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U1:
Uncle
Wiggily
Solved: Uncle Wiggily and the Alligator
U2:
UFO's
and aliens
I'd like to find a copy of a science fiction book I read in the
mid 1950's. I don't remember the title or author but the main
characters
were three young men who were involved with crashed UFOs and alien
technology.
One of the characters was an electronics whiz. Any ideas?
Maybe one of the Rick Brant Electronic
Boys
series? They were written by John Blaine in the late 1940s. Rick
and his friend Scotty lived on Spindrift Island with Rick's father and
other scientists and solved mysteries. No idea about UFOs, though.
Maybe
The
Rocket's Shadow 1947?
Raymond F. Jones, SON OF THE STARS.
1952.
Jones, Raymond F., Son of the Stars,
Winston 1957. More information on the suggested title, but it
doesn't
confirm anything. "In 'Son of the Stars', Raymond Jones has written of
a forthright friendship between a young castaway from space and his
earthly
counterpart. How a cold and suspicious military, recognizing Clonar
only
as an alien from an astonishingly advanced civilization, turns
friendship
into treachery that threatens earth's existence, makes this an
electrifying
story with a thought-provoking theme. In scenes uncomfortably vivid,
you'll
meet soldiers and citizens of a typical American city people like
calculating General Gillispie and frightened Mrs. Barron, whose
reactions
to an 'interplanetary' situation bring the world to the brink of
destruction.."
The term 'castaway' suggests that there may be UFO crash technology
involved,
but only the alien boy Clonar and his friend young Barron are
mentioned,
not 3 boys. If it helps, Clonar has 6 fingers.
I don't know the teens and UFOs novel sought,
but it's none of the Rick Brant series. Rick Brant
gets involved in some mildly sftish situations with new inventions and
such, but the only trace of aliens in the whole series are some
thousand-year-old
ambigious radio signals from space picked up in THE EGYPTIAN CAT
MYSTERY.
U5: Unexpected
wilderness survival esperience
This is a book about either a boy or a boy and an adult friend that
went for a hiking experience in the mountains. They wind up with a snow
storm that strands him/them in a high valley for the winter. The book
talks
about the things that had to be improvised to survive. I believe it
talked
about tanning deer hide. And I think there was some reference to
cinnabar
(an ore from which mercury is derived). It seems the book ends as
spring
arrives and he/they are able to return home.
#U5--Unexpected wilderness survival
experience:
The plot is somewhat like Walt Morey's Canyon Winter,
but not enough to be the book described. The main differences are
that the stranding was due to a plane crash and I don't believe there's
anything about deer hide tanning or metal ore--just a lot about tree
conservation.
The deer hide tanning is like My Side of the Mountain,
but
that wasn't an accidental experience--Sam did spend the
winter, and did have a friend, but went up there
on purpose. It is also definitely not Viereck's Terror
on the Mountain, as that takes place during the summer.
Would this be one of the Gary Paulsen
books? I was reminded of either The River or Hatchet.
Neither match exactly, though.
U5 unexpected wilderness survival: Not an exact
match, but there's Lone Woodsman, by Warren Hastings
Miller,
illustrated
Kreigh Collins, published Winston 1943, 230 pages. Dan Pickett loses
all
his supplies when his canoe capsizes on Lac Seul, leaving him with his
belt knife, swim trunks, and dog Pepper. He makes his way to Factory
St.
Joseph to meet his father, foraging for food, killing animals with a
hand-made
bow and traps, tanning hides, smoking meat and so on. He loses supplies
and shelter once to a wolverine and once to a moose. Diagrams are
provided
for several of the things he makes. Couldn't find a reference to
cinnabar,
though. Most of the journey takes place in snowy weather.
Jean Craighead George, My Side of the
Mountain.
A long shot. Parts of the plot don't match, but the parts about a
boy tanning deerskin and surviving a winter alone in the mountains do.
U5: Unexpected wilderness survival experience
- just a note from the original poster of this puzzle. I have checked
in
every few months and pursued the suggestions. In fact, I have enjoyed
purchasing
and reading My Side of the Mountain. Unfortunately, none of the
suggestions is the book I remember. Thanks for making this forum
available
- and I hope someone will yet be able to help me find this book.
U6: Upon
my word
Solved: Alice and Jerry primers
U7: Upset
house
Solved: The House That Had Enough
U8: Under
One Roof
Solved: Under one roof
U9:
Underground river with families living on rafts
Solved: Journey Outside
U10:
Unicorn healing
Solved: The Beast with the Magical Horn
U11: Underground
lost world
Solved: The Perilous Descent
U12: unicorn
& geraniums
Solved: The Little White
Horse
U13: underground
stream or bush bower
book was read in the late 1940's or early 1950's by teacher in a
rural school for children 6-12 years old. In book children had a
bower on a hill made of brush or tall weeds. Also there was a portion
that
talked of a river or stream that ran under a house. There was a
ladder
that went down into the stream.
Goudge, Elizabeth, Henrietta's House,
London, Hodder, 1942. I wonder if it might be this. Henrietta,
her
brother Hugh
John, and assorted adults go for a picnic in
the hills. The story blends fantasy and reality. There is a sinister
hulking
gatekeeper who is like the Giant who had no heart in his body, and an
old
gentleman who builds bowers in the forest for imagined Sleeping Beauty
and Babes in the Woods, and a mysterious house fitted up just as
Henrietta
had dreamed. Hugh John and the Bishop find an underground river and a
boat,
and go down it, to find a robbers' den and the place where the young
saint
of the hills may have prayed. I believe there is a ladder out of the
den.
U14: Useful
Cart
believe it was published in UK, c. 1970. described all the
uses children found for a wagon. not a lot of text, no plot.
Mollie Clarke, The Useful Cart,
1966. No description, but the title's right, it was published in the
UK,
and there was a
reprint in 1969.
U14 Do you want me to look in Petersham's
The
Box with Red Wheels to see?
I don't think The Box With Red Wheels
fits the description; it's a very short story about some animals
wondering
what could be inside that box with red wheels (it turns out to be a
baby).
U15: undersea
animals (starfish, etc.) interact
Solved: The Garden Under the Sea
U16: Unicorn
awakes after 500? years
Solved: Unicorn Magic
U17: Up
the Hill
Solved: Up the Hill
U18: Utensils
teach child to cook
Solved: The Mary Frances
Cook Book
U19a: Under
the Sea
This is a children's book -- the main character is a girl and I
THINK it's called Under the Sea, or something to do with Neptune.
I can't remember anything else except for this poem in it about the
zodiac,
"The ram, the bull, the heavenly twins, next the crab, the lion shines,
the virgin and the scales, scorpion, archer, sea-goat, the man who
holds
the watering pot and the fish with the glittering scales." Don't ask me
why I can remember all that and not the little girl's name!
The rhyme quoted is a very old mnemoic verse
to
remember the order of the zodiac. Most frequently quoted as: The
Ram, the Bull, the Heavenly Twins, / And next' the Crab, the Lion
shines,
/ The Virgin and the Scales. / The Scorpion, Archer, and the Goat, /
The
Man who holds the Watering Pot, / And Fish with glittering scales.
It's all over the web with no source quoted.
Elizabeth Goudge, The Valley of Song.
(1951) This sounds like it could be 'The Valley of Song'.
Tabitha,
the main character of Valley of Song, has red hair. She visits a fairy
world, most often entered through a local quarry, but at least one of
the
main trips involves an adventure under the sea. The visits to the
fairy world are themed around the rhyme mentioned.
U19b:
US
sailor with smuggled puppy
1955 - 1958. I remember a book about a US sailor (homesick?) in
a ship in the Med Fleet, peacetime, post WWII. He finds (and smuggles
aboard)a
puppy while on shoreleave in an Italian(?) port. Many adventures later,
the book ended and simultaneously broke my heart and began a life
filled
with the great joy found on the printed page. This was the first "real
book" I read. Borrowed it from the Carrol Park Branch of the Brooklyn
Public
Library.
U20: Ugly
(or evil) dolls
I have only foggy memories of this book, but what stands out is
that the protagonist(s) are afraid of a certain house or person because
this person (an old woman?) makes really ugly dolls with patches for
eyes,
and yet the dolls seem to "watch" people and know what they're up to.
It
was really creepy and it seems to me that these dolls, as well as the
protagonists,
are part of some mystery. Any help would be appreciated.
U20 Sounds like it could be REVENGE OF
THE
DOLLS by Carol Beach York, 1979. Definitely creepy. The
old aunt makes ugly evil dolls. They do not have patches for eyes,
tThey
have glass button eyes, and they do watch. Although, as revenge for
Paulie
destroying one of her dolls, she creates a sinister pirate doll which
has
an eye patch. So it might be worth looking at. ~from a librarian
U21: Underground
City Children Escape
Solved: This Time of Darkness
U22:
Unfortunately
Solved: Fortunately
U23:
Up
the stairs
Solved: Surprise for Sally
U24:
Under
the ? Tree
Solved: Beyond the
Pawpaw Trees
U25:
Unfinished Stories (Illustrated)
Solved: The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick
U26:
Under the Maple Tree
Solved: Miracles on Maple Hill
U27:
Upside
down book
I am looking for a book published in the late 1940's or early
1950's. I don't remember anything about it except that you had to
turn the book upside down and there was another related story that you
read when you turned the book upside down at the end of the first
story.
