I’m hoping someone can point me to somewhere which might help identify a couple of books I loved as a child, whose authors and titles of course escape me. If any of the wise and well read dopers can help, I’d be delighted, but if there are text search sites for children’s books which might help, that’d do too! I’ve Googled like my life depended on it, but nothing’s happening.
The first book was a one-off, I think. Basic story: small child (I think it was a girl) staying with aunt-type character at a seaside town out of season. Small child goes to the pier, which is all closed up, and by a coincidental jumping on the correct pier boards, somehow manages to go through a time shift and encounters friendly folk living, I think, for some reason in a photo booth on the pier. I thought it might be by E. Nesbit, but I can’t match it to anything of hers published, but it’s definitely that sort of thing.
Second was a series of books about a main character who I think was named Henry Brewster. He had some magic football boots, although that seems to be a very slim premise for what I remember as a series of absorbing adventures, involving roles such as cowboys and spacemen (not in the same book, I don’t think, although, who knows?)
Both would have been available in the UK in the early 70s although I don’t remember if they were newly published then. You can see why I’m having Google-failure… (could I vague that up a bit do you think?)
Nostalgia is taking over my head I think, and I’m desperate to find these things for my own daughter! Thanks in advance for any small light anyone can shed.
When it’s a slow day at the office, I find looking for things like this a nice diversion. For your second question, is it maybe the Bobby Brewster series? These seem to have been written in the '30s or something, and there seems to be quite a lot of them. Haven’t read them myself.
No dice on your first question, but I haven’t given up!
Thanks so much - it WAS Bobby Brewster, Sal Ammoniac, though why for the life of me I remembered the magic football boots in particular, is beyond me! Looks like it was a general issue with household objects that troubled old Bobby. Off to try to find some of them.
As for the website, thanks Baker, that looks exactly the sort of thing I’m after, I’ll give it a go…
chowder, it’s the very same, but I’ve been exiled in Hampshire for a long time. (I forgot about the location tag, I think I stole it from a Smiths’ run-out scratch at some point).
So then you’re a fellow Manc. I was born and brought up on the Moss long before it turned into a den of iniquity
Yes indeedy this place is numero uno, you have a question and some bright spark will be along to give you chapter, verse and composer… and his shoe and collar size
Enjoy your stay
If I can jump in with another that I was thinking about just last night - I remember a book that involved a girl who had a tiny king living in her room. He taught her how to clean things properly - I remember him explaining that you should pick up each object on a table, dust under it, dust the object, then put it down, instead of just dusting around things.
Does anyone else remember this, or did I hallucinate it?
