Category Archives: Unsolved

231B: A young woman decides to be a book illustrator

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I’m trying to locate a short story I read years ago. The protagonist is a young woman who decides she will set herself up as a book illustrator. She advertises her services and her first client pays her a call. The author describes the scene he wants as the cover to his book, full of contradictory requirements: show the moon behind the young lovers and the rising sun in their faces, the reflection of the young lady in the eyes of her beaux, and the glorious sweep of the landscape behind them, etc., etc.. The young woman is so hopelessly overwhelmed by the client’s demands that she retires from the business, having never painted a single cover.

My memory is that it was Edwardian or Victorian short story, and written in a typically late-19th/early-20th century light, satirical tone. It was in a collection of short stories, but possibly may have originally appeared in a British periodical like “Punch” or “The Idler”.

Can anyone identify the story?

230C: Grade school book of mammals

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I remember frequently checking this book out from my grade school library; it was hardcover, no dust jacket; limited to mammals (worldwide species). It was a ‘tall’ sized book and may have had a pinstripe or harlequin design, on the front cover was an oval/circle template with jungle animals. (I do remember a giraffe). The inner illustrations were not photos, but looked painted/drawn. It looked like an old book, maybe from the ‘40s-‘50s?

230A: An itinerant fire eater and his friend, a dog

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I am trying to locate a children’s book, title unknown, probably written in the 1950’s or early 60’s. The story is about an itinerant fire eater, (Mexican Indian?) and his friend, a dog, and I believe the story is told through the dog’s POV. The story is about their travels, all I remember is a part about their finding wild strawberries, that they have a falling out and happily reunite…
-I’ve been trying to find this book for decades.

Hope you can help.

229G: Millicent did not Say Anything (Later says Bow Wow)

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Looking for a children’s picture book, probably from the 1960’s, possibly late 1950’s. Title, author, publisher unknown. Typical small book like Little Golden Books. Plot included a family with a dog that it is hoped would be a watchdog but sleeps through a burglary. It seems that the father scolds the dog and it says “Bow Wow”. It appears they will have to get rid of the dog. The family includes a toddler, a little girl named Millicent, who never says anything. The phrase “Millicent did not say anything” (or something to that effect) is used after each event. At the end, somehow the dog redeems himself and they get to keep him. At which point, Millicent says, “Bow wow.”

229F: Board Book that lets children change faces

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I’m looking for a book for a friend. She read it as a child and unfortunately her description is limited but here’s what I’ve got:

It’s likely a children’s board book. One is able to change the faces and/or bodies of the pictures by sliding parts of the faces/bodies left or right. For example, the top slidable third would be the eyes, the middle slidable third would be the nose, and the bottom third would be the mouth. Thus, one can alter different faces by horizontally sliding each of these thirds left or right.

Also, this friend described a similar (the same book?) that broke down into thirds the bodies of the pictures into head, torso and legs. Same as above. Once can slide the face to, say, a fireman with a helmet, the torso to a ballerina wearing a tutu, and the legs to a man’s suit.

Hoping you can at least give me some leads as to where to find these book(s).

Thank you!

229D: Two children and a castle in the clouds

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Hi there,
In my elementary school library we had a shelf of thin, hardback picture books. The had a dreamy-look (a la Lisa Frank,) which makes me think 80s/90s.

I loved many of the collection (which I’m not sure how was grouped together, if an author did all the adaptations/books?), but there was certainly a version of The Nutcracker, too.

The book I’m after had two children and a castle built in/on clouds. They might have been elfin, and we’re trouble makers or up to no good, and we’re following a red ribbon through the clouds down to earth. It was in the style of Salvador Dali sort of?

I can’t help much with content: if there was any, I didn’t read when I poured over it. This book was a big deal to me as a kid. Reading was hard, and this one let me imagine the story myself. Eventually I became an avid, able reader and this one got lost. I’d love to find it for my own daughter now to share it with her.

Thank you!

229C: Kid rides across uncrossable desert on back of huge crab. 80s YA fantasy.

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Hi!
I hope you guys can help find this book. I read it in the mid-late 80s, somewhere between about 4th and 8th grade. I don’t recall any illustrations. It was set in a mythological land and was about a kid who rode across the desert on the back of a large crab. I think there was a procession of crabs, migrating maybe. I think the kid’s people had never been across the desert and didn’t know what existed on the other side. And maybe he had to eat the crab (or one of them) to survive. He makes it across and there’s another civilization across the desert, I think.

Thanks!