Can You Help?
page 3
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Hero, Bird, Splinter
"This book was read to me when I was about 5
or 6. If I can remember correctly I had borrowed the book from
the infant school library in Sheffield (England), some 30 years
ago. I don’t know if the story was old one or new back
then. What I can remember of the story is this: The
hero had to get some ball-shaped objects from a tree to save the life
of a girl (a princess?). There is something about a splinter and
a bird that was needed to pull the splinter. Now I don’t know if
the hero got the splinter from the tree, or he needed the ball-shaped
object from the tree to give to the bird to remove the splinter from
the girl. The hero had to climb a needle-shaped mountain
with an eye just below the peak. When the hero went through the
eye he got himself stuck in some goo of sorts. " Tell Aunt Book
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First Manned Missions to the Different
Planets Series
"I am trying to identify an entire series of
books that I can remember taking out of the public library (in
the UK) and reading time and again. The series was about
the first manned missions to each of the planets in the solar system
and the team that went on them (same team for each flight!). The
first mission was to the moon and the youngest member of the team was a
teenager and not meant to be on the mission. He either stowed
away or got onto the mission by some other nefarious means. The
next mission, to Mars, he became for some strange reason a formal
member of the team and remained such through their missions to Venus,
Mercury, Jupiter etc. I must have been reading these in the
mid-1970’s but they are probably rather older than that on reflection;
the technology and approach to how things could be done was naïve
and, thinking back, from a generation before we saw Apollo etc."
Tell Aunt Book
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Marmalade on Banoffee Pies
"I am trying to find a book I read at school
when I was about 9 years old, about six and a half years ago. I
don’t remember the name of the book, who it was by, or any of the
characters (sorry). I read it in the UK (England). I
remember it was about a boy who liked to put marmalade on banoffee
pies. There was something about moths and a tanning bed. I think the
city was in ruins and the boy lived with his grandma. There was
something about someone not liking roses, so they had to cut the
flowers off of all the rose bushes. It was a bizarre book, and
I'd love to be able to read it again."
Another query about what seems to be the same book: "There was
this child and all he wore was yellow. He made
banoffee pie with marmalade and, and a mum and he lived in an old
salon. He went to the city and found people under a bridge.
There was
something about moths and also a bald girl." Tell Aunt Book
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Post-apocalyptic Monastery and Plague
“There isn't a lot I can remember. I read the
book probably about 10 years ago. It was in the children's section of
Andover library, Hants, England. I think it had an 11+ sticker, which
they put on the slightly more scary or inappropriate books.
“As far as the plot goes, it was about a boy
who wakes up in a monastery in a strange, almost post-apocalyptic
version of the world, with no memory or idea of what his name is. The
monks look after him while he gets better (I can't remember why he was
ill). A girl comes into it, too, who I think does have her memory. All
the other characters are adults. They stay in the monastery, but they
hear stories of people dying of something like a plague. One day a car
comes to the monastery, with I think just two men in, one of whom has
no head. The boy is terrified, but the monk says they must help
everyone, and he lets the men in. The other man is sure he can fix his
friend. One day the boy is taken into the nearest town (I think by the
monk). They drive, and the girl goes, too. They find a body by
the road that has no blood left in it at all. This is what has been
happening to people. They don't let the girl see it. They go into a
building, and I think they're being chased by a man. That's all I can
recall.” Tell Aunt Book
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Mixed-Up Animals: Top, Middle,
Bottom
“I'm looking for a children's book from the 1970's or 1980's. It
featured illustrations, names, and descriptions of animals that could
be mixed up, as each page was divided into 3 sections: top
(head), middle (body), and bottom (legs). The names would be
muddled and the descriptions of the animals would get mixed up (where
they lived, what they ate etc.). The cover was hardback and had a
red border with a typical mixed-up animal illustration on the cover.
