| Looking For a Children's Book I Read When I Was a Kid |
[Aug. 20th, 2008|01:44 pm] |
I can't figure out the title of it. Can you help?
It was written in the late '70s. It had this witch in it, and in the illustrations she had a skin complexion that looked like a bunch of tangled-up vines. She was uuuUUU-gly!
I remember on one page she was chasing some kids and said, "I'll gobble you yet!"
I think there was a rose in the book too, but I could be mistaken. |
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| Fairy tales, probably 20th century retellings |
[Aug. 20th, 2008|11:30 am] |
I read this book in the early 80s, but it was probably around for much longer. My feeling is that it's an (early) 20th century retelling of older fairy tales. I remember three of them:
1. The tale of the glass or possibly ice mountain:
- a king imprisons his daughter on top of a glass/ice mountain
- a man has three sons
- a dwarf comes out of an old tree at night and presents the sons with horses: the first two horses look flash (golden/silver hooves respectively), but the third one turns out to have wings and flies the youngest son to the top of the mountain
2. The tale of a boy who wanted to be a grown-up
- he magically becomes a grown man over night
- he still behaves like a kid, though, and therefore gets in trouble
- I seem to remember he steals something from another boy (an apple, possibly)
- he gets chased by an angry mob (of parents/teachers?) and hides in the bushes
- someone (a magical being/an animal?) tells him to pull out his beard
- he pulls out his beard, which is very painful, and turns into a boy again
- when the mob finds him, they see a scared boy and continue their hunt for the man
- I think this one was set in a school that seems very "early 20th century", but I could be wrong
2. The tale of Lancelot, Vivian and the ring of fire
- a knight/adventurer, who I think was called Lancelot, tries to get through (possibly seven) rings of fire on a mountain
- I definitely remember the character Vivian (though the spelling may differ); she was waiting inside the ring of fire
- when possibly-Lancelot finally makes it, he finds that nothing is like he had expected
- I've got the feeling that the ending was rather melancholy; something about disappointed hopes etc.
I actually read the book in Polish, but the Lancelot/Vivian tale makes me think that it was probably originally English. |
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| Stagecoach? |
[Jul. 24th, 2008|03:14 pm] |
I have been looking for a book that I read several times as a kid.
I can remember some of it, but it's sketchy.
A family moves to an old ghost town to revive it for tourists, I think.
There is at least a girl and a boy.
And another family nearby with a boy that they play with.
In their adventures they uncover an old stagecoach, with bodies inside.
The little girl also finds a French Fashion doll with wonderful little outfits and accessories.
The illustrations I recall would place it being published in the 50's or 60's.
I loved this book so much, and want to find it again.
Sound familiar to anyone? |
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[Jul. 24th, 2008|02:18 pm] |
It was a series of books with a lady that was a nanny (?) and she would solve problems with the families. That's so generic, I know. But I remember one story was about kids that wouldn't ever hear anything correctly. Somebody would say something and the kids would always respond "Oh, I thought you said..." and then would say something completely crazy and different than from what was originally said. The nanny's name was something like, Mrs. Wiggles or something like that...? |
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[Jul. 22nd, 2008|05:25 pm] |
This one shouldn't be too hard to find--I just can't find a description online that matches what I recall.
I'm pretty much positive that it's a Betty Ren Wright book, because only so many children's horror-y books are set in Wisconsin, heh. All I can remember is that the main character ends up living with people of Cornish descent--if I recall correctly, maybe somewhere around Milwaukee, and she really doesn't want to be there. And there was some horror-y, ghost-y element to it, I think, but what I really recall was the whole this-place-has-lots-of-Cornish-heritage-people-in-it thing.
Any ideas? I was thinking maybe Ghosts Beneath Our Feet, but from the rudimentary descriptions I was able to find online, it doesn't sound right to me.
Thanks!
ETA: Found! Ghosts Beneath Our Feet by Betty Ren Wright, indeed. :D |
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[Jun. 30th, 2008|01:10 am] |
Hello! I've been trying to find a book for a while without any success.
It was about an aunt or grandma I believe, and it contained that character's recipe for a chocolate cake made with tomatoes. It's a children's book and illustrated, primarily in black, red and green as far as I can remember. I was in the first or second grade, so target age is around 6-7 years old and I must have read it in '93 or '94. Any help is greatly appreciated, it was such a cool book and I'd love to know what it was.
Edit: Found. Thunder Cake by Patricia Polacco. Thank you! |
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| Children's book, dragons |
[Jun. 20th, 2008|12:20 am] |
I just had an image stab me rather suddenly in the brainspace, and I cannot figure out from whence it came.
