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?
