Sams Fish (mischievious genies and their friends Book 2)

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Great Ghost Stories of the Old West Four Winds Press "A collection of eight eerie, spooky, mysterious, and terrifying ghost stories for young readers that proclaim that ghosts followed the Westward trails of America. Another one is Ghosts that Still Walk: E9 early american ghost stories: I don't know anything about American ghost lore, so I don't know if these correspond to the remembered stories or not. I know this is a long shot. Shaw, Jane, Susan's Helping Hand. A bit doubtful about this - some editions do have a pictorial cover showing a boy, a girl and an English bobby, but the cloth is usually green, and Children's Press usually only had a frontispiece illo, not plates throughout.

Plot description is that Susan's habit of being helpful leads her into trouble. Tiddleman, A Bright Little Pair approximate Definitely the book,but comes in different editions with different pictures on front. Esther Hautzig, The Endless Steppe. Thanks, but I'm certain that it's not The Endless Steppe. Anne Holm, North To Freedom. This could be North To Freedom. That story is about a boy named David.

I probably read it somewhere around This doesn't sound like The Ark or Rowan Farm. There is some mention of them living in refugee camps, but that happens before the book starts. Lois Lowry, Number the Stars. Could this be Number the Stars? It's now and their life in Copenhagen is filled with school, food shortages, and the Nazi soldiers marching through town. When the Jews of Denmark are "relocated," Ellen moves in with the Johansens and pretends to be one of the family.

Soon Annemarie is asked to go on a dangerous mission to save Ellen's life. Much of the story is told from the point-of-view of the older sister, Ruth. My copy was published in by Scholastic, and the cover shows the children walking through snow. Christine Arnothy, I am fifteen and I don't want to die , , copyright.

I haven't read this in a long time, but I think it fits the description. Moskin, I Am Rosemarie, , approximate. As I was writing a comment here about this book as a possible solution, the name suddenly came to me! I was a weird kid and read everything about the Holocaust that I could get my hands on. Not sure which one had the blizzard, but I will mos def be rereading them both, and then sending them on to my neice, who's another slightly weird kid. James Ramsey Ullman, Banner in the Sky , , paperback This sounds like it. It involves climbing a mountain in Switzerland called the Citadel in the s.

I believe its based on a true story about climbing the Matterhorn. It was a Disney movie in the late s-early s. Please note that E, "Banner in the Sky" was not the solution. Beverly Cleary, Ramona and Her Mother , s. This may be way off, but Ramona Quimby had a stuffed elephant, named Ella Funt, that she carried around with her. In Ramona and Her Mother , she sews her a pair of pants. She had had Ella Funt for a while, so there may have been a spaghetti stain on her somewhere, I don't remember.

Norma Simon, Elly the Elephant , , reprinted This is just a possibility - I can't find a picture of the cover anywhere. Wendy loves her toy elephant one summary said she sings to it? I obtained copies of both Elly the Elephant and Ramona and her Mother, but unfortunately, neither is the book I am looking for. I believe my book has more pictures perhaps in color than Ramona and Her Mother, and is not long enough to have chapters.

Also, my book feels more modern than Elly, and I'm fairly certain is written for a slightly higher reading level. Robinson, Oh Honestly, Angela! She takes her favorite stuffed elephant to show and tell, only to find out that she is expected to donate it to the school's Christmas drive for the needy. However, that is not the book. In my book, unlike this one, the little girl and her elephant are the main focus of the book.

Did the elephant go to visit its cousins when it was misplaced by the girl? Another poster asked, "Did the elephant go to visit its cousins when it was misplaced by the girl? I would appreciate it if you would share the title of the book you're thinking of, if you know it. Sounds like this Mercer Mayer classic. Also, 3 of these stories were published together as There's Something There alligator under the bed, monster in the closet, something in the attic , so that could be the collection you mention.

Some commented in the stumper, but it's the correct solutionThe book I am looking for is not a collection of 3 books. I have no explanation for that. But I'll keep it here so the original requester can find it. It was about a girl might have lived in some sort of orphanage or something. She gets this doll and it turns out to be evil. She and a friend bury it in the woods one night, and the doll is back in her room in the morning, covered in dirt. The cover was dark, with a dark-haired girl looking frightened as she held up a blonde doll.

I think that the name of this book is a girl's first name And although i may be wrong about this, I think that it may be an "A" name, like Anabelle To the lonely little girl the house is her very own castle and it seems to call out to her with a ghostly chorus of voices. Inside she finds a family of dolls that welcome her along with a strange portrait of a woman who smiles down on her like the mother she lost. But this house is no playground. It echoes with the memories of a tragedy that took place nearly a half century ago and the event is still being played out by forces beyond the grave.

Dolls come to life, seeking to protect a mysterious girl named Annabelle and a ghostly wraith stomps through the old mansion, crazed with a demonic rage Ruby Jean Jensen delivers a creepy haunted house chiller with her trademark style and resident killer dolls. A must for Jensen fans and a fun read for horror lovers. Sounds like Ruth M. Arthur's A Candle in her Room to me. The girl in the book moves into a new house and I think finds the doll, either in the attic or in a hollow tree.

The doll's name is Dido, and she is evil. Somehow, she convinces the girl to do magic. I remember the girl burying Dido and trying to burn her I don't, however, remember the resolution! The cover has a picture of a girl standing over a bonfire, poking it with a stick. The plot of the Evil Toy returning sounds a bit like Steven King's story about an evil clockwork monkey. I do recall both the Twilight Zone and Night Gallery featured dolls bent on revenge against an evil father figure--the NG one was quite terrifying with her dark eyes and big teeth!

She did have blonde hair, would this be similar? Clevin, Jorgen , Pete's first day at school , This must definitely be the solution to E86 and it could be the solution to E The cover shows Johnny and Pete - and Pete is a regular large elephant, so his size could have come into the story.

Loganberry Books: Stump the Bookseller EF

Pete, the elephant, has happy experiences on the first day of school. Where do you live? Shall we say hello to them? That red knob is the doorbell. Press it with your finger and say: Reader answers questions at each stop-light. Final story page has a 'blank' TV screen with a message seen only when held up to the light! Cover is indeed white as remembered. I read a series of maybe four or five books in the early seventies, though the books would have been written earlier I think Enid Blyton's famous five series was reissued in the early seventies, in paperback editions published by Knight books.

The series of 21 books in total was first written in the late 40s to early 60s. The one I think it is would be Book 3. Julian, Dick, Georgina who wants to be a boy and prefers to be called George and Anne find a secret cave. I recall that the entrance to the cave is facing out over a steep isolated cliff so is mostly unknown, but they find it by a little hole in the ground, which goes down through the top of the cave. They build campfires and the smoke goes up through the hole. This is what makes me think it could be this book. In Five Run Away Together the five stumble across the cave quite by accident, when one of them falls down the hidden hole in the ground.

Further exploration reveals that the cave cannot be seen from the front entrance in the cliff. Also, when a fire is lit, smoke escapes through the roof hole. There were probably some mysteries involved, but I do not think it was a mystery series per se. Well if it is this book, it is part of a mystery series, so perhaps I'm wrong I have read this book and I think this is the one the requestor wanted. Four children and a dog go to a uninhabited island and find a cave with a hole in the ceiling.

They lower their stuff through the hole and lower themselves through it too, to save them having to climb the rocks to the front entrance near the beach. They Found a Cave. I can't remember who wrote this book, but I read it back in the 60s. Only problem I think it was set in Australia. Ransome, Arthur , Swallowdale, Bright Morning later escapes, but when she returns, she finds her village under occupation by the "Long Knives", or American soldiers.

