Children's Fantasy. Girl goes to live with aunts(?), she's forbidden to read from a certain book. Aunts get kidnapped (empty house); must enter another world to find them; learns spells (e.g., force person to tell truth). Dwarf/ gnome? Read early 1990s. > Likes and Comments

Okay. I've been searching for this book for literally over 15 years. I was probably about 10 years old when I visited the Orem Library. The librarian gave me this book telling me that I would probably love it. I read it, loved it, and that's what got me started in my love of reading! I have since tried to find it with absolutely no luck. Here I will dedicate a post in the hopes that someone, somewhere will know what I am talking about. Here are the few details I know about the plot.

-Main character is a young girl.
-Girl goes to live with her aunts (might be good friends of parents and not relatives)
-Things seem normal except the girl is forbidden to read from a certain book the aunts have.
-One day the aunts get kidnapped and the girl must go into another world to find them.
-The girl has a companion that is a little dwarf, gnome, or other weird creature.
-As the girl progresses in her journey she learns new spells that help her progress.
-At one point the girl must get a new guide given to her by the bad guy (maybe) but she knows a spell that forces her old companion to tell the truth if the new guy is trustworthy so she gets a different one.

I know these details are really random but perhaps a random google search will get some stranger's attention and they can help out. Or maybe one of you have just been holding out on me! :)

I'm moving this to the Unsolved section since you're looking for one specific book.
You've given great details!

Kate wrote: "I'm moving this to the Unsolved section since you're looking for one specific book.
You've given great details!"

Thanks!!

Was the book set in a magical world or does the main character leave a normal world and enters a magical one?

She starts off in a normal world then enters a magical one. :)

Rob, please add genre and plot details to your header so people quickly looking through threads will know what yours is about.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Rob, please add genre and plot details to your header so people quickly looking through threads will know what yours is about."

Great thought! Thanks!

Details added to header.

Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace?

Kelly wrote: "Peppermints in the Parlor by Barbara Brooks Wallace?"

This looks like a great book! But, unfortunately not the one I was looking for. The girl definitely goes to another world/dimension. Thanks so much for your help!

How does the girl find out the aunts were kidnapped? Does she come home from school to find them missing? Or, did the captor leave a letter saying why they took the aunts?

Do you remember anything about the villains?
Were the aunts witches or just normal women?

Tab wrote: "How does the girl find out the aunts were kidnapped? Does she come home from school to find them missing? Or, did the captor leave a letter saying why they took the aunts?

Do you remember anything..."

Oooh, good questions.

She found the house empty when she came home. I vaguely remember a note being left behind but there had to have been some sort of portal for her to get to the other world. She was sure to take the "secret book" with her though.

I think the villain is one character (man?) who has some sort of assistant who does his dirty work. I remember he tried to give the main girl a guide who was not trustworthy but she had a spell that showed her the truth behind the deception.

The aunts were witches (magical) but the girl did not know that when she moved in with them.

Thanks!!

Possibly something by Ursula K. Le Guin?

Just enough of this description reminded me of Inkheart, but enough isn't the same that it's kind of a "just in case" suggestion.

Ari wrote: "Possibly something by Ursula K. Le Guin?"

I am not familiar with that author but I will check it out. Thanks!

Amanda wrote: "Just enough of this description reminded me of Inkheart, but enough isn't the same that it's kind of a "just in case" suggestion."

I love the Inkheart series! But sadly, no, not the same book. I read this book in the early 90's.

I keep thinking Island of the Aunts, but that's obviously not it.

Was that Orem, Utah? Could it have maybe been a Mormon book?

Rob, are you still looking for this or did you find it?

Still looking yes. 😩

Since you read it in Utah, is there any chance it could have been a Mormon book?

Shadow Mountain Publishing is owned by the Mormon church, and they publish kid and teen fantasy books. Might be worth looking through their catalog.

Rainbowheart wrote: "Since you read it in Utah, is there any chance it could have been a Mormon book?

Shadow Mountain Publishing is owned by the Mormon church, and they publish kid and teen fantasy books. Might be wo..."