There is a contemporary book here
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Very-Mixed-up-Animals-Ian-Jackson/dp/1901323056
that is very similar but it is not this one unless it has been redrawn
and republished. I think it had a one-word title mixing the word
animal with something else." Tell Aunt Book
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Thoughtfully-written Books by One
Author
"I am looking for an author who wrote several
books that I read in the late 1970s. Topics were not typical children's
fare, although they were meant for children (maybe upper grade school
range). I remember one, with illustrations, about a girl with black
hair that she wore in braids and thick glasses. Another was set in
World War II; maybe the main character was a Jewish child? Another
dealt with a child who was physically abused at home. I read several by
this author, but found many of the topics slightly disturbing. But they
were very thoughtfully written. I wish I could remember the author's
name." Tell Aunt Book
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Yellow and White Story Collection
"Okay, the book was a big collection of
stories. It was yellow and white. It had a story about a bear, a story
about a boy whos grandfather owned a submarine and baseball cards, the
story Teeny-Tiny and the Soup Bone about the ghost and the bone and a
whole bunch of other stories. Anyone at least have an idea?" Tell Aunt Book
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Little Blond Boy in Red Sweater
"The main character was a little boy with
blond hair, and he always wore a red sweater. He might have had
glasses, but I can't quite remember. He was in various stories;
the two I remember the most are one about a lion and the boy, and the
other where the boy came across a group of toads having a tea party and
eating dragonflies. The book is somewhat old as I read it in
third grade (1999). That's about as much as I can remember."
"I believe it was a single book with many
short stories in it, all connected by the same little boy. This
was also a picture book that accompanied a short
story." Tell
Aunt
Book
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Mia, Whose Friend Had an Operation
"The book was about a girl called Mia who
became friends with a girl whose name began with R. The girl had
ear deformities or something and got laughed at. Then she went to
get an operation and died. There might also have been something
about a cliff and a dilapidated house. It was probably published in the
'90's and pretty definitely not the 2000's."
Tell Aunt Book
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A Stork and a Hammock
"I am looking for a book that would be late
70s or early 80s that was my husband's favorite. He said that it was
about a stork and a hammock. This would be a children's book. This was
all he could remember. Any help would be appreciated." Tell Aunt Book
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Boy Helps Pampered Girl Escape
"I was hoping you could help me identify a
book I've been trying to find for over ten years. I don't know
the title, nor the author, but I can give you bits and pieces of the
plot. Basically, a boy helps a pampered girl break out of her
tower-like containment, and the two escape over the lands, being chased
by two thieves or kidnappers eager to get them for ransom. They stumble
upon a circus and a girl with a pet bear helps them out. There's also a
part with a sewer and some other things that my memory is so foggy I
can't remember. I read it here in the U.S.A., and the title
illustration was black and white, I think, with the thieves on either
side looking in on the scene, which portrayed the boy and girl running
across the land (I think holding hands?) and the girl (who I think
looked like a Native American) and her bear near the bottom." Can
you help? Tell Aunt Book
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Bluish Green Mother Goose with Old
Fashioned Pictures
"I am looking for an old Mother Goose nursery rhyme
book, possibly published in the late 60's early 70's, given to me by my
grandmother after I was born in 1972. If I remember correctly,
it was a bluish green color. Mother Goose was riding her
goose on the cover, and the pictures were of a Victorian style, not
cartoon like, as Mother Goose books are now. It was fairly thick,
possibly over 100 pages. Tell Aunt Book
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Father, Son, Hidden Beach
"The book is about a father and a son, and the
father brings the son to a hidden beach where no one ever was, and it
was very peaceful. I’m not sure but if I remember correctly they
may have gone hiking or done other activities. I believe they
wore ponchos and that’s where I discovered what ponchos were but I’m
not sure if I’m getting that mixed up with a different book. I don’t
think so though. Anyway, when they returned years later the beach was
full of people. I remember the illustrations as being very good.
Some pictures I remember were one in the beginning where they were
inside the house, and one at the end which showed the beach filled with
people." Tell Aunt Book
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Brother, Sister, and Cousin and
Grandfather's Curio Shop
"I read a book around 1969 - 1971 that I would love
to find.
"A brother and a sister, around junior high age, go
to their grandfather's for the summer. They have a male cousin in
that same age range who lives with the grandfather.
