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Sounds like a version of Seven Blind Mice , except it's usually an elephant they're describing. There's a nice modern version of that by Ed Young. Thanks for the suggestion. Seven Blind Mice is similar in theme, but it's not the book I'm looking for. M Have you tried consulting A to Zoo? Thanks for the advice. Sadly, I've checked two different directories of children's literature -- but to no avail. It also reminds me of the movie An American Tail, though I never saw it. The plot involves a young mouse who lives in a grocery store with his large family but is anxious to see the outside world.
His mother warns him of the dangers of the outside. He is accidently swept outside and travels around searching for food and a place to live. He meets a girl mouse and moves into a tree eventually taking her back to see his family. This is a very cute book-at one point they follow a trail of ants to find food. It was very "vintage" when I received it in the mid-sixties. I have it up in the attic somewhere-if this sounds right, let me know and I will look for it to find the author. I just found the book.
It is not the one I am looking for. Could this be Mouse House by Rumer Godden?? Thanks, but it's not the Mouse House either. Could this be the book, it is about a rabbit though not a mouse who gets separated from his family when they go on a picnic, he gets lost and goes through many adventures. It is a fuzzy wuzzy book? I had it as a child in the early 50's Thank you very much, but Patrick The Fuzziest Bunny is not the book I am searching for.
There were no fuzzies and I am sure it was a mouse that was lost. I seem to remember a series of 2in1 books from that included My Mother is the Most Beautiful Woman in the World, unfortunately the reverse side of that is not the mouse book I am struggling to remember. There is one about a mouse I believe he is dressed russian style and he has to go out into the snow searching for something? Which made me think of the description for M My memory of this series gets alittle vague, perhaps someone else remembers this series better? The watercolor illustrations of Trubloff traveling with a band of musicians show him cross-country skiing against vast wintery sunsets and starry night skies.
There are many wonderfully moving stories and pictures in this collection, including The Three Little Horses, and Johnny Crow's Garden. Long shot, but could be Bedtime for Frances. While the story does not center entirely around things looking scary in the dark, there are parts about this, and then Frances will turn on her light and see what they really are.
Hoellwarth, Cathryn, The Underbed , '90's. Can't remember if this book shows the entire bedroom. Mercer Mayer, Nightmare in my Closet. Speaking of Mercer Mayer, could the scary 'thing' have been in his closet instead of under the bed [alligator] The book is definitely from the 70s--when I was a child. And I do remember that the format was dark room monster, light room objects, dark room monster, light room objects, etc. I'm excited to see that people have read and considered my entry--and am holding out hope that it will be solved.
MMonsters are really ordinary objects: Could this be by Judith Viorst? These are both very short books about the fun of scaring yourself, but not to get to upset because "I know that sound isn't really the flat man scratching at my window to get in, it is just the branches from the tree outside, but I like to pretend.
Editorial Reviews. About the Author. Shirley is the author of numerous books from poetry, childrens, humor, Christian, to name a few. She has a BA Degree in. Shirley Priscilla Johnson has 58 books on Goodreads with 6 ratings. Shirley Priscilla (The Fos IS REVENGE SWEET? (The Fos & Prissy Series) by avg rating — 0 ratings — published — 2 editions What's That Smell? by.
Not monsters in a room, but a child who doesn't like to wear her glasses, but you see, in grey, what she thinks she sees and then, in full color, what it is that the things really are. A favorite of mine! As a child I thought it was a wonderful book perhaps because Boo looked like my little brother! Ann Hellie , Once I had a Monster, I think that the poster that suggested Spectacles is on to something as I just recently found that book for my daughter and read it again.
Just try to find the book at the library to see if it is what you remember. How I came across it, by the way, was by googling the "little yellow monkey" etc. It was the unique hit, unfortunately. But I can't imagine how the customer saw it in a " book in the fifties--the original was a small folio. Maybe what he saw was an anthology of some sort? I am awestruck by the number of mysteries you solve, by the way; and your store looks wonderful.
