Books
that Aunt Book Has Identified
Page 5
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Magic Lessons with Gold Cubes
"This story was in paperback, I believe, and I
read it about 20 years ago. It was a science fiction/fantasy book
for children and it involved the main character, who I think was a boy,
having some kind of magic lessons and there were gold cubes
involved. I think they had symbols on them, or else they changed
form when he played with them, or something. "
Another Dear Nephew wrote in with a query about the same book:
"I am looking for a fiction book that I read
in the mid to late '80's. It is about a boy who goes into an old
house, I believe on a dare, and finds that the inside of the house is
very nice. He finds a man there. The man teaches the boy to
use mind control with small cubes.
"In one part the boy is taught to look into
his mind, which is like a house full of rooms. I remember one part in
which the boy uses his mind control to 'mess' with people in public and
the man (teacher) yells at him through his mind, but then as the boy is
walking home he sees a child in the road about to be hit by a
car. The boy uses the 'cube' in his pocket that he has and
using mind control pushes on the brake pedal of the car. The
teacher
then helps him through mind control to stop the car before it hits the
child.
"In the book the boy goes o the house many
times for his teachings and then a the end when the boy goes in the old
house, there is no one or nothing there but he had learned to use mind
control and move items and look into people's minds."
Solution: Christopher, by Richard
Koff. Reissued as Christopher and His Magic Powers.
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Wab the Bear
"For Christmas I wanted to get a book for my
dad. It was his first book and his all time favorite. It
was so long ago, though that he can't remember the title; this is all
he can remember:
"Wab was a little bear, and his mamma
died. He got shot and trapped, but he kept getting bigger and
bigger; he had good genetics and became king of the woods. Later,
a new bear came and outsmarted Wab.
Wab would scratch a tree and the other bear would climb the tree and
scratch so it looked like he was bigger. Wab turned into a coward and
he went into hiding. The younger bear took all the female bears.
Soon Wab was too weak and scared to go out. His muscles ached one
day and so he went into the hot springs and died.
"Maybe Wab wasn't his name; my dad read it
when he was very little, and his memory of it is faint. He said
he thought it was called Wab the Bear. But maybe not.
"He read the book around 1970. It was a
short children's story."
Solution: Biography of a Grizzly, by
Ernest Seton-Thompson (or, alternately, Ernest Thompson Seton).
The bear's name is spelled "Wahb."
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Hidden Cellar With Jars of Potions
"I read a children's chapter book in the early
'80s about two kids (girl and boy?) who find a hidden door in a floor
(under a rug? in some old building like a shed?) that leads to an
earthen cellar full of shelves of jars and potions (for casting
spells). This book was probably intended for the 8-10 year old
range. It MAY have had a couple of pen sketches throughout
it. I could be wrong, but there might have been a sketch of the
children first reaching the floor of the cellar, with the ladder
beginning in the top left corner, a large heavy wooden table to the
right, and the shelves of jars behind. There might have been an
old book of spells on the table. I think the cellar was
long-abandoned.
"I remember the book as not scary at all, just
exciting. Maybe the kids were visiting, like for the
summer? It seems the place was fairly isolated, and the kids were
exploring. Maybe they were moving old things around in a shed for play,
when they uncovered the door in the floor?
"Also, the title might have been about five
words (The ____ in the ___). Of course, maybe not."
Solution: I Will Make You Disappear, by
Carol Beach York.