"The grandfather owns a store - a curio store or an
antique store, I believe. One scene describes the model ships
that are in the store and hanging from the ceiling. In another
chapter, one of the children is flipping through an old book and
discovers a message that was written at the edges of the pages.
The writing could only be seen if the pages were fanned back at just
the right angle.
"There is a mystery involved, and I believe that the
writing on one of these old books led to a search for more books with
the writing, and eventually to a hidden document or historical artifact
that was hidden in one of the model ships.
"The grandfather and the cousin were also volunteer
firefighters in their community. The grandfather was the chief
and had been for years. The position of chief was elected; every
firefighter drew either a black or a white marble from a bag and
dropped it into a box. When the box was opened, if all the
marbles were white, the candidate was elected. If there was even
one black marble, the person was rejected. Toward the end of the
book, it was time for a new election. The grandfather wanted
someone else to be the chief but everyone else wanted him to
continue. But when the brother and sister saw the grandfather and
cousin come out after the election, the grandfather's shoulders were
stooped and he looked sad. He had been rejected by one black
marble. It turned out that the cousin was the one who put the
black marble in the box, and he did so at the request of his
grandfather. So both grandfather and the cousin knew the
grandfather would not win the election.
"The cousin was not very easy to get along with
early in the book, but he and the brother and sister became very close
and did a lot of growing up by the end of the summer.
"My memory insists that the cousin's name was Doug,
but my memory has been known to file information in the wrong place and
the name might not be Doug after all." Can you help? Tell Aunt Book
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Bear Named Patrick Pog
"The character was a bear named Patrick Pog, I
think. He lived in Catfish Bay, but then his dad ran away to sea
and he and his mum moved to the country, where he made a friend called
Ted. The teachers at his school were rats called Peckinshaw, I
think." Tell Aunt Book
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Boy Who Hates Everything But Australia
"Many years ago I found a little children's book
about a boy who hated everything but Australia. He hated his
parents, his room, etc. I believe he ran away to a cave where a
bear was living. The boy got scared and ran back home. He
began loving his room, parents, etc. because he was back with them and
felt safe." Tell Aunt Book
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Middle School French Textbook
"Middle school French textbook, used in late 1960s /
early 1970s. Aqua hardcover. Lessons are an ongoing story
about Pierre and Nicole. Their diagrams have aqua
backgrounds. Tell Aunt
Book
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Boy Who Sees Wild Animals In Room at
Night
"I had a book when I was a child (in the '50's)
about a boy who either got scared when he turned out the light to
go to bed or was told to clean up his room and didn't. What I
truly remember about the book was that he saw wild animals in his room
one night. A monkey hanging from the ceiling light, a serpent
etc. His mother turns on the bedroom light and all the animals turn
into clothes." Tell Aunt
Book
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Kitten, Turtle, and Others Go Camping
and Fishing
"I saw this picture:
http://i18.photobucket.com/albums/b114/poppyboy/43.jpg and I
immediately thought about a children's book that I had from the
1980's. It was illustrated by the same person who drew the
picture in the link, or by someone with a similar style of
drawing. Here's all the information I can remember:
"Published in the 80's.
"Book has a pink boarder around the cover.
"There is a kitten, a turtle, and many other animals
I can't think of. They go camping, fishing, pitch a tent, and do
other activities I do not remember." Remember it? Tell Aunt Book
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Little Girl Describes Everything She
Sees
"I've been trying my best to remember this book I
read when when I was a little girl, back in the 1980's. It was
about a girl who describes everything she sees. Each paragraph
begins with 'I See...'. She sees the postman bringing mail and
she asks the postman if he's brought any mail for her. She also
sees her mother in the kitchen and her older sister doing something or
the other; maybe making a cake, I forget. The language is very simple
and it was one of those books where every page is made of hard board
instead of regular paper. I could swear that the name of the book was
simply I See, but I
could be wrong.
