I’m looking for a book published between 1980 and 1995. It’s about 4 girls representing the 4 elements (air, water, fire, earth). It’s told mainly from the point of view of the fire element, I believe. She might be called the fire brand but I’m not sure. The girls have to connect and retie the knot of elements that is holding the earth. There is a very vivid description of the knot, and the four colors of the cords making it. This book might be part of a series and it might be considered young adult.
Category Archives: YA (grades 7-9)
328H: Newspaper Boy Has Genius Inventor Friend
Seeking 1970s YA mystery. Protagonist delivers newspapers and in a subscription sales contest. Has a genius inventor friend (including retractable staircase). Mysterious house with strange noises. Turns out to be a family of circus performers who buy a lot of newspaper subscriptions.
327L: Sort of like the Boxcar Children but in ancient Rome (or was it Greece?) (Solved!)
I read it in the 1970s, probably published then or perhaps in the late '60s. A young boy (maybe 10 or 11) and his older sister (young teenager?) from a noble family become embroiled in a mystery and they run around town (possibly Athens, but I think it was ancient Rome) hunting for clues. They wear togas. 🙂
327C: Max Moonpenny
My mom is searching for a book she read as a pre-teen about a girl named Max Moonpenny. I have searched and searched (and I even work in a library) but I can’t find anything about this book! She’s not sure if the title is Max Moonpenny or if it is something else. My mom grew up in the 1960s & ‘70s in Wisconsin, and a friend of hers also remembers the book and her niece was even named Max Moonpenny after the character from the novel. Unfortunately, the niece is prolific on the internet and clogging up my search results.
Any assistance would be greatly appreciated!
326Z: Magical Land Emits Personalized Alluring Scents
I read this book in middle school between 1998-2000 and checked the book out from my school library. It was probably published in the late 80’s or 90’s. It was from the fantasy genre and included a magical land that the young female main character found by following a trail that brought her to a waterfall with a hidden entrance. Once she was in the magical land, there was some kind of dangerous landmark that lured people by emitting a pleasant scent that specifically appealed to each individual. For the main character I think it was a warm scent like cinnamon/honey/nuts/vanilla. I think this book may have also featured a relationship between the main character and her grandmother. Please help!
326D: Air Force Pilot Takes On Dragon In Storm Cloud
Short fantasy/sci-fi story in an anthology aimed at young readers in the late 70s/early 80s - I seem to remember reading it in late elementary school, though it could have been middle school. Story was about an Air Force pilot who lost a friend to a dragon in a storm cloud, but no one believed him, so he stole a plane and went back up to kill the dragon. He was catatonic and white-haired when the plane landed, and everyone thought he was just crazy, until they watched his gun-camera footage of his attack runs on the dragon.
326C: Spaceship 10/100 Hours
325R: Goose Blown Off Course, Nursed Back To Health
325P: Cereus Cactus Blooms During Anschluss
I’m looking for a middle school book, what would be YA these days, but they didn’t have YA in the 60’s, when I most likely read this book. The protagonist is a girl, part of whose attention is focused on a night-blooming cereus cactus party that her family will hold on the night that the plant blooms. Surrounding this domestic detail are the events leading up to the Anschluss and the threat that the Anschluss presents.
324U: Glass Children House/Castle
I recall reading a book as an early teen in the 90's about a group of children with harsh parents and the title was something along the lines of ". . . . . . . ,houses of glass".