The Americans force the Navaho out of their lands, and onto the Trail of Tears. This was a wonderful store of escaped or freed slaves living in the hills. The only parts I clearly remember is an older woman painting an apron for the protagonist.

The picture was of the protagonist wearing the apron, so it went on for infinity. Eventually they end up joining Indians in the Trail of Tears to Oklahoma. It was a children's book, with chapters that I read in Dolores Johnson, Seminole Diary: Remembrances of a Slave. The diary describes how in Libbie, her father, and her sister escaped from their cruel master.

The family is eventually taken in by the Seminoles. Unfortunately, their peaceful new existence doesn't last long as the United States government forces the Seminoles to give up their land in Florida and move to a reservation in Oklahoma. Illustrated with oil paintings. I wonder if this book is Mara, Daughter of the Nile Mara is a slave with powerful friends. She works as a double-agent spy and eventually earns her freedom. Co-incidentally, I was re-reading that one this afternoon, and it doesn't match at all.

Main characters in that one are Mara, a slave, and Sheftu, a nobleman. Could this maybe be The Mystery of the Silent Friends? The three dolls in that one are anamatronic not haunted, but they are at the centre of the big mystery in the story. See solved mysteries for more details. Seon Manley and Gogo Lewis, The haunted dolls: The steadfast tin soldier. The Christmas of the big bisque doll. I'm certain that The Haunted Dolls: An Anthology is the book you want.

In addition to the details provided by other contributors, I would like to mention that the cover is indeed pale green in color. Jane Langton, The Diamond in the window. There is one chapter in which the two children who are orphans being raised by their uncle and aunt are trapped in a world behind a mirror that reflects their own images as they grow older.

This was a Scholastic Book Club book that I read way back in the mids. All I remember of the plot is three friends, two boys and a girl, exploring and breaking into.. At one point, there's groaning in one of the houses, and the kids have to figure out if it's ghosts, or a more logical explanation. I think one of them had some connection with the cottages--maybe the parent was a caretaker? Flashlights figured prominently, for some reason. Could it be this one? Mark's new stepfather is the caretaker for a summer camp. Think cabins in a resort area that families rent for the summer, not sleep away camp.

His new friend, who works as a busboy at the restaurant, is accused of stealing. Along with jewelry and other portable things, a valuable stamp collection goes missing, and Mark is determined to discover who's doing the stealing and prove his friend innocent. There's also a younger girl, staying at one of the cabins, who becomes involved in the mystery. At one point, there's something about the lights going out and the sign for the camp being changed as part of the mystery. Maybe worth a try! No, I don't recognize either suggested solution. It seems that the name of the summer cabins might have appeared to be tar pin et pin dar, because of some of the light bulbs being out on the sign.

Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake. While the story is not quite the same, "tar pin and pin dar" could be "Tarquin et Pindar" written in Latin on the "philosopher's stone" discovered by Portia Blake and her cousin Julian. The abandoned summer cabins are there on the swamp that used to be a lake but I don't remember the lights. See the Solved Mysteries for more. Harcourt Brace and World, Ex-library edition with usual marks and edgewear, but interior and dust jacket both very clean. Harcourt, , , Alison Farthing, The Mystical Beast.

This is the one! Check it out in the solved stumpers. The Junior Classics The stories you mention are all in the ten volume Junior Classics,complete with the unuusual endings, and the tenth volume is an index. My set is more colorful than you describe, though.

They were given away with Collier's Encyclopedias in the s and s. I loved this book as a kid! The twins, Sara and Beth, are from a poor family that has recently moved to a cold climate from a warm one. Their family can only afford one new coat for the girls, so they take turns going to school, pretending to be one girl named Sara Beth. Another girl at school figures out their secret by noting inconsistencies in their behavior, which as you said, changes constantly.

For instance, one of the girls loves the class pet, a guinea pig, and her twin is afraid of it. Englishwoman goes to France in search of family history Book from my school library--must have been s or early '60s. Middle-aged, unmarried Englishwoman goes to France searching for family history from clue in old photo album--picture of a girl in a garden restaurant? She got a new dress made by sister seamstresses and learned about father's past.

Dorothy Durand goes to France in search of her father's family following clues in her father's photo album. She eventually meets up with her cousins who are ribbon makers in Saint Etienne. The dress is made for her cousin Catherine before she sets off on a round the world trip. Johanna Johnston, Edie Changes her Mind , , copyright. You were close - these are the "Edie" books by Johanna Johnston apparently written about her own little girl. Then there's Fish , also titled A Boy Called Fish , by Alison Morgan , Chatto about a boy whose birthday, school desk, and even name belong to someone else, and the dog he cares for.

Another very long shot all I know about this book is the title, and that it was set in post-Revolution New York, and is a book for young people. This is definitely a book called "The Little Countess". I read it in the early 60's. It's actually Fish's elder sister who inherits the title from a distant relative and becomes the "little countess", but the book is more about Fish - Felicity Imogen Stanley Holmes. They were poor and are suddenly rich! If anyone can supply the author's name? Frances Cowen , The Little Countess , Wonder how it would read today????

Louisa May Alcott, Flower Fables. A collection of six original fairy tales written by the acclaimed Louisa May Alcott. These stories are part of a large body of fantasy fiction the author wrote throughout her career. Each story features adventures of elves and fairy sprites in fairyland and are imbued with the lushness of Alcott's love of the natural world. Each story is between 12 and 18 pages with full page illustrations. Not the same book, but a similar idea - perhaps a series?

On the right side the boards unfold again to reveal pop-up castle. In a separate envelope are paper cut-out characters to go along with all the stories. Paper engineering by Ib Penick. F28 fairy tale figurines: We have this book somewhere in our family! On the opposite page were little nursery rhymes stories associated with each scene. My nan gave this book to one of my cousins so I'll email her and find out the name and publisher!

I'm looking for a copy myself! Fairykins Story Book, After much searching I think I found the book the original poster was looking for. It was made by Marx and an image can be seen here. This possibility The Cherrys on Indoor Island by Will Scott , published by Brock Books in England, "The 'happenings' in the Cherrys books could be those of any family - and the neighbours join in.

On this wet day the house becomes a desert island crowded with incidents! One of Lois Lenski' s more obscure titles is " Flood Friday. I haven't read it, but I have seen the TV version. The plot concerns a pioneer brother and sister who are left alone on the family farm while their father takes their mother into town to have a baby. While they are gone, there is a huge flood and the children't home washes away down river. Champ is left to guard the farm, the river floods, and a mountain lion menaces the farm animals. No idea if there are children at home as well, though.

According to a review, the main character is a boy alone, the story is set in the s, and he is "left in charge of a Wisconsin farm house which is swept away down the Mississippi with him inside it. So he thought until he discovered a mountain lion caged in by a fallen tree at one end of the house. F36 fairies take girl: Tinkler the elf acts as guide and Joan makes some wonderful discoveries.

Haldeman, Linda , The Lastborn of Elvinwood , English actor Ian James follows his local vicar into a wood, discovers a tribe of tiny faerie folk dwelling there, and is charged by Oberon to aid in finding a bride for the last prince of Faerie -- a task which may involve facing down Merlin himself, and casting a spell over the infant daughter of a visiting American family.

I'm not positive, but this sounds like The Fairies of Nutfolk Wood. A young girl moves with her mother to a trailer in the woods and I think visits fairies when she falls asleep. The cover has a picture of a tree or tree stump made into a fairy house. At any rate, it's a charming story and worth checking out.

Part of the description reminds me of a chapter from E. So began the strange adventure of a youth caught between two words existing simultaneously on the banks of an English river: Stephen and classmate Mary Silver soon found themselves able to leave and enter the 'brave new world' but ultimately had to make a choice - to live there permanently or to stay in a world of indifferent or nagging parents, and school examinations.