As a youth (anywhere from the 1987 to 1995 or so period) I remember reading some sort of picture book with tiny, possibly easter-egg colored dragons referred to as Draggles. Said media was not related to Pocket Dragons or the Serendipity series. Picture book most likely, coloring or activity book or maybe even a computer program might be involved. Google has proven fruitless, and you guys have been so awesome at tracking things down in the past.
Thank you! |
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| Looking for 3 books - all FOUND! |
[Jun. 16th, 2008|07:13 pm] |
1. It's set in the early 20th century, I think, and the main character is a teen girl who is interested in things like archaeology and paleontology. There's a discovery of dinosaur bones nearby, and she wants to go, but her dad's like, uber-religious. The main detail I remember from this book is that they're somewhere, and her dad starts in on the usual "It's Eve's fault humans were kicked out of the Garden of Eden", and fed up, she responds, "At least Eve took responsibility for her own actions instead of blaming others, like Adam!" Found it myself! "Ghost Horses", by Pamela Smith Hill
2. A ghost story, the main characters being two preteen boys. One in modern day, and one back in the early 1900s. They wind up switching places, I think. Mostly, I remember that the boy from the past loves this one marble game, and that when current!boy goes back in time, there's a part when they're riding in a brand new, top of the line car, and everyone's freaking out about how fast it's going - which is, like, 20mph. Found! "Time for Andrew", by Mary Downing Hahn
3. Another ghost story, this time with the ghost being Civil War era. I think he might've been a cadet at VMI, but I'm not sure. Anyway, in modern times, a boy and his sister go to stay with an elderly relative (I think) in Virginia. Boy discovers ghost, etc. There might've been a treasure involved, but the main detail I remember is that the non-ghost boy is named Benjamin. He's called Benji at the beginning, but decides that's too "little kid", and starts to go by Ben. Found! "Ghost Cadet", by Elaine Marie Alphin |
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| Help a Bitch Out? |
[Jun. 10th, 2008|11:16 pm] |
I'd take this to the Smart Bitches, but it's not romance, and I haven't read enough romance to have forgotten books from my youth.
It's fantasy, some kind of quest story, and I remember the Princess was called Goodness and an enchantress cursed her by her name and she became so good that she'd give everything she had away to help people. The enchantress was cool and evil and possibly had green eyes and black hair, but I may be making that up. She was definitely fairly young and evil.
The Princess's brother and some of his men went on a quest for something or another (to defeat the enchantress?), and I think he'd been cursed to turn into a crow at night or some nonsense? This all came out when him and his crew are held in prison underwater by either mermen or people who could just live underwater. They could breathe because they were given some shells or something that could help them breathe underwater.
This is the part I remember the best: they're held prisoner (again) and they're forced to tell a story, each person only giving a few sentences and either a good chunk of the book was this story, or I just really liked it.
Any help?
ETA: FOUND! It was 'The Dragon Hoard', by Tanith Lee
Thank you, ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) therck and ![[info]](http://p-stat.livejournal.com/img/community.gif) whatwasthatbook! |
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| Which witch? |
[May. 14th, 2008|03:05 pm] |
I remember two books about witches that I absolutely loved when I was a child -- one of them I managed to find by myself (The Witch Who Saved Halloween, by Marian T. Place), but the other still eludes me. They're very connected in my memory, but probably just because of the subject material.
This book is about a young girl who is a witch and lives with an older, very mean witch. I think she wants to go to school, but the old witch won't let her, because only human children go. I believe there's something about either the young girl, her friend, or the older witch being turned into a teapot or a teacup. The title probably had "witch" in the title, but other than that, I've got nothing.
I know that's not much to go off of, but any help would be greatly appreciated! |
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| Alien kid on the moon? |
[Apr. 25th, 2008|03:16 pm] |
I remember a book, a series actually, about a race of aliens living on the moon (I think it was the moon - might be Mars). It was about a kid who went to school and liked to bowl (sports with heavy objects was popular on the moon because of the low gravity). His uncle was an explorer and in the series he took his nephew places, once to a remote part of the moon where he found cool rocks and twice they even took rocket trips to explore the Earth.
Any ideas?
Found! Matthew and Maria Looney Series by Jerome Beatty Jr. |
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| A twofer! |
[Apr. 18th, 2008|05:26 pm] |
I read both of these around 1990-1995. They're both children's/YA fiction, but I got the feeling they were written at a time when publishers were prepared to market much darker fiction to kids.
The first is the story of two children, a boy and a girl, very young (like, three and five, I think). They're poor, their father is a glassblower, and the book makes much of their exceptional beauty. The boy is described as highly strung, and the book describes how he wasn't allowed to watch his father work, because he got hysterically upset whenever a piece would break.