These are juvenile novels about the Russo-Finnish War published before Do any of them sound right? Sorry for all the choices, but I couldn't find summaries for most of them. Comrades in the Snow , by Julian David [a. Ski Patrol , by Roy J. A story about the courage of the Finns when Russia gobbled up a thick slice of Finland. It is based on the experiences of a young Finnish drama student at the Playhouse in Pittsburgh whom Mrs.
Bentel came to know. Floyd Miller, Wild Children of the Urals , Could this be the same book as O It sounds very similar. Boy rescues friend from mystic force: There are two boys who are friends, but nothing about holding hands, and you would definitely remember the part about the dog. If you don't remember any dog, this is not your story.
Mollie Hunter, The Haunted Mountain, This wasn't about two boys, but about a boy and his father. It also wasn't set in the Alps. The boy's father had been missing and the boy up the mountain to save him from a magical force. MMysery of the Topaz Necklace: Hmmm, doesn't seem to be this one: Secret of the Tiger's Eye , by Phyllis A. All right, so tigers don't live in Africa. How can you explain Benita Dustin's terrifying experience with one in the garden of her aunt's house in Cape Town? Of course, this daughter of a journalist has considerable imagination, the kind you'd expect of a girl who likes to read and aspires to authorship herself.
It's not the kind of imagination Joel Monroe appreciates. He's a fact-loving soul, the last boy on earth probably to believe in ghosts or in disappearing faces at the window, or to feel there's anything odd in a man's thumb being blue. He's the last boy, certainly, whom Benita wants as companion on the trip she and her younger brother have made with their father, who is writing a book about South Africa. Oh, once in a while Benita and the guest, son of Mr.
Dustin's editor back in New York, do see eye to eye -- on the ugly injustice of apartheid, for instance. But when it comes to Aunt Persis' exciting house with its cave and romantic towers and frightening prowlers, or to the mystery surrounding the death of Aunt Persis' adopted son, why, then, the sparks fly. Logical Joel scoffs at the "notions " of imaginative Benita. He scoffs on the other side of his face, so to speak, when her writer's intuition turns out to be only too true concerning the sinister intentions of Mr.
Blue Thumb, otherwise known in questionable quarters as Tom Kettle -- a grinning, greasy-haired, sidling sailor whom sensible Joel wants to befriend! Friendship, though, friendship, trust, and respect are the clues to the really big secret in this book. Here, against the breath-taking background of a highly dramatic country, is a story full of drama as well as of meaning, with scarcely a slack in the sleuthing thrills young mystery fans love.
It sounds like the kind of plot she sometimes used, though I can't think of a specific book. How about Mystery in the Museum by Betty Cavanna? I believe the young girl works in the museum shop and I think the mystery revolves around a very valuable missing bracelet. Might be worth a look! Hi, I posted a stumper a while back called Mystery of the Topaz Necklace. You guys solved it as Mystery in the Museum by Betty Cavanna.
I've read it, and while it was good, it's not the book I'm looking for. Mine takes place in a natural history museum in the 40's or 50's or so and is more of a teenage story, Cavanna's is set in the Boston Museum of Fine Arts I'm from Boston, so I especially enjoyed it among college kids in the 70's. I think this book has fallen off the face of the earth since I know Topaz Necklace is in the title and there are on hits on that phrase anywhere I wish I'd stolen it from my library when I was reading it 10 years ago before it got weeded!
LOL but if you get a chance at some point I'd appreciate it if you could stick it back into the unsolved archive--hey, you never know! Might this be the Trixie Belden series? As I recall, Trixie solved mysteries along with her brother and her friend and her friend's brother. There were also other siblings involved I believe, as well as friends. And they did always have happy endings, with Trixie and company returned safely to her big loving family. Laura Lee Hope, Bobbsey Twins series.
