The book I am looking for must have been published before 1994 at the very latest, and I would think after 1975 although it could be earlier. It’s a children’s chapter book. The main character is a girl child with magic who is learning to be a witch: she lives in a cave with I think her grandmother/s and/or aunts who are old witches, and who are pretty grumpy and uncomfortable. She sneaks out one night and discovers a fairground nearby, and rides on the ferris wheel. (She might make a human friend, which isn’t allowed, and there might be a cat, but I’m not sure about those.) She decides to show her older female relatives that humans can have nice things, and I think she steals some of the ferris wheel cars and puts cushions and warming spells in them so her older female relatives will have nice warm places to sit? I think the cover was illustrated, but not super cartoon-y. I have googled and googled and found nothing.
Category Archives: 1970s
363M: Quaker seamstress in Philadelphia during American revolutionary war (Solved!)
Cheryl Hill, chill4hhorse@comcast.net[/private[
I am looking for a book I read as a teen and young adult in the late 1960s and early 1970s. I recall finding it at my local library and I believe the author’s last name began with the letter A. The story was historical fiction and the main character was a seamstress in Philadelphia during the revolutionary war. She was a member of the Quaker religion and her fiancé fought with George Washington. She worked in the home of Peggy Shippen’s family and was able to overhear some of the plans made by Benedict Arnold and his wife.
363D: Medieval Kitchen
I am hoping you can help me find a book I read probably between ’78-82. I am not sure how reliable my memory is, but what I remember is this: it was a paperback with stories about a kingdom, or maybe a medieval fiefdom. At least one of the stories, or maybe all of them centered on the kitchen having to make a certain dish. There was a big penalty (death? that seems like a lot for what I think I read as an 8 year old) if they didn’t get the recipe right. I think the story was told through a boy getting introduced to the kitchen There was definitely a recipe for a pound cake, possibly a bundt cake. I know that because I made it many many times as a kid. I hope you can help me find it!
363B: Bronze Age slave girl saves metal items to purchase her freedom
I checked out this book from my school library when I was in upper elementary, 1971-1973, so the publishing date could be ’50s, ’60s, or early ’70s. I seem to remember a cream colored dust jacket, with black and white illustrations inside that resembled cave drawings. The girl kept her bits of metal under her pillow to keep them safe. I seem to remember a leader wearing a cloak pinned with metal and also wearing a torc around his neck. I don’t remember any psychic abilities or romance in the plot. It’s not “The Cave Twins” or “The Distant Lurs.” (I’ve gone through *most* of the queries until my eyes crossed. 😜) It might have been set in Britain, maybe another European country. She may have saved her owner’s clan by warning them of an imminent attack. And I think she was indeed able to purchase her freedom at the end of the story. Sorry, the details are very fuzzy but I checked the book out several times and loved it. (Probably one of the books that started my love for strong female characters.) Thanks in advance for your help!
362I: Kids Solve Location of Missing Treasure
362F: Daughter Schemes for Piano from Estate (Solved!)
362B: Bopeep’s Lost Book
I’m looking for a book from my childhood. I read it somewhere in the 80’s. It a book about a cowboy & I think he had a bad attitude. It’s about the adventures he had. Somewhere in the book it was prophesied that he would die after seeing a bird fly upside down. The book had colorful illustrations. I remember the chapter was upside down in the air somehow & he saw a bird flying. Because he was upside down in the air he therefore saw a bird (I think it was a buzzard) flying upside down & I believe he died after that. I must have read the book when I was somewhere around 4th grade which would have been about 1986-1990 but I believe the book may have originally came out somewhere near the late 70’s. I could be wrong about that though. I think the cover of the book was white.
362A: Monkey eating crackers
361T: Jasper the music stealer
This is a 1970s children’s book featuring a kind of hippie spy/hero who (may have) flown around on a magic cloud and had a base (?) in the Himalayas. He had an enemy called Jasper, who stole (all of the) music.
I heard this as an audio book on a cassette (where I recall a song with the words ‘Jasper, Jasper, where has all the music gone?’)
361S: Tiny Grandma Comes Out of Phone
I am looking for a children's book
- Guessing it may be written in 1970’s to 1980’s (I read it in the 80’s)
- A little boy is being babysat and ignored by his sitter. He calls his grandmother and falls asleep when he’s on the phone with her.
- He dreams that a tiny version of his grandmother slides out of the old rotary phone, and dances and plays with him all night.