It seems to be the same book that I am diligently searching for.

The story of the ill mother was about the big or little dipper. The theme of many stories were of how things "became" like the story of spring? If memory serves me well, Midas and the Golden Touch was included, and there was the story of the little pine tree whose needles became something else. I can almost see the beautiful illustrations but too vaguely to describe. It was a favorite book to trace from!

I also remember a story of Anderson's Red Cap. I just stumbled onto this site which is simply fantastic. I have been glued here all night and have decided to move in. Back to reading the posts! I believe it is Folk Tales Children Love. Safe tomorrow Barbara Leonie Picard. I'm guessing this is a collection by Barbara Leonie Picard. She wrote The Faun and the Woodcutter's Daughter , but the other stories aren't in the book by that name which are all original stories by her.

However, she did also retell a lot of fairy tales and legends as well as write her own, so it's quite possible she's got a collection out there that contains them all. A more traditional collection by someone else wouldn't include The Faun and the Woodcutter's Daughter , however which is what I'm pretty sure the first story is. I am looking for the same book. The book also has a wonderful story about a male spider trying to entice a shy female fly into his web.

I cherished this book as a child and would also love to find it. F48 funny animal poems: Enid Blyton, Mary Mouse series. They were small strip books with thin card covers approx 8 inches long by about 3 inches high with 2 boxed line drawings to a page with text underneath. They are very collectible now. Carved from clothes-pins, the Pegmen become animated and go on a sea voyage. Any chance this is Elves and Fairies?

This book had beautiful fairy's on the cover. I believe there is fire in the center with female fairies flying around it. The story about the spider inviting the fly into his parlour is the only story I remember. Thanks for the prompt reply!!! Howitt, Mary, The Spider and the Fly poem only. I don't know the exact book the poster is looking for, but the poem about the spider and the fly is in many collections and can be read here.

Treasury of Stories and Verse no author or editor Gallery Books The first or third may be a lead! This might be it! Fairies on cover and The Spider and the Fly covers 4 pages, lavishly illustrated. Treasury of Stories and Verse Gallery Books. It seems to be a collection drawing from three earlier sources: He gets accidentally abandoned by his family because he's so slow to follow them at anything they practically forget he exists.

He has to fend for himself and takes up with the creatures at a pond, including three forgetful frogs, who inspire him to pull himself together and stop being so lazy so he won't wind up as backward as them, maybe? He gives them names, since they have none, and tries to be their teacher. He finds his family eventually. If you put Percival and frog in Google you get over items, so I decided not to take the time to see if by any chance it would yield the answer to F What other word could we add? Bill Brittain, The Wishgiver , I haven't read this book in a long time, so if it doesn't work out, you might also want to try looking for the many variations of Bearskin.

These are collections of short stories, but the one you're looking for might be in them. In any case, they're wonderful. I remember a book about a girl who went to boarding school. It sticks out in my mind because I seem to remember that the main character was not quite perfect, in fact, there were sticky issues in the book. Beth Gutcheon, The New Girls , Not a match, but maybe would be satisfying to you. This one comes a bit later, and does not have the blue radio incident, but has many other similarities.

Here is the synopsis from HarperCanada Books: The New Girls is a resonant, engrossing novel about five girls during their formative prep-school years in the tumultuous mid-sixties. Into their reality of first-class trips to Europe, resort vacations, and deb parties enter the Vietnam War, the women's movement, and the sexual revolution.

As the old traditions collide with the new society, the girls lose their innocence, develop a social conscience, and discover their sexuality -- blossoming into women shaped by their turbulent times. I appreciate the information and now know what to look for. It's about a troll who is angry because a group of boys has started fishing in his lake and they've taken all the fish.

The water has turned slimy and the troll isn't happy living in his lake anymore. Grandma Troll gives him "fifty fresk frisky fish" from her lake to restock his lake, and he returns the bikes and fishing poles that the boys abandoned when he scared them away. The kids promise not to take too many fish and not to litter, and the troll promises not to scare them anymore. Could this possibly be the book you're looking for?? The main character, I'd like to say was a troll, but it could have easily been a different made-up creature though. He was pictured on the front of the book too.

Could've been a she too. I remember it was smaller than a picture book- novel size I guess. There were probably only 5 drawings in the whole book. I have a feeling this is going to be a rare story that not that many people know about. I'm pretty sure he was a 'nice guy' he could've been sad too. And then of course there's the part that I remember the best- these are the only 2 parts I remember, my whole class loved it when the teacher read it though, which was odd, because usually children, younger ones anyway, need more pictures than what this book had to keep their attention, we loved that book!

I remember the whole class would all yell the name of the main character together- if only I could remember what that was? At first he was scared, then he finds he can breathe how this all comes about, I don't remember The feeling I got each time she read it to us I love books was that when the "troll" went underwater it was safe, quiet?

This was probably an easy reader, beginning chapter book. It's possible that it might be a part of a collection of stories somewhere, not too likely though. Thanks for listening to me! In response to The Troll Who Lived in the Lake - It's possible that this is my book, …I don't remember any trash or environmental issues…but it's possible. I guess I would have to get the book first and read it through to find out…I know that if I read a whole book and not just an excerpt I would know if it was my book or not.

I'll let you know, and thanks soooo much for taking the time out to help me with my stumper!! Those books are aimed at adults, not children, and Don Camillo didn't ride a donkey. Those books were very political and mature, and not aimed at children, plus Don Camillo didn't ride a donkey. But the reader may be conflating a couple of different books. Just be sure to get the English language edition! The pictures I remember best are the cat's eyes and the headlights.

However, maybe you could inter-library loan it through your library to make sure it's the right one. This seems like a likely prospect -- Mr. At long last they discover a lovely green isle and decide to settle in its single beautiful valley-already, mysteriously, equipped with huts ready for occupation. There is a reprint commonly available at a reasonable price.

Lillian Beckwith, The Hills is Lonely, This site might help. Marian Cockrell, Shadow Castle, Long shot, but could this be Shadow Castle? It is a girl, not a boy, but she does go out in the woods and after a tunnel and some other things, meets a fairy and "travels" through his stories into a land of fairy royalty. Simon and Schuster, New York. Pictures by Garth Williams. One of the stories in this oversize 13" x 10" anthology meets this description.

Does you remember illustrations? This book is lavishly and beautifully illustrated. See Most Requested Books. Not sure but Mistress Masham's Repose by T. Someone sent in a solution to another stumper that sounds vaguely reminiscent of this one, though the person who owns the house is a woman, not a man: Caliper, who was so very friendly that she invited everyone who came along to live in her house. Rooms were added for the farmer, the milkmaid, the small boy Peter, and at last for the old lighthouse keeper.

Finally rooms had to be built on top of the house, which made it possible to expand almost indefinitely. At least, not in the recent reprint.

I think the stories were compiled by another editor. I too loved that book and repeatedly checked it out from my local library over very many years. I would love to have a copy in my book collection. I hope you find your book. The illustrations are as described and all the stories mentioned are in this book. Sleeping Beauty DOES have a dark coda; when the prince turned king goes off to war, his mother an ogress by birth decides she wants to EAT the little grandchildren and asks the cook to prepare them a day apart , but is fooled by the cook with a lamb and a goat.

Then the ogress decides she wants to eat the queen and the cook serves her a deer. One day, the ogress discovers the hidden queen and her children alive and decides to kill them in a basin of snakes, vipers, toads and spiders. Her son returns home and the ogress jumps into the basin instead. It takes place in the Southwest, crossing over into Mexico, apparently. I remember the sometimes colorful illustrations of pinatas, a bell tower, a ringtail, a kangaroo rat, a boat and market filled with flowers, maybe a beggar.