Perhaps another possibility Old series?? Curly Tops by Howard R. My first thought was Moon Bear by Frank Asch but that wasn't published till , maybe a little late for your book. Here are two other possibilities: Barbapapas are blobby creatures one of them is rather hairy who take animals into space in a rocket-type vehicle. It's from the right time period, too. Wildsmith, Brian, Professor Noah's Spaceship , , copyright. Picture book with Wildsmith's characteristic semi-abstract colorful pictures, maybe too recent. M I think this must be it. I haven't located it yet, but now that I see it is only 24 pages, I'll look again in the morning in the stacks of zoology.
M No luck finding my copy of Mouse House. In the search, I ran across 2 other photographic mouse books: Mouse and Company by Lilo Hess is closer: Watts in , and by Scholastic in paperback in If this is the book you're thinking of, than you may recall that the text goes something like this - Mouse was looking for a house that was not too hot, not too cold, not too dirty, not too wet And you may recall that Mouse finds a dollhouse to live in, finds a mouse friend, and when they run out of food, a human finds them and puts them in a mouse house with plenty of good things for mice.
It is really adorable, and a fun read-aloud. Just be careful that it's by Helen Piers - there's another book by the same title. The little girl definitely constructs the mermaid herself and decorates her with objects she finds on the beach no sand castle involvement. I don't think the mermaid ever speaks, either. Queen Anne's Lace the flower is one of the things the little girl uses to make her mermaid beautiful.
I haven't been able to find The Mermaid of Ryle , but I managed to read some of Martin Pippin on-line; it doesn't have the same feel as the mermaid story I remember. The story was fairly contemporary s or 70s. It is a picture book, the illustrations are distinctive, and are set in Victorian?
Millicent is friends with her next door neighbor I'm pretty sure that they do handstands together but she's sick of being a good girl. She decides to become a monster and terrorizes everyone with mean faces, words and behavior. But when her best friend can't stand her, she decides to stop being a monster. However, there's no magic involved. The summaries say that Millicent wants a white rabbit but gets tricked by a magician and gets a doll named Melinda Melee instead.
Millicent and her father travel the world to track down the magician. So, the description doesn't really match, but just in case Checked my copy of Millicent the Monster , and the previous person posting on this was right--Millicent does do handstands in the book. It is a quirky novel written in diary format, and I could swear that Dorrie moves in next to a family with a bizarre daughter named Millicent.
Unofrtunately, I don't have a copy in which to check it, and any of the bib records that I've looked at don't mention the neighbor. Astrid Lindgren, Emil series I do not think it is the Emil books by Lindgren, as Emil only has a little sister and not an older one who could be dating a boy. Thank you for the suggestion though. Maybe Bill Bergson stories by Lindgren!?
Edith Unnerstad, The Urchin. Translated from Swedish 'Pysen'. I don't remember whether there was such a spying episode, but the hero was a mischievous small Scandinavian boy, and did have teenage sisters. Gunilla Norris , A Time for Watching, Could this be it? It takes place in Sweden. Joachim's best friend is gone for the summer, and Joachim gets into a lot of mischief and trouble. He is fascinated by a neighbor who doesn't like children, and is a watch and clock repairer. Near the end, there is a Midsummer celebration, with a dance around a May Day-type pole.
Joachim did have an older sister who went on a date.
I hope this is it - it was one of my favorites as a child. The edition of this book has a greyish blue cover. Any relation to T? Definitely not related to T, but I confess that one intrigued me when I was browsing the stumpers and I tried to find it online. I have a copy of Futility the Tapir. It is a very simple ink drawing picture book with only a few lines. Cute art but not the answer to my M nor T I'll not give up hope! There are also tapirs in South America. I vaguely recall there being something about crops and irrigation or watering of the crops, too.
Also a small building house? Maybe I have the setting wrong - perhaps it is not Malaysia after all? This one is driving me nuts because I have so little to go on.