I know this is very farfetched, but it is a book that I loved when I
was
in kindergarden around 1958-59 and I want to locate it and buy it for
my
granddaughters.
There are several Wonder and Elf books that fit this upside-down
theme:
Good
Morning and Good Night by Frank Luther, The
Goody-Naughty
Book and The Sunny-Sulky Book by Sarah Cory
Rippey,
and The Goody Naughty Book by Mabel Watts.
If these were longer juvenile stories, there's a whole series of Dandelion
Books, but the stories aren't necessarily related. Check the
Solved Mysteries pages to see if any of these work.
Upside down books.
I had one of these books in the 50's when I was a child. It wass
called Just Like Mummy/Just Like Daddy.
Charlotte Zolotow, When I Grow Up???,
1950's. CZ has a book like this where one side is a little
girl, "when I grow up, I can wear party dresses to school, etc."
The other side is a little boy. Maybe this?
Margriet Heymans Annemie, The Dolls' Party
Annemie and Margriet
Heymans, The Doll's
Party.
U28:
Underground
Railroad
Solved: Steal Away Home
U29:
Umbrella,
hat and broom
I had a book when I was a kid in the 70s....it was a collection
of stories and one included an umbrella, a hat and a broom - they could
talk and I think it was a rainy day and they found something to keep
themselves
busy..... It's driving me NUTS!
I want to say that this is an Enid Blyton
story. There's a vauge recollection of having read this, and I
had
a lot of the Blyton short story collections as a child. However,
there are a lot of short story collections of hers to check! The
smuggler's cave and other stories has a story called "The
surprising
broom."
I think this sounds a lot like Stumper
D186.
Both have unbrellas, which seems unusual.
U30a:
Umbrella
Hi, I am looking for a book I read as a child
around 1968-1972. Story was about a young girl and her
adventures.
Something somewhat magical from what I remember. The only clue I
can offer is that at one point she had to jump from a cliff so she
opened
her UMBRELLA and she drifted safely down to the ground.
Brown, Palmer, Beyond the Pawpaw Trees.
When I read this stumper, my first thought was of this book.
Didn't
she always carry her umbrella? And the description of her jumping
off a cliff and floating down with her umbrella sounds familiar.
Palmer Brown, Beyond the pawpaw trees:
the story of Anna Lavinia, 1954.
I also think this could be the book you're looking for. Maybe some of
this
description will sound familiar? Pages 60-63 of the 1973 Camelot
Book reprint describe how Anna Lavinia has thrown stones, a tea cosy
and
a jar of pawpaw jelly over the cliff and noticed a peculiar phenomenon.
She has then watched her cat Strawberry fall over the edge of the cliff
with no ill effects. She decides she has no choice but to follow
him, pushing a carpet bag and gardenia bush over the edge ahead of her.
"Finally, just to be on the safe side, she opened her umbrella and
reached
into her pocket to squeeze the silver key for good luck. Then she
took a deep breath and stepped off into the air."
Just to confirm, U30 is indeed Beyond the Pawpaw Trees: The
Story
of Anna Lavinia by Palmer Brown. I just read it a few weeks ago and
remember the scene quite clearly.
U30b:
Uncle
sends lion skin for birthday, boy gets back at sisters
After all these years, I am still seeking
a PICTURE BOOK about a little BLACK BOY (maybe in an urban setting) who
is picked on by his MEAN SISTERS. At one point his sisters lock the boy
in a CLOSET and eat his birthday cake while he watches through the
KEYHOLE.
And all they save for him is a candle with a little bit of cake stuck
to
the bottom! His uncle sends a LION SKIN (head and all--like a rug), or
some other large cat, from somewhere abroad (Africa perhaps), and with
it, he's able to scare the beejeebers out of his sisters and exact
revenge.
My best guess is that it could have been published between 1960 and
1975,
definitely not as late as 1980. While the plot is remarkably
similar,
it is not JAMES THE JAGUAR, by Mary Lystad, illustrated by Cyndy
Szekeres
(1972). Please help! Thank you.
This description is nearly identical to B282,
which is still unsolved.
Also, just so you know, I was indeed the one who posted
B282--perhaps
two years ago. I too hope the mystery is solved soon.
Ruth
Cavin, Timothy the Terror,
1972. Very rare and hard to find, expensive too (saw a copy for
sale which cost $104.99). Great story though.
U31:
Unicorn
Tapestry Mystery
Solved: Secret of the Unicorn
U32:
ufo
short stories humor flying saucers
Weekly reader or Scholastic magazine had a
special issue that had short humorous stories about flying saucer
experiences.
My recollection is that they were penned by Buddy Hackett (the late
comedian).
One story starts "I was flying my private plane to Lubbock Texas to
bomb
some people whose religious proclivities I didn't wholly agree
with"
another ends with a description of the effects on a mans wife "she had
to be pulled around on a dolly and could only communicate with the aid
of a hand puppet". Any assistance in finding these stories would be
greatly
appreciated. Thanks!
U32 Do they remember if it was 8 1/2 x
11?
If so, it might be this: The Scholastic Funfact book of
UFOs.
Scholastic, 1977.
U32 Please keep trying :-) The short stories
I'm trying to find were purely fiction. Thanks.
U33:
Unicorn
book with necklace
I'm looking for a kids book about a unicorn. The book was
probably published in the late 70s or early 80s, and the book came with
a little necklace (I believe the necklace had a unicorn on it as
well).
I know that's not much info to go on, but I'm trying to find both the
book
and necklace for a friend. If anyone has any ideas I would really
appreciate it!
Perhaps it was one of the books by Elizabeth
Koda-Callan. She wrote a bunch of books that came with charm
necklaces
around that time and some are still in print, I think. Good Luck!
Thank you for the response. I checked into this author,
though,
and she doesn't appear to have written any books about unicorns.
Also, my friend who had the book was a boy, and these are all books for
little girls.
U34:
"Underground
Railroad" Jeanie Quakers Orphan
Solved: Voices in the Night
U35:
Upside-down
or backwards book
I am not sure of the correct term but it was an "upside-down or
backwards book" with 2 stories in one book both about a child's
bedtime,
sleep, not wanting to go to bed. I am pretty sure that there were
2 Covers, 2 titles, 2 fronts to the book. You would read in one
direction
, one story. Flip the book over and there was another cover and another
story. The 2 stories were on reverse pages, upside down, as I
recall
, if you looked over the page of story #1. Year I read this would
have been in the early 1950's, maybe even the late 1940's. One
story
was about a little girl who did not want to go to sleep and stayed up
all
night wandering through the empty house, as I recall. the
other
story , when you flipped the book, was about what goes on in the
house when everyone is asleep. I just recall it was quite
clever
and really got the message across that it was better to go to sleep
than
stay up all night,. I would so love to find this book
Thanks
for any help. Such a cool web site. I was able to solve one
of them...
U36:
Uncle-niece
thing
Solved: Me, My Goat, and
My Sister's Wedding
U37:
Underground
monsters
This is a book I read in the late 50's. I am very vague about
it, but it was fairly large and had many full page black and white or
sepia
drawings. It had as many pictures as a normal picture book but
more
writing. A boy goes ?underground in a ?castle, or possibly down a
well and comes to a world with many strange and grotesque
creatures.
It's more like an art book, can't really remember the plot, but I think
he has to try to get out. I'm not certain if the creatures are
threatening
him or not. Not much to go on, I know!
Could this be George MacDonald's The
Princess
and the Goblin? You can read it online
here.
Thanks, but it's definitely not The
Princess
and the Goblin. It's not a fairy or folk tale, I'm sure, but
a modern fable of some kind, with the emphasis on the artwork and
strange
underground monsters.
I remember reading this book but i haven't a
clue waht it's called, although i recall the pictures looking vaguely
like
those in where the wild things are by maurice sendak, maybe it
was
by him?
U38:
Unicorns
Solved: The Secret
of the Unicorn Queen
U39:
Underground
maze
Solved: The House of Stairs
U40:
Utah
pioneer
Solved: The Great Brain Series
U41:
Underground
Society
I happened to browse onto your page in search
for This Time of Darkness. I also have a very (quite similar)
issue.
I am also looking for a book about an underground society. Since
you seemed to be (somewhat) versed, at least reading three books on the
subject ( This Time of Darkness, Outside and The City Under Ground), I
was hopeing you can help me out. When I was a kid, I read 1/2 way
threw a book and my mom returned it, without my knowledge, and we just
never bothered getting it out of the library again (something I truly
regret).
So anyway, this is what I remember from the book:
* The society did live underground
* The main character was not over the age
of a teenager...but most likely pre-pubesent. Not sure of the
gender,
but I think it was male.
* There was a scene with a "town meeting"
where the male and female adults stood on opposite sides of the room
(maybe
a theme of segregation?) and the children were either not present or
split
from both groups of adults.
* The main character describes a "beating"
he received for looking up a "smoke stack" to the surface to see the
sky.
Something that was obviously forbidden.
* The main character and his/her friends went
exploring, following "train tracks" to somewhere...something i believe
was also forbidden.
The last two bullets, the overall idea I'm
sure is correct, but I am fuzzy on the details.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Below the Root,
1975.
I think you're looking for the Green-sky trilogy - the books are "Below
the Root", "And All Between", and "Until the Celebration". The
novels
are about a planet with two different groups of people - the Kindar,
who
live in villages in the treetops and wear long, wing-like outfits that
allow them to glide from tree to tree, and the Erdlings, who have been
imprisoned underground and developed an industrialized society. A
Kindar teenager named Raamo is invited to join the ruling council, and
finds out about the existence of the Erdlings. The clues you
provide
sound a lot like descriptions of the Erdling tunnels.