Anyway, the children are kidnapped by a wealthy man (one of the father's clients, I think) because his wife, who couldn't have children, noticed them and commented on how pretty they were, and how she would love to have such dear children of her own. See, the man was madly in love with his wife, and made a point of giving her everything she ever expressed a wish for, whether she wanted him to or not. In the end, the kids are rescued by a witch, who glamours them into looking like a pair of vases and escapes with them on a small boat.
ETA: First is The Glassblower's Children, by Maria Gripe. It seems someone has made off with my google-fu.
The second is another one about two kids, a brother and sister, whose father dies of the plague in the opening scene. He tells the kids to go live with their grandmother when he is dead, and to cut off his head and take it with them. The story is about their trip to the grandmother alone, and the people they meet along the way. The head helps them out by giving them advice, and offering to tell stories to passers-by in exchange for food or help for the children. When they get to the grandmother, the head tells them to bury it either under the hearth, under the doorstep, or under a tree in the yard, and that each of the alternative burial places would confer a different benefit upon the household. |
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| Children's book about a Toymaker and his grandaughter |
[Apr. 13th, 2008|04:42 pm] |
hey!
Sorry to post here again but you guys were so helpful last time I thought you might be able to help me with this book too!
Well it was a favourite of mine when I was about 5 so that would have been about 10/11 years ago. It was the story of girl who went to live (or maybe visit I can't remember) her Grandfather. He was a toymaker and she loved playing with dolls. I think he'd made some dolls a long time ago (may be wrong there it was 10 years ago! :D) and she found them. I think they then met the people the dolls were based on if I remember correctly.
I think it might have been just called "the Toymaker" but I can't be sure and I can't remember who its by.
Sorry for the vagueness! any help is much appreciated! :)
EDIT: BOOK FOUND! The Toymaker by Martin Waddell! thanks! |
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| Lost: Childrens' Cookbook, YA Horsey Book, Short stories |
[Mar. 6th, 2008|02:55 pm] |
I'm looking for a couple of books from my childhood.
The first I had when I was 3-5ish, so 1989-1991. It was a children's cookbook with a peach cover and may or may not have had doodleish illustrations. The last recipe/project in the book was for "sprouting beans" - they were sprouted in a jar, possibly with paper towel?
One of the characters/illustrations may have been based on this painting, but in the same style as the illustrations in the rest of the book? This illustration was, I believe, attached to a recipe for salad but I'm not 100%.
There was a list of Safety Rules for the Kitchen close to the beginning,
Status: lost
The other book I read in fifth grade, 1996 or 1997. I checked it out from the Boerne, tx public library and it had that Old Book Smell even then, so it was probably 10-15 years older. The dustjacket definitely had a picture of a bay(or chestnut) and white paint horse and may have had a picture of a young Native American girl. It might have been YA - protag was 14? - but I think the book was (mis?) shelved outside the childrens/YA section.
I remember the protagonist (girl on the cover?), named Kit Fox taming an untamable horse and participating in an annual (?) buffalo hunt, where she did very well for herself. Kit Fox's sister was much more beautiful than her?
There was also an annoying warrior-type character named Raven Tail Feathers who tried courting Kit Fox, but she spurned him because he was obnoxious and made her uncomfortable? Kit Fox eventually entered a romantic relationship with the best friend character (who helped her get access to the horse she tamed?).
I might be mushing this book with Maroo of the Winter Caves, but I also vaguely recall at least one death of someone close to Kit Fox (the best friend character?)
I also think (but I'm not sure) that the book may have centered around a Plains tribe?
Status: FOUND - Dawn Rider by Janis Hudson
The short story I remember markedly less about - A boy (12ish?) finds a gun in an empty lot and goes out to shoot at the railroad tracks, accidently killing a woman on the train.
It was in my ninth grade literature book. (Southern California, 2000/2001 school year, before they switched to the new books.)
Status: lost
The other short story was actually an excerpt from a book, published in American Girl sometime between 1996 and 1999, called "The I Hate Lottie Club". Does anyone know what the title of the book is?
I remember Lottie's brother smoked (pot? cigarettes?) and had stolen a Mercer St sign which he hung on his wall.
Status: lost |
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| LOST: Children's book, possibly Australian |
[Mar. 5th, 2008|03:00 pm] |
I've been looking for this one book for years, I can remember a fair bit about it, but not the name. It was a fun book, threw in the word ornithology and made a point of mentioning it as the book's big word. Chapter ten was one word: Nothing.
