Category Archives: Unsolved

330G: Runaway Fairy Finds Love Along With Her Sister

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Ok, so this is an illustrated children’s book (the one I remember having was large and hard cover) and the details are fuzzy but this is what I remember. The style of the illustrations was similar to Kinuko y Craft’s although I don’t think it was done by that illustrator.
Basically, it’s about a fairy who runs away from home (she is blonde) and has to live by a stream and eats blackberries and is all alone.  Then a fairy prince finds her and likes her,  but his sisters are jealous of her – but he doesn’t care. The final scene is a gorgeous illustration of their JOINT wedding with the fairy, her sister and the fairy prince and his brother.  The protagonist fairy is beautiful and has blonde hair and her sister is pale and has black hair. It might be a version of the story of Thumbelina!
Please help, this was my favorite children’s book and I know this isn’t a lot of information but if you found it, I would be so happy!!!!

330F: A Demanding Doll

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I am wracking my brain and cannot for the life of my remember the name of a book I read as a child/pre-adolescent. The premise was that there was a blonde doll who was actually “alive,” and demanded all sorts of things from the nice girl who owned her—like a car, clothes, etc. And the girl would try to explain what she could and couldn’t afford. Later I think a brown-haired doll who is nicer replaces her? I remember the hard cover of the book being a teal color and there being a photo of the blonde doll on it.

330E: Late-90’s SciFi Book With Female Lead Pilot

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Hi! On the eve of my daughter’s 21st birthday, 11th of January 1998, I had just flown in to London from I think Paris. We were all staying in a London hotel in Piccadilly and as part of the birthday it was theatre and then dinner. I had in my possession a science fiction book I had bought on the way out to Paris at Heathrow airport. I had only read a few pages and i left it behind at the hotel. Although I had only read a few pages I found it a very good start and amusing. The hotel was unable to find  it. I have been looking for ages so all the current well known female leads are not it. I was/am a big SF fan.
I have no idea of the author or title. All I can remember is that a female captain/pilot was being sent again on a mission and she was joking with the guy sending her out.

330D: 70s (or earlier) science fiction short story featuring a gem in a velvet box used for time travel or teleportation

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I am trying to track down a science fiction story that I read in the mid-1970s and vaguely remember. This was a short story that was in a compilation book in my school library. The details that I remember are at the beginning of the story. There is a small velvet box with a gem fixed inside of it (possibly an opal or pearl). I believe that there are two characters, a brother and a sister. There is some interaction where the characters are sitting on a park bench examining the velvet box. I believe that the box is used for either time travel or transportation. There may also be a mysterious stranger that guides the characters through the use of the box. I don’t have much more recollection of the story, but please feel free to ask any clarifying questions and I’ll try to assist. Much appreciated!

330B: Mittens On A Scrawny Tree

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I’m looking for a children’s book we read in the late 80s/early 90s, but I’m not sure when it was actually published. It was about a girl who had or came across a scrawny tree and to protect it from the elements in winter, she wrapped it in a scarf, mittens, etc. It may have begun finally sprouting a leaf in spring, but I may be wrong about that detail. It’s not The Mitten Tree by Candace Christiansen, unless it’s been re-released with new illustrations I don’t recognize. Thank you! I’m hoping to give this to my sister for her baby shower, because it was our favorite book as kids and we’ve never been able to track it down.

330A: Scarecrow Soldier

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I am looking for a children’s picture book possibly printed between 1930’s/1940’s – 1980’s.  Not sure when it was printed.  My husband remembers reading it when he was a kid at his grandparents in the 1980’s.  My guess is it’s from the 50’s, 60’s, or 70’s.

The book takes place on a farm or in a large garden.  One day the animals notice a stranger (the scarecrow) on the farm or garden and get scared.  The weather elements try to get rid of the scarecrow.  The wind blows as hard as it can at the scarecrow.  The rain pours on it, the sun beats its heat on it, until one day there’s nothing left of the scarecrow except maybe the pole he was on.  My husband remembers the scarecrow looking like a soldier, or at least having an old uniform and a sword.

I believe he said the cover was blue with the scarecrow on it?  Not really too sure on that.

I appreciate any help in finding this book.

329Z: Humans and Beasts

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I read a book about 20 years ago. It was a Christian fantasy/sci-fi. What I can remember is there were humans and there was an elite class that I think were beasts. They ate a delicacy that it turned out were human babies. There was a salvation story as part of the plot. I also believe there was a part where 2 prophets die, lie dead for 3 days, and then rise again, and it’s all broadcast on t.v. It’s possible I am mixing up two different books. The book I’m looking for was not part of the Left Behind series, or any other series like that. I believe it was a stand alone book. Another part I remember is one of the beasts standing over another character, possibly female, and the character on the ground looks up into the beast’s eyes and sees basically into her soul, or sees the truth. She kills the beast standing over her, which was a good thing. The beasts are human-like in their behavior, walk on 2 legs, etc. I would really appreciate your help in finding this book. I remember it being very good, though now I realize so many of my memories of it are vague.

329Y: A Circle Of Friends

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The book I remember reading was from about 1963-64. It would’ve been geared toward 5th – 6th grade reading level, for girls. For some reason, I thought the author was Rumer Godden, but I researched her books and I don’t think it was hers. If I remember correctly, it was about three friends…girls who would’ve been middle school age and how they interacted. Of course, it was a more innocent time, not like the books geared for the kids today.

The only image I have is an overhead view of the girls sitting in a circle, outside. I believe it could’ve been a summer afternoon? It may have been end-of-summer, before heading back to school.

I wish I could recall more or had some part of the title, author or more of what the story was about. I just know I liked the book so much and was able to relate to the circle of friends.

I hope you’ll be able to find out what book this was.

329W: Caribbean Island Adventures With Photos

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I am looking for a book that I think my parents must have brought back from a Caribbean vacation in the 70s. It was the story of a bunch of island kids, boys and girls of different ages, maybe set in the Bahamas, or maybe not that specific, but definitely in the English-speaking Caribbean. Any adults were marginal background characters. There was a hand-drawn map of their island that showed beaches, caves, meeting places, shortcuts, etc. It was essentially a picture book, but scenes from the story were illustrated with black-and-white photographs of black children (actors? the author’s kids and neighbors?) and island scenes. The combination of an exciting adventure story with actual photography was wonderful.

329V: Girl who runs family farm or plantation and love story with doctor

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I’m looking for an older book. It was a bit like Daddy Long-Legs and Dear Enemy in tone, although not written in epistolary format. In the book, the girl (either an older teen or early 20’s) is in charge of running a family farm or plantation after the death of a family member (can’t remember if one or both parents died). There are various servants and some younger family members who live there as well. The girl has to shoulder the burden of all the work. Various challenges ensue, including everyone getting sick and a local area doctor coming to treat them. I want to say that they were raising cotton, but I’m not completely sure. She initially thinks that the doctor hates her, but in the end, he reveals his love and admiration for her. I believe it is set in the US—either the South or the Midwest. The time period would be early 20th century—it’s definitely not set later than 1950. I checked it out from the library several times and I believe the author’s last name is towards the end of the alphabet, although I can’t quite remember what it was.