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Jean Fritz, The Cabin Faced West
Jean Fritz, The Cabin Faced West, 1958. This book is The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz.  Ann Hamilton, living on Hamilton Hill in the western counties of Pennsylvania, is joined by her mother one afternoon for a tea party when she expected to be scolded for taking the dishes.  She later meets George Washington and his party, and they join the Hamiltons for a meal.
Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, 1969. I loved this book, too, and just recently purchased it. Good luck! So glad I could help!

K4 sounds like Caddie Woodlawn to me.
Brink, Carol Ryrie.  Caddie Woodlawn. Caddie is a Wisconsin tomboy of 1864, based on the real life adventures of Brink's grandmother. It won the Newberry Medal of 1936. A classic.
I hope this might help you.  I noticed that Magical Melons has been retitled Caddie Woodlawn's Family.  I hope you can get it in case others want this sequel which has the same feel as the original.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Brink, Carol Ryrie.  Caddie Woodlawn: A Frontier Story.  Macmillan, 1935, 1965 printing.  VG/VG.   <SOLD>

A24: Not much help, maybe, but I definitely remember Big Bird singing a song called "Everybody makes mistakes" on Sesame Street in the 1970s. It could well be part of an album.
I don't know but the Let Your Daddy Sleep on Sunday Morning sounds very Shel Silverstein.
Free to be you and me. Your comments reminded me of this anthology that had a tape as well as a video-very likely a book to go along.  It featured celebrities doing songs and dialogue.  Hope this helps.
A24 all about: there's a series from the '50s called Allabout Books, with titles such as All About the Insect World, by Ferdinand C. Lane; All About the Stars, by Anne Terry White; All About Whales, by Roy Chapman Andrews; All About the Wonders of Chemistry, by Ira M. Freeman, All About the Jungle, by Armstrong Sperry; All About Prehistoric Cave Men, by Sam and Beryl Epstein; All About the Ice Age, by Patricia Lauber; All About Archaeology, by Anne Terry White, published by Random House, for ages 10-14. (HB Oct/59 p.430) Nothing is mentioned about a record though, and the series seems to be strictly factual, so this probably isn't it, but this way no one will go off on a false trail.
not much help, but there is a Wonder Book Easy Reader called Let Papa Sleep, written and illustrated by Emily Reed published Wonder 1963.
I used to listen to a record album with a calendar on the front jacket that told stories meant to teach values, morals, etc. One of the songs was "Let Your Daddy Sleep on Sunday Morning", another was "Your Mouth Is a House Where Your Teeth All Live".  Another segment told the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.  I do not remember a Book along with it, but I listened to the album every day of my life from 1966-1968 or so.  I would love to find a copy of this album for my own children!
Sorry, don't have the title of the book, but I can help the person looking for the album.  It's called A Calendar Of Happy Thoughts: one-a-day for 30 days by Selma Rich Brody (either Tinderbell Records 3314 or Peter Pan 8229).  Contents:  Special expression song -- The milkmaid & her pail -- The honest lumberjack -- The pet song -- When Mother calls -- Your mouth is a house -- Let your daddy sleep on Sunday morning -- The greedy dog -- Be neat -- When you've had a bath -- The bathroom -- You can do most anything -- Kindness & consideration  Do things right -- The donkey salt story -- Your house is a wonderful place -- Yor mother & father are people too -- Your borthers & sisters -- Actions speak louder than words -- Make each meal as happy as a party -- Don't put off tomorrow what you should do today -- Listening shows very good manners -- The mouse & the crow -- When your friends visit you -- The tortoise & the hare -- Do things right.  Maybe you can use this info to find it on Ebay, etc.  Hope this helps!
?Selma Rich Brody, A Calendar of Happy Thoughts.  This LP was a favorite of mine as a child.  I still have the original jacket and the LP...minus a large chunk from the side of the LP!  ARGHH!  What I wouldn't give for a copy!  Selma Rich Brody supplied vocals, Fred Mendolsohn provided musical arrangements.  Tinkerbell Records is listed on the back of the jacket, as well as Ambassador Record Corp at 145 Komorn St. Newark, NJ.  The Reverse Lookup Directory did not confirm this as a valid address.  In fact I found no information on either of these companies.   Ebay searches have proved futile, as well as searches for Selma and Fred themselves.  The original Ambassador Record Corp is defunct and I assume Tinkerbell Records is defunct also, since I cannot find any information on them whatsoever.   After reading the information on your site, I searched for Peter Pan Records as well, with the same results, unfortunately.  Any ideas how to contact either Ms. Blair or Mr. Mendelsohn directly or even indirectly??  It looks like there are quite a few of us who would love to have that LP again.  Maybe one of them could help.  And wouldn't a CD be fantastic!??  Thanks very much.
Peter Pan Records, Ambassador Records still exist!  I don't know if we will be able to bring back the Selma Rich Brody book/album combination "A Calender of Happy Thoughts" but we are looking to bring back a number of these old classics that many people have requested.  For the record, Peter Pan Records, Ambassador Records and Tinkerbell Records all became Peter Pan Industries for the last 35 years or so.  All the music of "growing up with Peter Pan" is going to be released under Peter Pan Music Publishing - a Division of the Inspired Corporation.  You may find some of the tracks you are looking for at our new site, www.inspiredcorp.com and look under the Site Map.

Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive.  I'm certain this is Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare. It's still in print and available everywhere
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  This is Calico Captive by the two time Newbury Award winning Elizabeth George Speare...here's the publishers plot description: "In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War. It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister's baby, Captive, born on the trail. Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history."
This book is definitely Calico Captive by Speare.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  One of my favorites!
Elizabeth George Spear, Calico Captive.  I knew this book the second I read the description, definately one of my favorites. Here is the product description:   In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.
It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister"s baby, Captive, born on the trail.Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  This is still in print!  Here's the Foreword: "In August, 11754, on the brink of the French and Indian War, James Johnson, his wife Susanna, and their children were captured in an Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire.  They were taken from their home, forced to march through the wilderness to the north, and sold to the French in Montreal, where they were held for ransom.  Years later, when she was nearly seventy years old, Susanna Johnson wrote an account of this journey, and it is from her narrative that the main events of this story are taken.  Captured with Susanna and her family was a younger sister, Miriam Willard.  Her imagined adventures, as they might have happened, are recounted here."  Susanna's three children are Sylvanus (a boy, age six, also known as Vanus), Susanna (age four) and Polly (age two).  After the Indian raid, Susanna gives birth to a fourth child, a girl, and names her Captive.  The three older children are taken from Susanna, but Polly runs away and is permitted to return.  According to the Epilogue, "...Sylvanus [became] a wild young savage who could brandish a tomahawk and bend a bow but could not understand a word of English" and little Susanna became "a fine-mannered and fashionable young lady who could speak nothing but French and could never forget her deep affection for the two kindly women" who adopted her.
Elizabeth Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  Great book! I love all Speare's  historical fiction, especially Witch of Blackbird Pond.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive.  It's been a long time since I read this but I think it is Calico Captive.  The seamstress is Miriam and her sister is Susanna and their family gets captured by Indians and sold in Canada.  They are eventually reunited after many hardships.

Burton, Virginia Lee, Calico, the Wonder Horse or The Saga of Stewy Stinker, 1969, reprnt.  I'm pretty sure this is the one you want. The drawing of the mustached outlaw falling into the cacti is on p.20.

The Calico Year
A woman dates a man named Ritchie. She lives with her sister & they have no money. They have a tag sale to earn some money & Ritchie's mom buys a valuable table from them for only $5. This woman later finds that she has more in common with another boy. I think this was a teen-romance type of story.

Dorothy Gilman Butters, The Calico Year, 1953. This is definitely The Calico Year.  A young debutante takes her younger sister out of boarding school, and they go to live together in a house left to them by an uncle.  The older girl has a charming boyfriend named Richie who is good for little but charm.  She falls for the young doctor (I think) in the town.  They do a lot of things to raise money--fix up boats to rent out, sell antiques, and a local dealer (not Richie's mother) takes advantage of their ignorance and buys a valuable table for a pittance.
SOLVED: Dorothy Gilman Butters, The Calico Year. Yes, I agree that this is The Calico Year.  Thank you so much!  I remember the author's last name being near the the front of the alphabet, based upon where I remember this book being shelved in the library.  Actually, Dorothy Gilman Butters wrote the Mrs. Pollifax stories using just the name of Dorothy Gilman.  

Stella Pevsner, Call Me Heller, That's My Name.  Certainly it a perfect match.

Carole Bolton, The Callahan Girls, 1961.
Maybe - The Callahan Girls by Carole Bolton, 1961.  Sorry, no description.  The other title I found is That Callahan Spunk, 1961 (later published as That Callahan Blood, 1966), which takes place on the Montana frontier in 1908, so I don't think that's the one you're looking for.

