# Lost Books from Childhood



## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

*Are there any books from childhood you've read, lost, gave away, or simply forgot the titles and wish you had them back?*

There are a few for me.

One, The Secret Garden. It was a blue, faux-leather bound book with gilt edges and lovely illustrations. I got it from Waldenbooks in the mid-80s. I believe my mother donated this, among tons of others, to a local bookstore after I moved out. I miss it and hope to eventually purchase another similar copy off eBay.

Two, The Pink Dress by Anne Alexander. I checked this book out in 1989 from my junior high library. It was without a dust jacket, plain, green and nondescript. I remember checking it out, thinking it was probably going to be an average read. I loved this story so much I ended up writing fanfiction for it (not even knowing that was what I was doing at the time.) I credit this book as being my first step as a writer because it was the first time I wrote for pleasure and not obligation. Unfortunately, copies are extremely hard to come by and available ones are VERY expensive. Boo!

Three, Unknown Title. I picked up this unknown title during a fourth grade book trade. (For every book we brought, we could pick one up that someone else brought. All the books were placed on library tables and it was browsing bliss. ) It was a fairytale collection filled with obscure tales I had never read before. I loved this book! I loved it so much I would share the different stories with anyone who expressed an interest in fairy tales. The thing is, I can't remember the title or any pertinent information. *sigh* It had unusual illustrative art but that hardly helps in searches. So far my only hope is being able to come across it at antique stores or the occasional yard sale.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

I have one.  I think it had a picture of a clown-- not the red-hair happy-face type but the darker, more French-looking type.  The story line was of a girl who met a Russian/USSR boy and he defected at great peril to himself.  The book was a suggestion by Mrs. Nelson, my first and most beloved librarian.  5th grade.  

I just wish I could remember the dratted title so I could look it up and re-read!


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

I miss my Uncle Wiggily books. Have no idea what happened to them. I really do miss them. Just seeing them made me feel safe. When I was sick, our cat would be "Nurse Jane Fuzzy Wuzzy" and watch over me until I was well again. 

*sigh*


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## Guest (Aug 16, 2010)

I definitely had one. They were the first chapter books I ever read, and I can still remember where they were tucked away in the library of my elementary school. 

It was a series of 4, one for each season. The covers had a boy under a tree on a hill with a dog through each of the seasons. I can't for the life of me remember anything else. But those books stayed with me though. Might've been my first real experience with literature.


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## Travis haselton (Jul 24, 2010)

Hatchet. It was one of my favorite books.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

caseyf6 said:


> I just wish I could remember the dratted title so I could look it up and re-read!





> I definitely had one. They were the first chapter books I ever read, and I can still remember where they were tucked away in the library of my elementary school.
> 
> It was a series of 4, one for each season. The covers had a boy under a tree on a hill with a dog through each of the seasons. I can't for the life of me remember anything else.


How frustrating! I know exactly what you both mean. You can remember so many different details but not the most important one---the title.


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## julieannfelicity (Jun 28, 2010)

I had an old, terribly used, copy of The Giving Tree and an old, faded (pages missing) copy of Shel Silverstein's The Light in the Attic.

Sigh ... I wish I knew where those were


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

I ate up Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, the Wizard of Oz books and the Hardy Boys. Would really, really love to have even some of those original hardcovers.


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## prairiesky (Aug 11, 2009)

I had a teacher that read "The Sugarcreek Gang"  books to us.  I don't remember specifics, but I remember being excited each day to see what happened next.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

T.L. Haddix said:


> CD - what kind of fairy tales were they?
> 
> My fave book growing up was a big ol' hardbound collection of fairy tales. It had tales like the Billy Goats Gruff, Three Little Pigs, Rapunzel, etc. My grandmother would read it to me day after day, with me sitting in her lap. We weren't a very demonstrative family, so in addition to nurturing my love of books, I got to cuddle. That book is probably how she taught me to read, and I had it up until a couple of years ago. I have no idea now where it is. I hope it is still here somewhere, but I have my doubts. I've gotten pretty organized over the past few years, and I think I would have found it by now. Unless it is in one place.... I have to go look. Wish me luck!


Some of the ones I remember it contained were "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (it was the first time I read it), and....oh boy! I can't remember the titles. 

One story was about a girl who had compared her love for her father with salt, got thrown out, and ended up being "Coat of Rushes" at a prince's castle. (I even remember the illustration of her father throwing her out.)

Another story was of a soldier who ended up retrieving a nut from a tree after some magical assistance. I remember cats(?) with eyes as big as saucers.

Okay, it seems as if my memories aren't so sharp after all but I still loved the book!  I lean towards it was a European fairy tale book simply because of the unique illustrations. They were angular and not Disney-soft like what I had been used to at that point.

T.L., your memories with your grandmother sound so loving. Isn't this the wonderful thing about books? It's not just the stories on print/displayed but the personal life stories attached to it? We can remember settings, weather, clothing, moods---all kinds of things---when we think about special books.

Good luck with finding your book, T.L.! I'm wishing you lots of luck!


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

I have one!  It was a nursery rhyme book, and it was huge.  The illustrations in that book were sooooo good.  I sat and read that book for hours.  I even made up songs for some of the rhymes.

I think it's somewhere in the house, but I haven't seen it for years.  I guess it could have gotten lost in the move.  Last time I saw it the binding was shot and some of the pages had fallen out, but it is still one of my treasured books.

Vicki


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

I did have two - my sister and I both fondly remembered two fantasy books from our childhood, so we went to the library one day and managed to find one of them by scouring the library catalog. Turns out it was _The Moorchild_. So we grabbed that one from the kid's section, and then just walked along the shelves, searching for any books with "Fairy" in the title, since that was all we could remember. Fortunately it was out on display and we grabbed it as well. That one was _The Fairy Rebel_. We had a great time re-reading those two.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

prairiesky said:


> I had a teacher that read "The Sugarcreek Gang" books to us. I don't remember specifics, but I remember being excited each day to see what happened next.


