I used to get books in the mail — “Me and the Terrible Two,” “Alvin’s Secret Code” — and one of them was a book about a boy who watched the moon landing all summer while some family drama was also going on. The book had a low-key melancholy tone. I read it in 1974 or 75, when I was in 2nd or 3rd grade. I wish I could remember more about it, but I’m stumped!
I don’t know the real title. I suspect the character names, except possibly the central female character, are French. I probably read it between 1968-1972. An orphaned girl lives with a family of French-Canadian fur trappers, possibly on the St. Lawrence River. The girl is a young adolescent at the time of the story. She was seriously ill with a fever as a child and they cut her long dark hair to her shoulders. She keeps it that way, because it suits her, and wears a blue ribbon in it. There at least two sons in the family. One of the sons, an artist, is attacked by a bear. His hand is mauled and the father amputates it with a fire place poker. He survives but is depressed and the girl spends a lot of time trying to cheer him up. The eldest son is secretly jealous. He and the father leave to hunt and return with bundles of animal pelts. The father reveals that the older son is in love with her and carried her ribbon with him.
The book that I’m looking for was written sometime between the 1940’s and 1960’s (or so). It was about a young woman who moved to live with her glamorous aunt in London. Her aunt gave her a Pekingese puppy that she named “Peke Ah Boo”. There was some kind of mystery having to do with the house next door and possibly a young man who turned out to be a spy? It may have been a YA book – the copy that I had was hardcover in robin’s blue but there may have been a dust jacket at some point since I don’t remember any identifying marks on the cover.
Any help would be appreciated greatly, it’s driving me crazy!
I am looking for a humorous picture book that was published at least 35 years ago. I do not know the title or the author.
It is told from the point of view of the pets. The owners, whose legs are all you see in the illustrations, are looking for a guard dog to protect them from robberies. They get new dogs but the old pets in the house persuade each new dog that everyone who comes to the house is a friend.e.g. the milkman, the postman. Eventually a robber comes to call. The pets play with him. He doesn’t rob the house so everyone is satisfied. Would love to find this book for my son who remembers it with great fondness from his childhood.
A children’s picture book, 1960s or 70s I think. The text of the Eden story from Genesis, illustrated with black-and white photos of a boy and girl. The children are naked but the shots are unobjectionable — nothing creepy about them.
I was born in 1978 and remember a picture book full of bizarre creatures whose anatomy blended real-world objects, e.g. a monster with a “bird feeder mouth” into which rain was falling and on which birds were perched, and a forlorn-looking monster with a faucet for a nose or mouth, sitting on a rock. I think water was a theme in all the illustrations, and my brother seems to remember that the book was about “fantasy creatures that missed Noah’s Ark”. (I’ve ruled out “The Lost Zoo” by Cullen.) I recall the art style being painterly and/or airbrushed, with colorful graded shading that gave the creatures great depth. The facial features were detailed, not unlike what you see in a Google Images search for “antique sea monsters”.
This was a very short story that was read to me when I was a child in the early 80s.
The story was one of many in a collection in one book. My mother seems to think it came from Reader’s Digest.
I believe there are 2 or 3 black boys who are trying to cross a river in Africa when a crocodile came up through the water at one on them. The water was muddy so he couldn’t see it coming. The crocodile grabbed his leg then his arm. The croc had him in a death roll. I forget how he got out of it, but the boy survived to tell the tale.
This story had me on the edge of my bed when my mother read it to me.
I am looking for a UK children’s book from the 70s/80s. The book was a hard cover and had very detailed illustrations. Almost similar in style to “look and search book.”
The story involved small men (elves) riding sparrows and other woodland animals fighting equally small monsters who were wearing grey uniforms (similar to storm troopers/nazis uniforms) who rode on bats and rats.
Thank you,
Three? children are gifted (by a scientist /older man?) magical thinking caps, which increase their capacity to imagine. They use these hats to create/connect to and explore a magical world. I remember the antagonist wanting these hats so that they can free themselves and enter the other world. The children are careful to only go to the land together for safety. The antagonist has an agent that can move in between the worlds, a Slinky/Shadow/Sneaky Cat. This cat convinces the girl to come back alone with him to it’s yarn house. The other two? children go on a rescue mission with the scientist? who has his own hat, but because he is an adult is not able to use is as well as the children.
I read this book with my elementary school class around the time when we transitioned off of picture books to shorter novels, so I would expect this book to either be the latter, or one of those children’s novels with some pictures. It would have been published no later that 1998.
I appreciate any and all help! I will mail a check to you all tomorrow.
Here’s what I can tell you about the book: It was published in or before 1988; which was when I read it in paperback. It was intended for young adults or children. The story is about a girl who either moves in with a farmer/shepherd and his family or she goes to live with them for an extended period of time (possibly a summer). I think it may be her cousin and his family. While there she gets into a great deal of mischief. She climbs into the rafters inside the house and is afraid to get down. She tastes fresh milk for the first time while it’s still warm. She learns to ride a horse and won’t get off when they tell her she should and then she’s so sore that she can neither sit nor stand comfortably. There is some sort of celebration she’s to attend – she goes into her room to see lots of colorful skirts laid out for her. She wonders which one she should wear and is told to wear all of the skirts.
I genuinely appreciate any help you can give me. My mother and I read this book together and laughed until we cried over parts of this story. I’d love to find it again.