In the end Gordo happens upon a cornfield, and it turns out that ears of corn were the "golden treasure" of his father. I'm not certain this is the book that you are looking for because I haven't had time to finish reading it. However, there are fairies and elves, etc.

It's about a boy who is taken to a magic land in a soap bubble. F, the book was large with a smooth illustrated board with a white background, illustrated on the back cover as well? Were the coloured cloths bits of spiders webs coloured by sky and sunlight?

No story as I recall, just pictures - if there was any text it was minimal and in the full page illustrations. Also fairies riding in a cart pulled by? I don't know anything about the books in question, but the illustration sounds like it could be from "Snow White and Rose Red. They were fairy tales and the covers are along the lines of what's described, though I don't recall the exact one mentioned. Some of them are in print but others are not. Jenny Seed, Peter the Gardener. I haven't read it since I was a child, and can't remember if it contains the phrase you mention.

Well, Peter the Gardener wasn't published till I found another possibility, though: Peter and Penny plant a garden by Gertrude Dubois , published , pp. I found this description. Maybe it will help jog your memory or rule it out. A story format for a garden for pre-teens.

I remember this story-believe it was Japanese? Can't remember the title, sorry! There's a similar Japanese tale about a fairy princess found in a bamboo stalk. The famous Momotaro story is about a fisherman who catches a giant peach with a child in it, but here it's a boy. I do not have the book to check for you but your memory of the turquoise and orange illustrations HoJo's color scheme make me think of the Elson-Gray Readers that were used in the 's!

Another set of books to check out- Child Library Series , companion to the Elson-Gray set- same coloring- extends the lessons and vocab of the Basal reader. Locate Book One in this series as well. Hopefully one of these "seeds" will bear fruit! Fairy Tales , s. This is the title of the book, and I would love to have a copy if it's available.

It was published by Whitman in and has a glossy hard cover with some of the characters from the stories on it, most prominently Puss in Boots and a castle in the background. While it has some of your stories- not all are present-- However at the back of the book they list some of their other offerings. Maybe this one is worth checking out!

Anderson, Hans Christian, Thumbelina , I haven't been able to locate my copy to confirm this, but my memory is that the Tenggren depictions of the little flower people at the end of the book one of whom, the king, Thumbelina ends up marrying had them sporting fairy-like wings and wearing little upside-down flowers on their heads. I bet this is the book the requester recalls. This is F e-mailing you with a bit more info about the book I'm longing to find. I'm remembering that the little fairies were sitting by a tree with a door in it.

I wonder if it might be this old favourite about a bunny named Pookie. There are certainly lots of fairies in the story and there is an illustration of a tree trunk opening into a little room. It has recently been republished after years out of print. Sorry, can't name book but F and F I think both of these might be looking for the same thing.

I was in the archives to see if I could solve anything and ran across A which sounds a lot like the book I'm looking for. I don't remember the raft or the map but the rest sounds the same. I haven't read this book and can't find an online synopsis, but the title and date certainly match. I hope it's the book you're looking for! Sorry, it is not Hubbell's The Friendship Tree I remember it as a fairly large book, maybe 9x12 with about 40 pages or so. Colored pictures to the edges of the pages and about 6 - 10 lines of text on each page.

I have found three authors using the title but they are all novels, not children's books. Thank you so much for trying to help. From the lack of recognition, I'm afraid this might be a lost cause even with someone else on this list looking for the same book. I have been looking for this book for several years. My sister and I used to check it out from the small library in my hometown in Michigan back in the 's.

It must have been published in the 40's or 50's as the copy we used was showing its age. Is it possible that this is a book from Canada or England? As I recall the illustrations seemed to be influenced by Milne. I hope someone can find this one. I would like to by a copy for my sister. I am the original poster and it is highly possible that this is from a Canadian publisher as my mother was Canadian and brought this book with her when the family moved to the States. Hey, that's three whole people who remember this book!

Friendship Valley by Wolo. A story packed with illustrations about a variety of animals, large and small, who work together to make a home after the tragedy of a forest fire. Endpapers are a pictorial map of "The Little Lake and Friendship Valley," color pictorial paper over board. Friendship Valley is definitely the book being sought!

A group of small animals badger, woodchuck, racoon family, squirrel, hedgehog, and frog escape a forest fire by floating downstream on a raft. They rescue a kitten and establish a new home at the base of a large pine tree. Dorinda the squirrel loses all of her belongings by helping the racoons save their babies. When the key to their storehouse is lost at the bottom of the lake, Meedlepoo the frog, who is too small to do much work, saves the day, leading the badger to conclude "that the smallest one among us is just as needed as the biggest one.

Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth. Could this be it? Sally is sent to live with her Aunt Sarah while her parents are away. She find a diary written by another Sally who lived in the house when it was new in the Victorian era and talks about her doll, Elizabeth who she thinks is magic. The modern Sally is somehow tranported back to the Victorian Sally's time and lives the episodes out of the diary.

Eventually this leads the modern Sally to find the doll , Elizabeth, in the present. Elisabeth Lansing, Lulu's Window. I think you are looking for Lulu's Window. Young girl has to move to a new town and new house with her father who is a minister. She doesn't want to move, and is treated meanly by other girls in the town who are unhappy that she has replaced "Lulu" the little girl who previously lived in the house. She finds Lulu's diary, and eventually Lulu's secret room and makes friends with the local girls. I'm actually suggesting 2 books: Six Days Between a Second is the first, published , but the title of the sequel sounds closer to what's being sought.

The blurb for the first "Would you recognize a basilisk if you saw one? And what would you do if you discovered that a tribe of them had come to live in your district and was threatening to poison the water supply? The place is Canberra, where the Collard children are faced with the problem of saving the city from extinction. With the help of other creatures - unicorns, fabulous bees and dolphins and, best of all, Burleigh the Gryphon, they There could be something wrong with their fantasy world, which older children and adults will realise is not so far removed frou their own contemporary Australian one.

The endpapers of the second book have memorable spectrum-tinted maps. Check out the Anthology Finder to see if there are any other possibilities there. World's Best Fairy Tales. Beginning in it also appeared as 2 volumes. While the cover doesn't really match the description of the vines and people hiding, all the stories you mentioned are in this book. I don't know what the endpapers look like. I found lots of copies for sale online, so you shouldn't have any trouble finding a picture of the cover to compare to your memory.

Here's a complete contents list from the edition. It should be the same as the later editions. The description says it's 29 cm long, which is about right, and Doubleday has book clubs though I'm not sure if they're affiliated with any of the clubs that sell in the schools. Barker produced several illustrated books of fairies in costumes that rather cleverly mimicked different flowers. She was English, and I believe she is much better known in the UK. I loved this book as a kid, and can even still recite some of the poems from the facing pages opposite the illustrations.

Barker, Cicely Mary, A flower fairy alphabet , Blackie London published an issue of A flower fairy alphabet in I found a book that had 3 of your four stories, as well as several unusual titles. Are you sure The Selfish Giant was in your book?

If so, this isn't the one you're looking for. Unfortunately, "Folk Tales" does not seen to be the book I am looking for. I immediately thought of this book when I read your post. Green Nose makes a terrible noise "a noise like a little boy burping" Because only Gary can see Mr. Green Nose, other people think it's Gary who throws the rock through Mr. Mudd's window into his goldfish bowl, ties cans to Mrs.

Fitt's fat cat and puts a fly in Debbie White's milk. I10 imaginary friend monster: Gary and the Very Terrible Monster sounds like a good match - Gary is close to Harry, and the fly in the milk episode sounds pretty distinctive. I'm hoping you can help find a cherished book from my childhood.

It was one of my favorites, but I believe my little brother destroyed it, he was a book shredder in his toddler years. I read your Stumper page and believe it may be the same book being searched for under P4? I believe the book was old when it was read to me, some 30 years ago. Would love to have it again to relive childhood memories.

