and parted on the
side, and on the way home, the lawn, dog, etc. are all clipped
too. A GREAT, GREAT book....I loved it as a kid, and
now my kids do too!
Could this be Mop Top by Don
Freeman? "An almost-six-year-old with a mass of floppy red
hair tries to postpone the inevitable trip to Mr. Barberoli's
barber shop." I remember this book as being brown, black and
white -- don't remember any green, but definitely no bright
colors.
Yes!!!!! Thank you so much stumper magicians! MOP
TOP is the name of that book. It all came back to me
when someone wrote about the lady that tried to grab a mop and
it was his hair! Thanks, again!
Condition Grades |
Freeman, Don. Mop Top. Viking Press, 1970. Softcover with sticker to each cover (inside and out). Previous owner's stamp to title page. VG. $7 |
|
Hi. After I submitted this query, I discovered that Antonio
Colacino did a second book, More Adventures of Susan and
Spotty. Does anyone know whether the macaroni
incident is in this book? Thanks!
Could it be Take Me Home by Dare
Wright? This is not part of The Lonely Doll series.
It's
illustrated
with
photographs
of
a
doll
named
Susan
who
ends
up
living
in
the
woods.
She
leaves
a
note
for
the
little
girl
who
played
with
her.
The
book is yellow and illustrated with a photo of the doll in a
dress made out of leaves.
All of Dare Wright's books are
photographed in black and white, and I don't remember any dogs.
Antonio Colacino, More Adventures of
Susan & Spotty, 1969. I finally found a copy of More
Adventures of Susan & Spotty, and it is indeed the
book I've been looking for. Chalk one more up in the
solved column!
Bernice Frankel, Timothy and
Alexander the Great, 1962. A long shot, but might
be worth looking at. The cover is red, and the illustrations (by
Flo Jacks) are black-and-white line drawings with a color wash
applied to selected areas. Story about a boy named Timothy
and his friend, an ant he calls Alexander.
Angela Banner, More and More
Ant and Bee. I'm not sure this is the book you are
looking for, but it's worth a shot: it's an alphabet story book
for very early readers with very striking illustrations. By
alphabet story, I mean that Ant and Bee fly through the air on a
ARROW, then land in some BREAD AND BUTTER, etc. Unfortunately
this great series is out of print and now very expensive!
I wanted to thank the latest submitter of
this thread. I'm fairly sure this is the one!
Thanks so much for your help. Now the mad search for a
copy begins!!!
Polly Cameron, I Can't Said
the Ant,1966. Some of the details are familiar but
there is no butter in the book. There is a picture of this
book in the Solutions section. The book is about an ant
that helped a teapot after it fell off the stove. There
are rhymes, e.g., "Is she dead?" asked the bread. The cover is
yellow and the drawings inside are red.
Polly Cameron, I Can't Said
The Ant. This came to mind immediately, although
the description doesn't quite match.
Phyliss Reynolds Naylor. Any
chance this is one of the "Alice" books?
Alice has no mother, an older brother and an Aunt Sally who
stays with them for a while. It is written is first person
narrated by Alice.
C89 casey: not much to go on, but there's Concerning
Casey, by Eve Bennett, published Messner
1958, 190 pages. "a warm-hearted story of a teenage girl who
put loyalty to her family before her own ambitions" (HB
Feb/58 p.71 pub ad)
C89 casey: matching some of the criteria is
More Than a Summer Love, by Jeannette Eyerly,
published Lippincott 1962. Casey finds excitement - and an
enduring relationship with a boy - taking care of Gran in a
small Iowa town. Ages 12 up." (HB Oct/62 p.564 pub ad) The
family situation doesn't seem close enough, though.
Wright, Josephine L. (With Mae Knight Clark & Albert J.
Harris.) (Edited By: Grace S. Walby.) , More Than Words, 1970.
This is a reading textbook, containing a number of short
stories. The one I remembered as "The Wonders of Machines"
is actually "The Wonders of Robots". The excerpted "Danny
Dunn" story is called "Meet Minny", referring to MINIAC, the
computer Danny tries to use for homework.
William S. Gray, Marion Monroe, A. Sterl
Artley, May Hill Arbuthnot, More Times and Places,
1955. I read this book when I was a schoolgirl, and later
discovered that the story about "two boys bringing a basket of
crabs home from the shore on a train" was an excerpt from the
book Penny and Peter by Carolyn Haywood.
An internet search turned up the following information: More
Times and Places: The New Basic Readers
Curriculum Foundation Series, 4th Grade 1st
Semester, by William S. Gray,
Marion Monroe, A. Sterl Artley, May Hill Arbuthnot,
published by Scott Foresman and Company, 1955. Stories
include: Young Citizens Here and There: "Unwelcome
Passengers" by Carolyn Haywood, "A Christmas to Remember"
by Catherine Blanton, "Adventure in the Swamps" by Idella
Purnell, "Judy's Chickens" by Gladys Relyea Saxon,
"Maple-Sugar Time" by Gladys Relyea Saxon, "The Quiet Mountains"
by Clare Bice, "Alarm in the Night" by Fleur Conkling, "The
School Train" by Helen Acker, "A Camp in the Canyon" by Eleanor
Hammond. The Great Outdoors: "A Zoo Without Bars"
by Garald Lagard, "The Wild Colt's Lesson" by Paul
Brown, "A Falls and a Fawn" by Dorothy Dill Mason,
"Bushy Tail's escape" by Alice Gall and Fleming Crew,
"Billy and the Loons" by Laura E. Wiggins, "Wilderness Partners"
by Jim Kjelgaard, "The Magic Cot" by Allen Chaffeee,
"Willie the Moose" by Adolph Regli, "A Dangerous Surprsie"
by Harold McCracken, "Gray Wing and Nika" by William H.
Bunce. Famous Americans of Other Times:
"George Grows Up" by Clara Ingram Judson, "The Boy Hunter"
by Clarence M. Lindsay, "The Spelling Bee" by Carolyn
Sherwin Bailey, "Fulton's Folly" by Clara Ingram Judson,
"How a Song Named a Flag" by Fannie R. Buchanan, "A Boy
and His Book" by Alice E. Allen, "A Great Showman" by Harvey W.
Root, "Nothing for Herself" by Jeannette Covert Nolan,
"Night is Turned into Day" by Enid La Monte Meadowcroft. Old
Tales from Everywhere: "The Four Musicians" by Grimm, "A
Barber's Discovery" La Fontaine Fable, "Tyll's
Masterpeices" German Tale, "Chanticleer and the Fox"
Chaucer, "The Seven Dancing Stars" Indian Legend,
"Rumpelstiltskin" Grimm, "The Ugly Duckling" Hans Christian
Andersen, "The Golden Eggs" Aesop fable, "Cinder Lad" Norse
tale. I think this is the book you're looking for!
You are correct about the title!!! More
Times
and Places!! My 1955 copy has all your stories
but Snipp, Snapp, Snurr. The crab story is the first in
the book written by Carolyn Haywood it is
titled Unwelcome Passengers.This is a fourth
grade reader, second half (4-2)-part of the New Basic Reader
series by Scott Foresman.
Rosemary Wells, Morris's
Disappearning Bag, 1970's. Wells is better
known for Max stories, but this one is Morris and his brother
and sister. Still in print, usually in the stores starting
around October every year, as it is a Christmas story.
Rosemary Wells, Morris's Disappearing
Bag. This is a
Morris story but it's by the same person who does the Max
picture books.
Rosemary Wells, Morris's Disappearing
Bag. I think it was
Morris rather than Maurice! And he may be a mouse rather than a
bunny, but the story is right, and Rosemary Wells also has a
character called Max (who is, I think, a rabbit) in some of her
other titles.
B133 It's MORRIS' DISAPPEARING BAG
by Rosemary Wells, 1975 (The same author/illustrator who
did the Max [a bunny] picture books) ~from a librarian
Wells, Rosemary, Morris's
Disappearing Bag. She also writes several
books with the character Max.
---
Condition Grades |
Wells, Rosemary. Morris's Disappearing Bag. NY: The Dial Press, 1975. Children's Choice Book Club Edition. Worn at extremities. Hard to find! G. $12 |
|
D132 It could be THE MOST WONDERFUL
DOLL IN THE WORLD by Phyllis McGinley, ill.
by Helen Stone, 1950 (and republished by Scholastic, 1978).
Dulcy is the girl, the doll is Angela. ~from a librarian
Phyllis McGinley, The Most Wonderful
Doll in the World,
c.1950. I believe this is the book you are looking for
although I believe the loses the doll while helping out with
some sort of gardening chore and not in the park.
Condition Grades |
McGinley, Phyllis. Most Wonderful Doll in the
World. Illustrated by Helen Stone. NY: J.B.
Lippincott, 1950, 11th printing. Ex-library copy
with pictorial library binding and usual marks and front
pocket, otherwise Good. $12 |
|
Motel of the Mysteries by David
Macaulay (Houghton Mifflin, 1979). "Presupposing
that all knowledge of our present culture has been lost, an
amateur archeologist of the future discovers clues to the lost
civilization of "Usa" from a supposed tomb, Room #26 at the
Motel of the Mysteries, which is protected by a sacred seal ("Do
Not Disturb" sign)."
oops, I let an easy one by, didn't I? I can't believe it's
so old already....
David MacAulay, Motel of the
Mysteries,1979.
This was extremely popular when it first came out -- it's
sitting with the rest of my coffee table books. "The
findings from a motel of an amateur archaeologist in the year
4022. Funny book with nice drawings. His assumption of a toilet
seat is it must be The Sacred Collar worn by the ranking
celebrant at the final burial ceremony". The reader might
also enjoy the book "The Weans" by Robert Nathan, 1960, an
earlier book on the same theme.
David Macaulay, Motel of the
Mysteries,1979.
It is the year 4022 all of the ancient country of Usa has
been buried under many feet of detritus from a catastrophe that
occurred back in 1985. Imagine, then, the excitement that Howard
Carson, an amateur archeologist at best, experienced when in
crossing the perimeter of an abandoned excavation site he felt
the ground give way beneath him and found himself at the bottom
of a shaft, which, judging from the DO NOT DISTURB sign hanging
from an archaic doorknob, was clearly the entrance to a
still-sealed burial chamber. Carson's incredible discoveries,
including the remains of two bodies, one of then on a ceremonial
bed facing an altar that appeared to be a means of
communicating with the Gods and the other
lying in a porcelain sarcophagus in the Inner Chamber, permitted
him to piece together the whole fabric of that extraordinary
civilization.
David Macaulay, Motel of the
Mysteries.
I just bought a brand new copy of this book, so it's still in
print. (Or back in
print?)
Not a solution, but I recall reading an
excerpt of this in Reader's Digest Magazine.
David Macauley, Motel of the
Mysteries.
David Macaulay, Motel of the
Mysteries, 1979.
Macaulay, David, Motel of the
Mysteries. This
has to be the book you're looking for! Spoof of
archaeological digs, written as though the motel was an Egyptian
tomb. The "Toot 'n' Come On" Motel was the name of the
motel in the book, I think.
Condition Grades |
Macaulay, David. Motel of the Mysteries. Houghton Mifflin, 1979. Paperback edition. Corner clipped from front free endpaper, otherwise Fine. <SOLD> |
|
---
In the 6th grade (back in '94 or '95), we
read a book about a team of archaeologists going through the
remains of our current-day society, which had been wiped out
long ago by some sort of catastrophe. The archaeologists
would find artifacts from our time and puzzle over their
uses. I think one of these was a shower cap, which they
found on a skeleton in a bathtub buried in rubble. I
can't recall, actually, if these were archaeologists or if
they were aliens from another planet. If were
archaeologists, I'd wager a guess that they were descendants
of ours from the very distant future--this would explain the
confusion regarding the uses of common, every-day items.
The book had some creepy black and white illustrations.
I don't remember it being very long. Any ideas?
Macaulay, David, Motel of the
Mysteries, 1979.
This is the book you want. The USA gets completely buried under
junk mail (I think) and future archaeologists wind up digging up
a motel and mis-interpret everything they find inside. It's a
riot!
David Macaulay, Motel of the
Mysteries, 1979.
This is the book. Its a satire on archaeologists and their
methods, and is probably still in print.
Macaulay, David, Motel of Mysteries. This book cracked me up!
Macauley is, of course, famous for his Pyramid, Castle,
Underground, and other books explaining ancient buildings.
Here he does a parody on archeology by having future
archeologists uncover an "ancient" 20th century motel and
arbitrarily assigning deep lofty significance to the most
mundane discoveries. You'll love it!
David Macaulay, Motel of the
Mysteries, 1979.
This tongue-in-cheek book describes what happens when future
people (in the 4200's) uncover a long-buried motel, the
Toot'n'C'Mon Motel. Some worldwide disaster had occurred
in 1985 and buried much of the planet, I think. The author
was making fun of the discovery of the tomb of the pharaoh
Tutankhamen. The future people cannot understand what the
common objects might have been used for. One is lying in a
"porcelain sarcophagus" (the bathtub) and the other is lying on
a ceremonial platform (the bed) facing the altar where they
worshipped (the TV). The illustrations are a little
creepy.
David Macauley, Motel of the
Mysteries. Could
this be what you're looking for? I haven't actually read this
book, but I hope to do so soon. As I understand it, the
premise of the book is that archaeologists are excavating a
motel from the late 20th century and find all sorts of every day
objects that they attach great significance to. I know there's
one scene in which they decide that a television was the god of
our culture.
Good grief, that was fast. I'm a
little embarrassed that I had to post the stumper, since so
many people seem to know off the top of their heads, but this
is one of the few times that Google has failed me on something
like this. I spent a solid hour playing with keywords
and nothing turned up. Then I finally posted here.
Anyway, thanks very much. I'll probably pick up a new
copy at [evil corporte monolith].
Wallace Tripp, A Great Big Ugly Man
Came Up and Tied his Horse to Me. I haven't seen this book in twenty years, but
as I recall, the Dr. Snell poem is featured. I hope I'm
not misremembering. It does have illustrations, and also
features the poem "I eat my peas with honey / I've done it
all my life / It may taste kind of funny / But it keeps them
on the knife."
Dr. Fell. I can't even guess
about the collection of poetry, but the poem referred to is "I
do not love thee, Dr. Fell".
The Wallace Tripp compilation wasn't
published until 1973, so it probably isn't the one remembered...
but it *is* a great collection, and does include "Dr. Fell".
The Dr. Fell poem ("I do not like thee,
Dr. Fell / The reason why I cannot tell / But this I know, and
know full well / I do not like thee, Dr. Fell") is a
standard nursery rhyme and included in most of the larger Mother
Goose collections. I don't suppose the person who asked
about the book can remember any other information -- style
of illustrations? design?
Dr. Fell is found in The Real Mother
Goose (1916) Rand McNally and Co. The book seems to
be a ever popular as it has been reprinted almost annually since
it was first produced.
Thomas Brown, I do not Love thee, Dr.
Fell. Most of Mother
Goose rhymes were originally adult verse, frequently satiric. A
famous one, of course, is Ring-around-the Rosies having to do
with bubonic plague. The original Doctor Fell (1625-86) was an
English scholar and prelate. Thomas Brown was an English
satirist who attended Christ Church College at Oxford. "The
irregularity of his life" while there caused Dr. John Fell, the
dean, to almost expell him, but his extempore translation of a
Latin epigram by Martial (i.e., the Dr. Fell quatrain) is said
to have prevented this. In any case, he left Oxford without
taking his degree and moved to London where he earned his fame
as a satirist. The expression now is an eponymous
expression for a senior person one dislikes.
Mother Goose in Prose
My sister and I always talk about a book we had back in the
seventies. All we can remember is that it was a book containing
detailed stories based on nursery rhymes. Sort of like the
stories behind the stories. The book was hardcover and fairly
large; the stories were fairly long. I remember there was a
story about Mary, Mary Quite Contrary, among others. The stories
were wonderfully fun. We're the only ones I know of who ever had
such a book. Any ideas?
Must be The Annotated Mother Goose-
Nursery Rhymes Old and New Explained by William S.
Baring-Gould and Ceil Baring-Gould. Baring-Gould
has done several of these huge and comprehensive studies- one on
Sherlock Holmes.
William S. Baring-Gould, The
Annotated Mother Goose,
1962. By now there is more than one volume of annotations
of nursery rhymes, but this is THE one to check first.
Hi, my query regarding a "behind the nursery rhymes" stumper
isn't actually solved. I just checked the Annotated Mother
Goose that is supposedly my book, and it isn't it.
:-( To help further clarify what I'm looking for:
This book was not a literary dissection of Mother Goose rhymes.
It was a book of actual stories (sort of like fairytales) that
happened to have the characters of the rhymes. There wasn't any
sort of "This story actually came from an old Scandanavian folk
tale" kind of thing. They were just short stories, like any
children's stories--only with Mother Goose characters. So, for
instance, there was a story about a girl named Mary who
had a garden she liked to work in (filling in the story behind
"Mary . . . how does your garden grow") and a story about what
actually happened in Humpty Dumpty's life before he fell off the
wall--why he was there on the wall, so to speak. Stories for
kids. Hope that helps clarify. If it makes you feel better, the
other query I had just got solved and I'm very happy to report
it was correct and I've already found and read the book for the
first time since 1976. What fun! :-)
L. Frank Baum, Mother Goose in Prose, 1986. This is by the same author as "The
Wizard of Oz". The story about Mary Mary Quite Contrary
(called "Mistress Mary" in the book) has her plant her flowers
in rows and name them after her absent brothers. The wind
gets them and she thinks her brothers are going to die.
But the kindly squire shows her some wildflowers of the same
sorts and reassures her.
This is MOTHER RABBIT'S SON TOM by Dick
Gackenbach, 1977. This is an easy reader book with 2 short
stories. Tom loves hamburgers so much that his mother warns him
that he will turn into one. So he plays a trick on her, and
makes something that looks like a giant hamburger. And I
definitely remember the image of a giant balloon. Gackenbach had
more books about this rabbit family (including Tom's younger
sister Hattie).
The entry below was my stumper,
and....... Yes, that is the book!!!!!!
---
I remember a book I read as a
child in the late 70s about a rabbit who loved to eat
hamburgers. His mother told him that he would turn into a
hamburger one day if he continued to only eat hamburgers.
He decided to trick his mother by putting a large hamburger in
his bed. Thanks for your help!
Dick Gackenbach, Mother Rabbit's Son Tom, 1977, copyright. Includes
two stories. Hamburgers, Hamburgers: Young Tom does not eat
the tender spring dandelions or good white corn of fall. He only
eats hamburgers. When Mother Rabbit worries that he will someday
"turn into one great big hamburger," Tom decides to teach HER a
lesson. Tom's Pet: Tom
likes pets too. he wants a big dog, a cat, a frog, even a
chicken.... "No, no, no!" Mother Rabbit says each time. But Tom
does not give up, and one day he brings home a very special
"pet."
R210 This is MOTHER
RABBIT'S SON TOM by Dick
Gackenbach. There were some other easy readers
written about Tom and his sister Hattie~from a librarian
Dick Gackenbach, Mother
Rabbit's Son Tom: Hamburgers, Hamburgers,
1977. Thank you! This was indeed the book I
was looking for. Now I can share this wonderful book
with my children! Thank you again!
Nathaniel Hawthorne, Mother Rigby's pipe, 1872. Mother Rigby's Pipe was a story presented as being by Nathaniel Hawthorne in a book by H.A. Page [pseud.] entitled Memoir of Nathaniel Hawthorne with Stories Now First Published in This Country. The book was first published almost a decade after Hawthorne's death, and reprinted in the 1950s and 1970s. The story does not appear in editions of Hawthorne's complete works.
Blyton, Enid, The Mountain of
Adventure, Macmillan
Co., 1949.
Enid Blyton, The Mountain of
Adventure.
Helen Piers, The Mouse Book. (1966) Just a maybe -- "The mouse finds a
house, finds a friend, and they find food. Featuring pictures of
live mice during their adventures that are clever and will be
fun for children." "Photographs and large-type text follow
a mouse's fruitful search for a house, a friend, and
food." I found a picture here.
This is THE MOUSE BOOK
photographs and story by Helen Piers. The version I have
is a paperback from Scholastic Book Services, 1970, but it was
originally published as MOUSE LOOKS FOR A
HOUSE, MOUSE FINDS A FRIEND, and HOW DID IT HAPPEN?, 1966 by
Methuen & Co. Ltd. It's a really charming book, and when I
read it to kids they always say, "Again!". If it helps, part of
the text is: "Is this a good house? No, it's too small. Mouse is
looking for a house. He needs a house that is not too cold, not
too hot, not too big, not too small" And here's a picture of the
cover~from a
librarian.
The Mouse Book. I just
wanted to let you know how much I LOVE “Stump the Bookseller”.
What a wonderful website. I’m so thrilled that my book
has finally been found. I will be looking at your
website now on a regular basis. I can’t thank you enough
for all your help.
Hello, Harriet, I am absolutely
elated that "Stump the Bookseller" was able to find my book, "The
Mouse Book". I have looked continuously for the
past two years for this book and have bought 32 various books,
believing that each was the correct one, only to find out that
they were not. I put my note on “Stump the Bookseller”
(Code M380) and the answer was posted the following day.
I have bought two copies of the book to give to my
daughter. I can’t tell you how impressed I am with your
website. Thank you so much for all your help.
Well, there is a Mouse Cafe written by Patricia Coombs in 1972. Coombs is best known for her series on Dorrie the Witch (now in hot demand), but this looks like the one you seek: "Thrown out by her selfish family when she becomes exhausted from overwork, Lollimops' fortunes change when she gets a job at the Mouse Cafe." I couldn't find a copy for less than $100.
Edna Miller's Mousekin's Golden House. See Most Requested.
Kathryn Jackson/ Richard Scarry (illus),
Mouse's House, c.1949. This was my stumper - but my own
mother eventually solved it by finding the book, battered and
without a cover, on a bookshelf at her house. The picture I
remember turns out to be one of various adventures these two
mice have, trying to
find a house of their own. The pictures
are early Richard Scarry, no wonder I remember them vividly.
How's this match?
Schwalje, Marjory: Mr. Angelo.
Illustrated by Abner Graboff. London: Abelard Schuman, 1960
and New York: Scott Foresman, 1960. Reprinted by Scholastic,
1965. <SOLD>
thank you for remembering me!! i have since found a copy of mr.
angelo to read myself and love it as much as i did in childhood,
truly strikes me somehow :) please do put it on hold, i'd
love to have a copy, expecially if it's a really good copy.
---
I think it might be called Angelo's
Eatery. It was read to me in the early eighties but I am
not sure if it was published much before then. The
book was hard cover and red. It was about a man (maybe
named Angelo) who tries to open a restaurant but has many
difficulties. I remember that he tried to open a pancake
and spaghetti restaurant. That is all I remember. Again,
I am not sure if the title is correct or if the main
character's name is Angel. If you require anything
further please do not hesitate to write.
Schwalje, Marjorie, Mr. Angelo, illustrated by Abner Graboff. NY Abelard-Schumann 1960. This is on the solved list, and sounds like the right book.
I wouldn't have thought, when I started reading your Stump the Bookseller section, that I would be able to answer someone's question! It just "jumped" out at me, and I got a strange sort of "deja vu" feeling, because I read this story as a child too, it was in a book of collected stories, poems, etc. It is in regards to A9. The story is called Mr. Apple Names the Children and is written by Jean McDevitt. The book that I found it in is called The Story Hour and is one of a series called Child Horizons. The book was published by Standard Education Society in 1967. The really wierd thing is that I just bought this book yesterday at a used book store close to my house, where I had gone to look for another book from my childhood. I did not find that one, but this book also sorted of jumped out at me, and it was such a neat feeling to open it up and go back in time about 30 years! I hope this helps your reader in finding a copy of the story! I would also like to compliment you on your site, and your service! I wish I had been able to use it a couple of years ago when I started looking for a fondly remembered childhood book, of which I could not remember the title nor author! Keep up the good work!
This is in regards to stumper A9. It sounds like this
might be what I'm looking for! Please let me know if you
can get a copy of the book called The Story Hour.
Thanks!!
---
Looking for a series of books that I read in grade school
1967-72. They were about an Apple family. Every child was named
after a type of apple ie, Jonathan, MacIntosh, etc. Thanks
---
The book is about a family with the last name of Apple.
They have many children, each one named for an apple (MacIntosh,
Delicious etc.). The mother is upset because the children
have such odd names. The father loves it. The last
child is a girl named Snow and both father and mother are happy.
McDevitt, Jean. Mr. Apple's Family. Illustrated
by Ninon. Doubleday & Co., 1950. See more on
Solved Mysteries.
---
Who wrote this book and do you have a copy of it.Is it about a
family whose children were all named after a variety of apples?
Hello, here's the book you seek: McDevitt, Jean. Mr.
Apple's Family. Illustrated by Ninon.
Doubleday & Co., 1950. (The first chapter is "Mr.
Apple Names the Children").
Thanks for your reply. I actually found a copy from Doc’s Books
in Salt Lake City, Utah.Thanks for your wonderful service.I was
beginning to think I would never determine the name of the
book/story I loved as a child. With my limited memory and your
wonderful assistance – I can cross that mystery of my
list.Thanks.