But this story is completely responsible for me even knowing what tapirs are in the first place. Today I try to help support tapir preservation whenever I can. There are four species left, all endangered. On M, I wonder if maybe it was a story in my childcraft books. I have a set now, edition, and it is not in that, but neither is Little Black Sambo , and I seem to remember LBS being in my set as a child in the s. Maybe your readers can look in their childcrafts and check for a story with a tapir illustration?
If Little Black Sambo was removed, maybe the editors removed and added other stories as well? I read it in the middle-school textbook Impressions from the s. It takes place in a hotel in France and the man who goes onto the balcony is a Russian spy. However, there is no blizzard - just a very well set-up ending. I won't spoil it.
The Midnight Visitor is from Arthur's book: It is no short story, nor for children, but the stumper poster may enjoy reading it, even if it's not what is being searched for. There is a tall building, a killer, a blizzard, and a chase. I won't spoil the ending of this one either! Stephen King, Night Shift collection of short stories. Thjs should be easy to find at any library or used book store. I don't know which story it is but I am sure it's one in this collection.
Neither the story nor the collection is for children. In the Stephen King story, There's a bet involved and the man is aware that his goal is to walk around the ledge even before he goes out there. The story I read is definitely about a man unexpectedly getting locked out of his apt. The King story is about a man agreeing ahead of time to walk around the high ledge to win a bet. Any other ideas would be appreciated, I haven't checked out any of the other suggestions yet. Very definitely a Cornell Woolrich story written under the name William Irish. It may be in the Phantom Lady collection which was a book club selection.
William Irish is a key figure in the noir genre. Really fun stuff, scary and chilling. Most of his settings are s Manhattan. He also wrote the short story "Rear Window" upon which the Hitchcock movie is based. I don't recall the story, but I agree that it sounds like it could be Woolrich. Unfortunately I don't have any of those handy to check contents right now. I have done some research now on Cornell Woolrich, and think the story I read may well be his. I now remember reading this story as well, around the same time I read the one described in my stumper, so I really think that it's cornell woolrich, I just need to find the collection of stories and check it out, I understand that much of his work is now out-of-print.
My high-school lit book had something close to what you're talking about: His wife had gone off for the evening and he wasn't sure he could wait for her to get home. Ending would be as you remember. The high school lit book mentioned by one of the responders is probably "Adventures in Appreciation," Harcourt, Brace and World. Heart-poundingly suspenseful; I recommend it! I just remembered something else about M The way the hero got off the apartment building roof -- was it by disconnecting everyone's TV antenna so someone would come up and investigate?
If so, try searching issues of "Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine" from the 's. I'm sure I read a story like that, and that's most likely where. M have you tried this spelling: Found a nursery rhyme, nothing to do with a train, though: I'm not certain about this, but it's a possibility. It's part of the Little Golden Book series.
Well, this isn't a perfect fit, since Peter Pauper Press books are pretty small, but it sounds like Turkish Fairy Tales. That one story sounds like "The Fish-Peri. Wow--this description sounds like a bunch of fairy tales got in a train wreck! Ivo Duka, Secret of the Two Feathers. I only vaguely remember this but it's possibly The Secret of the Two Feathers, although I think it was published in Secret of the Two Feathers. I remember the first chapter from my grade-school reader, sometime before ; the feathers were black with white symbols on them.
And thats all I can remember. Thanks for providing such a great service! But just as Anaxandra is starting to adjust to her new life her new home is attacked by the king of Sparta, Menelaus The original husband of Helen of Troy before she ran away with Paris. Could this be it? One character named, "Gus" can't recall if it's ghost or burglar, though. They children collect the stars from the Gingerbread and Mary Poppins sneaks them away and with Mrs.
The feathers were symbols of rival pirates who died in a duel; anybody who found both could make wishes. They were published in the s and s and were still in libraries in the s. How to Behave has recently been reissued if the person who posted the request wants to see Leaf's drawing style. Could one of these classic children's books on manners be what's meant?
