Loganberry Books
Stump the Bookseller
New Stumpers
What is this?
Have you forgotten the title of your favorite children's book? This is
a service to help solve your book mysteries.
Submit your memory here, and see if anyone else remembers your
book
memory, or better yet, knows the title and author! After all,
it's
easier to find the book when you know what it's called.
I'll post copies for sale when I have them, and am always glad
to search
for copies not currently in stock. Loganberry Books is a used
bookshop
after all, and this page is only a small sideline offered as a service
to my customers.
Original requests are in
bold,
comments and solutions
from internet friends are in color.
My comments (HRL/staff) are in black.
|
How does this
work?
Book Stumpers should be submitted by clicking
the "Book Stumper" link below. Stumpers cost $2 to submit, and
will be
posted alphabetically
by Keycode until solved. New Stumpers will be on this page
for
at
least
four
weeks,
and
are then moved to the archive pages. Once
solved, the posting moves to the Solved Mysteries pages, alphabetical
by
title. New comments and stumpers are posted on Tuesdays, and
whenever
else time permits. The tallies do not reflect solutions made by
simply browsing the archives or asking what we deem an "easy question"
rather than a "stumper."
The 2003 Tally
1192 Stumpers posted; 744 (62%) Solved
The 2004 Tally
527 Stumpers posted; 395 (75%) Solved
The 2005 Tally
902 Stumpers posted; 499 (55%) Solved
The 2006 Tally
858 Stumpers posted; 401 (46%) Solved
The 2007 Tally
853 Stumpers posted; 409 (48%) Solved
The 2008 Tally
691 Stumpers posted; 229 Solved (33%) Solved
|
Updates
We've been doing some housekeeping at Stump the Bookseller.
 posted 6/3/2010
 posted 6/7/2010
 posted 6/14/2010
 posted 6/21/2010
 posted 6/28/2010
 posted 7/6/2010
 posted 7/13/2010
 posted 7/19/2010
 posted 7/26/2010
The 2010 Tally
198 Stumpers Posted
166 Moved to Archives
last updated
7/26/2010
Follow us on
Twitter @loganberrybooks.
|
Stump the Bookseller Archives
New Stumpers are on this page, scroll down!
Follow the links below to see the archives.
|
New
|
AB
|
CD
|
EF
|
GH
|
IJ
|
KL
|
|
MN
|
OP
|
QR
|
S
|
T
|
UVW
|
XYZ
|
|
|
|
|
Search Loganberry's Website!
|
|
|
A429:
Angel falls off of cloud and becomes someone's baby
I read this book in about 1970.
It had a white cover with simple pastel
illustrations, and it was the story of a little angel who lived on a
cloud. His
wings got wet so he fell and hung from a tree branch by his pajama
bottoms
until a loving family came and took him into their home.
Val Teal, Angel Child, 1946.This is
a Rand McNally Tiptop Elf book. It's
the story of a boy and girl who find an angel baby dangling from a
tree.
They take care of the angel baby until one
day they push him on the swing. His
wings unfold and he flies away. They are
sad to lose their angel child, but they go into the house to discover
that
their mother has just had a baby, an angel child of their own.
The publication date is older than you
suggested, but I was given this book in the 70's, so I suspect my copy
is a
later reprint that only shows the original date.
A430: 1970s Annual
I
am trying to track down an Annual I received
in the 1970s. The title had Sisters in
it. One of the stories was about a
mountain lion named "Gatina?".
A431:
anthropomorphized musical
instruments and composers
Early
lives of composers and anthropomorphized musical
instruments. When I was a
child in the mid 1970s, I had a book that
belonged to either my grandma or one of my great aunts. It was already
“old”
when I got it and it was missing the cover. I would estimate it was
from the
40s or 50s, if I had to guess.It was definitely a kids book, but not a
picture book. There
were black line drawings in it as accents to some of the pages, such as
the end
of the chapter and in the chapter heading. It also had two distinct
sections.
The first section was (fictionalized, I believe, or at least simplified
for
kids) accounts of the formative years of the great composers-Schubert,
Mozart,
Beethoven, etc. The second section was fairytale-ish in nature, as it
was a
story about anthropomorphized instruments-flute, clarinet, saxophone,
etc. This
part takes place in a forest.I had always thought it was called “The
Magic Flute” but
searching for that only gets me the opera, not a kid’s book.
I've
been looked for this book for a really long time, so if anyone
recognizes
it, I will be ecstatic!
A432:
Alison Ann and the Girls Next Door, fence
Looking
for a childrens book i had back in 1971. I believe it was called
Alison Ann And The
Girls Next Door. It had a green cover
with a girl on it. I believe it was
about a girl who was talking to a girl through a fence.
A433:
Anthology of children's stories and poems, fair, flamingo
Looking for large anthology of
children's stories &
poems, published in late '50s/early 60's.
Contained poem about attending fair with sketch of girl enjoying cotton
candy, fireworks, rides, pig judging.
Also contained story called something like Flim-Flam, which featured a
flamingo. Thanks!
B723:
Boy feels what animals feel, killed by horse
Boy who could enter animals and feel
what they felt but
not control them, works for a veterinarian for a while but is killed by
horse
in the end while inside another animal, not sure which animal, think it
was
young adult.
Eckert, Allan W., Song of
the Wild
Allan W.
Eckert,
Song
of the Wild, 1980. From Mr.
Eckert's website: "This is a young adult novel about a
boy
with a very special talent that leads him into very special
difficulties. Caleb
Anderson, 12 years old, lives in Zion, Illinois, and he has the
remarkable
ability to project himself into the any living organism, animal or
plant, and
see, feel, taste and otherwise experience what that host is feeling,
but
without the host having any knowledge of his presence and without Caleb
having
any form or motor control over the host. He is only an observer. The
problem
is, when Caleb decides to enter an insect or bird or mammal or even a
plant, in
order to experiencing what it is experience, the body he leaves behind
appears
to be in some kind of a trance or coma and cannot be aroused until he
himself
elects to leave the host and come back. Obviously, this causes him a
great deal
of trouble, especially at home and in school. The troubles become so
bad that
his parents finally send him away to live for a while on a horse farm
until he
"gets over" his problem, which neither they nor his teachers nor
anyone else understand. At the farm he meets a kindly veterinarian and
begins
to help him, with very unexpected results and a wholly unexpected
ending.
Originally published in 1980 by Little, Brown & Co., Boston, MA."
Allan W.
Eckert, Song
of the
Wild
B724:
Boxwood Fairy story book
I was born in '59 - in the 60s I read
and reread a large
format beautifully illustrated story book - The Boxwood Fairy? -about a
little
girl who finds a fairy living in a boxwood hedge in her garden. maybe
there was
an activity kit or paper doll included? drawings maybe "mod" 50s/60s
style?
Frances Hodgson
Burnett, The
Secret Garden. I
read
this book too, and have been looking for it, and the description...let
me
remember what it was called! I found it ...
B725: Boy inventor and
friends construct clubhouse village
It was published maybe in the early-
mid 70's (at least the edition I
read) by the Weekly Reader Book Club for Kids. I can't recall title or
author. It was a children's book, hardcover, ages around 5-9 would be
appropriate. Large illustrations. Plot: It was a story about a
boy who
was sort of an inventor, but his parents
ignored him. He built himself a clubhouse that had all sorts of gadgets
in it
and to power it so to speak. He built some for his friends who wanted a
place
to go- a home away from home. Each child had a unique club house. Some
were
underground, some were in trees, and each had cool gadgets to provide
basic
functions. Each also sort of reflected the hobbies or passions of each
child.
Soon the parents were worried about where their children had gone. They
went
out and search and eventually stumbled upon this sort of mini-village
in the
woods, where each of their children had a unique clubhouse which
reflected
their skills and passions. The illustration of this mini-village was
great. The
parents were relieved and learned a lot about their children. The
protagonist
boy's parents were amazed and proud at their inventor son as well. I
teem to
recall that at the end, the parents were somehow engaged in the village
workings by their kids. I think the boy built a sort of car wash
conveyor belt
that all the parents went on.
Doris Burn, Andrew
Henry's
Meadow, 1965,
approximate. No
mistaking this one!
Burn, Doris, Andrew
Henry's Meadow.
Should get lots of responses
for this one. Andrew Henry is a young ''inventor'' whose inventions
drive his family to distraction. Feeling unloved, he sets out for a
place where
he can do as he pleases. After he finds the meadow of the title, he
builds a
house for himself, and is soon joined by several other children.
Everyone gets
their own house, and there's a happy ending.
