Category Archives: Unsolved

307N: Expat parents killed in Africa

1 Reply

 

Published pre 2006, probably UK author.

In the prologue, a UK expat family is somewhere in Africa, and the parents are suddenly killed, I think in a helicopter crash that turns out not to be an accident.  The children sounded interesting, but they aren’t very relevant to the rest of the story.

The rest of the story focuses on a single male protagonist, in his 30s or 40s, probably the brother of the woman who was killed.  He is drawn into some international conspiracy, is at some physical peril, and solves things.

I thought it was by Sam Llewellyn but I can’t find it on his website.  It has that kind of feel – like Sam Llewellyn or Dick Francis or the Canadian Jon Evans, a likeable but lonely amateur accidentally falling into a crime network.

In the mass market paperback edition I read in Canada in the late 1990s or early 2000s, the cover might have had a silhouette of a tree on a yellowish sky, and the title might have been Under the (some variety of exotic) Tree.

307M: There may or may not have been a brother

2 Replies

I’m trying to help my daughter find a book (part of a series actually) that had a family, possibly from the Victorian era ( the sisters had poofy dresses) . There may or may not have been a brother. There was one scene where two of the sisters, or a sister and a friend, are talking and the conversation paraphrases 1 Corinthians 13:12 about ” through a glass darkly”. There is also a  different scene where one girl is on a balcony looking down on people. She read this book in middle school in the early 90s, but thinks the book was printed in the 70s or 80s. She read above her grade level, so it was not necessarily a middle school book. Also she remembers that where it was placed on the shelf in the library meant the authors last name was not at the beginning or end of the alphabet.

Thanks!

 

307L: A white mouse hidden in the illustrations

1 Reply

Looking for over sized, illustrated book of fairy tales, likely published in 60s or 70s. It was about the size of an Encyclopedia volume. Green cover with a giant on the spine. Illustrated by many artists, not a singular illustrator. 3 Little Pigs illustrations had a white mouse hidden in the illustrations. The illustrations in Jack the Giant Killer were scary and realistic. The book contained Puss in Boots, Sleeping Beauty, The Tinder Box, Matchstick Girl, The Brave Little Tailor, and many others. Your help is appreciated.

307K: Berries in front of the fire

5 Replies

I had a book as a child that was about 10-12 inches long and about the size of normal tablet paper. It was hard back and rather thin with no more than 50-75 pages but probably much less. The outside cover was a light bluish color leaning toward the teal side of the blue spectrum. It had whimsical pictures with each short story and was about animals such as a Rabbit, Hedgehog/Porcupine and possibly a raccoon. There are a few stories I remember a little of. Most of what I remember are the illustrations and I have been searching near and far for many years. I was born in 77, so it had to have been published before then, right around then and or no later than very early 80's. One story, one of the animals takes his fathers boot and makes a flower pot out of it for his mom. Another story there is a rustic fireplace and a porcupine/hedgehog and another animal are eating berries in front of the fire. Another, there is a sort of party outside and the table was made from a tree with stumps as seats. This is not any of the classics like Peter rabbit, wind in the willows etc. Its very obscure in my opinion. I cannot remember the author or title but I will know instantly if its "the" book if I could just find one of the illustrations but I have been unsuccessful for so many years. I hope very much that you are able to help me.

307J: Children’s anthology with a very big toe

2 Replies

Children’s anthology, the edition I had in the 80s had a red cover, stories were all illustrated and included one about a king who couldn’t find shoes to wear because his Big toe was very long, eventually found a man that made him silk stockings with the toes done in black thread and shoes that had toes that curled up at the end so his long toe would fit. Another story was about a fairy that was sad because she couldn’t go to the fairy party (maybe a midsummer’s eve party) because her clothes were tattered. Her mice friends borrowed silk from the silk worms that they wove into a dress and dyed it blue with berries, then they found cornflowers for her to wear in her hair because her eyes were blue. Another story was about a little girl who lived in Holland and whose father was a tulip farmer. They grew every color tulip. Somehow her father created a bigger tulip bulb for her that grew into a larger tulip that was rainbow colored. There may have also been a story about an emperor and a nightingale, but I didn’t read that one as much as the other stories in the book. Thank you for your help!!

307F: Half-Dragon General

2 Replies

In the 80’s (at around 10-13yrs old) I read a YA fantasy trilogy about a warring general who was half human half (lizard/reptile/dragon?) who’s skin is covered in (tiny blue) scales. He was looked down on for this deformity but his difference was part of his driving force. The trilogy follows a young girl who was captured or sold into the war party/entourage and follows her journey as the general conquers lands etc. I can’t remember much more but she eventually becomes his mistress or concubine type of slave maybe?

Paperback trilogy, Young adult section, fantasy fiction. It seemed new at the time but it could have been written in the mid to late seventies or early eighties? It seemed to be set in a slightly game of thrones non-era era? All three books were of average novel length. I partially remember the covers being full colour, maybe a central picture in a darker arched border?

307E: Pestering Child

Leave a reply

Looking for a book that I got for my kids around 40 years ago. I keep thinking that the title was something like Book Number 3, but I can’t find anything like that. It was very colorful and was about a little kid that kept pestering his/her parent. Example…the dad was in the bathroom and she kept pounding on the door and the dad said, “I’m in the kitchen…go look for me” and the kid would. The kid tells the dad that he’s in the bathroom pooping and peeing, which never failed to crack my kids up, and me, too. Anybody?


 

307D: A Poor Mountain Family

Leave a reply

I’m looking for a book that was probably published in the 1940s. It had the bluish grey print that I understand was used during WWII. Seems to me it was about a poor mountain family (maybe Appalachia) with, I believe, 12 or 13 kids and all of them had a pet except for the youngest. It was about that child’s wish for his or her own pet. Anybody remember that?


 

307C: Important Tree Stumps

Leave a reply

My daughter’s class was reading a book a few years ago — she was in 5th grade, at a school I lovingly referred to as ‘the school for super smart, socially challenged children,’ and they listened to a few chapters of this book that she would like to finish, but we have no clue regarding the title or author. She says the story involved two boys at the outset, a book that they refer to as ‘the book with a big B,” a talking bird, and she vaguely recalls tree stumps as being important. Any clue?

Thanks!!