That title sounds lovely! I too enjoyed it when teachers read stories to the class. I got exposed to the Little House on the Prairie books that way.



Harry Shannon said:


> I ate up Tom Swift, Nancy Drew, the Wizard of Oz books and the Hardy Boys. Would really, really love to have even some of those original hardcovers.


Maybe you'll come across it at a yard sale? October always seems to be a great month for those.



julieannfelicity said:


> I had an old, terribly used, copy of The Giving Tree and an old, faded (pages missing) copy of Shel Silverstein's The Light in the Attic.
> 
> Sigh ... I wish I knew where those were


Silverstein was SO awesome, wasn't he? I hope you find them!

T.L. - glad to know I helped inspire a blog post! If you don't mind posting the link here when done, I'd sure love to read it. 

Vicki - huge books are awesome! I hope you find it.

Jessica - Lucky! That's so great to have found those books. Hopefully, the rest of us will catch some of that luck on our lost-book-quest.


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## Harry Shannon (Jul 30, 2010)

Actually, I do have a few Nancy Drew books, bought them at a garage sale. Just meant I wish I'd kept those copies from the 1940's and 1950's, they'd be precious. Of course, so would all those mass-market paperbacks by Mickey Spillane and Ian Fleming and John D. MacDonald from a bit later!


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## Joel Arnold (May 3, 2010)

I loved the *Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators* series. Whenever I'm at a used bookstore, I keep an eye out for these, but have only found a few. I loved the kids' secret hideout in the junkyard!

Joel


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

I had the entire set of the "shoe" books by Noel Streatfield - _Ballet Shoes_, _Dancing Shoes_, _Theater_ _Shoes_, and so on - in hard back. I borrowed them from the library and loved them so much my grandmother bought me a title a month until a had the entire set. They were great books and introduced me to the joy of reading nice, big thick books.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

Joel Arnold said:


> I loved the *Alfred Hitchcock and the Three Investigators* series. Whenever I'm at a used bookstore, I keep an eye out for these, but have only found a few. I loved the kids' secret hideout in the junkyard!
> 
> Joel


How can you beat a secret hideout? You can't! 

(BTW, I love your covers. That particular shade of blue & red isn't seen too often so it stood out when I saw your sig line. I designed one of my sites after studying color combinations from vintage burlesque posters in that blue and red theme several months ago: http://claudiadchristian.com/suicide/index.html For the curious, I do write dark fiction so there be a few dirty words on the front page...so if that bugs you, you can just look at the page but not read.  )



Margaret said:


> I had the entire set of the "shoe" books by Noel Streatfield - _Ballet Shoes_, _Dancing Shoes_, _Theater_ _Shoes_, and so on - in hard back. I borrowed them from the library and loved them so much my grandmother bought me a title a month until a had the entire set. They were great books and introduced me to the joy of reading nice, big thick books.


Don't you just love reading thick books? I don't know if anybody is familiar with The Neverending Story but the book he was reading, leather bound and weighing probably 10+ pounds, became something I absolutely coveted. Still haven't snagged my own version...*sigh*


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

Hey T.L.! The link you posted came up 500 error. Here's the link I found to get to your post:

http://tlhaddix.com/content/2010/08/im-not-that-comfortable-with-the-past-anymore/

I'm off to read it. Thanks for sharing. Oh and thanks for the warning. Others will probably appreciate it. (All I write is dark and unhappy so I'm sure I'll be in familiar territory.  )


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## Luna Lindsey (Jul 5, 2010)

Fortunately, I still have most of my favorite childhood books. My favorite might be this one, the original hard cover edition of The Ordinary Princess, including the original illustrations:










I'd mention a Wrinkle in Time, but it doesn't really matter which edition of that you read.


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## tbrookside (Nov 4, 2009)

I remember reading _The Incredible Journey_ when I was 8 or so and thinking it was the greatest thing ever.

Just before I read that, I read a copy of the novelization of _Battle for the Planet of the Apes_ that someone left lying around. Don't laugh, but since it was the first "real" book I ever read I thought it was great too.

I also remember a book about these kids who would go into a ruined castle near their house and emerge in different times. I can't remember what it was called but it made a great impression on me at the time.

Mainly I remember encountering a lot of great short stories. My brother and sister were much older than me and their English class short story readers were always lying around. I remember reading "The Machine Stops" over and over. Then there was a story about this little kid who could see the future, and had a TV show where he'd tell people the next day's news, and one day the next day's news was that the sun was going to nova. Basically a lot of juvenile science fiction and fantasy stuck in my mind!


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## Linda S. Prather Author (Jun 25, 2010)

I enjoyed reading this thread just to be reminded of some wonderful books I'd forgotten.  I also loved Nancy Drew and the Hardy Boys.


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## Barry Eysman (Jul 19, 2010)

my treasured hundreds of comic books, big little books, Aurora models, tv series adaptations, theme song  records, pictures of my childhood friends my own writings, and more when my mother had a man cart them away in a truck. the rest were stolen by sitters as her dementia grew
Barry the one she was really throwing away.


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## TWErvin2 (Aug 7, 2010)

*The King, the Mice and the Cheese*, *The Dinosaur and the Dodo*, and the *Shy Stegosaurus of Cricket Creek*.

The first and last I was able to purchase for my older daughter. A small publisher reprinted The Shy Stegosaurus, and THe King the Mice and the Cheese went out of print some years back.

There was one, I think it was called *The Greyhound* (that was what it was about, a kid with a grayhound, but maybe that wasn't the title) from when I was in 4th or 5th grade, but never have seen it since borrowing it from my school's library and reading it. I can even see in my mind's eye, the picture I drew for the book report.