This looks good though I wouldn't mind a better blurb: Wyndham, Lee Camel Bird Ranch NY Dodd, Mead 1955, "story for young adult readers about an ostrich ranch."
Some details from other descriptions of Camel Bird Ranch, perhaps helpful.   About an ostrich farm in California inherited by a New Jersey girl, most of the book about the farm but ends with the shooting of a Hollywood movie.

William R. Grey, Camping Adventure, 1976.  This is part of the Books for Young Explorers series put out by National Geographic, and is illustrated with photos of real people camping, a mother, father, girl & boy, with incidents as described.

Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There By Candlelight?
Doty, Jean Slaughter, Can I Get There By Candlelight.  Gail is riding her horse when she goes back in time. The title is a  line of the poem that the requester mentioned, "How many miles to Babylon."
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There by Candlelight?, 1980.  This is Can I Get There by Candlelight? by Jean Slaughter Doty, author of several juvenile horse books, this is the only one that involves time travel or fantasy. The title comes from a classic children's rhyme: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again. If your feet are nimble and light, you can get there by candlelight." In the book, the girl's pony is named Candlelight, or Candy for short, and she can only time travel while riding him. Sadly out of print, but there are copies around used, both in the paperback you remember, and in hardcover, which was illustrated by Ted Lewin.
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There by Candlelight?  This is certainly the same book. Wonderful read, seems to be out of print though.
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There By Candlelight?, 1980.  A girl's family rents an old carriage house in the country one summer. She is riding in the woods on her horse Candlelight and is transported back in time where she meets a girl who used to live in the country estate. The book quotes a Mother Goose rhyme: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again."

I think this is Ruth Arthur, Candle in Her Room (Atheneum, '66).
A Candle in Her Room. By Ruth M. Arthur. This scared the snot out of me. I don't like evil doll stories, and Dido, for all she never had a line of dialog or made a visible motion, was as evil as they come.
D20 is definitely by Ruth M. Arthur remember the author but not the title.  She does have a book called  A CANDLE IN HER HAND,   Atheneum, 1966 that may be the one.  All of her books have a dark supernatural
feeling.
Thanks to your assistant detectives again! Yes, the Dido doll story is Ruth Arthur's Candle in Her Room--which I see is hard-to-come-by & quite expensive in the out-of-print circles. I'll keep looking...
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I am so excited about this website!  I have posted about 5 book descriptions, and have now thought of more.  I will be so happy if even a couple of them are found for me! This one is about two sisters who find a doll with the word "DIDO" carved on its back.  It ends up being pretty evil, and makes bad things happen until one sister has the guts to destroy it, in a fire I think.  Also, one of the sisters becomes paralyzed, but heals at some point. I will also keep looking for you all, and hope I will be able to solve one of your book mysteries!
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Story is  set around the Cornish coast of England or in Wales around WWII.  Briony is either Dilys mother or vice versa and Rees is a young man one of them met.  The daughter is an orphan who comes to stay in this house.  She occasionally visits a cove and watches seals and I believe met Rees there.  She is uncovering dark secrets in the house where she's staying, dealing with the past and the story seems to be a dark coming of age type.  I don't know the author or title.  I read the stumper for Candle in Her Room by Ruth M. Arthur and this seems very close, but the stumper didn't mention the character's I remember.  The story was written sometime after 1965, but before 1975.  Any help would be greatful.