B726:
Boy finds a rip in time
This is a book I read in the 90's. A
boy finds a rip in time and finds a land where all lost
things (keys, odd socks, watches, etc) go. There is a sequel to the
book, and in one of them, he
participates in a tv game show and there might be mention of clocks (in
title
or subject).
B727:
Bulldog saves girl from bull
Bulldog owned by a little girl felt
ashamed of his
"ugly" squashed face and unworthy of the girl's love. He failed to
learn beauty from poodle, speed from greyhound, & tracking from
bloodhnd.
Then, he saved his owner from a bull, where his nose & underbite
allowed
him to hang onto the bull's nose.
James Holding,
Jr., The
Ugliest Dog in the World, 1979. Definitely the right book.
Algernon
the bulldog feels inferior to his friends the poodle, the greyhound and
the
beagle. But one day Algy's little girl is attacked by a bull and only
he can
save the day!
B728: Boy and father grow real
food illegally in basement
Read
in the 70s. Boy has girlfriend (6th graders
maybe) over for breakfast and she cries when she eats a real
egg/omelette with
real butter for 1st time in her life. Dystopian? Dad has small garden,
grow
lights in basement. Against the law somehow. That's all I recall from
the plot.
Frank Bonham, The Missing
Persons League,
1983.The
hero
lives with his father and grows hydroponic vegetables in a hidden
crawlspace.
His mother and sister mysteriously disappeared about a year before, and
they
illegally continue to collect food rations based on a 4-person
household. At the end he and the girl are chosen to be secretly
cryogenically frozen to help repopulate the world in the future after
it has
recovered from all the ecological damage. His mother and sister were
previously
chosen which is why they disappeared.
Bonham,
Frank, Missing
Persons League.
Frank Bonham, The Missing
Persons League,
1976. In
a future world of algae diets, sour seas, and oxygen deficiency, a high
school
boy's search for his missing family leads him into dangerous trouble
with
the authorities.
B729: Bridge leads to tiny people
A kid moves to a new house and crosses
a nearby bridge
only to find a fancy house with beautiful people in fancy dress having
lots of
parties. One day he has to go around the
bridge, and he discovers that the house and people are actually tiny,
and the
bridge has been making him tiny when visited.
Mary Chase, Loretta
Mason
Potts. This was
also published as Colin's Naughty
Sister
Mary Chase, Loretta Mason
Potts aka Colin's
Naughty Sister. This is
definitely the book you are thinking of- Colin's sister runs away and
he
follows her through a secret door at the back of the bedroom closet,
over a
bridge, and to a fancy house where they are treated like royalty.
He later finds out that the house and people
are tiny and going through the closet causes people to shrink.
The welcoming people turn out to be wicked
and he has to rescue his sister.
by Mary Chase, Loretta
Mason Potts. This
can
be found on the Solved Mysteries page.
Mary Chase, Loretta Mason
Potts (non-US title
was Colin's
Naughty Sister)
Mary Ellen
Chase, Loretta
Mason Potts. It's
also in the Solved Mysteries -- shows up regularly here.
B730: Boy
runs away and is taken in by farmers
This book was given to my 10th grade
English class in
1963 as a reading assignment. The farm
people are gracious to the boy, let him sleep in the barn with the dogs
to keep
him warm. Mouthwatering descriptions of
the meals served, and how he worked on the farm.
B731: boy, mountain, storm
Scholastic pre-teen or teen book from
70s-80s.
Pre-teen/teen boy caught in storm on camping trip, runs down wrong side
of
mountain, gets lost. Survives on his own for a while by fishing. Hits
head on
rock retrieving fish hook. Gets found. Thought it was called Wrong Side
of Mt.,
but can't find.
C683:
Cat, kittens, lost, siblings, fifties
The book we are looking for was mine as a
child (I was born in 1951). It was a larger book than the standard
"Elf" books, maybe 8x11 inches. We "think" its a blue cover but don't
exactly remember the picture. My children loved the book when they were
at the grandparents house but we don't know what happened to it when
the house was sold. Best we can remember, there were two children in
the story (brother and sister? two friends (boy and girl)?) and they
were looking for their cat which had gone missing. They searched high
and low and finally found the cat with a new litter of kittens in a
closet in the house. We found a book called Good, A Mother Cat by Inez Bertail,
but the book cover does not look like what we think it should. Also
found a book about a lost cat with kittens in a barn. Any help would be
appreciated. I would love to find this book. Thank you so much for
trying to help locate this.
C684: Children
find new baby in backyard
The children find the baby in the
garden-if this is
garden meaning back yard, the story could be English. The buggy
features in my daughter's memory
of this book.The children seem to keep the baby's presence secret
from the elders. She loved this story, and maybe because she was then
an
unwilling reader, has a poor remembrance of it.
My
daughters have become greatly desirous of
finding grade-school stories and books, and just this summer I have
retrieved
King of the Dollhouse by
Patricia Clapp, for my oldest daughter who is 45 y/o
this month! Additional
note: The children bathed the found- baby in an old-fashioned
rubber- sling bath.For those of us old enough to have experienced
bathing our
own, or our Mother’s tiny babies in these contraptions, the mere
mention should jog someone’s memory!
Teal, Val, Angel Child, 1946. You're not the first person
who's asked about this book
Wylly Folk
St. John, Mystery
of the Gingerbread House, 1969. Was it a
mystery? It could be this one...two brothers find a baby left in their
yard,
with a note on her that says her name is Joy. They're determined to
solve
the mystery. When a girl starts hanging around their house, they figure
out
she's the one who left the baby, and discover that her mother has died
and
she's trying to find her grandmother, so she can take in the sisters.
(The
kids are all ten and twelve.) All she
has is a photo of a fancy house. The boys help her follow the clues,
while
trying to avoid her stepfather. One of the things I remembered most
about this
book was that the girl cries "perfect tears"...fat drops that just
well from her eyes. It takes place in
Atlanta, GA, if that helps.
C685: Chess Playing Orphan on
Mars
central character is a homeless boy,
living on mars (I
think), with a very thin atmosphere, meaning he's always looking for
oxygen
cylinders... This boy is also a chess player, and when he plays against
someone, a move is recognised as a "family" move and he is re-united
with his family.
C685:
Corruption in the roman army
Scholarly
book about fall of the Roman empire w/ evidence suggesting cause was
gradual
institutionalization of financial corruption in the military; local
citizens
began to consider the Roman forces their financial oppressors rather
than their
protectors. translated from french. Not Ramsay McMullen...I am
looking to acquire a particular source/scholarly book about the fall of
the Roman empire that presented evidence suggesting one big reasons for
the fall was the gradual institutionalization of financial corruption
in the military.
I
believe that is was translated from french originally; however, I am
unsure of the title, or even the author! Many attempts as research has
led to the suggestion that the book is Ramsay
McMullen's corruption and the decline of rome; however, it turns out
that this
is not the appropriate volume I am looking for. He says this
title by McMullen is
more "flamboyantly written" and "less scholarly" than the
book he is thinking of, as its author makes heavy use of
quotes.
The
narrative he offers is this: "At first, military commanders were
condemned and disciplined if they
stole money from the shipments of soldiers' pay. Then military
commanders came to have a right to taking some of the money. Then so
little of their pay was getting to the soldiers that they didn't have
enough money to live on, so the soldiers began routinely looting the
populations where they were stationed. Finally, the local citizens
began to consider the Roman forces their financial oppressors rather
than their protectors. As a result, the citizenry came not to care much
when barbarians came to drive out the Roman forces."
Thus,
I was wondering if you by any chance would be able to help me identify
the author and title of this book referenced above, so I could go about
acquiring it.
C686: Cookie cutters, rabbit, carrot
I'm
looking for a book published by Parachute Press
in approx 1989. I don't know the title
or the author, but the book apparently was offered by Scholastic Book
Club and
included an oranged colored rabbit cookie cutter and a carrot cookie
cutter. I have pictures of the cookie
cutters.
C687: Rabbit grows carrots
I am looking for a
book about a small rabbit who grows carrots. Near the end of the book,
a small
rabbit lays down next to his carrot to see who is bigger: the bunny or
the
carrot. As I recall, the book was possibly called "A
CARROT IS TO GROW" but I have never been able to find a book by this
name
on any search engine at places that sell old books. The
actual
book was small - about the size of the Harold & Purple Crayon
Books by
Crockett Johnson. It is not "THE CARROT SEED"
by Ruth Krauss, though I recall the art work as being somewhat
similar. I read this to my daughter in the late 1970's
or
early 1980's. Here's hoping someone knows the name of
this
book!
D324:
Dingy named Doughnut and postal boat
Children's book about a dingy named
"Doughnut."
Kids were stranded near a cave on a sandy beach and hid under an
upside-down
boat, they looked out from under the boat and saw the bad guy's
feet. I think another character was named
"Panama" and may have piloted a postal boat to there.