The book or series described in the query
wouldn't
be Green-sky. No child abuse (almost no violence at all)
or gender segregation in those books. Could you be remembering two
different
series with similar ideas?
Ayn Rand, Anthem, 1937.
Not everything matches, but you might be looking for ANTHEM.
Jean
Duprau, City of Ember.
The plot sounds like Duprau's
book about Ember, where people had gone to escape some coming global
catastrophe. By the time of the book, two children had discovered a
route "up there". The time doesn't sound right for it though.
U42:
Uncle
gloves mansion cabin snakes wash basin
This is a paperback book I read about 10 yrs
ago, might have been written sometime in early 90's: A boy is sent to
live
with his evil aunt and uncle in a giant old creepy mansion (I believe
he
is orphaned, and he might have had a sister who went
too...)
His uncle and aunt put him to very hard labor; his hands get very
blistered,
and on his birthday, they only give him work gloves (!). In
his bedroom, there is a scary wash basin painted with a scene of a very
chaotic and violent cavalry battle (that happened a few hundred years
ago).
Eventually, the boy flips over the basin and finds a secret passage,
which
he follows down to find a log cabin buried deep within the house where
a nice old lady lives, who helps him. He even crosses a snake pit
at one point, I think. I forget how the happy ending wraps up...
2007
U43:
Uncle
Popacatapetl
I dimly recall reading, circa 1965, a
children's
fantasy novel which I suspect was published at least thirty years
earlier.
The book was written in third-person narration, but always focusing on
the child protagonist (as in Alice in Wonderland or The
Wizard
of Oz) The main character was a little boy I can't remember his
name
for certain, but it might be Peter. At one point in this book, the boy
meets a very jolly bald fat man whose name is Uncle Popacatapetl. I'm
pretty
sure of that spelling. In real life, there is a volcano in Mexico named
Popocatapetl notice the spelling difference.I don't remember the name
of
the book's author or illustrator. At one point, there is an
illustration
when the boy meets a lot of human or humanoid figures. One of the
figures
is a pair of tongs or a pair of pliers walking upright, with a male
human
face. The strange thing about these figures is that they seem to be
parodies
of the "Happy Families": these are characters in a children's card game
which is very popular in Britain, similar to American children's games
such as Old Maid and Go Fish, except that Happy Families requires a
special
dedicated card deck. I think that these characters in this book even
have
names similar to the names in the Happy Families card deck: Mister
Cutts
the Butcher, and so forth: surnames linked to a trade, and punning on
it.
I get the impression that this novel was written and published in
America
(I saw it in a shipment of books from the USA), but the presence of the
Happy Families characters might indicate that the book originated in
Britain.
Any ideas?
Not a direct solution, but I found reference
to
your Uncle P. character being in a book titled Alternative Alices
(Twenty stories by different authors giving an alternative picture of
the
heroine of Lewis Carroll's 1865 novel, Alice's Adventures in
Wonderland.
Often less flattering than the original, they were written between 1869
and 1930) -- so here's the contents of that book.
Hopefully,
you'll recognize the story you're looking for in there. Contents:
Mopsa the fairy : Reeds and rushes; Queen's wand; Failure /
Jean Ingelow -- Amelia and the dwarfs / Juliana Horatia Ewing -- From
Speaking
likenesses / Christina Rossetti -- Behind the white brick / Frances
Hodgson
Burnett -- Wanted-a king, or, how Merle set the nursery rhymes to right
/ Maggie Browne -- New Alice in the old wonderland : Peggy the
pig;
Dutchess and her house; Tweedles
Pageant / Anna M. Richards -- Justnowland
/ E. Nesbit -- Ernest / Edward Knatchbull-Hugessen -- From nowhere to
the
north pole: a Noah's ark-æological narrative : How Frank fared in
Teumendtlandt; What happened to Frank in Quadrupedremia / Tom
Hood
-- Down the snow stairs, or, from good-night to good-morning : naughty
children land / Alice Corkran -- Davy the goblin, or what followed
reading
"Alice's adventures in wonderland" : the moving forest / Charles E.
Carryl
-- Wallypug of why : Way to why; Breakfast for tea; Girlie
sees the wallypug;
What is a goo? / G.E. Farrow -- New
adventures
of "Alice" : Found in the attic; To Bunberry Cross, or along came
a snipe; Peevish printer
Fire!! / John Rae -- Uncle Wiggily in
wonderland
: Uncle Wiggily and wonderland Alice; Uncle Wiggily and the march
hare; Uncle Wiggily and the cheshire cat / Howard R. Garis --
From
David Blaize and the blue door / E.F. Benson -- Westminster Alice :
Alice
in Downing street; Alice in Pall Mall; Alice and the
liberal
party / Saki -- Clara in Blunderland : in a hole again / Caroline Lewis
-- Alice in Blunderland, an iridescent dream : off to
Blunderland;
ownership of children / John Kendrick Bangs -- Alice and the stork: a
fairy
tale for workingmen's children : Alice visits the American eagle /
Henry
T. Schnittkind -- Alice in the delighted states : Through the drinking
glass; Jealous island; Humble pie
Censor incensed / Edward Hope
Benson, E. F., David Blaize and
the Blue Door,1918. Acting on the above information, I found
that
the story in the book Alternative Alices with Uncle
Popacatapetl
is "David Blaize and the Blue Door," by E. F. Benson.
I'm not certain it's the right book, because there is only an excerpt
available
in that book, but it seems like a good lead!
U44:
Upside
Down Land
Thanks GOD for this site! There is one book
I’ve been looking for this book for YEARS! Please help! I used to take
this book out from the library when I was very very young, maybe 15 or
20 years ago. It was in the Children’s section, one of those thin
hardcover
picture books. I remember that the cover was brown and possibly and the
cartoonish picture on it like the inside of the book. What I REALLY
remember
is the pictures. The story was about a young boy who traveled to all
these
different worlds. Like most picture books there wasn’t a lot of words
but
big pictures of these worlds. One of them was an “Upsidedown land”
where
everyone walked with their shoes on their hands and birds flying upside
down and people walking around doing handstands. Then he traveled to a
chocolate World (possibly Chocolate and Marshmallow it was all brown
and
white) Actually that was the world that reminded me of the book (Anyone
else seen the Chocolate Quik commercial where everything turns to
chocolate
– that’s what triggered my memory) Now this book looked like it was
written
in early 80s, possibly older (by a few years, nothing more than 60s)
Please
Please help!
James Flora, Pishtosh, Bullwash, and
Wimple.One
of my favorites as a child. A boy has three friends (Pishtosh,
Bullwash,
and Wimple) that take him on wonderful adventures. One place is
upside
down land, another is growly forest (where trees growl), another is
chocolate
lake (my favorite!) where they go fishing for marshmallow fish with
vanilla
wafer fins and he catches a big chocolate fish with a peanut eye.
Once he catches a peppermint turtle. At the end of the book they
have to find the north pole (taken by a polar bear to share with his
homesick
relatives in a zoo) before all the gravity spills out of the
earth.
They replace it in the nick of time, just as everything is floating off
of the earth.
Not a solution, but this sounds similar to a
book I've been trying to unearth from my memory for a long time. The
one
I read would have been in the 70s.
Mattel, Upsy-Downsy Land,1969.You
may be thinking of Upsy-Downsy Land - one of our all-time
favorite books! It lists no auther - just "Mattel."
Brilliantly
colored cartoon pictures where everyone walks on their hands...
U45:
Unfinished
picture book
Solved: The Mysteries of
Harris Burdick
U46:
Uncle
Toby, boys adventures
I vaguely remember 2 boys in a children's
book who had an uncle Toby who sent them on really fantastic, almost
surreal
trips. I think there was a series of the books. Sadly, I
can't
remember much else.
Gordon Boshell, Captain Cobwebb.
That could be this long series - the uncle was Septimus Cobwebb (and
was
invisible) but Toby was one of the boys (his older brother was David).
If Fanty the elephorse, the Leopillar, the Golden Cactus, the shershl
(an
invisible bus) and/or being kidnapped by a sort of ground-effect
horseshoe
crab with tentacles ring any bells then the requester's looking for
this.
U47:
Ugly
Duckling
The Ugly Duckling, publication date
approx. between 1950-1960; large edition, approx. 8 1/2" x 11"; white
boards;
final page in book has small drawing in a box centered in upper half of
the page (maybe a plain white page after that). Good luck!!
I've spent a LONG time looking!
U48:
Upside
Down Hatbox Cake
I am looking for a children's book from my childhood. It featured
a group of animal characters that acted like people. There was a Mrs.
Duck
(I think - some kind of "Fowl") The premise of the book is that there
is
a village fete going on where baked goods will be sold. "Mrs. Duck"
makes
a cake and places it in a Hatbox on a shelf in her closet to cool. When
she goes to retrieve the cake it tips upside down. She's upset, but
takes
the cake anyway. It sells and the folks want more! She makes another,
puts
it in the Hatbox and turns it upside down. The "Up side down Hatbox
Cake"
is born. Any of this sound familiar? I got the book from my Elementary
School Library. It might have been part of a collection of
stories.
Somewhere around 1965, although it wasn't new then.
