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Running Commentary from a Teacher
“This is more of a short story. I read it in a collection of children's short stories from my local library in Ireland when I was a child. It must have been at least 15 years ago. I don't remember the book or even the name of this story. The story basically consisted of one long piece of dialogue from the teacher of an infants class, and from this dialogue, you gained an idea of the room, situation, the children attending the class, their personalities and behaviour and the general goings on of the day. Essentially, you were only hearing the teacher's side of the conversation and her speech was constant as she chatted, reprimanded and encouraged the children. I can't remember exact lines but an example of how it was structured was like the following:
‘Yes Lucy, I know you have coloured the whole page blue and it's very - LUKE!! You cannot put the gerbil in with the goldfish! Put him back! Yes Lucy, well done. Sarah, don't cry, you're Mummy will be back at 2o'clock - I know, it's very sad that your teddy is alone in his room but it won't be for long. All right class, start tidying up, it's nearly time for your milk. LUKE!! The gerbil does not WANT to go in with the goldfi- no he did not tell you he wanted to, Luke, now put him back in the cage.’
"And so on, right through to the end of the story. I doubt anyone else will have read this so there is almost no chance of my ever finding it but it's worth a try.”
Solution: One of Joyce Grenfell's monologues. Some examples can be found here: http://monologues.co.uk/First_Ladies/Flowers.htm
It includes links to a couple of books, including one from 1998. Information about Joyce Grenfell can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joyce_Grenfell
Live, Life-Size Doll Family
"I read this book when I was in the fifth grade at County Line Elementary School in Winder, GA when I lived in the United States. It was a wonderfully written book about a family of life-size dolls. They were made out of fabric and had stuffing inside them; there was nothing real (like organs, blood, etc.) in them. They did have minds and could think. But they were life-size. I want to say that they lived in the attic of the house of the person who created/made/sewed them. There was some kind of plot going on about a grandfather's will and someone else not wanting the dolls to get it, maybe? I am not sure. I want to say that the title of it had to do with apples, like the Applewhites or something like that, but I am just shooting in the dark, so I could be wrong.”
Solution: The Mennyms, by Sylvia Waugh. Greenwillow, 1993. (One of the characters in named Appleby). Sequels: Mennyms in the Wilderness (1994); Mennyms Under Siege (1995); Mennyms Alive (1996); Mennyms Alone (1996). More information can be found here: http://www.fantasticfiction.co.uk/w/sylvia-waugh/
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Backwards Town
“There’s a book that is based in the town of Drawkcab, which is the word “backward” spelled backward. Everything about the town is backwards. Back yards are front yards and vice-versa. Any idea what this book is called?
Solution: Ice Cream For Breakfast, by Betty Jo Schuler. Willowisp Press, 1991.
The author discusses the book here: http://www.bettyjoschuler.net/kidsclub.html
Young Adult Book About a Futuristic World
"This is a book about a futuristic world where no one can learn things except those of a higher society. A young man finds an opening (a sewer-type place) that is hidden and sneaks in there often to invent things. He winds up inventing something that gives off light (similar to an early light bulb) and takes it to the heads of the invention board, but they destroy it. He then runs away into the forest and manages to keep going for weeks, and his girlfriend catches up with him. They travel together and wind up finding an old abandoned cabin with windowpanes and books, and stay there to raise kids.
"I read this fairly recently, but it is an older (maybe 1970's) book. It is much more a young adult book than a children's book, kind of in the fashion of Orwell's 1984."
Solution: Anthem, by Ayn Rand. Originally published in 1938; reprinted many times since then. Project Gutenberg has the full text online: http://www.gutenberg.org/etext/1250