Category Archives: Unsolved

306E: The rabbit that gave all of their clothes away in the cold

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My children want to find this book that I read to them. The cover was deep blue with the rabbit on the cover, in a snowy nighttime setting. Over the course of the book, the rabbit (as I recall, you are never sure if it’s a he or she) gives away maybe food, definitely shoes, coat, scarf, etc to others in need. Sadly the rabbit freezes to death, but then maybe you see the rabbit in the starry sky? Not an old book, probably written in 80s or 90s. Very simple drawings, cartoon like, not realistic. Anyone remember?  Title might have indicated it was a book about giving. Thanks

306C: Girl With The Big Craft Box

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It’s a children’s book from the 90s about a girl who has to be home from school for an extended period (broken arm or leg or something?). She’s bored. She is given a cardboard box full of art and craft supplies. She starts making all kinds of things – I think maybe a whole little town made of construction paper? With little dogs and everything? If I remember right. Her older siblings are snarky about it but eventually they get jealous and start helping her. I think she had an older brother and sister, but that detail is foggy. The big box of art/craft supplies is what really sticks out to me.

306B: Boy’s parents leave him alone on a farm

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I read the book as a teen in 1998; it was about a boy (maybe 10 years old) raised on a farm, parents disappeared one day, and the boy continued to tend the farm in their absence. One day he was sprayed by a skunk; he couldn’t smell himself for some reason. He tried to clean up the skunk smell best he could, but as he boarded the bus the school, he could tell he still smelt like skunk based on the looks of the other kids. He exited the bus to return home and he never returned to school. The story goes on to tell his journey of raising the farm without his parents. I believe his parents returned years later.

306A: 1960s/1970s anthology of women in history kids

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I’m looking for a book that I read many years ago – it would have been mid-1970’s or so. I’m not sure if the book was printed then or earlier (1960’s). It wasn’t a picture book, but rather, a chapter book (I had it in a hardcover edition). Although I was young when I read it, this wasn’t a typical children’s book. It might have been more along the lines of a young adult book.  It was an anthology of women in history and included chapters with summary bios on Clara Barton, Jane Addams (of Hull House), Florence Nightingale, Harriet Tubman, and Susan B. Anthony (I know these women were included). Amelia Earhart might be another. Abigail Adams or Dolley Madison might have also been included, but I may be wrong about them. I can’t remember much about it other than the subjects were all women and it was the first I had read of Jane Addams and Hull House.

 

305Z: Beavers Walk into the Woods

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Children's picture book for the 4-6 year old range. Two or three beavers go hiking in the woods and get lost. It gets dark and possibly stormy they find a house and settle in then more animals start showing up looking for shelter. There is a cute catchphrase every time a new animal comes in like "who's there". Then at the end the owner of the house is a bear and all the animals are scared but of course he is friendly and makes them dinner possibly soup! Favorite children's book when I was young and I cannot find it anywhere and have had zero luck on Google! I would love to read this to my kids before they outgrow it!

305X: Man Uses PC to Compensate for Memory Loss – Ultimately Both Die in Suicide Pact

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I read a short story in the late 1970’s or early 80’s. I think it was in a collection of award winners – maybe science fiction, and may have come from Scholastic or similar program. It is not Living Will.

A man is faced with progressive memory loss (Alzheimer’s?). He programs a personal computer to help him cope with his declining mental condition and keep up appearances of normality so that he can continue to live independently.

All scenes take place in the room the computer is in and are from its perspective. It talks the man through getting dressed and ready each day, then waits for him to return home and pieces together his day based on the contents of his pockets.

It monitors the progression of his deterioration and eventually concludes he is no longer able to function safely on his own. It initiates a euthanasia protocol per its programming and then begins deleting its files – apparently because its only purpose was to take care of the man and he is gone.

I remember it as not so much a science fiction story, but a tragic love story.

305W: A Family Moves to the Country

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When I was in grade school in the late 1950's, I read a book, possibly from the library Bookmobile, that was about a family who moved to the country. The main theme was the transition to an old, broken-down house and the arduous process of fixing it up to make it livable. The story is told, I believe, by a young son, probably about the age I was when I read (10 or 11) it. What started out as an unpleasant experience for the kids, at least, over time turned into an adventure as the DIY project progressed and the boy explored the surrounding area. Finally, the family was able to embrace the house as their new home and I think the son learned the value or hard work and the pride that comes from it. I know this is sketchy at best, but it's not easy to clean out the cobwebs of my memory that far back! Any help would be greatly appreciated.

305V: Before the Mardi Gras Parade

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Young boy in New Orleans sneaks in to see a float where it’s stored before Mardi Gras parade. This was a book I read in the mid-1950s. Could have sworn it was a Little Golden Book, but can’t find it in lists. Atmospheric drawings with French Quarter architecture. Can’t remember if there were consequences for child sneaking in to see the float being built or stored; he may have fallen asleep on the float and woken up when it began to move for the parade (but unsure about that plot point). I remember pictures of harlequin costumes and masks. Toward the end, he ate a snow cone or snow ball with crushed ice and syrup (during the parade?).