Would appreciate any help your site can offer. I think I remember the same book. I've been looking for it on the Internet. I remember something about the two little pigs go into the dining car but they don't have any money for their food, and the little boy pig wears a navy blue sailor suit and sort of a blue tam with a white pom-pom. Those were the pigs. How could I ever forget those names And hard to find, of course! It is a story about 2 little pigs in my memory they are French, coming over on a ship, basically ostrasized by the other passengers, but when they are in a fog, they save the day when the foghorn is broken by oinking and being heroes.

Georges Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine , '40s or 50s, approximate. The pigs are on a ship to America. When the ship's siren breaks, they climb up into the crows nest and squeal loudly so that other ships will hear them coming through the fog. George Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine , , copyright. Cute story of 2 French pigs on their way to America to visit their uncle.

After several misadventures, including their wallet being stolen by a kangaroo at the Paris zoo, a missed train, being locked up by a man who wanted to eat them, and a flat bicycle tire, they finally make it onboard ship. When the thick fog rolls in and the ship's siren is out of order, they climb to the crow's nest and squeak loudly to warn other ships, becoming heroes to the captain and grateful passengers. Georges Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine , 's, approximate.

It is out of print, I'm pretty sure. The story is just as described by the poster, and yes, the pigs are "two very rosy French pigs.

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I'm pretty sure that the book is The Gauntlet , by Ronald Welch. I can check my copy at home if you like. See also the listing under Danny Dunn: Description from Four to Fourteen: Lines , 2d ed. Welch, Ronald , The Gauntlet illustrated by T. Freeman , Oxford Univ Press, "The finding of an armoured gauntlet takes schoolboy Peter back into the past and through his experiences the reader shares life in a castle on the Welsh Border in the fourteenth century. Oxford University Press, Genevieve Goes to Bed Early title of story within book.

I can't remember the title, author or any of the other stories, but I do remember that this was the title of the story. So not really a solution, but a little additional info. More info about a solved mystery, "Genevieve Goes to Bed Early. I have spent about 3 weeks on the internet trying to find any information on a story I remember from my childhood in the 50's. I had no success as I didn't know the name of the story or the title of the book it was a part of. There were several other stories in the book as well.

I found your website through a search engine. When I started looking through your site, I knew right away that I would find what I was looking for. However, it was listed as a "solved mystery". Could you please tell me how to proceed. Thanks so much for your help. The little girl, in a defiant mood, decides to take this literally, so she goes to bed at, say, 7 p. Finally, she is sleeping during the day and awake all night, and her only friends are the mice, who come out in the middle of the night to keep her company. At the end, she has gone back to a sensible bedtime.

As I recall it, this was a story in an anthology like a Golden Books anthology? Golden Story Treasury , , copyright. Tibor Gergely--illustrator, The Golden Story treasury: I had this book, too, and the cover is absolutely pink! It's a large format Golden book, with an elephant, a fire truck, kids flying a kite and other illustrations on the cover. I vividly remember the little girl who went to bed an hour earlier every night. This is definitely the one. Genevieve Goes to Bed Early , Pretty sure this is the answer!

G for more information. The poster has a good memory. He has a sky high I. He has an inner self named George. Ben ignores warnings from the "little person" inside until the truth is out. George and Martha by James Marshall. There were several in the series, starring simple drawings of very funny and big hippoes. I don't know why these books aren't better known, they're classic! Maurice Sendak, for one, spares no praise for the "judicious, humane, witty, and astonishingly clever head of James Marshall. With a foreword by Maurice Sendak.

Houghton Mifflin, , Foreword by Maurice Sendak. George and Martha Encore. George and Martha Rise and Shine. George and Martha One Fine Day. George and Martha Tons of Fun. George and Martha Back in Town. George and Martha Round and Round. Dooly and the Snortsnoot. Although he enjoys playing with the village children instead of scaring them, Dooly, a giant who never grew, can't quite forget that giants are supposed to be big, brave, and scary.

I just flipped through it at a book sale this weekend, and it certainly seems very similar! Found in an anthology- Golden Treasury of Children's Literature. This sounds familiar - could it be Georgie and the Robbers , a smallish paperback I believe Scholastic book, probably from the 70's? Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers. This is definetely Georgie and the Robbers It is still in print.

Burglars target older home while owners are away, but resident ghosts thwart them. One character named, "Gus" can't recall if it's ghost or burglar, though. Some of story takes place in town; there's a gazebo in town square. Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers , , copyright. Georgie thwarts burglars who attempt to rob the Whittaker's home while they are away at a church social.

This sounds a lot like Georgie and the Robbers. So, look into the others, too. See under Gus at Solved Mysteries. Possibly this or one of Thayer's other picture books about Gus the Ghost. Gus was a Friendly Ghost. As suggested, I may have "borrowed" Gus from memories of another book. Georgie, however, is beginning to sound right - I think you've solved it. Thanks for your message. We have two copies of Geraldine Belinda in stock Hi, I just want to be sure it is the book I am looking for.

I thought it was called Geraline Belinda Mabel Scott. What is the picture on the cover of the book. It's the right book. The dj shows a little girl flouncing across the cover with hands in a muff and braids trailing behind. The first page talks about Geraldine Belinda Marybel Scott. I am delighted that you have the book. Please reserve one for me. Would love to get copy for grandchildren. Yes, and I have a beautiful copy of Geraldine Belinda for you. I think the cover was red. The story was about a young girl who went to the candy store.

I remember a picture of her looking in the window at all the candy. There was a man behind the counter. She had a small purse that held her coins.

Her clothing was old fashioned. I believe she was wearing a coat, and maybe a hat. The drawings were fairly simple, and mostly black and white. I think this is Geraldine Belinda by Marguerite Henry , Geraldine Belinda goes on a shopping spree and doesn't want to share her new treasures with her friends she passes on the way home.

But by holding her head so high, she misses that each of her little toys falls out of her bag paper horn , and cries when she discovers her empty load at home, until all her scorned friends arrive on her doorstep, each one holding one of the toys she'd dropped. Marguerite Henry, Geraldine Belinda , Yes, thank you, this is the book I remember. Although I remember it being much smaller! I bought a copy and read it with delight. I was so surprised to see the little girl wearing a white fur hat and carrying a hand muff. My sister and I had those, too, probably about the same time I read the book.

I don't have a solution to this stumper, but I do have more details that might help someone else pin it down. I remember this book and had thought it was called something like Yours Truly, Trudy, but I haven't been able to find anything by that name or close approximations online. Hope that helps someone track down the real thing. The hint about "Trudy" seems rightI think maybe the girl signed her diary entries "yours Trudy" instead of "yours truly".

Still no luck with any combo of those terms, though. I wonder if maybe this was a reprint of slightly earlier book, since the part about the oxygen tent seemed very old-fashioned. Eureka, I found it! I read this book many years ago when it was first published, and remembered one detail the stumper requester didn't mention. Gertrude puts a symbol at the top of each diary entry to show whether she's had a good, bad or medium day. A good day is marked with a star, a medium day with a circle, and a bad day with a square. Armed with this knowledge, I did an online search, but could only find a brief synopsis for this title: Gertrude is a latchkey child whose mother works as a bookkeeper for a department store.

Gertrude's father is never mentioned, and it is unclear whether her mother is divorced, widowed, or a single parent. Gertrude and her mother live on the top story of a two family house. The lower level is occupied by the five Murphy boys and their parents. Gertrude purchases a black and white speckled notebook and starts her diary on Monday, March 25th.

