Author Archives: admin

333F: Greenwich Village jazz father and son (Solved!)

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Growing up in a small town in Eastern Washington in the early 1970’s, I read a book I still remember. It’s a middle school targeted chapter book with a few line drawing illustrations. My copy was paperback. It features a father and son, the dad is a jazz musician / fan, I think they live in the Village - or at least someplace downtown NYC. Maybe there is some music that is played on the rooftop? Maybe parents are divorced? Published pre-1974.

333E: Young Muskrat Contends With a Forest Fire

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The story is a muskrat growing up, his adventures, from his point of view. Most memorable part is when there is a forest fire going on; he describes the fear, the fire, smoke, etc.

I read this book around 1961-63, so book was definitely published before 1963. Book was dark brown. Illustrations are like a moonlit night as the muskrat travels by a stream and sees smoke, etc.

 

333D: Redheaded Girl’s Scary Witch Encounter Just a Dream

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I am desperately trying to find out the title of a book I used to read to my daughter when she was little. It had to have been published before 1994. What we remember is that the main character is a little girl, maybe a redhead and/or curly haired. She may be walking through a forest and encounters a scary witch. At the end we discover that the whole thing was a dream.
The book, which we used to take out from the library, was a hard back.

G Mail Concerns

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Hello everyone,

I hope you are all doing well as we approach the holiday season.  It has come to my attention that G Mail often does not let our e-mails through.  For those using G Mail accounts, if you have submitted a Stumper and have not received an e-mail from us after a few days, please check your spam folder prior to contacting us.

Thanks and take care,

Julie

333B: Tiny Magic Cat

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I am.looking for a book I read between 1975-1980. It was a middle school aged book.  The.main character was a 10 to 12 year old girl. I can’t remember how, but she finds a cat who turns super small – like tiny enough to sit behind her ear. He talks to her and helps her through the trials of her life.
That’s all I can remember.  Thanks so much!

333A: Anthology – Tiger Fable, Dog Discipline, Bake a Cake

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I read this anthology of children’s literature when I was younger than 12 (I’m 29 now). These probably are not definite, and I don’t know if I would recognize the cover if I saw it, but here’s everything I can remember from it.

There was a Chinese (or some other Asian culture, possibly Indian but I think it was probably Chinese) fable about a group of village children who befriended a tiger. The village’s men chased off this tiger, and then the crops didn’t grow that year, or some similarly implied consequence ensued. I remember this story having an illustration of the children and the tiger under a tree. Or the tiger peering out from the branches of a tree.

There was also a story about a group of kids baking a cake for their babysitter, but they botched it up somehow, getting the ingredients wrong. I think that the babysitter found out about it, and was so grateful for their thoughtfulness that she bought or baked them a cake herself.

Then there was a poem about a kid explaining how he disciplines his dog with a rolled up newspaper. I also remember an illustration with a full-view of a backyard with some kids building a tree house, and there might have been a sign that said “No Girls.”

I don’t know when it was published, but the style was similar to the 40’s and 50’s style used in the “Dick and Jane” books. It might have a similar title to Good Times with Our Friends (a book by Dorothy Baruch) because I asked my Mom for it when I was a kid, and she confused the titles. I thought I’d found it when I ordered Through Golden Windows: Good Times Together, but although there were many similarities, the tiger story, dog poem and tree house picture weren’t in there.

332Z: Exceptional Animals, “Goodness Gracious!” (Solved!)

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Seeking a children’s rhyming picture book, published sometime in the last 10 – 30 years; describes major characteristics of several animals (i.e., big ears of a fenec, sharp teeth of something, big spots of leopard) using the phrase “Goodness gracious!”;  final page is “Goodness gracious, what a noise . . . from girls and boys!” and it shows children playing outside at recess.

332Y: The Figure In The Shadows (Solved!)

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So here’s what I have:  I have very few details about this book. Read in late 1970’s-1980 (no later than 1980, but believe to be earlier).  Book (paperback) was a gift so I think it could be earlier than 1970s.  Geared toward 10-12 year olds.  Category: suspense, supernatural or mystery.

In the beginning of the book a boy (think it’s a boy, could be girl) is walking down the street when a newspaper or flyer wraps around his leg.  He looks at it and reads the word veni in Latin (I come or I am coming) and smells wet ashes.  Later in the book the figure/ghost is beckoning him to jump in a well (?) or off a cliff – he’s saved by someone, but that’s all I remember.  Hope you can help.

Edit: The author of this post found the title of the book before I got around to posting their Stumper: The Figure in the Shadows!

332X: Momma and Poppa Make a Midsummer’s Lantern on their Woodland Farm (Solved!)

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I’m searching for a children’s picture book: The illustrations are in somewhat muted colors. I read it growing up in the ‘90s, but am not sure when it was actually published. The characters are momma and poppa, and they live on a farm in the woods. They have made a lantern (which has a face in it in the illustration) for midsummer. Momma walks through the woods, gathering strawberries and birch tree saplings into her basket. Poppa gathers eggs from the hens. Back home, momma makes a custard or shortcake with the eggs and strawberries, uses the birch saplings to make a maypole, hangs the face lantern on the pole, and they dance around it into the evening. Please help!! This has been driving me crazy.