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Violet and Her Stepmother, Lily
"… her name was Violet, her dad was Pete,
about to marry Lily (Violet's step mother). Pete's sister is called
Esther and Violet’s mother, Charlotte. Lily had been Pete’s first wife,
they had no children and then divorced. Then Pete married Charlotte,
and had Violet and a couple of boys. They divorced, Pete married again
and had a couple more kids. He divorced again, and is ready to marry
Lily again…
"I read this book in the seventies, I think it
was American. Violet is a very wise and too clever girl of 12, a bit of
a monster, really, who doesn't like her dad remarrying. I remember Pete
and Lily go to Taxco, Mexico, on their honeymoon. Violet follows and
makes the whole town efficient, disrupting the lazy peace and beauty of
the place. There are plenty of different situations in the book in
which Violet meddles and makes a mess of things, but in the end all
goes well. The book was great fun, and Violet was a child
you would love and hate at the same time. "
Solution: Violet, by Whitfield
Cook. 1942. Poison Ivy by Any Other Name
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Suitcase Book With Collection of
Stories
"Read in the United States , probably in the
late 1980s to mid-1990s. It was a large brownish-tan book covered
in illustrations. There was a handle too, so you could carry it
like a suitcase. It was a collection of children's stories, but
they were all connected. It started with animals, looking at the
stars. Then there was a flood and they all built boats and
floated downstream. They were rescued by these gnome people with
whom they decided to live. They built homes and things. There
were more stories. There was a story about a giant with red hair
and beard, and striped pants. I think he had a toothache or a
cold or something when they met him. The giant showed up a bunch
of times and actually was shrunken down to their size once or
twice. The giant also carried the animals and gnomes in these
things like shoulder hotels on a journey. The giant also went
into a lake and got a magic key to open a treasure chest for the head
gnome or something like that. Three elves were introduced.
They had freckles and green clothes and red hair. They lived in a
treehouse that had window shutters with eyes painted on them and lots
of gadgets. There was a story about imps or sprites or something being
turned into fish. There was a story about fairies coming from the
fairy queen and an ugly, crippled one named Nettle dove into a lake and
turned into a beautiful mermaid. There were stories about dragons
on the other side of the valley. Baby dragons? There was a
war or a battle or something between the dragons and
gnomes/animals. There was a story about a unicorn that was stolen
from one of the red-headed elves by a bad elf or something like
that. It could fly. The book was heavily illustrated.
The frog wore polka dotted shorts. The baby dragons were
green. The Unicorn thief wore black."
Solution: A Trip to Woodland: A Suitcase Filled with
Stories and Games, by Jane and Sarah Brierly; illustrated
by Tony Wolf.
Another Dear Nephew wrote in to ask about one of the books in the
series: "I'm looking for a book that I read in the '80's in
America. It was a large children's book. I'd love to give a
copy to my daughter. I'm going to use an unanswered description
of the book I found on another site because it's so clear and
well-remembered. This is the page where I'm getting the
description:
http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index;_ylt=AjycU3dkS_D33tY.0CTN9h4jzKIX;_ylv=3?qid=20091014120801AAc11c7
"The book was very throroughly illustrated
though it was not strictly a picture book. It started off with stories
about a family of dragons, the younger ones learning to fly and breathe
fire. It culminated with the dragon society going to war with gnomes.
There was a whole section of the book showing the two armies preparing
for war in whimsical fashion. Dragons had helmets and spears made from
natural things like teeth and bone and turtle shells. The gnomes made
siege machines with the help of skunks and such. In the end, there was
a picture of the two armies at peace, sitting along a long table at a
feast."
The books in the series are Meet the Woodland Folk,
The Woodland Folk Meet the Gnomes,
The Woodland Folk Meet the Giants,
The Woodland Folk in Fairyland,
The Woodland Folk Meet the Elves,
and The Woodland Folk Meet the Dragons
(the last book was the one sought). Information and pictures can
be found here: http://knittingiris.typepad.com/knitting_iris/2007/01/woodland_folk_b.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
King Inside a Mountain
"I'm trying to find a fictional children's
book from the '70's. It involves a king who lived inside a
mountain. He had various animals bring him gifts and I seem to remember
a rabbit or hare being his assistant. Other than that I cannot remember
much else, except that I loved it. I read it in England. Please can you
help?"
Solution: King of the Copper Mountains,
by Paul Biegel.
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Boy Wizard At School, But Not Harry
Potter
"I read this book in 1997. It's about a young
boy who's either orphaned or unwanted and he goes to a school of
wizardry. In the school boys only turn left down hallways and
girls only turn right but they always end up at the correct
classroom. At the end the boy defeats an evil wizard. I
also remember the cover's having a the boy standing in front of the
gates of the school. Those are the only details I can remember."
Solution: Wizard's Hall, by Jane Yolen.
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Girl in Coma Goes Back In Time
"I
read this book when I was in Elementary school about 28 (or more)
years ago. This is what I remember. It's about this young
girl who gets rheumatic fever. The story takes place "now," which
could have been in the 1970's-1990's; I'm not entirely
sure. Anyway, while the
young girl is in a coma, she goes back
in time to the 1800's-1900's, around that era, and so she tells her
story. I remember her saying how itchy her woolen socks
were."
