Welcome to Unshelved® Answers

Question

2

I was talking to a medical supplies delivery guy, boasting about how good I was at finding books given a vague description (I had recently answered quite a few at the Reference Desk). He of course called my bluff, asking me to identify a book he had read about 40 or so years ago. All he could remember about it was the main character was a boy who could run faster than a deer. The boy may or may not be from another dimension, he wasn't sure.

I've searched for this book for about 3-4 years now without any luck. Any ideas?

edited Nov 27 at 17:50

Bill Barnes♦♦
1,635●4●18

asked Nov 20 at 13:57

Becki White
95●4

	Come to think of it, this belongs in name-that-book. Does anyone know how to tag it? – Kathy Nov 21 at 22:15
	I retagged it. You need a certain amount of reputation to retag someone else's question. – Bill Barnes Nov 27 at 17:50

Elfkey · Accepted Answer · 2009-11-24 16:22:20Z UTC

4

The book mentioned by Kathy is called The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key. It's definitely got a boy who runs faster than deer, and he comes from an alternative world. Pretty interesting world!

answered Nov 24 at 16:22

Elfkey
229●8

	Oh, thanks! Now I can read it again! – Kathy Nov 25 at 16:39
	This is great, but it will make more sense if you instead post this as a comment to Kathy's answer. (If you don't have enough reputation to do this, hang on to your comment until you do) – Bill Barnes Nov 27 at 17:51
	I'm checking with the patron to see if this is the book he was thinking of. Once he gets back to me, I'll let you know. Thanks for the suggestion! It's more than I've come up with in my years of searching. – Becki White Nov 28 at 16:31
	The patron's response: "Are you kidding me? I can't believe you found it! I recognized the author's name as soon as I saw it in your email. With any luck, this will be the first book my granddaughter reads!" Many thanks from a very happy patron; another reference "cold file" closed! : ) – Becki White Nov 29 at 13:28

JustAnotherClerk · Answer 2 · 2009-11-20 18:05:27Z UTC

The book sounds very similar to those written by the "Stratemeyer Syndicate" ( Hardy Boys, Nancy Drew, etc.). I say this because I just repaired a 80% complete collection of the various series(s) for a friend and scanned them for his private use. I took the time to check on it, and the phrase "Faster than a deer" appeared quite often in the "Motor Girls Series" Specifically "The Motor Girls on Cedar Lake". I'm not quite sure if its too Young Adult for your request for "Childrens Books" but thats my two cents.

Reference: the 90+ hours logged looking at vintage children's books.

Kathy · Answer 3 · 2009-11-20 20:12:39Z UTC

It reminds me of a story that was included in one of my school reading texts, where a boy from another world falls through a cave, or something, and is taken in by a local family. While walking with the father through the mountains, he "lightens his feet" and leaps across a river. They might have named him "Lightfoot"? The whole family retreats through the cave to the other world when shady government(?) agents begin closing in. Sorry, I don't know the name or the author of that one either!

Karen · Answer 4 · 2009-11-20 23:07:46Z UTC

0

It could be a Native American tale.

answered Nov 20 at 23:07

Karen
1

Ingrid · Answer 5 · 2009-12-12 08:47:45Z UTC

0

Yep definitely "The Forgotten Door" I'm looking at it right now.

answered Dec 12 at 8:47

Ingrid
1

Trying to identify children’s book

5 Answers