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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This is a middle grade children’s mystery about a brother and a sister (I think) who find an old metal box in a hole in a tree. The box may have something to do with the Revolutionary War.
Thank you!
I read the book in grade school in the early 80's.
I remember it’s a mystery book where kids visiting a lake look for a treasure. In the end, the treasure turns out to be worthless confederate money. One scene I remember vividly: The boy is tricked by the girl to swim to the bottom of the lake with his snorkel and look up. She claims it’s a beautiful view. When he does so, the protective valve on the snorkel opens and water floods into his mouth.
I also seem to recall a dragon on the lake at night, but it’s made of paper and burns up from the candles used to illuminate it. It is possible, however, that this memory might be from another book…