Solution: The Doll, by Cora
Taylor. Reissued as Yesterday's Doll.
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Family on Vacation, Stuffed Lamb Named
"Lamby"
"We have a
patron looking for a book she read as a child in the 1980's. The
book is about a family on vacation and she thinks 'Farm' was somewhere
in the title. She remembers the book as being very
humorous. The family included the parents and two children, one
girl and one boy. The little girl had a stuffed lamb named
'Lamby.'"
Solution: Hooples on the Highway,
by Stephen Manes. Coward-McCann, 1978.
Sequels: The Hooples'
Haunted House, Delacorte, 1981; and Hooples' Horrible Holiday.
Avon Books, 1986. The first two were also issued in
paperback. I can find no record of the third one in hardcover.
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New World Where It's Always a Holiday
"The first book is about a boy who finds a new world
where only or mostly children live, and every day/week/month all the
seasons pass, resulting in its always being a holiday. At first
he thinks it’s great and becomes friends with a girl who’s been living
there for a while. After a while, they discover that each time
when all the seasons pass by, a year goes by in the “real” world.
It ends with the alternative world being destroyed, and the boy remains
a little boy, but his friend is an old(er) woman.
"I read both books in the nineties and in Dutch, but
I don’t know if it they were translated (for all I know they were
Chinese originally)."
Solution: The Thief of Always, by Clive
Barker.
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Baby With Magic Lock of Hair
"I believe it is set in England. There is a
woman who was a ballerina and had an accident. I think lights from the stage fell on
her and damaged her foot or leg. She couldn't dance any
more. She married and made a home in a cute little cottage and
grew plump on chocolates (I think).
More than anything she wanted a baby but couldn't have one. The
fairies in the garden were moved by her sadness and worked their magic
and she had a baby girl. Because the baby was made with
fairy magic she was special. There was a lock of hair on the
baby's head that was a different color (pink or green, I can't
remember). Those hairs were magic.
"When the baby was born the fairies gave her a
gift. It had a rose theme. Every year on her birthday the
previous gift would go away and a new rose-themed gift would
appear. One year it was a rose-shaped rattle. One year it
was a rose that turned into a beautiful dress. One year it was a
rose that taught the child the letters. One year it was a rose
that was candy.
"I believe when she got older she helped the
fairies and her mother's lameness with her magic hairs. I think
it was about 100 pages long. I was in the U.S. in about 1987
(give or take 2 years)."
Solution: The Fairy Rebel, by
Lynn Reid Banks
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Small Furry Creature Sleeps in Window
Shade Ring
"I am trying to remember a book from my childhood in
the 1970's. It is about a small furry or fuzzy or feathered
creature. The book is light brown and ends with this small furrr
creature going to sleep in the window, in the ring used to pull down
the window shades. It's a young children's picture book, not very
long, and about either bedtime or this creature and the child it
watched over or played with.
Solution: Lisa and the Grompet, written
and illustrated by Patricia Coombs. Lothrop, Lee & Shepard,
1970. A description of the story and a picture of the paperback
can be found here:
http://www.jacketflap.com/bookdetail.asp?bookid=0440448921
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Horatio the Purple Dragon
"I first got my hands on the book about ten years
ago from the children's section in my local library. I've tried
going there and asking and although I'm still a record on their system,
they don't have a record of what books I borrowed!
"The book I'm after is centred around a dragon
character. I am pretty sure the dragon's name was 'Horatio' and
that he was a purple dragon (he was purple on the front cover).
He spoke quite poshly and was very friendly. He stayed with
an older man and a little girl (I think they were grandfather
and granddaughter) in their basement. A section I remember was
when they were trying to accomodate Horatio and help him build a
hoard of gold.
"All that I can remember of the front cover is that
it had a picture of Horatio sitting on a pile of gold. The
background was the basement in which he was living."
Solution: Wanted, One Dragon, by Beth
Webb.
