# What were your favorite OBSCURE(?) children's books? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 16, 2008, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684 "2008-01-16T00:56:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 7
**Author:** ![Czarcasm](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/czarcasm/32/4050_2.png) [@Czarcasm](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Czarcasm)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/121 "2012-05-29T16:30:35Z")
> [@Caprese](#): > > Was it [The Lemonade Trick?](http://www.amazon.com/The-Lemonade-Trick-Apple-Paperbacks/dp/0590321978)I loved that book and used to own it. That was definitely it-thank you! ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/122 "2012-05-29T16:36:45Z")
There was a book I enjoyed a child in the early 80s but I can’t remember the title at all. It was about a young boy who lived in the Southwest (I think) and discovers and befriends a stegosaurus in a canyon near his family’s home. Anyone else remember this? ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/123 "2012-05-29T17:00:59Z")
> [@Bob Ducca](#): > > There was a book I enjoyed a child in the early 80s but I can’t remember the title at all. It was about a young boy who lived in the Southwest (I think) and discovers and befriends a stegosaurus in a canyon near his family’s home. Anyone else remember this? See post #21. ---
**Author:** ![GrandWino](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/grandwino/32/67_2.png) [@GrandWino](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/GrandWino)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/124 "2012-05-29T17:25:33Z")
> [@hogarth](#): > > See post #21. The Dope is as efficient as always! ---
**Author:** ![Dendarii\_Dame](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/bbce88/32.png) [@Dendarii\_Dame](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dendarii_Dame)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/125 "2012-05-29T17:54:44Z")
I really enjoyed the Cherry Ames mysteries. She was a nurse, and the focus was always more on the nursing rather than finding clues. I also liked (besides the ones I’ve already seen on this thread) Sport, a sequel to Harriet the Spy. Also, I’d like to mention some of the wonderful biographies I read, especially the ones of Nellie Bly and Emily Dunning Barringer by Iris Noble. ---
**Author:** ![FuriousGeorge](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/ecae2f/32.png) [@FuriousGeorge](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FuriousGeorge)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/126 "2012-05-29T17:57:20Z")
When I was a kid, I WAS _**[Cowboy Andy](http://beeskneesbooks.blogspot.com/2008/11/cowboy-andy.html)**_. Though you’ll have to replace Ward Cleaver with Mick Jagger and imgaine the tobacco smell as sweet herb. ---
**Author:** ![Slade](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/b5ac83/32.png) [@Slade](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slade)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/127 "2012-05-29T18:21:30Z")
Around 1970, when I was about 12, I read a UK book whose name and author I can no longer remember. The gimmick was that the narrator didn’t reveal his (or maybe her) identity until right at the end. It was about a group of children having some sort of adventure and the narrator was a member of this group - we just weren’t told which one till the big reveal. It’s not that the narrator turns out to be the villain or anything: just that they throw in the puzzle of her (or maybe his) identity as an extra little cherry on the cake. Any ideas? ---
**Author:** ![Max\_Torque](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/e9bcb4/32.png) [@Max\_Torque](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Max_Torque)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 7:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/128 "2012-05-29T19:07:18Z")
Well, since this seems to have been revived, I’ll name one I’ve named before in similar threads: **Sir MacHinery** , by Tom McGowen. The story: a scientist moves to Scotland to finish his invention, an advanced robot. Some brownies (the fairy-like kind, not the girl-scout kind) come upon the robot and, thinking he’s a knight in armor, draft him into their army in a supernatural war against the forces of evil. Because they see crates labeled “machinery” around, they call the robot-knight “Sir MacHinery”. Fantastic book, checked it out again and again from the library. ---
**Author:** ![Doug\_K](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b5ac83/32.png) [@Doug\_K](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Doug_K)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 7:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/129 "2012-05-29T19:55:53Z")
A contribution and a question. Peter Graves by William Pene du Bois. An adolescent accidentally destroys a reclusive scientist’s house, then travels around the country with him using the lighter than air material he invented to perform extraordinary athletic feats to raise money to rebuild the house. It’s out of print, but I just recently snagged a paperback copy for $4 plus shipping through Amazon. The question: I remember a book from the late 60s or early 70s. I read it in fourth grade. I think it was called something like \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ Seven, where the blank was either a character’s or place name. It was written in first person, and the main character was in some kind of army. He talked about having to march all the time, and how it made him wonder if their marching was what kept the world turning. ---
