The second story I am trying to track down from my childhood is an anthology of weird and horror stories (not really gory given the era, and written for children). It was in our school library in the early 80s and worn, so it could easily date to the 1950s through the 1970s. The story is about two children (a brother and sister) who come across and old house in the woods and find that a family of children live there who are very strange. They have silver hair and no parents. Eventually the unusual children hold a party with a big cake that has a sleigh with two small dolls that look like the brother and sister. The brother and sister find out that when the sleigh rolls down the hill of the cake they will be trapped forever to stay with the silver headed children. They flee the house and when they return the next morning they find nothing but ancient ruins. Apparently the silver headed children are ghosts that only occasionally turn up and wanted the brother and sister to join them. I'm afraid I don't recall any of the other stories in the anthology. Thanks!
Category Archives: 1970s
329C: Ghost of California chicken racer
Published before 1989, likely current setting is late 70's or early 80's. Teenage girl with mom and brother, no dad, move to a 3 story house off the California coast line. The house has a curved driveway with a tree stump in the grass. The family does not have a car, but the girl keeps hearing a car idling in the driveway. Then starts to see an oil leak when everyone else sees dirt. Later she sees a 50's style car (blue if I remember correctly) and a man in his late teens or early 20's in a bomber jacket. Man died in a chicken race when his car went over the cliff. He is asking the girl to help him find his girlfriend from that time, who used to live in the house. Detail about the house is that the circular window on the 3rd floor always breaks out even after the tree was cut. Which used to be tall enough to reach the 3rd floor window. Below the house is a small cottage surrounded by lots of flowers and the person who lives there befriends the girl. She is the new girl in school and everyone thinks she is crazy, especially when the ghost of the man in the bomber jacket starts to dance with her on the school's cruise along the coast. Of course, no one can see him and everyone thinks she is dancing by herself. The cover has the picture of the girl, brunette I think, standing in the driveway, with a see-through image of the man in the bomber jacket and his car behind her.
329B: Troublesome Cat Sent To His Room (Solved!)
I'm looking for a book I had as a child in the 1970s, though the book may be from the 1960s. It was a small paperback with a light blue cover. It was about a cat, I think named Henry, and his mother. The drawings were very simple pen & ink drawings. There may have been a little blue in the drawings too, but mostly I think they were back and white and were simple. The cat was always getting in trouble, and had to be sent to his room. His mom was cooking in the kitchen. They both walked upright - and the mom wore an apron. I think it may have been a series and there were other stories about him.
328U: 60s-70s time-travel medieval fantasy, siblings, beautiful illustrations
This is a beautifully illustrated, middle-reader American (I think) fantasy book about a brother/sister or possibly male/female friends who somehow stumbled from their somewhat urban home/apartment building into a medieval setting when coming home from school one day in the woods near their home.
I was born in 1970 and was a very early and voracious reader, so this book cannot have been published much later than 1976; my guess (contextually) is that it’s most-likely a little earlier than that.
Many thanks!!
328H: Newspaper Boy Has Genius Inventor Friend
Seeking 1970s YA mystery. Protagonist delivers newspapers and in a subscription sales contest. Has a genius inventor friend (including retractable staircase). Mysterious house with strange noises. Turns out to be a family of circus performers who buy a lot of newspaper subscriptions.
327O: Red Shoes Ruined In Rain
I am seeking a children's book from the 70's about a girl who ruined her new shoes in the rain - they might have been red.
327L: Sort of like the Boxcar Children but in ancient Rome (or was it Greece?) (Solved!)
I read it in the 1970s, probably published then or perhaps in the late '60s. A young boy (maybe 10 or 11) and his older sister (young teenager?) from a noble family become embroiled in a mystery and they run around town (possibly Athens, but I think it was ancient Rome) hunting for clues. They wear togas. 🙂
327C: Max Moonpenny
My mom is searching for a book she read as a pre-teen about a girl named Max Moonpenny. I have searched and searched (and I even work in a library) but I can’t find anything about this book! She’s not sure if the title is Max Moonpenny or if it is something else. My mom grew up in the 1960s & ‘70s in Wisconsin, and a friend of hers also remembers the book and her niece was even named Max Moonpenny after the character from the novel. Unfortunately, the niece is prolific on the internet and clogging up my search results.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
327A: Collection of scary stories from the late 70s or early 80s (Solved!)
I'm trying to track down a collection of short, scary stories that I read when I was young. I remember a story about a girl with a red cape (I believe her name was Lottie). There was also a story in the book about Sarah Winchester, the heir to the Winchester rifle fortune who continued building a mansion and never stopped construction because a medium told her she'd die if she stopped. I know it's a long shot, but I'd love to be able to find this book again.
326W: A Raven, A Boy And A Mosquito
I am looking for a book that I believe is a children’s book, published in the 1970’s or 1980’s. It has a dark green cover (pine color) and has a raven on the cover. It has a God-centered theme. Includes a boy and a mosquito. The cover may also have red on it. This is all according to my son who was born in 1980 and is recalling what details he can.
Thank you for your help.