Two more cases for our MDC sleuths - Page 9

[Viola]

Originally Posted by hubris

I'm so impressed with the success on the Wee Sing case! Anybody wanna take a crack at these?

1. When I was about 3 years old (in the late '70s), my favorite book to check out of the library was about a bunch of bunnies who lived in the roots of a tree. They dyed Easter eggs. I think maybe there was a woman who lived in a house near the tree. That's all I can remember. I loved the pictures of them painting the eggs. I've been on the hunt for this book forever but since I all know is Easter, eggs, bunnies...that doesn't narrow the field down much. Does it sound familiar to anybody?

Did you ever figure this one out?

[Flor]

Originally Posted by alaskanteach

I did a search on the bug world thing.. there have been a few on ebay recently (like November).. they all seemed to sell around $80-$90.. not including shipping.

I wonder what they went for originally? They sure seem cute.

Could you link a picture? I googled it, but I couldn't find one at all. I wouldn't pay 90 dollars for it, but I'd like to confirm that it really is the right toy! Add it to the list of things you wish you would have held on to. . ..

[daniedb]

Originally Posted by Traci mom23boys

Hey Danielle,

You never came back to say whether *The Children of Green Knowe* was your book. Just curious...

Blessings,

Ah, Tracy, you're right, I didn't, I'm so sorry, seriously tacky of me. : Once the thread moved, I forgot about it and then didn't check it until now! Unfortunately, I don't think that's it...I am certain that the main character was a girl (and Tolly in the GK book is a boy), and upon reading more about the Green Knowe book, it appears it was part of a series, and I am also certain that it was a stand-alone novel. I remember it being slightly scary, but not creepy, and there was a beautiful, melancholy air about the book that kept it from being scary, or funny, I just remember it being somber and fascinating and really beautiful. I know that sounds dorky, but that's why it's stayed with me, and no amount of googling these keywords I'm coming up with has helped me find it.

ETA: Okay, so I did some more reading, and the title of the book just sounded soooo familiar, and you know what? I think it just might be the book after all. I just went to the library, but they don't have it (what?!) and I'm getting it on ILL, so I'll know in 2-3 weeks if that's the one I remember. I have a feeling that's just what's going to happen...so apparently, my "very certain" means that "I have no idea". THANK YOU! I'll let you know when it comes in if you scored a homer.

[daniedb]

Originally Posted by splendid

Longshot, but you two might be looking for the same book. When I did a search the book synopsis (what is the plural sounded the same):



Here is a description from Amazon

Thank you so much, but that's not it either, it was a good try, though!

[daniedb]

Originally Posted by Meg Murry.

Okay, here's another one --

Anyone remember a story about a boy who gets ahold of some white, pearlescent liniment or ointment of some kind and when he rubs it into his back, he grows angel wings?

Oh, I do remember that...is there something about a garage in the story, like that's where he goes to do the ointment? Let me browse...

[daniedb]

Originally Posted by alaskanteach

This is what I was thinking... there is a guy that shows up in the plot line, though.. jerk that he is..

Here's another one.. My dad bought me when I was a preteen a book that was a collection of spooky stories.. a couple of the stories that I remember from it..

there was a couple where the man was mean to his wife. The postman drove an old wooden wagon. He was delivering mail, and heard the woman screaming. He went to help and was killed (I think a bullet ricocheted off a frying pan?). He obviously came back to avenge his death..

Another story I sort of remember from the book was about a gold miner. Turns out the gold miner was digging for gold under his own house.. He dies and comes back to protect his claim..

an actor dies during a scene in a play??

kinda gruesome now that I think about it, but I remember reading and rereading them over and over... I had it in hardback when I was about 12, and I was born in 76.

Okay, here's a good site that has a few ghost stories for YAs and many of them are collections. That page didn't give details about the stories, just the call numbers and c dates and stuff, so I wasn't able to read synopses, but check it out to see if any of the titles sound familiar. That first compilation listed, Shades of Dark, sounded really possible to be your book (how's that for horrid grammar?)

