Help me find a lost children's book
January 26, 2011 9:38 PM Subscribe
Obscure children's book filter. (Details within)
Please help me find a picture-book from my childhood!
The story revolved around a pair of frogs. (No, definitely not part of the Frog & Toad series.) One frog, i think named the Duke de Boffo Boffo, finds a treasure map in his attic but, due to ill health, hires another frog to go retrieve the goods. The treasure chest is located after a few incidents, one involving the tuba player of a marching band alerting the town to treasure-seeking interloper. Once the chest is returned to the Duke, he opens the chest, finds it full of rubbish, and hurls it out the window, at which point it breaks apart and reveals a hidden compartment filled with gold coins. The final page, IIRC, is a wordless picture of the two frogs dancing around a column of coins supporting a candle.
Based on my age, the book must have been published around 1980 at the latest. I grew up in the US, but it's quite possible the book was published in the UK, as my father often took business trips to London around that time, and would usually bring back a book or two for me.
Thanks in advance!
Please help me find a picture-book from my childhood!
The story revolved around a pair of frogs. (No, definitely not part of the Frog & Toad series.) One frog, i think named the Duke de Boffo Boffo, finds a treasure map in his attic but, due to ill health, hires another frog to go retrieve the goods. The treasure chest is located after a few incidents, one involving the tuba player of a marching band alerting the town to treasure-seeking interloper. Once the chest is returned to the Duke, he opens the chest, finds it full of rubbish, and hurls it out the window, at which point it breaks apart and reveals a hidden compartment filled with gold coins. The final page, IIRC, is a wordless picture of the two frogs dancing around a column of coins supporting a candle.
Based on my age, the book must have been published around 1980 at the latest. I grew up in the US, but it's quite possible the book was published in the UK, as my father often took business trips to London around that time, and would usually bring back a book or two for me.
Thanks in advance!
Best answer: I'm guessing it's "The Frog Band and the onion seller". Not all of the details are the same, but the age of the book and the tuba playing frog fit, as does the hidden treasure.
posted by cosmicbandito at 10:16 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
posted by cosmicbandito at 10:16 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]
Yep, Madamina and cosmicbandito got it, my little brother had this book.
I also recall at some point one of hem pulls a lever and hears a gurgling sound outside of the castle, then his hot air balloon crashes into the ice-covered moat and everyone is afraid he'll drown, but the gurgling sound had been the draining of the moat, so he's under the ice but okay...
posted by blueberry at 10:21 PM on January 26, 2011
I also recall at some point one of hem pulls a lever and hears a gurgling sound outside of the castle, then his hot air balloon crashes into the ice-covered moat and everyone is afraid he'll drown, but the gurgling sound had been the draining of the moat, so he's under the ice but okay...
posted by blueberry at 10:21 PM on January 26, 2011
Response by poster: HOORAY! I'm 99% positive that's the book. Thanks everyone!
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 10:26 PM on January 26, 2011
posted by Guernsey Halleck at 10:26 PM on January 26, 2011
YES! Sweet baby jeebus with the kung fu grip, I've been thinking about that book for ages, and could never remember what it was. I am definitely tracking that down for my future Haddocklings.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:43 AM on January 27, 2011
posted by Admiral Haddock at 5:43 AM on January 27, 2011
Damn, it seems I was misleading you about the whole ice-covered-moat/hot-air-balloon thing... that isn't in The Frog Band and the Onion Seller—sorry.
(But, that does play a part in—SPOILER...
...The Frog Band and the Mystery of Lion Castle)
posted by blueberry at 10:12 PM on February 9, 2011
(But, that does play a part in—SPOILER...
...The Frog Band and the Mystery of Lion Castle)
posted by blueberry at 10:12 PM on February 9, 2011
This thread is closed to new comments.
Jim Smith's The Frog Band and the Onion Seller.
posted by Madamina at 10:14 PM on January 26, 2011 [1 favorite]