YA fantasy novel where you get trapped in enchanted forest if caught there at daybreak

[Mike]

My first grade teacher read this to us in 1984 in the U.S. I think it was a YA fantasy novel. The only plot point I remember is that there were these thieves or something who had business in an enchanted forest, and they had to do their business at night because everyone knew that if you got caught there in the daylight, you would be trapped in the forest forever, and never be able to find your way out. So of course one character is mistakenly still there at daybreak, and gets trapped there. I just remember the creepy feeling I had when she read this, because it made daylight creepy rather than night. Thanks!

[Rainbowheart]

The Enchanted Forest?

[Mike]

Rainbowheart wrote: "The Enchanted Forest?"

Thanks for the response, Rainbowheart! I had trouble finding much of a synopsis on this book anywhere. Are you responding with this because you’re familiar with this book, or are you sort of taking a guess based on the title? Also, this seem like sort of a choose your own adventure type book, and I don’t remember it being like that.

[Rainbowheart]

Just a guess based on the title, and it's about first-grade level.

But I think you would have remembered the unusual format. Do you recall anything about the main character in the book your teacher read? Male or female? Age?

[Mike]

I don’t recall much more than what I wrote. The band of ne’er-do-wells were adult males, and the main character who got trapped in the forest was a maybe ten year old or early teen boy, who was in some way associated with them. He gets trapped in the forest in the daylight, but then I think he finds that the forest isn’t as treacherous in the day time as people had made it out to be.

[Mike]

Also, I had the sense that the story she was reading was maybe a little above our age range.