Condition Grades |
McDevitt, Jean. Mr. Apple's Family.
Illustrated
by Ninon. Doubleday & Co., 1950. (The
first chapter is "Mr. Apple Names the Children").
Slightly acidic, but clean and tight. <SOLD>
also in: Best in Children's Books. Doubleday, 1957. (Contains "Mr. Apple Names the Children"). F/F. $10 |
|
Joan Aiken. I can't identify the actual story but this "feel's a lot like it might be one of Joan Aiken's short storys - maybe one of the Armitage family ones?
I checked into
the suggestion of Joan Aikins books but her works were written
later than the one I'm trying to find. The
book I remember was either published in 1963 at the latest or it
is entirely possible that it had been in print for years when I
bought it. However, I also wanted to
let you know that although Joan Aiken is not the author I'm
looking for in this request, her stories look intriguing and I'm
going to add them to my reading list.
Euphan-Todd, barbara, The shop on wheels, 1968, copyright. An elderly couple buy a horsebox and convert it into a travelling shop stocked with odds and ends that take on extraordinary magical qualities. Possibly this one? Euphan-Todd was the author of the worzel-gummage stories and the idea would fit with her kind of humour.
Mr. Blossom's Shop by Barbara Euphan Todd. This is the one! The suggestion of one of Todd's later books led me to check out her bibliography. It is her earlier work "Mr. Blossom's Shop" (first published in 1929) that is my missing treasure. Thank you so very much!
S392 This is MR. BLUE by Margaret
Embry. "Yin" means in, "Nan-yu" means thank you, etc.~from
a librarian
Embry, Margaret, Mr. Blue, 1963 Holiday House, 1968 Scholastic, 71
pgs. Just a guess, since you didn't say if this was a
picture book or a chapter book. Here's the
description: "Story of Mr. Blue, a cat, who wanders into
Miss Zorn's 3rd grade classroom on a rainy day."
Calhoun, Mary, Cross-Country Cat, 1980's. This is a guess since the cat is
named Henry, not Blue and it isn't from the 60s. However, the
illustrations are old fashioned and the siamese cat is
smart and has adventures and does talk like you mention. There
are 4-5 books about Henry by the same author, so take a look at
them too. They are usually easy to find at libraries as they are
still popular.
#M203--Mr Grabbit Rabbit actual title
golden book?: Mr. Grabbit, by Virginia Hoff,
Whitman Tell-a-Tale, 1952.
Virginia Hoff, Mr. Grabbit the Rabbit, 1952. Tell-A-Tale Book #2526.
Mr. McMilikin's Mountain
Plot: A farmer has a mountain in
his yard and has it moved only to realize the benefts of the
mountain after it was gone. So he has it brought back in.
Suspect title: Mr. McMilligans Mountain I'm 37-so at least 30
years ago. Author:???
Wilma Klimke, Mr McMilikin's
Mountain, 1969, approximate. I submitted a request a little bit ago. I
spoke with my mom and brother and we actually figured it out.
Now, to find a copy. I think most of the info is correct, but
you may want to check and add some detaails. Thanks....
Revena,illustr. by Si Frankel, Mr. Moggs' Dogs,1954.I
had no idea what the title of this book was. I stumbled across a
picture of the cover. Delighted to have a copy at last!
F62 Sounds like it could be MR.
MYSTERIOUS & COMPANY by Sid Fleischman,
1962 (also republished since). It is a family of magicains
traveling across the plains in the 1880s. Mr. Mysterious has a
top hat and a pointed beard. I haven't read the book, so I'm not
100% sure about this. ~from a librarian
Sid Fleischman, Mr. Mysterious
and Company. Definitely Mr. Mysterious and
Company. I loved that book! The part I remember best
is where his son was practicing untying knots with his toes- and
unties the cow from the back of the wagon. There is a delay
getting to the next town because of this. Luckily, once a year
each child in the family can do something wrong and get away
with it,and the son (Opie?) invokes this rule. Also, a bandit
steals Pa's gold watch, which has a distinctive chime. When the
son is performing the "ask the head in the box" act, a
townsperson asks where the notorious bandit is, drawing chuckles
from the crowd. The boy hears the watch chime, and whispers the
answer in the sheriff's ear. The sheriff then lassoes the
bandit.
sounds like Mr. Mysterious and
Company, by Sid Fleischman, illustrated by Erik
van Schmidt, published Little Brown 1962, 151 pages.
"Across badlands and prairies, through cactus, mesquite and
greasewood traveled the red covered wagon carrying Mr.
Mysterious and his 'company'. Whenever they came to a town the
company helped Mr. Mysterious put on his magic show: Jane as a
sleeping princess who floated in mid-air; Paul as the Sphinx
whose head only could be seen in a square box; Anne as a little
girl whom the audience saw transformed from a rag doll; and Mama
playing the background music on a tiny piano and keeping track
of properties and cues." (HB Jun/62 p.279) Illustration shows a
line drawing of a top-hatted man on a huge penny-farthing
bicycle with children running after.
--
Family traveling in wagon out west I think, may have been
gypsies. The children got to pick one day out of the year
to be bad. In one part of the book the children spent
their time counting the number of times that a handkerchief tied
to a spoke went around. The father calculated the distance
and determined that they would not reach their destination in
time.
Sid Fleischman, Mr. Mysterious and
Company. I
remember this story from "Wide Horizons." I distinctly
remember the part about the children calculating the distance
they're travelling by counting the number of times the wagon
wheels go around. The family is a traveling magic show.
Sid Fleischman, Mr. Mysterious and
Company. This has
to be Mr. Mysterious & Company. The family are
travelling west in a covered wagon, and earn their way as
a magic act. Each kid gets one "Abracadabra Day" a year, where
they can pull all the pranks they want without being punished
for it. The girl uses hers to put her hair up like a grown-up
before she comes on stage as her father's assistant.
Sid Fleischman, Mr. Mysterious &
Company. Not
gypsies- they're a traveling magic show. You might remember the
boy practicing untying knots with his toes in this way he lets
the family cow escape.
Fleischman, Sid, Mr. Mysterious &
Company. Definitely
this book!
Sid Fleischman, Mr. Mysterious &
Company. (1997,
reprint) Oh, this is one of my favorite books! It's about
a family, the father is a magician and they travel doing magic
shows. The day they get to be bad is Abracadabra Day. Jane uses
it to put her hair up, because she's too young to do it all the
time. I have at least 5 copies of this book and his other books,
I just can't walk away from them when I see them!
That is exactly the book I was thinking
of. I am so pleased to see that others remembered and
liked it too.
There is an old book called Nip and Tuck, but I don't
remember any sequels. I'll have to check...
There was a series of books by Caroline
Dwight Emerson. Mr. Nip and Mr. Tuck in the
Air was published by E.P. Dutton in 1946.
There was also a Mr. Nip and Mr. Tuck which was a
sequel to A Hat-Tub Tale with illustrations by Lois Lenski.
MR PUDGINS by Ruth
Christoffer Carlsen, 1951. It's not a picture book, it's
actually a chapter book, but the illustrations are definitely
memorable. And he does make different sodas/drinks come out of
the faucets.
---
This was a book from school, maybe 3rd or 4tth grade (late
1950s, early 60s), about a family that lived in a house that had
grape drink, juice, or purple liquid coming from all the faucets
of the house. I believe also the outdoor faucet, so that
the lawn turned purple when it was watered. The children also
turned purple when they took baths. The book had a lot of
pictures in it. I cannot recollect the title, or even come
close.
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr.
Pudgins. 1951,
Scholastic. This is a book about three children and their
magical babysitter. The chapter about the grape pop coming
out of the faucets is "Mr. Pudgins Turns Plumber". Other
chapters involve a flying bathtub, magic birds, a dodo, and a
black bear.
Gerald Weales, Miss Grimsbee is a
Witch. This book
was about 4th grade level, and contained an episode where water
from the faucets turned "Prussian blue".
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen (author),
Margaret Bradfield (illustrator), Mr. Pudgins.
This book is probably Mr. Pudgins, which is already on the
Solved Mysteries page. Three children are left in the care of a
middle-aged male babysitter and have surprising adventures
whenever he smokes his magical pipe. In one episode,
different flavors of soda pop flow from the taps in the
house. I'\''m sorry I cannot give my usual detailed
synopsis---I went to the public library yesterday, and was
heartbroken to find that they recently DISCARDED the last copy
of this book (a hardcover in good shape!)for thirty miles in any
direction. :-( Not hard to find in paperback (though clean
copies are expensive) impossible to find in hardcover.Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins, 1951.
---
I can't remember ANYTHING more about the book I am looking for
other than I read it around 1975- I know there was a
household full of children and they had a repairman come to do
some work at their house and one of the repairs he did made the
bathtub faucets produce soda pop? Am unsure of publishing
date... Characters names, author, etc. escapes me?!
Can you help? Thanks so much!
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr.
Pudgins. This one
is on the Solved Mysteries page.
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins, 1951, Scholastic Paperback 1964.
This is the book, already on the Solved Mysteries Pages. I
wonder why everyone always remembers the soda pop faucets in
this book? I always remember the dodo and the time the
kids hiccupped live birds in the house first when I think about
this book.
Sounds similar to a scene in Mr.
Pudgins by Ruth Cristoffer Carlsen.
S283 Sounds like Mr. Pudgins byRuth
Christoffer Carlsen, only he wasn't a repair man, he was a
baby sitter. He also made the bathtub fly and the children's
reflections come out of the mirror
Ruth Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins. This sounds like Mr. Pudgins, who baby sits for
three kids and does magical things like
making a bathtub fly and making soda pop
come out from the faucets.
S283 This is MR. PUDGINSby
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, 1951. Probably on your solved
stumper page. ~from a librarian
Carlsen, Ruth Christoffer, Mr.
Pudgins, 1964. On
the Solved Mysteries page already
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr.
Pudgins. Are you
sure it was a repairman? It could be Mr. Pudgins, that
amazing babysitter with the magic pipe. In one chapter,
orange, grape and root beer soda come out of the faucets.
As I recall, this makes dinner and bath time very interesting
for the children.
Carlsen, Ruth Christoffer, Mr.
Pudgins. Illustrated
by Margaret Bradfield, Boston, Houghton, 1951. Me and several
other people will suggest that this is Mr. Pudgins, (on the
Solved List) where a magical babysitter does such things as
cause the taps to run with soda pop.
To all who responded to my request for the book about "The
plumber who made the faucets produce soda pop" THANK YOU!
I started one day to actually just read through as MANY "Solved
Stumpers" as I could- But these ladies have done a WONDERFUL job
at solving the mysteries of curious readers and there were just
TOO MANY to go through! Had I made it to "M" however, I would
have found the book I have been searching for, for so many
years! Thanks to all of you who helped me find Mr. Pudgins!!!!!!
---
I'm looking for a book I read in elementary school back in the
late '70s. I can't remember the actual title but the phrase 'The
Wonderful Mr...' or 'The Amazing/Magical Mr....' comes to mind.
One day, three children get a new babysitter in the form of a
slightly rotund, older man. He has some magical powers. I
remember he made soda pop (orange squash?) come out of all the
faucets in the house (I remember thinking the kids should have
hunted around for empty bottles to fill up with the stuff while
they had it). And I think they flew on a magic carpet too? He
had to
leave at the end of the story, but he sent them a Christmas
bauble for the tree and if they looked carefully they could see
his smiling face reflected in it! I remember the names of most
of my favourite children's books but not this one. I've asked my
elementary school librarian but he couldn't remember it either.
Can anyone help?
Ruth Christoffer Carlson, Mr.
Pudgins, 1951. I
have never read this book myself, but it has appeared on this
page so many times by now that I know that description by
heart! It is Mr. Pudgins again. He is the babysitter
with a magical pipe who comes to look after three
children. He makes soda pop come out of the house's
faucets. Other adventures include a flying bathtub, a bear
and magical birds.
Ruth Cristoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins, 1951. Mr. Pudgins, again. He's on
the Solved Mysteries page, too.
If your babysitter could be female, it
sounds like The Peculiar Miss Pickett (on Solved
Mysteries Page).
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen (author), Margaret
Bradfield (illustrator), Mr. Pudgins,
1951. Please check the "Solved Mysteries" page under
"M". It's funny how everyone remembers the soda coming
from the faucets!
B334 It is NOT Hughes, Shirley. George
the babysitter. Prentice-Hall, 1975.
Christoffer, Mr. Pudgins.
Thank-you everyone! A 25 yr old mystery has been solved!
---
In this book a group of kids set up a
lemonade stand but find that they cannot get water from their
faucets, instead, the get root beer from the sink, lemonade
from the faucet, grape soda from the tub, ect. my sister read
it as a child and cannot give me any more info than that.
Sounds like Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins,
1951, Scholastic Paperback 1964. See more on Solved
Mysteries.
--
Somewhere from 1956 - 1962 our elementary
library teacher would read a story near the end of our library
time. The elementary school was in Detroit,MI. The story
was about an old man it could of been an old neighbor or
grandfather. I want to think there were three children 2 boys
and a girl. This old man smoked a pipe and rings would appear
from his pipe and then a different adventure would happen each
time he baby sat. One time the faucets were leaking so he went
to fix them maybe in the basement he was banging on the pipes.
When the children would turn on the faucets a different flavor
pop would come out. The youngest boy was taking a bath and
grape pop came out and his skin was purple. So he had each
child fill bottles of their favorite pop and he fixed the
pipes. Another time there was a DoDo bird that would
seem to cause trouble. Of course just before the parents came
home everything was back to normal. At one time I knew
the name of the book. Very little pictures in book
I already found it last night at 11:59pm it is Mr. Pudgins
do you know where I can get a copy of that book?
Ruth Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins. No doubt about it, this is the
one!
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen (author), Margaret
Bradfield (illustrator), Mr. Pudgins,
1951. This is absolutely the book! See Solved
Mysteries for more information!
Carlsen, Ruth Christoffer, Mr.
Pudgins. This is
definitely it.
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr.
Pudgins. see
solved stumpers
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins, ca 1952. Mr. Pudgins,
again. As well remembered and beloved as this book is,
some publisher ought to look into reprinting it.
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins, 1951. Again! See Solved Mysteries.
O81 Definitely MR. PUDGINS by
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen. Seems a lot of people remember
it fondly, and I'm sure there's more info and details on the
Solved pages~from a librarian
---
I love your site, and I did look
quite a bit for my book but couldn't find it. So here
goes. It's about a bunch of kids who time travel after
they pour this delicious tasting purple syrup on food and eat
it. I read this in the 50s, so it's pretty old.
It's a chapter book, I think, and was in hard cover.
That's it!
Possibly -- Mr. Pudgins by Ruth
Christoffer Carlsen. The 'purple' in the description
reminds me of the soda pop that comes out of the home's faucets.
Ruth Christoffer Carlsen, Mr. Pudgins.
(1951) Thanks! I do indeed think "my book" is Mr.
Pudgins. It's such a relief to figure this out. I
have obtained a copy from my library, and though I remembered
"purple syrup" it was "purple soda pop" coming out the
taps in the house...
#M84-- the book is Mr. Snitzel's
Cookies, by Jane Flory, Rand McNally, 1950,
Junior Elf-sized.
------------
About a baker who is sad he cannot open
his shop the next day because he is low on sugar and
cherries, but the next day, when he wakes up, his jars are
suddenly filled and he can bake again. The illustrations in
the book show a very cherubic-looking baker with very round
cheeks.
Jane Flory, Mr.
Snitzel's Cookies, 1950.
SOLVED: Jane
Flory, Mr. Snitzel's Cookies. I checked
my posting of #B823 today, and lo and behold, you had solved
it! Mr. Snitzel's Cookies is the book I have been
looking for! I was so excited that I nearly cried. My
grandmother used to read this story to me when I was
little. She has her 90th birthday next month, and I am
so excited to show her the book. She may not remember
it in her old age, but my siblings and I have fond memories
of her reading this book. I cannot thank you enough.
--------------
Your site and service is AWESOME. Looking for a little book,
probaby 4" x 5", from my early childhood, so 1960s. Was a
fable; jolly baker, disapproving grocer neighbors; he was
nice to a beggar and had enough flour to bake all day; they
tried,ended up sweeping all day. Round scalloped cookies.
Sounds like Mr. Snitzel's Cookies by Jane Flory.
Someone posted the title of the book I was trying to find! Mr.
Snitzel's Cookies! I've found a copy online and can't
wait to see if I remembered any of the story correctly--I mostly
remembered the pictures. It was a pre-literate memory for me.
Mr. Twigg's Mistake
Giant Mole and secret vitamin factory
I read this chapter
book in the early 80's. There is a
secret, underground factory that is making some amazing
cure-all, vitamin formula. A pet mole disappears at the
beginning of the book. Towards the end, the mole who has been
underground and tunneling throughout, has now grown huge (like
whale-sized), because somehow he ingested the stuff made at the
factory.
Robert
Lawson, Mr. Twigg's Mistake. The mole gets fed "Vitamin X?"
SOLVED: Robert Lawson, Mr. Twigg's Mistake. This is the book, thanks
so much!
M57 - Mr. Wicker's Window
was written by Carley Dawson. She wrote 3 or 4
other books as well
M57 is indeed Mr. Wicker's Windowby
Carley Dawson. The magic things in the shop window
include a rope and a carved figure of a Negro boy who comes to
life. Chris and the Negro boy go into the past of the town to
foil a magician pirate who uses a poisoned whip. There were two
sequels Sign of the Seven Seas(1954) and Dragon
Run(1955), all illustrated by Lynd Ward. They show
up now and then but prices tend to be high.
I also wanted to confirm that M57 is
definitely Mr. Wicker's Window by Carley
Dawson.
---
For a number of years I have been trying to locate a book(s)
that I read in the early 1960's. The books (there were
probably 2 or 3 in a series) featured a young boy who meets an
ancient storekeeper in a New England shop (perhaps Boston), who
as the story progresses turns out to be a magician. Somehow, and
I can't remember how, the boy and the magician end up in
Colonial America, and the story involves the boy changing into
various animals under the tutelage of the magician, who in
Colonial America is young and robust. There is one particular
incident where the boy turns into a bug, and tries to go under a
door, but can't because there is an air barrier.
Thanks for your reply. My guess is that it is Mr. Wicker's
Window by Carley Dawson. (thanks to your site)
---
I am looking for a book about an American
child who discovers a magical/ genie type person who claims he
comes from Ancient China, and together they travel back in
time to China.
Carley Dawson, Mr. Wicker's Window. In this book, Christopher Mason
replies to a "boy wanted" sign in the window of a strange
junk/antique shop and ends up getting involved in magical
adventures. A main part of the book has him travelling to
China.
---
Teenager goes into Boston curio shop
looking for a job and is asked to describe what he sees out
the window. He is surprised that Boston has returned to
revolutionary times. He becomes a spy and receives magic
powers including the ability to disguise himself as a tree
leaf. Once, he almost gets discovered when the leaf does not
match the tree. He manages to get back in time and asks what
the job is having just completed it! I read the book in the
late 50's and I think there was a sequel but not nearly as
good.
Dawson, Carley, Mr.
Wicker's Window,
Houghton Mifflin 1962. "When 12-year-old Chris entered Mr.
Wicker's shop to inquire about a job for his friend, something
about old Mr. Wicker forced him to take the job himself. Chris
found himself the pupil of Mr. Wicker, not the old man he first
saw, but a powerful man in his forties - a magician. Chris
learned how to turn himself into a fish, a bird, a flay, and
with a magic rope he learned to make a boat or even an elephant.
Chris had been chosen to sail to China on a mysterious mission.
Long before he sailed, Chris met the enemies who would try and
stop him - evil Claggett Chew, the dandy Osterbridge Hawsey, the
treacherous old beggar Simon Gosler. With a Nubian boy Chris
brought to life with magic, he set out on his hazardous
voyage..."
Carley Dawson, Mr Wicker's Window, 1952. Sounds like it may be Mr.
Wicker's Window. There were sequels, The
Sign of the Seven Seas and Dragon Run.
Hmm, Claggett Chew...
Dawson, Carley, Mr. Wicker's Window, 1952. This
is definitely the book I was looking for. It is enormously
expensive in the old book racket but I found it in a special
vault at the New York Public Library. I sat there in the
kiddie section among the tiny chairs and reread it
happily. Many thanks.
Your reader found the story but not the
collection. Might it have been The Little Bookroom
by Eleanor Farjeon? I think it had some black- and-white
illustrations. Another of the stories was called West-something,
about a prince who seeks his bride in lands named for the four
directions. The northerners were too cold, the southerners
too slothful, the easterns too brisk. He had been forbidden to
go into WestWOOD (aha!) but he did anyway, and there he found
his true love, who had been his maid all along. There might have
been another tale, too, about a princess who is bored with the
color of her room. She commands her fairy godmother to give her
a pink room and is instructed to lie on her bed and kick her
toes at the ceiling--voila! pink walls, pink bed, pink floor.
Soon she's bored again and commands another color change. This
happens several more times until finally, she wants a black
room. After lying on her bed and kicking her toes at the
ceiling, the walls fall away, the roof comes off, and she gets
her wish for a black room. I don't remember the dust jacket, but
the book was smallish and had a light russet woven cloth cover I
vaguely remember. I just discovered your site and am
enthralled. I found it by searching for Mr. Wicker's
Window, one of my favorite books as a child. My
neighbors and I are trying to get several houses on our block
landmarked as they were built between 1876 and 1889. Because of
the research we've done, I now walk around my neighborhood in
west Berkeley imagining the livery stables, forges, tanneries
and saloons that used to be here and the people who lived and
worked in them. The sense of superimposing our modern life over
the historical one reminded me of the Georgetown of my childhood
layered over the colonial one. (As I recall, when Christopher
turns the rope into an eagle, not quite escaping Clagett Chew's
metal-tipped whip and getting a lasting scar on his cheek for as
a lasting souvenir, and flies into the emperor's garden to steal
the jade tree, it's to provide means to Mr. Wicker to help fund
the Revolution.)
---
The book I need to identify is the story
of a modern-day boy who wandered into a quaint little
shop in an old New England town (as I recall). I think
I read this book in 1960 - so I think it was probably
published in the 10-15 years prior to that. It was a
"time travel" book - but I would not have understood that at
the time. I've loved time travel stories ever
since. Anyhow - the little shop was his portal to a
time long ago. When he stepped out of the shop, back
on the street, everything had changed. It was now
(probably) the mid-1700's. He had an adventure on a
ship (a pirate ship?). I was so scared for him that he
would not be able to find the right little shop again, and
that he might not return to present time. I was so
worried for his family and about him being stuck in this OLD
time.
Hilda Lewis, The ship that flew, 1939. I think this is it.
Location is England, not U.S.
Dawson,
Carley, Mr. Wicker's Window.
SOLVED: Dawson, Carley, Mr. Wicker's Window, 1952. I
submitted this stumper, and someone suggested this title. I
checked it out on line -- YEAH! This is it! I've been
trying to remember this story for a LONG time. Thanks so
much for the help! Can't wait to read it again.
A107 adventures of jumping man: my guess is
that this would be Mr. Widdle and the Sea Breeze,
written and illustrated by Jo Ann Stover, published Dell
Yearling 1962, 119 pages. "Mr. Widdle, in pursuit of perfect
happiness, builds himself a village on an island, plants in it
three unusual inhabitants and settles down to live strictly
according to schedule. When a particularly strong sea breeze
and a strange little man named Bump Jump visit the village,
Mr. Widdle's entire schedule goes awry and he is forced to
discover a surprising new life ..." Bump Jump is "a
strange little man. He wore a funny red, blue and green suit. On
each of his feet was a cowbell." He is called Bump Jump because
he jumps bumps. When he does, the bells go Plunkle.
I put my request in the Stump the
Bookseller just a few weeks ago and it's already been solved.
I'm so excited, I've been looking for that book literally for
years. Thank you for the service and thanks to Nan at
nannysweb.com for referring your site.
In going back to your website, C11 caught my eye. I think the person is mis-remembering the detail about Santa (unless there are two very similar books out there) The person should take a look at Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree by Robert E. Barry, 1963. It matches the description, right down to the final scene of the mouse family (sans Santa).
Thanks for your email! I am planning go to the library to see
if it is the same book and will let you know if I need you to
search for a copy. I think you have an amazing site
and an excellent service!!! I have been telling all my
book-loving friends about it. If I am ever in Cleveland, I will
definitely stop by. :-)
I love that you are such an expert about
childrens books. I am hoping to find 1 or more copies of Mr.
Willoghby's Christmas Tree or something like
this. It was read to me in the 1960s and its about the
Willoghby's who live in this mansion and they always get a
really big Xmas tree. They get a tree thats too big to fit
in the mansion and they cut off the top and throw it outside it
gets made into a tree for some rabbits or mice or something like
that, anyways could you do a search for this book? Thank
you.
Barry, Robert. Mr. Willowby's
Christmas Tree. McGraw-Hill,
1963. Cover and interior are a bit faded, and binding is
looser than it originally was, but copy is nice and clean.
VG. <SOLD>.