D325: Dumb Crumb
I believe it was in a big book of
children stories from
the 1960's. The dumb crumb fell off a piece of toast and could not find
it's
way back to the mouth. Another story was
like goodnight moon but different - something like goodnight goodnight.
D326:
Doll for Sea Captain's Daughter
This is a children's book from the
1950's. It's about a sea captain who brings back a
doll for his daughter from every voyage.
He brings a Dutch doll from his trip to Holland, for example, and a
doll
from each of the other countries he visits.
On his last trip, as a very special doll, he brings a doll that
combines
the characteristics of all the other dolls, such as the hair of the
Holland
doll, the cheeks of the Greek doll, the eyes of the French doll, etc.,
and
guess what - the final doll looks exactly like the daughter!
Morrell
Gipson, The Surprise
Doll. 1949. Mary's father was a sea captain.
He took long trips across the ocean in his ship. From her window Mary
waved
good-by when he sailed away, and she waved hello to him when came
sailing back.
Six times he came back with a doll for Mary, so she had six dolls from
six
different countries. One for each day of the week but Sunday. A
dollmaker crafts
a seventh doll for her and she must wait for seven days for her new
doll to be
finished. Oh, will it be a surprise! Reprinted in 2004.
Morrell
Gipson, The Surprise
Doll. It's
The Surprise Doll by Morrell Gipson. Luckily Purple House Press
reprinted this
book.
Solved: Gipson, The Surprise Doll.The mystery is
solved for D326. Thanks so much! The best $2 I ever spent.
This was my favorite bedtime story as a
child, and I know my Mom got tired of reading this night after night
and night,
but I just loved the story. I am so glad
to see that the book is back in print.
I've ordered a copy, so that now (at age 61) I can read it every
night
without bothering my Mom!
D327: Doll Lost Adventures Reunion
read 13
years ago at schl hrdback about a cloth doll who
gets washed away travels around the
world via the ocean ends up in india i
think and the little girl who owned her also ends up in india and finds
her
there she was clothed in a dress made by the girls mom from girls old
dress/clothes.
Rachel Field, Hitty:
Her
First Hundred Years,
1929. Could
this be Hitty by Rachel Field? She was
made of wood, not cloth, but she did get lost and then found again
(though not
by the original owner) in India.
Fabulous doll story.
D328:
Divas, dimensions, travel, demons
a
boy meets a demon, called a diva, and they
travel through dimensions
Robert Asprin, Myth
Adventures series, 1978-2009. It
isn't an exact match, but it sure sounds like you must be looking for
this
series. The main characters are Aahz, a green, scaly "demon" (short
for "dimension traveler"), who is a sorcerer but has lost his
powers Skeeve (a human) who is a young
journeyman magician, apprenticed to Aahz
Gleep, Skeeve's pet dragon
Chumley (a troll) and his sister Tananda (a trollop) and Massha
(an expert in magical weapons and
tools). Some of the notable dimensions include: Aahz's home dimension,
Perv
(creatures from there are called Pervects, not Perverts) Deva -
the merchant capital of the
dimensions. Denizens are called
"deveels" and are shrewd traders. The Bazaar at Deva is a recurring
setting for the series Klah (Skeeve's
backwater home dimension) Imper (home of
the imps) and Trollia (home of the trolls and trollops). This series of
books
follows the dimension-hopping adventures of Skeeve, Aahz, and their
friends
(and enemies), and their business, MYTH, Inc., a magician-for-hire
enterprise.
Titles in the series include: Another Fine Myth, Myth-Conceptions,
Myth-Directions, Hit or Myth, Myth-ing Persons, Little Myth Marker,
MYTH Inc.
Link, Myth-Nomers and Im-Pervections, MYTH Inc. in Action, Sweet
Myth-tery of
Life, Myth-ion Improbable, and Something MYTH Inc.
Robert Asprin, Myth
Adventures Series. A
long
shot, but maybe one of the books in Robert Asprin's Myth Adventures
series?
(Another
Fine Myth is the first one.)
Just
possibly one of the Myth
series by Robert Lynn Asprin? They feature
magician's apprentice Skeeve and the "demon" Aahz as they travel
through multiple dimensions. Puns abound.
Asprin, Robert,
Another
Fine Myth. This
could be the Myth Adventures series with Myth Conceptions, Myth
Directions etc.
Ensemble cast of characters include the apprentice magician Skeeve, his
mentor
Aahz, a demon who travels between dimensions (who is also without magic
due to
a practical joke), dragons, vampires, trolls, trollops, and the Mob.
The
dimension Deva hosts a bazaar which sells anything and is home to
Deveels, the
best traders and negotiators.
The name
of the supernatural creature is usually spelled "deva" if that's
any help...
Asprin, Robert,
Another Fine
Myth, 2002.This
could be one of Robert
Asprin'\''s "Myth" books of humorous fantasy. The hero is an
apprentice magician named Skeeve who travels to other dimensions and
meets
demons, dragons, etc. Another
possibility is the "Xanth" books by Piers Anthony.
D329: Dare, night in old house
I read this book late 80's early 90's
about a kid that
gets dared to spend night in old house. a few of his/her friends go to.
They decide to explore
the house and find a boy/man whose parents kept him hidden in a secret
room in
the attic. I think it had a yellow cover with a picture of a house
F376:
Friar,
cat, mouse, church, line drawings
1950-60's. I had a
book once that featured a cat, mouse and friar which was always
centered in an
old church. I seem to think it was a British book but can't be sure.
The
characters were all chubby and fuzzy looking line drawings. It was
printed in
black an black and white with occasional single color kind of like the
Eloise
illustrations. It may have been part of a series. I was born in 1953
and was
able to read it on my own which seems to suggest I had it in the late
fifties,
early sixties although the book itself was old and used looking.
Margot Austin, Peter
Churchmouse, 1940s,
approximate. Is it
Margot Austin's books? I remember
reading Peter
Churchmouse and Gabriel
Churchkitten. I believe there were others
as well. Charming illustrations.
Graham
Oakley, The Church Mouse.
Sounds like one of Oakley's
Church Mice books
Margot Austin, Peter
Churchmouse, 1941. Cute
story of Peter (a churchmouse)
who was so hungry he ate the hymn books. The near-sighted parson,
mistaking him
for a rat, brought in a cat to get rid of him. When Peter found out the
cat was
a kitten and the kitten found out the rat was a mouse, they grew into a
close
friendship. This was the first in a series of books about Peter, his
animal
friends, and the nearsighted, sleepwalking Parson Pease-Porridge with
whom they
lived. The series continues with Gabriel Churchkitten (1942), Trumpet
(1943),
Gabriel Churchkitten and the Moths (1948), and The Three Silly Kittens
(1950).
The stories are also collected in the book Churchmouse Stories
Solved:
Margot Austin, Peter Churchmouse.
I am so-o-o-o excited. You found it!!!!! It was indeed
the Peter
Churchmouse books. I had seen the Graham Oakley books and
although the
drawings were somewhat similar I new they weren't the
ones. As soon as I
read Gabriel Kitten I remembered. I have tried
so long to find these.
F377:
Flotilla of strange boats on a river
read this book as a child (early
80's). All different strange people living on a
river. They all have different
boats. One starts out and picks up the
next one...they form a 'flotilla'. I
believe they have meals along the way, and meals in between meals like
'lupper'. everybody is quirky.
Tove
Jansson, Moominsummer
Madness.
Could this be one of the Moomintroll
books? Like Moominsummer Madness: "A nearby volcano causes a massive
wave
to flood Moominvalley. While escaping the flood the Moomin family and
their
friends find a building floating past, and take up residence there
Doris Burn, The Summerfolk. Sounds like it could be The
Summerfolk by Doris Burn. It has a dreamy, odd atmosphere, and some
people
living on boats/raft
Doris Burn, The Summerfolk. Sounds like
Doris Burn's The
Summerfolk. A boy in a tourist town who looks down on the
"summerfolk" ends up among a fleet of quirky boats and people, and
decides the summerfolk are more interesting than he originally thought.
Solved: Doris
Burn, The Summerfolk.
YEA!
This is the book I was looking for!
Thanks so much! This is solved, now I just have to get the book.
F378: Fairy
Tale Book, Pre-1990s
English. Fairly large hardcover book
of fairytales,
possibly 70s/80s, no later than early 1990s. Definitely included tale
of Tom
Thumb Seven-League boots - large colour illustrations, remember ogre's
boots
being fringed. Most likely included Snow White and Rose Red,
illustration of
dwarf with white Large hardcover
'clothy' material red no dustjacket maybe
lost, definitely Tom Thumb Seven League boots, ogre's boots fringed
castle
illustration in background, large colour illustrations, likely included
SnowWhite RoseRed and story of tailor killing seven flies. English, not
really
old but pre-90s.
