Category Archives: Unsolved

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?).

305T: The Dragon Under the Lilac Bush

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I am looking for a book that I believe was called The Dragon Under the Lilac Bush. It was filled with pull-tabs and pop-ups. This book was a favorite of a dear friend when she was a young child, and she’s in her mid-50’s now. So the book probably came out in the late 50’s or early 60’s. It may have been a San Francisco Bay area regional publication, as I have not been able to find any reference to the book anywhere.

 

305S: Enchanted dog and cat

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Anyway the book I am looking for was a collection of children’s stories, possibly different authors and I think English and 1940s 1950s.

One story is about two children who help a dog and cat who have been enchanted and are the figureheads on a boat they find when the meadow at the end of their garden turns into a magical lake.

 

Hope you can help :0

305Q: Happy & Hoppy

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This paperback (actually more of a pamphlet) was available in the 1960s. It contained several short stories. I believe it was blue and white. One of the stories involved a lost dog (I think it was a large black dog).

Another of the stories involved woodland creatures and lanterns in the woods. I believe there were characters named Happy & Hoppy.

 

The title is 1960s blue stories pamphlet