---
This book was read to me once in the mid 70s, and I never came
across it again. At the beginning a very large Christmas tree is
purchased for either a mansion or a large public building with a
high ceiling. The tree turns out to be just a little too tall,
so the top 5 or 6 feet are cut off, and since this height by
itself is still a decent tree, it is given to someone to take
home as a second smaller Christmas tree. But this tree is also a
bit too tall, so the top several inches are snipped off and
given to a woman (perhaps a secretary) who lives in an attic
apartment with a low ceiling and only has room for a tiny tree.
Even then, it is just a little too big, so she snips off the
end, which a mouse picks up and takes into its hole, so it can
have a tree too. I may be off on some of the finer points of the
storyline, since it was only read to me when I was 7 or 8, but
that's essentially it. Any ideas.
Barry, Robert. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree.
McGraw-Hill, 1963. Recently reprinted, new hardcover copy
available for $15.95
---
This was a book about a christmas tree. A family with a
really big house buys a tree that ends up being a bit too
tall. They cut the top off and put it out in the
trash. Someone comes buy and takes it thinking that it is
the perfect size for Their house. Turns out it's just a
bit too tall again and once again the top goes out in the
trash. This keeps happening until finally a mouse family
ends up with the the tippy top and it's a perfect tree for
them. So many families end up feeling that christmas tree
joy from the same tree.
Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. It's been reprinted with illustrations by Paul Galdone.
Condition Grades |
Barry, Robert E. Mr. Willowby's Christmas Tree. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. McGraw Hill, 1963, 2000. New hardcover, $12.95 |
|
Doctor Dolittle can talk to animals of course, but the birthday boy is Robert Lawson's Mr. Wilmer, 1945. Lawson's award-winning drawing talent turn boring Mr. Wilmer into a young James Stewart indeed, and his new-found language talent finds him new jobs, friends, and, of course, the girl.
Condition Grades |
Lawson, Robert. Mr. Wilmer. Little, Brown and Company, 1945. 5th printing, 1946. Tan cloth, corners and spine edges bumped. G. <SOLD> |
The book is Mrs. Coverlet's
Magicians by Mary Nash. It's one of three in
a series. The other two are Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives
and While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away.
---
Hi - I remember reading a great book in
elementary school (late '60's, early '70's) about a single
father with hardly any money raising a couple of kids in a
cabin in the middle of nowhere. His livelihood was
entering contests, and he made pancakes
for his kids all the time (that's mostly what they ate).
Any ideas? Thanks in advance.
This description rang a few bells and after
looking it up, I think I found it. It might be called While
Mrs. Coverlet was Away by Mary Nash.
There are several Mrs. Coverlet books as she is a "nanny"
housekeeper for a family of kids and their dad. In this
one, she is away and the kids are trying to earn money. They
know there dad has an award winning pancake recipe, but the dad
says it is his secret recipe and doesn't want to share.
The kids request pancakes and watch dad every time he
makes them. They sneak down the ingredients and the
measurements and mail the recipe. They win and the dad is
angry until he reads the recipe and discovers they forgot
something. I always thought the ending was so funny!
Thanks for your reply. The book you
mentioned just doesn't sound familiar, though -- my gut feeling
is that it's not the one. There was no nanny (even one who
was away) in the book I'm thinking of. I'm a librarian, so I'll
try to find a copy of Mrs. Coverlet to see for
sure. I'll let you know if it's the one!
---
There was a series of books about three children living with
their widowed father. The youngest was Theobold(?), but
was nicknamed "the Toad". These were my favorite growing
up, along with the Betsy books and "All-of-a-kind" Family.
I've been able to find these to share with my sons, but not "the
Toad"!
The answer to T-92 is the Mrs.
Coverlet series of books by Mary Nash.
I believe there are three total: Mrs. Coverlet's
Magicians, While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away, and
Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives. The three
children--Malcolm, Molly, and Toad
(Theobold) live with their housekeeper, Mrs. Coverlet, and their
father, a vitamin salesman who is frequently away. That's when
they get into their mischief. Great books!
T92 This person is thinking of the
Mrs. Coverlet books by Mary Nash. Mrs. Coverlet is the
housekeeper for Mr. Persever and his children, Malcolm, Molly
and Theobold "Toad" Persever. The book titles are MRS.
COVERLET'S MAGICIANS and MRS. COVERLET'S
DETECTIVES and WHILE MRS. COVERLET WAS AWAY.
~from a librarian
T92 toad: In the series of books about Mrs.
Coverlet, by Mary Nash, the three children
living with their widowed father are Malcolm, Molly, and
Theobald Persever. Titles are When Mrs. Coverlet Was Away
(1958) "The three Persever children try various money-making
schemes, but the cat Nervous is the one to save the day." Mrs.
Coverlet's Magicians (1962) "Malcolm and Molly make
their little brother, Toad, promise not to run away from home
again. So the terrible-tempered Toad is forced to take other
steps--magical and mysterious--to solve the latest crisis in the
Persever household." And Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives
(1965) "The Persever children travel to New York to find the
kidnapers of Nervous, the Toad's prize cat, and the Toad becomes
a hit on television."
Thank you, thank you, thank you for helping
me introduce the Toad to my sons!
---
From the 60s. A boy buys a magic or voodoo kit from back of
magazine. Little boy sings christmas carols with the words: Dig
the holes with trowels by golly and Old man wenches car back out
on a piece of stephen. Think the mom in family is dead?
Mary Nash, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, 1961. This is the second book in the
wonderful "Mrs. Coverlet" trilogy about 3 motherless children
(Malcolm, Molly and "the Toad") whose housekeeper, Mrs.
Coverlet, is occasionally called away, resulting in all sorts of
trouble. The first book is While Mrs. Coverlet was
Away (1958) and the third book is Mrs.
Coverlet's Detectives (1965). In the one the
writer is seeking, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, the
Toad sends away for a voodoo kit from the back of a comic book,
which he uses to put a "sleeping spell" on the children's fussy
babysitter Miss Penalty so that they can do as they like while
Mrs. Coverlet is away at a bake-off during the Holidays. Toad
does indeed sing Christmas carols with mangled lyrics. The
good news is that this book was just reprinted in 2001 by
Hyperion Paperbacks and so should not be too hard to find.
Mary Nash, While Mrs. Coverlet Was
Away, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, 1960s. Don't remember the voodoo part,
but the warped Christmas carols are definitely from the Mrs.
Coverlet books. They were Scholastic paperbacks.
Mary Nash, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians. Theodore "the Toad" Persever orders a
voodoo kit from the back of a magazine and uses it to keep their
annoying babysitter, Miss Penalty, bedridden while their regular
caretaker Mrs. Coverlet is away. The other book about the
Persever children is "While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away". Both of
these are terrific and back in print!
Mary Nash, Mrs Coverlet's Magicians. The children don't like the babysitter
who has taken over while their regular nanny
is away during Christmas, so they keep her
in bed with a voodoo kit that the youngest child, called Toad,
ordered out of a comic book. They have a cat that gets at the
turkey they try to cook for Christmas dinner. Hope that sounds
familiar!
I remember this one! There were three
kids--they tried to have a real Thanksgiving--the cat ate much
of the turkey and they had to wash the turkey off and eat it
anyway. I remember this book every Thanksgiving because of that
part! The cat later turns out to be a rare male
(female?--whichever doesn't usually happen) tortoiseshell.
Do the kids have a babysitter? Maybe
they try to use the voodoo kit to make the
babysitter nicer?
Mary Nash, While Mrs Coverlet was
Away. This is
very familiar. Bells are ringing in my head on this. I think it
may be one of the Mrs Coverlet books by Mary Nash, possibly While
Mrs. Coverlet was Away, or Mrs Coverlet's
Magicians. I haven't read these in many years -
great books!
Pretty sure this is MRS COVERLET'S
MAGICIANS by Mary Nash, 1961 (and
republished under Hyperion's Lost Treasures in 2001). They are
the Persever family, the mother is dead, the older brother and
sister are Macolm and Molly, the youngest is nicknamed Toad, and
their housekeeper is Mrs. Coverlet. Toad uses his magic kit
against the babysitter while the housekeeper is away.~from a
librarian
I think that is right. I knew the youngest had a nickname but
for the life of me I couldn't remember it. And I thought they
were scholastic books too. Thanks everybody.
Toad Persever's name is Theobold, not
Theodore.
---
A young boy goes home to find out that
his mom or nanny has won a bake-off for one of her cookie
recipes - he is a boy who mispronounces words in songs -
thinks Good King Wencelas says "Good King's Wencelas' car
backed up oer a piece of Stephen" The book is written in the
style of The Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E Frankweiler. I
think the boy goes following his mom (nanny?) to the Bake-Off.
Mary Nash, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, 1961. This is definitely
it. The three Persever children, Malcolm, Molly, and
six-year-old Toad (Theodore) are left home with a babysitter
(Miss Eva) after their housekeeper (Mrs. Coverlet) goes to New
York for the White Blizzard Flour Company Bake Off. (The recipe
is for Chocolate Chip Bread Pudding, not cookies. The recipe was
accidentally created when Toad knocked an open bag of chocolate
chips into a batch of bread pudding.) The children dislike Miss
Eva, so Toad uses a magic kit to create a wax voodoo doll of
her, with which he keeps her bedridden nearly the entire time
Mrs. Coverlet is away. The book takes place at Christmas time,
and Toad's favorite Christmas carols are "Dig the Holes with
Trowels, by Golly!" and "Good King Wences' Car Backed Out, on a
Piece of Stephen." The children do not follow Mrs.
Coverlet to New York in this book, but in another book in the
series,Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives, they do go to
New York to help recover a kidnapped cat named Nervous, a male
tortoise-shell who was a former pet of Toad's. A third book, While
Mrs. Coverlet Was Away, details the children's money
making schemes, while their beloved housekeeper is out of town
tending to a sick sister. In this book, Toad requests "The
Little Mashed Girl" (Match Girl) and "Snow White and Roast Beef"
(Rose Red) as bedtime stories.
Nash, Mary, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians. from Solved Mysteries: In the one the
writer is seeking, Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians, the
Toad sends away for a voodoo kit from the back of a comic book,
which he uses to put a "sleeping spell" on the children's fussy
babysitter Miss Penalty so that they can do as they like while
Mrs. Coverlet is away at a bake-off during the Holidays. Toad
does indeed sing Christmas carols with mangled lyrics. The
good news is that this book was just reprinted in 2001 by
Hyperion Paperbacks and so should not be too hard to find.
Thanks so much - all of my stumpers have been solved and books
purchased. I really appreciate you sharing all of your knowledge
and setting up such wonderful service!
---
Cat - Family (dad, brother, sister)own a
tortishell cat that they want to have kittens. The dad
is an out-of work vitamin salesman. The son makes a
concoction out of the vitamins to help the cat get pregnant,
but instead the townspeople somehow take the tonic and they
all get heathly and energetic. When the family
encourages the little boy to continue making the tonic for
money, he admits what he really made the tonic for, and the
vitamin supply has run out. It turns out the cat is a
MALE tortishell - very rare! and they sell him for big
dollars.
Mary Nash, While Mrs Coverlet Was
Away. This sounds like
one of the Mrs Coverlet books. I think it's While
Mrs Coverlet Was Away. I remember wondering if it
was really that hard to tell male cats from female cats when I
read it.
Mary Nash, While Mrs. Coverlet
Was Away. Three children (Molly, Malcolm, the Toad)
fend for themselves after their father and the housekeeper have
to leave for the summer. In order to get his kittens to
eat, the Toad brews up a potion made out of vitamin samples
the kids bottle & sell this potion
all over town. Very funny book.
Mary Nash, While Mrs. Coverlet
Was Away, 1958. I'm pretty sure the book you're
interested in is While Mrs. Coverlet Was Away (128
pages). It was illustrated by Garrett Price and published
by Scholastic Book Services. It has an original copyright
of 1958 with a second printing date of September 1970
(USA). It's about three children (Malcolm, Molly, and
Theobold aka Toad Persever) who secretly take care of themselves
(instead of going to the back-up caretakers' houses) while their
housekeeper, Mrs. Coverlet, has to go away unexpectedly to tend
to her injured daughter and while their father, a vitamin
salesman, is in New Zealand. Their cat, Nervous, turns out
to be an extremely rare male tortoise-shell, and that's why it
doesn't have the kittens that Toad has so anxiously hoped
for. To obtain much-needed money, the children sell the
cat and get a mother cat and kittens in exchange. Toad concocts
a special cat food recipe (for the mother cat and her babies)
using his fathers plentiful vitamin samples. Eventually,
the children sell the product to the community as it is highly
sought after for human consumption - until they run out of
vitamin samples. It's discovered that the children are
alone, and Toad goes to New York to visit Nervous before his
father returns home. I LOVE this book!!! It's first in a
series of three, I believe. I've read the second one but
don't own it. I've never even read the third one.
Someday, I hope to replace my torn up copy of #1 and purchase
the rest. Happy reading!
Mary Nash, While Mrs. Coverlet
Was Away, 1958. And there are a couple more Mrs.
Coverlet books: Mrs. Coverlet's Detectives and Mrs.
Coverlet's Magicians.
I cannot believe that my stumper was
SOLVED. I had been thinking for years, YEARS! that the
title was "mishmash" (named after the tortoishell cat) but I
was wrong. While Mrs Coverlet was Away...as soon
as I read the title the memories came flooding back. Thank you
so much!
Condition Grades |
Nash, Mary. Mrs. Coverlet's Magicians. Little, Brown, 1961. Weekly Reader Children's Book Club edition, 1962. DJ chipped at corners. VG/G. $15 |
|
Miriam Clark Potter's series: Hello Mrs. Goose (1947), Goofy Mrs. Goose (1963), Mrs. Goose and Her Funny Friends (1964), Mrs. Goose and Three-Ducks (1936), Here Comes Mrs. Goose (1953), Just Mrs. Goose (1957), Goodness, Mrs. Goose (1960), No, No, Mrs. Goose (1964), Our Friend Mrs. Goose (1956), Queer, Dear Mrs. Goose (1959)
Dorothy Richards , Mrs Mole's House Warming, 1947. Illustrated by Ernest A Aris
Is this possibly The Silver Chair
by C.S. Lewis?
Boy, I was shaking when I saw I had an
email about this book! Thank you very much for your
reply-but alas it is not The silver Chair. I
know a character named Glimfeather in Lewis' book makes a
similar quote. The book I'm looking for is quite a bit
older than the 50's Chronicles of Narnia. It's
definitely more of a Beatrix Potter type of story.
Thanks anyway-I'll be keeping track of any responses on your
stumper page
I'm pretty sure this is from a Thornton
Burgess book but I'm not sure which one. His books
feature Peter Rabbitwhich may be why the poster
is thinking of Brer Rabbit. You might try looking at Tommy
and the Wishing Stone.
If this is from a Thornton Burgess book-they don't seem to know
about it at the Burgess Museum in Sandwich, MA. The director
said this quote didn't sound like his phraseology. Also, I
don't think Harrison Cady illustrated the book I'm looking
for. I've not completely ruled Burgess out yet
though. Thank you for the replies.
Thornton Burgess, Mrs. Peter Rabbit.This is definitely Mrs. Peter Rabbit
by Burgess. My grandmother bought me this book when I was
very young. I remember the owl in the tree saying "Tu
whit tu whoo, will someone tell me what to do? My children
have an appetite that keeps me hunting day and night..."
Anyway, I'm 99.9% positive that this is the book you're looking
for.
I sent the original Burgess
suggestion in blue and have just checked my copy of Mrs.
Peter Rabbit after reading the 2nd poster's
suggestion and found the quote. "Towhit, towhoo!
Towhit, towhoo!/ Will some one tell me what to do?/ My
children have an appetite/ That keeps me hunting all the
night,/ And though their stomachs I may stuff/ They
never seem to have enough./ Towhit, towhoo!
Towhit, towhoo!/ Will some one tell me what to do?"
This is found in the third chapter.
Stumper "U2: Upside down house" is
definitely the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle series by Betty
MacDonald.
U2 is the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
series, illustrated by Hillary Knight, and I cannot remember the
author.
Just discovered your cite tonight and as a
great reader and librarian I am really enjoying all the book
descriptions. These books must be the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle
books by Betty MacDonald. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle had unusual
cures for every childhood failing, including being selfish and
being dirty. For a dirty little child, she invented the
"Strawberry Cure" where strawberry seeds were planted in all the
dirty little crevices, soon to grow into real plants. Needless
to say the cure worked! Thanks for the memories.
I LOVED this book as a child!!! The minute
you said "upside-down house" I KNEW it was Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald. I think
they still print this book in paperback. Enjoy! :-)
This sounds a lot like the Mrs.
Piggle Wiggle books written by Betty Macdonald.
The time period is right, as is the essential clue about the
ingenious ways she solved children's behavior problems. I loved
these as a kid! I think she wrote 6 or so in the series.
My daughter & her friend remember a
story about a girl who was so dirty that she planted radish
seeds on herself. When they grew, she pulled them off
& hurt her skin. I remember a similar Mrs. Piggle
Wiggle story about a dirty boy in whose hair Mrs. Piggle
Wiggle planted radish seeds. The boy was surprised when
they grew & was convinced that he needed to clean
up. Do you know these stories & where we can
find them today?
I believe it IS the Mrs Piggle Wiggle
books this person wants. The story "The Radish Cure" is from MRS
PIGGLE
WIGGLE, and it is a girl that won't take a bath.
There was a picture book version done much later of this story.
Yes, thank you. This is the answer I was seeking.
Now we can return to second grade & read Mrs. Piggle
Wiggle stories.
I distinctly remember a book as a child (I was born in 1960)
about a nasty little girl who hated to take baths.
Exasperated, her mother decided to teach her a lesson. She
announced to the girl that she no longer had to take a
bath. Months went by, and a layer of dirt accumulated all
over the girl. One night the mother sneaked in and planted
radish seeds in the dirt that was all over her. They
actually grew, and the radishes had to be pulled out,
unfortunately for the little girl. She always took a bath
after that. Am I imagining things??
Your mind is not playing tricks on you; this is Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald. I have
one sitting on the shelf, would you like it?
Yes, please!! I have a son who needs to read
this!!! Thank you so much...
---
I was born 3/5/56, Wichita, Kansas. I was at least age 5,
not over age 8, when my sister (8 years older) and my mother
took me to a branch location of The Wichita Public
Library. My sister picked out one of her favorite
children's books, which had some pictures in it with some
words. I don't remember who wrote it. It was about
6"x8"x1/4"--or less--very thin and not a thick cover--but was a
hardback. I believe the title was something like "Mrs.
Pickerel's Upside Down House." Or could be Miss instead of
Mrs. Could be Pickeral, or some other spelling
variation. I remember in the story, the children --at
least two --perhaps a boy and a girl --maybe brother and sister,
visit the strange lady at her unusual house. The
scene/picture I most clearly remember is of them using --what
would be a ceiling light if the house were rightside-up --a
light fixture as being like a campfire to roast hot dogs!
I just decided to see if I could locate a copy for sale, and
send it to my sister, who lives in England now. I've tried
all kinds of searches, which failed, and the library has not
been helpful. I'm beginning to wonder if it was a short
story in a thicker book with other short stories. [About that
same time, one day between 1961-1964, I also recall a character,
of likely a different story, about a boy who becomes a fish; his
name being James, so my sister bugged me about it.] Can you
help?
If you look under Ellen MacGregor at the library, you'll
find a series about Miss Pickerell, but I couldn't
find anything about an upside down house. Mary Nash wrote
a couple of books about Mrs. Coverlet, but no
upside down house there, either. I'll drop you a line when
new info comes in.
I forget the author just at the moment, but
I believe the story referred to is about Mrs. Piggle-wiggle who
lives in an upside down house. She has magical cures for
whatever ails children, like not picking up toys, tattling etc.
There are several Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books out,
each contains several short stories.
Could this be Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle?
She had an upside-down house and there is an illustration of two
children sitting by the upside-down chandelier--no hot dogs,
though.
I think the persn is looking for the MRS.
PIGGLE-WIGGLE (the very first book) by Betty
MacDonald, ill. by Hilary Knight, originally printed in
1947. The specific illustration this person is remembering
(children sitting around chandelier as if it is a campfire) is
opposite the title page. ~from a librarian
Definitely my favorite series of books, Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs.Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, Hello Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm.
The first three were illustrated by Hilary Knight and the last
by Maurice Sendak.Currently back in print!
---
Around 20 yrs. ago my
elementary library had a series that involved a nutty old lady
who lived in an upside-down house. All the neighborhood kids
came to her with their problems and she helped them find wacky
solutions. Sorry I don't remember more. Your website is
wonderful.
This has got to be Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle by Betty MacDonald. There
are several books in the series, including Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle's Magic, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm, and Hello Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle.
Betty MacDonald, Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle. This is it! This site is
awesome! I thought I would never know what this book was
called. Thank you, so much.
Condition Grades |
MacDonald, Betty. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Illustrated by Hilary Knight. J.B. Lippincott Company, 1957. 1st edition hardback with dust jacket protector. VG/VG. $25. |
|
Condition Grades |
MacDonald, Betty. Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Illustrated by Hilary Knight. Softcover. Scholastic, 1987. Worn but solid. G+. $6 |
|
there is a similar incident in one of the Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle books. When all the children have to stay
inside during a rainy day, she has them hunt for the treasure
her pirate husband hid somewhere in the house. One little girl
finds the secret hiding place when the handkerchief pinned to
her pocket snags the catch, up in the attic.
this does have some resemblance to the
chapter The Waddle-I-Doers, in Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic,
by Betty MacDonald, illustrated by Hilary Knight,
published Lippincott 1957. In that, all the children go to Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle's on a rainy day. On the way, Mimi and Lee find a
black silk scarf stuck in a drain, which turns out to have a
pirate's gold coin tied into one corner. The children are asked
to search the house for pirate treasure that the late Mr.
Piggle-Wiggle hid in secret drawers. Mimi is up in the attic
when the lights go out, her hanky catches on a board behind the
chimney and she loses the gold coin (tied in her hanky). When
she goes back with a candle to find it, she pulls open the
secret door and finds all the treasure. There are enough
resemblances - old woman, attic exploration, gold coins, rain
(umbrella) that it's worth checking out, but enough differences
that I wouldn't want to say this is it for sure.
---
Don't have much info, looking for a
friend who would love this book. She is 48 but read it
in elementary school, the book is about a teacher who is
actually a witch and casts spells on the students to get them
to do their work. She remembers the witch as being a good kind
of witch. She thinks the teacher/witch's name was
something like Mrs. Tinkle, Tickeral, Tig. . . or
similar. Please go ahead and make up a keyword code for
me, you may be able to do it best as this is all the
information I have about this book.
M251 The only ones that I found about
"witch teacher" are: Dadey, Debbie; Jones, Marcia
Thornton. Witches donąt do backflips.
Scholastic, 1994. Is the gym teacher really a witch? The Bailey
School kids series. Barbara Brooks Wallace. The
trouble with Miss Switch. illus by Hal Frenck.
Pocket Books, 1971 Is their teacher, Miss Switch, really a
witch?
I read this query with interest since I'm
the same age as the poster and loved books about witches and
magic. I just wondered if this isn't a really blurry memory of
the Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books. The name he/she
remembers sounds similar and while Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle was never
"officially" a witch you could say she "cast spells"!!
Betty MacDonald, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's
Magic,
1949. Could the poster be referring to the Mrs.
Piggle-Wiggle series? I don't believe she's a teacher, but the
name kind of fits. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle loves everyone, and
everyone loves her right back. The children love her because she
is lots of fun. Their parents love her because she can cure
children of absolutely any bad habit. The treatment are unusual,
but they work! Who better than a pig, for instance, to teach a
piggy little boy table manners? And what better way to cure the
rainy-day "waddle-I-do's" than hunt for a pirate treasure in
Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's upside-down house?
Condition Grades |
MacDonald, Betty. Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic. Illustrated by Kurt Wiese. J.B. Lippincott, 1949. 4th printing. DJ worn, esp. at corners. VG/G. $20 |
|
#G19--Girl thinks she has other life:
Don't know what version you had of this or whether it's even the
same story, but it's very similar to the purportedly true case
of Shanti Devi. One version entitled Shanti Devi--A
Living Riddle appeared in the book Strange
People, by Frank Edwards. Our copy was
a paperback, published by Popular Library in 1963, and is
literally in flinders (each page separated) from my constantly
scaring the piss out of myself with it as a kid. I
understand the hardcover, published by Lyle Stuart, appeared in
1961, and I'd love to get it--our paperback is pretty sad!
Shanti Devi's attempts to contact with her "past family" were
rebuffed, which my mother always found strange, as the girl was
born in Delhi, India. Mom would ask, "If those people
REALLY believe in reincarnation, why didn't they just take her
at her word and run up to her crying, 'Mom!'?"
I read Frank Edwards' version and
while it's fascinating (there's more about Shanti Devi on the
Web, too) I don't remember the story I knew being in India. It
was written in storybook style with dialogue and I'm almost
certain the teacher didn't say it had anything to do with
reincarnation or real life (we heard it in the late 1970s).
Also, Shanti Devi's real-life story included finally meeting the
family whose dead wife she claimed to be and she passed all
"tests" done to make sure this wasn't a hoax, which doesn't
happen in the story.
This sounds as though it may be based on the
famous story of Shanti Devi, an Indian girl born in the 1920s
who supposedly claimed (as a child) that she had a husband and
children. It's often cited by believers as proof of
reincarnation.