F379:
Fox wants to buy Captain's Hat but can't afford it
Year: 1988. The
story follows Fox who sees a Captain's hat in the window of a shop and
pictures himself as a sea captain - but he can't afford it. To earn the
money, he begins to do odd jobs for his
friends. He does yard work for Mrs Rabbit who has a
sick child and
can't afford to pay him and the doctor. He helps out bear in the
restaurant by playing the fiddle
but bear can''t afford to pay him either. He helps out someone else who
feels terrible about not
being able to pay him either. Eventually he raises the money and goes
to buy the
captain's hat but it's been sold from the shop. Sadly he goes to a
party where all his friends have
pooled their money together and bought the hat since he's been so kind
to
help them. As I recall the book had a red cover and
fairly simple
pen ink drawings. Isn't it terrible that we forget titles
and authors
when we're young?! If it rings a
bell, I would appreciate your help! Thank you everyone!
Sandra E.
Guzzo, Fox and
Heggie, 1983. Fox
tries to earn enough money to buy a Greek fishing hat by helping out
all his
friends and neighbors. But his generosity keeps him from earning the
money, so
his friends pull through for him in the end.
Guzzo,
Sandra E, Fox and Heggie, 1983. Fox
tries to earn enough money to buy a Greek fisherman’s hat, but his
generosity
keeps him from achieving his goal.
SOLVED: That's it! I couldn't remember
Heggie in the story at all but I found a copy from a book seller in
great
condition and I am delighted to find that this is the book - and one I
will
treasure from now on! Thank you both so much for sharing your knowledge.
G564:
Gazing ball, girl, house
Cover was all blue tones-similar to a
gothic in appearance. A large house in the distance, the garden
had
a gazing ball on a pedestal glowing moon-like. It was also
distant/small. No
person unless small & in the distance.
The girl didn't normally live in the house. Suspense. Not Jane-Emily.
Thanks. More
information: This was a mass-market
paperback which I
checked out at the library and read in the mid to late 1970's. I know Jane-Emily seems logical, but have
researched extensively and never seen this particular cover (which went
through
at least 2 printings). Also, I don't
recall whether the gazing ball played a role in the story, and don't
recall
a younger girl - just a young woman in an unfamiliar setting with
suspense and
maybe romance (my memory of details about the story is poor...). Hope
someone
can help. Thank you for the wonderful service.
Wylly Folk St. John,
The
Ghost Next Door.
Didn't The Ghost Next Door have a
gazing ball? Check solved mysteries
page..
I
checked on The
Ghost Next Door - good
suggestion, but sadly that wasn't it.
Thank you, though!
G565: Goat named Can-Can
Looking for a children's book about a
goat who ate tin
cans. His name was Can-Can. The book was a hard back with a
picture of
Can-Can standing on a dog house with a tin can in his mouth.
Fritz Willis, Cancan, 1945. The picture on the cover of the
original edition is just of a goat on a gray background (no doghouse).
I
don't know if there is a later edition with the described goat on a
doghouse, or if it might be a picture inside the book.
G566:
Girl, eccentric father, mismatched socks, rain
Bev
Cleary type of book about a girl (7-12) who
lives in California (or somewhere else temperate where there
occasionally is a
rainy season) in a worn dilapidated house.
Eccentric father (teacher maybe) or parents.
Girl wears mismatched socks and feels bad
about their situation. Circa 1960s.
Pippi
Longstocking. The
description reminds me a little of Pippi Longstocking, though I doubt that's it.
Good luck.
G567:
Ghost Stories
I am trying to track down a hardback
collection of ghost
stories published between 1992 and 1996.
One of the stories was about the haunting of a man named Cliff.
Cliff and his wife moved into a house and he
was then haunted by a previous occupant.
He later died.
G568:
group of children trapped in mysterious building learn to manipulate a
machine to produce food pellets
Read
in the 1970s. A group of (I think 4) children find themselves trapped
in a
building filled everywhere with staircases that lead nowhere, as far as
the eye
can see. No way out. They wander around and begin to get hungry.
Eventually
they find a mysterious machine in a landing. In frustration, one boy
sticks out
his tongue at the machine, its red light turns green, and it produces a
food
pellet. Sticking out a tongue continues to produce food pellets for
some time,
but then stops working until they figure out they need to add another
gesture.
This goes on for a while ... towards the end, they have evolved a
complex dance
involving all of the kids that must be performed to get a food pellet.
At some
point, a door is left open and they are released. They walk down the
sidewalk
of the street and as they approach a traffic light, the light turns red
(or maybe
it was green), and they begin to dance ...
William Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1991. This
is
definitely House of Stairs
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1990,
reprint."One by
one, five
sixteen-year-old orphans are brought to a strange building. It is not a
prison,
not a hospital it has no walls, no
ceiling, no floor. Nothing but endless flights of stairs leading
nowhere
—except back to a strange red machine. The five must learn to love the
machine
and let it rule their lives. But will they let it kill their souls?
This
chilling, suspenseful indictment of mind control is a classic of
science
fiction and will haunt readers long after the last page is turned."
William
Sleator, House of Stairs, 1974. Children
are subjected to a strange behavior experiment in a dystopian future.
They are
kept in a strange space made up of staircases and are trained by a
machine that
delivers food to them when they take certain actions, such as dancing.
Two of
the kids rebel and are released before they starve.
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1974. Set
in a
dystopian America in an undefined future, the story records the
connections of
five sixteen-year-olds who are taken from state orphanages and placed
in a
strange building with endless flights of stairs leading nowhere, with
no
perceivable edge, unaware they are part of a government-run experiment.
William Sleator,
House of
Stairs. I'm
sure there will be a lot of responses to this one...
William
Sleator, House of Stairs. You will
get a bazillion responses about this one. This is definitely House of
Stairs.
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1974. The
submitter has the details correct. I read this in Junior High and found
it to
be disturbing but unforgettable.
Williams
Sleator, House
of
Stairs.
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1974. This is
definitely "House of Stairs" by William Sleator.
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1974.
From the
net: "Five 16-year-olds are taken from state orphanages and placed in a
strange building. The building has no walls, no ceiling, and no floor:
nothing
but endless flights of stairs leading nowhere, with no perceivable
edge. On one
landing is a basin of running water that serves as a toilet, sink and
drinking
fountain on another, a machine with
lights that occasionally produces food. Without prior preparation or
introduction, the five must learn to deal with the others' disparate
personalities, the lack of privacy, their clear helplessness, and a
machine
that only feeds them under gradually more exacting situations."
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs. This has
to be House of Stairs...I don't think there's anything else like it out
there!
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs, 1974.
William
Sleator, House of
Stairs. This has
been reprinted, so the cover may not match the person's memory.
William
Sleator, House of Stairs, 1974. Pretty
sure it's this one.
G569: Giant with a jar of
fireflies
This is a favorite of a friend when he
was a child and I
would like to find out what its called and if a copy is available.
G570: Good Witch/Bad Witch
A
girl, maybe 8 or 9, who found some sort of
magic path. One side of the path lead to a bright garden owned by a
good witch,
the other into a dark forest owned by a bad witch. The girl could stay
with the
good witch as long as she didn't go into the dark forest. Okay...A girl, maybe 8 or 9,
who found some sort of magic path.
One side of the path lead to a bright garden owned by a good witch, the
other
into a dark forest owned by a bad witch. The girl could stay with the
good
witch as long as she didn't go into the dark forest. So the good witch (or
sorceress or whatever) takes the
girl in and everything is all light and wonder. I remember a
description of a
bathroom which was all glass and there were fish swimming in the walls
(I
wanted a bathroom like that SO bad). But the evil witch was constantly
trying
to lure the girl over to her side, where the good witch had no power.
So one
day the evil witch hung a swing on a tree branch on her side of the
garden/forest. The little girl was swinging on the swing for a while
before she realized that the tree was actually on the wrong side of the
garden
and (you guessed it) she was snatched away by the evil witch. I'm not
sure
what happens after that but I'm pretty sure it all ends well with the
little
girl defeating the witch and the evil curse being lifted on the dark
side of
the forest (or garden). I hope you can figure
this one out!
Margaret Storey, Timothy and
the Two Witches. A
boy
and a girl are the main characters, but i think this is your book.
G571: girl, fiction, Norse gods,
missing letters in signs
70s/80s fictional bk for
preteens/teens about girl who
sees fortune teller/some kind of advisor who tells her to look for the
missing
letters in signs to find a message, and involves Norse mythology
(references to
Loki, etc.) Darker in tone.
