186E: Clue Embedded In Turquoise Jewelry

5 Replies

I read this book in maybe 1980-81, it was my favorite ever! It was a young adult book, the main character was a girl going to spend time at her aunt’s? after the death of her father. The aunt had either a hotel or ranch in the desert, somehow horses were involved (either belonging to the aunt, or a neighboring ranch). The girl befriended the daughter of one of the aunts employees (who wasn’t nice to her at first) and would ride horses (there may have been a ranch hand named Jasper?). There was a treasure involved as well……. Her father had given her a turquoise ring or beads (I can’t remember which), and somehow the clue to the treasure was embedded in the jewelry, maybe micro dots ? The girls returned from a ride to find that a burglary had occurred but the jewelry wasn’t taken as she had left it casually on the dresser “hidden in plain sight”. The book was a turquoise colored hardback, and I think it was in the “A-B” section of the childrens library. I have been searching for YEARS to find this, I have a great memory and I can’t believe I can’t remember this book as I read it over and over again! Help!

186D: Life of a Jewish girl in a turn-of-the-century Russian village – NOT “Letters From Rivka!”

4 Replies

Book was on the life of a young Jewish girl (possibly named Rifka) in either the late nineteeth or early twentieth-century Russia. She either took care of, or had a family/pet goat that she tended. I remember descriptions of the family/villagers going to the river to bathe and wash clothes; all the men would go to one area and the women to another so that they would not see each other.
Another part of the book described a non-Jewish peasant friend warning the family of an impending pogrom, and the family boarded themselves up into their house and waited it out, frightened of the noises they heard outside. This is not “Letters From Rivka.” I thought the book might be called “Rivka” but I can’t find any info! I read this in the 1970’s, and it was a softcover book.

 

186C: Trying to surprise Gramma with book

1 Reply

My Gramma used to read my dad a childrens book when he was young (he was born in 1951) and she can’t remember the book but knows the phrase “(from the top top top) of his head head head” – the part in () I think is what she said but not sure. I think it might have been a golden book, and not sure of the rest from there. His name when he was little was Jimmy, not sure if that’s the character or not. Good luck, it’s not much to go off of. I could probably probe for more if needed from my Gramma. (i was hoping to surprise her). Thanks!

185F: Faithful dog completes difficult task

1 Reply

This was a short story in a book of children’s stories, ca 1945-50?

The owner of a mastiff bets that his dog will accomplish a verbal task no matter what. He shows the dog a piece of money ( I believe it was an English crown), puts it in the dog’s mouth, tells him to take it home and sends him off. He goes home to await the dog’s arrival. A long interval goes by with no dog. Finally the dog arrives, bleeding with many dog bites, but still has the crown in his mouth.

The faithful dog has completed his task at fearful cost!

185E: Vibrant Color book

8 Replies

My book stumper is a children’s picture book I’m pretty sure it’s about colours. I have no title or author but I was about 5 or 6 reading it, making that 1963-64.
What I remember most are the deep rich vibrant colours. It was nothing like the washed out, pastel-riddled books I mostly had.
One page was a drawing of a bunch of grapes and they were the deepest, purplest, most mouth-watering colour imaginable.
I think I remember a cloudy storm page…all blues,blacks,grey’s. Images were large and loud. Maybe a new book in the vibrant 60’s!

There was an orangey page. A bold page of sun, I think.

I remember no people and if there was text it was very limited… maybe “a purple bunch of grapes” or just “grapes are purple”. No story.
Only about 8- 10pgs perhaps.
Hardback. paper pages.

We grew up in Canada so either an American or British book, not likely Canadian.

It was stunning. I would love to find it

185D: Creative Siblings on the HomeFront (solved)

7 Replies

children during one of the great World Wars (probably ww2) spend a summer playing together. They put on a play, make the costumes out of cheesecloth. They also gather scrap metal for recycling and buy war stamps. They are living in a very old and large rambling house. One day they discover that the peeling wallpaper in a little used empty room is covering old newspaper clippings so they decide to peel more off to investigate. It turns out the entire room was once papered with newspapers. I have no memory of the title, just these random slice of life events. I don’t think there is much of a plot beyond these.

185C: Cream puffs in European Village, 19th/early 20th century

Leave a reply

This children’s picture book was written at the latest in the 70s. I believe it is set in a European village, probably French, and a cream puff bakery figures prominently (the baker may have been name pierre or a similar french name). the protagonist, a little boy, loves cream puffs and somehow either witnesses the bad guys (soldier/government agents/thieves?), and has to escape from them through a coal chute. I think the bad guys get stuck in the coal chute and the little boy escapes through a hole into a snowy place. It may be set in WWI or earlier. The style of drawings may be maurice sendak-ish.

185B: Fox in a Box hunted by Joe (solved)

6 Replies

My entire family thinks I’m crazy now. Was challenged by one of those ‘name 10 books that have stayed with you’ and could not think of the name of a children’s picture book that we read almost daily when I was growing up.

The book included the rhyme: A hunting we will go, a hunting we will go,
We’ll catch a fox and put him in a box,
And then we’ll let him go!

But I do not think it included the remainder of the rhyme, only that part with the fox in the box. As I recall the cover of the book was green, and about 1/4 to 1/2″ in depth. Maybe 12″ in length, and 10″ in height. Probably published in the 1960s, because it was something I learned to read as a child.

The plot of the book was that Joe wanted to go fox hunting, catch a fox and put him in the box, and then let him go. I believe, he was going to hunt the fox with a bow and arrow, and did shoot the fox in the leg with the arrow. He put the fox in the box, and the fox pleaded with him to remove the arrow and let him go, as Joe promised. But Joe wanted to keep the fox. Ultimately, the fox was let go.

I always thought the book was called Fox in a Box, but cannot find it under that name. It was definitely not a Dr. Seuss book.

Would be awesome if you could find this book.