James Still, Mrs. Razor
collected in PATTERN OF A MAN. This is not a
story of the supernatural, but it fits the description here.
G19: Yes, Mrs. Razor sounds right! I don't have it yet-
I ordered it through my library, but I'm pretty sure. Thanks so
much. Amazingly, the collection it comes from was published in
1976!
#M60--I got a copy of this, and I was very close as to the details! The title is Mrs. Santa's Adventure in the Sugar Plum Sleigh, and I was right about its not being a "real" book. It's copyrighted 1962 by Phillips and Van Orden Co. and was a Christmas handout from Montgomery Ward's. I was right about the type of paper stock, though it was smaller and more colorful than I remembered. I was even right about the boy's name being Tommy!
D. E. Stevenson, Mrs. Tim. Could this be the Mrs. Tim
series (3 or 4 titles, I think) by D E Stevenson??? published in
the 1950s/60s or so.
D.E.Stevenson, Mrs Tim, Mrs Tim
carries on, Mrs Tim gets a job, Mrs Tim flies home. Almost certainly these books as already
suggested. They are written in diary form, Mrs Tim is mostly in
her own looking after her 2 children while her husband is away,
in the army. Mrs Tim gets a job is set in Scotland, she is
acting as housekeeper to elderly lady. Daughter is called Betty,
forgotten son's name, he's at boarding school. The first book
was originally called Mrs Tim of the Regiment,
but later just Mrs Tim
Virginia Lee Burton, The Little
House, 1978. This
is something of a longshot, since it ends with house being moved
into the country, not to the top of a skyscraper. But it does
have the theme of all the skyscrapers towering over a cute
little house.
Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House, 1942. I saw a reference to a story like
this in the Book "New York's Architectural Holdouts" by Andrew
Alpern & Seymour Durst. In the introduction they talk
about a book called "The Little House" about a pretty little
house in the country who, over the years becomes surrounded by
the ugly city. The great-great-grandaughter puts the house on a
flatbed and trucks it back into the country.
The little house is not it. Any other suggestions....?
my brother thinks he remembers the house being lifted by a
crane, and the house hanging in air, watching as the levels of
the skyscraper are constructed. I hope this detail triggers
anothe suggeston.
Shirley Rousseau Murphy, Mrs
Tortino's Return to the Sun, 1980. I am sure this is the book. I
did a similar search, and was only able to find the book again
because one of the librarians here knew the book I was asking
about.
Mrs Tortino's Return to the Sun,
is the correct book. Thank you once again to everyone who
makes finding these "lost" books possible.
Kellog, Stephen, Much Bigger Than
Martin. A little
boy thinks about what he can do to grow bigger than his bossy
older brother Martin.
Steven Kellogg, Much Bigger Than
Martin, 1976,
approximately. I believe this is the book you are looking
for. "A little boy tries to think of all sorts of methods that
would help him grow bigger than his bossy older brother."
Steven Kellogg, Much Bigger than Martin, 1976.
Finally! Thank you!!
Can't help with the anthology so far, but the
part about the girl with crutches (Sal who has cerebral palsy)
would be an excerpt from Jean
Little's Mine for Keeps.
Hidalgo and
the Gringo 3-5 Train illus.
by Kelly Oechsli. Dutton,
1958. 89p. Nine-year-old Hidalgo Andres loves to leave the farm
chores to watch the Southern Pacific train go by. One day the boy
finds a rock pile in the tunnel he
flags the train and prevents an accident. The passengers give him
money and the friar who has been teaching him to read surprises
Hidalgo by taking him to a celebration where the governor praises
him. The theme of the book is Hidalgo's desire to read spurred by a book that has been thrown
from the Gringo Train, he starts in January and by August has
learned to read in Spanish (chiefly by his own efforts) and is
starting English. The story about Oliver going to the circus is
from Elizabeth Enright's
first Melendy book The Saturdays. The
girl named Randy who had a bicycle accident is also from Elizabeth
Enright, this time her second Melendy book The Four Story
Mistake.
Srygley
and Wenzel, eds., Much
Majesty.
Anthology for school use.
Book Stumper H267 has been solved! Much Majesty is the main
book I was looking for, which led me to the other one, First
Splendor. Thanks!!
Denys Cazet, Mud Baths for Everyone, 1981. "When three little pigs are
frightened by Booble Bigpig, they seek revenge disguised as a
butcher."
Denys Cazet, Mud Baths for Everyone, 1981. Wow, I
think you did it! Hooray!
Answer to D45 Dolls Eat Soap: The
person is thinking of the Muffletumps. I'm not sure which one
because
they had a couple, but maybe it's THE
MUFFLETUMPS: THE STORY OF FOUR DOLLS by Jan Wahl,
illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, 1966. The dolls' names are
indeed Elsie, Edward, Henrietta and Maud.
Thank you for forwarding the information. I had seen it a few
weeks ago and hadn't yet done anything about it----I am
extremely grateful to the person who answered the question and
to you folks for having a site where I could find this out. Can
you tell me the availability of this book, and-or other
Muffletumps books by the author? I understand there may be three
or four altogether.
--
Back in April I purchased a book through you folks (I believe I
was helped by Audrey) called The Muffletump Storybook by Jan
Wahl and illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres. The book itself had no
flaws and the service was prompt. Once I received it, however, I
realized the illustrator was not the same as the Muffletump book
of another title I had enjoyed in childhood. (My mistake.) I'm
still interested in finding the story and illustrations I'm
familiar with and I think probably that would be THE
MUFFLETUMPS: THE STORY OF FOUR DOLLS by Jan Wahl,
illustrated by Edward Ardizzone, 1966. I don't think you have
that in stock, but if so, could you give me a price? If a search
is necessary, I'd probably be willing to pay up to $20 or so to
get it. I haven't rushed to inquire about this, so you needn't
rush to reply. But I appreciate any help you could give me.
We don't have the Ardizzone in stock, you're right. For $20,
I can get you either a very nice pb or a solid reading copy hb
(ex-lib, used, good for years). I'm sorry the first wasn't
the one you remembered; glad you know which
one you need! I'll be happy to get it for you as soon as you
let me know whichone you'd like. Thanks for your message.
Actually, I prefer the older books, especially former library
books. They have more history than newer paperbacks. As long as
it has no torn or missing pages and minimal to average wear,
that's what I'd like.
Thank you for finding and sending The Muffletumps. It's
a gem --both for the content and the evidence of use by other
baby boomers of days gone by. It brings me great pleasure,
and thank you again for your part in that.
Marguerite Henry, Muley-Ears, Nobody's Dog, 1959. The story is set in Jamaica. The house is a vacation rental house that is leased for a month at a time. A great book!
I think I may have an answer for L9, as
well. Or at least a suggestion. Could this person be
thinking of the scene in one of Jane Langton's books
where the children find a maze of mirrors...they can walk
through them, chosing the reflection they prefer.
Unfortunately, I can't remember which book...Swing in the
Summerhouse, Amazing Stereoscope, or Diamond in the Window.
I think it may be the latter. Love your website...
especially those adorable pictures of Suzy!
Really, I am obliged to you. I will look at the Langton books ,
and see if it works. If it does, I will let you know.
This book could very possibly be The
Multiplying Glass by Ann Phillips which was
published in 1981. A girl called Elizabeth finds the 3
part mirror in an antique shop and it shows three 'selves'
all slightly different.
Thank you very much for this tidbit. I
will check this book out and see if it is the one. Will let
you know what gives.
I was looking for the titles and authors
of L9 and R16. The Multiplying Glass and The
Bewithching of Alison Albright both sound like the right
books. Many Thanks!
Nancy Brelis, The Mummy Market (akaThe Mother Market),
1966. This has to be The Mummy Market,
about 3 children (a girl and 2 younger brothers) who, with some
magical assistance ("flower magic") from a neighbor, are able to
trade in their own mother. They then head to the local
"Mommy Market" to pick out a new mom. However, after
trying out several new moms, they, of course, realize that their
original mother was the best one for them. This book was
made into a movie, "The Mommy Market" in 1992, then re-released
under the title "Trading Mom" in 1994. Unfortunately, this book
is out of print, and copies appear to be both scarce and
expensive. Good luck!
That's definitely it! Now I know
what I'm getting myself for Christmas this year. Too bad
it was already made into what looks like a poorly-received
movie - I always thought it would make a great film.
Thanks so much for solving my stumper!!
The Mummy, the Will and the Crypt
This is a children's mystery that
I read it in the early 80's as a child, so it was probably
written in the 70's, maybe even 60's. A boy explores an
old empty mansion looking for the fortune that the owner (who
made his fortune making health drinks, then health cereal) hid
there after his death.
John Bellairs, The Mummy,
the Will and the Crypt, 1983.This is a wonderful mystery/adventure by
one of my favorite authors! The eccentric cereal millionaire H
Bagwell Glomus left strange clues in his will to a supposed
hidden treasure. Johnny Dixon and his friend Fergie manage to
break into his deserted mansion while on a scout trip, and
search for the treasure during a storm. But it seems that
something evil is stalking them...
John
Bellairs, The Mummy, the
Will, and the Crypt, 1983. A Johnny Dixon mystery. "Johnny
is fascinated when he learns about the death of H. Bagwell
Glomus. There are rumors that Glomus has left a will, but the
location and contents of the will are a mystery, and there are
only a few clues. Johnny's grandmother falls ill, but cannot
afford the costly operation that she needs. Johnny decides he
will solve the mystery of Glomus' will in order to earn a
$10,000 reward to help pay for his grandmother's operation."
SOLVED: John Bellairs, The mummy, the
Will, and the Crypt,
1983. You're right, that's it! Thanks a lot, you guys are
awesome!
#K15--Kitten and paper chain: This
may be Mumpsy Goes to Kindergarten, by Louise
Lawrence Devine. As I remember, after Mumpsy plays
with the paper chain her owner lengthens it and uses it to
decorate the cage they take her to school in. It's just
possible, however, that I am confusing two books. If
someone who has "Mumpsy" would be so good as to look and the
paper chain is NOT in it, that means there is yet another Rand
McNally Junior Elf-type kitten book I'm looking for!
On the "kitten and paper chain" query, I
finally got a copy of Mumpsy Goes to Kindergarten
and it's definitely the same book.
AHHH that's it~ That's it!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you so much!
Are you sure this isn't one of the
"Frances" books, as in Bedtime for Frances,
or A Baby Sister for Frances?
It's awfully tempting to call this a Frances
book, since A Bargain for Frances involves both
the little hedgehog(?) girl and a china tea set. But the Hoban
Frances stories are all single stories, not collections. This
may be an English collection, just to guess from teapot and
hedgehog as characters. Maybe one of Ruth Ainsworth's
collections for younger readers?
possibly Humpty Dumpty's Bedtime
Stories, by Kelly Oechsli, published Parents
Magazine Press, 1971. Includes stories: The Patchwork Puppy by
Lilian Moore; Timothy's Tree by Gail Stephenson; Rascal Raccoon
and the Thing Changer by David Barclay; Bedtime Giggles by L. V.
Francis; The Magic Teapot by Mary Calhoun; Little Bug and Big
Bug by Miriam Clark Potter; The Magic Pencil by Peggy Johnson;
Martin the Magpie by Lois Watson; Mother's Little Helper by
Peggy Johnson; The Llamas' Pajamas by Claudine Wirths. It does
have a teapot story, but no obvious hedgehog story.
A52 anthology with teapot & hedgehog:
Okay, here's one with a hedgehog for sure - My Enid
Blyton Story Book, illustrated by Willy Schermele
published London, Juvenile Productions 1953? 8 stories are: THE
BRIGHT NEW SIXPENCE, THE INQUISITIVE HEDGEHOG, THE QUARRELSOME
BROWNIES, THE CHINA RABBIT, THE GOBLIN'S DOG, MARY JANE THE
LITTLE DOLL, THE BROWNIES SPECTACLES, THE PARTY IN THE HOLLOW
TREE. Another possible is My Greatest Book of Bedtime
Stories, published London, n.d., contents including
THE LOST LITTLE HEDGEHOG, HILDA THE HIPPO, TERRYS FIRST PRIZE,
HONEY BEAR'S PROMISE, TEDDY'S SOUP, and JOLLY MONSTER'S
BIRTHDAY. However, this has about 100 stories in it (according
to the vendor) and looks bigger than the Suess books. No stories
specifically about a teapot, though two with tea parties.
This looks good!!! My Bedtime
Book of Two Minute Stories, edited by Rosemary
Garland (Grosset & Dunlap) (Copyright- Eurobook
Limited,1969) Page 12 has The Rosebud teapot! Best china teapot
over time gets put in back of closet due to damage. Eventually
sent to a Jumble Sale! A little girl buys it and puts it in her
bedroom filled with fresh flowers .On page 42- Dumpling the
Cuddly Hedgehog. Dumpling gets teased and chased and called
names because he has soft spines and he is cuddly!! He
runs away but eventually he is taken in by some children and
finds a good home! Very nice collection of unique stories- well
chosen for its kid appeal!!
----------
Collection of stories, including
one with characters Peter, Pierre, and 1-2 others with
variations of name (Piotr? Pieter?). Read late 70s/early 80s.
Fairly sure that this is same book as "C760: Collection of
stories and activities" current stumper, remember potato print
story also.
Edited by
Rosemary Garland, My Bedtime
Book of Two-Minute Stories, 1969. This book has 122 two-page stories,
including "Petros, Pietro, Pierre, Pedro, Pieter, Pyotr" and
"Mr. Gobbledegoop" (the one about the potato-print clothes).
SOLVED: I submitted stumper C767, and I saw a response posted on your site this week:
Edited by Rosemary Garland, My
Bedtime Book of Two-Minute Stories, 1969. I haven't
seen the book, but I'm almost positive that's right! The cover
is familiar. Thank you so much!
Collier & Son, Publishers, The
Junior Classics, 1938. The books you are
describing may well be part of the "Young
Folks Shelf of Books" published by Collier
in the mid-20th century and reprinted several times. They
were ten volumes with colorful hardback covers (red, blue,
green, etc.) and had both color plates and line illustrations
with the stories. The first volume, entitled "Fairy Tales
and Fables", is a red cover with a woodcut-style illustration of
Jack climing the beanstalk, and it contains a great many tales,
including "Snow-White and Rose-Red". The second volume
contains more fairy tales and has a green cover. The third
volume contains various mythological stories and has a blue
cover. I hope this helps.
See A116 ~ The contributor who suggested A
Child's Book of Stories by Jessie Wilcox Smith
has an anthology of stories which also include "Snow White and
Rose Red."
Oliver Beaupre Miller, My Book House.
Could be one the My Book
House series. There were twelve books that ranged in color from
pale green to dark blue. The story of Snow White and Rose
Red is in one of them and also a story about a little boy in a
stroller whose mother takes him for a walk past a barber shop.
There's a picture of a barber shop pole. The endpapers show
storybook characters walking towards a castle.
Olive Beaupre Miller, Up one
pair of stairs, 1936. I have a set of My
book house from 1936 that my father received from
his mother. Volume 2 is entitled "Up one pair of stairs" and the
cover has a picture of Rose Red and Snow White kissing a bear.
The rest of of the cover is olive green with darker green
accents. One page 35 is the story of Rose Red and Snow White
from the Brothers Grimm and on page 328 is a poem by Walter de
la Mare, entitled "The barber" with a picture of a curly-headed
child sitting in a barber's chair with a barber pole seen
outside the window.
Jane Carruth, My Book of Cinderella, 1960. This large picture book is one of a
series of fairy tales, all beautifully illustrated, and it
definitely shows Cinderella petting a white cat in front of the
fireplace. The American version was published by Maxton, but
there's also a British version, published by Odhams. The
two are identical.
In doing research on the answer above, this is indeed the book
I have been searching for!! I contacted a bookseller who
had this book and asked them if they could send me an email with
a scanned picture of the illustration I described. A
few days later, there it was!! I can't even begin to tell
you how thrilled I was to see this picture again after so many
years. It's much easier looking for a book when you know
the title of it and the author's name! Thanks so
much for the help!! This is really a great site, I am so
glad I was led here during one of my many, many searches looking
for a book I didn't even know the name of! Thanks again,
and keep up the great work!
---
I stumbled across the
Stump the Bookseller section while I was looking for a
replacement for a copy of the Maxton "My Book of Cinderella" (it's
falling apart). Alas, while the English Odhams book with
the same title is very nice, it is definitely not identical to
the Maxton book--while the inscription on the title page below
the title is the same, neither the text nor the illustrations
are the same. It would probably be best to update the Solved-M
page to reflect this.
Marcia Davenport, My Brother's
Keeper, 1954.
Clearly the reference is to a book about the (real) Collyer
brothers, Homer and Langley, who died in NYC in their packrat
house in 1947. Here's a
website with basic historic information. There was a
recent book on them (cited on that cite), and chapters about
them in various collections etc., but given the description of
the book sought as relatively old, I suspect the questioner is
thinking of MY BROTHER'S KEEPER by Marcia Davenport, a 1954
Scribner hc which has been described as a novelization of the
Collyer case.
T261 In real life, the Collyer brothers in
NYC fit this description, except they lived by themselves and
were found dead under an avalanche of the piles. I always expect
that to happen to us with our books.
---
I read this book in the 1960's and it was an old old book back
then. It is about two brothers who live together and never throw
out their newspapers (or I don't know if anything else) and they
have the newspapers stacked to the ceilings and they walk
through their house in newspaper passageways.One brother met a
female and they got married and he moved her to the house where
he fixed up their bedroom very nice. The other brother
felt so left out. I CANNOT REMEMBER THE NAME OR
AUTHOR AND WANT SO TO READ IT AGAIN!
Marcia Davenport, My Brother's
Keeper, 1954.
Clearly the reference is to a book about the (real) Collyer
brothers, Homer and Langley, who died in NYC in their packrat
house in 1947. Here's a
website with basic historic information. There was a
recent book on them (cited on that cite), and chapters about
them in various collections etc., but given the description of
the book sought as relatively old, I suspect the questioner is
thinking of MY BROTHER'S KEEPER by Marcia Davenport, a 1954
Scribner hc which has been described as a novelization of the
Collyer case.
T261 In real life, the Collyer brothers in
NYC fit this description, except they lived by themselves and
were found dead under an avalanche of the piles. I always expect
that to happen to us with our books.
Sutton, Eve, Illustrated by Lynley Dodd. My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes. NY: Parents Magazine Press, 1974.
Condition Grades |
Sutton, Eve. My Cat Likes to Hide in Boxes. Illustrated by Lynley Dodd. Scholastic, 1973, 3rd paperback printing. VG-. <SOLD> |
THE REINDEER'S SHOE AND OTHER STORIES.
Karle Wilson Baker. Found
this: Ellen C. Temple: 1988, Austin, Texas. 112 pages.
29cm. Hardbound. Fairy tales, reindeer, children's. Illustrated
with drawings, silhouettes. Definitely not 1950's Golden Book
but the subject matter fits.
contents for The Reindeer's Shoe and
Other Stories: The reindeer's shoe -- The reaching
princess -- The Storm King's plume -- 'Pilio -- Karle Wilson
Baker / by Pamela Lynn Palmer.
My Christmas Treasury.
I'm positive this is the book you're looking for. We own it, it
was my mother's from the 50's. It's a Giant Little Golden Book
published by Simon and Shulster. It has all the stories
mentioned! wonderful collection!
Mary O'Neill, Hailstones and Halibut
Bones. This
sounds an awful lot like Hailstones and Halibut Bones.
If so, it's recently been reissued with new illustations,
but probably the reader is remembering the original (classic)
illustrations.
I looked up and read that book called " Hailstones and
Halibut Bones, and unfortunetly that is not the one I am
looking for. I remember there was a young boy on the cover with
a quilt.
If the original stumper requester is quoting
the remembered lines accurately, then the book in question is
NOT Hailstones and Halibut Bones: Adventures in Color by
Mary O'Neill (author) and Leonard Weisgard (illustrator),
copyright 1961. For blue, it says (in part): "What is
blue?/Blue is the color of the sky/Without a cloud/Cool,
distant, beautiful/And proud. Blue is the quiet sea/And
the eyes of some people..." That's as close as it gets to
"I see blue, what is blue? The sky is blue, the twinkle in your
eye is blue." The poems for yellow and orange are
completely unlike the ones remembered. It's a lovely book,
and worth checking out, but if you're sure your memories are
accurate, it's not the one you're looking for.
The sentences fit the description customer
gave. The cover is greenishyellow with a very-red-haired boy
holding up crayons or marking pens taken from the basket of them
held in the mouth of a cocker spaniel perched on a
stool. Begley, Evelyn M. My color
game. illus by Winnie Fitch. Whitman Big
Tell-a-Tale #2436, 1966. child lies in bed and thinks
about what colors things are.
YES ! IT IS SOLVED
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! THAT IS THE BOOK ! ( "Tell-A-Tale
My Color Game"). I AM SO SO GRATEFUL TO HAVE FOUND THIS
SITE !!!!!! AND A HUGE HUGE THANK YOU TO THE PERSON WHO
KNEW WHAT BOOK I WAS TALKING ABOUT !!!! I AM SO GRATEFUL
!!! THANK YOU A HUNDRED TIMES OVER !
S133 shh mary ann: a board book with doll
photos is My Dolly, published Whitman 1968, a
board book with photos of different dolls, including a Kewpie
Doll. One caption says "Susy and Sally are going for a train
ride. All aboard!" Can't confirm a Mary Ann picture.
S133 shh mary ann: another board book with
doll photographs is MY DOLL BOOK LOOK AND SEE, published
Wonder
Books,
n.d., yellow cover shows dark-haired doll with blue scarf over
head.
That's it!! I remember the Kewpie doll,
and the "suzy and sally are going for a train ride"!! Thank
you so much! Now, if I can just find it somewhere.....
W46- Come Play House (Little
Golden Book #44)
#W46--Wilkin Tea Party: I believe this
is Come Play House, by Edith Osswald,
illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. I only recently
rediscovered it in a Little Golden Books guide, but don't have a
copy yet so don't know this is
definitely the one. If this is NOT the
book described, I WOULD like to know, as it means there's
another Eloise Wilkin book I'm still looking for!
I posted the question about the above
book and I thankyou both for your help but the book is not Come
Play House as I have seen that book and it is not the
one. however I have good news for you and myself.
I was searching thru Ebay auctions at the Little Golden Books
site and found it!!! it is called My Dolly and Me.
So if you haven't heard of it, yes you can add it to the
Eloise Wilkins collection. Many thanks anyway. i
stumped you on this one, but you came to my rescue with
another book about 2 months ago. a great site.
---
Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin. I
remember very little about it. The inside front cover
has a little girl with long blond hair doing different things,
such as eating something from a bowl, skipping rope,
etc. I think it was a book about her day. Any
ideas?
W80 Most of my Wilkin books are in a box
under too many other boxes and books, but in my other stash, all
but one were Golden Books, which don't have endpapers ith
illustrations. Baby's House is a very small board
book.
The golden haired child steps in the front
door and says "This is my house. I live here with Mommy and
Daddy" [who are sitting in livingroom chairs.] Next pages: "My
sister lives here too. So does Fuzzy he cat. I like to play
with Mommy's pots and pans. But sometimes I
make too much noise. Mommy hangs up her washing in the back
yard. I hang up my washing too. –even help Daddy sweep the
leaves. Sometimes I make a little house of my very own. That is
coziest of all." [That is the whole bk. I
doubt it is the one.]
eloise wilkin, My Dolly and me. I think this book is My dolly and me by
eloise wilkin. it is about a little blonde girl who
pretends she is a mommy. there is a picture in the book with the
little girl eating soup from a bowl and skipping rope while her
little dog runs away with her baby doll. she dresses up
and takes her dolls for walks and feeds them and washes their
clothes and then the story ends with her putting her doll to bed
and her taking a nap herself. this was a favourite of mine when
i was a child and i was lucky enough to get a copy in a local
charity store recently. i have since found out that it is
a very popular book and quite expensive.
T20 sounds like My Father's Dragon.
Thanks so much!!! As soon as I saw the title I went that
is it! I now know what book I am looking for. Thanks
again.
---
A book about a boy who befriends a dragon
called Elmer. I'm not sure about the name of the dragon.
Even though I'm sure you'll get a thousand
responses... This is My Father's Dragon by Ruth
Stiles Gannett, starring Elmer Elevator. Two
sequels, Elmer and the Dragon and The
Dragons of Blueland, and all of them still in print.
It may be MY FATHER'S DRAGON; ELMER
AND THE DRAGON; or THE DRAGONS OF BLUELAND,
all by Ruth Stiles Gannett ~from a librarian
E22 elmer: if the BOY is named Elmer and the
dragon is a baby one, it would almost certainly be My
Father's Dragon, by Ruth Stiles Gannett,
where Elmer Elevator rescues the baby dragon from the animals
who are using him as a river ferry. If it's a boy befriending a
dragon in a fantasy-medieval setting, it could be The
Reluctant Dragon, by Kenneth Grahame, though
nobody in that is named Elmer. There's another story about a
dragon named Homer who lives under the Thames River, but he's
befriended by a little girl.