Ruth Arthur, A Candle in Her Room.  This has got to be A Candle in Her Room.  Dilys is Judith's daughter, not Briony's (Melissa, Briony and Judith are sisters) and the house is in Wales, on the coast.  Dily's meets and marries a man, but I think his name is Bron or Bran, not Reese.  Dilys has a daughter named Nina, and it is with Nina that the story ends. I hunted this book down using LoganBerry Book's *excellent* "Stump the Bookseller" archives and bought a copy from an eBay seller just 10 weeks ago.  I read it quickly and lent it to my sister.
Ruth Arthur, Candle in her room. I looked at a copy of this book and all three names are in it.  Dilys is one of the narrators, and both Briony and Rees are mentioned in the text.
Arthur, Ruth M., A Candle in Her Room, illustrated by Margery Gill. NY Atheneum 1966
Arthur, Ruth M., A Candle in Her Room, illustrated by Margery Gill. NY Atheneum 1966. I'm sure I'm not the only one to answer this. A Candle in Her Room takes place on the Welsh coast, over a couple of generations. The characters match up. The first part is narrated by Melissa Mansell, whose sisters are Briony and Judith. Their maid is Emmy Lee, and it is Emmy who loves Rees, but Rees loves Melissa. Judith uses the powers of the doll Dido to cripple Melissa and take her fiance Carew away. Part two is narrated by Dilys, the child of Judith and Carew, who learns about some of Judith's plotting. Dilys marries Bronislav, a young Pole, and goes to Poland with him just before WWII begins. Part three is Melissa again, as she recovers her ability to walk so that she can go to Europe and find Dilys' child. Part four is narrated by Nina, Dilys' daughter found in a refugee camp, who finds the doll Dido again and finally deals with her.
This is most definitely A Candle in Her Room.  There are three sisters Melissa, Judith and Briony.  Rees is Meliisa's boyfriend but Judith steals him away and marries him.  Their daughter is Dilys and her daughter is Nina.
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This is what I remember about the book:   It is a horror novel about a lonely child named Bryna who finds a doll, and it becomes her friend.  The doll is evil and as Bryna grows up, the doll somehow takes her over. Bryna was an overwieght child and the doll makes her lose weight and she becomes very attractive, and the doll takes control of Bryna's body and takes her out into the world where she is involved in Tantric sex.  I want to say the doll was possessed by some kind of Hindu goddess (It had something to do with Tantra and Hinduism). By the end of the book the doll has taken her over almost completely and has even committed murder.  I think the doll was trying to kill Bryna so her spirit could live in Bryna's body. I know it sounds kind of wierd, but I read this book around 1992 when I was in high school and would like to read it again.  The book I read was a paperback and (at the time) it had a dark cover ( I think black) with the outline of a child's facial profile.  If you can come up with any suggestions for the title of this book I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help.

John Saul?  I don't remember any tantric sex in Saul books, but I do recall a Saul story in which a child's doll gets her to commit murders or something along those lines. The cover for the book The Unwanted sounds like the cover you describe.
It is not the John Saul book - I have all of his books and have read them all.  It's a smaller book, probably written in the 80's. Thanks for trying though!
A Candle in Her Room.  Same as B154.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Arthur, Ruth M.  A Candle in Her Room.   Illustrated by Margery Gill.  Atheneum, 1966.  Third printing, 1966.  Ex-library copy with usual markings, library bound in green buckram.  Hard to find!  G+.  <SOLD>

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I read  a short story (or book) 40+ years ago about a mother and her young daughter who move  to a new home  and the little girl finds an old  doll hidden in the tree in the yard which exerts an evil influence over her.  think author was well known female.  great read.  quite spooky. any idea?

Mabel Esther Allen, A Candle in her Room. Was the doll's name Dido?  If so, it might be A Candle in her Room...one of the creepiest books I ever remember reading!
Arthur, Ruth M., A Candle in her Room, 1966, copyright. It sounds something like "A Candle in her Room," but that is a fairly long girl's fantasy novel and it is about three generations of women in a family who are tragically affected by the influence of an evil doll named Dido.
Ruth Mabel Arthur, A Candle in Her Room. Do you remember if it was a wooden doll named Dido? If so, it's "A Candle in Her Room" by Ruth Mabel Arthur. I don't remember any other details about the book, except that it was so chilling and evil that I almost didn't want to finish it (and I loved scary books!)
Mabel Esther Allen, A Candle in her Room, Was the doll's name Dido?  If so, it might be A Candle in her Room...one of the creepiest books I ever remember reading!

Friermood, Elisabeth Hamilton, Candle in the Sun, 1955.  I don't have a description, but Friermood usually writes young adult historical fiction with a bit of romance thrown in.
Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood, Candle in the Sun, 1955.  I have this book! You are right on the title  it's Candle in the Sun. Katie Baker moves to the New Mexico desert w/her father, Clem, to care for him when his health fails. Elisabeth Friermood is a wonderful author & I have most of her books (except the two that are over $100 in price!). 

