Category Archives: Unsolved

324F: As Railroads Are Built, Professional Pie Lady Looks For Love

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I’m really hoping someone can help me with this one because I’ve been trying to remember the title for years now after losing the book in a move.

It is a romance I read in the late 90s set in the Midwest while building the railroad. The woman gets hired on with the train company and makes pies in the dining car (I think shes running from an arranged marriage or bad home situation like dean guardian?). Her big thing is pie making, lots and lots of pies. Eventually the company moves up into the mountains (?) where she is responsible for cooking for the one crew. She gets involved with the lead foreman (?) and at some point gets kidnapped by an Native, and he goes after her. Pretty sure I remember her being pregnant when shes kidnapped. And that’s about the sum total of my memory on this one. Thanks!

324E: Dolls Come to Life

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This was an old book that I read around 1987-88. I remember it being beautifully descriptive, concerning the dolls, which came to life and spoke to one another when the girl was away, and their house and dresses. I think I remember the descriptions depicting debutante style dress, with parasols and the like. There may have been conflict regarding a less auspicious doll joining the house. This story does not match up with anything I have yet looked up, though The Best-Loved Doll did come close to ringing a bell.

324C: Child Tries and Fails to Downsize Possessions

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Child is given three boxes to clean their room: one to keep, one to give away & one for trash.  Children’s hardcover book, possibly from the 1970’s.

As the child sorts through their room, instead of sorting into the give away or trash, their imagination takes over with each item, with detailed illustrations, and they convince themselves they must keep everything.

324A: Painting in Colors

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Hi, I’m trying to find a book from the 70’s.  It was given to me by my father who was a professional photographer.

I’m not 100% sure of the title but I think it was called “Paint in Color.”

It had different color “gels” in the book of primary colors that when cleverly combined made a new color. Ex. Blue and yellow made green and so on and so on.

Any one remember this book?

323Z: Girl Grows Up In Coastal Town, Where Body Is Found On Beach

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The book I am looking for I read between 2006 and 2010. I believe it was a young adult novel/ coming of age and had a dark blue/purple cover with cursive writing. Looked to be a night image above the sea, maybe?

Plot was about a girl that, I believe, lived in coastal town (maybe northeast) with her family. They ran some sort of store (deli, small grocery or something) and they lived in back or above the store. She had a sister who got pregnant and married. I think her sister might have moved back home after she had the baby. She also had a couple brothers or one who was missing or had died. Tommy is ringing a bell of a character.

The main girl made friends with another prettier girl who was popular, and they were friends with a couple boys. They went to a dance at a local country club or golf club and I remember the main girl having issues over picking out the dress she wore. Something either yellow or with eyelets maybe?

I think someone died or drowned in the book? There was something that happened where a body was found down on the beach…Maybe related to the town trouble maker (his brother ?).

Sorry this is fuzzy and I think some plots of books I read during the same time running together. I thought a man wrote the book and it was out of his normal genre but I could be wrong.

I would greatly appreciate your help! I have been searching for this off and on for years. My friend has recommended it but she cannot remember it either.

323Y: Cream Puff Craziness

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My parents read this book to me in the early- to mid-1970s. It was probably published around then, though earlier is also possible. It was a children’s picture book, fiction, and I remember that it had something to do with cream puffs. Not sure if cream puffs were in the title or not. To be honest, although to me cream puffs were very important to the book, I also wonder if that was just what my child-brain clung to. Thank you!

323X: Suspected Witch Is Really The Hexed One

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I am looking for a children’s chapter book from the late 70s or early 80’s.  It was about a girl who gets sent to stay with a strange lady.  The girl thinks she is a witch, but it turns out some other lady is jealous of her and was placing spells on her.  I remember a scary scene when the girl is forced to drive the car to save her but the evil woman is in the back seat…

323W: Small White Teddy Bear Looking For A Home

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I am looking for a book that I read in the mid 80s to early 90s. It is a book about a tiny white teddy bear who is lost and/or looking for a home. There are scenes of him wandering throughout a field. They also have him staged in a birdhouse…perhaps a dollhouse. This book is not illustrated. It is a series of photographs of a tiny white teddy bear staged in different locations. One of the locations is a birdhouse or dollhouse, one of the locations is a field. I don’t remember anything else. I submitted a query nearly 10 years ago, now 🙁 I’ve been looking since! Thank you

 

323V: Young Animal Finds That Pink Snow Is Just Snow

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It is the story of an animal (a sheep, I think) who has grown tired of eating the same white snow every day. One day he looks up and sees at sunset, on the horizon, pink snow. The animal sets out to find this beautiful snow and after a long journey finds that the snow isn’t always pinker on the other side.
The book would have been from before the mid 90s.

323U: Bear On Vacation Takes Unskillful Pictures

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Seeking information on a children’s book about a bear (?)/character going sightseeing in London, but takes pictures crooked, with thumb in them, etc. but doesn’t see until developed. But also got a pack of postcards that has the actual pictures, so he has those as memories. Possibly could have a Double-Decker bus on the cover.