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

My signed copy of "Are you in the House Alone?" - I don't like scary books at all, but read this one because I won lunch with the author when I was in middle school.

Also, My great-grandmother gave me "Happy Birthday to You!" by Dr. Seuss. She always read it to me on my birthday up until she passed away. 

I have no idea what happened to them.


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## JL Bryan (Aug 10, 2010)

OK, I read all the Three Investigators books they had at my elementary school library.  The trailer buried in junk was the perfect hideout!

I've tried to remember for years the name of this book I read where these kids were part of some intergenerational trip through space.  They were raised by ship's artificial intelligence, which they called "Ship."  And it was just kids growing up, no adults.  They must have been created from frozen DNA or something by the ship, but I don't remember exactly.  Does anybody have any idea...?

I also wish I could find the activity book for kids I had as a kid.  It was already old and beaten-up then, and it had sections on putting on a play, starting a business, etc.

Jeff


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## Magenta (Jun 6, 2009)

My most favorite book EVER!


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## luvmy4brats (Nov 9, 2008)

Magenta said:


> My most favorite book EVER!


One of mine too. I think the BRATs are on their 4th or 5th copy.

There's a sequel too, but I don't think it's as funny.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

JL Bryan said:


> I've tried to remember for years the name of this book I read where these kids were part of some intergenerational trip through space. They were raised by ship's artificial intelligence, which they called "Ship." And it was just kids growing up, no adults. They must have been created from frozen DNA or something by the ship, but I don't remember exactly. Does anybody have any idea...?


Just a shot in the dark, but it's not Space Hostages by Nicholas Fisk, is it? The description is close, but not quite right.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

CDChristian said:


> Some of the ones I remember it contained were "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" (it was the first time I read it), and....oh boy! I can't remember the titles.
> 
> One story was about a girl who had compared her love for her father with salt, got thrown out, and ended up being "Coat of Rushes" at a prince's castle. (I even remember the illustration of her father throwing her out.)
> 
> Another story was of a soldier who ended up retrieving a nut from a tree after some magical assistance. I remember cats(?) with eyes as big as saucers.


CD, this sounds like the Andrew Lang color fairy books. Here is a link to all twelve with TOC for 0.99:










I think that the stories you are describing are in the Red Fairy Book.


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## Linda Ash (Jul 13, 2010)

I don't have any 'lost' books, but I remember the gift that impressed me the most that I recieved for my birthday once were two winnie the pooh books - large picture books. Because I always remember the feeling of receiving those two books, I always try to give books to children when it's gift-giving time. When my own son was not even one, my sister sent a beautifully illustrated _The Night Before Christmas _ book to him. Some of my fondest memories of him as a baby are of him nestled on my lap and the both of us looking at the pictures and reading the story.

Books are wondrous.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Something I thought was called "The Littlest Witch" or something like that.  I can't find it anywhere.  I would be circa 1970 (approximately).  

In the story the little witch goes to brewing class, etc, etc and I don't know if she fails her classes because she's a terrible witch or because she does makes nice things and she's supposed to make nasty things or something.  Anyone remember this book?  

Dawn


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

There are two (probably more) really popular Little Witch books from close to that time. But, one's a little before 1970 and one's a little after. Either one ring a bell?

Dorrie the Little Witch by Patricia Coombs
Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Aravis60 said:


> CD, this sounds like the Andrew Lang color fairy books. Here is a link to all twelve with TOC for 0.99:


I'm going to check that out too. I remember the salt story as well, and one about _dogs_ with eyes as big as saucers (several dogs, one bigger than the other). I think they were in a book of Russian fairy tales.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Monique said:


> There are two (probably more) really popular Little Witch books from close to that time. But, one's a little before 1970 and one's a little after. Either one ring a bell?
> 
> Dorrie the Little Witch by Patricia Coombs
> Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett


I think it might be "Little Witch" by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. Hey, thanks so much! This has been puzzling me for well, about 36 yrs.

Dawn


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

Magenta said:


> My most favorite book EVER!


Oh my gosh, this is the best book! I had this book as a kid, and LOVED it.

Thanks for bringing back that memory!

Vicki


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Monique said:


> There are two (probably more) really popular Little Witch books from close to that time. But, one's a little before 1970 and one's a little after. Either one ring a bell?
> 
> Dorrie the Little Witch by Patricia Coombs
> Little Witch by Anna Elizabeth Bennett


I remember one by Otfried Preussler... let me see... yep, here it is:
http://www.amazon.com/Little-Witch-Ab-J/dp/3522174399/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282020747&sr=8-3
The original dates from 1957 but I don't know when it was translated into English. 
The author's website describes it as "Unfortunately, the little witch is only 127 years old and therefore the big witches don´t take her serious. Since she is no big witch, she wants to be at least a good witch. This decision starts a thrilling turmoil." That sounds kind of like your witch...

His books are all pretty good, as I recall.


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Susan in VA said:


> I remember one by Otfried Preussler... let me see... yep, here it is:
> http://www.amazon.com/Little-Witch-Ab-J/dp/3522174399/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282020747&sr=8-3
> The original dates from 1957 but I don't know when it was translated into English.
> The author's website describes it as "Unfortunately, the little witch is only 127 years old and therefore the big witches don´t take her serious. Since she is no big witch, she wants to be at least a good witch. This decision starts a thrilling turmoil." That sounds kind of like your witch...
> ...


Uh oh... that sounds closer to the storyline, including the raven, although the art is not what I remember. Now, I'm not really sure. Darn Childhood amnesia 

Dawn


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Dawn McCullough White said:


> Uh oh... that sounds closer to the storyline, including the raven, although the art is not what I remember. Now, I'm not really sure. Darn Childhood amnesia
> 
> Dawn


I'm pretty sure I still have that one. I'm not going to go check now because my box of childhood books is in the garage, and there are person-eating crickets in there at night, not to mention many, many spiders. But in the light of day I'd be happy to check and see if it mentions anything about a brewing class.


