My sister and I remember reading a book in the 90s that was word for word the lyrics to silver bells. It had photos that matched the lyrics – I remember the city sidewalks / busy sidewalks dressed in holiday style page was a snowy city street, darker outside, I believe with wreaths and other Christmas decor around town. I believe the whole song was printed out on the last page. It was a larger book, maybe 12” x 6” in size. Darker cover, hardback.
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349J: Strange Spaceship Builder in the Backyard
The book I cannot remember is from late grade school or Junior high (7th grade). It was a spaceship, I think in the backyard with a strange builder or helper to the kids building or traveling on it.
349I: Children’s ghost story U.K.
It was a collection of horror stories for children I think and one of them was a lady with a burned or scarred face who possibly came out of a painting. She was called Rhoda or Roda or something like that. It had these simple ink illustrations and I remember that one.
It had another story where a boy (I think) was hiding and heard the ghosts of some body snatchers - it may have been a retelling of Burke and Hare.
I’m English if that helps and I think I would have read this sometime in the 90’s.
Sorry, that’s so vague but those are the two that I think I remember.
349G: Selfish Witch, Disguised as Regular Girl, Does Selfless Favor
Looking for a beautiful line-drawn picture book from earlier than 1975, about a witch and her daughter who live beyond the seven valleys and the seven seas. The daughter witch is selfish, and does not come home to her mother on time. Her mother sends her away until she can do a selfless favor for someone, while disguised as a regular girl. She is dropped off outside a village. Eventually, she finds a little boy who is also being punished, and helps him peel mounds and mounds of potatoes. She falls asleep doing this, and her mother comes to collect her. Ends with a line something like, "but she could never stand the sight of another potato."
349F: Boy with gigantic tall spoon catching clouds
349E: Fishing for bonito on boat Gretchen
Seeking an older (ages 10-12) children’s book about a boy who works on his family fishing boat named “Gretchen” - describes how they catch the fish (bonito) and sell it on the pier. Don’t remember much else about the plot.
349D: Kind slug symbiote
Trying to find a science fiction book. I think a detective ends up finding a slug-like alien inhabiting a human. Somehow discovers it’s kind and doesn’t want to hurt humans, it had to do it in order to live, possibly after crash landing on earth. Normally they are symbiote with another alien species mutually beneficial. At the end of the book, I think she (detective) lets it into her head to save it. Think sequel?
349C: Beaver Patrol?
Looking for children’s book that my wife had as a child. She was adopted, but remembers this book from her birth mom. She is wanting those memories back. Can you help?
This is a children’s book with illustrations, circa 1970-1980. A family of beavers who wore red jumpers, I think. One of their activities in the book was making pancakes and flipping them with their beaver tails.
349B: Man disappears from London, found years later in French circus (Solved!)
I think this was an English mystery or part of one, maybe from the Golden Age of mysteries (Christie, Allingham, Sayers?) where a City man leaves his home to go to work, is seen by a tradesman at one end of a block, but never reaches the other end and is never seen again. Much publicity about his disappearance. Years later, someone — perhaps a young relative — finds him as part owner of a small circus in France, with his partner the neighbor woman with exotic snakes whose high brick wall in the middle of the block he vaulted over to live with her.
349A: Orphan finds a home
Hello. Looking for a book that my daughter and I read about 4-5 years ago when she was 10 or 11. The story involves a feisty girl who is about that age and is orphaned. She tries to stay at home with her brother but a policeman and a Catholic nun come to take her away. She hits the nun or a priest. She is taken to an orphanage and always believes her brother will come for her. She does see him again but he unable to provide for her. At some functions for the orphanage, she meets a beautiful young woman who is engaged to a handsome, rich man. The orphan’s spirit and determination catch the eye of this woman and somehow they become friends. In the end, the lady inherits a farm out west and breaks her engagement. She takes the orphan with her and they travel west.