Finding favorite childhood books where you can’t remember title, author, or illustrator info

It is such a wonderful feeling to find childhood favorites, books that you thought you’d lost forever. They’re such treasure, like gold; they bring back a wash of good feeling. That just happened to me.

There was a book that I loved as a child (which my mother threw out) that I hadn’t been able to find. I couldn’t remember much about it, except that I loved the illustrations, they were hazy watercolors, and that there was a marble I used to gaze at from a boy’s pocket or a box or someplace, along with some other of his treasures.

I found another picture book from the same time period where the illustrations looked like what I remembered, and then I looked inside for the illustrator’s name. Then I started searching other titles by that author on Amazon.com, but most of the titles, because they were so old, didn’t have covers scanned in.

Next I searched on ebay in the children’s book section for that particular illustrator–and I found a cover that looked very familiar to me, and gave me a good feeling; I was pretty sure it was the right one. (The Hiding Place by Pauline Palmer Meek, illustrated by Tom O’Sullivan.) But I wanted to be sure before I purchased it.

So I wrote to the seller, asking what the book was about, and she wrote back the opening of the book: “Henry had a secret hiding place. In it he kept two marbles, a shiny rock, an old ball-point pen, and a stick of gum.”

I felt such a happy rush reading those lines, those words. Not only because it’s the right book, not only because those words bring back the happy, good feelings I had reading that book, but also because the words again touch me in just the right way. I’ve always loved the idea of having secret hiding places, and of having special little treasures, and I can see those things as treasures.

I can’t wait until the book arrives and I can open it again.

My route to finding the book may have been a bit round-about, but I discovered it. It helped that I remembered the illustrator’s style and found another book by him. It also helped that I could look at some covers online. So eBay, though you wouldn’t normally think of it as a way to find books, can help.

Then there’s the LiveJournal Find a Book community, which I’ve always found immensely helpful. (You just have to create a login to post.) And Librarian Mom wrote a great post on finding childhood favorites, with a link to a long article by the Internet Public Library: Half-Remembered Children’s Books: Search Strategies. My favorite new-to-me resources from that article are Loganberry Books’ Stump the Bookseller where you submit what you remember about a book for $2.00 (which can be used to purchase books from the store), and the bookseller tries to find it for you; and a MSN group Ex-Libris, the Lost Boards, which is a discussion board where you can post what you remember about a book, and others will try to help you find it, if it sounds familiar to them. These are wonderful resources, and fantastic ways to find that book you loved so much as a child.

6 Responses to “Finding favorite childhood books where you can’t remember title, author, or illustrator info”

Daphne Says:
October 6th, 2009 at 10:12 pm
Hi, I just about cried as I read what you wrote about The Hidding Place. Thank you so much for finding it! I too have been haunted with a happy memory of the book, but as my mom threw it out I didnt know the author or illustrator. After much l”google-ing” I just found your post! Thank you so much! As I saw the cover of the book on your page I got the best feeling inside.. as if I saw an old friend! I felt the same way reading those 1st few lines you posted. I cant wait to go find it on ebay!! You really have brightened my day. -Daphne
Cheryl Rainfield Says:
October 7th, 2009 at 4:07 am
Oh, I’m so glad, Daphne! It’s such a good feeling to find those lost childhood treasures of books! Thank you for letting me know. (beaming)
lisa b Says:
February 23rd, 2012 at 2:12 pm
Omigoodness! I have searched for 25 year for that book. I created my own hiding place as a child. I have ordered a copy of it from amazon and cannot wait to read it again and look at that picture of his hiding place. i have googled what i thought was the name of the book for years….to no avail. The only word i could remember were ‘a marble and a stick of gum…’ So when I googled that today, I found it….with your help! Thanks!
Cheryl Rainfield Says:
February 23rd, 2012 at 2:27 pm
I’m so glad I helped you find a favorite book, Lisa! I love that book, too. Such good memories of it!
Greg Says:
August 14th, 2012 at 11:35 pm
Hi Cheryl,

Thank you for helping my brother and I find one of our most favorite children’s books so that we can share it with our children. Recently I searched for the book Hidey Hole book and did not find the right book, so I emailed my older brother who thought the book had the same name and also searched and did not find it.

I searched for a children’s book about a hiding place for a marble and a piece of gum and came across your blog post with a copy of the book cover and immediately went to Amazon and ordered two copies of the book…one for my neices and nephew and one for my kids. I can’t wait to read it again over and over to my kids. Those illustrations and the story about a secret hiding place really stuck in our heads.

Thanks again for writing about your experience finding the book and helping us find it…we are looking forward to reading our favorite children’s book again soon and sharing it with our kids.

P.S. How was it reading the book again? Do you recommend any other books by this author?
Cheryl Rainfield Says:
August 15th, 2012 at 8:49 am
Hi Greg (smiling at you)

I’m so glad you and your brother found one of your favorite books! And so glad my post helped you find it. The Hiding Place is one of my childhood favorites, too. It’s my favorite of that author and illustrator. I think it’s the best one.

I felt utter joy at having that book back in my hands, reading it again, seeing the beautiful illustrations.

There are a lot of fantastic new picture books, though! You can see some of my very favorites, ones I highly recommend, here: http://www.cherylrainfield.com/cherylPage_pictureReviews.php

take good care,
Cheryl