---
The book i am looking for is a children's
book which i borrowed from my local library in the early
80s. When I went back many years later I could not find
it again. Unfortunately I don't know the author or the
title, but I remember the plot -- a little boy received a
letter from his uncle (or maybe his grandfather or godfather)
with detailed instructions on how to rescue him from an
island. He was told to bring such things as a comb, 3
ribbons, 5 pieces of gum, 7 oranges, etc., which would help
him get by the various animals between him and his
uncle. For example, he encountered 3 grumpy lions who
wanted to eat him, but once he combed the tangles out of their
manes and tied in ribbons, they let him go by. I think
he gave the oranges to monkeys, and the gum to crocodiles in a
river so that they would not eat him. Their may have
been mirrors, too. I appreciate any help in tracking
down this book.
It's been a long time since I read it, but
some of the details sound like My Father's Dragon.
Gannett, Ruth Stiles, My Father's
Dragon, 1948.
Although it is actually a baby dragon that young Elmer Elevator
sets out to rescue from the animals that are using him as a
slave on Wild Island (and not an uncle or grandfather), this is
definitely the classic My Father's Dragon.
All of the other details match. The book is still in
print, as are the two sequels, Elmer and the Dragon
and The Dragons of Blueland.
Ruth Stiles Gannett (author), Ruth
Chrisman Gannett (illustrator), My Father's Dragon,
1948. Is it possible that the stumper requester is
confused about the story's plot? In My Father's
Dragon, the author describes how her father, Elmer
Elevator, went to Wild Island to rescue a baby dragon held in
captivity by the island's inhabitants, a group of very wild
animals. Wild Island is nearly bisected by a river full of
crocodiles, and the animals force the baby dragon to fly them
across and back. With the help of an elderly stray cat,
Elmer compiles a list of items he'll need to rescue the dragon,
and gets past the lion (just one) with the hairbrush, comb and
ribbons, the seven tigers with chewing gum, the rhinoceros
with toothpaste and toothbrush, the gorilla and monkeys with
magnifying glasses, and the crocodiles with pink
lollipops. Elmer doesn't give oranges to any of the
animals, but he does eat tangerines he has collected on the
Island of Tangerina. Followed by two sequels: Elmer
and the Dragon (originally called Canary Island)
(1950) and The Dragons of Blueland (1951).
All three books were collected into one volume in 1998: Three
Tales of My Father's Dragon.
This sounds like My Father's Dragon--a
great book for young readers. Sequels are Elmer and
the Dragon and the Dragons of Blueland.
Although the boy is rescusing a dragon, rather than his
grandfather, many of the items he brings along and the
situations sound like My Father's Dragon.
Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father's Dragon. Thanks,
this is the book! You all are the coolest ever.
---
My Father's Dragon
I remember loving a book about a lion (I believe he was the
king of some make-believe land) who loved to have his mane
braided and have bows put on the ends of the braids. I
believe the braiding done by a little girl? I can see the
cover and simply CANNOT see the title. If anyone has any ideas
at all, I would really appreciate it. Thanks.
Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father's
Dragon, 1940. This is
most likely the book you're looking for. The cover depicts
a lion with a braided mane, with bows on the end, though the one
who made his mane look so pretty is a boy, not a girl, named
Elmer Elevator. The lion does indeed live in a make
believe land, and Elmer distracts the lion with prettying up his
mane in order to distract him so a captive dragon, enslaved by
the wild animals, can be set free.
Baum, L. Frank. This is a long shot,
but maybe it's one of the Oz books. Not the Wizard of Oz
or the Magic of Oz, but I seem to remember
Dorothy weaving flowers into the Cowardly Lion's mane in a field
in one of the books..
Ruth Stiles Gannett (author), Ruth
Chrisman Gannett (illustrator), My Father's Dragon, 1948. Sounds like this one! You can see a picture of
it here
and read about it on the Solved Mysteries "M" page. Followed by
two sequels, Elmer and the Dragon (original title
Canary Island) and The Dragons of Blueland.
C.S. Lewis, The Lion, The Witch and
The Wardrobe.
Could it be one of the editions of the first book of Lewis's
Narnia Chronicles, with a cover illustrating Lucy braiding
Aslan's hair -- the lion, Aslan, being the king of Narnia --
before Aslan faces his great test. I know I've seen a
cover illo like this, and the ritual preparation of Aslan by
Lucy (and, I think, Susan in the background) might be stumping
the requester because it doesn't focus on the actual storyline.
Condition Grades |
Gannett, Ruth Stiles.
My Father's Dragon. Random House, 1948, 1979. New paperback, $6 Elmer and the Dragon.Random House, 1948, 1979. New paperback, $6 The Dragons of Blueland. Random House, 1948, 1979. New paperback, $6 |
|
Classics of
children's literature, 1987.Someone has suggested this book, and
the picture on the front rings a bell but the picture im looking
for is not there. However i have been told that this book has
many editions, if anyone has seen or knows the pink edition
please let me know. I'm pretty sure this is the book but not the
same edition im looking for.
a while ago i sent in a book
stumper. The book stumper is P416 Pink hardcover children's
book with short stories and i have found the book i am
looking for.
I is
called "My favourite book of bedtime stories - 250 short
stories" by Barbara Matthews and illustrated by Nadir
Quinto.
Francine Pascal, My First Love and Other Disasters, 1979. Blurb on the back: "It's not easy to be fifteen and in love - especially if the boy you love is seventeen, gorgeous, and doesn't even know you exist! Victoria is determined to be a mother's helper on Fire Island, where Jim will be spending the summer. So what if he's got a girlfriend back in the city. Anything can happen. Victoria finds herself overburdened with two small children and endless household chores, but she's sure it's worth it because Jim not only notices her - he likes her! And yet, if this is her dream come true, why isn't she happy?" I would add a mention that the family in this case is a single mother struggling with keeping her kids out of contact with their father and grandfather. At the end there's a "dramatic" boat rescue scene.
P170 Sounds like it's MY FRIEND THE
MONSTER by Clyde Robert Bulla, illustrated
in Black and white by Michele Chessage, 1980. Different
summaries mention a prince making friends with a monster, and
about trying to find a door in the mountain. ~from a librarian
Miriam Blanton Huber, Prince Hal and
the Giant, 1951.
I found the title and author of this book, but no plot summary,
unfortunately. It is a 28 page children's story
illustrated by Nellie H. Farnam and Mary Royt, and is from the
"Janet and John story books series-no. 37". Hope this
helps.
Clyde Buller, My Friend the Monster. I hope this is the book you are looking
for....
Could it be a giant instead of a
monster? The only children's story that I could find with
a Prince Hal is Prince Hal and the Giant by Miriam
Blanton Huber. It's in an old school reader titled After
The Sun Sets by Miriam Blanton Huber, Frank
Seely Salisbury, and Mabel O'Donnell (1938, 1962, 1976 /
gr. 3 in the Wonder-Story Book reader series).
(Incidently,
other 'stumpers' from this site can be found
in this book -- must have been a good one!) It also
appears it was published separately by Nisbet as a 28 page book
in the Janet and John Story Book Series,
no. 37. If this isn't the book you're searching for, good
luck in your search.
Clyde Robert Bulla (author), Michele
Chessare, (illustrator), My Friend the Monster,
1980. This is definitely the book the stumper requester is
looking for. Prince Hal is sent to stay with his Aunt Ivy,
who lives near Black Rock Mountain. While he is on a walk,
Hal discovers a heap of clothing near a pool. He examines
the clothing, then continues on his walk, and is chased by a
young monster who is dressed in the clothing Hal
disturbed. When Hal picked up the cap, a black fir twig
fell out and was lost, and the young monster needs the twig to
open the door that will allow him to return to his people in
Black Rock Mountain. Hal resolves to help Humbert (the
monster) obtain a black fir twig from the king's garden, then
rescues Humbert when he is trapped by Hal's Cousin Archer and
imprisoned in his menagerie. During the rescue, Hal is
injured, and Humbert takes him into Black Rock Mountain, where
his mother cares for Hal until he is well. The
illustrations do look like India ink washes, but while there is
a picture of the monster with a frightened look in his eyes, his
eyes are not yellow in the book or on the cover. All of
the other details match.
My Giant Story Book, 1972,
1973. Large book (256 pages.) Red cover with pictures of
fairytale characters. Published by
Popular Press Limited, London. Fairy
tales and animal stories. The story about the boy who
stubbed his toe is called Peter Pumpkin. Other unusual
stories include Princess Precious Heart and The Lonely Stone
Gnome. 40 stories altogether. A lovely book - I've
kept my own copy from childhood.
Hi. I'm sorry but I never got to write to you to thank you for
helping me find my childhood fairytale book. The stumper
clue was " wrong side of the bed". As soon as I saw the
stumper I immediately ordered it but the first order was lost or
didn't get processed right so I had to order it again.
That's why I wasn't sure and did not respond that it was solved
because I wanted to be sure it was the right book. I check
the site every week and have (very happily) helped someone else
find their beloved childhood book. I work at a school
library and have been telling the teacher's about your wonderful
site! Again, thank you.
---
I'm looking for my fairy-tale book from early to mid
'70s. It contained most of the traditional fairy tales,
along with these that I remember: Rapunzel,
Rumpelstilskin, The Tinderbox, Rose Red and Snow White,
Thumbelina. There were also stories that I can't remember
the names too: A cobbler and little elves that come out at
night and make shoes for him. I remember that the elves
bare-bottoms showed! Also, there was a story about a wolf who
tried to get a family of young goats. The final
illustration in that story was of the goats looking down the
well they had thrown the wolf in. I THINK there was a story
about an abominable snowman. There was another about a princess
whose father built a glass cover over the palace to protect her.
She went out one day and got hurt in a storm. She couldn't
remember who she was, and was taken in by a farmer.
Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc., My
Giant Story Book, 1972,
1973. This posted on my birthday and this was my own
favorite fairy tale book as a child which I had lost and then
posted on your site and found it again--it is already on the
solved pages--so I'm glad I can help someone else find this
wonderful book.
My Giant Story Book.
This is it! Thank you so much. I am thrilled to be
on my way to having a copy of my favorite childhood book.
James Kruss, My Great-Grandfather
and I,1964. This
is the story of a young boy sent to live with his
great-grandfather and great-grandmother when his sisters
contract measles. They spend the summer writing verses and
telling stories.
Gotta say how pleased I was to get such a quick answer to what
I thought was going to be an unanswerable question. The
book was indeedMy Great-Grandfather and I, and my copy
arrived in the mail today. I'm looking forward to reading this
with my own kids, a book I fondly remember from my childhood.
Thanks so much for providing a wonderful service.
Ann Durell (n.b. - with only
one r), My Heart's In the Highlands. (1958)
I can't confirm all the details, but I think this may be your
book -- I remembered the title and author, though not the
plot. An online reference says the main character is
studying at St. Andrew's University in Scotland.
Apparently there is another Ann Durrell (two 'r's) connected
with children's literature, so watch out for false trails.
Durell, Ann, My Heart's in the
Highlands. (Doubleday,
1958) You had the title right. the cover shows a blond
girl in a red coat/cloak sitting on a stone wall with a
?castle/building and a guy in a kilt in the background.
Jill Brown is the "Rich American Girl" who attends St. Andrews
in Scotland and her friends are Helen, Fiona, Catriona,
Laurie, and Pam - and Tim. Ian MacKenzie was 'the Scotsman
of her dreams.' To jog your memory, the chapters are :
I'll Be In Scotland / The Low Road / The Bonny Banks / New
Acquaintance / Universitatis Sancti Andreae / My Highland Laddie
/ Gaudeamus / Swing Low / Pereat Tristitia / Dashing Through the
Snow / God Rest Ye Merry / She'll Be Coming round the Mountain /
The High Road / Better Loved You'll Never Be /
eighteenth-Century Drawing Room / Where Late the Sweet Birds
Sand / When Sweet Airs Come Seaward / Home Thoughts from Abroad
/ Auld Acquaintance / Lady Katherine / Lady Ellen / Farewell to
the Highlands / Wherevver I Wander
Ann Durell, My Heart's in the Highlands. (1958)
Thank you SO much for solving this! Now, the hard part: finding
it. It doesn't exist anywhere in cyberspace, but I'll never give
up. At least I have an author and title now!
Hiroko Nakamoto (as told to Mildred
Mastin Pace), My Japan 1930-1951.
McGraw-Hill Co, New York, 1970.
I think this might be My Learn to
Cook Book, by Ursula Sedgwick. It has
the recipes you mentioned, and the cat and dog. The cat is
wearing a beret for making Croque Monsieur! This was
published in England in '67, but I don't know when or whether it
was published in the US.
C62 cookbook with cat & dog: more on the
suggested title - My Learn-to-Cook Book, by Ursula
Sedgwick, illustrated by Martin Mayhew, published Hamlyn
1967. "It would be hard to go wrong with this big, enticing
book, based on pictures rather than text, and very nice
pictures too, in cheerful line and colour. The edibles mostly
are simple egg-dishes, sweets, cakes and such, but Baked
Bananas, Knickerbocker Glory, Fruit Fried Sandwich and Pizza
Pie should stir the adventurous. Weights, measures and methods
are clearly given." (Best Children's Books of 1967 p.93)
It doesn't mention the illustrations, but the contents seem like
a not-bad match.
Judith Viorst, author, Kay
Chorao illustrator, My Mama says there aren't any
zombies, ghosts, vampires, creatures, demons, monsters,
fiends, goblins, or things, 1973. A wonderful book
with spooky black and white line drawing illustrations showing
all the creatures that mama says don't exist: "My mama says
there isn't any mean-eyed monster with long slimy hair and
pointy claws going scritchy-scratch, scritchy-schritchy-scratch
outside my window"... but sometimes even mamas make mistakes.
Judith Viorst, My Mama says there
aren't any zombies, ghosts, vampires, creatures, demons,
monsters, fiends, goblins, or things. Yes, thank you
very much! This is my book. When I found a few sample pages
available online, it was amazing to see the book that has been
haunting me. Thanks a million!
Constance C Greene, My Pal Al. I think the book you're looking for is
one of a series and I'm not sure which one has the events you
describe. The book is from the Al series. I think it's My
Pal Al, but there were other ones called things like
Your Old Pal Al, Al(exandra) the Great,
etc. I think they're out of print, but the children's section of
your library might have them. Al and her friend are friends with
the janitor who lives in their building. He gives them shots of
soda (coke?) and cleans his floors by skating on them. I don't
remember the macaroni, but I'm pretty sure about the butter and
sugar sandwiches.
Constance Greene, A Girl Called Al, c.1975. The book the poster describes is
definitely the first book in the series of books about Al and
her unnamed friend--A Girl Called Al. And besides
the ones mentioned, there was another one called I Know
You, Al.
I found the song you mentioned in My
Picture Book of Songs by Alene Dalton, Myriel
Ashton, & Erla Young (Hubbard Press, 1947,
1974). Other songs include I Am Five, Skating, The
Puppy Next Door, Mr. Jack O'Lantern, Tony's Pony, Dolly's
Lullaby, The Postman, and The March Wind. It's a big
book (12 x 9) and has a yellow cover with 3 faces
singing. Is that the book you're looking for?
This is the book! And thank you SO much for this
wonderful service!
---
The book I'm looking for was possibly
published by LDS Books, or something like that.
Deseret? It was an oversized, yellow children's singing
book. The songs were all illustrated at the top of the
page. The one I remember best was a song about clouds,
and the picture showed a child (maybe two) laying down
watching clouds. It may have been part of a series, but
this one was the yellow one. It was published in the
'60's.
D187 I did a search for Deseret song
books, and I turned up three for kids but the one with the right
time frame was LITTLE STORIES IN SONG by Leann
Farley, 1962 (be aware that another
one of the same title was published in 1940). However, I can't
confirm that this is the right one. I did not find a picture and
have never seen it.~from a librarian
Wilma Boyle Bunker, Lift Up Your
Voice and Sing,
1964. If it was an official church publication, then this
might be it. The song you remember is probably "Oh What do you
do in the summertime, when all the world is green? Do you fish
in a stream, or lazily dream on the banks as the clouds go by?"
I'm pretty certain that the song (written in 1964) first
appeared in this book. I looked in the BYU library catalog, and
I don't see any others in their collection that fit your
criteria ("Sing With Me", published in 1969, had an orange
cover, I think and the 1951 "The Children Sing" had a turquoise
cover).
That may be the one, the Wilma B. Bunker book. Is it
oversized and yellow? I remember the song you
mentioned I think you're right, it may be the one I
remember illustrated. I do have the other two books, the
turqoise one and the orange one. The one I'm looking for
is before either of them (or concurrent with the turquoise
one). Thank you for your help!
Alene Dalton, Myriel Ashton, Erla Young,
My Picture Book of Songs, 1947. This HAS to be the book!
Three LDS ladies wrote it, and it was published by M.A. Donohoe
& Company. It's illustrated with typical 1950s-style
kids. There are songs about seasons and holidays, and
there is a song entitled "Clouds."
That's the one! Thank you so much,
everyone, for your help. I've been searching for this
book for YEARS, and you've helped solve the mystery! I
found the book in a bunch of vintage books on eBay, and I was
able to buy it. Thank you again!
This is My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George.
B89 is My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George.
My Side of the Mountainby Jean
Craighead George. There is a second book titled On
the
Far
Side of the Mountain in which Sam and his sister go
on a journey to save the falcon, Frightful.
B89 is My Side of the Mountain
by Jean Craighead George, and a Newberry Award
winner. (She also wrote Julie of the Wolves.)
#B89: Boy survivalist: Almost
certainly My Side of the Mountain, by Jean
Craighead George. The giveaways are the hollowed-out
tree, and the story carrying through the entire winter. If
the tree was not a redwood, it was something very large in the
evergreen family anyway. This Newbery Honor book was
filmed by the Disney wannabees Doty-Dayton Productions, and the
sequel is On the Far Side of the Mountain.
Suggestions for other boy survivalist books: "The Summer I
Was Lost," by Phillip Viereck. Its paperback title was
"Terror on the Mountain," perhaps to capitalize on the
popularity of "My Side of the Mountain." Farley Mowat,
author of "Never Cry Wolf," also wrote "Lost in the Barrens"
(paperback title "Two Against the North") and its sequel "The
Curse of the Viking Grave," which was filmed. Also try
"Home is the North" or just about anything else by Walt Morey,
and a number of William O. Steele's books, most notably "Winter
Danger." They are all noble predecessors to the current
works of Gary Paulsen.
All of the details here fit Jean
Craighead George's My Side of the Mountain
perfectly. The boy also makes himself a suit out of
dearskin,and at the end, the rest of his family joins him in the
woods.
B89 - I think this person might be thinking
of Jean Craighead George's My Side of the
Mountain. Certainly, if they are into
survivalist stories, this would be one they would want to look
at.
The book is My Side of the Mountain,
written and illustrated by Jean George, copyright
1959. My copy is a paperback from Scholastic Book
Services, #TK 1294, printed 1969. The story is in the first
person, by a boy, Sam Gribley, who runs away from his large
family in New York City in order to live off the land on land
once owned by his great-grandfather in the Catskills. He
hollows out a huge old tree to live in, lives off plants, bulbs,
fish, crayfish, deer, etc., and trains a young peregrine falcon
(named Frightful) to catch food for him. He spends
maybe a year on his own, seeing other people
only very occasionally. The book was made into a movie
Canadian, I think), starring Ted Eccles and Theodore
Bikel. I just found a third book in the series by this
author, written much later, about how the peregrine falcon is
set free.
Jean Craighead George,My Side of the
Mountain. This
book is still in print and has been reprinted many times. It
also has a sequel, On the Far Side of the Mountain,
and a third book, Frightful's Mountain, told from
the falcon's point of view.
You are a genius and your website is a
gift to those of us who have been touched by a book but don't
have a very good memory. Thank you so very, very much!!
[Don't think I can take credit for this one,
rather embarrassing that I missed it, but look how much fun
others had solving the mystery!]
---
My dad had a favorite book in the 1950’s, about a little boy
who ran away from home and lived in a tree. He made use of
all of the things in the forest to survive. Any ideas?
Rutherford George Montgomery, Kildee
House, 1949.
Possibly Kildee House, about a man (not a boy)
who builds a cottage adjoining a redwood tree.
Doris Burn, Andrew Henry's Meadow, 1965. The book Andrew Henry's
Meadow might fit this description. The little boy is
an 'inventor' who runs away and builds a tree house using things
he finds, and eventually is joined by all the other children in
town, who want him to build them houses of their own. It was
written in the 60's, not 50's, but it just came to mind because
it is now being adapted as a film.
George, Jean Craighead, My Side of
the Mountain,
1959. Sam runs away to the Catskill Mountains, where he
lives on property that used to be the family farm, while living
in a hollowed out tree and raising a falcon named Frightful.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain. I'm
sure this is it. It comes up so frequently on book search
boards that it must be in the Solved Mysteries section too!
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain, 1959
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain, 1959.
Possibly this one? Sam Gribley leaves home and heads for
the Catskill Mountains in upstate New York. He makes a
home for himself in a hollow tree traps or gathers his
meals and acquires and trains a hunting companion,
Frightful the falcon. Followed by two sequels, On
the Far Side of the Mountain (1990) and Frightful's
Mountain (1999). Please see the Solved
Mysteries "M" page for more information.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain, 1959.
"Sam leaves home to fend for himself in the Catskill Mountains
of upstate New York. For a year he lives in a hollowed-out tree,
befriending animals and depending on his wits for survival."
There's also a movie version.
George, Jean Craighead, My Side of
the Mountain,
1960. Sounds like this classic. Could he have read
it in 1960?
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain. I don't
know if this title is early enough to be the one, but
maybe. The boy lives in a tree and survives off what is
available in the woods. Even if it's not the one you are
looking for, it's a great book.
George, Jean Craighead, My side of
the Mountain,
1959. this has got to be it.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain. It
could be My Side of the Mountain: A boy named Sam
Gribley runs away to prove he can live in the mountains on his
own. He makes a home in a hollow tree and survives on things he
finds in the woods.
Amelia Elizabeth Walden, A Girl
Called Hank, 1951, I'm
pretty sure this is A Girl Called Hank by Amelia
Elizabeth Walden....very much in the vein of the Anne
Emery, Betty Cavanna, Lavinia R. Davis light romances of the
1950s...this time about one girl in a family of boys who are all
basketball players.
Walden, Amelia, My Sister Mike
My Sister, Mike is the right
book. Thank you so much!
F18 is My Sister's Keeper by
Beverly Butler published 1980. Though the story
itself is fiction, it is centered around the very real and
tragic Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire of 1871. (My copy of this
book has a dust jacket picturing a girl in a green dress on the
front cover.)
Thank you to whoever identified my stumper (F18) as My
Sister's Keeper. That title sounds exactly right!
Now I have a chance of seeing if the book is still as good as I
remember it to be.
Fiedler, Jean, My Special Day. Just a guess !
I think this is My Special Day,
a Whitman Tell-A-Tale book from the late 60's, and the author's
name was Fiedler. I remember the girl jumping in
puddles and having chocolate milk.
That's odd--it's not listed in Santi's Collecting
Little Golden Books, but I did find this reference
elsewhere: Fiedler, Jean, My Special Day.
Illustrated by June Goldsborough. Racine, Wisconsin: Whitman
Publishing, 1967. A Whitman Big Tell-A-Tale Book.
T199 I haven't looked at this to see if
they seem to match, but it sounds good: Bennett,
Vivian. My tell-time book. illus by
Bob Velde. thick cardboard cover is a clock
with movable plastic hands, Learn-to-do book
Watson, Jane Werner, How to Tell time, 1957. This is a Little Golden Book
illustrated by Eleanor Dart. It does involve a little boy
going through daily activities, and it does have moveable
plastic clock hands (my memory is that they're on the inside
front cover).
I THINK THE BOOK MAY BE MY TELL TIME
BOOK. 1975, VIVIAN BENNETT. BUT I'M STILL NOT SURE. I
TRIED TO GET A PICTURE OF THE COVER OR SOME PAGES INSIDE SO I
COULD VERIFY THIS. ALSO I DO NOT THINK IT IS A
LITTLE GOLDEN BOOK BECAUSE IT DOES'NT HAVE MOVABLE HANDS.
Both of the books suggested here have
moveable hands. I believe the Little Golden Book features
a cut-out cover with the hands on the first page, taking up the
entire center space, so doesn't fit your description of a clock
in the upper left hand corner. I don't know about the
Bennett, but I'll try to find out.
Watson, Jane Werner, How to Tell Time, 1957. I have this book and it
closely matches the poster's description. The cover is black
with a cut-out for the clock face which is inside the cover with
moveable hands. Each page spread has a small clock in the
upper left corner which has the time of the featured
activity i.e. 12:00 on the page with the boy eating lunch.
It is a Little Golden Book.
I was the person who submitted stumper
t-199. The book is not "how to tell time".I saw the book cover
and it does not match what I remember. The cover was different
and the clock was not in the middle. I think the book is " MY
TELL TIME BOOK " Vivian Bennett 1975. I can't seem to find a
picture of the cover of this book on the internet .
Lenora Mattingly Weber, My True Love Waits, 1953. This is Mrs. Weber's most well-known non-series novel (she is best known for her Beany Malone and Belford family books). The heroine is Mary Conroy, who marries Armen Neff despite the disapproval of her family. The story of her journey out to Denver by wagon train to find her husband climaxes as described, when Armen and Mary are reunited as he discovers his never-before-seen infant daughter Annabelle during a stage performance. All of Mrs. Weber's series books have been reissued in beautiful trade paper editions by Image Cascade, and plans are in the works to reprint this title as well as others that are even longer out of print. Hooray!
