Category Archives: Unsolved

322Z: Boy Flies Away In Bubble, Slides Down On Icicle

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I remember a storybook collection with one story in particular that stood out, which I have been unable to find mention of here or elsewhere.  The story was of a boy who blew a bubble and stepped into it.  The bubble floated up and up and up.  Eventually he came down sliding on an icicle.  The anthology also contained a wonderfully illustrated rendition of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Unfortunately, I cannot recall the other stories in the collection.

I was born in the early 80s and my sister the late 70s so I suspect this collection was published around then or earlier

322X: Lassie-like story, dimly recalled

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It’s a book I read in the 1970s (but it may have been published much earlier).  The central character is a family’s pet–a cat I think, but I’m unsure.  Maybe a dog.  The family lives on a river, maybe the Mississippi.  (My family was living on the river at the time, and the story may have been presented as a “local” tale.)  By accident one day the pet floats away on a raft.  Far downstream it comes ashore.  The heart of the story is akin to Lassie-Come-Home:  the pet struggles to return to the family.  In the closing pages I believe it does return to the house–but the family is just leaving and somehow there is no reunion.  Possibly the pet is even in the yard as the family packs out, and it hears the son’s voice as he laments that the pet never got back.  I could be imagining that last bit, but I’m pretty sure there’s no reunion.  I recall weeping at the near-miss, but all the other details are fuzzy.

322W: Delightful Arabian Folktales

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Looking for a children’s book with a yellow cloth cover and a drawing of a red tree on the front. It had stories about djinns in it and a story about a tree with three different colored branches, and a story about a dress woven from spider webs and so fine it fit into a walnut shell, and a story about a prince who disguised himself with tripe on his head to pretend to be a beggar.

My friend thought the book was Arabian folktales. She saw this book when she was a child, about 20 years ago.

Thanks!!

322U: Girl Befriended By Ghost Boy

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Hello, I’m looking for a children’s book, or possibly young adult book, about a male ghost. It is a chapter book. I was born in 1973, and I am guessing I read this book between the ages of 8 and 12. The main character was a girl, and a male ghost befriends her. I *think* this happens after she moves to a new area, and I feel like her family becomes concerned about her. This is all that I remember.

322T: Hardback Children’s Classic Horror Anthology

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The book I’m seeking would have been published no later than the summer of 1981, which is when I read it. Most likely it was published in the mid- to late seventies. It was a large hardback anthology of horror stories for children. It contained a number of tales by Poe as well as an abridged and rewritten version of Stoker’s “Dracula,” which took up a big chunk of the entire volume. (The Poe stories may have been rewritten too; I don’t recall.) It was illustrated with black and white art throughout, and my memory tells me that the monochrome art was accented with at least one spot color: green or purple. It may even have been both green *and* purple. Anyone remember this book?

322Q: Daily Life In Ancient Civilizations

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When I was in the 3rd grade, my language teacher would take the class to the library to check out books we wanted to read. My favorite were a series of children’s books which taught daily lives of people from ancient civilizations: who they were, what they did, what they were known for, & the tools and weapons they used in warfare. It was from these books which I developed a passion for arts & crafts and also the value of history at a young age.
I am 44 years old now and I would like to find these books to have them as part of my knife and weapons collection. It was those books which sparked my interest for this hobby.
I can’t recall the author but do remember the titles:
1. The Stone Age
2. The Aztecs
3. The Romans
4. The Vikings
5. The Egyptians
6. The Phonecians
7. The Greeks
8. The Celtics
It was around 1984-1985 was when I discovered these books. I was wondering if you can offer assistance in helping me find them or a publisher that can reprint them.
Any assistance you can offer is greatly appreciated.

322O: Girl Makes Best Friend, Gets Matching Puppies

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Best Friend(s) - title, I think, children's book. I read it about 1960. 3-6th grade reading. Girl's mom is her schoolteacher and she gets called teacher's pet. Grandfather lives with them and she has a great tree house. Half-French girl moves in next door and they become best friends. Archenemy is Millicent. End of story the girls get "matching" puppies. Remembering where it was in library, the author's name began with A-H. Hardcover, minimal illustrations. I think the phrase, "no more sense of time than a cricket" was used.