Thanks for the response! I tried looking this up but I don't think the company goes back that far. I definitely read this book in the early 90's

There's also Deseret Publishing. I remember reading some of the books in the 1980's, but I can't remember when they first started publishing.

I think Shadow Mountain was founded in '94, so if you read it prior to that, it couldn't have pubbed by them.

Rob is still looking for this.

Bogwoppit?

April's Witches? (Not sure if they are actually witches though! There is very little on the plot on the internet)

Rainbowheart wrote: "Bogwoppit?"

thanks for the suggestion! You're right, I couldn't find much info on this either, it looks similar but maybe I'll keep trying to find more details on it.

Lobstergirl wrote: "Rob is still looking for this."

I love the name of this book. :) Sadly not the right one. Thanks for the suggestion though!

Google Books preview of Bogwoppit by Ursula Moray Williams - Rainbowheart's suggestion:

https://books.google.com/books/about/... There are different cover images and distinctive black-and-white illustrations inside the book.

Google Books has a snippet preview of April's Witches by Beverly Courtney Crook - SBC's suggestion. You might get lucky searching for keywords:

https://books.google.com/books?id=c8t...

Kris wrote: "Google Books preview of Bogwoppit by Ursula Moray Williams - Rainbowheart's suggestion:

https://books.google.com/books/about/......"

Thanks for the suggestions, I'll check them out!

I've found some other forums to post this search on (reddit, librarything, etc) so I'll update here if the mystery ever gets solved. No luck yet!

Was the girl a teenager or a younger child?

Were the aunts young, middle aged, or elderly? Could they have been great aunts?

Rainbowheart wrote: "Was the girl a teenager or a younger child?


Good questions! Pretty sure the girl was younger, no more than a tween. The aunts were probably middle aged or slightly above. They definitely could have been great aunts for sure!

Long shot, The Secret Under the Whirlpool?

Rainbowheart wrote: "Long shot, The Secret Under the Whirlpool?"

Looked it up. Thanks for the suggestion but not quite it. :)

Another long shot, some details match The Mystical Beast

Valerie wrote: "Another long shot, some details match The Mystical Beast"

I can't seem to find a good summary of it. Only thing I found was something about another world...

Rob wrote: "

I can't seem to find a good summary of it. Only thing I found was something about another world..."


It's available to borrow at the Internet Archive. You need to be a member to borrow most books, but membership is free; you only need to give them an email address:
https://archive.org/details/mysticalb...

SamSpayedPI wrote: "Rob wrote: "

I can't seem to find a good summary of it. Only thing I found was something about another world..."


It's available to borrow at the Internet Archive. You need to be a member to borr..."

Oooh, Thanks!

The Golden Hour has a boy and a girl staying with eccentric great aunts, but not sure the rest is a match.

Funny how so many books have kids staying with aunts. Sadly this book was published in 2006 and I definitely read it in the early 90’s. Thanks for continuing to try!

I don't know where my brain was on that date! Sorry, lol.

Yes, there are tons of books about kids staying with their aunts. There's even a list!

Characters Who Lived With Their Aunts

Oh how funny!

Withering-By-Sea is also about a girl living with several aunts, but again it's way too recent.

Rainbowheart wrote: "Withering-By-Sea is also about a girl living with several aunts, but again it's way too recent."

Thanks for the continued help! Yeah, This book is definitely a bit too new. :/ I keep hoping they will come up with a ChatGPT just for book searches but, until then I'll keep digging. :)

Rob, I copied a few book details to the topic header. Feel free to edit it.

Does she learn the spells from the forbidden book which she takes into the fantasy world? Is the book called a grimoire?

Is the girl an orphan? Where are her parents?
Location/ country?

Kris wrote: "Rob, I copied a few book details to the topic header. Feel free to edit it.

Is the girl an orphan? Where are her parents?
Location/ country?"

Great question! I think she is an orphan and I'm not sure what country, probably USA but a small chance UK.

The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow is another that's way too recent.

It's gotta be out there somewhere!

Rainbowheart wrote: "The Witches of Dredmoore Hollow is another that's way too recent.

It's gotta be out there somewhere!"

You're very kind to keep helping me! Yes, unfortunately that one is a bit too new.