I'm pretty sure there's a book called My Cat.
There's
also
Eve Sutton's My Cat Likes To Hide In Boxes (NY:
Parents Magazine Press, 1974), which is less likely.
wow, look at this: Warburg, Sandol Stoddard,
Illustrated by Remy Charlip. My Very Own
Special Particular Private and Personal Cat.
Boston: Houghton Mifflin Company, 1963. The essence of
"catdom" is offered with minimal text and wonderful bold color
illustrations by Charlip. A hard one to find, and
often quite pricey. For more on Charlip, visit the Most Requested pages.
Michael Maguire, Mylor, The
Most Powerful Horse in the World. (1977) Looks like the server ate my
solution, so here goes again:
This has to be the one you're looking
for. The book concerns a group of inventors racing to
create a robot horse that can win the Grand National without
being detected as a robot. At least one edition of the book
features a cover illustration of a brown horse w/ white socks
& white blaze on face, and three children, superimposed over
a circuit/transistor board. The children are a blonde teen
in a plaid jacket w/ white wooly collar, blonde girl in lavender
sweater, and brown-haired boy w/ glasses in a brown/blue striped
shirt. There is also another book, probably a sequel,
called Mylor: The Kidnap. These books are pretty scarce,
but can be found online through several U.K. booksellers, as
they were published in London.
I can't believe it - my stumper solved and so
quickly!! I was so excited managed to find a copy on
internet and it has now arrived, exactly the book I
remember illustrations and all. Thank you so much will be
able to read it to me niece now and get her hooked on reading
just like I did.
Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick
Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick.
Beautifully illustrated picture book with mysterious pictures
and a few sentences about each- the reader must come up
with his own stories for the pictures by using his imagination.
Van Allsburg, Chris, Mysteries of
Harris Burdick,
1984. Still in print (even reissued in portfolio format)
and still tricking the occasional reader into thinking there was
a real Harris Burdick, the book begins with an introduction
claiming that a visitor left a collection of pictures with
nothing but the captions on them. The drawings that follow
are unsettling and memorable -- a nun sitting in a flying chair,
an overlarge ocean liner in a small canal, etc.
This is definitely MYSTERIES OF
HARRIS BURDICK by Chris Van Allsburg,
1984~from a librarian
Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick.
No question. And I use it in my classroom in the same way!
Van Allsburg, Chris, The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick,
1984. This sounds like The Mysteries of Harris Burdick by
Van Allsburg (the same guy who wrote and illustrated The Polar
Express). Not sure if it's still in print.
---
Black and white picture book, each two
page layout is its own short story, or at least the start of a
short story. I believe there was an explanation in the
beginning of the book that an author had dropped off a number
of story ideas with illustrations at an editors office. After
the editor reviewed them he was unable to find the author. The
author was never found, the stories never finished but they
published the one liners with the illustrations in this
picture book.
Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick. A
haunting book by a wonderful illustrator.
Chris Van Allsburg, The
Mysteries of Harris Burdick, 1984
Chris Van Allsburg, The
Mysteries of Harris Burdick, 1984. I think that
this is the book you remember. It has fantastic black and
white drawings and a single, catchy, first line of each
story. It is used in many schools to spark creative
writing assignments. ISBN 0395353939
Van Allsburg, Chris, The
Mysteries of Harris Burdick, 1984. Black &
white pictures with captions - you have to write the story.
etc.
---
A picture book of detailed
black and white line drawings, each accompanied by a cryptic
sentence or two that provide a fragment of a story. The idea is
to use your imagination to fill in what the rest of the story
might be, using the clues provided in the illustrations. There
was no continuous plot or character, each illustration stood
alone. Not really a mystery or puzzle to be solved, as there
wouldn't be any one "correct" answer, but with a mysterious
tone, and fairly sophisticated (not aimed at very young
children, and I enjoyed it as an adult, my kids as middle
schoolers - but it was in the children's picture book section at
the library). I'm pretty sure the author/illustrator was a man,
and that he was a well known author or artist.. I saw it in
1999, and I don’t think it was either brand new or very old at
that time. I’d guess it was published after 1970.
Chris Van Allsburg, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick. Each full page eerie black
and white illustration is paired with a title and a one sentence
teaser of an imagined story.
Sounds like Chris Van Allsburg's "The Mysteries
of Harris Burdick."
Chris Van Allsburg, Mysteries of Harris Burdick.
A description of the book includes the following: The
enigmatic black-and-white drawings are each accompanied by a
title and brief caption: for example, a picture of a nun
placidly sitting in a chair floating in a cathedral is
labeled "THE SEVEN CHAIRS: The fifth one ended up in
France." I think this is the right book.
Chris Van Allsburg, Mysteries of Harris
Burdick, 1984. It must be this
one...everything fits!
Van Allsburg, Chris, The Mysteries of Harris
Burdick, 1984, copyright. I
think it must be this one. It's presented as
illustrations that were left with a publisher, but with
no stories attached. Each illustration has the title of
the story, but the rest is left up to the reader's
imagination.
Van Allsburg, Chris, The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick, 1984,
copyright. I'm sure this is the book. A
great book to inspire creative story writing.
P424 This is THE
MYSTERIES OF HARRIS BURDICK by Chris Van Allsburg.
I love the mysterious illustrations and story
teasers~from a librarian
Van Allsburg, Chris,
The Mysteries
of Harris Burdick, 1984. Yep,
that's the one, and "eerie" is the perfect word
to describe it! Same author as the well-known
"Polar Express" and "Jumanji", as well as a
couple dozen others. I highly recommend it, not
just for kids but for anyone who enjoys
stretching their imagination. Thanks "Stumper
Solvers", you rule!
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disappearance of Leon (I Mean, Noel), 197?. I loved this book (and all her
other books) when I was a kid. Leon and, I think the girl's name
was Caroline, were members of two extremely poor families who
got together to make soup one night, and it was so good they
started a soup company, but because they couldn't decide whose
name should appear first on the can, the married Leon to
(?)Caroline, and named it Mrs. Carillon's soup. They end
up sending Leon off to boarding school, but no school will take
a married girl, so Caroline is home schooled. She and Leon don't
see each other for a very long time. Leon writes her letters
once a year. One of the letters reads "I've grown a moustache,
it's red, red, red." There is a horrible, tragic accident at the
soup factory, and all the members of both families are killed,
except for Leon and Caroline. The manager of the company later
makes up a new jingle for the soup to the tune of "On Wisconsin"
that proclaims that Mrs. Carillon's soup is "strictly
veg-e-tar-i-an". The book later follows Mrs. Carillon's
adventures as she tries to track down Noel with the help of a
set of boy-girl twins, and her old childhood friend (Whose name
I can't recall) who writes crossword puzzles. I remember the
illustrations were word pictures. Unfortunately, I don't have a
copy of this book anymore, and I would be shocked to find out it
was still in print.
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel). I'm certain this is the right book. It matches
in every detail and it's one of the funniest books ever written.
The soup is Mrs. Carillon's Pomato Soup, and the unfortunate
little girl who has to get married, thus uniting the family so
the soup is named for both sides, becomes Caroline Carillon. Her
husband (Leon) disappears and she spends years searching for
him, guided on by the "glub blubs"--clues spoken by a mysterious
messenger while drowning.
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disappearence of Leon (I Mean Noel), 1975. The soup is actually called "Mrs.
Carillon's Pomato Soup" (it's made from potatos and
tomatos). When the young Mrs. Carrillon grows up, she
tries to find her husband Leon who has left home, and changed
his name to Noel. She enlists the help of the twins Tony and
Tina, who she adopts. Tina makes up the story about them
being Siamese twins joined at the right hip.
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disapparance of Leon (I mean Noel). Solved! This is definitely it!!
---
I am looking for a book that I read as a child in the
1970's. I believe that there was a series of books.
All I remember is that there was something about a carillon
(bells used to play music); it was a chapter book; there were
line drawings of the characters, with curly cue noses. I
also remember vaguely something about purple: in one of the
titles? or perhaps just the color of the cover. Thanks so much
for helping to solve this mystery!
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disapparance of Leon (I mean Noel). See under solved stumpers
---
I read this children's book at the Montebello Public Library in
Montebello, CA 90640 during the early 1970's. I remember
it having a purple checked bookcover (very loud design).
Hardback. The plot was about an extended family of very
eccentric people. I think there were twin children, maybe a
kidnapping or a missing person. I remember thinking that
it seemed to bizarre to be a children's book.
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel). Could be this book, there are twins in it
and a disappearance. (Same as C156, above?)
Ellen Raskin, The Mysterious
Disapparance of Leon (I mean Noel). This is the same as C156: Carillon
chapter book with line drawings. The twins were Tony and
Tina, and sometimes they were referred to jointly as
"Tiny." The missing person was their adoptive mother's
husband.
Ellen Raskin, The mysterious
disappearance of Leon...
Just a guess.Might be worth a look at the solved mysteries page?
Perhaps The Diamond in the Window,
by Jane Langton?
Karin Anckarsvard, transl. Annabelle
MacMillan, The Mysterious Schoolmaster, 1959, copyright. One of my
favorite books ever! Michael and Cecilia are schoolmates
in the little town of Nordvik. A new physics teacher and a
plumber who works at the school are both in the pay of foreign
spies, and try to escape with a lot of information about the
nearby military installation. Michael discovers their
plot, but is nearly killed, and it's up to Cecilia to put all
the pieces together and get him rescued. They had agreed
on using the "Snare Drums and Trumpets" rhythm for a signal
during a party at their dance club.
Karin Anckarsvard, The Mysterious
Schoolmaster, 1975,
reprint. Michael and Cecilia, two Swedish school chums,
help expose a new teacher, Mr. Engman, as a spy after military
secrets. Michael is caught following Engman and his
associate, and is trussed up and left in a school basement,
while the two spies attempt to escape. During classes the
next day, Michael manages to attract Cecilia's attention by
tapping "Snare Drums and Trumpets" (their prearranged signal for
danger) on radiator pipes. Needless to say, Michael and
Cecilia save the day! The author, who based the main
characters on her own children (also a Michael and Cecilia) also
wrote two sequels: "The Robber Ghost" and "Madcap
Mystery."
Karin Anckarsvard, The Mysterious
Schoolmaster. I
think this is the right book. The main characters are
Michael and Cecilia. It's set in Sweden, and the
mysterious schoolmaster in question is passing on military
secrets, if I recall correctly.
Anckarsvärd, Karin, The Robber Ghost, 1961, copyright. I think this is
the one you're looking for. If it's not this one, it's another
in the series about the same kids--it may be The
Mysterious Schoolmaster.
Karin Anckarsvaard, The Mysterious
Schoolmaster.
Sounds like the first of Anckarsvaard's Michael and Cecelia
mysteries. Michael definitely beats out a tune on pipes
when he's captured and tied up in the school basement.
Cecelia recognizes it and he's rescued and the teacher who is
actually a spy is captured.
Well, it starts in an attic, and Curry is
something like L'Engle in style. But I don't know how many
children are involved:Curry, Jane Louise The Mysterious
Shrinking House (original title Mindy's
Mysterious Miniature) Scholastic 1970, "Mindy
found the miniature house hidden in the attic of the old barn.
It was so perfect it looked like a real house--that had
somehow shrunk. But she never guessed its terrible secret or
that she herself would be trapped inside."
---
I read this only once in the 1970s because I found it
depressing or unsettling somehow. A late elementary or early
teen book about a girl named Melinda or Belinda or or Mindy who
had a dollhouse into which she would shrink. Possibly she could
go through the dollhouse into the rest of a dollhouse sort of
world.
D155 Curry, Jane Louise. The
mysterious shrinking house [original title: Mindy's
mysterious miniature] illus by Charles
Robinson. Scholastic, 1970. dolls; dollhouses, doll
houses, miniature of the main house - juvenile mystery
Thank you, Ms. Logan. You and your readers are excellent book
detectives. Those three titles are the books I remember.
Fredric Brown, Night of the
Jabberwock, 1950.
This is the one you're thinking of. There are several in the
series. The character's name is Doc Stoeger. He's a newspaper
editor.
Your suggestion (Night of the Jabberwock) isn't the
one I'm looking for, but it does look like one that I should
read!
George Bagby, Mysteriouser and Mysteriouser. Found
it! This is it.
I78: Sounds like a story from Robert
Arthur's short-story collection Mystery and More
Mystery, but my memory's fading, so I can't be sure.
Ironically, I wouldn't have known that, but another stumper at
this site a couple of years ago reminded me of his semi-famous
story The Midnight Visitor, which inspired me to find
out the name of the book that came from - and then to read the
whole book! Lucky thing. He was the original writer of The Three
Investigators series.
Robert K. Arthur. The short
story you describe is Mr. Manning's Money Tree by
Robert Arthur. Was the collection you're looking for a
paperback with a silver cover? If so, then it was a collection
of Arthur's (mostly scary) stories published ca. 1974.
Robert Arthur, Mystery and More
Mystery. The
money tree story is by Robert Arthur, and can be found in his
collection titled Mystery and More Mystery. Many
of the stories had an ironic twist to them (such as the one
about the Man on the Balcony). He also wrote Ghosts and More
Ghosts, which may be the spooky book you are thinking of.
I78 The description of the blind man hearing
the footsteps of something supernatural following a man sounds
like the short story "Footsteps Invisible" by Robert Arthur
from the book GHOSTS & MORE GHOSTS.
Robert Arthur also came out with other books that were similar,
SPIES & MORE SPIES; THRILLERS & MORE THRILLERS;
MYSTERY & MORE MYSTERY. And MYSTERY &
MORE MYSTERYcontains the story "Mr. Manning's Money
Tree" which sounds like it be worth checking.~from a
librarian
I78 Arthur, Robert, editor Mystery
and more mystery illus by Saul
Lambert Random
c1966 10 short mystery stories;
appendix telling how author wrote them THIS
DOES HAVE THE MONEY TREE STORY
I wanted to confirm that one of the
stumpers had been solved. I posted it and am happy to say that
everyone's identifications were correct, it was "Mystery
and More Mystery" after all.
Elizabeth Honness, Mystery at the Doll Hospital, 1955, copyright. The book youre
looking for is Mystery at the Doll Hospital by Elizabeth
Honness. Judith and Jonathan, twins, are staying with their
Grandmother, who runs the doll hospital in an old East Coast
town, when a mysterious intruder breaks in and ransacks the
hospital! With help from the police, they trap the
villan...during the old fashioned Halloween party you remember.
Elizabeth
Honness,
Mystery at the Doll Hospital, 1955, copyright. This is
definitely Mystery at the Doll Hospital, by the excellent
Elizabeth Honness. The children are staying temporarily with
their grandmother (who runs the doll hospital) while their
parents are away. The hospital is broken into, the intruder is
caught during the Halloween party. The "spare parts" room with
doll heads, limbs and eyeballs is just as you describe!
Honness, Elizabeth, Mystery at the Doll Hospital.
You are amazing!!! I had given up
hope of ever finding this title!
Laurie Lykken, Little Room, 1991.
I know the date is wrong, but it sounded to much like this book
to not say it.
Mary C. Jane, Mystery on Echo
Ridge, 1959. Mary C. Jane wrote mysteries
from 1955 to 1970, about one a year, for the aged-10 and up
reader. I've read many of them but not this one. I
wonder if this title could be the one in question because its
cover depicts an old house with a tower that has a window filled
with blue light.
Mary C. Jane, Mystery at Echo Ridge.
This was the book I was looking for - thanks to this
information. You've solved a decades old mystery (no pun
intended).
Dorothy Maywood Bird,Mystery at
Laughing Water,
1946. If this is the one about Phyllis Rockfort and her
friend whose nickname is "Beaver" (because her surname is the
French for same), who meet at camp and eventually discover
they're distantly related, by unraveling a family mystery
involving the small pioneer child w/axe scar who was found
wandering after a forest fire which had killed his parents
(early-day garnet miners), check a couple of the Google
references you get by entering the author's name. I loved
this book -- sorry to say it appears to be rare now, but good
luck!
Not a solution but some assistance--the
French and Latin words for beaver are the same, and the word is
"castor".
I'm the original poster and I think the people who responded
hit the nail on the head! I didn't realize I was so far
off on the the publishing date. And you're also right that the
book is quite rare. It's currently going for about $300,
but at least now I know the title.
-------
Read about 45 years ago and
don't know how old the book was then. Young adult mystery. A
group of mid teens are at a camp or summer home. In the UP?. One
is an orphan. She has a scar on her foot which eventually solves
the mystery. Also a locket involved and one grandfather was a
French Can trapper.
Dorothy Maywood Bird, Mystery at
Laughing Water, 1946. I think this may be the book you're
remembering. It's described in the Solved
Mysteries section of this site. A couple of the
details in your post are different, but this story is so
complex, that wouldn't be surprising. (For example, it's not
the modern girl who has the foot scar, it's her ancestor, the
little boy who'd been injured by an axe.) Great book!
SOLVED: Dorothy Maywood Bird, Mystery at Laughing Water.
I just wanted to let you know that I got a response right away
on my inquiry. Turns out the book is The Mystery at Laughing Water. I had mis-remembered some of the
details, (OK, it's been 45 years after all *G*), but had enough
of them so that someone recognized it. It was one of my
favorites as a young girl. Thanks so much for your help!!!!
Christine Noble Govan and Emmy West,
Mystery at Moccasin Bend,1957. I have the book
called Mystery of the Vanishing Stamp and a poor boy named Viney
Garden is in it who supplies buttermilk to his picnicking group
of friends who call themselves the Lookouts. I don't have
even half of the books (because they are expensive) so I'm just
guessing that the actual book you want is the Mystery at
Moccasin Bend.
Christine Noble Govan and Emmy West,
Mystery at Moccasin Bend, 1957. Thank you SO much. I've
found the book and ordered it for my mom now. We aren't sure
if it's this one or the other that you spoke of, but it's
definitely in this series. Once again, thank you :)
Christine Govan and Emmy West, Mystery
at the Deserted Mill, 1958.I'm the person who had
half the books in the series and could only guess which title
was the one where the Lookouts met Viney Flowers Garden.
I have collected all of them now and I know for sure that the
book this person is looking for is Mystery at the
Deserted Mill. The five lookouts meet Viney
for the first time in this book as he hid in the woods watching
them play together. This is the 6th book in this 16-book
series about a group of kids who solves mysteries while living
near Lookout Mountain in Tennessee.
Jane, Mary C., Mystery at Shadow
Pond, 1958. I am
most certain this is the book you are thinking of, I read it
just last year. When Neale and Margie Lawson heard that their
father would have to sell his shore land and their beloved
horse, Firefly, they were miserable. They could find no way to
help him until a strange red car, a lost cat, and the odd
behavior of an eccentric old man drew them into a mystery
involving the lost letters of a famous New England artist. The
Lawsons and their friend Rupert Reed, son of the Ranger at the
camp across the lake, were plunged into a bewildering tangle of
strange doings. Neale thought that his robot-burglar alarm might
help to solve the mystery, and Margie was sure that her
grandfather's books held the key to the problem. Both children
were right, but it took two discoveries-one in a cave on the
mountain and one in the middle of Shadow Pond-to set things
straight
Mystery at Shadow Pond, Mary C. Jane, 1958. This was a Scholastic paperback
with a very memorable cover. It is most definitely the
book being sought.
Mystery at Shadow Pond. Oh my
gosh!!!! You guys are sooo right! after reading
the first answer i knew it had to be right! i am soo
excited i'm shaking! I remember now that the boy's name
was Neale and that there was a robot burglar alarm. i
seem to remember now that the robot was on the cover wasnt
he? Anyway I cant tell you how happy i am! It
seems that now that i am 40 i keep looking back at my
childhood for so many happy memories. Anyway, Harriet, a
thousand thanx!! your site is now 2 for 2 in rekindling
my failing memory. Thanx also to both sleuths who wrote
in. This stumper has been bugging me for months! xoxox
Mary C. Jane, Mystery at Shadow Pond, 1958. My sister and I have this
book, and I just re-read it this year, so I know this is the
correct book. The hermit's name is Mr. Wiley, and he
was a good friend of the grandfather of the children in the
book. He wasn't a bad man he took the documents and hid
them so they would be safe from distant relatives of Jerome
Elwell, a deceased artist. Jerome Elwell had written these
letters to the grandfather of the children in this book, which
is what the documents in the oilcloth were.
N59 Some of the details match up with SPYING
ON MISS MULLER by Eve Bunting, but it was
published in 1995. It takes place in a Belfast boarding school,
and the teacher is half Irish, half German, and beautiful and
admired. When war breaks out, Jessie suspects her teacher may be
a Nazi spy.~from a librarian
Eve Bunting, I'm Spying on Miss
Muller. The
summary i found is a little different than the request but seems
close: YB Spying on Miss Muller, by Eve Bunting At a
Belfast boarding school during World War II, thirteen-year-old
Jessie and her friends suspect their favorite teacher, Miss
Muller, of being a Nazi sympathizer or even a Nazi spy! When
Jessie agrees to spy on Miss Muller, her discovery changes the
teacher's life forever. And the author's name begins with
a B, so....
It's not the Eve Bunting book. Someone said the Bunting
book was publised in 1995. I read the book I'm looking for
during junior high or high school, and I graduated from HS in
1985. I think this book was part of the spate of Cold War
literature and movies that the US produced during the 1960s and
1970s. The younger teacher is the main character,
and the students are secondary characters. I don't
remember how the older teacher is apprehended, except that I
think it was on the trip to the other country they visited.
Hagon/Allen, Mystery at the Villa Bianca,
1967/1969. I am the original poster. I went home for
Memorial Day and on a hunch, went by the local library where I
first read this book. I had to go through the juvie
section A-D twice before I found the book. They had not thrown
it out, after all. It's Mystery at the Villa Bianca,
by Esther Allen under the pseudonym Patricia Allen. I
tried to purchase it from the library, and was practically
accused of trying to steal the book. I was finally able to
get it back long enough to photocopy the pertinent information
so that I can purchase it used, since it's no longer in print.
Hi. The answer to S-21 is Mystery At
Thunderbolt House by Howard Pease. It is
indeed a children's book and a great one at that.
---
late 1960's early 1970's fictional story (chapter book)
of a young boy's experience during the "big earthquake". I
think his name or one of the character's names was Jud or
Judson. He may have lived on Nob Hill.
Pease, Howard, Mystery of
Thunderbolt House."Thunderbolt
House takes place in 1906 San Francisco where the young hero of
the book, Judson Allen, uncovers a dark family secret involving
his wealthy great uncle known as Thunderbolt Judson. When old
Thunderbolt died, everybody called Judson's family the lucky
Allens. They inherited his fortune and his San Francisco mansion
at Bush and Leavenworth on Nob Hill. (Of course, I went there
just in case the dark foreboding mansion really existed even
after the 1906 earthquake and fire, but, alas, all I found were
post-earthquake apartment buildings.) Unpleasant events began
from the very first day the Allen family arrived from Stockton
on a ferry boat across the bay. The book presents a picturesque
description of San Francisco of the 1900s, including a cable car
ride from the Ferry Building through the fog on the hills of The
City. Judson discovers a secret about the mansion's
great library and a blood stain on the ballroom floor and is
just about to solve the family mystery when the 1906 earthquake
shatters San Francisco and the Allen family. The account of the
historic fire and earthquake is vivid. The book gives a colorful
recount of the Barbary Coast, the City of Paris and other
long-lost San Francisco treasures. "
Could this be Mystery of Thunderbolt
House by Howard Pease?
Howard Pease , Thunderbolt House,1944. My copy (published by Doubleday
& Company, Inc. in 1944) is called Thunderbolt House,
not Mystery of Thunderbolt House. Perhaps
the name was changed for a later edition? The story takes
place in a mansion in the Nob Hill district of San Francisco
around the time of the 1906 earthquake and subsequent
fire. The young protagonist is named Jud Allen, and his
late great-uncle was Edward Judson. I'm assuming that
"late 1960's early 1970's" is when the stumper requester read
the book, not when it was published, and certainly not when the
story takes place---there have been many earthquakes in and
around San Francisco, but 1906 was the "big" one.
I did suggest this one to the customer, but we weren't sure.
Since others out there think it's a match, I'm marking it Solved.
Condition Grades |
Pease, Howard. Mystery at Thunderbolt House. Scholastic, 1944, 1973, 8th mass paperback printing. VG-. $15 |
|
Hobson, Polly, Surprise House. (Lippincott, 1964) The Mystery House, by
Polly Hobson, illustrated by Judith Ann Lawrence, published
Lippincott 1964, 159 pages. "Marilyn at eleven dreads her
boarding-school vacations, for her father, whom she scarcely
remembers, works in far-off Africa, and her mother, a smart
London dress designer, is always in a whirl of activity. When
Marilyn's mother takes her to their country cottage on Christmas
holiday, her loneliness is forgotten as she discovers a new
family with four children occupying the long-deserted house next
door. Five beautifully coloured marbles found hidden away in a
secret attic room lead the children on to a series of
adventures, until each one finds quite mysteriously his unspoken
wishes coming true." Horn Book Apr/65 p.171
Polly Hobson, The Mystery House. (1963) This is
it! With help from a local librarian, I was able to find a
copy and this is exactly the book I was hunting for. I am
extremely grateful for the help. Now to find myself a
copy. Thank you again!