It began with simple Christmas shopping, the boy noticed one man with steel-toed shoes for some reason. The boy and his friend have been trying to make a flying bicycle. When they test it, it crashes. The boy riding the bike is sent into a coma for ten(?) years -- chapter ten. When he wakes he tracks down his friend. I forget what happened next, but eventually his friend revealed a time-travelling photo-booth, and corrected plans for the bike. The grown up boy goes back in time and plants the corrected plans, right around Christmas shopping time. He's that man with the steel-toed shoes.
Has anyone heard of this? |
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| Children's book... |
[Mar. 3rd, 2008|02:16 am] |
Hello,
A friend I work with is seeking a children's story involving the sun and moon. I guess the plot is simply: the moon is so lonely and somehow he and the sun become friends, but only the sun will come and see him, not vice versa. So in the end, the moon is happy because he is no longer lonely.
From what she says, it sounds like the book is old enough to be lost in the vast hole of children's books...?
Thank you! |
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[Feb. 6th, 2008|08:08 pm] |
I've been wondering about this book for a long time. What I remember is a rich man describing how, as a child, he used to stand outside the gates of a fancy house and watch the peacocks that the owners kept on the lawn. He was never let inside the gates, although I think the residents might have been somehow related to him. I believe he would walk by the house with his mother, and I sort of remember that he later lived in that same house. Not sure, though.
Anyway, that's all I've got. Does anyone have any idea what this might be from?
Thanks!
EDIT: It's Caddie Woodlawn! That old rascal! |
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| Book written by a child about hating vegetables... |
[Feb. 6th, 2008|03:11 pm] |
I remember it was one of my favorite books even in middle school, about a boy talking about how he hates vegetables and the different ways to get rid of things like peas and hide them. Both the book and the pictures were written by a child and all the pictures were drawn in bold colored markers, with all the vegetables having faces :3
This book was a part of a series of books written by children who won a contest to get published, and they were all big thin hardcover books... |
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| Looking for the title of an anthology of fairy tales |
[Feb. 4th, 2008|03:46 pm] |
This is going to be tough, because I don't know if I have enough details to pin it down to a *specific* anthology (and there are so darn many of them), but I'm going to give it a try.
The dilemma: my copy of this book came to me without covers and missing a chunk of pages on either side of the book (even as a small child, I was appalled by this, but it was still one of my favorite books).
Details I do have:
-This was about twenty years ago and the pages were kind of yellow (though with the condition it was in, clearly it wasn't taken care of), so it must have been printed in the early 1980's or before.
-Judging from the spine, I would say that the book was at least an inch to an inch and a half thick. So, over 300 pages. Also, it was larger than mass market, but smaller than most hardbacks. The quality of the cloth spine indicates that it was hardback at one point in time or another.
-It was a traditional collection of fairytales. Ones I remember are: Diamonds and Toads (probably not the actual name, but it's the story of the nice sister who gets charmed to spit out gems and flowers when speaking and an evil sister charmed to spit out vermin and toads), Rapunzel, Snow White and Rose Red, and I'm 99% sure it had A Plain Princess (which someone else was looking for today).
-As one story ended, the next one began a couple of lines below it, so you got a *lot* of stories for your buck.
-There were small ink drawings over some of the titles (no more than an inch or two tall), but no color pictures as far as I know (i.e., none in the bit of book I had available to me).
-For the really picky, the paper was high enough quality that it grew soft, rather than brittle, with age.
*Whew* Lots of details, none of which are precisely helpful, I know. Still, I adored the book as a child and would love to find it again (especially if I can find an intact copy). Thanks in advance!
EDIT: I don't know if anyone's tracking this (but I'm hoping so, or at least that someone will go through the archives in the future with more suggestions), but I've just received the 1977 edition of The World's Best Fairy Tales, and it definitely *isn't* the book I'm looking for. There's too much white space on the pages and the font is wrong (the book I was reading had very little white space -- you really got your bang for your buck). Plus, you know, it didn't have A Plain Princess in it. More suggestions are always welcome! |
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| Little girl with stuffed toy elephant |
[Jan. 29th, 2008|09:26 pm] |
This is a children's book that I would check out of my school library in the early 1980s. A little girl has a stuffed toy elephant that she carries around with her in her backpack. The elephant has a spaghetti stain on or near its trunk from the little girl trying to feed it. I believe the little girl was somewhat sad/lonely/misunderstood. The elephant may have been her only friend. Perhaps she had moved recently?
I think about this book all the time, but have never found anyone who has even heard of the it. It would mean so much to me to be able to read it again. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
ETA: It is NOT Ramona and Her Mother by Beverly Cleary, nor Oh Honestly, Angela! by Nancy K. Robinson, nor Elly the Elephant by Norma Simon. |
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curious
nostalgic