**Author:** ![punch\_line\_loser](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/8e7dd6/32.png) [@punch\_line\_loser](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/punch_line_loser)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/130 "2012-05-29T20:46:26Z")
Are “young adult novels” acceptable? I remember some outsider-y gems I picked up from the Scholastic Book Fairs they used to do when I was a youngun… _Silverwing_ (and its sequel _Sunwing_) would probably be the biggest one for me. It’s a novel describing bat migrations and things sort of in terms of human relationships, but it’s based on a lot of hardcore bat research. In the sequel the protagonists even get mixed up with [Project X-Ray](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Project_X-Ray) AND THEN go straight to thwarting a sacrifice to an ancient Mesoamerican Bat God. I read each of them something like six times in sixth grade, back to back, over and over. ---
**Author:** ![california\_jobcase](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9d8465/32.png) [@california\_jobcase](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/california_jobcase)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 9:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/131 "2012-05-29T21:09:23Z")
**Beastly Rhymes** by Jack Hanrahan was one of my favorites. ---
**Author:** ![rconard131](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/b5ac83/32.png) [@rconard131](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rconard131)\ **Post date:** [May 29, 2012, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/132 "2012-05-29T23:06:39Z")
> [@Max\_Torque](#): > > Well, since this seems to have been revived, I’ll name one I’ve named before in similar threads: **Sir MacHinery** , by Tom McGowen. The story: a scientist moves to Scotland to finish his invention, an advanced robot. Some brownies (the fairy-like kind, not the girl-scout kind) come upon the robot and, thinking he’s a knight in armor, draft him into their army in a supernatural war against the forces of evil. Because they see crates labeled “machinery” around, they call the robot-knight “Sir MacHinery”. Fantastic book, checked it out again and again from the library. Max, I saw your post re: Thomas E. McGowen’s ‘Sir Machinery’. I too was influenced a great deal by that wonderful book and in fact have finally located Mr. McGowen himself, aged 85, still living in Harwood Heights, Illinois. He wrote over 100 books for Follett and Scholastic, among other publishers. His works covered three genre: Young Adult Fantasy Fiction,Children’s Science, and an impressive number of well researched history books ranging from ancient history to the Korean War era. Thomas’s health suffers these days, and he was rather quite surprised that anyone still remembered him at all, let alone was ever influenced by his stories. All I could think is that he deserved to know how cherished and impacting his stories were to our generation, and in particular, how comforting they were to a fatherless boy growing up in the isolated Appalachian mountains in the 1970’s (one TV channel, on a farm - lol). In an effort to boost his spirits and shed light on just how much his stories meant to thousands of children, I am trying to gather feedback from old fans and foward to him. I am in contact with his Grandson Nick, and together we are mustering the effort in hopes he is indeed still remembered. At very least, I felt it was something long overdue Mr. McGowen considering his large contribution to children’s literature. Any help, or even a letter from yourself, would be well received, I’m sure. Please pass the request on to those you know who’ve read and loved Sir Machinery, as I have. As a side note, I thought I’d mention that the book is currently under contract for a potential movie with a group of producers working with AMC (Crossing my fingers that it materializes). Mr. McGowen’s mailing address is: Thomas E. McGowen 4449 N. Oriole Avenue Harwood Heights, Illinois 60706 Any questions, my email is [RConard131@gmail.com](mailto:RConard131@gmail.com) Best Regards, Rick Conard ---
**Author:** ![rivulus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/839c29/32.png) [@rivulus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rivulus)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 12:53am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/133 "2012-05-30T00:53:00Z")
Shadow the Sheepdog by Enid Blyton. Who knows if it’s any good… but I adored it as a child and checked it out of the library a bunch of times. ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/134 "2012-05-30T01:18:19Z")
