Category Archives: Unsolved

349A: Orphan finds a home

Leave a reply

Hello.  Looking for a book that my daughter and I read about 4-5 years ago when she was 10 or 11.  The story involves a feisty girl who is about that age and is orphaned.  She tries to stay at home with her brother but a policeman and a Catholic nun come to take her away.  She hits the nun or a priest.  She is taken to an orphanage and always believes her brother will come for her.  She does see him again but he unable to provide for her.  At some functions for the orphanage, she meets a beautiful young woman who is engaged to a handsome, rich man.  The orphan’s spirit and determination catch the eye of this woman and somehow they become friends.  In the end, the lady inherits a farm out west and breaks her engagement.   She takes the orphan with her and they travel west.

This story is set in early to mid 20th century.  I can’t  remember the exact time frame.  I want to say it’s  between 1920-1940.
Hopefully, you are able to help me with this title as we both loved the book but neither of us can remember the title!

348X: Blimp and Related Travel Modes – Book from 30’s or 40’s

6 Replies

I am searching for a children’s book probably published in the late 30’s or early 40’s.

All I can remember is the hardback cover. It was large and blue. I believe there was an airplane and possibly blimp and related travel modes on the cover. Sadly, I do not know the title or author. It was given to my brother (now 83 years old) in the early to mid 40’s.
I realize this may be a wild goose chase, but it would mean the world to me if you can find it

348S: Siblings transform into animal shapes

Leave a reply


I’ve been trying to figure out the title and author of this childhood  ‘book memory’ my brother has for the past 3 years. If you are able to solve the mystery, it would be a “Christmas Miracle”!! 🎄

Here is the memory:

“All the illustrations were in blues and greys. It was about a boy, I think with a number of brothers, and the brothers were possibly changed into animal shapes, or possibly it was princesses changed into animal shapes. I think there was a sorceress or magician. And there were pictures of horses? And maybe dogs?”

348R: Fairies who paint?

Leave a reply

I am in need of help to find a book from my moms childhood. She was born in the 60s so presumably it’s from anywhere around that time and before.
There are these fairies or elves (or pixies) who paint things the wrong colour – my mom has specifically mentioned fire hydrants and fire trucks. Maybe one naughty one paints them the wrong colour? Can’t be sure. It has very nice illustrations with the look of satisfying brush strokes apparently and is part of the reason she became a painter.
I would love to find it and give it to her for Christmas.

348P: Island Mystery

Leave a reply

Main Character is a young woman hired to be a companion to a teen by the teen’s guardian. Takes place on an island that you have to take a ferry to the mainland. The teen goes missing and the guardian’s younger brother says she ran away and he cuts off his hand to cover up the murder scene. There is a scene where they make oatmeal by leaving it on the stove overnight. The companion starts to be attracted to the younger brother but discovers what he did.

348N: Fern of the Forest?

Leave a reply

I’m trying to find a picture book from the 90s about a girl who lives in a town where they only make dog houses. She runs away to the forest because she doesn’t want to make dog houses, and she builds an amazing tree house with the help of the forest animals. For some reason I remember the title as “Fern of the Forest” but that might be completely wrong.

348M: Kids Timer Afterlife House Purgatory

1 Reply

I read this book maybe around 2010, and it follows a duo of kids – I think they were brother and sister. At the start of the story there was some accident like a plane crash or something and then they are like taken to a different world. They are taken to a super awesome house, were they can get whatever they want, though at some point they realize a man who had a box with a timer on it like dies or something when it expires. This causes them to panic and travel to a purgatory type place where people go so their time stops. While they are there, time seems to like pass weird and without realizing it, 2 weeks pass and they are still there. The whole place is known to give off like bad energy so its just fill of miserable people moping around not doing anything – too afraid their timers will expire. There was one specific part I remember and that was the girl talking about how one of the girls was eating a sandwich with mustard, and I just always thought it was gross the way it was talked about.