"I don't remember the cover of the book at
all. I think the little girl had dark hair. I remember the page
with the postman. The lines for that page go something like, "I
see the Postman bringing the mail. Is there one for me?" and
there's a picture of the postman in a blue uniform, I think, and the
little girl's there asking him if he brought any letters for her.
It was a little squarish board book and as far as I can recall the
illustrations were quite simple with bright colors. I'm thinking
the book was from the late 1980's or early 1990's." Can you
help? Tell Aunt Book
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Bird Woman Teaches Readers Not to
Procrastinate
"When I was young, my mother use to buy me all these
reading books and so I was able to read by 4 years of age. I was
born in 1975 and therefore figure the estimated years of production for
this book was in the early 1980's. Anyway, I vagely remember this
book and will try to give you what details that I remember. The
main character is a bird dressed up as a person would dress. The
bird is drawn as a woman. The book deals with procrastinating and
tries to convince the reader (child) not to procrastinate. From
what I remember, each situation was a mess created by the bird.
The bird (or person) would say, 'I will do it tomorrow.' It seems
that there are many instances in this book where the character says
this. By the end of the story, the bird is faced with a lot of
messes and therefore becomes frustrated. Then the author
establishes the moral of the story.
"I know its not a Dr. Seuss and I do not believe it
was a Golden Book. From what I do remember, there was a series of
books that I had to go along with this. It may even have come in
a colored box that contained these books." Tell Aunt Book
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Bullied Boy Turns Into Apple Tree
"It is a picture book (at least 20 years old) about
a boy who is bullied (by his brother?) and eats lots and lots of apples
because someone tells him that will make him grow big and strong. The
boy eats so many he turns into a huge apple tree." Tell Aunt Book
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Boy Walks Through City Scenes
"I'm looking for a children's book that I read in
the early 1970's in Evanston, Illinois. I recollect its being a
yellow hard cover book, sort of large - rectangular and laid out the
long way. It was about a boy walking through a series of city
scenes where the buildings were mostly apartments with stores
below. On each page, the scenes changed a bit. I don't
recollect there being any words, just illustrations." Tell Aunt Book
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Children on Cherry Street
"A children's book about the children of a
neighborhood (mainly Cherry Street). The first few pages introduced
each child with an oval drawing and a description of their
street." Tell Aunt Book
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Space Ship and Alien Boy With Six
Fingers
"I am looking for a book I read in the 4th grade in El
Segundo Ca. The school was Imperial Street School and it no
longer exists. The year was 1960. This book was
about a space ship that came to earth. It either crashed or had
mechanical problems. There was a young boy who was left
behind and he had six fingers. He was befriended by local kids
who had to hide his hands. Then at the end either the
craft was fixed or his people came back to get him and he left.
"I have been looking for this book for years.
I don't know if the word 'visitor' or 'Earth' is in the
title. I figured it was published between 1945 and
1960 since it was on the shelf for check-out. It would be
wonderful if you could find this book because I have never forgotten it
in 50 years." Tell
Aunt Book
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Children's Book With Baba Yaga and
Wiley and the Hairy Man
"What is the name of the illustrated children's book
which includes Baba Yaga and Wiley and the Hairy Man? The
illustrator's style of drawing had people with lots of wrinkles, and he
drew mostly short people. He had more of a cartoony style to his
work, and the people in his drawings had wide eyes. He did tons
of other work, but I can't, for the life of me, recall the title of the
book or the illustrator's name. The book had tons of other
multicultural tales in it. I got it in the United States." Tell Aunt Book
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"Wild" Horse Saves Girl
"I am not sure if this counts as a children's book,
but I received this email from a former student at my school so if you
could help that would
be great!
"It is about a young girl who lives in the country
and I believe it may have been set in the earlier 1900s. There is
a "wild" horse that the girl
is not allowed to ride because it bucked a little boy off who hit his
head on a rock and died. An elderly lady that lives down the road
tells her
that the horse is "possessed" and bad. In the end the horse ends
up saving the girl and I think it may have happened during a
thunderstorm. I
loved this book and would like to find it again, however I am having
difficulty due to the fact that I cannot recall the title, author,
character's name, etc..." Tell
Aunt
Book
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Immortal Riders Who Can Die Only By
Drowning
"Please could you tell me if you know what a series
of books was called where the main characters are all immortal horse
riders who can die only by drowning. They were set in the medieval
times and the covers were blue. My boyfriend read these books when he
was younger (around the 1980's) in England." Tell Aunt Book
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Russian Boy Whose Gang Helps Community
Secretly
"This book was written by a Russian author. I read
its translation in Farsi.
