Category Archives: MG (grades 2-6)

349M: The Empty Valley Mystery

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All I remember about this book is that a group of kids (who were maybe related. There were two brothers?) ended up in this absolutely empty valley - there was a plane involved. And they explore this valley - find a cave to live in. And at some point they solve a mystery - a chicken is involved - and they find gold. And then get rescued. This was is the Hardy Boys/Nancy Drew genre. All I remember about the cover is that it had a numeral of sorts on it. Also, in another book in the same series one of the brothers finds a rare bird - a great auk or something.

349A: Orphan finds a home

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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.

This story is set in early to mid 20th century.  I can’t  remember the exact time frame.  I want to say it’s  between 1920-1940.
Hopefully, you are able to help me with this title as we both loved the book but neither of us can remember the title!

348Q: A little girl and a racoon (?) (Solved!)

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This is a paperback book that I believe was bought new around 1980 – 1981. (I think my mom bought it, and we lived in Western Massachusetts at the time, although she gave it to me to read on a trip to New York City to visit my grandparents.) It was a slim book with pictures for school-age kids, but I think it was closer to the size of a typical chapter book rather than a picture book.
The story is about a little girl who at some point ends up fighting or having some kind of conflict with an animal outside, who I think was a racoon (although for some reason a fox also comes to mind, maybe instead of or in addition to the racoon? There also may have been no fox). The conflict in the story was quite emotional – I remember the little girl feeling both mad and maybe sad, and I’m pretty sure she also ultimately cared about the racoon/animal. The racoon/animal may have also been injured or in trouble somehow. I liked the story, but it wasn’t the most bright or cheerful tale.
I think the little girl had straight or wavy black hair worn up in a ponytail. I also feel like she wore a skirt ending above her bare knees. The pictures were delicate, and – at least in some cases – had dark features or strong shadows. The color I remember most apart from the dark aspects is orange…which kind of overlaps with my memory of a fox and its reddish-orange fur.

348K: Fat girl runs away from home by taking canoe to an island and living in the forest

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I think I read this in the 4th grade (I was born in 1979). This girl was really unhappy at home, so she took a boat and rowed away to an island. On the island she learned to fend for herself. She made a cozy home either in a kind of dug out, or a hollowed out tree. She survives the winter, and eventually returns home feeling much better about herself because she has lost weight and is independent.

348J: A Girl & Her Cat

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I have been trying to find a book that I adored in my elementary school days (2nd/3rd grade) to display in my 4th-grade classroom. I remember the cover was in a sepia brownish tone with an illustration of a water well and a cat. I recall the book being about a little girl, a cat, and something to do with a water well. Also, I have a memory of the little girl luring ants onto a string with honey. I think she may have lived with her aunt. I have done several searches for a few years without luck, and my friend told me about your bookstore, so I thought I would give it a shot.

348D: Orphan Girl Finds Factory Job and Friends

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I was born in 1946, probably read and reread this book several times during the fifties and it burned its way into my psyche.  The story line is a little girl who is orphaned? Abandoned?  At any rate, she is alone and knows she has to take care of herself.  She wanders in the woods and comes across an abandoned hut.  She moves in and goes about making a home and a life for herself.  She is able to find a job in a factory nearby and finds some friends….and there my memories run out….
I have no inkling of the title nor what it looked like. It was not a picture book but I think it did have some illustrations.
Not much to go on,I know.  I don’t even remember her name.  I don’t expect anything, really…just worth the “investment” to have someone on my team.  I’ve been haunting old book sales for years without success.

 

348C: British family children’s novel

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I’m trying to find a book I read in the late 80s. It was about a British family with several children. The book was told from the perspective of a younger brother. His older sister was named Helen and he didn’t get along with her at all. At one point in the book he leaves a towel balanced on the bathroom door as a “Helen-trap.” I remember thinking this book was hilarious but I don’t remember much more about it.