I’m looking for a children’s book. I think the title may be “The Pinks” but I don’t know the author. It’s about a girl who is saving money for a doll in a store window. Before she can buy the doll, a rich girl from her school buys her. The girl is heartbroken and her dad says some wise things. The dad is a truck driver and he likes music. He says something like “strife makes good art”. The book was probably written in the late 90’s or early 2000’s.
Thank you for your help!
I’ve tried to track down this book periodically over the past few years with no success. I can’t remember the title or author at all. I don’t know when it was published, but I would have read this in the early 90s—and I don’t remember it seeming physically like an old book. I’m not sure if I can’t find it because it’s rare (hopefully not!), or if I’m just not using the right search terms. Maybe you can help! Here’s what I remember:
It’s a richly illustrated picture book about a quirky, flamboyant man (I’m pretty sure he wears a top hat?) who moves into a drab, stuffy neighborhood where he is ostracized by the uptight parents in the community. The illustrations are somewhat stylized (maybe — but not definitely — collage). One day, neighborhood children, who have been warned by their parents to stay away from this oddball, accidentally break his window with a baseball. (Or maybe they just hit it into is yard… I can’t quite remember.) In any case, when they go to retrieve their ball they discover this guy to be incredibly kind and welcoming. I think he gives them some pink lemonade.
The children, their parents, their houses, and the neighborhood in general are rendered in black and white, but the inside of the stranger’s house is bright and colorful. I can’t remember exactly what happens next, but I think the kids and the man become friends. When the parents find out, they are furious and forbid the children from hanging out with the man, which breaks his heart. I think the inside of his house turns black and white at that point.
But one night, the “ringleader” parent’s house catches on fire, and the strange man saves the family. I think I remember a page where the text is stylized to look like smoke. And I remember an illustration of the family members jumping from the window into a tarp held by firefighters (or maybe townspeople.) This leads the community to accept the strange newcomer, and the entire town bursts into color.
For whatever reason, I cannot figure out what this book is. And it is driving me crazy! If any of this rings a bell, I’d be thrilled. Sincerest apologies for all the vague rambling. And thank you!
Ya fiction series with a horse, rich girl has an accident and can't ride. Her rich grandmother buys her a brand new Datsun (car), so she's at least 16 or 17, set in the 70s or 80s, published during that period. I think she was nasty to a few girls and tries to make up for it after the accident. I think she may have been in a coma. Her boyfriend might have cheated as well. I think it had a yellow cover with the old style oval centre that contained the image. I think she had a rich sounding name, Courtney or something but I'm not 100% on that. The horse accident was bad and she desperately loved her horse but was too afraid to ride it. I read this series in the late 80s, early 90s, but my sister threw them out before I could finish them. I never forgave my sister, who dares throw out a book? The books were paperback, they had maybe 100 to 150 pages, so not very thick. From the content, I think they were targeted towards ages 16 and up. I think the girl went to college as well. Her grandmother was some type of business woman.
My grandmother had this book; it looked older but I'm not sure when it was published. I don't remember any part of the title, unfortunately. I remember that it had lots of pretty illustrations. In the story a little boy either finds, or plants, a small strawberry plant. He clears a nice little patch for it so that it can grow. As the story goes on, he slowly expands his little garden with more veggies and fruits, because he figures it's not that much more work to add a little more, and then a little more, etc. By the end he has a huge, beautiful garden that he is very proud of, but he realizes he forgot about his strawberry plant! In a happy ending, he finds it back and gives it a nice spot of its own.
When I was a teenager in the 80’s I read a book called “Elizabeth”. The book was about a teenage girl who either had magical powers or magic was somehow insinuated. The cover was black and I believe it had a broken mirror on the cover. In the story she had a red mark on her upper thigh that she received from a spider bite maybe but it was identical to another character in the book, like an aunt or something. She would remark in the book how older men were attracted to her and she enjoyed it. I have looked everywhere online for the book and even called my local library. I guarantee the book is not about Queen Elizabeth or Elizabeth Taylor because that is all that I find out there. Please help!!
I had a very favorite book which was either from the 60’s or early 70’s. I was born in 1962, so I’m leaning towards the 60’s but I could be wrong.
I could have sworn the title was “It’s My Room”. I have no idea who the author was, illustrator etc. I might even be off on the title, but for some reason it sure rings a bell with me.
The book was about two sisters who shared a bedroom. They were best friends until they weren’t. Then they decided the only way to fix the problem was to split the room in two.
They did this right down the middle with tape or something like that. One sister got to have the window to look out to see what was going on outside. She thought she had the best deal, until the other sister left the room through the door…which the other sister would have to cross the line in order to leave the room. She stayed in the room but realized her mistake. Pretty soon, they become friends again and she could leave the room with her sister and all is well with the world.
I particularly loved this book because I grew up with many siblings and always shared a room and only dreamed of having my own room. (Probably why my Mom bought this for me.)
I hope you can locate this book/title for me. I would so appreciate it! I have tried on my own and have not come up with anything, however I remember it vividly.
I believe there was a YA book of ironic stories that I read between 1979-1983. Story I’m looking for: A teenage boy discovers a mermaid living in a pond at the bottom of a quarry. She never breaks the surface of the water, but looks beautiful underneath it. The quarry will soon be dynamited and caved in, so he decides to save her and move her to another pond. When he does capture her, with much difficulty, she is a hideous monster (the water had distorted her features) that nearly kills him. He lets her stay in the pond. The next day the quarry is dynamited and she is buried under the rubble. Have asked for years on every search site I could find. Please help! Thank you!
Seeking YA book written between 2008-2015-ish, about a large family where everyone is hyper-competitive and wants to set the most world records. They’re continually in battle against other hyper-competitive families, all except one son who the family kind of looks down on when he is nice/fair.
Looking for a YA book published 2008-2015-ish. It is a kind of steampunk-y story about some children whose father has disappeared. He’s a Victorian-ish explorer and there are still vast expanses to be explored. The kids follow some clues and find a hidden world…maybe in a cave? I think the father was part of some sort of explorer’s society, too.