Category Archives: MG (grades 2-6)

218C: novelette about a tribe of proto-human nomads

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I’m looking for a 60’s era American elementary school level (age range estimate: 7 – 12) hard back novelette about a tribe of proto-human nomads that were still using trees for both transport and dwelling.

I don’t recall much else, except that we follow a young male tribe member as he grows, learns, and takes on responsibilities.

Fuzzy memory suggests the young male’s name is the title of the book.
Something like Aab, Aag,Oog, Oob…maybe.

Ancient memory suggests that it was a good read, so I imagine you’ll have little difficulty finding it.

218B: Church Sexton Saves Jewish Boy

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In grade four, possibly grade five, I found a fascinating book in the school library–which means that it was probably published in the early 1950s. I loved this particular book and have been trying to find it for many years. If this isn’t a stumper, I don’t know what would be.

I don’t remember the title or the author or even the names of characters. All I remember is that the story takes place in Norway during World War II and that the protagonist’s father is the village church’s sexton. (That word, “sexton,” was a new one for me.) I think that this boy saves a Jewish boy from the Nazi invaders (and can’t imagine why else the library of a Jewish school would have a book about Christians in its library).
This book has some illustrations. I remember black-and-white ones.

218A: Where the Elephants go

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The book I am eager to find is about elephants and titled, I thought, Where the Elephants Go. I was around 8 to 10 when I read it, so 1942-1944 would be the date.

The book lovingly described an older elephant going out alone into the forest to die, with the herd respecting that but coming to mourn when death occurred.

I’d be so pleased to find it again. At our age my husband and I are being encouraged to move into this and that retirement community – all with Meadow Something in their names. They remind me of Where the Elephants Go.

217D: childrens book lost musings: a tree, a river, animal friends

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I am looking for a book which was the first full length read I had, which was
in about 1955. I believe the book was written in the 1940’s or 1950’s, not sure.

It concerned a group of creatures, a squirrel, elf, bird, maybe others, who were
comrades, and hung out either by an old abandoned mill, or big oak tree, by a
river or stream.

At the end of the book, something caused this group to break up, and some of the
comrades to have to leave, travel, wander. ( I was shattered)

I have tried ABE books, not much success, just saw you bookstore & service in
Book Review / NY Times, “Authors Note / sarah manguso” Sunday March 8.
The longing she describes about a “lost” chidren’s book is all too familiar to me.
Like most people, I have suffered partings, endings of life eras, but nothing so
deep as the loss of these characters & the world they inhabited.

I think ABE suggested, maybe, Dorothy Clewes as author, but when I reviewed
various contents of books, did not seem right. If any, might be: The Wild Wood 1945,
but I really have little idea.

HELP ! & thanks

217A: African-American girl wants to be teacher’s bridesmaid

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I read this story in the early 1970s. I believe it was part of an anthology or a school reader, but don’t know if it was a short story or essay or an excerpt from a longer novel or memoir. An African-American girl in a mostly white class loves her teacher and believes she and her friends are going to be in the teacher’s wedding party; she is devastated to find she’s been excluded due to community prejudice. I recall a vivid description of the girls’ fantasies about the dresses and shoes they might wear. I think one of the girls was named Patricia, which is my name, but I don’t think she was the protagonist. Thank you!

216D: Toy soldier battles

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I am looking for a children’s (young adult) book whose name I do not know.

I read the book in the early 1950’s, but would guess that based on the illustrations in the book it was probably written before or at the beginning of second world war.

The book is the story of a child (possibly English) who collects toy soldiers which he uses to fight mock battles with other children. He is lured into fighting an unfair battle with his nemesis, and as a result loses all his soldiers. Due to circumstances that I do not remember he gets a chance to create a new army of toy soldiers which he uses to defeat his old enemy.

The book is well illustrated, Showing WWI (or at least British) toy soldiers and equipment.

Unfortunately I do not remember anything else about the book. the cover was missing when i got it. It could have been published in England.

215E: 2 cousins looking for lost gold mine

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Young Adult book about 2 estranged cousins who team up on a ranch to hunt for a lost family gold mine. One of the cousins breaks his leg at some point. They find secret messages inside canes that when wrapped around the handles form letters. They eventually find one of their ancestors dead in a cave. There was something about Archimedes as well and using water displacement as a measure I think. Read it in the early 80s but no idea how old it was.

214D: amusement park or maze on cover

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Children’s/pre-teen book, under 200 pages. The cover was white and I’m imagining either an amusement park or maze on it. I’m picturing red (lettering, maybe), too? I keep thinking the title has “joker” or “game” in it. I read it in the 1980s, so published then or earlier. I don’t remember much of what it was about, but it was probably a fantasy-type book kind of like “A Wrinkle in Time”, “Neverending Story”, Labyrinth (the movie w/David Bowie)….
I wish I could provide more details If you figure this out, I will love you forever. I LOVED this book!

213E: Performing family in a covered wagon (Solved)

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I am trying to remember the name and author of a children’s novel I received as a present when I was in third grade, in 1976 or 1977.
I believe it was a Yearling book. I received it at the same time I received a Yearling book about Sitting Bull, and I remember the two books had similar insignia on them that must have represented the publisher.
I think the title may have had the word “Day” in it, as in “XXXXX Day,” but I could be wrong about this. I will explain more about this below.
The book was about a family that traveled around the Old West in a covered wagon with a cow tied to the back. They were a performing family, and in each town they reached, they made money by putting on a show that included different acts typical of entertainment at that time. The main performer was the father, a grandiose, kind, eccentric and wise man. I remember little about the mother other than that she was the more sensible parent. I think there were two children, an older daughter who was probably a teenager and a son who may have been a preteen or a bit younger. If there was a third sibling, I don’t remember her or him. The cow was somewhat considered an important part of the family as well.
The father and mother were somewhat strict, but being a funloving family they had a family tradition called something “… Day.” This is a key part of what I don’t remember. Each child could declare it was “XXXX Day,” and on this day they could get away with anything.
Early in the book, the family is traveling across the prairie from one town to another, when suddenly they realize the cow is missing. It turned out the boy had untied the cow, so they had to retrace their path for miles to find the missing cow. But the boy declared that it was “XXXXX Day,” so they couldn’t punish him.
One of the family’s acts in their show featured the son as a disembodied head looking through a box and giving oracular advice to the crowd. One of the main plots featured a mystery of some kind in the town where much of the action takes place, possibly solving a crime. The daughter and son figure out the answer, or believe they have figured it out, but they’d get in trouble if they told anyone. So the boy essentially tells townspeople the solution to the mystery when he is the disembodied head looking at the crowd through the box.
This is all I can remember. I would love to get this book for my children, or at least those still young enough to enjoy it.

Can you find this book?