Category Archives: MG (grades 2-6)

223A: Poem about girl eating her first peach (Solved)

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This was a book I had when I was very young. The illustrations had children dressed in early 1900 clothing and it may have been published in that time frame. It was a compilation of stories and poems. One poem was about a little girl eating her first peach. I do remember a line from that poem “I’ve eaten it cloth and all Mama but what shall I do with the bone?” She was referring to the peach pit. Another story in the book was about a little girl who was picking blackberries and could not reach the best ones high in the branches. A gentlemen offers to bend over leaning, on his walking stick and let her stand on his back to reach the berries and she refuses saying she would be to heavy etc. The young man remarks that it would be rude to refuse a kindness and the little girl accepts his offer. There was a picture of this scene in the book of the little girl standing on his back and picking the berries.

222C: people who walked across the bottom of the ocean between the continents (Solved)

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Looking for a book I checked out several times from an elementary school library in the mid-80s (not sure how old the book was). It was NOT the Verne story but was about a group of people who walked across the bottom of the ocean between the continents. They had some sort of tanks that allowed them to eat and breathe underwater.

222A: girl who moved to New York City in the summer (Solved)

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I’ve been trying forever to remember a book that I read when I was young. I think I was 10-13. Mid-80s. There was a girl who moved to New York City in the summer. Because she had no friends yet (I think), she spent a lot of time exploring the city by herself. She rode the bus by herself and she went to the movies by herself. She was really into fashion and talked a lot about the outfits she was putting together every day. I think that there was a department store that she loved and maybe fantasized about buying something there? I think she did a lot of window shopping.

I don’t remember her interacting with any other characters, so I have no idea what the plot was. I just remember thinking that it was so cool that she was getting around the city by herself, and that she was so fashionable.

221E: 1970s children’s chapter book about wacky family

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I have been trying to find this book since my first child was born 15 years ago. It was my favorite when I was about 8 or 9, I think, but I never owned it; I would just choose it over and over again from its spot on the shelf in our local library, never committing the title or author to memory.
The protagonist is a young girl who has a wacky family—perhaps they’d be described as “dysfunctional” nowadays but that was not a term at the time. The story is full of mishaps and made me laugh out loud each time I read it. There are line drawings in the book and one I can recall is of the girl (or maybe her father) heading out of the house for a beach trip loaded down with supplies. The dad is kind of grumpy, as I recall. I was reading it in the late 70s so I assume it was published earlier that decade. It was of that era and the copy I read was hardcover.
This is not a lot to go on, I realize. But perhaps someone out there will recognize my brief recollections. I hope!

221D: Scary Children’s Book from the 1980’s – Solved

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I have been trying to remember this book for so many years, this is what I remember:

It had actual black and white photos, not illustrations. The character was a little girl and at the beginning, it is her birthday and she is happy and the setting is bright and cheerful and she is in her bedroom. Then as you turn the page, it is dark and creepy and she is alone in a home of some kind, so I think that she may have been dreaming. From what I remember, there are several photos of her exploring wherever she is, there is a kitchen, basement, garden grounds, etc.

The very last page is an image of blurry figures or what appear to be ghosts. I remember wondering of those were her parents.

There may have been a pet in the story as well. It wasn’t a long book, 20 pages at the most. I read it in the mid 1980’s, in about the 3rd or 4th grade.

I’m hoping you can help!

220E: Lady Dragon Transforms into Princess (Solved)

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This was a children’s illistrated book about a lady dragon who was in love with a knight but all he tried to do was vanquish her. She went to the wizard who made a potion (a raspberry fizz maybe?) that turned her into a human princess. I think there was a bit about how her scales turned into a carriage but I could very well be wrong. She met her prince but it turned out he was kinda lame and boastful and not what she imagined. However, it turned out that HE was actually a dragon too who was turned into a human and he was much better as a dragon so the wizard made the potion again and they all lived happily ever after as dragons. I think the last illustration was them drinking fizzy soda together through straws out of the same glass.

220C: Animal Pirates in Space Seek Treasure on New Planets

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Its a kids sci-fi picture book I loved as a child. I know it was popular in the late 80s or early 90s as that was when I was a kid. The book reminded me of “The Odyssey” but in space, and animal characters instead of humans. Each planet they traveled to, two of them would decide to stay. Sometimes their decision to stay would be a bad decision and sometimes it was okay. in the end, there was only one or two animals still on the ship, and on the last planet they visit, all their friends they lost throughout the journey, ended up being there.

220B: Children’s Science Fiction Chapter Book Yellow Cover People with Powers in Hidden City

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I was in elementary school in the 90’s, and I remember a book or series of books in the school library that I believe were all by the same author but may not have contained the same characters. I think both books had yellow hard-back covers. One of the books cover had a woman on it with a third eye, the eye was possibly triangle shaped. I’m not sure I remember the plot line of that book if there was more than one book. The plot-line I do remember though went as follows: A girl (and possibly her family) moves to a farm/rural setting. While out walking one day she runs into an invisible wall. Somehow she, and possibly a boy (or her family) get through the wall, and there is a hidden city behind it, possibly made out of crystal. The people in the city are either alien in nature, or are people with powers, and those powers and possibly telekinesis and/or telepathy. I think she has to figure out how to escape from this city. I’m hoping someone knows what these books are.

220A: The Mystery of the Missing Diamonds

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Publication: I believe this book was published in about 1969 or 1970.

Genre: Early teen to Pre-teen mystery, possibly bought from Scholastic Books

Plot: A young girl with the last name Duncan solves a mystery of some missing diamond jewelry. She ends up finding the thief, a lady new to town who goes everywhere with her poodle. The diamonds were hidden in the puff on the poodle’s head. Story takes place in the summer. One chapter in the book describes a garden party where the main character’s friend dresses in matching mother-daughter outfit with her mom. Main character appreciates her own mom as dressing in an “unfussy” way.