This is a book with a collection of stories or poems, probably written in the 1940's or earlier.  The 'candy man ' story went on to describe the many kinds of candy and goodies he carried on his candy wagon.  It was illustrated.  My sister & I loved this story as kids and would really I would really like to find the book again to surprise her.
various authors, The Candy Man and Other Verses, 1946.  The verse about the Candy Man was written by May Carleton Lord.  The other verses in this booklet are: "Peppermints", by Winifred Catherine Marshall,  "A New Friend", by Alice Craig Redhead,  "Little Shadytail", by Evien G. Beaudry,  "Why Shouldn't They?" by Virginia Woods,  "First Choice", by Lucretia Penny,  "Going To School", by Alice Craig Redhead,   "The Corner Grocery Store", by Helen L. Pardee,  "One Way", by Lucy Penn,  "Voice Magic", by Eunice Cassidy Hendryx,  and "My Apple Pie", by Alma L. Gray.  The illustrations are by Kathaarine R. Wireman.  I'm so happy to have found the book after all these years.

A Cap for Mary Ellis.  I only know the one book in the series--it's about Mary Ellis Stebbins beginning her nursing training.
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  "This is an unusual, absorbing story of the problems Mary Ellis Stebbins, a young black woman, encounters when she begins her nurse's training at a formerly all-white nursing school." Followed by Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958).
Hope Newell, Mary Ellis series.  This could be it, although the name is different than the person remembers.  "Mary Ellis Stebbins is a reluctant pioneer when she becomes one of two black women who attend a previously all-white nursing school. "  There are two books in the series- A Cap for Mary Ellis 1953, and Mary Ellis, Student Nurse 1958.  Hope this is it!
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  Mary Ellis has a brother whose stage name is Steppin' Stebbins, so this may be a possibility.  There's also a sequel, Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958).
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  This stumper is definitely the Mary Ellis books by Hope Newell.  There are two--A Cap for Mary Ellis (1953)and Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958) Mary Ellis' full name is Mary Ellis Stebbins.  Her nickname in nursing school is Tater.

I first came across this story as Coat of Rushes in an anthology called My Book of Favourite Fairy Tales retold by Roger Lancelyn Green (which I was given on my 7th birthday).  It probably appears in various other fairy tale books too.  In some versions the girl makes a coat of rushes or donkeyskin to wear and this acts as a disguise from her father.  There is a version of the story called Deerskin, by Robin McKinley.  This version is aimed much more at adults, as the main character is sexually abused by her father the king before she leaves home,  but the basic story is the same.
Jaffe, Nina, The Way Meat Loves Salt, A Cinderella Tale From the Jewish Tradition, 1998.  This might not be the same exact one that the requester posted since that was in the 70's and in an anthology, but the story is the same.
Zavrel, Stepan, Salt Is Better Than Gold,  Abelard-Schuman, 1968.  "An old king asks each of his daughters how much they love him and angrily sends the youngest away when she claims to love him more than salt."
This is an old German story.  Perhaps you may find it in an anthology of German Fairytales.
There are several fairy tales from different countries that have this theme as a story line. Here is a link  where you can read some of the versions and hopefully find the one you're looking for. It would most likely be in an anthology of folk and fairy tales from around the world...Hope this helps!
This sounds like an old children's story that I THINK was called Tattercloak.  An updated version of this was releaced 20-30 years ago, called Mossgown set in a Louisiana Biou.   Both versions were the same story.  A man has 3 daughters. He askes them how much they love him.  The two oldest name precious things (gold etc) the youngest daughter told her father she loved him 'more than meat loves salt'! He didn't understand, he drove her away.  Much later, when his poor servant serves him a meal without seasoning (esp without salt) he realizes what she meant, how much she loved him, and how much she meant to him.  She is the servant. She throws off her disguise and reviels herself to him. They are happily reunited.
Taylor, Sydney, A Papa Like Everyone Else, 1966.  A character in this children's novel, set in early twentieth-century Hungary, tells a version of this fairy tale.
This is probably some variation on the fairy tale Cap O'Rushes.  Here's a website with versions of the story, including references to King Lear.
A version of this well-known tale (search for "love like salt" in any search engine and you'll see how many versions there are!) appears as "The Dirty Shepherdess" in the Green Fairy Book. It's a wonderful tale!
Although I can't say what textbook the person had in school, the folk tale is "Love Like Salt" or "The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt" and was also published as the individual books SALT IS BETTER THAN GOLD written and illustrated by Stepan Zavrel, 1968 and SALT IS SWEETER THAN GOLD: a Czech folk tale by Andrew Peters ; illustrations by Zdenka Kabatova-Taborska, 1994. I saw it listed mostly as a Czechoslovakian tale, but also saw it listed as a tale from Greece.~from a librarian
E. Ellis, Like Meat Loves Salt. As you mentioned, this is an old folktale, one I've seen as "Like Meat Loves Salt" and "As Meat Loves Salt". There are a few versions out there, I've just given the author of one.
Ignaz and Joseph Zingerle, The Necessity of Salt.  An English translation of this German/Austrian folktale can be found online.
Sounds like Cap O'Rushes, which you might call the missing link between Cinderella and King Lear. It's Scottish(?) and it appears in many collections. Joseph Jacobs' version is here.   Also, you can see an analysis of some Cinderella variants here (Rushen Coatie not included).  I liked Jacobs' version for its smoothness of language, not to mention Cap O'Rushes' cleverness and independence and the fact that the women's general kindness to her doesn't hurt the story at all. Of course, maybe it came before the Perrault and Grimm versions anyway, so to speak! I was very annoyed when I.G. Edmonds took the riddle away from the female character and gave it to a man in Trickster Tales. Or so it seemed.
I remember this story, too. Could it be one of the stories from the Arabian Nights?
This is a classic story told in many cultures, and is one that has always stuck with me.  Many of the different versions of this story (and the books from which they are taken) are available here.
"I love you like salt" -- this is a very old story appearing in many folktales and also alluded to in King Lear.  There are many versions, some of which can be found here. Perhaps if you find the origin version of the folktale (Russian, German, etc.), it will make it easier for you to find the children's book made from it.
I also read this story in a school book.  It's a more obscure fairy tale called Cap O'Rushes.  The daughter tells the king that she loves him as much as fresh meat needs salt.  There are several copies of the story on line.  Hope this helps.