"The book in Farsi was called Teimour and His Gang (or
his team, group, club). It must have been written in the late
1950's. It was about a little girl to whom Teimour gives a ride
on his motor bike when she misses the last train to join her family in
the cottage country somewhere in Russia).
"Teimour seems to be a rough kid, but we will find
out that Teimour and his team actually help the community secretly. The
book had black and white photos. Chances are there must have been a
movie made of it. The time was set somewhere in the 50's."
Tell Aunt Book
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Bear Bakes Cookies, Illustrated by
Photos
"Recently, I remembered a book from when I was a a
kid. I can't for the life of me remember the name, though.
I remember it was a children's picture book and there were words
narrating the story, about a bear who was baking honey cookies, or some
kind of cookies. The pictures in the book weren't drawn or
anything; they were real photos, as if someone set up a mini kitchen,
put a teddy bear in it, and took individual shots of the bear making
the cookies step by step, kind of like stop motion." Tell Aunt Book
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"Lass" With Magical Powers
"I remember reading this novel during my
seventh/eighth grade year(s). That was back in 1997-1999. I
remember that it was a hardcover and that the cover had a girl
(possibly in furs), surrounded by snow, holding fire. I believe
the author's last name was started with an M-S, as it was around that
shelf area.
"I remember that the girl's father called her 'lass'
and that the family was very poor. It was also very often cold,
as the weather was mentioned often. The girl had lots of
brothers, and one male friend who was in love with her. I remember that
she left home to train in her new powers and came back to find her
friend a now married warrior. I recall a scene (maybe before a
big battle) with the girl going into her friend's tent, and the friend
getting scared, telling her 'I'm married now.' I seem to remember
a lot of details, but I cannot remember the author or the title, though
I want to say that 'Fire', 'Ice,' or 'Snow' may have been in the
title." Tell Aunt Book
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Wealthy Girl Decides To Become Nurse
"The book is about a young woman who grows up with
in a wealthy family. Her younger sibling gets sick, and she calls
on a doctor who brings his apprentice. After this incident she
decides to go to nursing school, against her family's wishes.
Another small aspect of the book is that her friend's name is Annabel,
and Poe's poem Annabel Lee is referenced." Tell Aunt Book
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African Story About Princess Stolen By
Witch
"I am looking for an African story. It's about
a little girl who is the princess of a king and queen in
Africa. She is taken away from her family at birth by a witch who
then
loses her. The princess is raised by a older women. Years
go by and
when the witch finally finds her she locks her in a castle.
Meanwhile, the king and queen do not lose hope of finding her ,so they
offer a reward to whoever can find her. A prince finds her.
I can't
remember the rest of the story. I know that the princess was also
known for her tattoo of the content of Africa on her arm. I am
not
sure that this is a book but when I was little I used to watch this
video at my school's library." Tell Aunt Book
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Magpie Gets Ice Cream For Echidna
"I am looking for the name of a book or tape I read
or heard as a kid. It was about a magpie and an echidna in the
Australian outback. It is hot and the magpie goes and gets ice
cream for them both, but when the magpie gets to the ice cream store he
forgets the flavour the echidna wanted. He buys the echidna plain
vanilla, but on the way home he drops it and thousand of ants start to
cover the ice cream. He takes it back to the echidna, and the
echidna is so happy that the magpie remembered the flavour he asked
for. A line in the book goes: 'Oh Sticky Sticky Sticky, you
are my bestest friend in the whole wide bush, you figured out that
plain old vanilla ice cream, covered in hundreds of thousands of ants,
is my very favourite kind!'