G572: girl, tennis championship,
brother
70s/80s fictional bk about girl trying
to become tennis
champ. Brother plays tennis too. Both go to championship. Brother
loses, gives
racket to sister whose racket broke (hard for them to get to
championship in
1st place due to $ issues). I think girl wins her match against older
girl.
H269: Hobo boy
from 1940's
Book from 30's - 40's about a young
boy (~10 yrs) who
runs away for a summer with a hobo. Camping out, survival skills, etc.
Plot: Boy from small-town
middle-class home joins passing
hobo for a summer of wandering
adventure, ca. late '30's. Not sure if they rode trains or went on
foot, but
they camped out & I recall there was detailed lore (that I tried to
re-enact) like making a hobo stove out of tin cans etc. The older
guy was a sort of wise mentor, who
eventually tells the boy its time to go back home to his parents at the
end of
the summer. He returns home taller, stronger, & mature. I
read/reread this around 1943. I don't think it was a
"popular" book; as some copies were made available in a "summer
reading" project for third/fourth grade.
I'd guess that the writing and plot would date from the '30's when many
boys not much older did become wanderers.
Patrick and Terence
Casey,
The
Gay-cat, The Story of a Road-Kid and His Dog, 1914. I found
this in Google Books while trying to figure out your book-I know this
is not
your book, but I started reading it and am very much enjoying it-just
thought
you might enjoy it as well!
H270:
Huge Pink Hippo On
Rollerskates with Children Climbing All Over Her
The only thing I really remember about
this book was the
huge promotional poster for it. The poster was about 4'h x 6'w and
featured a
pink hippo on all fours, on rollerskates with kids climbing all over
her with
rope ladders and swings. The cover was pink, orange, yellow &
white. 70's
maybe?
Golden Books poster, 1971. I still
have a copy of the poster in question, and it appears to be a generic
advertisement for Golden Books. The only
text reads "Bring home happiness.
Bring home a Golden Book."
It's copyrighted 1971 by Golden Press. (Additional details:
Hippo is wearing a flowered shirt and striped
pants boy in lower right corner is
drawing hippo clouds in upper right
spell out "hippo".)
K133: Kittens, Sailboat, Island
Storm
I think the book was about a lost boat
at sea an old
style sailboat maybe 32-38 feet to be specific.
The boat was tossed around in a storm, and aboard the boat are small
kittens. I think the storm ends, and the boat makes landfall on a small
island
with a house. The kittens are saved in the end.
Natalie Norton, A
Little Old
Man, 1959. A Little
Old Man by Natalie
Norton.
This was one
of the first stumpers I sent in, so I'm happy to have a chance to
answer for
someone else. A really lovely
children's book about a little old man who live on island. A
storms washes away his home, but brings an
abandoned lifeboat to the island. Inside
all is cosy and shipshape with a family of kittens who were hiding
under the
stove... seems
like it might be out of print. It was a Weekly Reader Club selection.
L282:
Little Golden Book about doctor who fixes a broken heart
I'm looking for a Little Golden book
published at least
15 years ago about a doctor who can fix everything except a broken
heart but by
the end of the book figures out a way. I don't remember any of the
title, just
that it had the binding of an LGB.
Ronne
Peltzman, Mr. Bell's Fixit Shop.
Recently
someone was asking about a
book that featured a fix-it shop that advertised it could fix anything
but
broken hearts. A little girl brings in her doll to be mended and b/c
he's
able to fix the doll (or the doll's heart?) the slogan is changed. I
found a
Little Golden Book called Mr. Bell's
Fixit Shop that fit the description.
Could the doctor in your memory actually be Mr. Bell? Anyway, check out
the
cover (click on camera) and see if it rings a bell.
Ronnie
Peltzman, Mr. Bell's Fix-it Shop, 1981. A little
girl who is a friend of Mr. Bell's asks if he can mend her much-loved
but
severely dmaged doll. What she really
wants fixed is her own broken heart over the sad state of her
doll.
This is definitely the book you're
seeking.
L283: Lucy, her dad brings her dolls
from around the
world
I'm looking for this book for my mother. She
read it when she was about 6 and is 67 now. She said it's about a girl
named
Lucy. Lucy's dad travels and when he comes home he brings her dolls
from
different countrires. At the end a doll maker makes a new doll
incorporating
all of dolls into one.
The
Surprise
Doll.
Morrell
Gipson, The Surprise
Doll, 2005,
reprint. For more
than half a century children have been captivated with the story of
Mary and
her dolls. Mary’s father was a sea captain who took long trips across
the
ocean, bringing back a doll from each journey. Soon Mary had six dolls
and
wished for a seventh one to become her "Sunday" doll. But Mary’s
father said six dolls were enough for any girl, so she set off to visit
the
Dollmaker and, oh, was she in for a surprise!
Gipson, Morrell,
The
Surprise Doll. This
seems to be the same as D326. The little
girl's name was Mary, but everything else fits
Morrell Gipson,
The Surprise
Doll. Not only
is this in solved stumpers, it's actually solved ON THIS PAGE. See
D326:
Doll for Sea Captain's Daughter
Morrell
Gipson, The Surprise
Doll, 1949. See
Stumper #D326, above... it's the same book. Fortunately, it was
reprinted
not too long ago, so it should be relatively easy to find.
Morrell Gipson,
The Surprise Doll. The girl's name is
Mary, but
otherwise it matches the description. See also stumper D326 and the
Solved
Mysteries page.
L284: Little girl in city gets a
tiny dog
This is a book that I read when I was
in kindergarten or
first grade in 1963-1964 (or thereabout). I remember taking it out of
the
library over and over again. It is about a little girl who lives in a
small
apartment in a city (NYC?) and she gets a very tiny dog (no bigger than
her
hand). Thank you!
M595:
Magical Gifts
(stumper
reposted) my description started with the phrase MAGICAL GIFTS and the
book
is about a group of girls, each who receives a magical item to go with
a
personal talent...the only one I remember for sure is a girl with
cropped black
hair who has a belt (or girdle) that makes her invisible so she can be
a thief.
M601:
Mickey
Mouse Haunted Mansion Book with Reader
I am looking for a Mickey Mouse
haunted mansion book with
reader that would have been published in the 1970's. It has a hard
cover with a
picture of the haunted mansion. It also has a "record" like reader on
each page that allowed the story to be read to you along with sound
effects.
Walt Disney Productions
Presents The Haunted House, 1976. I
don't know if this is what you are looking for - the book has Mickey,
Donald
and Pluto on the cover in front of a haunted house, and there is a
Fisher-Price
audio cassette in a pocket on the back of the book for reading along.
M602: Magic toy, white stuff,
smell
I
remember a book where there is a magic toy or
something which opens up and inside there is a magic white hard stuff,
that
sort of melts away gradually as the book goes on. Perhaps a girl has
this
thing. And it - well, either grants wishes or sth. It was fragrant -
had a
strange and pleasant smell.
M603: Multiple Personality
Satanic cult fiction
I read a book about 12 years ago about
a little girl who
had multiple personalities to deal with abuse by her father during
satanic
rituals in a cult of some sort. I
believe each chapter was from a different personality perspective.
There
were a lot of books like this published in the last 20 years.
M604: medieval children's
fantasy in which characters' souls are trapped in their portraits
The story was set in some
quasi-medieval world. A baron
(or somesuch) marries a beautiful witch who traps the souls of the
other people
living in the castle by drawing them. The process is only complete when
she
puts the 'eyes' into each portrait.
M605: Mousekin question
I have some early Prentice Hall books
by Edna Miller, in her
MOUSEKIN series. They do not have a "number line" or a stated edition
(like 1st edition) but they have the letter "J" in lieu of any
"numbered edition". What does the "J" mean - is this a 1st
edition before they used "number lines". One book dealer
said that the "J" was a first edition, but I cannot verify that with
anyone as yet.
N127:
Norwegian/Swedish farm, boy named Noah
Noah, a boy who lived with his parents and older siblings
on a farm in rural Norway (or Sweden). Near the start of the book
Noah'\''s
father returns from a journey to the nearest town, he has travelled on
foot,
and it has taken him several days or even weeks to make the journey.
The story was set in a time before electricity and when
all work on farm was still done by hand, so possibly early 20th Century?
The seasons and landscape were central to the story. It
was a wonderfully warm and endearing tale of life. Some parts of it
were harsh,
the weather conditions during the cold winter, and the hardship of
tasks like
cutting timber, and so on. But the story was heartwarming. The
autumn harvest described in the end chapters stand
out in my memory. I think the book was an account of one year, though
this may
not be correct. It was a secondhand novel I read in 1983,
so
probably published in the 1970s or earlier. It may have been a
translation into
English.
