Category Archives: Solved

172A: Book of Children’s Poems and Stories (Solved)

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In the mid 50’s, I spent most of my time when visiting my grandmother, immersed in the volumes of books she had in her library. One book, or story, haunts me and I would love your help. This was, I believe, a blue hardcover children’s compilation of poems and short stories. It is all pen and ink; beautiful drawings.

One of the first stories is of a baby in a beautiful cradle with white bedding being placed in a beautiful garden near the family home. A wind begins to blow and animals (bears?) wander out of the dense woods and…? The book could have been written in the early 1900’s (20’s or 30’s), I have no recollection of the title of the story/poem or the name of the book. Not much to go on but I would welcome any suggestions.

171B: Young Boy Feels Banished (solved)

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Child’s chapter book, designed for ages 8-11. Published late 80’s or early 90’s. A  young boy is brought to spend the summer with his great aunt and uncle. Feeling banished and angry, he refuses to stay in touch with his parents. Little by little, however, he opens up to adventures of life in the country, making friends with his relatives, with their pet hen (who they speak to only in French: “Va te coucher, Pauline”) and with a young girl on a nearby farm. Toward the end there is a wild search for the beloved hen.

170A: Blond siblings with a Crazy Aunt (Setting may be Europe) (solved)

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This series of books was in my intermediate school library, which I attended in 1984-86. The main characters were sisters, maybe twins or just close in age. I believe there were only two or three books in the series and the girls kind of came of age during the series. One plot in the first book involved a mentally ill aunt. When the girls visit her, she tells one of them that her shoes are “shit brown,” and the librarian or administration at my school had very noticeably blacked out the word “shit”. I think in one of the books a death in the family is also dealt with. There were occasional black and white illustrations in the books. They were probably each less than 100 pages. I have a sense that they may have taken place in Germany or Austria. If not, then maybe the characters were immigrants to the USA from one of those countries. I’m picturing a purple or light blue cover/binding. Thanks for any leads!

169G: Beaver kids’ young sister is named Crackie, chapters end with non sequiturs (solved)

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I found it at a library sale in the early ’80s and it’s long since lost. Hardcover, no jacket, a drawing of two beaver kids against a dark green background (if memory serves). A chapter book, maybe 100 pages. Pulp paper. Pub date could have been 1900 to 1940; I would be shocked if it’s any more recent.

The two things I remember:

1. The little beaver sister, Crackie, earned her name because she constantly cracks or breaks things. In one chapter she drops an ice cream cone and the tip breaks off.

2. The last sentence of every chapter contains a non sequitur in this form: “And as long as I have time to bring Mrs. Gaffney the blueberry pies for her pet cat, I’ll tell you the next part of the story.” (There is no reference to Mrs. Gaffney, pies, or a cat anywhere else in the book.) I remember the ones in the book being truly amazing and weird.

Thanking you all in advance

169C: YA Romance Set in Early 20th Century, Lead Characters Play Romeo & Juliet in School Play (solved)

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I remember reading this YA book, which I believe had a sequel, in the mid 1970s.  It took place in the early 20th century in the New York area, somewhere slightly north of New York City, possibly Westchester or Tarrytown.
The book(s) tell the story of the budding romance between the female protagonist and a boy who is a fellow student. At one point, the pair is cast to play Romeo & Juliet in a school production.  Another slightly older female character (either a friend, or a sister), has a crisis (an unexpected pregnancy?) and she drinks a bottle of laudanum in response.