The book was read in Australia; I am guessing it's a Australian author
who wrote it, as it is based around the Australian outback."
Tell Aunt Book
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Boy Finds Dead Skunk or Possum In a
Pond; Short Stories
"I read in elementary school (late 1960's /
early 1970's) a book of scary illustrated short stories. Among
those were a story about a boy who finds a dead animal, I think a skunk
or perhaps a possum, in a pond near his house and brings it home maybe
for the family to eat. It then keeps reappearing (as a remember
it) in the pond afterwards. Maybe it does not reappear, but
I think it did. Another story in this book involved, I believe, a
quarry in Vermont, and a third story concerned a greedy, wasteful
fisherman in an open boat out in the ocean who encounters some sort of
squid-like sea monster, a variation of the hunter becoming the hunted
theme. The most compelling thing about this book was the
illustrations, which were darkly humorous, much in the vein of Charles
Addams' work. I distinctly remember the family of the boy who
brought home the dead animal depicted as sort of 'trashy,' including a
houseful of unbathed and unruly siblings, something a little unusual in
a book for smaller children. The fisherman story was also richly
illustrated with great detail, including, I think, old side-wheeler
steamships on the horizon in the distance, as the fisherman
netted/reeled in the monster who was going to eat him. Any help
would be appreciated. This seems to be a hard one." Tell Aunt Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Brother and Sister With Mentally
Challenged Mother Who Keeps Bees
"I'm looking for a book about a brother and
sister who have a mentally challenged mother and an evil stepfather or
father. The father tries to poison them and they find out.
The mother is mentally challenged and I think she keeps bees. The
brother and sister run away eventually and meet up with a tomboy (I
think her name is Percy). The brother and sister go back
home. The runaway girl was sent to juvi and she escaped.
The brother falls in love with her and they send letters back and
forth. She sends secret messages under the stamp so no one can
see them. The paperback was purple/lavender with a yellow
hibiscus on the front. It's about an American family." Tell Aunt Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Crossword Puzzle Word and One-Legged
Green Toy Both "Abode"
"I am looking for a green and white print children's
book from the 1970's about an abode in a cereal box. There are a
mom and a dad and a little boy in the story. The mom is
looking for a five-letter word that means 'monster,' and the little boy
eating his breakfast asks his dad what his one-legged, green toy is
called, and his father says 'abode' to answer them both." Tell Aunt Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Boy in Train Wreck Ends Up In Coma
"The book was about a young boy who was going to see
his dad do opera or something. He got on a train, and there was a
boy that kept staring at him, I think, but all of a sudden the lights
were flickering and there was a crash or something. Then he ended
up in a coma. I can’t remember the specific details, but there
was another book of the author's that I saw at the back which was about
a girl who got told she was going to die on her 16th birthday or
something, and she had to try finding a way to stop it from
happening." Tell Aunt Book
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Arabian Girl Visits Gabrielle; Horse
Show Circuit
"I read a book in the 1970's, probably older,
about an Arabian girl who comes to stay a year with a girl in the
States whose name is Gabrielle. They go to horse shows, meet a
couple of boys, and stop in Murdo, SD, where the time line runs down
Main Street. The Arabian girl's father sold some horses with
Arabian names to the other girl's father. One of the boys turns
out to be her fiance, who doesn't tell her till the end of the
book. There was also a girl called Peaches, who was nice, and one
who wasn't so nice, on the horse show circuit." Tell Aunt Book
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Indian Boy Moves to Town, Does Rodeos
"I'm trying to find a book that's about an
Indian boy who lives in the mountains. When his parents die he is
forced to move into town and do rodeos." Tell Aunt Book
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Mountain School Called Singing Branch
School
"The first book takes place in some sort of mountain
or hill community and there is a school called Singing Branch
School. I read it in the 'fifties but it may be even older.
The heroine is a young girl named Tassie, or Hassie perhaps, and she
may be either a teacher or just interested in helping other
children. She wants to befriend a family, but the boy, Miles or
Niles, resists. Later, however, they become friends. Lots
of dialect appears, such as 'Shore 'nuff.' And I think there is a
lot of barefoot traveling." Tell Aunt Book
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Boy Goes To Sea; Antagonist Is Named
Greg
"The second book, I know, was serialized in 'Jack
and Jill' and may possibly take place in the 1700's or 1800's.