Without a dust jacket, one of them could easily match the description, right down to to the illustration of the "little long-haired in dress sitting down. The description reminds me of this book, including the illustrations. Anything else to add on this memory? Rumer Godden, Little Plum. England is the last place Nona Fells wants to be. No one asked her if she wanted to leave sunny India to live in a chilly English village with her aunt's family -- and her cousin, Belinda, just hates her! But when two dainty Japanese dolls arrive at Nona's doorstep, everything begins to change.
Over time, not only does Nona create a home for the dolls, but one for herself as well. There is also a sequel, Little Plum. Miss Happiness and Miss Flower. Japanese dolls, last pages of book are dollhouse plans. The Mystery at Keyhole Carnival as well as several others, Heide and Van Clief , published in There are several titles, and the ones published in the s were by Heide and Heide Pierce. There are about 3 kids who form the club, and even though they are such a small group, they are very formal about club procedure, including, I believe, several rules they recall from prior adventures.
Hildick, The McGurk Mysteries series. Wells, Rosemary, Through the Hidden Door. NY, Dial Books Are they what's left of a giant hoax or could they be the remnants of a miniature race of people? Suspense builds as they excavate the cave in secret and try to solve the mystery of the artifacts. Everyone thinks he's a snitch. His former friends want to kill him.
Even the headmaster of his school wants him gone. No one but secretive little Snowy Cobb will speak to him. But after Snowy and Barney discover the hidden cave deep below the earth, the promise of ancient treasures wipe away the threats from above. And when they uncover strange artifacts untouched for centuries, a web of unknowable danger begins to unravel-and Snowy and Barney may not survive. Shot in the dark, but could this person be thinking of the books by Mary Norton that were later made into the Disney movie "Bedknobs and Broomsticks"?
However, the witch is not related to them. Could be this one, from the title. The tramp steamer carries a mysterious padlocked chest that gives rise to Larry's curiosity. I don't remember any tramp steamers. I'll pursue the Dolphin Readers for the other one though - thanks!
Jean Bothwell, The Mystery Cargo. Baby's First Book Club, For his blanket he has the sky, and for his bed he has the soft grass. But Mole warns Mother Hare that Farmer Brown will cut the grass at dawn, so she must find another bed for her baby. As she searches for a safe place, she is warned by her friends of the countryside's many dangers.
Will she ever find a safe bed for Little Hare? The timing is about right for this to be a good candidate, though it's been a long time since I've actually read the book. Lucy Maria Boston , The castle of Yew, The elephant with the giant ears who flies is certainly Dumbo. The Disney movie was released in , and there have been countless Disney book versions of the story ever since. It does indeed take place at the circus, and there is chaos when a stunt involving a burning tower that the clowns who are dressed as firemen are performing goes wrong and Dumbo has to save the day, so I wonder if this is not the only story you are thinking of.
Unfortunately, I don't have a copy of any of the versions to look at, so I cannot say if one of the characters eats peas with a knife. I know this is a long shot There are several mentions of the mother's big floppy ears. The elephants go into the clowns tent, mother elephant tries to get baby to eat a bowl of beans with a spoon, and they end up destroying the place. You might be remembering a drawing of the clown family eating I'm around the same age and can tell you the rhyme. I'll look at the one's I still have and see if I can trace it further.
Anyway, maybe you can trace it with the whole rhyme. I remember the poem too. I think it was hardbound, maybe an inch thick and had a pink cover. It also had the Fuzzy Wuzzy was a bear rhyme, and another that started with "Peanut sitting on a railroad track" and ended with "Toot toot peanut butter. Golden Press, Golden Funny Book , early 's, approximate. My brother and I loved this book as children; several of the poems in it are by Edward Lear, including the one about eating peas with honey. Your other book is most likely a Golden Book also; in Disney's DUMBO there is a frantic scene where baby Dumbo is dressed as a baby clown and is to be rescued by clowns dressed as firemen who do all sorts of outlandish things, e.
