Author Archives: admin

202A: The word pepper keeps popping into my head

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I’m looking for a book that I read in elementary school and was (I think) published in the 1980’s. It was a children’s chapter book. It was about a little girl who’s best friend was a boy. She had a crazy or strange family and they lived in a house that had secret hidden rooms or compartments. One of the rooms was soundproof and the girl’s uncle would play drums in the room. In one part of the story the boy and girl get locked(?) or trapped(?) in the soundproof room. Her family may have been spies or something like that. The word pepper keeps popping into my head and I’m not sure if that was someone’s name or in the title. I know it is not the The Five Little Peppers. Help!

201E: Self portrait with mice (Solved)

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I’m looking for a picture book that has the artist’s self portrait throughout. The image of the artist is looking at the reader are the subject behind him is one mouse or mice. I remember the mice or mouse driving a classic black convertible. There may be more, but either way the mice were up to no good. I think the mice were doing various bad things, but I’m not sure. In his self portraits, the artist does not look amused by the mischief. This book has a sixties feel. The artist is heavy set and wears glasses in his pictures. He looks like he’s in his sixties. There is a lot of white space in the pictures. The art is very precise and in the realm of realism. I’m pretty sure the artist/author is very famous.

201D: Late 1960s-era “Birthday Party”? stumped

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I am looking for a mysterious children’s book from what I am guessing is the late 1960s. It was hardbound, unusually tall and narrow, and illustrated in a sort of kooky 60s style. It was about a little girl who lived in the city and whose birthday is right around the corner, deep in winter. Somehow, a wealthy eccentric woman who lives nearby has the same birthday, and decides to invite the little girl over for a special fantasy day. I remember that the woman sends over a dress and coat the day before–– I want to say it was a blue dress with a blue satin sash– so the little girl will have something lovely to wear when she comes. On the day itself, a special coach arrives to pick her up and take her to the woman’s house, and she goes over there, And she and the woman and have a madcap day. I feel like I remember an illustration of a room filled with books, and perhaps a hammock strung up in it. Very Bohemian but very ritzy. I can’t really remember anything more except for the fact that a cat has kittens at the end of the story.

201B: Children’s book, navel oranges, sharing. (solved)

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A boy receives an orange as a gift, and he generously gives away its segments to others, only to find himself with none left. Someone tells him that it was a navel orange, and there was a hidden baby orange within the skin, enough for one bite. I read this around the 70’s, a beautifully illustrated book. The author might have had a Spanish name, or perhaps Jewish? I don’t recall any Christmas themes and he shared his gift mainly with older relatives, neighbors who seem European…

201A: Desert fable with two brothers

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I read a fascinating fable as a kid. This was probably 1974-1979. I do not remember the title or author (sorry).
I remember all the details of the plot as I was blown away (remember, I was an impressionable boy!) by the shocking conclusion. Here goes: Two brothers go into the desert to seek their fortune. They come upon a kingdom where everyone wails in grief. They discover the favorite princess is locked in a tall tower and everyone fears she will die there. The brothers are presented before the king and one brother asks, “Do you have a key to this tower.” The king says, “Yes, but I don’t see what good that will do.” The brother requests this key. The two brothers go to the tower, use the key, unlock the door, and the princess is freed! The kingdom rejoices! The king presents each brother with a chest of gold, which they carry into the desert, onward to seek their fortunes.

They arrive at the second kingdom. Terrible dehydration is killing everyone there. One of the brothers asks the king, “Do you have a well? A bucket? A rope?” The king answers, Yes, to all those questions but adds, “I don’t see what good that will do.” The brothers are tight-lipped as to their plan. As one might guess, they tie the rope to the bucket, lower it into the well, and bring up water for all in the kingdom. The kingdom is saved! The king gives each brother a chest of gold.

The story continues this way, the brothers solving what seem to be easily-solvable problems for each kingdom, each time acquiring another chest of gold. After they have each acquired seven or eight chest of gold, they stagger into the desert one more time. Soon, one of the brothers drops dead under the weight of his treasures. His brother is sad but collects all the treasure chests in addition to his own treasure chests and tries to stagger forward. He only gets a few paces before he too succumbs to the weight, has a heart attack, and dies.

A man with a camel finds them, dead in the desert and says something to the effect of, “These two are idiots. If they had only spent a piece or two of gold, they could have bought donkeys to carry all this gold. They wouldn’t have died.”

As a boy, I was stunned that the two main characters died. I was also stunned by the simplicity of the solution to their problem and how I hadn’t thought of it, while I was busy looking down on the idiots in each kingdom, unable to solve their own problems.

I’d really like to see this story again. Made a big impact on me.

200E: Lazy man with monkey who does what he asks

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I’m looking fora book that was written before 1989. This is the year I found it but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t a new story.
The basic message is, don’t be so lazy to wish all your tasks off on someone/something else. It is very much a cautionary tail.
It’s told through a tale about a guy that comes across a magical creature (monkey-like I think). The creature is at the mans beck-and-call to do any task he asks of it. He ask more and more, gets lazier and lazier until one day the man asks the creature to breath for him. Essentially the man ceases to exist.
I believe the story takes place on an island. I know most of the illustrations of the man picture him in a hammock. I also think it won a literary medal. As far as the shape of the book it was longer than it was tall.

The school librarian read it to the class when I was in 2nd/3rd grade.The story was was impactful for me as a child but I cant remember the title. I’ve been looking for it for years. Please help me find it.

200D: Orphaned Girl Lives with Grumpy Grandpa

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This was a group of shorter chapter books about a young girl (maybe 12 or 13?) who goes to live with her Grandpa. He’s the classic crotchety but with a heart of gold character. She’s a typical growing-up girl, trying new things, dealing with friendships, etc.

The characters live in a small, quintessential American town. If I were guessing, I’d say they’re set in the 50s. I read them in the late 70s and they seemed “old-fashioned” to me then — but there was electricity, cars, etc.

I recall maybe 3 or 4 books in the series. I’m sure one was set at Christmas. Another was about her entering a Bake-Off.

I think she had a very ordinary name, and this may have been in the title — Margaret, or Elizabeth?

I also sort of think they were published by Scholastic, and I also think that the Christmas book was made into a made-for-TV movie, that perhaps aired in the early 80s?

200B: Time travel search to different Ages

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I read this book as a child likely in early 90s. I have a very vague recollection of time traveling to different “Ages,” back and forth, possibly searching for something. I have a vivid recollection of a description of moss covered stones in a forest, possibly in England during one time travel stint, though may have been set in another world entirely. Not much to go on unfortunately!