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## padowd (Jan 14, 2010)

It would be my collection of Nancy Drew books. I started collecting them at around age 10. I loved them but ended up selling them to a lady for her granddaughter who would come to visit her in the summer. I wished a thousand times I had kept them.


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## AJB (Jul 9, 2010)

I regret giving away all the Ladybird books we had (I think we had nearly all of this series). The illustrations were wonderful - I remember _Cinderella_ being particularly good. But it's _The Magic Porridge Pot_ that I recall with the most affection, where a giant pot of porridge overflowed and filled the streets of the town with oatmeal. I would love to have been able to read that one to my porridge-loving son!

Of course, now they're collectors items and _Cinderella_ is selling at £130. Eek!

Amanda


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

AJB said:


> I regret giving away all the Ladybird books we had (I think we had nearly all of this series). The illustrations were wonderful - I remember _Cinderella_ being particularly good. But it's _The Magic Porridge Pot_ that I recall with the most affection, where a giant pot of porridge overflowed and filled the streets of the town with oatmeal. I would love to have been able to read that one to my porridge-loving son!
> 
> Of course, now they're collectors items and _Cinderella_ is selling at £130. Eek!
> 
> Amanda


But they're still available in new releases (at sane prices)... same artwork.... we have a bunch of those.


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## Sendie (Dec 3, 2009)

My favorite book as a child was "The Princess and the Goblin".  My grandmother had an old copy and I read that book until I had it memorized.  She finally gave it to me and I still have it.  I had forgotten about it until I saw this thread and I just looked and Amazon even has it in kindle form!  My book was published in 1936 (I just looked at it) and is getting very fragile so I'm scared to touch it now.  I'm going to get the kindle one and reread it, thanks for remind me of it!


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## AJB (Jul 9, 2010)

Susan in VA said:


> But they're still available in new releases (at sane prices)... same artwork.... we have a bunch of those.


Are they? Great! They weren't last time I looked (which I admit was quite a few years ago). Thanks Susan, will go and look them up. That's made my day. 

Amanda


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

I went and dug out my Little Witch book.

She has a raven named Abraxas as a sidekick, and lives in the woods studying her spell books. Her dream is to dance at the annual witches' dance (Walpurgis Night), but the other witches don't want to let her because she's too young. She sneaks in anyway but is caught. The head witch tells her that she can attend the following year if she's a "good witch" for that year. So she goes and does good deeds for a year, helps out all sorts of people, is nice to animals, etc. At the next dance she shows up and answers their test questions, but then one of the witches informs them all what she's been doing for the whole year -- and it turns out that to be a "good witch" in their book, you have to do_ bad_ deeds. They punish her by making her gather all the wood for the huge bonfire than they're going to dance around. She takes her revenge by using their broomsticks as firewood, and adding their spell books to the pile, and then lights it all on fire. Then she happily dances around the fire by herself, because now that they've lost their brooms and books, she's the only witch left who can do any magic.

No mention of any brewing classes that I could see, sorry!


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## Dawn McCullough White (Feb 24, 2010)

Susan in VA said:


> I went and dug out my Little Witch book.
> 
> She has a raven named Abraxas as a sidekick, and lives in the woods studying her spell books. Her dream is to dance at the annual witches' dance (Walpurgis Night), but the other witches don't want to let her because she's too young. She sneaks in anyway but is caught. The head witch tells her that she can attend the following year if she's a "good witch" for that year. So she goes and does good deeds for a year, helps out all sorts of people, is nice to animals, etc. At the next dance she shows up and answers their test questions, but then one of the witches informs them all what she's been doing for the whole year -- and it turns out that to be a "good witch" in their book, you have to do_ bad_ deeds. They punish her by making her gather all the wood for the huge bonfire than they're going to dance around. She takes her revenge by using their broomsticks as firewood, and adding their spell books to the pile, and then lights it all on fire. Then she happily dances around the fire by herself, because now that they've lost their brooms and books, she's the only witch left who can do any magic.
> 
> No mention of any brewing classes that I could see, sorry!


I think that is the book, because she has test questions and there's a "head witch". I appreciate you braving all the spiders and giant crickets to dig through a box in the garage for my benefit.  Thank you.
Dawn


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## Jen (Oct 28, 2008)

Magenta said:


> My most favorite book EVER!


Others have commented, but this was also one of my favorite books - I don't have kids yet so the memory was buried until now! Thanks for bringing that back!


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

Aravis60 said:


> CD, this sounds like the Andrew Lang color fairy books. Here is a link to all twelve with TOC for 0.99:
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Thank you so much for supplying that link!  I remember I wanted to get the books for his series but never got around to it. (I'm sure price was a factor.) This way is so much more affordable!



Susan in VA said:


> I'm going to check that out too. I remember the salt story as well, and one about _dogs_ with eyes as big as saucers (several dogs, one bigger than the other). I think they were in a book of Russian fairy tales.


Oh, I think you're right. The one bigger than the other definitely clicked for me. Russian fairy tales? It might be because the artwork was very different; striking lines, not a lot of softness. I'm so hoping someone remembers! I really want that book!! 



Dawn McCullough White said:


> Something I thought was called "The Littlest Witch" or something like that. I can't find it anywhere. I would be circa 1970 (approximately).
> 
> In the story the little witch goes to brewing class, etc, etc and I don't know if she fails her classes because she's a terrible witch or because she does makes nice things and she's supposed to make nasty things or something. Anyone remember this book?
> 
> Dawn


I do remember something of that book. Completely all about the story until I read this. I remember liking that story a lot. Only problem is I can't remember the title either. Argh! 



