What's the Name of That Book??? discussion

Hi everyone,

For years I've been searching for a book I read over and over when I was a kid. It was a very strange children's book; all I remember was that it involved an underground tunnel with roots hanging off the ceiling and an old man whose coat changed colors when the seasons changed. It would be a dull brown with winter, then change to green in the summer. The old man, I think, sat in some park and there was a little girl and boy in the story and they had to solve some kind of mystery that had to do with the old man (who I think was actually Father Time or something like that). I remember loving this book and recently found a piece of paper from when I was in the third grade that said my favorite book was called "In the Woods". I am almost certain that's the book! But I've searched and searched on book websites for the title with no luck. It was an older book, probably written circa 1950. . . it was in my tiny elementary school's tiny library where I always checked it out but I have no clue who the author is. Does this ring a bell for anyone?

There's something called In the woods: True stories by Edward W Dolch, but I can't find out much about it. The time period fits.

There's also The Valley In The Woods by Noakes, which again I can' find out much about but it was published in 1945 and there's a pic of the cover that might jog your memory.

Was it a picture or chapter book? If the former could it be Children of the Forest?

It was a chapter book; I'd say between a 3rd and 6th grade reading level.

I found a brief description of the Edward Dolch book:

"Brief animal stories written for the first grade reader"

The more I think about it, your description reminds me of Ruth Chew's Magic in the Park. The parts about a boy and girl, the underground tunnel with roots over head and the old man in a park are there, but as far as I can remember, the old man's coat didn't change colors. Is it possible you are conflating two books?

Angela - this sounds extremely familiar. I think it might be it! I would have to read it to make sure because the old man with the coat changing colors is one of the main things I remember. But otherwise everything fits; I'm going to order this from Amazon just to see.

Carol, I hope it's it. Please return and let us know when you've seen the book.

I definitely will; I just ordered it and will be back in a few days to see if this topic can be moved to the "solved" section. So excited! :)

Carol, I have my copy here, I'll thumb through it and see if I can find anything about the coat and let you know. I hope we've found your book!

edit: I just skimmed the book and found the part you were talking about. The man's coat and hat are brown in the winter, then become tinged with green, turning all green in the spring. It's funny that I didn't remember that detail and it was what stuck in your mind the most, ha-ha! Anyway, I'm glad that this turned out to be the book you were looking for!

Great! The minute I read the Goodreads excerpt it was like a light when on in my memories and at that point I was about 90 percent certain it was the book; now I am 100 percent. This is so exciting! I've been looking for this book for years! Thanks guys; we can mark this as "solved" now :)