Ooooh, the two at the bottom by Westall look promising, as well.

[jayayenay]

Originally Posted by Flor

Could you link a picture?

I found this on ebay by googling "playskool bug world" with the quotes.

[somanythings]

Originally Posted by mesecina

Here's something I would just LOVE to find - I practically had it memorized as a kid, but my parents can't find it.

It's a version of the Nutcracker that was narrrated and had lyrics to the songs, like Dance of the Flowers was "See how the flowers dance, joyfully waltzing together..." or something like that. Let's see, can I remember any of the other songs.. "Something sweet just goes with coffee, coffee by itself just doesn't taste right..." And the Arabian song was about a lonely little girl and had the refrain "Dreams were meant to be shared." I heard this in the 70's and I don't think it was new then. It was on an LP.

As far as the above goes, the only on that sounds vaguely familiar is:

It's about a kid who eventually realizes he has telekinetic powers as well as telepathy.

I remember a book called "The Girl with the Silver Eyes" about a bunch of kids who have special talents, including telekinesis, and they all end up banding together. The main character is a girl, but there are boys in the group too...

Here, I found it on Amazon.

I own the Nutcracker record album, but can't find it - it must be in a box in the garage. "See how the flowers dance. . .waltzing in time to the MUsic. . ." I will keep looking.

And I loved the Girl with the Silver Eyes!

[Traci mom23boys]

Originally Posted by daniedb

Ah, Tracy, you're right, I didn't, I'm so sorry, seriously tacky of me. : Once the thread moved, I forgot about it and then didn't check it until now! Unfortunately, I don't think that's it...I am certain that the main character was a girl (and Tolly in the GK book is a boy), and upon reading more about the Green Knowe book, it appears it was part of a series, and I am also certain that it was a stand-alone novel. I remember it being slightly scary, but not creepy, and there was a beautiful, melancholy air about the book that kept it from being scary, or funny, I just remember it being somber and fascinating and really beautiful. I know that sounds dorky, but that's why it's stayed with me, and no amount of googling these keywords I'm coming up with has helped me find it.

ETA: Okay, so I did some more reading, and the title of the book just sounded soooo familiar, and you know what? I think it just might be the book after all. I just went to the library, but they don't have it (what?!) and I'm getting it on ILL, so I'll know in 2-3 weeks if that's the one I remember. I have a feeling that's just what's going to happen...so apparently, my "very certain" means that "I have no idea". THANK YOU! I'll let you know when it comes in if you scored a homer.

I also remembered the main character being a girl, when I got my copy out I was surprised. I didn't even know it was part of a series either. It had the same beautiful, dreamy effect on me. When I think back to reading it, my memories are shrouded in a lovely mist... Strange indeed!

I can't wait to hear from you. When I finish *Cider House Rules* I am going to reread it.

Blessings,
Traci

[Thalia the Muse]

It's a beautiful book -- I was clicking through the thread to say "that's Children of Green Knowe," only to find that you guys had beaten me to it.

[elelvee]

(1)I've been looking for a book from the 70's: It's an imaginary country where people own pet animals called "fuzzies." A witch starts a rumor about a fuzzy shortage. This causes people to hoard the fuzzies, who die off, causing a real shortage. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't remember whether the people learned their lesson or whether they saved enough fuzzies at the end.


(2) I've been longing for a poem circa late 70's. It was in an elementary schoolbook in c.1980: The poem describes a peaceful forest, a wisp of smoke, then a raging wildfire that consumes a farm. It's repetitious...most lines begin with "and." I know four lines from it.

[Thalia the Muse]

elelvee, if you Google the four lines, it's likely to turn up! I've found more stuff that way.

