Category Archives: Unsolved

365M: Images from an Adventure

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My brother and I remember a book from our childhood (the 90’s) which was picture-book sized but felt more like a preteen/YA type novel. It was an adventure / mystery story, and we both only remember images from the book. We are hoping that you can help us out.

We remember:- a picture of people on a rope bridge being attacked by arrows (? we think it was arrows?)- a picture of a girl sticking her arm in a fire while onlookers watch (it was some sort of test)- picture of an idol with green skin and a horn through its nose- picture of two people being ties to a rock with evil looking horsemen appearing from a sandy background- picture of a seaplane landing on water- [potentially someone (resembling an Aztec or Mayan leader?) taking the heart of another person– we are not sure if this is from the same book, so this is the only image we cannot commit to]

365I: Zoologist Couple Explore Animals With Son and Daughter

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My fourth grade teacher (in about 1971) read to our class a book about a zoologist couple and their two children (a boy and a girl) who went on an expedition together as a family to the Amazon jungle to discover animals. I think for a zoo, but maybe not. Each chapter was about a search for a different kind of animal (like an armadillo) describing its nature and its habits. The children had some thrilling adventures – for example, with a jaguar – from which they were rescued by their parents. It was a series because I remember that there was another book where they went to Africa.

365G: Large dinosaur made from egg boxes for a school project in a garage

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Can you please help me track down a book from childhood?
I read it sometime between 1985 and 1988 (I think!) whilst at primary school in the UK. Although it could have been an older book, maybe from the mid-70’s to the early 80’s?
Book title: It was a chapter book, but I can’t recall the name at all, sorry!
Front cover description: I remember it pretty clearly, it is a night time scene (a painted illustration) of the open garage door next to a house, with the large egg box dinosaur (t-rex?) visible inside, and the light spilling out from the garage illuminating the dark exterior driveway. It was quite an evocative image from what I remember.
Description of the book: It is about a group of school friends (a gang or club maybe?) who make a large / life size dinosaur out of egg boxes (a t-rex I think?) for a school project in the garage attached to one of the children’s houses. At some point I think a child from a rival gang / club spies on them, and the rivals (possibly?) end up making their own egg box dinosaur as well (that could be wrong, but I’m pretty sure about them being spied on by a rival though).

365E: Romantic short story about two strangers: a carny and a young woman together on a carnival ride

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I think it’s a paperback book from about 25-30 years ago. I’m sorry I don’t recall title nor author, nor cover.
I’ve tried googling what little I remember in nouns, but no luck. It could be a short story
anthology or a book of short stories by one writer. As I recall, the carny, a kind of rough guy meets a young woman and takes her on a ride on what we used to call ‘the wheel of death’ but I don’t think it was called that in the story. That carnival contraption is usually a huge metal mesh cylinder that people enter through a door, and then line up, standing up, around the edges of the cylinder/metal cage.

 When the machine starts up, the cylinder starts to whirl in a circle, faster and faster until all the people are plastered by centrifugal force to the walls… then the floor drops out so that people are whirling through space in this cage with no floor beneath them, held up only by centrifugal force.

How the wheel was actually constructed in story, not sure. But that’s the idea.

The carny might kiss the young woman while on the ride, not sure, but it was romantic leaning a tidge into eros I think. I’m sorry, cannot remember any of the other stories in the book. At age 77 now, a lot of memories are softer, but good memories have gotten stronger. One of the blessings of aging sometimes.

365D: Castle on a Hill

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As a small child in the early 2000s I compulsively read a picture book in the school library but for years have been unable to track it down.

It followed the history of a single hilltop in I believe England. Every page would open to a new period of history with a new drawing, as new groups of people would use the hilltop for its advantageous position.

The first were Celts, who built a stockade around the hill along with dirt walls.

Then a Roman fort with intricate buildings and brickwork.

Eventually there was a Manor House with a rudimentary wall.

And finally a huge castle with lots of towers and a moat.

There were other examples I don’t remember but these are what have stuck with me. Each page includes people in the various forts living, working, and doing activities. Parts of roofs and walls were cut out in the drawing so you could see inside.

And there was even a “Where’s Waldo” type game. In each variation of the hill were a pair of “lovers” (for lack of a better word) who were hidden among the people and activities and you had to seek them out.

Around the drawing was information about the time period, the purpose of why they built something (e.g. a drawbridge), and interesting facts like stuff about defending a medieval castle from attack.

I know this sounds like a lot of depth, but I promise this was a children’s picture book. Somewhere between the ages of 5 and 10 I was obsessed with it. Please help!

365C: Talented Singer in Love Triangle with Cousins, Leading to Tragic Death

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I am looking for a book about three cousins – two girls, one boy – growing up together in a rural setting. I think they are all orphans. 
One girl is a talented singer and both of the other cousins are in love with her. When they are young adults the two young women go to Paris (?) so that the talented singer can work on the stage while the other woman is her companion. The young man goes to visit them. The singer is working in a music hall and is upset that the producer (?) is leering at her or setting her up to be leered at by the audience. 
The second young woman becomes uncontrollably jealous and I think there is a gothic sort of death of one or both women, possibly involving a fire. 
The book was made into a period drama tv movie or series in the late 80s or early 90s. I would say a BBC bonnet drama, but I’m not sure if it was the BBC or not. In the music hall scene, the singer is sitting on a swing on stage.
For years I thought it was My Cousin Rachel but it isn’t! It did have a bit of a Daphne du Maurier flavour with a psychological drama aspect.