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Ointment Gives Boy Wings
"The book I am trying to identify was
probably a YA book, more than a strictly children's book; I read it in
5th grade or so. The story is set in modern times, probably in
America. The main character is a boy who lives with his
mother. They rent out one of the rooms in their house. One
day an older gentleman comes to stay for a while. For some
reason, he gives the main character an ointment which, when rubbed on
the boy's shoulders, causes wings to grow. Eventually the old man
leaves, and eventually the boy runs out of ointment."
Solution: Black and Blue Magic, by
Zilpha Keatley Snyder. Pictures of the various covers can
be found here:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/68765.Black_and_Blue_Magic
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Aliens Control Earthlings Via Metal
Mesh Cap
"The book is a Young Adult science fiction story
that I read in 2001. It’s set on Earth in the future.
Aliens have taken over and now control Earth. The main character
is a young boy who is coming of age. Coming of Age requires you
to have a metal mesh cap implanted onto the top of your head. He
hears a stranger to the village talk of how the mesh is how the aliens
control us and decides to run away instead of putting on the mesh
cap. The aliens have machines similar to the tripods in War of
the Worlds, and the aliens in this book cannot live in our
atmosphere. On the boy's travels he meets a friend whom he gives
the nick name of Bean Pole because he’s tall and skinny. The two
travel, trying to keep away from the aliens who are looking for
them. I think the book is set in England but I am not sure.
At one point the two find an old subway station and find a box of
grenades (Bean uses them later against the aliens). Bean turns
out to be a genius and learns how to build planes or something like
that; I think they might use hot air balloons to get above the aliens'
tripods and drop the grenades on them. In the story the main
character is caught by the aliens and they go to where the aliens live
(which is a large dome with glass or some sort of force field around
it). If I remember correctly the aliens have tentacles for legs
and take baths in some sort of gross mud. Their dome colony’s
gravitational pressure is much more than that of Earth so the boys find
it very hard to move; they might even have to wear some sort of lead
suits to live. The characters cannot find a way to escape because
everywhere is guarded, until they realize that they might be able to
get out using the river that runs through the Dome. They escape
and join the resistance and defeat the aliens. I cannot remember
if this is one book or a trilogy. I think it might be a trilogy,
though.
Solution: The Tripods, a
trilogy (plus a prequel written years later), by John
Christopher. The books are The
White Mountains (1967), The
City of Gold and Lead (1967), The
Pool of Fire (1968), and When
the Tripods Came (1988). Information about the
books can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Tripods
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Bee Starts a Chain of Events
"It's a paperback, and I read it roughly 24 years
ago. It's about a bee that starts off a cycle that leads to a
domino effect. I don't remember all the details, but I recall
something along the lines of the bee's stinging the woman milking the
cow, and the woman becomes irate so she burns her husbands dinner.
The husband becomes livid and throws a rake at a donkey and it
ends up back with the bee at the end of the story. I thought it
might have been called something trivial like "Buzz Buzz Buzz" but that
doesn't seem to be the case."
Solution: Buzz Buzz Buzz, by Byron
Barton. http://www.amazon.com/Buzz-Byron-Barton/dp/068971873X
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jack Horner Delivers Letters
"I am trying to find a book, but cannot remember the
title – I thought it was ‘Mr Horner was a Postman,' but now I am not
sure.
I remember the first part of the story goes:
Mr Horner was a Postman
Mrs H sold stamps
One blowy winters eve – she said
Please Jack light up the lamps
Mr Horner came in chilled
It was a bitter day
While taking post to Pear Tree Farm
His scarf had blown away…"
Solution: Post Office, by Colin and
Moira Maclean. Part of a series called "Nursery Village."
New edition published by Kingfisher in 1992.
ISBN-10: 0862729114 ISBN-13: 978-0862729110
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Little Boy Paints Wagon, Gets Messy
"The book was not a Little Golden Book; it
was roughly the size of a Big Golden Book, published in the late 1940's
or very early 1950's. It had colorful illustrations of a little
boy with rosy cheeks and rounded features. All I remember of the
plot is that he had a little wagon and for some reason ended up
painting it, possibly blue or red, getting paint on himself in the
process. I do remember there was another character, a cook or a
housekeeper, whom he called by her first name, 'Bessie.' She also
had rosy cheeks and a rounded, jolly figure. At the end of the
story, he was explaining to her what happened; the very last sentence,
I believe, reads, 'And Bessie, I'm a little messy!' The picture
shows the little boy saying this with a smile. (Bessie is not
angry; he's not in trouble). That's all I remember. The
title may be '(Boy's Name) and His Little (Color) Wagon,' or possibly
just 'The Little (Color) Wagon.'"
