When I was in 5th grade I read a book about some girls who stole a leprechaun’s bag of magic. I don’t remember much of the book as that was in 1979 or 1980. In the story I recall the girls (sisters) were trapped in a painting. I remember that it appeared the painting was watching you. I also remember the book going back in history as in a back story to the leprechaun and the girls. I also recall the girls being bad or evil. I really don’t remember much of the book other than it scared me like crazy! I skipped recess to read this book and read on the edge of my seat scared out of my wits. If anyone knows what this book is, I will be most grateful!!
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
Must be The wicked pigeon ladies in the garden / The wicked, wicked ladies in the haunted house by Mary Chase
Nine-year-old Maureen is the terror of her neighborhood until the day she begins to explore an old deserted estate and encounters a leprechaun and seven strange ladies
Any chance you’re looking for The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden by Mary Chase? It’s not an exact match, but it’s got a lot of the same details: evil sisters, paintings (of the sisters) that watch you and even move, a leprechaun, time travel, the heroine getting trapped in the past, and a stolen object (a bracelet that had belonged to one of the Messerman sisters). It’s been over 30 years since I read it, so my memory is really foggy, but your description immediately brought this book to mind. (The book was also published under the title The Wicked Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House.)
“Maureen Swanson is the scourge of the neighborhood. At age nine, she already has a reputation as a hard slapper, a loud laugher, a liar, and a stay-after-schooler. The other kids call her Stinky. So sometimes when Maureen passes the crumbling (and haunted?) Messerman mansion, she imagines that she is Maureen Messerman–rich, privileged, and powerful. Then she finds a way into the forbidden, boarded-up house. In the hall are portraits of seven young women wearing elaborate gowns and haughty expressions. Maureen has something scathing to say to each one, but then she notices that the figures seem to have shifted in their frames. So she reaches out her finger to touch the paint–just to make sure–and touches . . . silk! These seven daughters of privilege are colder and meaner than Maureen ever thought to be. They are wicked, wicked ladies, and Maureen has something they want. . . . “
It sounds a good deal like Mary Chase’s “The Wicked Wicked Ladies in the Haunted House”, aka “The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden”. The girls, seven cruel sisters of a Victorian family, aren’t really trapped in the painting; they just move around within it. They also turn into birds, who spy on everyone. The girl who gets trapped is a modern day girl need Maureen, who is very bad-tempered and spies on the mysterious girls. She’s the one who meets the leprechaun, who has been watching the wicked sisters, hoping to get his magic back. It’s Maureen who gets trapped in the past by the sisters, as she stole one of their magic bracelets; she has to cooperate with the leprechaun to break their spell and get home. Hope this helps.
Sounds like “The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden” by Mary Chase. It’s in Solved Mysteries, if you would like to read all about it. 🙂 http://www.loganberrybooks.com/solved4.html