She signs some entries "Yours truly, Trudy. On that same day, Gertrude's mother goes shopping with her friend, Miss Rice the head of housewares , and buys her daughter a plaid dress with a white collar "just like pictures of school girls in magazines. Blonski, the owner of the garden, on April 11, and her son, Carl, on April 23rd. Thanks to the kind Mrs. Blonski, the shy and unsure Trudy learns to jump rope, befriends the children at her school, gains the favorable attention of her teacher, stands up to the rambunctious Murphy boys, and becomes best friends with Sandra, the most popular girl at school.

At the end of the book, Trudy nearly succumbs to undiagnosed pneumonia, but is saved by Carl who is studying medicine and Mrs. Blonski, who take her to the hospital where she is put in an oxygen tent. The book concludes with the entry for Friday, May 24th. This was Ruth Hooker's first book, and it was published by Abingdon Press. It was followed by a sequel in , Gertrude Kloppenberg II , which starts on Monday, May 28th, four days after the first book ends.

I'm so excited to see my old stumper solved! I swear I don't remember a car accident, though I'll have to re-read it. The bear who liked hugging people, and other stories. The bear who liked hugging people. Illustrated by Rick Schreiter. This is indeed the book that absolutely horrified me as a child, approximately 35 years ago. I received it in the mail today and after reading just three pages, I can see why I was traumatized! Thank you so much to this site and to the individual that solved my query!

Thank you Harriet for providing this service. Without it I surely would never had resolved this and would have been "wondering" forever! The main character, a little girl who mistreats her dolls, wakes up in a mysterious world where the dolls choose and own the little girls. She goes through a strange process of being put on a shelf in a little girl store. On a nearby shelf there is a mysterious and beautiful little girl who lies very still with her eyes closed. I think she is under a glass cover. Our little girl is chosen by an awful doll and is treated much the same way she treated her own dolls.

One memorable scene has the doll running a bath, plopping the little girl in and forgetting her until the water is ice cold and the little girl is shivering miserably. I can't remember the outcome, but I remember being fascinated with both the haunting story and pen and ink illustrations. Gertrude was a wooden doll determined to be set free of the little girl who owns her and abuses her. When she meets an old man who takes her to his store, she finds all sorts of children for sale!

I wanted to thank you for identifying my book! It was indeed Gertrude's Child. I have ordered a copy and look forward to reading it again! About 35 years ago. As I remember it, it was about a doll named "Gertrude", although that could have been the name of the "little girl" in the story too. The little girl mistreated her doll At some point, the doll comes to life and mistreats the little girl.

I remember being horrified by the story and have been searching for it for years. Richard Hughes, Gertrude's Child , I entered the key words Gertrude doll. It came up with Gertrude's Child by Richard Hughes written in The description says Gertrude the doll is tired of what she thinks is abuse and runs away. Could this be the book you're thinking of?

This same author has a book entitled Gertrude and the Mermaid. I am almost trembling, I am so excited. I think the mystery of the title of the book I've been searching for for so long has been solved! Someone responded to my post about G, The story of a doll that "owns" a girl and mistreats her. If this mystery has been solved, the book is titled: Gertrude's Child by Richard Hughes. I have ordered it through [some huge corporate monstrocity]. I will let you know as soon as I receive it, if in fact it is the book I'm looking for!

It was made into a Disney TV movie in the timespan. I am having fun with these, and I'm suggesting the site to others! I have no idea if this was a book or not. I saw this movie on TV when I was young mid to late 70s , so it was probably a Disney or Sunday night movie for kids. It was about a boy in the South Louisiana? She asks for his help in solving her murder. I think she was thrown down a well. Maybe by an uncle. I think it was antebellum or thereabouts. I've tried Disney sites and haven't had any luck, so I thought I would try you. The Disney movie is Child of Glass.

The Ghost Belonged to Me. Puffin paperback reprint, Lois Lenski, Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison , I haven't read this book in a long time, and I don't know how true the novel is to the real story, but Mary Jemison was captured by Indians and her family was murdered, and she eventually married an Indian man. Her hair is supposed to be blonde, but looks reddish on the cover of the reprint.

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Seneca Captive, originally published in Mary is definately blonde in this story, an emigrant from Ireland settling in Pennsylvania before being captured by the Senecas. The hiding in the barn part of the story doesn't match. I do believe that the book for which I'm searching is fiction. It's also not appropriate for young children.

There was some detail to the goings-on in the birthing hut. There was also a bit of violence in the description of the torture of the rival warrior. He was forced to walk or run through rows of the tribe while they punched him or hit him with objects. They cut flesh from his legs and forced him to eat it before burning him at a stake.

I think this is an adult romance novel called Ghost Fox. I remember reading it at about the same time and age as the requester, as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection. The girl had red hair and I think her name was Sarah. Ghost Fox was the name the Indians gave her, referring to her hair color. Unfortunately I have no idea who wrote this and Google turns up nothing. I was also a fan of Lois Lenski's Indian Captive , which is definitely not the same book. You can mark this one as solved. I bought the book Ghost Fox by James Houston and while at least one detail in my memory didn't hold up, the rest did.

I think the title was The Witches Garden but I am not sure. It was not by Ruth Chew but is possibly an American book. The story was about a 12 year old girl who goes to stay with her Aunt? I think the girls name was Sarah she becomes friends with a girl named Christine? Christine is fascinated by the local graveyard where a 12 year old girl named Sadie was buried many years before. The girls discover that Sarah is living in Sadie's old house and they find her room behind layers of wallpaper. It still contains her furniture and toys. The girls say a spell at midnight on Sadie's grave in the hope that they will see her ghost but it doesn't work.

Then Christine dies, she leaves Sarah some seeds which she eventually plants on her grave, I think they are sunflowers. The rest of the book tells of Sarah learning to accept change. And thats all I can remember. I hope you can help as I would love a copy of it. No thats not it!

Thanks for trying though. If only I could remember the title correctly!!! I have this book, although it is in my old room in my parent's house. There is a scene where the girls spread gold dust in a "ceremony" to talk to the ghost. Hello again, I talked with my mom who confirmed the title and author. Hope this helps the person who was looking for it! Thank you for your help and yes that is the book!!! I have just received my own copy from a bookshop in the US and am very happy!!! Into this setting comes Jessica, whose father went butterfly hunting long ago and shows no sign of returning, whose mother has embraced transcendental meditation and a new boyfriend.

For the holidays Jessica has been wished on a scatty aunt who lives in a commune in Wellfleet, in a sagging house which reminds Jessica of "one of the old horses that pull the carriages in Central Park". It is anyone's dream of a haunted house and certainly Jessica senses a strange presence in it. Truro churchyard too seems to be haunted, but the pale elusive figure hiding among the graves is no ghost but Christina, another ten-year-old of an unhappy home. The two little girls make an ideal partnership in many holiday activities, notably ghost-hunting and witchery.

At the end of the holiday they conduct an eerie seance in the churchyard at midnight, but the reflection which Jessica sees is not that of the ghost but of Christina. Christina, who has always seemed to exquisite to be quite real, dies. Jessica is left to keep her part of the pact which they had made, in blood, at the end of the holiday. I think they may have become friends when one moved in next door to the other. I don't remember any names at all. One of the girls has a vial of gold dust, I believe it was dentist gold that she had gotten from her father. The two girls make an agreement that if one of them dies, they will somehow use this gold dust to somehow bridge the distance between the worlds of the living and the dead.

It turns out one of the girls does die, I don't remember how, and the surviving friend performs a ritual with the gold dust, spinning in a circle and scattering it all over. For a while she thinks nothing happened, but then she sees her dead friend in a flower and learns that she has built the bridge but instead of bringing her to the after world, she has brought her friend back to the living world, but only briefly, through this flower. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hila Feil , The Ghost Garden, I had remembered the title as The Witch Garden for years, but actually found the book through this Web site a couple years ago! Jessica is the girl sent to live with her odd relatives on Cape Cod, she befriends Christina in the graveyard, Christina later dies.