Miriam Clark Potter, Mrs. Goose series.
The story "Hatbox Cake" is anthologized in Let's
Hear
a Story - 30 Stories and Poems for Today's Boys and Girls, ed.
by Sidonie Matsner Grunberg, c. 1961. The story is from
one
of Miriam Clark Potter's "Mrs. Goose" books, but
I'm
not sure which one. Titles in the series include "Mrs.
Goose
of Animal Town" (1939), "Hello Mrs. Goose"
(1947),
"Here Comes Mrs. Goose" (1953), "Our Friend Mrs.
Goose"
(1956), "Mrs. Goose's Green Trailer" (1956), "Just
Mrs. Goose" (1957), "Queer, Dear Mrs. Goose"
(1959),
"Goodness, Mrs. Goose!" (1960), "No, No, Mrs. Goose!"
(1962), "Goofy Mrs. Goose" (1963), "Mrs. Goose and
Three-Ducks" (1964), and "Mrs. Goose and her Funny Friends"
(1964). "Hello Mrs. Goose" was reprinted in 2000, and "Just
Mrs. Goose" was reprinted in 2004.
Miriam Clark Potter, Mrs. Goose,
1957, copyright. This sounds like it could be a Mrs. Goose
book. There are at least three of them: Just Mrs. Goose,
Mrs.
Goose and her Funny Friends and Goofy Mrs. Goose.
It's the only reference I could find to a 'hatbox
cake' so maybe------Let's hear a story: 30 stories and poems for
today's boys and girls / Sidonie Matsner Gruenberg /
1961
[1st ed.]. English Book : Juvenile audience 160 p. illus. 29 cm.
Garden City, N.Y., Doubleday.
Miriam
Clark Potter, Our Friend Mrs. Goose,
1951, copyright. This is in response to a question about where to
find "The Hatbox Cake" story by Miriam Clark Potter. The story,
according to the acknowledgments in an anthology containing the story,
was originally in Miriam Clark
Potter's "Our
Friend Mrs. Goose," published in 1951. The anthology referred to
above is: Let's
Hear a Story, by Sidonie
Matsner Gruenberg (1961).
2008
U49:
Unicorn, maiden,
greyhounds
The book features a beautiful maiden,
a white unicorn, and white greyhounds that hunt the unicorn. It is a
children's book that contains mainly illustration, as opposed to text.
The drawings are detailed, elegant, and realistic. I believe there may
be a tapestry feel to the art and layout. My strongest image is that of
the unicorn being attacked by the white greyhounds. I also recall the
maiden having beautifully illustrated hands and fingernails. I
encountered this book in the mid-eighties, and I have no idea what the
title or author could have been.
Gale Cooper, Unicorn Moon, 1984,
copyright. "One night a lonely princess dreams of a handsome
hunter on a unicorn, forever riding through the land of Unicorn Moon.
His only companions are his hunting hounds. He is enchanted by a
powerful spell - and can be freed only if she solves a great riddle:
What is the meaning of true love?" Front cover shows a unicorn and two
white greyhounds running, with a full moon behind them. The dogs are on
either side of the unicorn, with open mouths and tongues hanging out,
and could be construed as either attacking it or as simply running
alongside and panting. There is an interior picture of a blonde prince,
in lavendar tights & shirt, with a burgundy tunic, sitting at the
edge of the water, with three white greyhounds sitting behind him and a
full moon over his shoulder. He is reflected in the water, and the
unicorn is standing in the foreground.
U50:
Upside down world
Solved: The
Silver Nutmeg
U51:
Underground Society
and Names
This book was found in a middle school
library. It may have been a children's book, but then again, it may not
have been as it contained some things I would consider very
adult. I am fuzzy on the plot of the book. Its been so many
years; all I recall is a vague impression of the two main characters
getting themselves into deeper and deeper trouble until they fled to a
passageway above ground I'm not sure they believed existed. I
know the premise was that long ago a society had to go underground due
to war or possibly environmental catastrophe, and believed they could
never go back again, and that this was the world the main characters
lived in. The entire book except the very end takes place
underground. One of the traits I do recall about the society was
how they passed on names. If someone died, they would take the names of
the person who died and give it to a newly born babe. So, say your
father was named "Sam" and he died...the first male child to be born
would then carry the name "Sam." This became especially vivid
when the main characters (a boy and a girl, not fully grown, I think)
escaped to above ground up a long staircase (again, I think). They
found a group of people who lived on the surface, and in the course of
things one of the above-grounders died. One of the main characters
asked who would take on his name, and the question earned them a
lecture on honoring the dead. Help?
This almost never happens to me, but as I was reading your
stumper to post it, I suddenly had this thought that I might know what
this is. It reminded me of this movie trailer that I saw just
yesterday (when I went to see Prince
Caspian), called "City of Ember." From the trailer, I
gathered that there was this underground society, a refuge from Earth,
meant to last 200 years; now the electricity generator is failing, and
these 2 teens have to find the way out to save their society. I
did some online research and found that it's based on a young adult
novel by Jeanne DuPrau also
called The City
of Ember, which is the first of the series Books of Ember.
I could be totally wrong, since these books are only a few years old
and I don't know how long ago you found your book, but this just
flashed into my mind, and I had to write this down. :)
City of Ember.
This also sounds like City of Ember to
me, though I don't remember the part about the names being taken. There
is also the Windsinger series,
in which a brother and sister have to leave their town because they get
into trouble.
The City of Ember is not the right
book. The book I found was back when I was in middle school, and I'm 32
now. It was a lot of years back. However, there are some similarities,
enough that I have wondered if the writer of "City of Ember" also read
the same book.
Logan's
Run. Okay,
as I read the description again, there were a lot of similarities to
the movie Logan's
Run. I never read the book, but it could be what the reader is
looking for--has the staircase and the upper/lower world with the
belief that the world didn't exist anymore.
U52:
Underground girl
I think that this was a serial in Jack
and Jill magazine in the 1950's. A girl lives both on top of and
under the ground. This seems to be in tunnels and perhaps in
Ireland. I don't remember any time traveling taking place but
just that she goes underground when there is trouble on top.
Thank you.
U53:
Unicorn
kept on apartment roof
The
Secret Unicorn (maybe?), 1975. This is a children's novel
about a girl who lives in the city (I believe it was NYC, but it may
have been Chicago or another big US city) who secretly owns a unicorn
and keeps it on the roof of her family's apartment building. Eventually
the unicorn becomes unhappy living there and the girl has to let it
free -- a very sad, but sweet ending. I remember it having a
light blue cover with a whimsical illustration of a unicorn, possibly
with a girl riding it. I think the type may have been orange. I think I
may have ordered the paperback from a school book fair.
Georgess McHargue, Stoneflight, 1975, copyright. Any chance it was a griffin, instead of
a unicorn? Set in Manhattan in the 1970s, Stoneflight is
about a pre-teen girl (Janie) who escapes her parents marital problems
by hiding out on the rooftop of her apartment building. There,
she spends her time cleaning a beautiful stone griffin (whom she calls
"Griff") until he finally comes to life for her and she is able to soar
over the city on his back. Janie then travels around New York City,
discovering other stone animals decorating the City’s architecture and
bringing them to life. However, when the animals start to turn
her into stone, she learns that having feelings is the price of
remaining human. Front cover shows Janie riding on the back of the
griffin. Dominant colors are blues, greens, and lavender.
V1: Valley
of Mystery
Perhaps you may be familiar with a series I remember reading in
1947 while in grade school concerning a boy detective who resided in
the
town of Edinburgh, Scotland. After the mystery presented itself, the
boy
would track down clues by riding his bicycle to various locations in
and
around Edinburgh. I cannot recall either the name of the author or the
name of the boy detective, but I believe one of the books was entitled
The
Valley Of Mystery. Thank you for any assistance you or your
online readers can give me.
V 1's search might focus on part of the "Plupey"
(Plupy?) series my brother read as a young boy.
Although the name "Plupey" doesn't sound
familiar
at the moment, this is the first clue I've received. I'll do
searches
under that name and will let you know of any positive findings. Thanks
so much for the information!!
The Plupy series was written by
Henry
Shute and published in the 1900s. It was set in small town America,
NOT Edinburgh, and had no apparent mystery themes. Sorry to be
negative,
but it's a false trail.
Not likely, because of the date, but William
Mackellar wrote The Mystery of the Ruined Abbey, a
boy's
mystery set in Scotland, 1954; Danger in the Mist 1956; Ghost
in the Castle 1960; and many sports stories. I haven't been
able
to track down any earlier books, though.
Well, a possible author, anyway. Agnes Mary
Robertson Dunlap, who wrote under the name Elizabeth Kyle,
was
writing juvenile mysteries in the late 1940s to early 60s, published in
England by Peter Davies and in the States by Houghton. Several are set
in Scotland. Titles include The Provost's Jewel 1950, The
Holly Hotel Mystery 1947, The Mirrors of Castle Doone
1947, Mally Lee 1947, Mystery of the Good
Adventure1950,
etc.
Oswald Dallas, The Valley of Mystery.
I haven't read the book but at any rate it's the right title.
V3: Vardon,
Beth
Solved: Davie and the First Christmas
V5: Viking
ship
Solved: The Ship That Flew
V6: Viking
ship again
Solved: Reindeer of the
Waves
V7: Victorian
lady
Solved: Lucky Mrs.
