Category Archives: Unsolved

318Y: He Fell Down In The Mud

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Greetings!  My “bookstumper” originates from a story my grandmother read to my brother and me in the 60s.  I don’t know how old the story is; I think the story might have been in an anthology of short stories.  The operative phrase is “I fell down in the mud.”  It could even be a bit of a poem, as I remember a dialogue between seemingly mother and son, as the mother rages on how could the boy have done this, how could he have gotten his clothes so dirty, etc.  After each of these Mom rages, the boy simply says, “I fell down in the mud.”  My brother and I have not been able to find hide nor hair of this on Google and other search engines.

318X: Child’s Introduction to Holland

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I am looking for a children’s book I memorized at age 3 in 1945.  I believe the title is: The Land of the Dutch, Dutch, Dutch.  I do not know the author or illustrator.  It is a child’s introduction to Holland.  As a child, I recited the book to any guests in our home.  As a teenager, I was an exchange student in Holland.

318U: Young girl travels back in time in old abandoned Victorian house

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All I can remember is that a young girl explores an old abandoned Victorian house and finds a feather bracelet. When she puts on the bracelet she goes back in time. I cannot remember what happens to her while she goes back in time. I know she does it quite a few times going back and forth.  I sure hope you can help me out on this one!

318T: A Runaway Train and a Human Cannonball, Plus More

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The book is a collection of short stories, documentaries, and possibly some poetry and such.  I remember stories about a runaway train, a human cannonball and possibly some sort of road trip.  I think there was a board game printed in the middle of the book that related to one of the other stories.  There were black and white photographs of the human cannonball performers, and they talked about knowing lots of languages and sometimes switching languages mid sentence.  I remember it having a blue cover but that may not be very applicable.
I know it was published before 1980 and probably before 1970 or possibly even in the 60s.

318S: Poor Lizbeth Jane

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Hi!  I’m searching for details about a book from the early 50’s that had a story “Poor Lizbeth Jane” in it.  I’ve been told it’s in The How and Why Program: History.  I’ve been unable to find more information than that.  Thanks!

318R: Coming of Age World War Romance

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Hello, I am looking for a book I read when I was in high school. So this would’ve been around the year 2000 to 2004. It was a coming-of-age tale of a young girl in either World War One or probably World War II. There was romance in it. I remember a very particular scene in which she was at a dance with the G.I. and she was collecting orange peels to make marmalade and they flew out of her dress. I also remember that she ended up with a character at the end who had a beard. Maybe his name was Alex? There may have been a lighthouse involved? Thanks for your help This has been driving me crazy! Not sure if it takes place in the US or in the UK.

318P: Meeting the Owl and the Pussycat Before Bedtime

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I am looking for a book I had a child. It would be likely from the 80’s or 90’s. It was about a girl [or may be a girl and her cousin] having a bath and they dive down into the depths of the tub until they are swimming in the ocean, and they come out the other side and meet the owl and the pussycat in their Pea green boat. They go on some type of adventure and end up back at home for bedtime. I’ve been racking my brain for a LONG TIME on this one.

318O: Teenage Boy Won’t Stop Growing

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The title is something along the lines of “what do we do/are we going to do about (insert name)” or “the (insert name) family.”   It’s a hardcover illustrated book published around the late 1960s to early 1970s about a teenage boy in a large family who keeps growing and growing, and eventually outgrows his bed, his shoes, his clothes. The family I think was modeled after the TV classic ‘The Waltons’, and the grandparents live with them. As the teenage boy grows and grows, the illustrations show family members amused by how he’s outgrowing everything. I think he even spouts a beard after awhile. I think the boy’s height eventually surpasses his father and his grandfather.