Category Archives: Unsolved

377W: Painting the town red (literally) and cucumber sandwiches

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This is a middle-grade book that I read over and over in the early 70s. Here’s what I remember about it: –It was about a group of 4 boys who had adventures in their small town. –One of the boys had a wealthy grandmother and they used to go to her house for cucumber sandwiches (which one boy didn’t like because they gave him gas) –They heard the phrase “paint the town red” and went out one night, broke into the hardware store, stole paint, and literally painted the town red –One of the boys’ moms wanted to visit Schenectady because she liked the way it sounded. This makes me think that it was set in NY.

377V: Russle the Raccoon

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I am looking for:Children’s Book 

Title:Russle or Russell

Year read: 1972-1977 I was 4 years old and this was a favorite of mine. 

About:A raccoon named Russle (it is spelled incorrectly because raccoons don’t know how to spell). Russle doesn’t like to go out at night and look for food with his gang, she likes to sleep. Emma Jean the leader of the raccoons doesn’t like this. Emma Jean carries rocks in her purse. During the day on Russle’s adventures, he meets a little boy. He gives him a banana. They play together and eventually he moves in with his new friend. Emma Jean and the gang do come to visit. Russle always gives Emma Jean two bananas. Description of cover:Hardback. Russle is on the cover. I believe he is standing in flowi. The background is purple and black. 


This was a favorite book and I cannot find it ANYWHERE. 

377U: Boy on the Bayou and Hard Lessons

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This is a book (novel) I read as a boy, so would have been published before 1970. Set in South (probably Louisiana), the boy and his dog paddle through the bayou on a boat (pirogue?) and fish for Gar. The boy has a sister; she is assaulted at one point by a young man from a bad family, but is rescued by a young man from a quiet and good family. The assaulting man is killed and the killing hushed up. Afterwards I think the girl and her rescuer marry. Later the boy goes into town and there is some mention of black superstitious practice involving (if I remember) putting something into a tree, then plugging it up.I tried AI but it was absolutely no help.Perhaps a Harper & Row publication. perhaps 1965.

377S: Animal beggars who were at the bottom of a well

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There’s a book that I had as a child that my mother hated reading to me – I was born in 1987, we had this book before I turned 10. It was a children’s book, illustrated, it was about animal beggars with different kinds of injuries (one missing legs, one blind – war wounds I think), I think one of the animals was a frog. They lived (or hid?) in the bottom of the well and meat was thrown down to them. I’m sorry that I don’t remember much more of about this book.

377O: White Cat Changes Colors

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Probably from the 1940’s or 1950’s

It is about a white cat, probably a Persian, who is entered in a show.  The cat gets out of the house and becomes painted with red and blue paint.  The daughter of the owners says let’s take her to the show anyway and the cat wins first prize.

377N: Pink Cover with Shibari Rope

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I am looking for a book I saw in a bookstore earlier. I took a photo of the cover but it came out blurry. It was a pink cover with a spool of rope/shibari rope on it. The synapses is a bit blurry to my memory, but it was something about someone whose partner dumped them after they moved (to the Netherlands? Denmark? Something else?) and there was something about them meting a new sub. I didn’t finish reading the cover, I was in a time crunch.

377M: “Be Thankful for Pain”

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I read a book in elementary school (1978? 1979?) that has stuck with me. Can’t remember the storyline or any characters except for, after a battle, a dying dwarf saying something like, “Be thankful for pain. It’s how you know you are still alive”. Bleak, but comforting. Any ideas at all what fantasy book this was? TIA!