Later on the baby elephant tries to fly, trips over his ears, and upsets the pyramid of bigger elephants. I think these must be the 2 books you are looking for. I actually own 2 copies of the Golden Funny Book if you are interested. DUMBO should not be that hard to find. A Book of American Rhymes and Jingles, This book has the poem about eating peas and honey on a knife, as well as Miss Mary Mack, with a picture of an elephant jumping. It sounds like the book you remember.
I hope this helped! Marguerite Vance, Song for a Lute , This book has a similar plot -- the young noblewoman who befriends the two princes in the Tower. A description I found of this one says it is fiction about a mistreated servant girl to the head jailer of the Tower of London, and how she became involved in a daring escape plan. But I could not find anything that said who she helps escape, so I have no idea if this is about the little princes or not. It may have been retitled "Escape from the Tower of London" in a later edition. I was able to check it out from the library to confirm that.
The book I remember was more of a YA book. Martha Ann thinks her mother is too bossy, so she exchanges her at the Mother Store. Illustrated by Jerome Snyder. This book did have moms set up in booths. The kids try several different moms before realizing theirs was the best for them. For some reason, I remember the kids singing "ta-ra-ra boom de-ay" in this. I believe The Mommy Market was the Americanized title. Now there are three great possibilities Nancy Brelsis, The Mummy Market , It is about three children a girl and two boys who talk to their friend, who is an old lady, about how they think their mom is too strict and they wish they had a new mom and she tells them about this old place she remembers called the mommy market.
The kids go to find it and they go through an ally to get to it. When they get there, moms of every kind are all over the place like at little stations cooking moms, singing moms ect. They start out getting a mom that loves nature and camping, then a snappy french mom, and then a circus performer. They end up not liking any of them and want their own mom back but they have used up their three coins so they try several plans of get her back, but none of them work. They end up getting her back in the end.
I researched the book and it is out of print. I hope some of this helps. The kids actually have a caretaker they can't stand, who they are able to trade in for a series of mothers, Mimsy, who's chirpy and foolish, Mom, an outdoors enthusiast, and a child psychologist with a series of books.
In the end they seem to get their real mother back tho they don't recall her leaving , and wonder if all the others were a dream. Sorry I can't find the title yet, but my children and I recall reading this within the last year or so. More plot details -- the man makes some kind of deal with the devil that he can go three? He tries to go to places where the devil has no influence. One is Rome, but the devil tricks him and sends him to the Rome Tavern or Pub. At last he goes to the moon, where the devil can' t interfere with him because he has no jurisdiction in the heavens. We can't remember the name of the book, but it is probably filed under folklore.
I can tell you that the Richmond, CA public library owns it, so maybe you could get lucky searching their online catalog. Tom Feelings, Panther's Moon , Could this be from the "Adventure" series? Two brothers, Hal and Roger travel the world capturing wild animals for their father's business. I remember reading one with a man-eating animal There is a Lion Adventure and a Tiger Adventure though, so both may be worth checking out. Corbett, Jim, Man Eaters of Kumaon. Or you could try The man-eating leopard of Rudraprayag also by Corbett I found a copy of Panther Moon , and that's not the book I'm looking for so please keep those thinking caps on.
Winifred Mantle, The Hiding Place , There's not much to go on here, but Winifred Mantle, who is British, came into my mind when reading this stumper. However the "hiding place" of the book's title is not exactly a cave, but a rocky enclosure on a lake shore, reachable only by a causeway. Mantle also wrote a book about the same characters who are neighbors, not cousins called Chateau Holiday, which maybe is the castle the poster is thinking of. Blyton, Enid, Famous Five Series , There were 21 books in this series Five Go to Mystery Moor , etc. Enid Blyton, The Castle of Adventure , etc.