Solution: Henry's Wagon, by Peg
Dikeman, illustrated by Margie and published originally by John
Martin's House in 1946. It appears to have been reprinted several
times after that, including once in 1991.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Collection of Scary Stories
"I'm looking for a collection of scary stories that
I used to read when I was little and now can't remember the
title. I know some of the stories included:
"1. Squeal Piggy Squeal: A little girl is
having a birthday party and her across-the-street neighbor asks if she
can come. The little girl says no. At the party, they play
'squeal piggy squeal' and then begin to bob for apples. The ghost
comes over and says they can play their own version of squeal piggy
squal and drowns the birthday girl as she bobs for apples.
"2. Something about a magic wand and gigantic flies
that come into the boy's bedroom
"3. A story about a father who owned a grocery
store. The father dies and the son changes the store all around,
turning it into a huge supermarket. The father's ghost eventually
begins making things happen at the store, like canned food being
spoiled when the customers open it and shelves falling, etc. The
son eventually changes the store back to how the father had it to make
the ghost happy.
"4. Two sisters who are dancers; one is really
talented in both dancing and singing, and is (I think) named
Penny. The other sister kills her but makes it look like an
accident so she'll start getting the attention; then when she starts
singing and dancing everyone says she looks and sounds just like the
dead sister.
"The book only has about 7 or 8 stories in it.
I think it was a kids' or young adults' book. It's not Stephen
King or any of the Alvin Schwartz 'Scary
Stories to Tell in the Dark' books. I read it in the United
States probably about 10 years ago, but it may have been UK-written.
"The title may have 'A Taste of...' or 'A Hint
of...' in it, but I'm not sure."
Solution: A Nasty Piece of Work and Other Stories,
by Lance Salway. The book contains the following stories:
1. Such a Sweet Little Girl, 2. Mother's Little Helper, 3. Silver and
Son, 4. Pretty Penny, 5. Lost in France, 6. Squeal, Piggy, Squeal, 7. A
Nasty Piece of Work.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Girl Changes Hairstyles, Fools Copycats
"As a child I read a book about a girl who would
change her hairstyles but every day the other children at her school
would copy her hairstyle. At the end of the book the girl says
she is going to shave her head. The next day she comes to school in a
ponytail while everyone else is bald."
Solution: Stephanie's Ponytail, by
Richard Munsch
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Overpopulated Earth, Game or Mission
in Virtual World
"It’s about an earth which is overpopulated, where
children are chosen for some kind of game. The game or missions
take place in a virtual world once a helmet is placed on their
heads. In the end, the group of children is sent to another
planet to repopulate there in hopes of fixing Earth's mistakes. The
protagonist of the story is a girl who is talking in the first person,
I believe. The book begins and ends with the same lines, which is
her writing in her diary."
Solution: Invitation to the Game, by
Monica Hughes
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Illustrated Collection of Classic
Tales for Children
"I live in Australia and was born in 1985 and was
given a book that I desperately want to find. I recieved it in
either the late 1980's or early 1990's. It was a light pink
hardcover and was a very thick book. There were approximately 400
- 600 pages, could have been more. It was a big sized book and
contained stories for children. There were many stories within
this book although I cannot remember any of them. There was an index
page. The writing was split into two columns and there were pictures
throughout the book.
"One particular picture that I vividly
remember is of a man and a woman sitting inside a big old wooden barrel
in the water of a sea or ocean. The man is wearing an orange life
vest and has brown hair that is beneath his ears. The woman is of
Asian appearance and is wearing a flowing pink or fuchsia dress with a
big golden hat that looks like the Pope's hat. He appears to be
saving her and has one leg out of the barrel.
"I think the front cover had white writing on
it with maybe the word 'Classic' on it, although I cannot be
sure. I have looked for this book and have come across many
books; however none of them ring a bell. I do not think this book
has one author like the Grimm brothers or Andersen; rather, I think
there are many authors of the different stories that have been all put
together. Another thing about the book is that I don't think the
pages were glossy; they seemed rough."