N128: Novel
referencing Buddy Holly
Read a great road novel in the early 90s referencing
Buddy Holly. Its about a kid who tries to save the life of a child
crossing the
road. He fails, and so begins his journey to the famous site where
Ritchie
Valens, the Big Bopper (et al) died.
N129: notre dame gargoyle
1960's. Unhappy
American girl in Paris is befriended by a native boy and they meet at
Notre
Dame by a gargoyle they call "Charlie". Maybe a pink cover with a
profile of a winged gargoyle.
Corbin, William, The Prettiest
Gargoyle, 1971.
Unhappy
at being in Paris where everyone else in the family is involved in
special
projects, a thirteen-year-old American boy decides to quit school and
become an
authority on gargoyles.
O151:
Otter canal boat UK England
Picture book about an otter who
obtains a houseboat, and
sails it up and down the canals of England with a crew of friends. He
plays the
accordion at one point, wearing a jaunty sailor's outfit, and I
remember their
having to use a boat hook to maneuver through a brick-lined tunnel.
Thanks!
O152:
Obelisk German Novella/Story
Pre-1950's
anthology. Husbands
and wives die in succession and their names are placed on the obelisk
(they may
have been buried there). I read it in German and don't know if it was
actually translated into English but want to find an English copy.
O153:
Olive, star, sun, moon, bracelet
Childs
book about child
Olivia (think that name is correct) that cant’ sleep so goes out and
dances
with the moon and stars and watches the sun come up, they give her a
bracelet
to remember her night, she wakes up thinking it was a dream but finds a
real bracelet
on her wrist, I think it was written in the 90’s or so.
P466:
Pumpkin stealing witch and wizard
I am searching for a children's book about a 600
year old witch and an 800 yr. old wizard who, I think keep stealing a
pumpkin
from each other...or.. I can't quite remember the details...the last
page the
witch has won whatever the contest is and says "I want my pumpkin
pie"....hope you can find it... I
am searching for a children's book about a 600
year old witch and an 800 yr. old wizard (not sure of the exact
age..but in the
100's)....they look for a pumpkin, fool each other and the last page
the witch
is victorious and says "I want my pumpkin pie"...would have been
1980-1995 era..thanks
The
Vanishing Pumpkin. 600 yr.
old witch 800 yr.old wizard
P467: Poppy name of
character or town book set in
I
read this book as a child in the 80's and can't remember the
title or
author of it. It's about a girl named Poppy or who lives in a town
where
there's a hill or field of poppies. She has dark chocolate eyes and a
pet. I
can't remember the name of the pet but I think it's a mouse (although
my aunt
thinks it's a cat) a little gray one who follows the little girl
everywhere.
(It's not Poppy by Avi, that I'm sure of.) She an orphan perhaps or a
caretaker
of sorts I'm a little vague about that and I believe there are other
children
in the book too with "cutesy" names. Thank you!
Dorothy Haas, Poppy and the Outdoors Cat, 1981. Because
their house is too small for a pet in addition to their large family,
Poppy
Flower trains her newly-found cat to be an "outdoors cat."'
P468:
Poetry Book
Pre 1945. I had
this book as a child in the 50's, but I think it belonged to an older
brother, so the book was probably published in the 30's or 40's.
It was a light blue book, about 9" by
12", rather thin with all the common nursery rhymes such as Little Boy
Blue, wynken blynken and Nod, Mistress Mary, Old Mother Hubbard.
It was nicely illustrated in color and print
was fairly large. I don't remember
what was on the cover and it was a hardback.
The last poem in the book was Little Orphan Annie. This oversized book 9 x
12 was light blue in color. I think there was some picture on the
cover, but I don't know what it was. The book was quite thin, with
lovely colored pictures and usually one poem to a page. It was a
compilation of nursery rhymes and poetry with examples like, The cow
jumped over the moon, Little jack horner, Three men in a tub, I have a
little shadow, Wynken, Blinken and Nod, Three little kittens, Old
Mother Hubbard, Little Boy Blue, and jack Sprat. I do remember that
Little Orphan Annie was on the last page and the picture showed her
going up the stairs with dark shadows on the wall!
R230:
Roll-over, Roll-over Bears
in bed
A book about a little boy who is
getting ready for bed
and all the little bears in his room start asking to get in bed with
him. One by one the say to the little boy, roll-over,
roll over I coming in
until in the end the little boy fall out of bed. the bears have
different jobs (pilot, doc,
fire
Merle Peek, Roll Over!: A Counting Song. Maybe?
They aren't all bears in this one though
Several, Ten Bears in Bed. I
remember this as a countdown song. I had
also seen a book version and remember that it had "Ten Bears" in the
title. I searched Amazon and there are
actually several different books, including pop-up books. ...
Hope you
find the right one.
Mack,
Stanley, 10 bears in my bed a
goodnight
countdown, 1974. One by
one the bears leave the bed until there are none.
S670:
Secret Horse
I read this book for ages 8-12 in the
late 1970s. A girl
moves to a new town (Virginia?) and discovers a hidden overgrown
pasture, a
run-down barn and a neglected horse which she secretly cares for and
brings
back to health. I think she makes a new girl friend along the way.
Two
suggestions:
The
Secret
Horse by
Marion Holland
(1959) OR Claudia's Five Dollar Horse
by Natlee Kenoyer (1960).
Marion
Holland, The Secret Horse, 1959. Definitely The Secret Horse by
Marion Holland, first printed in 1959 in hardcover, and twice by
Scholastic in
paperback (1975 and 1988), cover art was different for each of the
three
editions, so don't worry if one doesn't seem familiar! It's Nickie who lives in Maryland,
Gail (and her
younger brother), come to stay with Gail's grandmother who lives next
door
to Nickie, who is stuck at home instead of going off to summer riding
camp
because when termites ate the front porch they essentially gobbled up
the funds
for camp too! Nickie's house is one of a row of houses that backs on
Mr. Olds large estate, complete with stables, which he keeps up but
rarely
stays in. Nickie and her friends (who are all off at that camp!)
discovered the
way through the fence years before, and use the old stables as their
clubhouse.
When Nickie and Gail see an abandoned horse at the animal shelter where
Nickie
is adopting a kitten, they realize that the horse isn't going to be
kept
there for long as the shelter is obviously isn't equipped to care for
large
animals. Believing that the horse will end up euthanized if they don't
do
something, they sneak out at night and "rescue" him from the shelter,
hiding him in the the stables of the empty Olds estate. Then Mr. Olds
decides
to come home, and things get complicted for Nickie and Gail and the
horse
they've named Highboy! Holland wrote one other horse book,
called Casey
Jones Rides Vanity, and at least one short story, "Crazy Over
Horses", which was published in Everygirls Horse Stories (Grosset &
Dunlap 1956), both worth finding.
S671:
Smart skunks living under porch
Science fiction book? for 10 to 12
year olds about smart
skunks living under the porch of an old man's house who turn out to be
visitors
from another planet.
Pamela F. Service, Stinker
from Space, 1988. In the
middle of an outerspace battle, space warrior Tsynq Yr is forced to
land on
earth and switch into the body of a skunk. But earth is no place for
him. Thank
goodness Karen stops by. With her computer-whiz friend Jonathan, the
three of
them hatch a hair-raising scheme involving all the local skunks and
even the
space shuttle to get their new friend back into orbit!'
Pamela F.
Service, Stinker
From Space, 1988. From
School
Library Journal: Grade 3-6
In this lively science fiction romp, Karen, who
dreams about space adventure, is contacted by Tsynq Yr, an alien
trapped in the
body of a skunk. While Tsynq Yr (or Stinker, as Karen dubs him) finds
earth
civilization primi tive, he is powerless to escape without the help of
Karen
and Jonathan, anoth er young space nut. Stinker hatches a plan to
hijack a NASA
space shuttle and adapt his destroyed ship's booster rocket to give
it the
power to send him home. The plot thickens when Stinker is skunknapped
and when
enemy aliens attack but Stinker not only
triumphs, he also discovers the weapon to destroy his people's
enemiesskunk
spray. Service's story is brief and breezy, yet she has nicely
conveyed the
budding friendship of two lonely children sud denly plunged into
adventure and
forced to depend on each other to help their new friend. Children will
enjoy
references to the popular Star Trek and Star Wars series which give the
story a
contemporary feel.
Stinker
from Space" isn't it. I read the book
I'm looking for in the
late 1950's or early 1960's.
S672:
Summer vacation on coast. Maine? Storm upends tree from
roots.