Sendie said:


> My favorite book as a child was "The Princess and the Goblin". My grandmother had an old copy and I read that book until I had it memorized. She finally gave it to me and I still have it. I had forgotten about it until I saw this thread and I just looked and Amazon even has it in kindle form! My book was published in 1936 (I just looked at it) and is getting very fragile so I'm scared to touch it now. I'm going to get the kindle one and reread it, thanks for remind me of it!


I'm so glad the thread brought back great memories. Especially glad you were able to get a Kindle copy! Woo-hoo!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Dawn McCullough White said:


> I think that is the book, because she has test questions and there's a "head witch". I appreciate you braving all the spiders and giant crickets to dig through a box in the garage for my benefit.  Thank you.
> Dawn


Oh, you're very welcome. I had fun looking at all those old books. I'm glad that my mom kept all my favorites. (We won't get started on the electric train set from 1965 that some relative absconded with and that would be worth a mint now. Grrr. )


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

Monique, I remember a book I really liked called, "Little Witch," from the 60s, that was a small battered paperback. Maybe I got it at a school book fair, or something. I looked it up and it's the one by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. Who knew there were so many Little Witch books?


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Thea J said:


> Monique, I remember a book I really liked called, "Little Witch," from the 60s, that was a small battered paperback. Maybe I got it at a school book fair, or something. I looked it up and it's the one by Anna Elizabeth Bennett. Who knew there were so many Little Witch books?


How cool! I know. Hermione had some trailblazers ahead of her.


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## stormhawk (Apr 29, 2009)

My Childhood favorites were pretty much all horse books. I painstakingly collected all of the Black Stallion books thanks to a booksale that set up near my office back in the 80s.

My two favorites, though, I only ever saw in the library, and took them out over and over again. I think they had the exciting titles of "Horse Stories" and "More Horse Stories." Just a pair of little paperbacks, but they were fantastic stories. I think I eventually found a lot of the same stories by buying books like The American Girl's Book of Horse Stories and The Big Big of Horse Stories.


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## Maxx (Feb 24, 2009)

Magenta said:


> My most favorite book EVER!


OMG I have read that one to my daughter many many times!


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## LaRita (Oct 28, 2008)

Margaret said:


> I had the entire set of the "shoe" books by Noel Streatfield - _Ballet Shoes_, _Dancing Shoes_, _Theater_ _Shoes_, and so on - in hard back. I borrowed them from the library and loved them so much my grandmother bought me a title a month until a had the entire set. They were great books and introduced me to the joy of reading nice, big thick books.


Off Topic: Does anyone remember the scene in "You've Got Mail" where Meg Ryan is checking out the big chain store comptetition and answers a customer's question about this series because the chain store clerk hadn't a clue?

On Topic: A book I always remembered from childhood was "Understood Betsy." I recently ran across it in the Kindle store and bought it. Still good.

ETA: Hey, I'm no longer Dr. Seuss!


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

stormhawk said:


> My Childhood favorites were pretty much all horse books. I painstakingly collected all of the Black Stallion books thanks to a booksale that set up near my office back in the 80s.
> 
> My two favorites, though, I only ever saw in the library, and took them out over and over again. I think they had the exciting titles of "Horse Stories" and "More Horse Stories." Just a pair of little paperbacks, but they were fantastic stories. I think I eventually found a lot of the same stories by buying books like The American Girl's Book of Horse Stories and The Big Big of Horse Stories.


Oh man! I read every one of those Black Stallion books! Thanks for reminding me. I haven't thought of them in ages.  I also loved the Misty of Chincoteague books.


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

I wish I still had all those Patsy Grey horse books illustrated by Sam Savitt. (And I don't mean the "Star" ones that were picked up by Scholastic) They go for a fortune now. I also had some "Annette" series books I enjoyed and Robin Kane, and the "Penny Parrish" books.  I still have Trixie Beldens. (Never liked Nancy D.) And Rick Brants (Rick Brant ROCKS). And a bunch of others I still read and re-read. One of my favorite things about thrift shops is finding some of those old TAB and Scholastic books, too. I think I do more book hunting to replace old books I liked as a kid more than find new ones...sad.


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## Sharon Delarose (Aug 17, 2010)

One I remember from childhood was called The Little Match Girl.  It had thick cardboard pages.

Also a fan of the Black Stallion series.  I still remember the description of the swamps in Black Stallion's Ghost.


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

I still love Trixie Belden-- so much more realistic than Nancy.    And Jim was a cutie.

I still have my Betsy-Tacy books, and my One-of-a-Kind Family books.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

caseyf6 said:


> I still love Trixie Belden-- so much more realistic than Nancy.  And Jim was a cutie.
> 
> I still have my Betsy-Tacy books, and my One-of-a-Kind Family books.


We must've been childhood reading soulmates, Casey. I read every Trixie Belden I could get my hands on, and didn't care much for Nancy either.

I wish I still had my Betsy-Tacy books. I was just thinking about them when I came back here and read your post.


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## JL Bryan (Aug 10, 2010)

Monique said:


> Just a shot in the dark, but it's not Space Hostages by Nicholas Fisk, is it? The description is close, but not quite right.


Thanks, Monique. I looked it up and that's not it. Thanks for trying, though! I'd be really happy to remember the name of that book. Apparently it stuck with me!

Jeff


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## SimonWood (Nov 13, 2009)

There's been a few books I've lost over the years and the one I miss most is STIG OF THE DUMP.  Which is a great kids book from the UK and is a staple for kids in the UK for over 40yrs, but it's not very well known over here.  It's about a group of kids who find a cave boy during the summer.  Hollywood needs to discover this one.  it's such a great piece of escapism.


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## Guest (Aug 17, 2010)

A series about a pig farmer named "Taran."  I think "The Black Cauldron" was in the series, but cant remember.  Loved it though, I read the whole series at my grandmothers over a summer.