I have no idea what others know or don’t know, so: **The Mysterious Disappearance of Leon (I Mean Noel)**, by Ellen Raskin. Full of puzzles, clues and puns. **Active Enzyme Lemon-Freshened Junior High School Witch** , by Wallace Hildick. **The Chocolate War** , Robert Cormier. All those “Three Investigators” books. ---
**Author:** ![Baker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/bb73d2/32.png) [@Baker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Baker)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:33am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/135 "2012-05-30T01:33:40Z")
Did anyone else ever read a book titled _Crictor_? The author/illustrator was named Tomi Ungerer. It’s a story about a French school teacher who receives, in the mail from her explorer son, a pet boa constrictor. After she gets used to it she even takes it to class with her. Crictor ends up saving her from a burglar. I remember the picture of the burglar, striped shirt, little beret and mask, sterotypical Frenchman. I’m not sure it was originally written in French, and translated into English. But it was kind of like _Madeline_, the obvious cultural differences were never an issue. ---
**Author:** ![Mixolydian](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/da6949/32.png) [@Mixolydian](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mixolydian)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 4:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/136 "2012-05-30T04:23:04Z")
[**The Big Joke Game**](http://www.booksandotherthoughts.com/2009/03/big-joke-game.html) by Scott Corbett. ---
**Author:** ![dwyr](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dwyr/32/363_2.png) [@dwyr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dwyr)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 6:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/137 "2012-05-30T06:39:51Z")
> [@Baker](#): > > Did anyone else ever read a book titled _Crictor_? The author/illustrator was named Tomi Ungerer. > > It’s a story about a French school teacher who receives, in the mail from her explorer son, a pet boa constrictor. After she gets used to it she even takes it to class with her. Crictor ends up saving her from a burglar. I remember the picture of the burglar, striped shirt, little beret and mask, sterotypical Frenchman. > > I’m not sure it was originally written in French, and translated into English. But it was kind of like _Madeline_, the obvious cultural differences were never an issue. I loved that one. I gave a copy of it to my little nephew a couple of years ago and he got a real kick out of it too. Out of the many, many books I read as a kid two in particular stand out in my memory. The first would be [Magic Elizabeth](http://www.amazon.com/Magic-Elizabeth-Norma-Illustrated-Kassirer/dp/B000OB0H4O). Normally I didn’t care much for girly books or dolls but for some reason I really liked this one. The second book I think belonged to my brother but I basically stole it - [Rifles for Watie](http://www.amazon.com/Rifles-for-Watie/dp/B005OMCPLQ/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338359804&sr=1-7). Amazing book about a boy during the Civil War. It was a Newberry winner so maybe not obscure though I’ve not ever run into anyone else who’s read it. ---
**Author:** ![lawoot](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/35a633/32.png) [@lawoot](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lawoot)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/138 "2012-05-30T13:41:51Z")
The main one from my childhood was [The Silly Book](http://www.amazon.com/Silly-Book-CD-Stoo-Hample/dp/0763641243/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1338384924&sr=1-1) by Stuart (Stoo) Hample. Very ridiculous humor, especially for the early 60’s. This book has such an influence that my brother and I spent years trying to find it, and when it was re-released in 2004 he bought copies for himself, my sister and me (and the youngest of us was 41 at the time!). Still has an honored place in my library. My copy doesn’t have the Silly CD, though. ---
**Author:** ![bup](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/6bbea6/32.png) [@bup](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bup)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 1:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/139 "2012-05-30T13:53:10Z")
A 3-page thread started in 2008 and none of the posters have been banned. Which lends credence to my theory that people who love(d) children’s books aren’t assholes. I can’t think of any really obscure kids’ books I read. There’s one book I can’t remember the name of, and I’ve posted about before, and nobody’s been able to identify it. ---
**Author:** ![doverpro](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/838e76/32.png) [@doverpro](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/doverpro)\ **Post date:** [May 30, 2012, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684/140 "2012-05-30T15:23:15Z")
_Rootabaga Stories_ by Carl Sandburg [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684.md?page=6) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/what-were-your-favorite-obscure-childrens-books/433684.md?page=8)