Recall this from the early 70's, book
is probably older. Family spends vacation on the coast, Maine
perhaps. Lovely
illustrations remind me of Edward Hopper. Storm depicts, a rowboat tied
to shore, strainging against
wind & surf. Kids explore under a tree, find shells.
Robert
McCloskey, Time of Wonder, 1957. Pretty
sure this is the book you're remembering. I can see how the pictures
might
remind you of Edward Hopper. They are quite different from the
illustrations in
Mr. McCloskey's other books. The family spends the summer on an island
in
Maine. There is a hurricane, a tree is knocked down, and the girls
explore the
exposed roots and find "an Indian shell heap." There is also an
illustration that matches the picture you describe of the boat in the
storm,
straining against its mooring.
SOLVED: Robert McCloskey, Time of
Wonder, 1957. This is
the book I was looking for.
S673:
Skeleton kids 1890 mystery
This book I read when I was in 4th or
5th grade, so about
1990. It was about two kids who found a skeleton in a construction
site, that
had been left there a century before. They solve the mystery of who he
was, I
think with the help of the skeleton's ghost. Might be part of a series.
May Nickerson
Wallace, The
Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1965,
copyright. It could
be this one. In 1900, a boy carrying a large amount of someone's money
home
from a fair disappears, and is accused of stealing it. Many years
later,
descendents of the family move back into his house, and with the help
of his
ghost the kids prove that he was murdered by thieves and his body
washed
downriver to another town.
Eloise McGraw,
The Trouble
With Jacob, 1988.
Might
this be the right book? Twins, a brother
and sister, meet a shy boy they gradually realze is a ghost, who is
concerned
because his bed has been taken away from him.
They do find his skeleton at one point.
Richard Peck, The Ghost
Belonged to Me,
1975. This
*is* part of a series, but it's set in the 1910's. The skeleton that
the
kids dig up was buried sometime just after the Civil War. Actually I'm
not
even sure the kids actually do the digging, but they are led to the
spot by the
ghost of the girl (not boy) who's buried there. The previous suggestion
sounds more likely but I thought I'd throw this out.
S674:
Squirrel in doll house
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.
S675: Spelunking, kaarst,
mystery, Kentucky,W.V
This novel concerns itself with a boy
in Kentucky or West Virginia who discovers a cave, or karst as he calls
it, and tries to keep its local hid from individuals whom I
cannot remember. The boy is a spelunker, he has no father, and he
lives with his mother.
T500:
Twisted fairy tales,
butterflies, tooth fairy
read 1991 or so- book of
twisted or dark fairy tales?
Three stories: Boy who hit
butterflies with rackets so butterflies stole his legs which went on a
world
adventure until boy apologized and got legs back. Girl had to find
tooth fairy.
Magic fish gave boy rainbow-he gave pieces away until none.
Joan Aiken, The Last Slice
of Rainbow and other stories, 1985.
This is
a collection of nine of Joan Aiken's stories, including the three that
you
remember: "The Last Slice of Rainbow" is the one with the fish and the
rainbow "Clem's Dream" is the one
with the tooth fairy (though Clem is a boy, not a girl)
and "Lost - One Pair of Legs" is the one with
the butterflies and the adventurous legs.
T501: Time
travel, glass covered shuttle
I am looking for a book i read as a
child back in the
late 80s. here is a description of this book. Was maybe about kids that
traveled in time like to
the medieval and the desert in a glass covered shuttle. girl on cover
wears
armor?theres a prince too??
Eager, Edward, Half
Magic. It's
a longshot, but perhaps you are remembering Half Magic? It's a magic coin,
not a glass shuttle, that allows for magic, but the children do travel
back to
Camelot and, at another time, end up in a desert. One of the early, and
very
distinctive, covers showed a picture of a girl such that her left half
had
normal clothes and her right half was wearing armor.
Edward Eager,
Half Magic.
The cover description matches the
older cover of Half Magic-
half of the girl is regular, the other half is in a
suit of armor. I know Eager''s books have a lot of time travel
adventures,
but the glass shuttle isn't ringing a bell, so I can't swear this is
the
right book.~from a librarian
T502:
Telepathic girl with a pet rabbit
The cover has a girl in patched skins
with a rabbit in a
forest. She ran away with her rabbit from her underground city, ends up
on the
surface where she is captured by telepathic people who live in trees.
They
discover that she also has the telepathic powers. People were called
Olzhaan or
similar.
Zilpha Keatly
Snyder, Green
Sky triglogy. The
cover you describe is the middle book in the series, And All Between.
Zilpha Keatley
Snyder, And
All Between, 1979.This
is
the second book of the Green-sky trilogy which starts with Below the
Root and
ends with Until the Celebration. It was also made into an early popular
video
game. You'll probably get lots of responses.
Snyder,
Zilpha Keatley,
Green Sky Trilogy. This is
one of the Green Sky books. One of the
books is told from Teela's point of view.
That's the one you want. The
others are from the point of view of the "tree people." I
absolutely loved this series - especially
the first one, "Below The Root.
Snyder, Zilpha
Keatley,
Below the Root and sequels, 1975,
approximate. Olzhaan
are a special class of people in Snyder's Green Sky trilogy which
begins
with Below the Root. The others are And
all Between, and Until the Celebration.
The trilogy has an underground civilization and a different
civilization
living in trees. One or both of the peoples had telepathy.
I think this is what you're looking
for.
Solved:
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, And All
Between, 1985. This is
the book! I almost cried when I came to check and found responses to my
stumper. THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!! If I'm ever stumped again, I know
where
I'm coming!!! :D
T503:
Teens, Wilderness
Survival, Killers
I
read this book sometime around 1980-82. It is about a group of teens
sent to
something like Outward Bound or wilderness survival for the summer by
their
parents. Somehow it is revealed to them that for various reasons their
parents
want them dead and have sent them here to be killed. I remember that
the group
leader falls in love with one of the girls. I think the rest of the
book is
about them working together to elude the killers and possibly how they
could
disappear so the parents can't ever find them.
Thank you for any help you can give.
Thompson, Julian F.,
Grounding of Group 6, 1983. My
daughter and I both read this book shortly after it was
published.
Each of the kids was sent to the private
school for having done something that caused the family embarrassment
--
plagiarism, etc. The parents and the
school have planned to have the kids killed (grounded). My
daughter particularly was impressed with
the horrible food the kids had to eat at the school.
Julian
Thompson, The
Grounding of Group 6. I
remember this one very fondly, although at the time, I thought it was
an odd
premise for a book. What parent would want to kill their kid? Now, as
an adult,
I can *sort of* understand the premise a little better...though I still
don't agree with it! :) Anyway, I'm sure this is the book you're
looking for.
T504: Time Travel
I read a blue
hardcover book around 1984. It
was a time travel story. All I can remember is a covered
wagon with a
mirror on it was involved. Was a great book and I wish I could remember
more
about it. Thanks for your help.
Marlys
Millhiser, The Mirror, 1978. Could
this be the book? A 20-year-old Boulder girl (Shay)stares into her
grandmother's Chinese mirror on her wedding day in 1978, faints and
comes to
in her grandmother's body--in 1900--about to be married to a miner.
Marlys
Millhiser, The
Mirror, 1979. Could
this be the book? "Shay Garrett is getting ready for her wedding the
following day. Her grandmother, Brandy, has been brought from the
nursing home
to attend the wedding. Brandy has spent most of Shay's life in the
nursing
home. Rachel, Shay's mother, gives her an old, ugly mirror
that had originally been Brandy's wedding present from her father. That
night, Shay looks in the strange mirror and locks gazes with her
grandmother. A
noise and shaking like an earthquake occurs and Shay passes out. When
she wakes up, everything is wrong. Strange people
are hovering around her and calling her Brandy. Her body doesn''t feel
right.
The house has changed, with less and different furniture around. She
realizes
something is wrong, but it takes a little while to figure what has
happened. Shay's essence has transferred to Brandy's 20 year
old body almost 60 years previous to the time Shay knows. Brandy's
parents
see Brandy, not Shay, and believe the problem with her is the wedding
she is
being forced into the following day. Shay knows she cannot explain what
she
does not understand, but she has to get the mirror to put things back
the way
they belong."
I've
read The
Mirror by Millhiser. It is a
good book, but not the book I'm
looking for. Thank you for your reply though.
T505: Thief's daughter lives
unhappily in forest
Youth fantasy/historical novel. I read
it ~'86-88, and
had the impression it was new, but it may not have been. About a lonely
girl
whose father is leader of a band of thieves who live in a hideout in a
forest
(she has no mother). The girl is unhappy, and spends most of her time
alone in
the forest.