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Those books are the Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander! The first in the series is The Book of Three. I LOVED them as a kid, read them over and over again.


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## river daughter (Jan 12, 2010)

I remember reading the entire Black Stallion series over and over again. Until I discovered that I loved fantasy and science fiction at the age of 12 it was all horse books for me all the time. I adored the Misty of Chincoteague books as well. As an Air Force brat we moved so many times that I lost most of my books, I wish I had them to pass on to my kids. Good memories!


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## Jane917 (Dec 29, 2009)

As I was reading through this thread, Misty of Chincoteague was on my mind, and then.......there it was in the last post!

I also miss my Nancy Drew books (some belonged to my mother), but they are resting in a very good home of another Kindle Boarder. 

Even though I have moved many times in my life, my parents haven't, so I still have my Oz books, Ralph Moody books, original Girl Scout handbooks, Grimms and Anderson Fairy Tales, and many others. I also have most of my own children's books.


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

SimonWood said:


> There's been a few books I've lost over the years and the one I miss most is STIG OF THE DUMP. Which is a great kids book from the UK and is a staple for kids in the UK for over 40yrs, but it's not very well known over here. It's about a group of kids who find a cave boy during the summer. Hollywood needs to discover this one. it's such a great piece of escapism.


Is that where "The Stig" (from BBC _Top Gear _for those who don't know) got his name?


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## terryr (Apr 24, 2010)

I didn't mention my Marguerite Henry books or Lloyd Alexanders because I still have them.  (And re-read them, I just read the one about the Lipizzaners last week.) I just really miss the ones I no longer have. Oh, and the Misty movie from the 60s is on Netflix streaming! The one they mention in the book Stormy, Misty's Foal.


river daughter said:


> I remember reading the entire Black Stallion series over and over again. Until I discovered that I loved fantasy and science fiction at the age of 12 it was all horse books for me all the time. I adored the Misty of Chincoteague books as well. As an Air Force brat we moved so many times that I lost most of my books, I wish I had them to pass on to my kids. Good memories!


Dang, you almost sound like my doppleganger. 


DakotaDog said:


> ...Also a fan of the Black Stallion series. I still remember the description of the swamps in Black Stallion's Ghost.


This was probably the first Black Stallion book that creeped me out a little. The next was the Flame book, with the deserted island and the vampire bats...oh, what was it called...(running to Google) Island Stallion's Fury. The next one that did that was Walter Farley's last one from the 80s, The Black Stallion Legend, but I wasn't a kid any more by then.  (Still buying/reading kids books now though.)

Now I have to dig my Black Stallion books out of the closet.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

T.M. Roy said:


> Is that where "The Stig" (from BBC _Top Gear _for those who don't know) got his name?


Some say he was the inspiration for Van Gogh's Sunflowers. And, that he secretly reads the Kindle Boards. All we know is, he's called the Stig.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

Thalia the Muse said:


> Those books are the Chronicles of Prydain, by Lloyd Alexander! The first in the series is The Book of Three. I LOVED them as a kid, read them over and over again.


I loved those books soooo much! Still do, although I don't own them any more.


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## Basilius (Feb 20, 2010)

Magenta said:


> My most favorite book EVER!


A favorite of our children's as well. This one was one my brother liked as a kid and I somehow ended up with that copy.

One thing I've learned after reading this book to the kids: pretty much the only difference between Grover's voice and Doofenshmirtz's voice is the latter's German accent.

Phineas and Ferb fans will know what I mean.


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Dawn McCullough White said:


> Something I thought was called "The Littlest Witch" or something like that. I can't find it anywhere. I would be circa 1970 (approximately).
> 
> In the story the little witch goes to brewing class, etc, etc and I don't know if she fails her classes because she's a terrible witch or because she does makes nice things and she's supposed to make nasty things or something. Anyone remember this book?
> 
> Dawn


My sister had the Littlest Witch books and loved them. I'll give her a call and report back in a few days.

L


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## Leslie (Apr 7, 2008)

Jane917 said:


> I also miss my Nancy Drew books (some belonged to my mother), but they are resting in a very good home of another Kindle Boarder.


Yes, I look at them everyday (I try to minimize touching them!) and thank you Jane. They are a wonderful addition to my collection.

I still have my first edition *Harriet the Spy* although my children destroyed the dustcover. The book I wish I had, but has gone missing is *Up A Road Slowly *by Irene Hunt. I loved that story. I also wish I had my old battered paperback copy of* Seventeenth Summer*. Great stuff.

L


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## pdallen (Aug 3, 2010)

Not really from childhood, but from my teens. Blood Sport by Robert F Jones. It's about a father and son fishing and hunting trip up the Hassayampa River, which has its source in China and empties into the Atlantic in upstate New York. The pair run afoul of the legendary outlaw, Ratnose.

It's one imaginative read.

It's been out of print for decades, but I managed to pick up another copy a year ago through Amazon's used books.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

_Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears_. At least I think that's the title. Supposedly it's an old African folk tale, but I couldn't swear to that. Been trying to find that book for years now, but I think it's out of print.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

So many great ones are out of print, David.  

Kudos to the people who reminded me about Harriet the Spy and Hatchet!


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Loretta Mason Potts, about a boy who learns he has an older sister his mother never told him about. The sister found a secret portal in a neighbor's house, and wouldn't come home again.

I found a reprint of the book on Amazon (it has only 5 star reviews, and virtually all of them write, "I never thought I'd ever find this book again!") I bought a copy (far too expensive, but ya gotta do what ya gotta do), and read it to my son, who loved it too. Really a classic. And it still holds up!

I just went and looked at the book page. Apparently the printing sold out, and now all they offer are used copies at $247.97. That's seriously more than I paid for my "far too expensive" version. Maybe you can find it in the library.


