Category Archives: MG (grades 2-6)

112A, solved: Girl’s father falls in love with witch, girl tries to prove/stop it

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I read a paperback book from my junior high school library in 1989. It’s about a girl and her father meets a pretty woman who has a son or daughter too (can’t remember who moved into the area or how they meet). The youngsters become friends. The father falls in love with the woman, but the girl gets suspicious of her – she notices that the woman is a bit strange. She discovers photos of her looking exactly the same in past decades. She finds out the woman is a witch and does not age, the witch’s son or daughter doesn’t either.  The witch had been dating, marrying, and killing the husbands after a few years because they see that the woman and kid stay young. The girl tries to prove to her father that he is in danger and tries to stop him from marrying her. I think the book is set in either the south or in New England, I remember fog and time playing a role in the story.

109C: Mysteries About Haunted/Spooky Cases

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Thanks in advance for any guidance you can offer here. For years I have been trying to remember the name of the chapter books I borrowed from my local library in the mid to late 80’s.  I remember loving them tremendously, but now only give you the vaguest details. Which are…

A boy who for some reason I want to call Harry or Peter or William and an older man who I want to call Professor go around solving haunted/spooky cases. My mind wants to call it Harry And the Haunted Knight, but no amount of googling brings that up.  The main thing I remember, and I know this is reaching, is that they in every book there would be these glorious descriptions of the two of them slurping down these most delicious sounding gooey desserts. It was one of the authors main identifying characteristics, those wonderful descriptions of the two of them eating the most amazing desserts.

I realize that this is probably a long shot, but I did want to try you and see if it called anything to mind. I would love to read them to my boy when he’s old enough.

Your site is truly wonderful.

109A: Leonardo DaVinci Time Traveler

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I read a book when I was maybe in sixth grade where the group of friends live in the future or something and there are these flying metal spheres chasing them on the cover, I think. The school bully goes back in time with them or something and he ends up getting stuck there and when they return they deduce that he went on to become Leonardo DaVinci because of his knowledge of the future. I cannot think of this book.

108B: Pigtails with Ribbons

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This book I remember reading in grade school.  The main character was a young girl who liked to have her hair in pigtails and she kept her ribbons for them all organized in the closet.She had red hair and freckles.  Maybe her name was Mandy?. I think she was dyslexic she described letters moving around.  She had a baseball alarm clock that she could throw to turn it off.  I know she was worried about her schoolwork a lot cause the letters moving stuff.  It made her act out towards family and friends I think. I read this book probably in the late 80’s to early 90’s.  It was most like a book fair book, you know the ones that came every year and we could buy books.  I just remember reading it a lot and would very much like to read it again if I can find it.

106E: Polar Bear in Pants, Possibly Named Victor (Solved)

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Published in the early to mid-80’s, perhaps. It was my absolute favorite somewhere between 1986 and 1988; I remember this because I have fond memories of reading it while in the refrigerator box fort in the backyard of the house we rented during that time. It was a paperback, thirty pages or so, stylish and clever (to my young senses). I recall only a single illustration: an expressionless polar bear on the second floor of a house or at the top of the landing of stairs; I could have sworn his name was “Victor” but I’ve found nothing similar about a polar bear with that name, other than the Victor Vito books, which this is not. It is also definitely a white bear (so is not Lebraun’s Little Brown Bear series or something by Frank Asch, despite similarly sparse illustrations). He was wearing (polka dotted? striped?) boxers or trousers. I’m nearly certain Alborough’s Bare Bear can’t be it because the plot (despite the reference to underwear) didn’t ring a bell at all, but one never knows. The only other thought I have is that it may be Le-Tan’s Voyage/Visit to the North Pole because his illustrations look familiar, and there’s a dog in the story named Victor, but I can’t find copies of either book at any of our local libraries or a cheap enough edition to risk being incorrect.

104B: Leprechaun’s stolen bag of magic

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When I was in 5th grade I read a book about some girls who stole a leprechaun’s bag of magic.  I don’t remember much of the book as that was in 1979 or 1980.  In the story I recall the girls (sisters) were trapped in a painting.  I remember that it appeared the painting was watching you.  I also remember the book going back in history as in a back story to the leprechaun and the girls.  I also recall the girls being bad or evil.  I really don’t remember much of the book other than it scared me like crazy!  I skipped recess to read this book and read on the edge of my seat scared out of my wits.  If anyone knows what this book is, I will be most grateful!!

103F: Blood Pact at the Moors

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This book I read in the 1980’s at my school library  (small primary school, under 30 kids) in a very tiny town in country NSW Australia.

All I remember is that it involved a girl and boy set in England?. I think he was infatuated with her.. either he kidnapped or she went with him willingly and he took her to the moors and there was a cave there. He made her do a blood pact to tie them together. I am pretty sure he had dark hair. Thats all I remember!