Category Archives: Unsolved

205E: some kind of inventor who had some contraptions

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I’m trying to remember a large (not a lot of pages, but physically the book was big) illustrated book. It was mainly drawings, with a little bit of text on the pages. It probably had a soft cover. There was some kind of inventor who had some contraptions, including at least one flying machine. Something bad happened at the end, there may have been some kind of disaster, the guy was really unhappy. It may have been some kind of activity book, with some perforated parts you could punch out? It would have been published no later than 1985, when I was 7. I’m guessing it was at least a few years earlier than that. I’ve been trying to think of this for years, so any help is appreciated.

205D: Dancing Shoes story

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There was a book which was read to me as a child that had a series of one page stories in it. I remember it being a thick book (but I was a child) The one story I remember the most was one about all the shoes that came out of the closet at night and danced around there room during the night. I tried Hans Christian Anderson but couldn’t find it. Have no other information. Would love to see read that story again.

205C: Teens Abandoned at Camp

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I am looking for a book from the 1980s. It was a chapter book about a group of children who were sent to a summer camp, but discover while there that their parents were planning to abandon them there. They were a mix of troubled kids and good kids who had made mistakes or let their parents down recently. My copy was a mass market paperback that was green.

205A: Uncle Elgin’s Attic Trunk

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I am looking for a book that was about, I think, two boys named Andy and Joe who found their Uncle Elgin’s attic trunk, and inside of it was a kaleidoscope and possibly other things. I remember one line that read “Goodness gracious,” Andy said to Joe, “I think I see an eskimo!” This book was probably published in the 1960’s. I was born in 1966 and a lot of my childhood books were Little Golden Books, various picture books, many published around 1969. I was a good reader by the time I was five, so this book was older than that. I have been unable to find the title or author of the book. My mother told me she looked everywhere for a kaleidoscope because she used to read this book to me and wanted to show me what a kaleidoscope was like.

204C: Kids book jokes codes drawings funny stories riddles

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I was born in 1981, and when I was a kid around maybe 4-8 years old I had a book that I took with my everywhere. It wasn’t a novel or story, but a book with maybe a hundred different chapters (each chapter maybe 1-3 pages) of games/puzzles/poems/jokes/riddles/etc. Some of the specific items I remember were codes that you had to read by holding a mirror up to the page. I remember a page with funny looking monster heads. Pages with jokes, etc.

I had a hardcover book with maybe a couple hundred pages, that was outstanding. If my memory is correct the dimensions of this version were about 8 inches tall by 6 inches wide. My version had black and white pages, I don’t recall any color other than the cover. I do seem to recall that the cover has yellow as a prominent color in the design.

This my sound crazy, but I think having that book in my developmental years helped my brain in creating a high level of intelligence. I am about to have a son and would love to be able to give him the same book.

204A: Late 1950’s: kids solve mystery of where to find what is hidden/buried in the old house/building

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I don’t remember really any more than this; once again, the kids were stumped because the map they found had directed them to find what was buried (in the old house/building) in a spot related to a fireplace or chimney in the house; but they couldn’t find what was buried, until they figured out that since the map was drawn, the old house/building had either some of the fireplaces walled off OR some of the chimneys removed (or some interior walls added or removed). Only then were they able to find the right spot to “dig”, to find what was hidden/buried in the house/building.

This book/story was read to my class in the late ’50’s in 4th, or 5th grade.

203E: Surrealist landscapes for kids

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I’m looking for a picture kids book from probably the 70’s or early to mid 80’s. It was like traveling through surrealist or magical realist landscapes. Lots of architecture, like archways and pillars/columns, and far off landscapes, lots of lavender and greys, maybe had a feeling of Magritte paintings with lots of sky in the pictures, and men in suits, and some flat water.

I think it had a landscape orientation. It might possibly be one that has those weird half pages inside of it that show the picture in a different way when you turn the page, similar to Jacko, but it was much larger than that, and I’m not sure. I mostly remember the feeling of the images — surreal and weird landscape. Rob Gonsalves art somewhat reminds me of it: http://bit.ly/1CI0Xyu
Might have even had a man in a suit or bowler hat, maybe a weird statue garden. or an angel or woman.

Not sure if this is enough to go on.  Very cool site, hope you can help me as this has bothered me for decades!