Ticklefeather
V8: Vacation
cottage
Solved: Fun With Decals
V10: Viking
boy
Solved: Young Viking
V11: Visual
Perception
I have been searching for a children's book that was popular 20
years ago in pre-school. It was a large book with grand illustrations
of
scenes and objects that fooled the eye. One page that I remember was of
two stem wine glasses but if you turned the book up side down the image
became that of mountains. The entire book, of 20 - 30 pages, was about
visual perception. Do you recall such a book? If so can you obtain a
copy
for me?
I think of Tana Hoban's work, and a picture book
called
Black
and White which tells one story front-to-back, and another when
you turn the book upside down and read it again, but I don't think
either
is your book. I'll post this as a stumper and see what other ideas come
up.
V11 Visual Perception: Maybe Mitsuma Anno'sTopsy-Turvies
Walker-Weatherhill 1970? I don't recall that specific illustration,
though.
V11 - Anno's Topsy-Turvies is
about
a pack (deck) of cards, but this picture could be in one of his other
titles.
Perhaps - Topsys and Turvys,
author-illustrator
Peter
Newell, published by Dover 1965, 72 pages 9"x6" "Selections
have
been made from two of Peter Newell's books, first published in 1894 and
1902. The pictures are to be looked at first rightside up and then
upside
down, a device that used to delight six- to eight-year-olds" (Horn
Book Aug/65 p.406)
Not a lot to go on, but maybe - Now This,
Now That: Playing with Points of View, written and illustrated
by Howard Baer, published Holiday House 1957. "Through
simple
text and bold, full-page drawings, the young observer is encouraged to
discover the fun of looking at things in different, imaginative ways.
Ages
3-6." (Horn Book Oct/57 p.338) The illustration shows a thin book
wider
than tall, with a cover showing two boys with backs to each other, each
with short dark hair and slightly old-fashioned clothes, wide collars
and
Norfolk? jackets, one smiling, the other looking surprised.
I immediately thought of Beau Gardner's
books from the 1980's. On each page is a bold, 2-color graphic.
The
reader can turn the page a quarter turn and the picture appears to be
something
else (ex. - teddy bear foot, pipe bowl, periscope, & lamp).
I've
checked The turn About, Think About, Look About Book and
The
Look Again...And Again, And Again, And Again Book but didn't
see
any wine glasses. However, he does have several other books (What
Is It: A Spin About Book, etc.) that may have the wine glasses
picture. Incidently, I think the black & white book mentioned
above is Round Trip by Ann Jonas. It
portrays
a trip out to the
country, then you turn the book around and the
pictures become a trip back to the city. Hoban's Black
On White & White On Black are board books
with
simple outlines of common items for babies to look at.
I wonder if the bookstumper V11: Visual
Perception
might be Graham Oakley's Magical Changes. There are no
wine
glasses and the book is not turned up-side down, but it is definitely a
"large book with grand illustrations of scenes and objects" and
there
are many pages with items that have long stems similar to wine
glasses.
The pages are split horizontally and you flip them to make different
combinations.
I've had the book at least twenty years, so the time frame is right.
Thanks
for maintaining this wonderful site!
V12: Vocabulary
book
I'm looking for a reprint of a late ninteenth or early twentieth
century children's vocabulary book. I think it was
reprinted
by Dover or Merrimack in the 1970s (at least that's when I
received
it). The book is fairly small, about 4 by 7 inches, and has a
hardcover,
possibly green. Each two-page spread has a largish
engraving,
surrounded by smaller engravings of words related to the large
picture.
For example, one double page spread shows a ship at sea. Around
the
margins are words and pictures
such as "astrolabe," "sextant" and other nautical terms. I
loved reading the unfamiliar, old-fashioned words when I was given this
book. It was definintely a reprint of a children's book, but I
have
never seen it since my copy was tossed in the give-away pile. Please
help!
DMIRAL W.H. SMYTH, THE SAILOR'S
WORD-BOOK
OF 1867, 1867. AN ALPHABETICAL DIGEST OF NAUTICAL TERMS.
This book has been re-released. I don't know if it has pictures
or
not. Just a long-shot
V13: Vanishing
Airliner
Solved: Bringing Down the
Air Pirate
V14: Vegetable
children
The book I am looking for is a book that my
nursery school teacher had. I'm 39 and it was old then. The
characters were children who were all vegetables (really)! They
had
names like Little Miss Endive and Baby Brussel Sprout. I've been
thinking about that book for years. I you have any luck I'd love
it.
Sounds like Vegetable Children
in
your solved pages.
V14 vegetable children: maybe Mother
Earth's
Children: the Frolics of the Fruits and the Vegetables, by Elizabeth
Gordon, published Volland 1914, 95 pages, reprinted Derrydale 2000.
Less likely is When the Root Children Wake Up, by Sybille
Olfers, English text by Helen Dean Fish, published Lippincott 1941,
22 pages, reprinted by Green Tiger 1976.
The Elizabeth Gordon books (Flower Children, Vegetable
Children, etc.) feature animated creatures (ie, Daisies or
Carrots
with human baby faces and hands) with short rhymes underneath each
illustration.
I do not believe the rhymes are related to each other in any way, but
they
do often have cute names. So if the book sought is a portfolio of
characters rather than a story with a plot, the Gordon may well be the
one.
V15: Viking
Game fictional book
In the late 1960s or early 1970s I remember
reading a book about a boy who found an ancient Viking game similar to
chess. I think that when he held the pieces he may have been able to
talk
to a Viking, who explained the Viking way of life. The book very
intrically
explained the game and Viking ways. There were many line drawings in
the
margins. This book probably would have been 4-6th grade reading level.
Not a solution, but a possible lead.
There
was a beautiful Viking chess set discovered about the time the enquirer
read the book, and perhaps the book was published by a museum, like the
British Museum? I'll try to find out more.
Moyra Caldecott (pseud of Olivia Brown),
Weapons
of the Wolfhound, 1976. This may not the book you're
remembering,
but the Lewis Chessmen almost certainly are the game pieces the boy
holds.
Here's an interesting note on them from the Guardian 30 Oct '99: "The
Lewis chessmen Probably Scandinavian, walrus ivory, 12th century, when
the Outer Hebrides were part of the kingdom of Norway. Finest
medieval
chess set in Europe. Confused records of discovery, 93 pieces found
buried
in a sand dune in Uig in 1831, possibly in a stone lined burial
chamber.
Some in National Museum of Scotland. Isle of Lewis council has
repeatedly
requested the return of the set."
Would the following word help solve the mystery?
There is an ancient Viking game something like chess called hnefatafl.
V16:
Volcano in the basement
Solved: The Fiches Fabulous Furnace
V17:
Very long-necked girl
Solved: Struwwelpeter:
Phoebe
Ann
V18: victorian
house with lady and alligator
Solved: Alexander and the
Magic Mouse
V19: Vanishing
Lessons
Solved: Jimmy Takes Vanishing Lessons
V20: Virginia,
a horse that secretly talks
Virginia is a horse owned by a little girl. Virginia talks
only to the girl, and they keep this communication a secret. The girl
and
horse learn riding, teaching each other. At the end, they win a
big
race, like the Grand National (National Velvet style), with the horse
talking
the girl through the course. This book was maybe 200 (or fewer)
pages,
had a red/orange hard cover, about 5x8".
Hallowell, P. C, Dinah and Virginia.
Great horse story, very nice illustrations. Virginia, the
horse,teaches
Dinah, her owner, to ride and jump. They didn't win a race, but
the
open jumping event at a horse show. Virginia retires from jumping
to have a foal. Dinah, the girl, had a younger brother who wanted
to be Roy Rogers.This should be it. Virginia (the horse) teaches
Dinah (her new girl owner) how to ride. Ultimately, they win the
open jumping event in a horse show. Virginia retires to have a
foal.
Dinah has a younger brother who wants to be Roy Rogers. Her
father
is allergic to horses. The illustrations are a cut above.
V21: Viking
Erik, The Red-Tempered Viking, c.1970. Erik (Eric) was
an irrasible cartoonish seafarer of about the eleventh century, who
sailed
the northern seas in search of conquest and adventure with his
crew.
An explorer/real estate developer, he was from Denmark or Norway.
He started his career in grass-covered island he called "Iceland" and
talked
some settlers into joining him, but after a time they pushed him out of
the colony because he was always making trouble. He sailed west,
discovered a huge ice-covered place which he named "Greenland" in order
to entice settlers. After a time the Greenlanders also voted him
off, and again he sailed west. This time he found an even better
place he named "Vineland" but when nobody believed his tales of
discovery,
he learned a lesson. The illustrations are very funny, and
kids, especially boys find many lessons in behavior, manners,
truth-telling
and other social skills. I think it might be Houghton-Mifflin
publishers.
As for Eric the Viking, these are details from
the life of Leif Ericson. The book could be The Story of
Leif
Ericson, by William O. Steele (1954), as Steele
sometimes
wrote about historical figures with exaggerated humor.
V21 The book for younger children, Leif
the Lucky, by Erick Berry, tells of his father, Erik,
and
his grandfather, Thorvald, both having been evicted from their
countries
because of arguments. They and Leif went from Greenland to Iceland. I'm
saying that the wanted book may indeed be about Erik, even though Leif
might be in it.
#V21--Viking: Also try Leif
Eriksson:
First Voyager to America, by Katherine B. Shippen.
Harper, 1951.
