ABANDONED. Kids/ YA book toys put in storage and then come alive

[Diane]

This book was about two families with young children who lived in a duplex together. I think they got into a fight and one of the families moved out. When they were moving, they packed up a box with some of the kids' toys and a cookie jar or a milk jug shaped like a cat. The toys include a bunch of tin soldiers who "remember" "the war," and Odysseus, who always talks about the Trojan War and his sea journeys. The cat pretends to barely tolerate their stories. She also can't talk for part of the story because someone opened up the box and took off her head for whatever reason. The toys also have some trouble separating their "history" with the different games the kids played with them. The book ends with the grown up kids discovering the box and being happy to find their old stuff.

[Foxthyme]

I like the sounds of this one, but can't help out. I am interested in reading it if someone can figure out what it's called!

[Alexandra]

Hope someone can help because it sounds interesting - did yu like it?

[[deleted user]]

Is it related to the Indian in the Cupboard series by Lynne Reid Banks? I know it isn't the main book, but she wrote several sequels and similar things, could be one of them.

[Diane]

It's been about 18 years since I read it, but I remember really liking it and rereading it several times. It wasn't by LRB, but I can see how it kind of sounds like it. Unfortunately, the toys didn't interact with the kids at all, other than being their toys. It seems like it was almost written by someone British, but it's been so long, I might be wrong.

[CLM]

I don't suppose it is The Return of the Twelves by Pauline Clarke? She also wrote the Five Dolls in a House series under the name of Helen Clare. Neither totally fits your description, unfortunately, although there are enough similarities to make me bring up both.

[[deleted user]]

Huh, It does sound like Indian in the Cupboard, but also something else...What was the names of the families?

[Aubrey]

Could it be Davin by Dan Gordon? It has Civil war toy soldiers, Perseus, a cat, all of whom don't interact with people. The book takes place in an attic in Britain during WWII.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Here is a description of Davin:

Outside, World War II rages as German planes drop bombs over London. Inside one family's home, a boy lies gravely ill in bed. Before leaving to fight in the war, his father told him about Davin, a teddy bear that holds the power to make sick boys well. But things look bad--no one knows where Davin is.

In an attempt to save their friend, the miniature figures of a little Bugle Boy, a blustery Sergeant Major, a princess, Robin Hood, Chingachgook, and Perseus, the Greek hero, come to life and join forces to find the mysterious Davin. Along the way, they encounter a ferocious cat, a man-eating spider, the Dark Knight, and Blackbeard and his band of terrifying pirates.

As read by Grandma Goddess to her grandchildren, Davin is a story within a story, a fantasy in which literary and historical characters clash in a war between good and evil to save a child's life.

[Cheryl]

PM and link sent - but considering the age of the original post I'm not sure we'll get an answer.

[Ann aka Iftcan]

Well, she was still active as of last month on GR. So it's at least possible that we will get a reply.

[Diane]

Hi, sorry, I had sort of assumed that nobody would find the post since it was so old haha. Anyway none of those books sound exactly like it, although they do sound good. Thank you for looking!!

[Cheryl]

To ensure people find the post, feel free to add a comment every month or two to 'bump' the thread. But, yeah, sometimes books are found after years, so don't give up!

[Ann aka Iftcan]

My longest time between posting a book and finding it was 3 years and 7 months. So don't give up hope on any book. Just keep bumping it periodically.

[Jena]

I wish I could help out, but "Indian In the Cupboard" was my only thought. With that one ruled out, I'm curious enough about this book to bump the thread.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

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

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Lobstergirl wrote: "Diane, are you still looking for this or did you find it?"

No response in 3 years. Moving to Abandoned.

[Capn]

The Conjuror's Box
The ordinary green jug had been in the Lovell family for generations, but it was not until Martin and Lucy were spending a dull afternoon at their Aunt Bea's that they first made the astonishing discovery that the white cat on the handle could come to life. When he settled down on the hearth-rug, introduced himself, and began to explain the story behind the ol nursery rhyme, Hey diddle diddle, the cat and the fiddle, they were drawn by the irritable, sarcastic Snowy into a strange adventure, fighting the evil influence of the mysterious Green Lady, whose magic powers had confined him to the jug, and whose wicked plots were now threatening the freedom of humankind. The curious struggle involves the Fiddler, two striped mathematical mice, Jerome and Sylvester, a flying rocking horse, and many other fascinating characters. And all-important is the conjuror's box, one of the gates between this world and another, different world...