Another possibility is the same author's Famous Five series, featuring the adventures of four cousins and Timmy the dog. But I don't think any of those has "Castle" in the title. Enid Blyton, Adventure Series , s. This sounds like Enid Blyton. The Barrys get behind the gold rush, but Matthew and Marilla aren't so sure. An adventure away with the Barrys teaches Anne to trust her instincts. Anne writes letters as an "agent of romance" while Diana trains at home to be a lady. A life-changing encounter steers Gilbert toward his destiny.
A game of spin the bottle prompts burning questions about love and beauty. Anne and Cole bond over their differences as Gilbert makes his way home. Anne faces the world with a shocking new look while the town preps for its annual Christmas pantomime. Gilbert and Bash join the Cuthberts for dinner. 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. I have reserved it through the library's loan service. It's a children's book and I remember as being on the first shelf of the library A-B authors. Thank-you very much for the great leads. They discover that grandmother's cat a tabby can talk because, in the ninth life of a cat, they acquire the ability to speak.
The cat tells stories to the children of all of it's previous eight lives living in that house. I think the book was written for sixth or seventh grade levels. I originally checked this book out from the Cedar Rapids Public Library. I've looked for it there but had no luck. I would like to purchase this book if we find it. This is the all-time favorite book of anyone who's ever read it. Maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but probably not. Searching the web for succinct synopses to be ultra-brief, Very Important Presence Opalina tells three children of her adventures from the s to the modern day , I came across this 'net post that for some reason brought tears to my eyes: She's a very special cat and couldn't possibly be limited to nine lives.
The check will go out today. The Ghost of Opalina is a great story. Anyone looking to see it come back into print go to twolakespress. The reprint will be avaiable in the summer of A cat is used as the link maybe by following through its 9 lives? I think the cat was the narrator, telling the current generation of kids about things that happened to their parents, grandparents, etc. I remember that one set of the kids were very strict parents when they grew up, the next generation in reaction were very permissive parents.
I read it about 35 years ago. Suitable for year olds if I'm remembering right. Bacon, Peggy, The Ghost of Opalina , s, approximate. This sounds like The Ghost of Opalina. This book is a favorite of everyone who ever read it. Since most of the limited printing went to libraries, it's hard to find and very expensive. See the Solved Mystery page.
Peggy Bacon, The Ghost of Opalina. Almost certainly The Ghost of Opalina. The book recounts her life well, afterlife ;- with a family over many generations. Sounds like this book in "Solved Mysteries. Oh, I loved this book! I'm sure that The Ghost of Opalina is the book you're looking for. She has nine lives, and she relates all of them to the three kids currently living in the house she inhabits. I think, in the end, she vanishes because her previous life was the last one, and she either is or turns into a ghost.
Good luck finding a copy though! I did a search on The Ghost of Opalina , and this is certainly the book I was thinking of. That's it and I can't tell you how impressed I am! Next time I'm in Cleveland, I'll swing on by. Thanks and have a great weekend! I remember excitedly snapping this up from the Bookmobile! I believe this is the book. Its about a girl named Lorna and her brother Jamie. They are housesitting with their parents for the summer because the owners of the house think it is haunted.
The children meet some strange people, including a crippled boy and and eccentric old woman. Plus they solve the mystery of the 'haunted' house. My copy of the book is a dark blue hard back with a silhouette of a house in a darker blue, with one window lit. I am the original poster. Thank you so much for responding to my request. Yes, I believe this is the book. I have been trying to remember this for years and am very excited about this website.
This is so cool. I have called my local library and will check this out this week. Will let you all know if this was it.
This one is solved. Thank you to the responder, the title The Ghost of Windy Hill is correct. This was a favorite of mine when I was young. Ty tries to save his near-deserted hometown when he finds an old diary that he thinks says there is gold in a cave nearby. He finds the hidden cave, and although he is disappointed to realize the diary actually said it was cold in the cave, the new tourist attraction brings his town back to life anyway.