Nathaniel Benchley, Beyond the Mists: A
Novel, 1975. Found this
while
searching for something else. Here is a brief description: "The
ambience
of eleventh-century Scandinavian life is portrayed through the eyes of
an adventurous youth who travels to Vinland with Leif Eriksson."
V22: velvet
purse
In the late 50s I had a book about a little
girl who goes shopping with a velevt purse. Can anyone recall a story
like
this?
Sounds like Sally to me. Louise
Eppenstein,
Sally
Goes Shopping Alone, 1940.
The book I'm looking for may be Sally Goes Shopping Alone,
I'm not sure though. Would you have another copy available? Does
she have a velvet purse?
I don't have a copy of Sally Goes Shopping Alone right
now, but I have a sequel called Sally Goes Travelling Alone,
in which she refers constantly to her "little red purse." She
doesn't
actually call it velvet, but it looks like a small hand-held purse with
a string handle. Maybe?
Hey! That could be her. It's amazing the impact books have on us
as children that stay with us and hold such tenderness in our hearts.
TY
so much. I'd like to get it.
Just recieved Sally Goes Traveling Alone and am sorry to
discover that it is not the book I am looking for, so Sally took an
adventurous
trip once again. The book I remember had a sepia look to the art work
in
it and I think the hardcover had a kind of fabric texture to it and may
have been brownish. The size may have been 6 x 8.5" approximately, if I
recall it correctly. This would have been in the late 50s that I had it
as a child. The search continues.
V23:
Virgin
Prince and Talking Unicorn
Virgin Prince and Talking Unicorn. Please help! Looking
for a 1970's-ish short fantasy paperback I read as a child, and would
dearly
love to find once more. It's about a virgin prince who is sent on
a quest to rescue a princess (from a dragon?) by his not-so-nice older
brother (father?). The prince rides a (talking?) unicorn (a
source
of much grief, as only virgins ride unicorns), and duly falls in love
with
the rescued princess while depositing her back at the castle. He
goes on to do great things (?), returns, rids kingdom of not-so-nice
brother,
and marries her. Any ideas? Thanks!
Simon Green, Blue Moon Rising,
1991. Although this is later than the date in the clue, there
is
the second son, Prince Rupert who rides a talking unicorn, and enlists
a dragon and a princess (who is supposed to marry his elder brother) in
his
struggle to save the Forest Kingdom from evil.
At the end they knock out his unpleasant brother and leave to find
their
own fortunes.
Stephen R Boyette, Ariel: Book of Change,
1983. This is more of a young adult book, but worth a mention. This
site has a good summary.
John
DeCles, The Particolored Unicorn,
1987, copyright. Could be this novel. The unicorn is
multicolored (as the title suggests). The setting is futuristic
fantasy. Protagonist is Piswyck and at some point mentions his
family is named alphabetically and there is some prophecy about "when
the alphabet runs out". The unicorn isn't named until the very
end as Lifesaver (after the candies).
V24:
Vansel
I have a friend (male) who was given a most
unusual middle name: VANSEL based on a character in a book his
mother
was reading during her pregnancy (mid - 1940's) - but he does not know
the book, title, nor author - we assume it was fiction and published
before
1947. and of course I'd like to buy the book from you if it can be
found.
I have had no success finding that name in lists of names (such as name
you baby this) - which supports my belief that it was a work of
fiction.
{I'd even be willing to buy a book of names that listed it}
Not a solution, but looking on Google, there
are
lots of mentions of Vansel as a surname, so it was probably a case of
someone
being given a surname as a first name, thus unlikely to be found in a
book
of baby names.
This isn't a solution either, but I happened
to be looking through "From Aaron to Zoe: 15,000 Great Baby Names"
&
ran across "Vencel," which I though was close enough to "Vansel" to
mention.
According to the book, "Vencel" is an unusual Hungarian name meaning
"wreath"
or "garland."
Not a solution, but an observation. My first
thought when I read this stumper was "how would one pronounce this
name?"
Stories can change when they go from parent to child, over time. If the
Mom was a radio fan in the thirties and forties, maybe she heard "Von
Zell"
as many times as I did as a kid, (actor/announcer Harry Von Zell) and
spelled
it the way she preferred it.
V25:
Victorian House is Alive
I am looking for the title of a children's
book. This book is about an old victorian house that is "alive". The
house
has human characteristics. It has colorful illustrations and possibly
the
old house is on the front cover. The windows served as eyes, etc. This
book is from the early 1970's or before. It might be a golden book.
Virginia Lee Burton, The Little House,
1942. This may seem too simple but could this be it? I
don't
think the house is really Victorian but everything else matches.
This could be the Wonder Book Once There
Was a House-(1965). Victorian (GingerBread) House empty
and
abandoned-one morning feels sick (pain in the boiler, etc) gets up off
foundation and goes to doctor (Dr. Pim) "tight squeeze" to get into
office!
"Nurse surprised!" After thorough exam- "You have mice"! Gets
prescription
at hardware store- mice gone- Gets New Family! THE END!
V26:
Visiting
Grandpa's farm
I had a story book in the early 1950's when I was 8 - 10. It was
about a brother and sister(I think) that visited their grandpa's farm.
They had several learning experiences as grandpa taught them about
nature.
The book had well drawn line illustrations - I can still see in my
mind's
eye the drawing of a mud dabber wasp and its beatiful ewer-shaped nest.
I think the kids had to crawl under a stone fence to get into the
orchard,
but I'm not sure. I wish I could remember more about the book. I surely
enjoyed looking at it all those years ago.
V26 is NOT Read, Helen, Grandfather's
farm, 1928.
This is a bit of a wild guess, but has the poster
looked at the Maple Hill Farm books created by Martin
and Alice Provensen? At least two of their books deal almost
entirely
with animals. I know the Provensens started illustrating books in
the 40s, though I'm not sure of the copyright on the Maple Hill Farm
books.
V26 is NOT Provensen. I checked.
V27:
Veronica
Ganz
Solved: Veronica Ganz
V28:
Voodoo Kit
Solved: Mrs. Coverlet's
Magicians
V29:
Very Scary Book
Solved: Grandpa's Ghost
Stories
V30:
Villain
steals town's polka dots
Solved: Rootie Kazootie, Detective
V31:
various
animal characters go into a cave
Childrens book with pastel coloured fat flumpy cartoon animal
characters
(think rabbit crossed with pastel coloured fat pillow/marshmallow).
They
all go into a cave for some reason and use crayons i think to mark
there
way on the wall.There could have been bats in the cave im not
sure.There
was a rabbit, a cat possibly a green sheep and a blue dog maybe; i cant
think of the rest.Very thin book, mostly pictures.
Sounds like it could be a Puffalumps book,
based on a series of puffy stuffed Fisher-Price animal dolls from the
1980s and 1990s. Possibly Puffalump Pillow Tales
by Nora Smith, Puffalumps Annual Book,
Puffalumps and the Big Scare by Jon
Chardiet, 1987, "the story of a Puffalump camping trip and three
monsters that they meet" or The Puffalumps Treasure
Hunt by Cathy West,
1987.
V32:
Victorian
House
Solved: Nothing Ever
Happens
on My Block
V33:
Vanishing
Island
Solved: Dangerous Island
V34:
Victorian
dolls
Solved: Behind the Attic
Wall
V35:
ventriloquism
french and indian war
A teenage girl in America, I believe during the French and Indian
Wars, is left in charge of two young boys. She knows ventriloquism, and
amuses the children by making chipmunks talk and the like. Indians
kidnap
them and take them to their camp, where the medicine man wants the
tribe
to go to war against the settlers. The chief doesn't want to, but he
gets
sick. The girl is present when the chief dies, and suddenly a voice
says
he is the chief's spirit and that the whites are responsible for his
death,
and the tribe should go and fight. The girl realizes what is happening,
and makes a little bird "speak" and say that the medicine man is wicked
and should be thrown out of the tribe. The Indians believe her, and war
is avoided.I read this in the 70s, but I think the book is older.
V36:
Viking
brother and sister
Solved: Hakon of Rogen's Saga
V37:
Grandma's
Boat
Solved: The Maggie B.
V38:
Vast
Cream Bun, Running From
Solved: 123 and Things
V39:
visit
to the doll hospital
Solved: Doll Hospital
V40:
Vermont
heroine saves children's class
Solved: Katie
Kittenheart
V41:
vocabulary picture book
OLD! (1940?) childrens vocabulary picture book. Three elves
explain the difference between three closely related words. On an
inital page: a storm is coming up in the forest. The three elves
huddle together and say "what is this? a hurricane? a cyclone? a
tornado?
The following three pages each illustrate one of these while an elf
gives
the definition. The word groups ranged over a number of
subjects
(not just weather) but this is the only one I remember.
Wonderfully
illustrated with rich colors. Wish I knew the title !!
V42:
victorian
paranormals
Solved: The Children of
Green
Knowe
V43:
Victorian
England
I read this series of books in the mid-seventies at my school
library,
but they looked as if they had been in print for some time. The stories
centered around a very large family in Victorian times, the father of
which
worked for the Indian Ink Company. The parents had hired a nanny, with
possibly a German name, who dressed in black clothing trimmed in jet
beads.
She was quite magical, and used different forms of magic to get the
many
children to behave. In one book she turned one of the smaller children
into a pig! In my mind, the books were small in size, but not in
length-
they were decent length chapter books. Thanks for any info- I
have
wanted to find these books for a long time, they were so enjoyable.
