Category Archives: Unsolved

251A: A man takes in an orphan and gains a family

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Hi, I am looking for a young adult novel, published sometime in the late 60s to mid-70s.

Plot details:
An older man, somewhat down on his luck, lives alone in an apartment in a big/bigger city. He sees young boy (orphaned? abandoned?) wandering the streets. He takes him in, even though the man doesn’t have much money himself. He buys the young boy new clothes (which he almost can’t afford). At Christmas they decorate a small tree with the silver foil from inside boxes of cigarettes. They become a family. Possible names: Teague and Me? Me and XXXXX?

249G: Treasure concealed in a barn

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I read this book in the 90’s but do not know if it was published prior.

There is a young boy whom begrudgingly goes to a family members home (may be a grandparent although I do not recall this aspect specifically). I think it was for his summer vacation. There is a local legend of missing treasure, maybe it was stolen? Many people have looked for the treasure over the years, but of course the boy finds it in a barn. I think the barn was on the property where he had been staying for the summer.

The treasure had been melted down and molded/crafted into items commonly found in a barn and covered or painted to conceal it. I believe he chipped off some paint of a candle stick or something, and the wagon in the barn actually was made of gold and also painted or covered in disguise. I hope this is enough to figure this out, I really loved the book as a kid and now want to read it to my children.

 

 

249D: On the trail of a stolen dog

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This is a book my 84 year old grandma talks about reading as a little girl, in the 4th grade– it would be so special to find it for her! She believes it was a golden book, circa 1940. The book features a man with a red and black plaid shirt that stole a little boys dog. The man denied stealing the dog, but eventually the dog got away from the mean man and made it back home. When he got home, he had a piece of the man’s red and black plaid shirt still caught in his tooth. The little boy and his father then had proof in the piece of cloth and confronted the mean man. Sorry I don’t have more details for you! Let me know if there is more I can do to aid in your search and I will ask my grandmother for further details.
Thanks again for your time and consideration.

249B: Pancake Shaped Creature

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The book opened with a pancake shaped creature taking a kid under the covers transporting them to another world. The cover was dark blue with the kid in bed pulling the covers up and the creature at the foot of the bed. It was more fantasy than horror.

249A: A collection of fairy tales with animals

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I’m looking for a particular book of fairy tales. I could swear it was just called “Children’s Book of Fairy Tales”, followed by a sequel “Children’s book of more fairy tales” or something very similar. I’ve tried Googling with quotes and nothing comes up – without quotes I get hundreds of fairy tale books but none the one I’m looking for. Both were hardcover, medium thick. One of the books (I don’t remember if it was the 1st of 2nd – for some reason I think we got the sequel book first as kids) – I seem to remember had a busy cover that wrapped around from front to back, with characters and scenery that covered all over – and I picture mostly a green/blue color, possibly water or leaves (but I could be remembering that wrong). We received the books in the 80s, and they weren’t vintage so I’m guessing they were 80s published, probably mid-late 80s judging by my age. The illustrations, both cover and in the stories (all the stories were heavily illustrated on every page) – was more cartoonish then painting-like. It was not life like, like many of the vintage fairy tales. Oh and I’m pretty sure all the characters were animals. So like cartoon animals as fairy tale characters. I’d say there maybe 20 or so stories in each book. Some of the stories were classic fairy tales but I remember there being a lot I had never heard.

Anyway, it’s driving me crazy because I’ve found many of my favorite childhood books, even obscure ones, but this is alluding me, possibly because there are so many fairy tale collections out there and this wasn’t a classic vintage one (but the best I’ve ever seen!).

Any help would be great!

Thank you!! – Rachel