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## Nell Gavin (Jul 3, 2010)

Thea J said:


> I wish I still had my Betsy-Tacy books. I was just thinking about them when I came back here and read your post.


I bought them on Amazon last year. They're still good!


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

A few years ago I spent hours on Amazon finding and ordering a bunch of very-early-teen favorites. They're all sitting here now, waiting to be re-read some day... or maybe passed along to DD soon. At age 10-13 or so I got almost all of my books from the library, so I hadn't seen these in years.

Besides _A Wrinkle in Time_, the two at the top of the stack are _Mara, Daughter of the Nile_ (which I thought was totally obscure until I saw from the zillion reviews on Amazon that it has almost a cult following) and _Knee-Deep in Thunder_, which was one of my favorites back then and which, surprisingly, I've never seen mentioned here in any thread.


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> _Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears_. At least I think that's the title. Supposedly it's an old African folk tale, but I couldn't swear to that. Been trying to find that book for years now, but I think it's out of print.


Ooh I remember that book! Is this not it? http://www.amazon.com/Why-Mosquitoes-Buzz-Peoples-Ears/dp/0140549056

I seem to remember really loving the illustrations in that book.


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## Bane766 (Aug 2, 2010)

As a kid I read those Beverly Cleary books. On of the best books I read as a kid was *Where the Red Fern Grows*. Such a good book...it made me laugh, cry, etc.

I stopped reading for a couple of years and started again when I moved to southern New Mexico at the age of 12. A boyfriend of my mom's let me borrow the *Dragonlance Chronicles* (it was a collected hardback version of all 3 books). I ended up taking it with me when we moved (I actually forgot I had it). I'm a shy person and was very shy at that age and didn't have any friends that summer, so I spent the entire summer reading that book then going to the local Libray and reading more like it (it was my first Fantasy book and made me fall in love with the genre).

Once school started I ended up making some really good friends, but I never stopped reading Fantasy since that point. When I was 17 I was placed in a group home and my mother gave away all of my possesions, including that book.  I ended up finding a soft copy of the collection a couple years later and I still have it. I let my 12 year old read it and it looks like he fell in love with the genre as well.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

Oh Bane! Where the Red Fern Grows! I just sobbed. It's such a great book. Thanks for reminding me.


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## Bane766 (Aug 2, 2010)

Thea J said:


> Oh Bane! Where the Red Fern Grows! I just sobbed. It's such a great book. Thanks for reminding me.


Did you see the movie? If I recall it was pretty good...nowhere near the book, but still good.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

I never saw the movie, but I would have cried for that too, I'm sure.


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## Victorine (Apr 23, 2010)

David McAfee said:


> _Why Mosquitos Buzz In People's Ears_. At least I think that's the title. Supposedly it's an old African folk tale, but I couldn't swear to that. Been trying to find that book for years now, but I think it's out of print.


Oh, yeah I remember that one too!



Here you go! That's a great book.

Vicki


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## Thalia the Muse (Jan 20, 2010)

Is that really out of print? It's a Caldecott winner! I'm totally shocked that it wouldn't be available. I read it to my daughter a few years ago, but from the library ...


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

My favorite book from childhood was The Tall book of Make Believe.  In it was a story called Bad Mousie.  My Mom would read that one story over and over to us!  I found a copy of the book on eBay a couple of years ago, and I treasure it!  My brother has our childhood copy.  It has no cover and is held together with a rubber band, but still sports our childhood scribbles on the pages.


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## David McAfee (Apr 15, 2010)

Jessica Billings said:


> Ooh I remember that book! Is this not it? http://www.amazon.com/Why-Mosquitoes-Buzz-Peoples-Ears/dp/0140549056
> 
> I seem to remember really loving the illustrations in that book.


You. Totally. Rock! Just sayin'. Thanks for that link!


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## caseyf6 (Mar 28, 2010)

Ooh, Harriet the Spy!  I was a short, solid (not fat, but not thin) girl with blond hair and glasses who loved to observe people...she was my dream.


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## CDChristian (Jun 4, 2010)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> My favorite book from childhood was The Tall book of Make Believe. In it was a story called Bad Mousie. My Mom would read that one story over and over to us! I found a copy of the book on eBay a couple of years ago, and I treasure it! My brother has our childhood copy. *It has no cover and is held together with a rubber band, but still sports our childhood scribbles on the pages. *


That's the best kind of book!


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## cocod2 (Jul 30, 2010)

Cherry Ames, Student Nurse, Nancy Drew, 
a Tree Grows in Brooklyn


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## Robert Tell Author (Aug 17, 2010)

I loved animal novels. Black Beauty and Bob, son of Battle come immediately to mind. Also, poetry by Robert Louis Stevenson was a favorite.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

T.L. Haddix said:


> Oh, Trixie Belden - that series rocked! I loved the Nancy Drews but TB was so much better. I actually did a blog post about just how far I would go for a book, and that was an out-of-print copy of one of the TBs. I came this close to heat stroke as a child to get one of those. It was worth it. I think I still have those books. They would be at my hubby's family home in eastern Ky., if I do.


I fantasized about having rich neighbors who would provide horses for me to ride with my friends. I also wanted to solve mysteries, of course. With horses.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Thea J said:


> I fantasized about having rich neighbors who would provide horses for me to ride with my friends. I also wanted to solve mysteries, of course. With horses.


I actually fantasized about being one of the rich neighbors. In a certain light I even had honey colored hair - or maybe that was a fantasy as well.


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## shoppegirl (Aug 9, 2010)

I used to love The Boxcar Children, by Gertrude Chandler Warner and the Shoe books by Noel Streatfield. I had almost forgotten about those books...those were some of the best summers


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## Raffeer (Nov 19, 2008)

Honey Bee by Anatole France - my first "real" i.e. chapters and a hard cover, Maida's Little Island and, of course, any Nancy Drew. I also remember being enchanted by the Book of Knowledge. Volumes and volumes. You could just page through and read about anything you wanted.
I do remember one about a little girl who lived on her father's sailing ship. He was the Captain and she always sailed with him. Does this ring a bell for anyone?