Solution: My Favourite
Book of Bedtime Stories, by Barbara Matthews. Illustrated
by Nadir Quinto. The Dear Niece who submitted the original query
was able to identify and locate the book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Angel Who Falls to Earth
"A friend of mine is searching for a book her older
sister remembers about a little angel who falls to earth. The
book dates from her sister's childhood in the late 1940's to
1950's. Some children help the angel get back to Heaven when they
put her in a swing, then swing her very high, and she finally is able
to fly back to Heaven."
Solution: Angel Child, by Val
Teal. Illustrated by Pelagie Doane. Rand McNally,
1946. A Tip Top Elf Book.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Too Much Popcorn
"I am trying to help my mother find a book.
She is 62, so I am assuming it is from around her era. It's a
children's story. She said there is an old woman on the cover,
with a bun in her hair. The book is about popcorn, and the story
is about her popping too much popcorn. There is a picture with
the popcorn coming out of the house and onto the sidewalk."
Solution: Popcorn Party, by Trudy
Boyles. A Rand McNally Elf Book, 1952. The book was issued
with at least two different covers.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beach, Jewelry Made from Shells
"I read this book in the '70's. It was
a chapter book set at the beach, maybe in Florida. I think there
were two main characters, a boy named Chris, and a girl whose name I
don't remember. I remember one of them made and sold jewelry out
of tiny shells. I also remember something about a seance and key
lime pie. I want to say that the word "ghost" was in the title,
but don't let that throw you off in case I'm wrong."
Solution: Spirit Town, by Suzanne
Roberts. Whitman, 1972. The cover is purple and spooky
looking, with the head of a girl with long hair floating in the center
of a circle of people holding hands (clearly a seance). Mimi
Wade, her mother, and her sister Julie, who is mourning the death of
her boyfriend (in Vietnam) go to a Florida town called Hangsaman, which
is full of spiritualists. Mimi meets Christopher, who collects
shells on the beach and makes things out of them - ashtrays, earrings,
etc. And on page 64 she meets a woman who makes key lime pies.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Climb
"I remember a kids book I read called 'The
Climb.' I am looking for the author. It was about a
babysitter and, I think, a mountain. I know for a fact a
babysitter was a major character. "
Solution: The Climb, by
Carol Carrick. Illustrated by Donald Carrick. Houghton
Mifflin, 1980. Brendan climbs a mountain with his cousin, Nora.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Three Boys and Alfred Hitchcock Solve
Mysteries
"I remember this series, similar to the Hardy Boys,
about three young boys and Alfred Hitchock who solved mysteries.
One was about a scarecrow and another was about a stuttering parrot."
Solution: The Three Investigators
(originally Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators).
Here's a website that lists the titles and shows pictures (and has a
lot of other information): http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/originalseries.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Peter Travels Through Time
"All my children's scanning for Bookshare has me
yearning for a book I read as a child. It was called "Peter" (at
least I believe that was the title) but I have no clue about the
author. All I remember is that it was a kind of time travel book
with the boy waking up in different time periods (think Scott Bakula in
Quantum Leap). I think he was in ancient Greece and made a pair
of glasses, among his destinations and events, as an example.
"It was probably around 200 pages or so. I
read it in the mid or early '70's, I would guess."
Solution: Peter, by Anne
Holm. Harcourt, Brace & World, 1965. Translated from
the Danish by L. W. Kingsland.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Raggedy Ann and Marcella Make a Blue
Cake
"Someone else was asking about a Raggedy Ann story
book. She remembers that Raggedy Ann and Marcella made a blue
cake. She had the book when growing up, and says this story was
the reason she made a blue birthday cake for her son in 1977. She
wondered if it was a Little Golden Book or a Tell-a-Tale Book. Do you
have any ideas for us?"
Solution (possibly): Raggedy Andy's Surprise, by
Johnny Gruelle. Illustrated by Tom Sinnickson. Wonder
Books, 1953. Aunt Book is not certain that this is
the correct book because she has not heard back from the Dear Niece who
made the query; however, it seems probable that it is. If not,
doubtless someone will correct her.