I think this may be the book you're seeking. It's square, one of the men wears a pot on his head, and everyone has big noses. It starts with one child in a room of the house and relatives and friends keep arriving on each page until there is a houseful. The ghost plays tricks on everyone. Isabel Eberstadt, Who is at the Door?

Nell's mom is busy cleaning the basement and leaves her and her dog in charge of taking phone messages and answering the door. Mayhem ensues when everyone including a friend, the ice-cream man, an organ grinder and a repairman are let in by Nell. There is soon so much party-like noise in the house that when Nell's dad rings the bell and knocks, no one can hear him so he needs to climb in through the window. Maurice Sendak, One Was Johnny , , approximate. Could it be this book? Johnny lives alone and the book counts up from 1 to 10 as more and more guests arrive at his house for a party, and back to 1 again as they leave.

Can't find an image of Johnny with the pan on his head, but I seem to remember it The suggestion of " Ghost in a Four Room Apartment " is it! Boy, I wonder how many brain cells I've murdered over the decades trying to think of this?! I'm fascinated by the fact that I remembered a guy with a pan on his head and people with big noses but nothing whatsoever of a ghost. Is there a pair of ghosts? Behrman, Ghost in the Garden, This sounds like Ghost in the Garden by Carol H.

Behrman , in which Jennie and her family move to the country and Jennie discovers the ghost named Samantha in the garden where she paints. A Weekly Reader paperback, its out of print, but fairly available used. This may not be the right book, but the cover shows a modern girl sitting with a ghost girl on a bench in a rose garden. I read it in about , too. Behrman, Carol, Ghost in the Garden , I got it from the Scholastic book list in or so.

Jennie and Samantha become friends, they both decide to paint a picture of their houses one day and they realize that they have painted the same house Im sure this is it what a great book. I don't have the title, but just a few more things about it. The ghost, Felicia, is really obnoxious. She rides a swing a lot. The copy I read in 5th grade was hardback but without a jacket--the cover had an actual picture, though; it wasn't just blank. Probably not the only one to suggest this - mystery about the ghost of a young girl called Miranda, clues include a cement owl made by her and her aunt.

It's on the Solved List with more detail. John, The Ghost Next Door , This is definitely the book. It has all the details the poster mentioned. So when Sherry came to visit her Aunt Judith, no one could explain the odd things that started to happen. Who was the elusive friend Sherry said she saw in the garden? Was she an imaginary playmate-or could she be the ghost of Miranda who had drowned in the pond years ago?

Uncanny reminders of Miranda began to turn up- a blue rose a lost riding whip More info is available on the Solved Stumpers page. John , and appears on your "Solved Mysteries" page. John, The Ghost Next Door. This was one of my favorite books too. I remember reading it many times. My copy is in storage, but I am certain of the title - not sure about the spelling of the author's name. This is a Wylly Folk St. The main character is visiting her grandmother? She drowned in a pond in the backyard after hiding the owl for the grandmother's birthday and the grandmother hadn't been able to find it.

The children, along the way, expose a "psychic"'s fraud when he claims to have found the owl buried by the pond. This seems to be a popular book. It's been asked about a few times. Regarding my stumper, O Owl with love in its eyes, I just wanted to thank everyone who wrote in and solved this year-old mystery for me. Now I can share this book with my daughter when she is old enough.

This service is terrific! It was about two children who were living in a house with a pond nearby. A girl named Miranda once lived in the house and drowned in the lake. The children are trying to find out about her, and they find her diary and a ceramic I think owl that she made when she was alive.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? I know this one and I have the book right in front of me!! I have been looking for a book that I read as a child. I've received several responses in the past from sites like this one, but none of them have been the right one. I remember that the "ghost" in the story is named Miranda--she drowned as the child. The two children who are staying at the house find her diary and a ceramic owl that she made.

They are trying to solve some sort of mystery surrounding here. Anyone have a clue? John , illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, published Harper , pages. After her parents' divorce, Miranda and her father came to live in Georgetown with her aunt, and Miss Judith became mother and friend to the lonely little girl. Together they made roses turn blue, had a secret place in which they left small notes to each other, and created a cement owl 'with love in its eyes'. Then in a pond at the back of the property, Miranda was accidentally drowned. Miss Judith was shattered, and Dr.

Alston, unable to restrain his grief, left the family home and tried to bury the memory of his daughter in his work. Consequently, when he returned to Georgetown - for the first time since the tragedy - with his second wife and their 10 year old daughter Sherry, all mention of Miranda was carefully avoided. And then Sherry developed a mysterious playmate - one who could not be put to rest until both she and her half-sister were once again lovingly recognized by their family.

The plot, which is narrated by the budding-adolescent-next-door, Lindsey Morrow, is punctuated with seances, pregnant rabbits, and infamous psychics. I think it may have been a Weekly Reader book. A young girl moves is visiting? The neighbor has recently lost their daughter or other young female relative and things start appearing in the house that make the neighbor believe the child is still alive.

There are blue carnations which the little girl used to make by sticking white carnations into blue dye and I recall an owl with marble eyes Hope that is enough info The owl with love in its eyes is the give away. I have seen this one show up as a stumper many times elsewhere. St John, Wylly Folk, The ghost next door , This is definitely The Ghost next Door. This info is from your solved pages Miranda Alston was deeply loved by her aunt Judith. This is definitely it Two visiting girls are trying to find the owl -- some plot with a fake seance. I just found the book it was already on your site and I missed it the other day!

The Ghost Next Door and it was blue roses, not carnations! Thanks so much for having this site I've found three books that I thought were lost forever! Someone was talking of the book and I had been looking for the movie! This is definitely the book, the owl with love in its eyes gives it away. It's on the solved mysteries page. There should be something on the Solved Mysteries about this one. John , it had lovely black and white illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman.

Two girls become involved in looking into whether or not the ghost of a girl who drowned years ago in the pond behind a neighbor's house has returned. The owl with love in its eyes and the blue flower were things that Miranda had made with her grandmother whose house it is , now Miranda's father is visiting his mother for the first time since his daughter's death, bringing with him his new wife and daughter Sherry.

The appearance of the owl and flower, as well as an old riding crop, taken with Sherry's assertion that she has a new friend named Miranda, make it seem that it might be so John , The Ghost Next Door, John , The Ghost Next Door, circa I'm fairly certain this would be the book you seek. I have loved all of St. I don't remember the carnations, but the owl with love in its eyes is in a Wylly Folk St. I am sure that this is the book that you are looking for!

I loved this one as a girl, it is just scary enough, but not too scary. The story is loosely about a girl who goes to live somewhere new and discovers that the neighbors had a daughter or granddaughter named Miranda who drowned I think in a backyard pond. The part about the dyed carnations has always stayed in my mind, too. Good choice for a clue. I hope this helps. John , The Ghost Next Door. It was probably published in the 70s or so. It was about a girl who went to visit her aunt.

While she was there, she discovered a jeweled owl in a tree. Does this ring any bells? This is the book you are looking for. It was one of my favorites when I was a kid. I still own it! Two girls that live next door decide to find out if there really is a ghost next door. The jeweled owl is searched for throughout the story and is a huge part of the mystery. Wyly Folk St John, The ghost next door. Is it possible that the owl isn't jeweled, but made of cement with amber glass marbles for eyes?

If so, then this is The Ghost Next Door. Sherry Alston visits her Aunt Judith and finds an owl "with love in its eyes" that her half-sister Miranda had hidden in a tree many years before. Please see the Solved Mysteries "G" pages for more information. The book was very enchanting, and may have had something in the title regarding "secret" or "hidden" and maybe "door" or "garden".