The one, way back in the thread, about the book with a long title and a girl who tries witchcraft -- could it have been The Active Enzyme, Lemon-Freshened, Junior High School Witch? The heroine is stuck in a boring country house and finds a primer on witchcraft. Her escapades include holding a "black mass" that doesn't summon what she expects, possibly bringing her cat back from the dead, and thwarting jewel thieves. It's very funny and you can interpret everything as genuinely magical or not, it's left ambiguous.

[jayayenay]

Originally Posted by elelvee

(1)I've been looking for a book from the 70's: It's an imaginary country where people own pet animals called "fuzzies." A witch starts a rumor about a fuzzy shortage. This causes people to hoard the fuzzies, who die off, causing a real shortage. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't remember whether the people learned their lesson or whether they saved enough fuzzies at the end.

Fuzzies : A Folk Fable by L. Richard Lessor

[Flor]

Originally Posted by jayayenay

I found this on ebay by googling "playskool bug world" with the quotes.

81dollars??? : That is it. I want it. At least I know the name now!

[somanythings]

Originally Posted by elelvee

(1)I've been looking for a book from the 70's: It's an imaginary country where people own pet animals called "fuzzies." A witch starts a rumor about a fuzzy shortage. This causes people to hoard the fuzzies, who die off, causing a real shortage. It's a self-fulfilling prophecy. I don't remember whether the people learned their lesson or whether they saved enough fuzzies at the end.

http://www.claudesteiner.com/fuzzy.htm

I have this book, my grandma gave it to me, and would always ask me for "warm fuzzies"!

[mesecina]

Originally Posted by somanythings

I own the Nutcracker record album

Oh, I'm so excited that you might know what this is - I've been looking for YEARS! Thank you!

[aprons_and_acorns]

Originally Posted by Daffodil

Found it! The Bears' House, by Marilyn Sachs.

That is so funny . . . I was totally thinking about asking for the sleuths to figure this one out. I read it years and years ago and it really made an impression on me. So after reading this thread, I borrowed it from the library and read it this afternoon. It's just as wonderful as I remember, but of course my perspective (now that I'm an adult/mom) make the sad parts all the more heartbreaking and the happy parts all the more uplifting. Thank you so much for the help with the author and title!

[elelvee]

Originally Posted by jayayenay

Fuzzies : A Folk Fable by L. Richard Lessor

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!

Originally Posted by somanythings

http://www.claudesteiner.com/fuzzy.htm

I wonder which is the original author.

I have this book, my grandma gave it to me, and would always ask me for "warm fuzzies"!

Are those the illustrations?
The one I had was white pages with primary-colored (orange, red) crude drawings like circles and squares.

[Wendy79]

Originally Posted by teacup

Here are some from puberty:

I read a book (I'm sure it was pubbed in the 70s or early 80s) about a girl who has a crush on another girl. The scene that stuck with me is when they're at the park watching fireworks, and are both lying on a blanket, and hook fingers together. I could have thought it was about a character named Al, but I have since looked at that briefly and don't think that's it. (I Googled and found a paper about a book called Annie on My Mind. Perhaps that was it? I recall only that one scene.)

I know this thread is super-old, but I saw that this never got answered... and I know this one! It's Happy Endings Are All Alike by Sandra Scoppettone, originally published in 1978. (Amazon link) Here's an excerpt:

**********************************
The first burst of fireworks was shot off with a whizzing sound; red streaks, blue, then little gold curlicues and a final bang. Everyone oohed and clapped.

They lay on their backs, Bianca resting her head on Zach's shoulder, his arm around her. Peggy and Jaret were side by side, only their pinkies touching, each feeling a private resentment.
*******************************

I warn you all, it is NOT a feel good book, but it is good and the relationship between the two girls very nicely done.

[Hey Mama!]

Ok I have one. I read these books as a first grader in 85-86 but I know they were much older then that. Anyway, it's a series of fiction books with animals. I distinctly remember one book was about a blue jay. I believe they were chapter books.