V43 Go to this
site for an excerpt of a book it may be.
Christianna Brand, Nurse Matilda books.
There are three in the series: Nurse Matilda, Nurse
Matilda
Goes to Town, and Nurse Matilda Goes to Hospital.
They are small-format books and she does wear black with jet
beads.
If you do a search for Nurse Matilda, you can see a photo of a boxed
set
of the books.
Surprised no one has yet noted that the Nurse
Matilda books have just been made into a movie: "NANNY MCPHEE",
starring Emma Thompson.
V44:
Vacation
Spent Living in Swamp Trees
This is a book about a family on summer vacation in the (Louisiana?)
swamps where everyone lives in trees over the water. Again,
probably
a Weekly Reader book club issue of late 60's or early 70's.
Patricia Cecil Hass, Swampfire,
1973. A Scholastic book about "three youngsters camping in the
Great
Dismal Swamp bite off more than they expect when they decide to catch
the
ghost horse running loose in the swamp." Except, as I recall, the story
is also about two kids from the city who are spending the summer with
their
family in the swamp. They meet a kid who actually lives in the swamp
year
round. One theme from the book that always stood out for me was the
fact
that each of them longed to be more like the other.
Chad
Walsh, Nellie and Her Flying
Crocodile, 1956, copyright. Not sure if this fits
well enough: this is a fantasy book and originally published earlier
than the time period mentioned, but maybe it was reprinted then (it was
definitely reprinted 1979). The characters first meet the "flying
crocodile" while on vacation, and later on I think they do end up
living in houses in trees above the water, which might be swampy.
V45:
Visit
to Venus by a disabled male
When in sixth grade (1961) the primary school teacher read to
students
a book which featured a disabled person who went to Venus with other
people
from earth. I think this was a section where he was examined by a
doctor
who said that because the planet Venus had a smaller diameter than
Earth,
that the male character would weigh less on Venus. The nature of his
disability:
perhaps he was in a wheel chair? I have a vague recollection that the
description
of the planet Venus included aspects like warm, and had islands. This
book
ends with a comment on the disabled person "and he didn't need to use
the
hand rail" or something similar. Can anyone identify this book?
V46:
Vicki
(?) series, road trip w family
Solved: Meet the Austins
V47:
Vacation with bus and professor
Solved: Professor
Diggins'
Dragons
V48:
Vikings
Solved: The Faraway Lurs
V49:
Vain
Girl
Vain girl is imprisoned in a beautiful room
where the windows and walls gradually become mirrors. This was a
story in a book of stories for (probably older) children that I read --
once -- in the late 1950s/early 1960s, but the book was old at the time
and could easily have been published any time in the previous
half-century.
It had a dark, nondescript cover and was about the size of a novel. I
do
not remember any of the other stories in the book, but they probably
all
had lessons to teach, as this one did. I do not remember any
illustrations,
but there may have been some. In the story, I do not remember the
girl's
name, or how she came to be in this situation, but she was made to stay
alone in a beautiful but enchanted room, where she had everything she
could
ask for or want. She spent all of her time gazing at herself in the
mirror,
and each morning when she woke up, more of the room's walls had become
mirrors. She enjoyed having more ways to look at herself, but soon the
windows were changed to mirrors also, and there was no light to see
herself
by. She realizes the error of her ways and, magically, the room becomes
as it was before, and she is freed. Any ideas? I did search your
site for "mirror" and "vain," and did check your anthologies page, with
no luck.
V49: Sure it wasn't a boy? In that case, it
would
be
Prince Harweda and the Magic Prison (see Solved
Mysteries)
by Elizabeth Harrison. A 19th-century story you can read online.
I read the same story, but the protagonist was
a boy! A young prince was an only child and utterly spoiled and
selfish.
His parents were unable to change his ways, so a magical person (fairy
godmother?) stepped in. She transported the boy to a beautiful
tower
room where windows and mirrors were alternately placed on the
walls.
The room was filled with toys, books, cushions, plates of food,
beverages,
and a cage with a bird in it. The boy was so vain and
self-absorbed
that he spent every day admiring himself in the mirrors. He
didn't
notice that the windows were getting smaller and the mirrors larger
until
one day, he was completely sealed in darkness. He was furious at
first, then self-pitying, especially when he realized that the food and
drink were no longer being renewed. His situation didn't change
until
he realized that the bird was trapped with him. He groped around
in the dark until he found a small amount of drink, then decided to
bear
his thirst so that the bird might drink. The windows opened a
tiny
bit. He found a bit of food that hadn't spoiled, and gave it to
the
bird. The windows opened a bit more. Then he decided that
even
if he couldn't be freed, the window opening was large enough to
liberate
the bird. The prince did this, and his unselfish act allowed him
to escape his prison. He returned to his parents, forever a
changed
boy. My copy of this story was in a set of books with multiple
volumes
that included stories, crafts and games.
V50:
Visual
puzzle book with gears
This was a full color picture puzzle book. All I remember is a two
page complicated machine puzzle. There was a prince in the upper-left
corner
of the left page, and a princess in the bottom-right corner of the
right
page. She was attached to a death machine, and in between her and the
prince
were hundreds of gears, pulleys and levers. It was a complex maze-type
puzzle, you had to decide which way the prince would turn the gear he
was
next to in order to free the princess, not kill her. It was very
difficult
and I could not solve it. The whole book was filled with similarly
difficult
and fiendish puzzles. I don't remember if there was a plot. I took it
out
from the library somewhere between 1989 and 1995. I would love to find
this book, even more than the book about warring toys.
V51:
Valerie
Anne and Alligator Eugene
I remember a series of books from the 1960s
that involved a French girl named Valerie anne who travels somewhere
and
possibly is shipwrecked, or somehow winds up in New York. She has a
friend
named Eugene who is an alligator. The books were almost like board
books
but not quite. Perhaps there was 5 or 6 books in a series. They were
brightly
colored.
V52:
Veronica
Back in the 70's there was a book that was
my favorite. All I remember about it was it was a pink hardcover
book and the girl's name in it was Veronica. She was a little
thing
with blonde hair and there was a house in the book. That is ALL I
remember. I believe the title had something to do with Veronica
but....don't
recall. Her name could have been Vanessa but I am almost
positive
it was Veronica. HELP!
Marilyn Sachs, Veronica Ganz, 1968.
Marilyn Sachs, Veronica Ganz. This
book was about a bully-ish girl always getting into scraps until she
meets
her match, Peter Wedemeyer, who outsmarts her.
Marilyn Sachs, Veronica Ganz.
I wonder if the reader might be actually thinking
of Marilyn Sach's Amy and Laura . Amy is blond, and
Laura
does battle with the bully Veronica Ganz during the course of the book.
2007
V53:
Viney
Solved: Mystery at
Moccasin
Bend
V54:
Virus
on Earth
Solved: The Girl Who Owned
a City
V54b:
Victorian
boy and family, troublemaking antics, series
I am looking for a series of books from the
mid to late 1970's. It's about a boy and his big victorian
family.
He gets into trouble quite a bit, and i recall one of the books telling
about the "new flush toilet" his dad ordered. Or how the family
ordered
every year out of the sears and roebuck. There were some
illustrations
at the beginning of each chapter. I cannot remember the name of
the
boy. I think it may have been Ted, or Theodore. Maybe it
was
slightly based on how teddy roosevelt would have grown up as a young
kid.
It was really tom sawyerish, and I think his dad owned a store in
town.
The young boy with his friends, and older and younger brothers were
always
getting in to scrapes. My 6th grade teacher read us the series,
and
we loved them! Do you have any ideas? Thanks!
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great
Brain.
This
sounds a lot like The Great Brain series, by
John D. Fitzgerald,
although this series was not Victorian
it was set in late 19th century Utah.
The narrator is the youngest of three brothers, and the books focus on
his middle brother Tom, who is something of a juvenile con man.
The
incident with the flush toilet is out of the first book (The Great
Brain)
and I'm pretty sure that ordering from the Sears catalog is mentioned
in
that book as well. The other books in the series are: Me
and My Little Brain, The Great Brain Reforms, More
Adventures
of the Great Brain, The Return of the Great Brain, and The
Great Brain is Back.
John D. Fitzgerald,
The Great Brain
series,
1967
- 1976. The Great Brain
series, set in the fictional town
of Audenville, Utah, is loosely based on the childhood experiences of
the
author. Mercer Mayer did the original illustrations. Tom Fitzgerald is
the middle son in this family of three boys, and his clever plans to
make
money are frequently at the center of the adventures.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great
Brain,
1967.
This has to be the one you're looking for. In the first chapter
of
The
Great Brain, titled "The Magic Water Closet," the boys'father
(who
has a reputation for buying odd contraptions and inventions, most of
which
don't work) installs the first flush toilet in town. Enterprising
Tom, with the help of younger brother John (J.D.), charges other
children
a penny apiece to watch the installation, and later to see the
completed
bathroom. This is the first in a series of eight books about the
misadventures of Tom and J.D. Their family is Mormon, living in Utah in
the late 1800's - early 1900's. J.D. serves as the narrator in most, if
not all, of the books, which feature charming black & white
illustrations
by Mercer Mayer.
V55:
Victorian
doll's hospital
Solved: Nelly's Hospital
V56:
vegetarian
agrarian society
I'm looking for a book I read in the
1970's.