This one was familiar to me, but I had to go search the attic for the book, since the title wouldn't come to me. This is from the back cover: Then Nora and Paul come to visit, and they bring Great-Granfather's diary. The words are faded, but there under the magnifying glass they can read the thrilling words: Can they find the treasure in time to help Ty's family?
The cross turns out the be formed by large cracks in the canyon wall. I believe Treasure Mountain by Florence Laughlin might be the solution. And there they find the treasure. As I recall, the hidden cave which the searchers believe contains gold in Ghost Town Treasure could only be found by locating a cross on the canyon wall.
Funny, another poster was just looking for this same book last month. This is definately the book I was trying to remember. Another clue I forgot about was the line "gold in the cave" that actually turned out to say "cold in the cave". Thanks for providing such a great service! Illustrated by Don Freeman. Scholastic, , 8th paperback printing The Ghosts by Antonia Barber , , I just wanted to thank you for your help! I saw the information added to the e-mail I sent you and I'm going to find the book mentioned there.
What are the odds that someone else would know the story I was trying to describe and with so little to go on! I really appreciate it!! Blunden" was the name of a movie adaptation of this book. It's apparently not currently available on video. When Zoe goes to live with her grandparents, she meets the ghost of her namesake, Zoe Louise, an year-old girl who died in a fire in the s -- but isn't aware of it. Eventually, Zoe finds a way to cross over into Zoe Louise's time, and strives to avert a year-old tragedy. This might be too new - but could this be Stonewords by Pam Conrad?
The haunting by the Victorian girl, the brother and sister caught in the fire, the changing of history to prevent a tragedy - all are in here. If this isn't the right one, it's still a terrific book!! Antonia Barber, The Ghosts. James and Lucy go to live in an old country house that's falling down with their mother, who's the caretaker.
They see two shadowy figures in the garden, and befriend them. It turns out they're the ghosts of two children who died in a fire in the house years ago. James disappears and Lucy tries to find him Now that I've typed out what I remember, it's only vaguely like what you're looking for, but it might be worth checking out anyway. Well, I guess my memory is worse than I thought. After investigating through this site I bought a copy of The Ghosts by Antonia Barber thinking that it was not the book I was seeking but would still be a good read for my pre-teen.
When I opened the package, I instantly recognized the front cover. This is the book. The main character was not just a girl Their father was the deceased parent, not the mom. They drank potion in the overgrown garden and were able to go back in time to the day the murder of the ghosts from the past happened and change the past, which also changed the present.
Thanks to anyone who read my original post in an attempt to help solve the mystery! Robert Arthur, Ghost and more Ghosts , I'm not sure if this is the right collection as I couldn't find a picture of it but I know it contains the story "Do you believe in Ghosts? Another book which contains this story is The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2 which appears to be geared more towards adults. I can tell you the titles of each of the three stories described, but I can't be sure of the exact book. The cover description and 1 story fits one book I have, and the 2 other stories are from another.
So maybe it's from a completely different source, or maybe some memories have combined. The story about the radio host is "Do You Believe in Ghosts? Milton's Gift" and I found references online that make me think it may have been published under the title "The Man with the Golden Hand". However it doesn't contain the water ghost story. The water ghost story is "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs and can be found in various ghost story compilations, but the book that I have pretty much matches the book description of the query.
The endpapers are a dark black and blue with creepy images from the stories. Each story begins with a black illustration with a dark blue wash behind it, and there are some half page and full page illustrations throughout the book. A search on that title led to these 4 collections: The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall, 2. The Spectre Cook of Bangletop, 3.
The Speck on the Lens, 4. A Midnight Visitor, 5. The Ghost Club, 7. The Psychical Prank, 8. The Literary Remains of Thomas Bragdon. C sounds like Hauntings , ed. Henry Mazzeo , illus. Edward Gorey in appearance, but not necess. The woman haunting the castle who leaves behind a puddle of cold water is probably "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs , found online here.