Sorry, don't know the title. I'm fairly
certain this is the same book I'm trying to identify, and I can
add two specifics - the trick with the statue is that it
physically points in one direction but the clues on the map form
an arrow, with the statue location at its tip, that points in
the opposite direction. Also, one of the decoded clues is "house
on a hill" or something similar, and there's a scene where one
team wonders whether they have accidentally revealed this bit of
information to a competing team before they had worked it out
for themselves.
The additional details supplied triggered new memories about
the book I'm looking for! Thank you! Yes, that's the
one! Does this sound familiar to anyone else?
Mary C. Jane, Mystery in Longfellow
Square.1964. The IOBA
article on Jane's dustjackets has pictures, which may help jog
your memory. The book is 128 pages long, which would seem to
fit. Here's
a link to the article.
Margaret Goff Clark, Mystery in the
flooded museum,
1978. "Rising flood waters and the disappearance of a
valuable wampum belt mar the beginning of fifteen-year-old
Susan's summer of volunteer work at the Fort Pitt Museum."
Clark, Margaret Goff, Mystery in the
Flooded Museum.
Dodd, Mead, c1978. "Rising flood waters and the
disappearance of a valuable wampum belt mar the beginning of
fifteen-year-old Susan's summer of volunteer work at the Fort
Pitt Museum."
I think this book must be Mystery in
the Night Woods. I read this book as a child
and recently picked up a copy at a thrift shop. It's a
Little Apple book published by Scholastic in 1969. The author is
John Peterson and the illustrator is Cyndy Szekeres.
The characters are F.S. (Flying Squirrel), Mr. Bat, Beautiful
Miss Owl, Police Chief Skunk, and the Weasel.
Hey, THANKS! That looks like it! You made my day!
---
the book I'm looking for was a book I had
gotten sometime between 1977 - 1981 or so - it was one of
those Scholastic Books you order from a school catalogue &
bother your parents to buy for you! It was about some
little animals (a bat, owl - possibly a Flying Fox &
others) who had some sort of detective agency or mystery
solving group. It was a soft cover - Night Animals may or may
not have been in the title... I know that's not much info to
go on - I hope you can help!
John Peterson, Mystery In The Night
Woods. I think
this might be what you're looking for. I remembered a book I
loved about a flying squirrl who gets accused of something and
is sent to an island ?? i ran a search and this is the book i
was thining of, sounds like it might be the one you want, to. It
is Scholastic book as well. Thank you for remonding me of a
wonderful memory! I am going to get a copy for my kids.
Peterson, John. Mystery of the
night woods.
illus by Cindy Czekeres. Scholastic 1421
John Peterson, Mystery In The Night Woods, 1975.
Thank you so much! I believe that this is it!
---
This is a children's book most likely
published in the 1970's where there were several night animals
living in a tree community. I remember the sugar glider
and there may also have been an opossum and an owl.
John Peterson, Mystery in the Night
Woods, 1969,
Illustrated by Cindy Szekeres. When Flying Squirrel
kidnaps the beautiful Miss Owl after she laughs at his
unexpected marriage proposal, he is sentenced to serve time on
Far Island, the animal prison. He escapes to seek revenge
on his former best friend, Bat, whom he blames for his arrest.
However, upon his return, he and Bat are faced with a larger
problem: a series of mysterious bank robberies which they are
able to trace back to the wicked Weasel and his gang. They
are able to help Police Chief Skunk capture Weasel, who has been
using a hive of trained bees to carry off the money.
Thank you!
Elizabeth Enright, The Four-Story
Mistake. You
couldn't possibly be thinking of The Four-Story Mistake, could
you? Because there is a hidden painting in that
story--just one, though, of a girl in dancing shoes, and it's
not in the walls, it's hidden in a secret room behind a wall in
the attic. I know it's a long shot!
No it is not the Four Story Mistake, but I do love
Elizabeth Enright's books. I think the author I am looking
for also wrote another book about this set of children.
That mystery involves a wooden cigar store Indian. I think
they were set in a small town.
I wonder if this could be Elizabeth
Honness? She wrote Mystery of the Wooden
Indian, Mystery of the Pirate's Ghost, Mystery of the Hidden
Face, Mystery of the Secret Message, Mystery of the Auction
Trunk, Mystery of the Square House, Mystery of the Square
Tower, and Mystery of the Maya Jade,
among others.
Happy Hollisters? Could
this be your title about the cigar store Indian? The
Happy Hollisters and the Whistle-Pig Mystery, by Jerry
West. "A million-dollar train robbery, a stolen
wooden Indian, a German woodcarver, and a family of whistle-pigs
all play a part in this Hollister family adventure."
Elizabeth Honness, Mystery of the
Hidden Face,
1963. A previous poster thought it might be one of
Honness' books...it is, and its definetely the Mystery of
the Hidden Face (there's also an odd...for a
childrens book...subplot involving art theft/forgery/communists)
Elizabeth Honness, Mystery of the
Auction Trunk, circa
1956. I'm certain it's Mystery of the Auction Trunk.
The painter was named Jacob Whitcomb he painted on wooden panels
instead of canvas and later built the paintings into his walls
because they were unappreciated . . . at the time of the story,
though, his works have become valuable. There's also a
crooked art dealer named Sanford Cummings who's trying to trick
the kids' parents into selling him the house, which he believes
contains the lost paintings. Mystery of the Wooden
Indian was one of my favorites when I was a boy,
largely because it involves a cipher and lost coins, and I
enjoyed (and still enjoy) cryptography and numismatics. The kids
find a diary from 1870 in the head of a cigar-store Indian, and
an enciphered message in the diary eventually leads them to the
coins. I remember that one of the coins was an 1838-O half
dollar.
Hi! I sent in a solution to H133 about
2:30 yesterday morning. . .it might be more cogent if I amended
it by noting that the first pictures the kids found agree with
the descriptions given in the stumper (apple tree in blossom and
parade). I reread Auction Trunk about three
months ago, and I have no doubt that it's the book.
Walden, Amelia, 1964. Okay, I
sent a message about an hour ago, giving a few clues I also
remembered about this book, then, while I was grocery shopping,
the author came to me! I believe the book is by Amelia
Walden--sometimes known as Amelia Elizabeth Walden.
The title *might* be The Spy with Five Faces or
it might be one of her other mystery titles...one of the others
with "Spy" in the title. Good luck!
I have a suggestion for a solution to
G304. Could the book possibly be Beth Hilton: Model
by Lee Wyndham?? It was copyrighted
around 1961. I read it and used to have a copy of
it. I don't remember where it took place, but Beth in it
went to charm school somewhere or other and she was
self-conscious about something.
Betty Antoncich, The Mystery of the
Chinatown Pearls, 1965.
A fun book. I am positive this is the one you are looking for. I
have read it several times. I had a copy when I was younger and
somehow lost it. It took me several years to track down another
copy.
I'm checking on The Mystery of the
Chinatown Pearls. My University library has the
book and I will look to confirm. I ordered the other two
possibilities via inter-library loan. I want to buy the
book but, of course, I want to make sure what I buy is the
right one :) Thank you all so much!
Betty Antoncich, Mystery of the
Chinatown Pearls,
1965. I sent in the previous suggestion of Mystery
of the Chinatown Pearls. I thought I would provide a
little more info about the book to help the original requester.
The summary on the inside flap of the book includes the
following: "As marcey approaches Charm School she wishes she had
not come. Her feet are big - she is tall - she is fat, . . .
Marcey, already actin, looking and feeling more confident, walks
home through San Francisco's Chinatown. As she strolls she
encounters a girl who resembles her, only this girl looks as
Marcey would like to look. . . . It is only when the F.B.I.
steps in that Marcey wonders about her Chinatown pearls . . " I
skipped a lot of the summary to highlight the parts that match
the memories of the orignal requester.
Betty Antoncich, Mystery of the
Chinatown Pearls.
I only had to read 3 pages of this book to KNOW that it was
it! Thank you all so much. I would love to find a
copy for my collection.
---
mid- 1960's,
juvenile. I was thrilled to find your site! I'm
trying to find a YA novel about a girl reluctantly attending
charm school in San Francisco. She lives with her aunt? I
recall a scene where she's at a wharf and her shoe slips off her
foot onto a ship and a sailer retrieves it. She remarked
that every ship needs a gunboat, or something to that
effect. I have a vague memory of the cover - a dark haired
girl on a flight of stairs. Let me repeat - VAGUE! I
thought "charm or "charming" might be in the title.
Debutante?, Deb? Or some synonym which escapes me!
Thank you.
Betty Antoncich, Mystery of the Chinatown Pearls, 1965. I haven't read it
since the 70s, so my memories are a little vague, but I think
it's the book you're looking for! The girl, who I think is named
Toni, is in charm school, and has big feet. (If it's not
this one, I'm mixing it up with a book by Amelia Walden, which I read
around the same time.)
betty antoncich, the
mystery of the chinatown pearls, 1965,
approximate. i recognized this the moment i saw it but
the name escaped me!! i have the book in my hand it took me 5
minutes to find it (my house is full of books). i couldnt
remember if it was secret of or mystery of. glad i could
help!! by the way my cover shows a girls upper silhouette (red
hair) wearing white gloves and holding pearls.
Mystery of the
Chinatown Pearls. Thank you so much for
solving this stumper! I've been wracking my brain
for years trying to remember the name of this book.
It's funny how some relatively innocuous story, from so
long ago, resonates. I had just about given up hope
of ever finding this book, until I stumbled upon your
site. Thank you again.
Betty Cavanna, The Mystery of the
Emerald Buddha,1976. I
think this is the book you are searching for: "When the sacred
Emerald Buddha is stolen from a Bangkok temple, a young girl and
her father try to solve the mystery surrounding its
disappearance."
I have a feeling this may be a Betty
Cavanna book-Maybe Mystery of the Emerald Budda??
Thanks! We found the book on Sunday, using the keyword
search. It was The Mystery of the Haunted Pool, by
Phyllis A. Whitney.
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the
Haunted Pool,
1960. Definitely it! Susan goes to stay at her aunt in a
little Hudson River town. She meets Gene (the boy with the
brace)and his grandfather, Captain Dan (who is with the fire
department). At the end of the story, Gene is made an honorary
member of the fire department, and blackballs Captain Dan (at
the Captain's request).
Joan Lowery Nixon, Mystery of
Hurricane Castle,
1966. This is definitely the book! Kathy, Maureen, and
Danny (plus his teddy bear Todey)take shelter from the
hurricane- but realize that 'Seaweed Annie' is in the castle,
too.
Joan Lowrey Nixon, Mystery of
Hurricane Castle,
1964. This is Mystery of Hurricane Castle,
a very early book by prolific author Joan Lowrey Nixon. The
mysterious stranger turns out to be a woman recluse who lives in
the scary house, who is an exceptional artist. She recognizes
the girl's talent, gives her some tips, and by the end of the
book, is going to give her lessons in painting.
Joan G. Robinson, Dark House of the
Sea Witch. It
sounds a lot like this, except I can't remember the bit about
the teddy bear in the sand...?
Joan Lowery Nixon, Mystery of
Hurricane Castle,
1964. copyright 1964 published by Criterion Books, Inc.,
first printing October 1966 by Young Readers Press Inc.
Kathy, her sister Maureen, and her brother Danny go to stay at
the seashore. Kathy, a serious artist, and her sister hear
stories about the frightening "Seaweed Annie," a strange woman
who wanders the dunes. When a storm forces the three children to
take shelter in a mansion, Kathy discovers a gallery of
beautiful paintings. The children meet Seaweed Annie, a lonely,
talented artist. They become friends and Annie promises to give
Kathy painting lessons. I read this book not long after it
was first published. I also had vivid memories of the sand
dunes. I couldn't remember the title or author, but ran across
my old copy in a box of books a few months ago. Hope this is the
right one.
Joan Lowery Nixon, Mystery of
Hurricane Castle.
Yes, this all sounds right! I think we've got another one solved
- thank you!
Whitney, Phyllis A, Mystery of the
Green Cat, 1959.
Could this be Mystery of the Green Cat? I
know that Scholastic reprinted it sometime in the 1970s. The
reprint cover is totally different to the original. I too,
vividly remembered this book by its cover and was thrilled to
find it earlier this year. I don't have it in front of me
but is is dark greeny/grey and has a tall house on top of a
hill, with a wide path leading up to it. Not so much a
haunted story as a mystery - It's set in San Francisco and the
big house looms above theirs on the hill. The story focuses on a
'blended' family of two girls and two boys. The parents have
just married, and there is tension between the boys and their
step-mother. The eldest boy loves to draw, and he and the girl
become intrigued with the house on the hill and the lady that
lives there. There are two sisters that live there, one
who they percieve to be scary and who is protective of her
invalid sister. The children always sneak into the house when
the "mean" sister goes out. They have a Japanese family living
with them, and the invalid sister had lived in Japan with her
husband - and this is where the green cat mystery comes into the
story. If you could find a picture of the 1970s cover, I'm
sure it would be the right book.
John and Nancy Rambeau, The Mystery
of Morgan Castle, circa
1962. A boy and a girl (brother and sister?) investigate a
mystery having to do with an old woman who lives alone in a
large house. It takes place near a beach/boardwalk. The book was
very thin and the cover image sounds very similar, but it was in
hardcover (could be a different edition).
#B236--Biblically named Trees: Mystery
of the Black Diamonds, by Phyllis A. Whitney.
Whitney, Phyllis A., Mystery of the
Black Diamonds.
Westminster Press, 1954. Angie and Mark visit the ghost
town of Blossom, Colorado, with their parents. They've got
a treasure map given to them by an old prospector. Grandpa
Kobler leads them to Shadrach, a huge blue spruce, and tells
them they'll find the stumps of Meshach and Abednego in the
brush.
I'm the person who sent the stumper -- yes it's the Mystery
of the Black Diamonds. Thank you! I've been
looking for this book for ages. Now I actually know what
it is.
Holly Beth Walker, Mystery of the Black-Magic Cave. This is the 5th book in the Meg Mystery series (there are 6 books total in the series . Meg Duncan and her best friend, Kerry, go to visit her Uncle Hal in Merrybones, Maine. They stumble upon a mystery involving local women pretending to be witches in a cave up on a mountain. They also find a spell book in one of the women's house which has the 's' spelled like an 'f' printing which causes them to say silly things at breakfast the next day such as 'please paff the eggs'.
I'm sure this was just solved recently, but I couldn't find it on
first check. So here's an easy one for the Stumper
Magicians...
?Riddle at Live Oaks.
This is on the Solved pages, and if it's not the right one, at
least there are a lot of other possibilities in the postings.
Richard Peck, The Ghost Belonged to
Me. I believe
it's jewels rather than silver in this one, but very close.
In the Solved Mysteries section, under Riddle
of Live Oaks, there are also several other
suggestions for similar books that people suggested -- you might
go there and look at the comments people made on that solved
stumper, because there are 4-5 other titles there.
This sounds very familiar! Was
this a book by Wylly Folk St. John?
#M191--Mystery of Missing Silver: When
the description said silver, I somehow thought silverware, but
if it is by Wylly Folk St. John, The Secrets of
Hidden Creek is about three visiting children and
their local friend finding Confederate silver coins at an old
estate in Georgia. See Solved Mysteries for further
description.
This is the book that I am also looking
for! I believe it is called The Mystery of the
Corbett Family Silver. The children are Billy
and Beulah Corbett. Beulah owns a silver heirloom which is
a little sterling teacup in the shape of a flower
(tulip?). The story is that this cup was part of a set,
all shaped like different flowers. The silver was buried
to protect it from the Yankees. Billy and Beulah get clues
from former slaves, find the saucer that matches the cup and
eventually the buried family silver. I'd love to find this
book, too, as it was a childhood favorite!
Bonham, Frank, Mystery of the Fat
Cat, 1968. "In
his will, a very rich man left all his money for the care for
his cat. Upon the cat's death, the remaining money was to go to
the Boys' Club. Four members of the Boys' Club begin to suspect
that the cat has also died, but that its caretaker has secretly
replaced it to keep his job." Another description:
"When their club, threatened by lack of finances, is forced to
close down, four friends devise a scheme to locate the fat aging
tomcat whose inheritance, destined eventually to go to the club,
is being shared by a sly lawyer and the cat's caretaker.
Frank Bonham, Mystery of the Fat Cat, 1968. No question about it---this is the
book youre looking for! When Buddy Williams, a young
lifeguard at the Dogtown Boys Club, is bitten by a rat while
doing laps in the pool, the Health Department condemns the
facility. Mr. Hannibal, the Boys Club director, manages to get a
last minute reprieve, but an attempted fumigation goes terribly
awry and the building is destroyed. With no place to go and
nothing to do, the bored boys relocate the ducks and get into
trouble. Finally, Buddy Williams, Johnny Pastelito, Rich
Smith and Cool Hawkins decide to help Mr. Hannibal acquire the
funds necessary to have the Boys Club rebuilt. Years ago, a
wealthy woman left her fortune to her cats, but stipulated that
when her cats died, the remainder of her estate should go to the
Dogtown Boys Club. One cat, Buzzer Atkins, is still alive. Is it
really the same cat, or are a couple of greedy co-conspirators
defrauding the Boys Club? The boys decide to photograph
the elusive cat and compare it to a newspaper photo taken at the
time of its owner's death. And yes, they use a bow and
arrow flash and accidentally develop the picture
backwards! Author Frank Bonham spent months talking to
black and latino teenagers in and around Watts and Pasadena and
used these interviews to capture the essence of young lives
spent on the edge of trouble. His description of Ralphie,
Buddy's younger brother, is an extremely accurate portrait of a
child with Asperger's Syndrome or high functioning autism.
(Those diagnoses were not well known in 1968, so Ralphie is
called "mentally retarded.") A well-written slice of
southern California urban life in 1968.
Bonham, Frank, Mystery of the Fat Cat,
1968. Thanks so much.
Mystery of the Gingerbread House
It was an old book when i had it,
and that was in the 80s. I'm guessing it's from the 60s or
thereabouts. all i remember is there were two kids who inherited
a trunk (maybe their aunt's?) and they were trying to find out
what she wanted to tell them by getting it open. they had a clue
saying there was a "key under the frog," but they couldn't find
the frog... then one of them remembered that this weird-looking
iron thing was actually called a GARDEN FROG. that was a big
deal - the key was underneath it. when they opened the trunk
they saw it was lined with flowered wallpaper and then noticed
there was a single frog among the flowers. when they slit it
open they found a bunch of hidden papers. this somehow led them
to a house that seemed abandoned and had a stained glass
window... that's all I remember. would so appreciate your
help!!!
Wylly Folk St. John, Mystery of
the Gingerbread House, 1969. "If Evie had known her grandmother's name it
would have been all right, but that was the mystery. Evie knew
only that her grandmotehr lived in Atlanta, and that her mother
had grown up in a gingerbread house with a yellow rose at one
end of the porch and a stained-glass window on the stair
landing. But for some reason, Evie's mothe rhad been careful
never to tell her much more than that, and the key to the old
locked trunk that might provide a clue couldn't be found. It was
imperative that Evie find her grandmother, and a real problem of
sleuthing began for the three children."
SOLVED:
Wylly Folk St. John, Mystery
of the Gingerbread House. Yes, that's it!!!!!!! I can't believe you knew it right
away - this has been haunting me for YEARS. Thanks so very
much!!
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the
golden horn,
1962. I think this is one of Whitney's mysteries for
younger readers - Starts with the young girl having her
palm read...
I18 istanbul elevator: more on the
suggested, but the publication date may be too late for a book
read in the late 1950s - Mystery of the Golden Horn,
by Phyllis Whitney, illustrated by Georgeann Helms,
published Westminster 1962, 240 pages. "The setting in
Istanbul, Turkey, is unusually clear in this story of two
American girls, one for whom Turkey has always been home and
who is adjusting with difficulty to the loss of her parents
and the other newly come to be with her father because she has
proved too much of a handful for her aunts. The mystery is of
less interest than the girls themselves ... and the whole cast
of well-realized characters - from the very small gypsy to
Vicki's professor father." (HB Feb/63 p.57)
E49 I don't suppose it would be Rawlings
The yearling. There wasn't a mystery, was
there? You'd have thought of it right away.
#E49, Everglades mystery, is reminiscent of
a sequence in the movie "The Yearling" but NOT the same
part in the book, which has a lot of differences. The boy is in
a leaky canoe, not a raft, and he is gone only about a day and a
half, rather than weeks, not being as handy at finding food in
the book as he evidently was in the movie. He headed home
deciding "the world had rejected him"--one of my favorite lines
from the book.
Marjorie Zapf, Mystery of the Great
Swamp,
1967. I think this must be the right book. Its set
in the Okefenokee. The boy's name is Jeb. He paddles
through the swamp with his puppy in a canoe. One day he
finds an emerald green lake which he visits several times.
Eventually he tracks down the two surviving members of an
isolated Indian tribe who live deep inside the swamp. Its a
great book, very atmospheric. My copy is from the Weekly
Reader Book Club. The cover is green.
---
I read a book when I was somewhere in 4th
through 6th grade, between 1968-71. I believe it was one
purchased through the Scholastic Book Club. I do not
remember author or title. It was about a young boy that
like to canoe. I don't remember his family situation, I
think he had parents, don't know about siblings. During
one of his canoe trips, he was caught in a storm and blown
through many different channels, I recall many of these
channels being like tunnels because of overgrown trees.
He ends up lost and on an island that has a tribe of Indians
(I think they were very tall) - like a lost tribe. He
eventually gets back home after some interaction with this
tribe. I don't remember much else - any possible
ideas? Thank you very much.
Marjorie Zapf, The Mystery of the
Great Swamp,
1967. This is the book, set in the Okefenokee. The
boy's name is Jeb. This is in Solved Mysteries, too.
I checked E49 based on the comments and at first I didn't think
it was the book. I obtained a copy and just finished
reading it today. I was so excited as I was reading it and more
and more became convinced this is the book I read so many years
ago. I have thought about this book on and off for years
and was pretty much resigned to the fact I would never find
it. I must thank you for your wonderful website and for
the individual who read my stumper and offered the
suggestion. Thank you so much!
G. Shirreffs, The Mystery of the
Haunted Mine
Dionetti, Michelle V., Coal Mine
Peaches, 1991.
---
The book is about 3 teens, Gary, his friend Tuck (or Tucker),
and Tuck's cousin Sue. They live in Cottenwood Wells near
the Suerstitious Mountains. They find a map that shows
where the Lost Dutchman's Mine is and go after it. They
have a lot a difficulties because someone else is after the
map. Another character is Candyman, a peddler. I
remember the story so well I could almost rewrite it, but can't
remember the title or author!
Gordon Shirreffs, Mystery of the
Haunted Mine
Gordon D. Shirreffs, Mystery of the
Haunted Mine, 1970,
reprint. Copyright 1961--Formerly The Haunted
Treasure of the Espectros From the back cover:
"Somewhere in those canyons is a fortune .... The Indians say
it is guarded by ghosts -- but Gary and Tuck refuse to believe
that ghosts use live ammunition!" Tuck's cousin Sue
is in the story also.
Phyllis A. Whitney, Mystery of the
Haunted Pool,
1960. I'm not sure of this, but it reminds me of what I
remember of Mystery of the Haunted Pool. There are no
younger siblings, but I was reminded of the Happy Hollisters
series and wonder if you could be mixing it up with those?
Whitney's mysteries were rather similar in mood.
Whitney, Phyllis, Mystery of the
Haunted pool,
1960. From the jacket: "Leaving her family in New
York at the start of summer vacation, Susan Price comes up the
river to the little town of Highland Crossing, where her aunt
runs an antique shop. Aunt Edith has been working on a deal
that, if successful, will permit the Price family and herself to
live in the big house belonging to Captain Dan Teague.
Besides the antiques in her aunt's shop, Susan meets a number of
oddities, including a middle-aged spinster who cavorts about in
spectacular play clothes, and a boy with a brace on his leg and
an oversized chip on his shoulder. The bizarre bachelor lady
shows an unusual interest in a barrel of books Aunt Edith has
acquired from the Teague attic. Later, Susan discovers Miss
Altoona hiding in the brush, watching the Teague house most
suspiciously. Captain Dan at last agrees to rent his
house, and that's when the mystery surrounding it really goes
into high. The very first night that she and her aunt sleep
there Susan hears strange noises, and both of them find an
opened window and, on the living room floor, something ominous
indeed. Most frightening of all is the face in a pool: it stares
up at Susan through the water, then disappears! What
everything means, Susan learns in the end, of course, but not
before a fire in Miss Altoona's house sets many matters to right
and readers themselves have gulped in mystery-fan's delight.
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery of the
Haunted Pool,
1960. This sounds like another Phyllis Whitney one -
apparently she was one of the most widely read mystery authors
from the 60's/70's. I recall reading this in my high-school
library, which hasn't changed its collection in decades.