It was sci fi. It was about some future society, many years after
a war had reduced mankind to a vegetarian agrarian society. A boy
at the time is able to communicate with the domestic animals. The
pre-war society had been forgotten. A giant bear with a grudge
from
the pre-war years appears (never says from where) and begins tearing up
the place and turning the animals against the humans. Can you
help
me with this?
Alexander Key, The Golden Enemy,1969.
Andre Norton, Iron Cage, 1974.
Andre Norton. I think you're looking for
one of Andre Norton's books...but I can't remember which one.
Maybe
Iron
Cage or No Night Without Stars?
V57:
Valiant
Woman
Solved: The Valiant Women
V58:
Victory
cow and Gettysburg Address
1945 to 1950, childrens. A friend had a
favorite
book I would like to find. It was set during World War II.
A family with children live in the country and have a Victory
Cow.
There is a school assembly where one boy must recite the Gettysburg
Address.
He has practiced while milking the cow. To help him remember
during
the performance his sister ties a rope to his belt so that he can make
milking motions behind his back and keep the rhythm. I know those
are odd recollections but they are the ones that stuck in her
mind.
She was born in 1944 and this sounds like a grade school level book so
I'm guessing at the publication date.
2008
V59:
Veronica
I am looking for a book that I believe had a pink cover. There
was a character whose name was Veronica I believe. She had arms
that
could stretch and reach as high as a tree. Please help!!
V60:
vampire animals on
Venus
Solved: Five
Against Venus
V61:
van, learning,
summer holiday on beach
Solved: Professor
Diggins' Dragons
V62:
Vikings Northumbria
Charlemagne Roncevaux Saracens
The book starts and ends in
Northumbria, in England, in the eighth century AD - in fact in the
coastal area between the Tyne and Wear rivers. The hero helps to fight
off a Viking raid at the beginning of the book, and then is sent to
Charlemagne's court in France, possibly to ask for help in repelling
the Vikings. I remember he meets Alcuin of York at some point, but
whether it's in England or at the court I can't remember. I think he is
unsuccessful in obtaining any promises of help, but subsequently joins
the Frankish invasion of Spain, and fights and is defeated at
Roncevaux. Along with a friend (who I think is Welsh), he is enslaved
and sold to the Saracens; they row in a galley for some time, but then
take the opportunity of a sea-fight with a Christian ship to lead a
slave rebellion and free themselves. (I remember that some of the
violence is quite graphic, which suggests it may have been a book for
older readers.) They then become traders in the Middle Sea, have
various adventures and prosper, and eventually return to England. The
last scene sees them successfully fighting off a much larger Viking
invasion of the same area.
This sounds like it could be one of the many books by Rosemary Sutcliffe, but I can't
remember which one would fit best...
Someone's added the comment that the
book sounds like it's by Rosemary Sutcliffe. It isn't, unortunately -
I'm familiar with all of her books.
I am not sure what this is
but am guessing a book by Geoffrey Trease or
Ronald Welch.
It sounds a little like one of Madeleine Polland's books, but it's
been so long since I read them that I can't remember which is
which! Beorn
the Proud was the first one I thought of, but I'm pretty sure
that one is told from a girl's point of view, watching Beorn's struggle.
V63:
Video game boy
Solved: Demons Don't Dream
V64:
Veterinarian and
his dogs, adventures
I think the vet's name is Dr. Box.
He's got a lot of dogs who ride in his funny car on many adventures.
They figure out why the ducks in the park are sinking; they save a
gorilla (or find a gorilla?); they figure out why a greyhound is so
tired and slow at the races; they encounter a boxing kangaroo. The copy
I had was hardcover (possibly library binding) with a balding Dr.
[Box?] on the cover. Thanks!
Andrew Davies, The Fantastic Feats of Doctor Boox, 1972, copyright. Ducks that sink, a gloomy gorilla, and
a kangaroo that can't stop boxing.....Who can help them? Dr. Boox, the
famous animal doctor, can. Front cover shows a front-view of the
balding Dr. Boox and a whole bunch of dogs in a red open-top jalopy.
V65:
Very Quiet Forest
My mother read this story to us as
children at naptime. It was SO relaxing and quiet.
Probably in the 1960's - It was in a volume or treasury of other
stories. My brother and I remember it was a child who went to
this "very quiet forest." I remember some description about a
little pool of water, maybe drawing in the mud, picking a little cherry
that hung from a branch (there was a picture of this), and maybe
something about moss. Any ideas??!!?? I am pretty certain
the title was The Very Quiet Forest. No idea of author. Any
help is greatly appreciated!
Tibor Gergely (illus), The Golden Story Treasury (A Big Golden
Book In Full Color), 1951, copyright. Cover is pink,
with a montage of images from many stories, including children flying a
kite, a kangaroo, an elephant, a panda, a camel loaded with bundles, a
rooster, a fire engine with firemen, a steam shovel, a trolley car, a
tugboat, a lion, a frog, a donkey wearing a staw hat, and a sheet with
a green jack-o-lantern head on top. Stories include Samson,
Biffington Bop, The Very Quiet Forest, William the Rooster, Genevieve
Goes to Bed Early, and many more.
V66:
Vet's son
communicates with animals
A book (late elementary level) about a
boy who woke up on his birthday (10th or 11th?) and discovered he could
communicate with the animals at his father's vet hospital. I remember
one of the animals was a large sheep dog. His talent saved the
day somehow at the end of the book. Early 70s maybe?
T. Ernesto Betnancourt, The Dog Days of Arthur Cane, 1977, approximate. It could be The Dog Days of Arthur
Cane-Arthur ends up turning into a dog though, and has to do
something (now I can't remember what, but it was difficult) to be
turned back. Maybe not the right title, but it was the first one that
came to mind when I read your query.
Thanks
for the suggestion, but no, I checked an online review, and the book
I'm looking for is definitely not The
Dog Days of Arthur Cane. My hero doesn't turn into a dog, and
it's set in a rural area or small town, not NYC.
Harriet Lawrence, H. Philip Birdsong's ESP, 1969, approximate. The
description provided reminds me of H Philip Birdsong's ESP.
Did he communicate with animals through a recorder? And was there
a spoiled Peke named Dolores, as well as the Old English Sheepdog
Bozo? And the creepy lady with the electric car? The title
character is a boy, father is a vet, they live in a rural-ish
area. He's also got a sister named Jane.
V67:
Victorian ghost ship
Read in late 60's. Picture book with a
large amount of text. Hard cover - no words or pics on
cover - maybe red. A girl lives in Netherlands (?), goes ice skating
past where she is supposed to go, finds a victorian ghost ship, visits
daily, last time she goes ice is melting and she can't say goodbye to
ship.
W1:
Wimbly
Lane
Here is an almost impossible task. If you don't feel up to it, I
quite understand. I don't know the author. I don't know the title,
exactly,
except that it was something like this: No.
5,
Wimbly Lane. It could be any number, but I remember it as a
single digit - it could be street, lane, close, circle, avenue, etc -
but
I am almost positive it is street. I don't know the name of the street.
I made up Wimbly. It is about a boy who confounds the neigborhood
bully.
It would be geared for children 8-11. It is British, fifties or early
sixties,
illustrated by someone who is, or who illustrates like, whomever drew
the
pictures for Edward Eager's books. It was in the Dimond Branch of the
Oakland
Public Library in Oakland, California in the fifties/sixties.
In response to the book with the street name
in
the title, I remember reading a book in the 5th grade about Pudding
Lane. It could have had illustrations similar to Edward
Eager's,
but I don't remember the plot at all, or the street number. Sorry!
This isn't The Family From One End Street
series, is it? There were, I believe, several stories about the
family,
all with One End Street in the title.
I did check these out, thank you - very kind of you, but neither
is the one. I'll keep searching until I find it!
I was wondering if you might be thinking of
The Dog on Barkham Street. Although this book is neither
British nor has a number in its title, it was written in 1960 and is
about
a boy, a dog, and the neighborhood bully. Here's a descriptive
clip
I copied: Stolz, Mary. A DOG ON BARKHAM STREET (8).Edward
Frost faces two challenges-the bully of Barkham Street and getting a
dog
of his own. When his uncle arrives with a collie named Argess, Edward's
life begins to change. There's also another book by this
author
entitled The Bully on Barkham Street. I know this
book
doesn't fit all the seeker's criteria, but the "Street" and "bully"
thoughts
made me think of this book.
Found a book in a www search (while looking for
another title) called # Five Hackberry Street written by
Christine
Govan and illustrated by Peggy Bacon published in 1964.
Plot: apparently the children Jessie, Tilly, and Frank have moved to a
new house. No other synopses given.
#W1--Wimbly Lane: A book catalog
description
I found of Number 5 Hackberry Street identified it as
taking
place at the turn of the 20th Century in Tennessee. If the wanted
book took place later and in England, it is not
that one.
#W1--Wimbly Lane: Jean Fritz wrote
a book titled 121 Pudding Street.
W1 wimbly lane: well, it's English, involves
a bully, has a street name in the title, and the illustrator did do
several
of Edward Eager's books - Songberd's Grove, by Anne
Barrett,
illustrated by N.M. Bodecker, published in the US by Bobbs 1958, 247
pages.
"Songberd's
Grove lies in London, a street of beautifully proportioned Georgian
rowhouses
now in slummy condition. The author creates a living picture of the
row,
particularly of No.1, from which Lenny, a Teddy-boy type of dictator,
has
ruled the street, and No.7,