The archives from the old Stump the Bookseller are still available on our website www.loganberrybooks.com/stump.html. There are still some unsolved queries, so feel free to peruse and email us at stump@logan.com with any suggested solutions.
The History
The history of this page is a funny and accidental thing. As a bookseller, I often receive requests for long-lost childhood memories of books, and when I started this website back in 1995, I started receiving some cloudy email requests as well. I didn’t think much of it, but one which I “solved” caused me such amusement that I saved the message and later created the I Remember That Book! page.
I added other requests and quotes to that page, but I noticed two distinct kinds of requests: those for titles remembered, and those for which only a murky plot was remembered. The bookselling detective work for these requests is different, so I started the Stump the Bookseller page.
The Fame
Thanks to National Public Radio, our five minutes of fame was broadcast on January 25, 2003. Traffic on the site quadrupled in the weeks to follow. Thank you, Andy Bowers and the NPR team for the attention.
New Format
Our old manual methods of posting book stumpers grew wearisome, and the size of the site posed difficulties with certain web browsers. In February 2013, we opened a new blog format for the forum which makes commenting easier and faster, and which has a pretty awesome search capability. We still use a variation of keycodes for super-quick searching, and for easy identification of queries. There’s no longer a need for archiving, but you can focus your search by choosing Solved or Unsolved in the Categories column.
Solution for P279: Patchwork Quilt world
Land of Pleasant Dreams: The Biggest Little Girl
The link to archives from the old Stump the Bookseller (www.loganberrybooks.com/stump.html) leads to an error message.
Every browser I’ve tried has redirected appropriately so it may have just been a blip or you can try http://www.loganberrybooks.com/stumpthebookseller I hope that helps. Thank you for alerting us to a potential problem. -Morgan
The link for the Archives still only leads to the more recent queries, post-February 2013. How do I find the older ones?
You can browse backwards into the archives by using the “older posts” button, you can the select the year and month using the drop-down box located on the right side of the screen or you can use the search box to search keywords.
http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stump-ab.html
http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stump-ab.html
I think people are trying to find the old archives, from before the move to this new blog format, so they can see what is still unsolved from the previous incarnation of this site, or access old solutions there that might help with newer queries. The archives available through the drop down you mention are for the new-format queries only. The old site no longer appears to be available at the link provided above–it redirects to this current site instead.
http://w1.loganberrybooks.com/stump-ab.html
Y94 in the archives is “Grover” by Bill and Vera Cleaver.
M437 Possible Clue? Could the books about the shrunken children possibly be the famous “Borrowers” stories?
Regarding M42: Moose, can control the flow of time
(Letter from a fan in Westchester, NY)
“I had been looking for this book since 1975 without knowing the title or author. Finally found it online. The guy who posted on your site nailed it from his memories, that is an accurate description. It is not a Mrs. Pickeral book, though, it’s the one reviewed by Kirkus below:”
KIRKUS REVIEW
The Mystery of The Lost Moon by Michael Chester, Illustrated by Charles Geer
Cathy and Bob Alban are very much like 20th century children except for the fact that they own a real live robot, ride in graviton cars and get a chance to participate in a galactic game with a strange antlered creature from ‘way out’ known as Old Pumm. The object of the game is to recover a lost satellite on which Old Pumm will retire from his hectic orbiting. In their search, they meet an odd assortment of people, reach the moon, a blob of gibbous by accidentally breaking a space egg, explore a space lab and finally realize that the Earth of Old Pumm’s lost satellite. there is little sense, rhyme or reason to this, but there is some humor in the crazy mixed-up imagery. A weak plot makes this a poor introduction to the world of science fiction, but members of the inner cult may find it amusing if only at intervals. 1960.
From a fan:
The book described in H181 is Gertie’s Green Thumb. I am 100% certain!
RE: S673 Skeleton Kids 1890 Mystery
OP here, still trying to find this book! The last suggestion also wasn’t it. 🙁 I also think I remember a cookie recipe, where the family threw everything into the batter as experiments, with pickles being especially disastrous. However, this particular memory *might* be of a different book.
E-mail Regarding K152 What Book?:
“I think this book, about the cabbage eaten by worms, is ‘Tales from the land under my table’ by Hans Wilhelm”
E-mail from a fan:
B573: Black boy wants guitar or banjo
I think this might well be Jasper Makes Music, by Betty Horvath, Watts, 1967
The story of Jasper, a black boy longing for a guitar he isn’t able to convince his parents he really needs. His grandpa gives him a ‘magic shovel’, which Jasper uses to earn money for the guitar by doing odd jobs.
Cheers,
Kat
From an e-mail:
I solved the m636 about monsters and motorcycles. It is the red book of wordplay by Susan Batko and there is also the yellow book of wordplay
Regarding S375:
I just finished reading a book called “Margy” by Margaret Smith. It is set in Canada. A young girl is sent to live with her maiden aunts because she can’t get along with her new stepmother.