Category Archives: Solved

166F: Under the Mulberry Bush (solved)

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This is a book I read as a child and borrowed from the school library in the early 1990s. I’m fairly certain it was a fictional book, not an autobiography. I think it was called ‘Under the Mulberry Bush’ but could be wrong, as I can’t seem to find any book that matches that. It was about a girl (possibly with a French grandmother?) who goes to live with another family that’s experiencing some financial troubles, and they have a lot of mulberry bushes, which means that they have a lot of silkworms, which eat mulberry leaves. She comes up with the idea of using the silkworms to make money by harvesting the silk they produce and selling it. It’s a very risky proposition, and it takes a lot of exhausting work because she doesn’t know anything about silkworms and harvesting their silk, but she manages to learn all she needs to and get it to work. In the end, she saves the family and falls in love with one of the family’s sons, even though they didn’t get along at first. (and I want to say they have some sort of private joke about crab apples, and in one of the ending scenes, he throws a crab apple at her and she catches it)

Sorry, I don’t have much more than that! As a child I remember it being a sweetly romantic tale that I would love to buy and reread.

 

166D: Woman wants blue teapot for birthday (solved)

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The book is a medium-sized hardcover compilation of children’s stories that includes one about a woman who is upset because she cannot find or does not have a blue teapot. Her friends and neighbors begin bringing her teapots of varying sizes and patterns, but none of them are the right one. Eventually she finds the teapot she wants and decides to give the other ones away.

Other stories may include a clambake, a young boy taming/naming a horse named Starbuck on a ranch, the circus coming to town, and a man who peddles pots on a mountain. My memory is fuzzy, so I’m not sure if those will be included in the book — but it’s important that the story of the teapots is there. I believe that this is a book my mother read as a child, so it should be published before or during the early 1960s. The cover (sans dust jacket) is bright green and depicts a valley or meadow. Any help or suggestions you could give would be invaluable.

165B: The Other Treasure Seekers (solved)

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This is a book I borrowed from the library at school in approx 1970.  I remember the title as The Treasure Seekers, or something like that, but it is not the classic by E Nesbitt, and also I may be completely wrong about the title!   The story, as I remember it, involved a family of children who lived with their mother in a big old house, they were facing financial ruin, and there was an evil landlord (or similar) who was threatening them with eviction.  The children get wind of a rumour of hidden treasure, and the story follows their attempts to find the treasure in the house and grounds.  I am not sure of any of these details, but the one thing I remember clearly was that the plot came to a climax when they found a missing clue pasted to the walls of the dolls’ house in the nursery.  This is one of the earliest books I can remember reading independently and the sense of being completely gripped by the developing story contributed to my life-long love of reading.  I would love to find out what the book was, and perhaps share it with some of the children in my life now to see if it stood the test of time.

 

163C:Collection with Little Red Hen and a Fox (solved)

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I’m looking for a collection of children’s short stories that my mom read as a child (either read herself or had them read to her – her memory is fuzzy).  She was born in 1944.  She remembers illustrations in the book and the book having a story about a fox and a little red hen.  Any information or leads you can provide would be awesome!

162A: Lissa was found alone as a baby or toddler after the Great San Francisco earthquake (solved)

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I used to read a book when I was a teenager in the 1970s called either Lissa (or perhaps Lisa). I am not sure if that was the actual title, but she was the main character in the book.  Lissa was found alone as a baby or toddler after the Great San Francisco earthquake, her parents were never found.  She is now in her late teens and living alone in San Francisco and working at a large department store. The owner’s son or a relative ends up falling in love with her.  They end up I believe by accident finding her real Grandmother and it turns out that Lissa is from a wealthy and influential family.  I am trying to find the title of this book and the author.  It was probably written in the 1950s or 1960s

 

161E: youth book 60’s or 70’s (solved)

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Thin paperback book about a boy and his friend (a girl) who meet a woman in their community who is very mysterious.  When her hair floats, magic is happening.  Her name may have started with an M.  She helps the boy who we find at the end had some family tragedy that he was blocking out.  The woman helps him fly.  She shows up when he needs her but sometimes he can’t find her.

Cover may have had a picture of the woman with her floating hair.  It was probably published in the 60’s or 70’s and it might have been British.

 

161A: Snowman delivers flavored snow-cones around the world (solved)

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I am trying to locate a book for a friend of mine. He is not sure when it was actually published, but remembers reading it the early 60’s as a child. The snowman could fly, and he delivered flavored snow-cones to kids all over the world. The illustrations were typical for a lot of children’s books from that era – soft watercolor or gouache – and the snowman closely resembled contemporary “Frosty” snowman characters we see today – top hat, cherry/carrot nose, coal eyes, etc. He thinks it could be a Little Golden Book, but he has not found any evidence of that yet.

My friend is a cancer patient and this would make him really happy!