Lindgren,
Astrid, Ronia, the Robber's Daughter, 1983. Possibly
the Astrid Lindgren story - Ronia is the daughter of the robber chief
Mattis
and they live in the forest. There are
at least two different translations of this title, and in the UK
published
version (called The Robber's Daughter) several of the name's have been
changed, including Ronja/Ronia's - changed to Kirsty!
Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, The Robber's
Daughter, 1981.
Ronia,
the only child among her father's band of thieves, spends most of her
time
alone in the forest, where she makes friends with the only child from a
rival
band. After causing trouble within both groups, their friendship
eventually
brings peace between the rivals. She does have a mother, but she is
much more
of a background character than the father. This is by the author of
Pippi
Longstocking, and the english translation was published ~1983.
Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia the Robber's
Daughter.
Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia the
Robber's Daughter.
Ronia
lives with her parents and a band of robbers in the forest. Her
father is the leader of the band. There is a rival band that they
continually
fight against, the rival band ends up living across the ravine that
runs
through the middle of their house. She
becomes secret friends with the son of the rival leader.
Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, The
Robber's Daughter.
Pretty
sure this is the one you're looking for!
Astrid
Lindgren, Ronia, the
Robber's Daughter.
Sounds like Ronia, the Robber's
Daughter
T506:
Time travel, boy, little shop in New England
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.
U60: United Nations picture book
explains children living in different conditions
I believe this is a hardcover
children's picture book
published by the United Nations. The pages
were large. It explains to children how
some children in the world don't have enough food, or clean water, or
live in
war conditions, etc. I think I saw this
book in the 1990s.
Annabel Kindersley, Children
Just Like Me, 1995.
This
book was printed w/ cooperation of UNICEF.
Each page spread shows a real child, and has details and photos about
where the child lives, what he or she wears, eats, and studies at
school.
Barnabas &
Anabel
Kindersley, Children Just Like Me,
1995. This is
a book of photographs of real children living in various countries
around the
world with accompanying text describing their various living conditions
and
what they do. It has a foreward by
UNICEF. It is a DK book and spawned
"Children Just Like Me Celebrations!"
W317: Witch, mirror,
laughing, mountain
I do not remember if it was separate or in a collection. This is the
plot as I remember: King, Queen and daughter live on one side of
mountain. Imagined riches rumored on the other. Queen wants these
riches. Queen sends daughter's boyfriend to get them. He never returns.
Queen sends reluctant husband (he prefers gardening). He never returns.
Queen goes herself. She never returns. Good daughter goes. She is given
advice about house with witch (location of riches). She brings ordinary
objects including a mirror with her. She is able to break the spells
imprisoning her loved ones by giving witch the mirror. Witch has never
seen her reflection before and begins to laugh. She leaves (dies?)
laughing. All return home and now content with previous lives. I have
used witch, mirror and mountain in previous searches to no avail. I
feel like the witch laughing at her reflection is main memory of the
story. Thank you for your help.
Baba
Yaga.
This is not the title, but the idea
of a witch laughing at herself and therefore releasing her captives
sounds a
bit like something the Russian/Slavic folkloric character Baba Yaga
would do.
This might help the seeker.
W318:
White
Merry-Go-Round Horse and Little Girl
A little girl who takes her penny
allowance to the mobile
merry go round that visits weekly. She loves a special white horse on
the
merry-go-round and rides only that horse. One day, it dissapears. The
girl is
sad, but finds her friend in the end.
Margery Williams Bianco and
Marjory Collison, Penny and the White
Horse, 1942. The
story of a little girl and a special white carousel horse.
W319:
Waterskiing accident
The book I
am looking
for is about a teenage girl in high school who has three older sisters
who are
all successful in a particular way and showed that success while in
high
school. As the book starts the youngest of the three has just
left for
college and now the main character feels she can shine on her own out
of the
shadow of her older sisters. I remember the sisters names
but not
the main character's: Oldest, Virginia, called Ginny, the family brain,
described
as regal (I remember having to ask my dad what that meant); Second was
Victoria, called Vicky, the family beauty, and last Valerie, called Val
the
"personality kid" who was star cheerleader. The main plot
is that the main character (maybe her name starts with a "V"
like the others?) decides, not being able to be a super brain or super
beauty
like the oldest two, she will follow in Val's footsteps and become a
cheerleader. While that dream is just starting to come true she
goes
waterskiing with a friend and the boat gets loose and runs over her
causing her
to break both legs and she ends up in traction for months. Coming
out of
traction and hoping to get her strength back in her legs, it is
recommended
that she take up swimming for rehabilitation. WhiIe swimming she
sees someone diving hit his or her head on the board which no
one else sees and even though she has trouble since she still cant
walk,
she swims super fast to save the person and the coach is so impressed
he
recommends she go out for the swim team. Somewhere in
the story
she meets a boy named Pieter who is in the hospital and depressed and
will only
talk with her when she uses a puppet. I read this book in the
late 70's,
early 80's but it had a feel of being written in the 60's or so.
For some
reason I always felt that it was published by the same company that did
the
"Meg Mysteries" which I believe was Whitman Publishing (this
could be because it had the same hard back cover, covered over with
paper and I
purchased it in the same place,the local Pic'N'Save along with "The
Three
Matildas" (another mystery book I loved along with the Meg books)) but
I
have never been able to find it looking under Whitman (although that
could be
because I couldn't remember the main character's name or the title).
Jan
Washburn, The Family Name, 1971.
This one
is in the Solved Mysteries section - apparently a popular request. "A
story about a young girl who wants to live up to her good family name,
but an
accident in her senior year in high school challenges her to begin to
learn to
live again."
Solved: The Family Name, 1971. This is
definitely the book! Knew it as soon as I saw the title but would never
have
remembered it, the author's name, and especially the main character's
name, Ryndy. That makes 4 for 4 you and
your readers have found for me! Thank you so much!
W320:
Woman gives birth to
monster fish and living advertisments
I checked this scifi book out at my
elementary in the
80s. Young woman lives alone in a living house like a long hollow
caterpillar.
To make money she becomes pregnant, gives birth in a bucket to black
fish/tadpoles that try to bite her and mature into living
advertisements.
Vaguely asian culture.
W321: WWII,
boy, bicycle, ghetto
WWII, boy, bicycle, ghetto, perhaps
Warsaw, messenger? Children's book I read in 1985 - title like
"Courier V.F.W" or
""FVC" I remember three
letters. Hardcover, dark red/burnt
orange cover - story of a boy who works as a secret messenger to get
messages
out of the Ghetto.
W322:
Witch, lake, fairy
a witch, a lake in the middle of a
forest, dark
illustrations, black backgrounds, last image is the witch frozen in the
water,
with a fairy (that had come out of an egg?) caught in her fingers.
Wayne
Anderson, Ratsmagic. I'm
pretty sure this must be the book. The
illustrations are very dark, unique and quite memorable. As well
as I can remember, a witch steals
bluebird because her egg has a secret.
Rat rescues her and fairy creature(s) come out of the egg. Most
escape, but one doesn't quite make it
and is frozen in the lake with the witch.
This is also listed in the solved stumpers.
Wayne Anderson,
Ratsmagic, 1976. This is
definitely "Ratsmagic." A description is in Solved Stumpers.
W323: Woman, cat, storm,
float to China
I
am trying to identify the title of a book I read to my daughter a 3-4
years
ago. It was about a woman who goes out to have a picnic under a
tree with
her cat. It starts raining and a flood washes her house
away. The
woman and the cat get on a log and wind up floating across the sea to
China. They arrive in a harbor where there are old style Chinese
fishing
boats and some children on the beach. The woman and the cat set
up a new
house in China and there is a picture of them sitting at a table eating
rice. We read it after Hurricane Katrina and it was very
comforting to us
both. I sent it in under key words: woman, cat, storm, float to
China (or
similar words). The book was published some time between
1960-1990's?
W324: World War One multi volume
set
Looking
for a multi volumn set of books
published in england, written in english. The subject is World War One.
They
are non-fiction. The books are gray, hard cover, manchester has
something to do
with the publisher or where they were published, Published before 1930.
Y75:
Young boy and small dog rescues kidnapped woman during
Christmas time
I am searching for a children's book
from my childhood
during the mid-1980s about a young boy and small dog that rescue a
kidnapped
woman during Christmas time. The book is small and has a hard cover.
The cover
of the book is blue with a picture of the woman, boy, and dog walking
in the
snow.
Stump the Bookseller Archives
Current stumpers are on this page (scroll down!).
Follow these links for the archives.
|
New
|
AB
|
CD
|
EF
|
GH
|
IJ
|
KL
|
|
MN
|
OP
|
QR
|
S
|
T
|
UVW
|
XYZ
|
|
|
|
|
Search Loganberry's Website!
|
|
|
