353C: 1970s, Younger Female Teen Figure Skater, Moves with Family to Rural Part of State, Practices on Perfect Pond next to Burned-Down Mill (Solved!)

3 Replies

I read this novel in the 1970s when I was in early-mid elementary school. The main character and her family live in a state in the upper Midwest; she’s wicked into competitive figure skating and has been training/competing for years. Because of her dad’s job (he might be a college professor), they move from a city to a more rural part of the state where there are no indoor skating facilities and no training. She checks out the lake where the other kids skate, but finds it unsatisfactory (perhaps the surface is always bumpy). She finds a perfect pond! Ice is always clear of snow and smooth. But the locals shun it. She’s happy to train there alone. Eventually, she learns the reason why the spot is shunned by locals. It was a tragedy. The family that owned the mill was holding a party there for their daughter (about the same age as the novel’s main character), there was a fire, and the girl was killed.

353B: Boy Gets Rice Up Nose

353A: Painting the Rainbow at the Flour Mill

352Z: Jazz Musicians Guide Boy Falsely Accused of Theft (Solved!)

9 Replies

I’m looking for a young adult book which I read in the late 80s/early 90s. It’s about a boy, who gets accused of stealing in school, big jazz elements as there are some jazz musicians who help him (and references to many jazz greats), it’s about righting wrongs without having to tattle.

So : a bit more detail. He gets accused. He didn’t do it but knows his wealthy classmate did it.

In the early part of the book, he wears a t-shirt that says “Don’t cheer boys, the poor fellows are dying” which is a quote from John Woodward Phillip and his t-shirt is met with disapproval from the principal.

The kid is in deep trouble as everyone thinks he stole and he has to go see a judge in court, I think.

Finally, and most importantly, there are a number of jazz musicians who provide the protagonist kid with help and guidance.

The book is about jazz, doing the right thing and the reality of being a poor kid whom everyone assumes has stolen whereas the rich kid is not even a suspect cos why would he even need to steal?

It’s really well written but I can’t remember the name or author and would love to read it again.

352Y: Fireside Tales (Solved!)

5 Replies

The book I am looking for is one my mum used to read as a child. It had a collection of books and poems. She had it in the 1950s but I don’t know when it was published.

She thought it was called Fireside Tales, but this could be wrong as the book cover came off. She remembers there being fairies and elves on the inside cover.

One of the stories was called “Fireside concert”.

Fireside concert is a story about a fireplace and the tools. When the fire is just about to fall asleep, one of the tools says let’s have a concert, so one by one they do a little dance or something fun before they go to sleep.

Another was “Little grey mouse”

She said there was a story about a thread-bare Little mouse. I am not sure if that is the same story or the title of another one.

There are 2 poems she remembers. I don’t know the tites but she remembers the words.

First one:

“Closed are the story books on the shelf

The teddy bear’s fast asleep

The sun has gone from a darkening sky

And stars through the window peep

So off we go to the land of Nod

Down winding lullaby lane

With the night light fairies to accompany us

Till morning comes again

And it that wonderful land of Nod

Are things that bring delight

So hurry along or we’ll be too late

Good night little ones, goodnight”

Second one is about a teapot I only have a small part:

“neat and round and brown am I, merry little fellow, patchwork cosy on my head, red green and yellow. Gather round the table now, draw the curtains tight, fireside is the place for me, on a winter’s night.”

I would be so grateful for any help finding this book as it would mean the world to mum to have a copy. We have been looking for about 40 years now!

352X: Puppy Cat

1 Reply

For years, I’ve searched for this story. It is a children’s short story that came out of an old school reader that I had in first grade. I was in first grade in 1977 in Spruce Pine, NC, USA. I’m sure the readers were pretty old by then. The title of the story was Puppy Cat, I think. It was a dog who thought he was a cat. There are several newer stories that are similar, but I’ve been looking for this particular version. I’ve had no luck over the years!

352W: Late 50’s early 60’s space fiction

3 Replies

Late 50’s early 60’s space fiction about a boy on a planet (possibly mars) with his pet. The boy needs to get to different city/friends home. Walks via an old highway but the temperature dips extremely, causing the boy to find refuge in a giant cabbage like plant that closes at night, saving him.

Read this from the 5th grade 1961/62 Ellis Elementary School library in Sunnyvale California.

352V: Little Bit

1 Reply

I have been on the search for many years for a book I loved as a child. I was born in 1959, it’s possible the book was written in the 60’s.

The title is “Little Bit”, about a young mouse and his family, having struggles in life for being so small.

Having Grandchildren I would very much like to find this as my copy has been lost in the shuffle throughout the years.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

352U: Beast Prince and Locked Door

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It’s a children’s book from around the 1990’s. The main heroine travels to cure the curse of the Beast Prince. I think he had the head of a pig/boar. The plot is similar to East of the Sun, West of the Moon but that is not the book. Near the end the heroine must unlock a door but lost the key. She must cut off her finger and use it as the key instead.

352T: Sex Club Leads to Sticky Situations

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