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## Susan in VA (Apr 3, 2009)

Raffeer said:


> I do remember one about a little girl who lived on her father's sailing ship. He was the Captain and she always sailed with him. Does this ring a bell for anyone?


Not Pippi Longstocking, by any chance? Though she only sailed with her father the captain part of the time.


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

This thread really has me reminiscing and remembering things I haven't thought about in ages. A book I loved when I was pretty little was:








I just loved having it read to me.

The girl and father sailing rings a bell, but I can't peg it.


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## Raffeer (Nov 19, 2008)

No not Pippi. Thanks though.
This child actually lived on the ship. The name is just out of my reach....driving me nuts.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

A couple of years ago, I found a lost book from my childhood. It a picture book that we used in one of my classes that had the most beautiful pictures. Our teacher had us write stories about the pictures. I was fascinated by the story and wanted to look at the whole book again, but I couldn't remember the name. I searched for it, asked people about it, but no one knew what I was talking about. Then at a conference for language arts teachers, one of the presenters used the book in her presentation! I was so excited, that I went home and tried to order a copy right away. It was _The Mysteries of Harris Burdick_ (no wonder I couldn't remember the title). I had a bit of a hard time finding it, but I finally did. Now I have a copy of my own and one for my classroom.


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## Thea J (Jul 7, 2010)

Another book I loved and no longer own is Paddle to the Sea. The illustrations were so amazing and I just thought it was so cool.


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## Margaret (Jan 1, 2010)

Aravis60 said:


> A couple of years ago, I found a lost book from my childhood. It a picture book that we used in one of my classes that had the most beautiful pictures. Our teacher had us write stories about the pictures. I was fascinated by the story and wanted to look at the whole book again, but I couldn't remember the name. I searched for it, asked people about it, but no one knew what I was talking about. Then at a conference for language arts teachers, one of the presenters used the book in her presentation! I was so excited, that I went home and tried to order a copy right away. It was _The Mysteries of Harris Burdick_ (no wonder I couldn't remember the title). I had a bit of a hard time finding it, but I finally did. Now I have a copy of my own and one for my classroom.


I had not heard of this book, although I love the work of Van Allsburg. I just checked it out and ordered a copy to use with one of my classes. It sounds great! Thank you! (I got the portfolio edition.)


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## ◄ Jess ► (Apr 21, 2010)

Raffeer said:


> No not Pippi. Thanks though.
> This child actually lived on the ship. The name is just out of my reach....driving me nuts.


I tried doing a google search to see what I could find, but just got a bunch of results about that girl who tried to sail solo around the world, gah. Hopefully you can remember the title!


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## Vyrl (Jun 7, 2010)

The Secret of Nimh.

Unfortunately, not a Kindle book yet...

http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Frisby-Rats-Aladdin-Fantasy/dp/0689710682/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282446962&sr=8-9


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## Monique (Jul 31, 2010)

Raffeer said:


> No not Pippi. Thanks though.
> This child actually lived on the ship. The name is just out of my reach....driving me nuts.


Can you remember anything else about it? Anything at all? I love a good mystery.


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## Aravis60 (Feb 18, 2009)

Margaret said:


> I had not heard of this book, although I love the work of Van Allsburg. I just checked it out and ordered a copy to use with one of my classes. It sounds great! Thank you! (I got the portfolio edition.)


That's the one I got, too. It's really nice and I laminated the pages so that they would last longer.


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## Raffeer (Nov 19, 2008)

Wow! I found it!!! 
THE CRADLE OF THE DEEP - LOWELL - 1929
Not only did I get the name but there's quite a story to tell and I have mixed feelings about learning it. It was a Book of The Month selection in the '30's and quite a sensation. A recollection of a childhood at sea that begins:

_"She ain't any water rat, ma'm! She's a girl flower, she is, with the tropic heavens fer a hothouse, and the scoldin' of the storm fer her when she's bad. An' she knows all that we sailormen know-all the good-'cause no one of us ever let her hear nothin' else."_

Turns out it was a hoax. The author was raised in a middle class suburb in California. The LA Times had a great article about it. Apparently it was a major scandal in its day. http://articles.latimes.com/2008/mar/14/entertainment/et-cradle14

Bottom line though, it makes "no never mind" to me. I loved that book.


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## JumpingShip (Jun 3, 2010)

When I was about nine or ten, I received a book called, "A Dog called Wolf" and I loved that book! It was similar to The Call of the Wild or White Fang, but probably written on a simpler level. I have no idea who wrote it, but I'd love to find it again.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

I've learned not to find and re-read books I loved as a kid.  More often than not it tarnishes the memory of a fantastic book.  It stinks when it turns out not to be as deep and thoughtful as I remember it (because I was a kid when I read it -- I didn't know nuthin')

There are exceptions to this rule.  The Phantom Tollbooth comes to mind.


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## sjc (Oct 29, 2008)

I did.  I tracked every one of them down and bought them for my kids; who are now 20 and 22.

Mop Top
Mister Pines Mixed up Signs
Dick and Jane
Mrs. Piggle Wiggle (entire series)
and some others...

I'm sure there are others that I've forgotten about as well.  One was a witch and snow only on one side of the street or something; oh well.


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## daveconifer (Oct 20, 2009)

Vyrl said:


> The Secret of Nimh.
> 
> Unfortunately, not a Kindle book yet...
> 
> http://www.amazon.com/Mrs-Frisby-Rats-Aladdin-Fantasy/dp/0689710682/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1282446962&sr=8-9


Newberry Award winner and one of my all-time favorites!


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