Several Raggedy Ann books were printed by Wonder
Books, another line of those little books that looked like Golden Books
and the others.
This particular book involves the birthday of Raggedy Ann (which turns
out to be Raggedy Andy's, as well). There's a picture of a cake
on the cover, though I can't tell if the inside of the cake is
blue. There is blue in the frosting. If it is not that
book, it might be another of the Wonder Books. If one goes to
www.abebooks.com and searches by keyword, using the words "raggedy ann
wonder book" (but with no quotation marks), a list of the others in
similar format will appear.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Stranded People Rescue Themselves With Hot
Air Balloons
"I recall reading a book in the late '80's or maybe
as late as 1992, and I cannot remember the name! It was an
adventure book and I remember it was about a group of people who were
traveling and some mishap occurred. They were stranded (possibly
on an island?) and had to figure out how
to rescue themselves. I remember that at some point they gathered
together the wreckage of whatever they had been traveling in (boat?
plane?) and created this floating village or ship with hot air balloon
type of mechanisms and went on their way."
Solution: The Twenty-One Balloons, by
William Pene DuBois. The Dear Niece who submitted the query was
able to identify the book herself.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The Habeeyah Machine
"Do you know the title of a children's book
containing the following sentence: 'Scoop him up and put him in
the Habeeyah (sp.?) machine, heh, heh, heh?"
Solution (possibly): The Hobyahs,
retold by Brenda Parkes and Judith Smith. Illustrated by Rodney
McRae. Methuen Australia, 1987. Aunt Book is not certain
that this is the book because the Dear Niece who submitted the query
did not reply to the suggestion. The Hobyas (sometimes spelled
Hobbyas) is an old story. This particular retelling mentions a
machine, which not all of the books that include it do because it is
such an old story.
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Girls Discover Magical Items
"I am looking for a book that was about two girls
who somehow discovered a number of magical items ( I can’t remember
how, but I think a mysterious box was involved). One of the items
was a pair of boots that took them several miles with each step.
Another of the items was a pair of invisible gloves that allowed the
wearer to perform tasks perfectly when worn. The girls wore them
to do their homework and practice the piano. There were other items as
well, but I can’t remember them now. I first read the book about
20 years, and I have the impression that it was an old book then."
Solution: What the Witch Left, by Ruth
Chew. Hastings House, 1973. (It was reissued in paperback
by Scholastic).
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Oscar the Dachshund
"The book I am trying to identify had a huge
impact on my family when we were growing up in the '60's. It was a
library book and was taken out time and time again for our father to
read to us at bedtime.
"The story involved a 'sausage dog - a dachshund,
called Oscar. Oscar had lots of adventures. I seem to
recall that he was owned by a little boy but got lost, and the rest of
the book was his story of trying to find his owner again. The bit
I remember most was Oscar being carried to an eagle's nest high in the
mountains.
"I think the author was a German speaker as I seem
to recall it was translated into English. The book had lots of
illustrations, black and white pen drawings, if I remember correctly.
"I have found other books about a dachshund called
Oscar, written in the '70's, but this one was around during the '60's
and may have been written in the '40's or '50's or possibly even
earlier. I would love to find this book again. Our family
still call dachshunds an Oscar sausage dog, and my sister now has a
real one called, naturally, Oscar."
Solution: Oscar the Dachshund, by Franz
Kaspar. Illustrated by Hans P. Schaad. Constable and Co.,
1962.
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Children's Health Book
"I am trying to find an elementary school level
(grade 4-6) book about children's health. This would have been
from the 1970's or earlier; I would have read it in the late 1970's.
It had a hardcover light green cloth binding and was simply
illustrated. It covered basic topics such as nutrition and
brushing your teeth. It may have been called 'Your Health' or
'Your Health and You' or words to that effect. I believe it was
part of a series."
Solution: Health For All!
Book Two, by W.W.
Bauer, M.D., Elizabeth Rider Montgomery, and Eleanore T.
Pounds. The Dear Niece who submitted the query found the book
herself.
Identified
Books page 1 page 2 page 3 page 4
Return to Aunt Book's
parlor
Ask Aunt Book
Help with books Aunt Book can't identify
Aunt Book's recommendations
Aunt Book expresses outrage