M287 Pretty sure this is MYSTERY OF
THE HAUNTED POOL by Phyllis A. Whitney,
1960. ~from a librarian
Phyllis A. Whitney, Mystery of the
Haunted Pool. If
the figurehead at the bottom of the pond was wearing a necklace
of wooden beads with diamonds hidden inside, this is the book!
Phyllis A. Whitney, Mystery of the
Haunted Pool,
1960. Leaving her family in New York at the start of
summer vacation, Susan Price comes up the river to the little
town of Highland Crossing, where her aunt runs an antique shop.
Aunt Edith has been working on a deal that, if successful, will
permit the Price family and herself to live in the big house
belonging to Captain Dan Teague. Besides the antiques in her
aunt's shop, Susan meets a number of oddities, including a
middle-aged spinster who cavorts about in spectacular play
clothes, and a boy with a brace on his leg and an oversized chip
on his shoulder. The bizarre bachelor lady shows an unusual
interest in a barrel of books Aunt Edith has acquired from the
Teague attic. Later, Susan discovers Miss Altoona hiding in the
brush, watching the Teague house most suspiciously.
Captain Dan at last agrees to rent his house, and that's when
the mystery surrounding it really goes into high. The very first
night that she and her aunt sleep there Susan hears strange
noises, and both of them find an opened window and, on the
living room floor, something ominous indeed. Most frightening of
all is the face in a pool: it stares up at Susan through the
water, then disappears! What everything means, Susan
learns in the end, of course, but not before a fire in Miss
Altoona's house sets many matters to right and readers
themselves have gulped in mystery-fan's delight.
Phyllis Whitney, The Haunted Pool. I read this book so long ago I don't remember
any details except for the part about a girl looking into a pool
and a face looking back. Maybe this is a fit.
John & Nancy Rambeau, The Mystery of the Myrmidon's Journey, 1965. You are definitely looking for the Morgan Bay mysteries. The spines, covers and illustrations are all in shades of purple. The main characters are brothers Bill and Gabby Summers and their sister, Vinny. There are other recurring characters, as well, including Mrs. Wellington and Fritz the dog. There are at least eight books in the series (the ones I have) -- The Mystery of Morgan Castle, The Mystery of the Marble Angel, The Mystery of the Midnight Visitor, The Mystery of the Missing Marlin, The Mystery of the Musical Ghost, The Mystery of Monks' Island, The Mystery of the Marauder's Gold, and The Mystery of the Myrmidon's Journey (with a female character named Tsing). Each book began with illustrations of the main characters in the book and ended with exercises/questions about each chapter (clearly intended for school use). Published by Harr Wagner Publishing Company -- San Francisco. My family was going to get rid of these books in a yard sale and I grabbed them out of the box as fast as I could to save for my children (one loved them, the other is about the start them). I'm glad someone remembers them, too, and I'm glad I could help.
Augusta Huiell Seaman (Freeman), Mystery
of the Other House, 1947.
The two girls in this book are Susan, who lives with her Aunt
Ruth, and Bernadette (Detta) who lives across the street with
her 3 aunts - the Misses Genevieve, Hortense, and
Cordelia. They do have an elderly boarder - Mr. St. Croix.
The girls discover a secret entrance to the house which is being
used by secret visitors for Mr. St. Croix, who thought that he
was the Lost Dauphin of France (because of a tatoo on his
chest) It is a wonderful story. The copy that I have
was discarded from the library. On the front, it has the
author's name, but on the inside, it has her name plus another
last name - Freeman. There is no explanation for this or
any other information about her or other books she may have
written. Hope this helps you!
Ruth Sawyer, Roller Skates. This should be easy to check. It's
been ages since I read Roller Skates, but I think
Lucinda, the heroine, romanticizes one of the building's
boarders into the Lost Dauphin (never mind that the Dauphin was
lost in the French Revolution and the book is set in New York at
the turn of the 20th century).
Certainly Lucinda ate peppermints and
(obviously) roller skated.
The answer to the Stumper M112 is indeed Augusta Huiell
Seaman (Freeman), Mystery of the Other House, 1947.
Thank you so much---I loved this book as a child and was so
happy to re-discover it. We were finally able to
interlibrary loan it, but I am sending a separate request in
case you might locate a copy for me to purchase. Thanks
again!
This doesn't quite fit, but there's Disappearance
at Lake House, by Helen Girvan, published
Westminster 1959 "When Kit Reed inherits an old mansion in
Canada, she also inherits a strange mystery with it! Girls
12-15." (Horn Book Oct/59 p.345 pub ad)
Mollie Chappell, Kit and the Mystery
Man,1965. I don't
have clear memories of this book, but think it *might* be the
one.
Hi:Looking same book.Brother and sis named
Kit and Abigail.Family inherits house with tunnel to sea. Kids
have key. Kids and black skeleton keys on cover of book. Unblock
the tunnel and find ancestor Pirate. He came home and the tunnel
was blocked. Dies in tunnel,leaves letter. Read in 1970 in 6th
grade.
Elizabeth Honness, The Mystery of the
Pirate's Ghost.
1966 copyright. A Weekly Reader book.
M103 Elizabeth Honness, Mystery
of the Pirate's Ghost, 1966. Just got it ILL.
Read it again from 1966. Yes, Kit and Abby do find Robert the
pirate's skeleton behind the wall in the cellar between the door
at the tunnel. A good mystery.
This could be Mystery of the Pirate's
Ghost (1966) by Elizabeth Honness, Illustrated by
Beth and Joe Krush. This book has a blue cover. At the
start of the story Mrs. Hubbard, the mother, inherits a large
old home on a cliff from an elderly relative. They eventually
move in. From another relative, Miss Pingree they hear tales
about their new home: its past, pirates, pirate's ghosts and an
old smuggler's cave. Are they legends or are they real?
The two children, Abby, (especially) the girl and Kit, her
brother try to solve several mysteries about the houses past and
some strange goings-on involving their handyman. Toward the end
of the story Mrs. Hubbard goes grocery shopping for candles and
food etc. because of an impending hurricane! Following the
hurricane a cave is revealed at the base of the cliff. I hope
this is your long lost book!
Hello, A while back there was a request for two books in one paragraph--M12. I was able to supply the title and author for the second book, Secret of the Emerald Star, but I didn't know the first. Today I found this book! It is Mystery of the Red Carnations by Mary C. Jane. Published 1968.
Just to mention the possibility that Y 23
and the old, VERY OLD!! stumper S 93 might be the same book! If
so, we now have more info to go on! I have been working on this
one for eons!!
Thanks to whoever noted the similarities between this stumper
& S93--there does seem to be a correlation there. After some
heavy thinking I'm almost positive that Y23 takes place in
Florida, over near Tampa/St. Pete, as it seems to me that the
kids could ride their bicycles around the neighborhood all year
'round.
Reid, Eugenie, Mystery of the
Carrowell Necklace. NY Lothrop 1966. I don't know enough
about this book to be sure it's the answer, but it is a YA
mystery of about the right date, set in Florida. "Visiting in
Florida, three young cousins work together to solve a family
mystery, and have a wonderful time doing it." "Lou goes to visit
her great-aunt Isobel in Florida & is joined there by her
cousin Caroline. There Lou decides to try to find the diamond
necklace that was said to have been hidden on the grounds years
before." Less likely is The Pelican Mystery, by Ruth Hooker,
Whitman 1977 "While staying in a motel in the Florida Keys with
their convalescent mother, Grand and his sister Shelley become
acquainted with a pelican and investigate a mystery involving
the robbery of a beach home."
This solution was submitted on another
forum: "Well, this could be the book you're looking for or not
but my copy of The Mystery of the Second Treasure
by Eugenie Reid has a picture of a street map that has
the streets spelling out the name "Betty" in cursive. The
story is set in Florida and the main characters are siblings and
they do ride their bikes a lot. It was published in
1967. Hope this helps."
Hi--I'm the original poster, & remembered something else
to add: this book was published by JB Lippincott, Philadelphia.
Maybe this'll help--thanks!
Elizabeth Honness, Mystery of the Secret Message, 1961.
Well, I think I've solved my own Stumper--I'm almost positive
that this is the book. Someone on another Stumper mentioned
Elizabeth Honness & that really jogged my memory. As this
book was published in 1961, it's not about the Cuban Missile
Crisis (which was in 1962), but the Bay of Pigs incident was in
early '61, & I think I must have remembered the wrong Cuban
crisis initially. Thanks for getting my mental gears going!
D9: Mystery of the Silent
Friends by Robin Gottlieb (story about
automated dolls, one sits at a writing desk and her message is a
clue).
I believe that D9 the mystery about the
automatonic dolls is MYSTERY OF THE SILENT FRIENDS,
by Robin Gottlieb.
Thank you for figuring out the title of a book that's been
bugging me for years! (Mystery of the Silent Friends)
Now I just need to find a copy of it!
I've found a Scholastic paperback, used but in good shape. Want
it?
---
Girl discovers dolls with ability to
write secret messages
gottlieb, Robin, Mystery of the
Silent Friends.
Three mechanical dolls in Nina's father's antique shop seem to
hold a secret & are wanted by two men. She & her friend
Muffin try to solve the mystery.
Robin Gottlieb (author), Al Brule
(illustrator), Mystery of the Silent Friends,
1964. Without more information, this is the only title I
can think of. I don't own a copy, and can't find an online
synopsis, but this is what I remember. A girl's father
works in an antique store. The store has three jointed
mechanical dolls on display, all from the same estate.
Each doll performs a specific task when it is wound up.
One doll writes, one doll draws, and the third doll plays a
small piano or harpsichord. The girl discovers that the
previous owner hid his vast fortune and left the three dolls as
clues. The drawing doll draws a picture of a monkey, the
writing doll writes the word "cage" and the musical doll adds
four notes---C, A, G, and E---to the end of the piece she
plays. It turns out that there once was a fourth
mechanical doll, a tumbling monkey in a cage. I seem to
remember that the monkey had broken or disappeared long ago, but
the painted cage is the missing treasure. Underneath the
paint, it is made of solid platinum!
Gottlieb, Robin, Mystery of the
Silent Friends,
1973. Nina finds that her father's automaton dolls can
write secret messages leading them to solve a mystery.
Robin Gottlieb, The Mystery of the
Silent Friends,
1964. A possibility--The Mystery of the Silent
Friends. There are three large mechanical
dolls who write out a message that in the end leads to a
treasure.
G271 You may be thinking of MYSTERY
OF THE SILENT FRIENDS by Robin Gottlieb. Two
girls get interested in 2 mechanical dolls in the father's
antique store. One doll sits at a writing desk and I think the
other one has an instrument? The doll makes the same messages
over and over, but when they turn the setting too far, she
writes a new message about a treasure. Vague on everything, but
I seem to recall that the treasure was a birdcage that was made
of platinum and was very valuable.~from a librarian
I probably should have included more of a description for my
stumper. Here's what I can remember. I read
this book in the mid 1970s when I was in middle school.
The details are vague but it involves a girl who discovers two
dolls, one of each gender, possibly in an antique shop. I
think they were dressed in traditional German clothing (I think
the boy wore liederhosen) and that one or both of the dolls sat
at a desk. The child discovers that there is a hidden
switch or mechanism of some sort that causes the doll to write a
secret message. The message was a hidden function
engineered by an undercover agent or spy. There may have
been a hidden compartment of some sort in a doll or desk. I do
know that at that age (and still!) I would have been fascinated
by anything smacking of the occult, adventure, mystery, spies
etc., so I'm guessing that the title that suggests mystery or
secrets. I do know I was riveted to the book and it
obviously made quite an impression.
Looks like this was solved before the details provided!
Amazing.
Thank you to everyone who answered! Obviously time has played
some tricks on my memory, so I plan to read this as soon as I
discover a copy!
----
I read this in the 70s but I
don't know how new/old it was at the time. I don't remember
much; it was a mystery, there were a lot of automatronics in the
house (someone collected them?) including a doll that could
draw/write, which figured prominently in the mystery. May be
part of a series?
Robin Gottlieb, Mystery of
the Silent Friends, 1964. Try this one. Nina's father owns an
antique shop which includes two automatons named Henri and
Henriette, who can draw (and Henri can write his name).
Nina's beloved "silent friends" become the center of a mystery
which Nina and her friend Muffin are determined to solve.
Gottlieb,
Robin, Mystery of the Silent
Friends.
Girl's father has a shop in which he has 3 animatronic dolls, if
you put all the dolls clues together they solve a mystery.
One draws, one plays the piano, and Robin
Gottleib, The Mystery of the
Silent Friends, 1967, approximate. I bought
this in a Scholastic Book order! The two animatronics
hold a secret...two girls know that in order to solve the
mystery (and save the antique shop owned by one of the girl's
grandfather) they have to figure out the riddle AND find the
third, missing automaton. One writes, one plays a
miniature piano, and the third...might draw? (I haven't
read it in years, so the details are hazy.) It's very
memorable though!
Robin
Gottlieb, Mystery of the
Silent Friends. This has very little in common with the author's
description except that it features two automata, Henri, who
writes, and Henriette, who draws. They provide clues to a
mystery, so just on the off chance that the stumper requester is
confusing details from two books, I thought I'd throw this title
in.
Robin
Gottlieb, Mystery of the
Silent Friends
Robin
Gottlieb, Mystery of the
Silent Friends, 1969, approximate. Sounds like MYSTERY OF THE SILENT FRIENDS by
Robin Gottlieb. The book I had in childhood was a paperback from
the Scholastic Book Club. The dolls are not in a home but in the
father's antique store, and the one doll writes something that
leads to something valuable (a birdcage made of platinum). I
know she wrote SECRET OF THE UNICORN which involved the same
characters, and the author has other mysteries which may or may
not have the same characters (the unicorn one is only one I know
for certain).
SOLVED: Robin Gottlieb, Mystery of the
Silent Friends. I just
wanted to let you know that this was indeed the book I was
looking for. Thank you for helping me find this book
again.
Geoffrey Household, Mystery of the
Spanish Cave, 1936.
Definitely!
My
copy is a reprint,1964.
Barbee Oliver Carleton, The
Witches' Bridge,1967. Definitely this one. I loved
this book when I was younger, and hunted for it FOREVER before I
got the title right! Dan Pride comes to live with his uncle
Julian at Pride's Point, where a Puritan ancestor was once
accused of witchcraft, and a ghostly fiddler is supposed to
haunt the Witches' Bridge. Anyone who hears the fiddler's
music is supposed to be cursed. Dan learns that his own
grandfather died near the Bridge years ago, while the Fiddler
played. When Dan hears the ghostly music and sees
mysterious lights in the marshes, he decides to try to solve the
mystery of the bridge, with the help of his friends, Pip and
Gilly. It's been a long time since I read this (back in the
70's) but as I recall, the fiddling sound was actually wind
whistling through holes under the bridge, where there was some
sort of hidden passage leading to a secret chamber under the
chapel. Dan's grandfather had been murdered over some
money, which he had hidden there prior to his murder. The
lights Dan had seen were actually Billy Ben, the hired man,
searching for the money. Billy Ben turns out to be the
villain in the book, framing Dan for arson, and later pursuing
Dan through the passage where he tries to kill him. Dan is saved
by the black dog, Caliban. This book has been reprinted as
The Mystery of the Witches' Bridge.
Barbee Oliver Carleton, Mystery of
the Witches Bridge,1967.I'\m
sure this is the book the original title was The Witches
Bridge. The main character is a boy, Dan Pride, who
goes to live with his uncle in a spooky mansion across salt
marshes. The dog Caliban is there, and Dan does make
friends with local kids and they solve the mystery of the
bridge.
Thank you so much for your website!
My mystery book has been found - and so quickly too. I
can't believe it. I have been wracking my brain for a
good 10 years; looking in bookstores; asking anyone in the
store who looked like they might actually know books -
nothing. This is wonderful.
A long shot, but maybe it's Mystery
Back of the Mountain by Mary C. Jane, 1960?
See Stumper R158 in the archives for more details.
Carl D. Lane, Mystery
Trail, 1951, copyright. Turns out it was Mystery Trail by Carl D.
Lane. I found it online. It took place in the New
England woods and had many survival tips and involved a
tourmaline mine.
Mystery
Up
The Winding Stair
I read this book during the
1980's, though the book could have been a little older.
The main themes I remember were a young boy, a pair of boots
with diamonds hidden in the toes, a mystery, and a room that was
decorated as a cabin. I also seem to remember a staircase
of some sort, but I'm not sure.
Not Tom Sawyer, Detective perchance?
Helen Fuller Orton, Mystery Up the Winding Stair, 1948,
copyright. This sounds like Mystery Up the Winding Stair
by Helen Fuller Orton.
Thank you, Mystery
Up The Winding Stair was exactly what I was
looking for. Thanks again!
The Mystical Beast
I read this book around 1982-1986 (2nd-6th grade). I got it
through a book order at school (Scholastic?) It was a paperback
and the cover was bright blue. I think the picture was of a
dragon against a light background. From what I remember, 2 kids
are trapped by witches (who may be sisters.) At one point the
witches order the kids to clean a very dirty room that includes
dirty dishes and silverware with only a broom that has just 3
bristles and a dirty cloth. One kid either writes down a list or
tells the witches about all the cleaning products they will need
to do the job adequately (including a chamois for the windows)
but the request is ignored. They do the best they can but the
place is still pretty dirty. (This isn't central to the story
but I remember the list.) The main thing is that a dragon is
being held captive because he is magical. He is a nice dragon.
He has a heavy iron collar around his neck and it has worn the
scales smooth underneath. His scales are magical but I think he
has grown weak and/or that he only has a few scales left that
can be used to perform magic/grant wishes.(?) The kids need to
get the key that locks the collar so they can free the dragon.
I'm pretty sure they achieve their goal but I can't remember
anything else. This book has been on my mind for years and I
would really love to find a copy. Thank you!
Allison Farthing, The Mystical Beast. This is absolutely the book you are
looking for. I own it and reread it recently. Good news! It is
readily available and cheap online!
I just wanted to write and let you know
that the stumper I submitted, D222, was correctly solved. It
is indeed The Mystical Beast by Alison Farthing. I
ordered it online (used) and it arrived yesterday. It even had
the same cover I remembered. Thank you so much- your service
is great. Reading through the solved Bookstumpers I was also
able to find the other two books I desperately wanted: Magic
in the Park and No Flying in the House.
----
Kids book. 70s?
Brother and sister see a schoolmate walking a goat, follow her,
end up in another world, helping her search for her missing
aunt, a witch. Either the girl or aunt is called Lavinia. Note
from aunt: "Let Garlick be your guide." Garlick turns out to be
the name of the aunt's helper/sidekick/familiar. At one point
the kids have been captured by the villain and are being menaced
by a black cloud (called the prickles?) and the girl chases it
off with a can of hairspray from her bag. Later, the brother
saves the day because he'd somehow gotten a dragon scale stuck
in his shoe/sock. I don't think it was one of Ruth Chew's books.
I remember it being a Scholastic-sized paperback with a few
black and white line-drawings, but I could be wrong about at
least the paperback part. Dragon scale in the boy's shoe saves the day.
Alison
Farthing, The Mystical Beast, 1978. Lavinia is the caretaker for the Mystical
Beast (a friendly dragon-like creature)who has been kidnapped by
evil witches. You can find a short summary here: http://books.google.com/books?id=AM5TAAAACAAJ&dq=the+mystical+beast.
Alison
Farthing, The Mystical Beast. Sara and Henry help Lavinia
find the Mystical Beast on the "Other Side."
Thanks to the folks who suggested Alison Farthings The Mystical Beast. They were absolutely right, despite what turns out to be a lot of misremembered details on my part.
T35 I think it may be Lisa and Lotte
(was it by Erich Kastner?). It's the book on which
the movie "The Parent Trap" was based.
The person could be thinking of 2 different
books: Lisa and Lottie by Erich Kastner
- two twins meet at summer camp and switch places (there are the
"L" names) or The Twins at St. Clare'sby Enid
Blyton in which two mischievious twins attend boarding
school - this one is a series, but the twins are Pat and Isabel.
#T35--Twins, tricky. I think I've
definitely found these: Delightful Stories by Joan
Price Reeve from Moody Press Publications, The
Mystifying Twins Because Lois and Lettice
Belmont are identical twins, they become involved in innumerable
humorous and exciting adventures. Their daring pranks at
Rivercote School continually get them in trouble, not only with
their friends but also with the headmistress. Midnight
banqueting, hiding frogs in bed, chasing ghosts, and falling
into the river add spice to their lives. Told in a
pleasing, informal style, the story moves swiftly.
Spiritual crises confront the twins when Lois becomes a
Christian while at summer camp. The Secret of the
Mystifying Twins Excitement fills the air as
the twins return to Rivercote and immediately
team up with their old friend Jane Smith,
who always shares with them in their delightful pranks.
Then a sudden accident cripples Lettice. Jealousy, hate
and fear fill Lettice's heart. But soon she learns that 'all
things work together for good,' and faith, hope and
prayer bring victory. The Lord richly rewards the twins
for their shining testimonies. Both of these were in print
by 1963.
Enid Blyton, The twins at St. Clares, ca 1940s. This is one of a series of books
taking the O'Sullivan twins through their boarding school days,
in England.
I am very grateful to the suggestions
made but they have not found the book I am after. My sister
remembers the illustrations which depict little-dark-haired
girls, one in gingham with pigtails. It is not a "Fun and
school-adventures" book. The girls have quite a hard time in
the book. Thank you for your wonderful website!
Antonia Forest, Autumn Term. Could this be the series about the
Marlow family? In the first book twins Nicola and Lawrie
go off to boarding school and have a hard time as they don't
live up to the standards set by the rest of the family. The book
ends with them acting successfully in a play, The Prince
and the Pauper. In the second book The Marlows and the Traitor,
Lawrie breaks her leg. No dark haired little girls in gingham
though, the twins are fair.
---
I am looking for a book series about twin
(red-headed - I think) girls. The series starts off with
them at boarding school and getting into a lot of trouble
because of their schemes. Eventually, one of the twins becomes
a Christian and tries to get her sister to find God as
well. I read them in 1979, but I don't know how old the
books were at the time.
This plot sounds a little bit like an old
Hayley Mills movie, "The Trouble with Angels," which was
taken from a book of the same name by Jane Trahey.
I know there are two books in the series, maybe there are
three. I never read the books, but I remember loving the
movie when I was 13.
Reeve, Joan Price, The Mystifying
Twins. Twins
names Lois & Lettuce.
Yes!!! The
Mystifying Twins is the book I have been looking
for. I had just about given up on anyone solving my
"mystery". I remember the story so well, but the title still does
not ring a bell with me. I wonder if it had a different title
when I read it in the late 1970's.
---
Do not remember name or
publisher. Paperback
book. May have been a series. Probably purchased at a Christian
book store. About
identical twin girls; names started with the letter J. One girl wore a pink ribbon and one a
blue ribbon in order for people to tell them apart. In one of the stories one of the
twins broke her leg. One
girl was a Christian, one was not. They may have attended a boarding
school. One story was
about camp. I believe
one sister broke her leg in one of the books and in the other
book I believe there was something about missing food in the
kitchen. I was given the books in the 1960's. Mystery books....Identical twin
girls. Loaned them to some one....never to
be seen again. If there
are more than two in the series, it would be wonderful to have
the whole series. I can
see the cover...just can't remember the titles...
Joan Price Reeve, The Mystifying Twins, 1960. This is so funny
because I just solved this stumper for another person. It
tooks months for someone to solve it for me. Lois and
Lettice are identical twins who get into all kinds of trouble at
boarding school. The sequel is called The Secrets of
the Mystifying Twins. I have been able to find
the first book online, but not the second.
After over 20 years...you found it! Thank
you. I have ordered both books. Looked at the
Table of Contents on line...yep...a flood of memories!
---
I read two books in about 1968 or
69 about sisters (twins?) in a boarding school. There were some
great adventures, sneaking around, maybe a mystery and interest
in boys. In the 2nd book of the series, one of the girls is in
an accident and becomes paralyzed - the sister by then has a
boyfriend.
Joan Price Reeve, The Mystifying Twins, 1960, copyright. This was
one of my book stumpers a while back. It took a long time for
someone to answer it, so I'm glad I can help you! The
first book is The Mystifying
Twins and the second one is The Secrets of the Mystifying Twin. Lois
and Lettice are identical twins who get into all kinds of
mischieve at their boarding school. Lois becomes a Christian and
Lettice feels left out. In book 2 Lettice becomes paralyzed in
an accident and is desolate until she too finds God.
Natalie Savage Carlson, The Half Sisters &
Luvvy and the Girls, 1970 & 1971,
copyright. Possibly these two books?
Is it possible you're
remembering different books? The part about the
accident reminds me of What Katy Did, and the sequel
to that is What Katy Did at School. But the
sneaking around part and the general (highly moral) tone of
those books doesn't sound like what you're describing.
Enid Blyton wrote
the St. Clare's school stories (in the 1940's) about twin
sisters Pat and Isobel O'Sullivan--maybe what you want?
Yes, Thank you. It is The Mystifying Twins. I am so thankful
to finally know what my memory couldn't pull up!!! What
a wonderful website and thanks to those who take the
time to contribute.
joan price reeves,
the secret of the
mystifying twins. the first one is
the
mystifiying twins. the second one is the secret of the
mystifying twins. they might be available in religious
stores?
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