I think that there was a character by the name of "Miles" in it. The book was read from my local public library in about , but it was not contemporary for that time, it was much older hence the name Miles. I would love to find this book again to read it to my children. It's about a young boy named Milo who enters a fantasy world through a magical tollbooth that appears in his house.

Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth. I loved that book too. From the back cover: A phantom tollbooth, with a map to a weird world beyond! So Milo sets off on a fantastic voyage in which he meets: It was a book for older children, and was about a boy whose parents moved into "the family homestead," where he encountered the ghost of a long-deceased relative named Miles Dibble.

The boy looked identical to Miles, who had died-I believe he drowned-after hiding a bag of gold belonging to him and his best friend who was now a very old man. The gold had never been found, and was the source of a feud between the Dibbles and the old man's family. It is up to Miles' look-alike relative to solve the mystery of where the gold was buried, and to resolve the feud between the two families. I think that this is also a book that I have been looking for. I believe it was set in medieval times and the boy, Miles, father has disappeared and he and his mother were in difficulty until he finds whatever it is that is hidden in the wall in the garden.

I read this in grade 3 which was about 39 years ago and it was an old book then. That's the book, and I remember it very well, too. It's no longer in print according to my quick research. It was a mystery having to do with the ghost of a boy named Miles and two identical trees on opposite sides of the yard or house. It seems that Miles was entrusted with taking a sum of money home, but disappeared. Everyone thinks he stole the money, but, in fact, he had buried it under one of the trees.

He had problems with left and right, and had buried it under the wrong tree to keep it safe, and, I believe, had died protecting the money. His descendant, a boy about his age at his death, is trying to solve the mystery, since the Miles' best friend at the time, the one who thinks he stole the money, is still bitter about it, even though it is about 50 or 60 years later, and he's an old man.

At the beginning of the book, the modern boy's family is moving into Miles' old house and finds the well is dry. Miles helps the boy locate a second well. The modern boy's name may be Benjamin or Benny, but I could be confusing his name with one of the Boxcar Children. I believe this is the book you are looking for.

Check the solved section for more details. Out of the graveyard comes a ghost—the ghost of ten-year-old Miles Dibble. Pug gets used to chairs that rock by themselves, shutters that bang mysteriously, and hair that stands on end. And all the while he follows clues to the weirdest treasure hunt with the ghost of Dibble Hollow. They chase him to a river, where he is killed and his body swept downstream, and the money was never found.

At the end, the boy's family makes peace with Miles' old friend a neighbor - I think he had a grandchild who was friends with the boy by finding the money, the family decides to stay in the house, and the unmarked grave where Miles was buried is found. This is the book, a great mystery and ghost story combined. This is definitely the book you are seeking. See the Solved Mystery page under G for more details. Definitely the one you're looking for! Myles knows what happened, but can't say what it is, he has to lead the modern-day nephew to the clues and let him piece together what happened.

He keeps humming or singing the song "The Derby Ram" because his body was discovered in a town called Derby, and once the nephew puts the clues together, and talks to the old man who found the body, he can clear Myles. I'm pretty sure this is the book you're thinking of. It is in the solved section if you want more descriptions. The Ghost of Dibble Hollow. Illustrated by Orin Kincade, cover by Dom Lupo. Scholastic Book Services, , 4th printing, Paperback with creases on front cover.

I probably first read this in '70 or so. This could be Me and Caleb by Franklyn Meyer. It is about brothers who live in a small Missouri town. There is a lengthy description of Halloween activities including greased doorknobs, stuck car horns and a "garbage-launcher. There was a sequel, Me and Caleb Again. More on The Ghost of Five Owl Farm by Wilson Gage , illustrated by Paul Galdone, published Cleveland, World "Surprised by the visit of two cousins during a vacation, Ted decides to frighten them with ghost stories about an old barn on their property.

They all too soon discover that there really are goings-on as they are led through a series of hair-raising experiences. The Ghost of Five Owl Farm. Illustrated by Paul Galdone. Pocket Books Archway paperback, , 4th paperback printing The book would have been published that year or before, so I think we are looking at a book that is pre and may have been published any time in the earlier decades of the 20th century. I do not remember the author or the title, but I do remember the book being rather small and its hardcover boards were white which was rather unusual.

There was an old woman who lived in an old house and there was some scariness around both. Perhaps the child thought the house was haunted or the woman was a witch. Eventually the child got to know the old woman who turned out to be a retired Shakespearean actress or something along those lines.

The name Julia sticks in my head, but I don't recall if that was the author, a character in the book, or it might have been a person external to the book like the woman who drove the Bookmobile! I have no other memories of the book other than that it had an effect on me as a ten-year-old girl, and I have been looking for it for years. Barbara Wersba , The Dream Watcher. I'm not certain about this one It's about a teenage boy named Albert Scully who befriends an elderly lady named Orpha Woodfin. She quotes Shakespeare constantly. At the end of the book he finds that it was all an act and she wasn't really a famous actress in her youth.

Freehof - it was recently a stumper here. In this one a teen boy named Ted encounters a pair of elderly sisters- Juliet and Mary- who quote Shakespeare. He eventually finds that there is really only one lady who is playing the role of herself and a sister. Freehoff, Lillian , Ghost of Garina Street, Sounds similar with an old Shakespearian actress. Sounds like this is probably the one you are looking for. A teenage boy befriends two old women, both of whom quote Shakespeare frequently. One of them is nice to him, the other kind of mean. He later discovers that they are both the same woman, a former Shakespearean actress suffering from mental illness.

Thank you very much for posting my inquiry R on Monday. It was solved right away, and The Ghost of Garina Street appears to be the correct match. If I had had the patience to wade through all the old postings, I might have found the answer anyway, although this was a much more efficient way to get an answer. This was my first time using your service and I want to tell you how delighted I am. What a novel idea you had to start this! He brings them food and helps them around the house. One lady accepts his help, the other rejects it. They both quote Shakespeare a lot and he learns it so he can talk to them, it helps him do well in English class but his other subjects suffer because he's working to try and support them.

Eventually he finds out the two ladies are actually the same person, the woman has dual personalities or is having fun with him. The lady dies in the end and leaves a fortune to the boy. I read the book in my grade school grades back around It was in with the regular fiction so it was for at least grades I have the impression it had been there for a while so I'm guessing it was published somewhere around It is so frustrating, I can remember sections of it so clearly yet not the title.

There was one chapter where the boy is bring these two old ladies milk and bread because he knows they have nothing to eat in the house. The nice sister takes it and thanks him, then disappears, then the cranky nasty one appears a minute later and kicks him out.

He looks in a window and sees her gulping the food down and realizes they are one and the same person, she is just playing a game with him. I remember they are always acting out things from Shakespeare and he learns it from them and his English teacher is thrilled but his other teachers are angry because he has let his other work slide since he's helping the old lady.

Barbara Wersba, The Dream Watcher. It's about a boy, Albert Scully, who doesn't fit in at home or school, and the friendship he forms with Orpha Woodfin, an eccentric year old woman who claims to have been a great Shakespearean actress in her youth. This book is back in print. We looked for this for over a year on another stumper forum. It has been confirmed as the correct answer by someone who had the book in her hands -- all the details match. The Disney movie was based on the book Thomasina by Paul Gallico. Opalina is a cat and the book recounts her nine lives among generations of a family.

I think there is a hidden treasure. This couldn't be Finnegan II: His Nine Lives , by Carolyn Bailey , could it? It's got to be Thomasina by Paul Gallico. I think The Ghost of Opalina is definitely the book I'm looking for. I must have seen the Disney movie about the same time and blended them together in my memory.

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