Category Archives: Unsolved

350M: Boy Trains With Magic Sword

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I’m looking for a book I read sometime between 2005-2011. The cover was mostly blue and had a sword hilt on it I think. In the book a kid from our world somehow goes to another world. In this other world, the people fight with swords that the blade only actually exists if you believe? Little hazy on that part. I remember a scene where the main character loses a foot race to a younger kid from this other world. The people train using the swords by swinging them at giant boulders. The sword blade can heal any wound when pressed against it unless it’s caused by that type of sword. Might have had Christian themes. When in our world the main character was attacked by some sort of invisible monster that can’t be seen. Somebody saved him using one of the magic swords.

350K: Battle of Trafalgar

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Sometime in 1960-62 I took an English History course in college. We were assigned reading for extra credit. I read a book about the Battle of Trafalgar, which I remember as riveting. I specifically remember a fulsome description of life aboard the battleship, including descriptions of how food was prepared, how surgery was performed during the battle, and other daily concerns of the sailors. I do not think this was a biography of Lord Nelson, rather a blow by blow of the lead-up to the Battle and the Battle itself. Clearly it had to have been written prior to 1960. I would really like to find this book.

350J: Witch keeps girl’s lover in birdcage

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I’m looking for a darkly illustrated children’s book, probably published in the late 80’s/early 90’s.

There was very little text and mostly illustrations. The story involved a girl whose lover(?) is taken away by a witch. She goes to the witch’s lair and there are many birdcages with owls in them. Her lover(?) is also being kept in a birdcage when she saves him.

The pictures had a very dark colour scheme with a gothic/art nouveau art style, similar to Kay Nielsen but darker. I remember being fascinated with this book as a child as the content was so dark compared to my other books. I’ve been trying to locate it for years but cannot remember even slightly what the title was.

If it helps, I suspect the author was European given the content, so the original book was probably published in Finnish, Danish or German.

350H: Story Sound Bites

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I am searching for the title of a children’s book published in the 1990s that had push buttons (powered by a battery).  There were story sound bites on each button.
There was a female villain who said “I get what I want.”

I recall cartoon illustrations. Similar to The Magic Schoolbus type of illustrations maybe? … In the boys’ memory, the book was 101 Dalmations. We did have that push-button book, too; but that wasn’t it. Robert was so sure it was the Cruella DeVille button, that he looked it up (https://disney.fandom.com/wiki/101_Dalmatians_(Golden_Sound_Story)), but her button is a car engine. And I remember enough to recall it wasn’t a Disney movie/book. It was … I think a little White girl. On a farm? The villain was a White woman, too, similar to Cruella DeVille.

I searched your archives without luck.

350F: Cat is cared for by everyone in an apartment building

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Bright, colorful illustrations. A stray cat is cared for differently by each person in an apartment building (plays with someone’s yarn, someone else feeds fish). In the end, she has kittens and each person takes one to live with them. One of the illustrations is of the apartment windows/balcony with each of the kittens with their family. Maybe published late 80s/early90s? Not Six Dinner Sid or The Cat with Seven Names.

350D: Shannon’s Job in the Historic House Run by Two Sisters

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Years ago, I read a mystery about a college student named Shannon getting a summer job at an old house run by two old ladies (sisters). Students dress as Gibson girls & do tours through the historic house. Shannon befriends another girl student. There’s a guy that took a summer job there too. He’s a writer, I think his name is Michael. A relative of the Sisters also lives there. She likes caramels. There’s a murder. I think the Sisters names are Cora & Lanie or maybe Lennie.

350C: Short story compilation

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It’s a short story compilation, I think all by the same author. One story is about a cancer support group up in some mountain-y commune, and a child dies by accident at the end. Another story is about two best friends with one of their boyfriends. He’s kind of awful, and I think there’s a scene where the three of them are at a roller rink. Another story is from the second person, and it’s about a frumpy redhead who is too skinny for ballet? At the end she gets to ride bikes with this boy.
I know this is a long description. The cover is of a forest, with a few kids on a rope swing jumping in a pool.
It’s amazingly written. I read it like 8ish years ago so it was published before that