Author Archives: admin

171A: Book of Poetry and Stories

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When I was a child, we had a set of books that included 6-8 volumes. I don’t believe it was Childcraft, but something similar. The first volume was gray and blue, I believe. The illustrations were absolutely stunning. I remember many of the poems – Robert Louis Stevenson; one about digging in the sand at the beach; a diller, a dollar, a 10 o’clock scholar; two little kittens, one stormy night, began to quarrel and then to fight. There were also stories – Christmas at Hollow Tree Inn; one about fairies.

170B: Family who lives in a tent and moves from place to place

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I’m trying to track down a book I remember reading and LOVING as a child back in the 1960s. I was probably 8 or 10 at the time. I don’t recall there being any pictures. It was about a girl and her family who migrated from place to place and lived in a tent. I remember there being detail about how they set up their tent to make it feel like home. The little girl had a shoe box of some sort that all her belongings and treasures were kept in. She may or may not have had a doll, too. I can’t recall the plot. I just recall being fascinated by a little girl living in a tent and having to move everything the family owned from place to place. Any help you can give me would be great!

170A: Blond siblings with a Crazy Aunt (Setting may be Europe) (solved)

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This series of books was in my intermediate school library, which I attended in 1984-86. The main characters were sisters, maybe twins or just close in age. I believe there were only two or three books in the series and the girls kind of came of age during the series. One plot in the first book involved a mentally ill aunt. When the girls visit her, she tells one of them that her shoes are “shit brown,” and the librarian or administration at my school had very noticeably blacked out the word “shit”. I think in one of the books a death in the family is also dealt with. There were occasional black and white illustrations in the books. They were probably each less than 100 pages. I have a sense that they may have taken place in Germany or Austria. If not, then maybe the characters were immigrants to the USA from one of those countries. I’m picturing a purple or light blue cover/binding. Thanks for any leads!

169G: Beaver kids’ young sister is named Crackie, chapters end with non sequiturs (solved)

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I found it at a library sale in the early ’80s and it’s long since lost. Hardcover, no jacket, a drawing of two beaver kids against a dark green background (if memory serves). A chapter book, maybe 100 pages. Pulp paper. Pub date could have been 1900 to 1940; I would be shocked if it’s any more recent.

The two things I remember:

1. The little beaver sister, Crackie, earned her name because she constantly cracks or breaks things. In one chapter she drops an ice cream cone and the tip breaks off.

2. The last sentence of every chapter contains a non sequitur in this form: “And as long as I have time to bring Mrs. Gaffney the blueberry pies for her pet cat, I’ll tell you the next part of the story.” (There is no reference to Mrs. Gaffney, pies, or a cat anywhere else in the book.) I remember the ones in the book being truly amazing and weird.

Thanking you all in advance

169D: Modern Fantasy Adventures with a character named Broccoli

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I remember a children’s (possibly young adult) modern-set fantasy series about two boys who adventure together. The books were embossed, and each one has a major antagonist’s face on the front (which was the embossing), usually a monster. I remember a werewolf and a zombie (each on a different book). The narration was from the 1st person, and he lived next door to a boy who was named something like Brock Lee. He called him Broccoli for most of the series. The main character had a Game Boy that had mystical powers, and could open doors…supposedly even the gates of Hell. He was also revealed to be The Chronicler, which is basically the Narrator of the Universe, unbeknownst to him. Broccoli was the Key, which gave him an ever-expanding suite of powers, largely mystical. In one book the main character sold his soul to a demon, and found a loophole out of it. I believe in the later books they meet an adventuring group of kids who were investigating a vaguely Lovecraftian monster of some sort. I know the series was at least 4-5 books long. Thank you for reading my ramblings; I’ve been looking for this series for over a decade!

169C: YA Romance Set in Early 20th Century, Lead Characters Play Romeo & Juliet in School Play (solved)

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I remember reading this YA book, which I believe had a sequel, in the mid 1970s.  It took place in the early 20th century in the New York area, somewhere slightly north of New York City, possibly Westchester or Tarrytown.
The book(s) tell the story of the budding romance between the female protagonist and a boy who is a fellow student. At one point, the pair is cast to play Romeo & Juliet in a school production.  Another slightly older female character (either a friend, or a sister), has a crisis (an unexpected pregnancy?) and she drinks a bottle of laudanum in response.