Again, I believe I read it in the late 'fifties. A boy goes
to sea, leaving a sister behind. I cannot remember his name but
his antagonist on board is a boy named Greg. At one point the
hero has to fight Greg for his shoes. Later there is some sort of
crisis and the boys have to run for their lives. I think they may end
up in France. Naturally they become close friends during their
adventures. This may possibly be a British story but I am not
sure." Tell Aunt Book
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Boy's Father Loses Memory
"I am from Ontario, Canada. My teacher read
this book to the class when I was in grade 5 (I am now in grade
10). I have tried to look for the title everywhere, but I can not
find it anywhere. I am not sure whether it was a child's
book. I think it was more young adult. It was a paper back,
and of course had no pictures.
"I know the main character was a boy. I
think his parents must have been divorced or something, because I know
the father took the son somewhere, and he hadn't seen him in a long
time, and they didn't have the best relationship. For some reason
I remember their going to space on a planet or something (I could be
completely wrong). There were some creatures on the planet or
something, and I thought there was a girl his age with whom he was
friends. I know for sure that at the end the father lost his
memory. It ended with them back home. They were
boating/canoeing down the river. The father wanted to know what
happened. The boy was hesitant at first, as the father could get
his memory back, but he told the father he would tell him if he
promised to let everything stay the same between them. Also, I
know for sure that his home was in Lethbridge, Alberta (although the
majority of the story did not take place there).
"I also remember thinking the author was a
woman, but I also could be wrong." Tell Aunt Book
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Closed Community Recycles Everything
"I read a book about 15 years ago. It was
about a closed scientific community. Members of this
community wore or had a medallion to identify them. In this
community everything was recycled. They had in-house recycling
bins to recycle everything. Roads where made of a
material that allowed water to go thru, and basically rolled out like
carpet. I think that's about all I've got. This would
definitely be in the young adult to adult category so you may not be
able to find it." Tell
Aunt Book
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Little Girl's Ribbon in a Bird's Nest
"As much as I think I remember about this story
is: a little girl has a (some) ribbon(s) and does different
things with it (them). In the end they are in a bird’s
nest. I believed the story to be titled something in the manner
of: 'A Surprise for (Sarah)' or 'A Rainbow for (Sarah)' or
'(Sarah’s)Surprise.' It is a picture book. I have always
checked it out from the juvenile section of the public library. I
have an image in my head of the book that seems as if all the
illustrations are in black and white except for the ribbon. In
the end the little girl finds that the ribbon has been used by a bird
to build a nest in a tree in her back yard." The book is not Rosie and the Yellow Ribbon, by
Paula DePaolo. Do you know what it is? Tell
Aunt Book
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Girl Lives With Aunts and Imaginary
Friends Who May Actually Be Real
"I read a book in junior high (in the mid-1980s)
that has been haunting my memory. It is about a girl who goes to
live with her aunts(?) who live in a big old house that maybe used to
be a girl’s orphanage? The aunts try to involve her in social
life in the area but the girl is a loner. There is also a kindly
old male figure who initially picks the girl up and takes her to the
aunt’s house who seems to understand the girl. She explores the
big house and finds a room or hidden alcove that houses some
characters/imaginary friends. One of them is a kind woman who is
very proud of her flowers (they are the wallpaper flowers I think) and
she makes a to-do about watering them every so often and how beautiful
they are. The girl makes a friend and the characters don’t come
alive for the friend. At some point in the book the kindly old
male figure inquires about how Mrs. So-and-so’s flowers are doing
indicating that the imaginary friends really aren’t
imaginary." Tell
Aunt Book
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Return to Aunt Book's parlor
Unidentified Books page 1
page 2 page 4
Ask Aunt Book
Read the list of books Aunt Book has
identified
Aunt Book's recommendations
Aunt Book expresses outrage