Frank O'Leary, Cappy Cardinal. 1960. Cute story about a little gray cardinal named Cappy.  After he rescues a dove's babies, Mother Nature rewards him by enveloping him in the red stripe of a rainbow.  When the rainbow vanishes, he is left with a brilliant red coat, as a mark of his courage.
It took several weeks for me to recieve a copy of Cappy Cardinal through an inter-library loan from another county. But, now that I have it, I know that the Frank O'Leary tale is absolutely the book I was looking for, the one my grandmother bought secondhand. I had no idea it was published two decades before I read it. Thank you so much for your help! I wish I would have known to post it long before I did and saved myself all the fruitless searching!

S32--The book is called Captain Ghost.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the author's name.
There is a Captain Blood by Thelma Harrington Bell, not sure if it's the same one.  Published by Viking, 1959, and reprinted at least four or five times up through the sixties.
We got a copy by interlibrary loan, so Captain Ghost  is the one!  If you have or find a copy, we'd be interested. Thank you.
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I read a very old book many years ago. It was about some children who  build a ship in a fallen tree and in the process befriend an old man in the neighborhood who is supposed to be very mean. He used to be a sea captain and has all manner of ship things. Then at the end, something happens and the neighborhood try to make the chilidren tear down their 'ship'.  There were several children involved. I'm thinking that the book may be from the forties or fifties; it may or may not have had a red cover.

This is Captain Ghost again, isn't it?
by Thelma Bell, illustrated by Corydon Bell, published New York, Viking 1959 "Ginger and her two friends Gary and Mike decide that a fallen tree will make a perfect make-believe ship and enthusiastically start to transform it. But they are constantly aware of being watched from the strange Victorian house where an old recluse lives. Soon they meet "Captain Ghost" who teaches them how to build and man a ship. How they share and finally solve a mystery that surrounded their new friend makes exciting reading." Ad for Viking Books, Horn Book Apr/59 p.171
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In the seventies I read a book featuring two children ( a brother and  sister, I believe) who befriend their  neighbor who used to be a  ship's captain.  I'm guessing the book was written in the 50's or  60's. The book was set somewhere landlocked (the prairie?), and their  neighbor was building a ship in the field behind his home.  The  children offer to help him.  I have a strong memory of sun shining through jewel-like colored  glass in one window of his house; and in another scene, after leading  the children through many passages of his house, he quizzes them on  the way back to the front door. I believe the captain also had a pet  of some kind.  I think it was something slightly unusual like a  parrot or a monkey but will probably turn out to be a perfectly  ordinary dog.  Any help linking up this snippet of memory with an actual book will  be much appreciated.  Thanks!

Is it possible that this is Mary Poppins?  There is no meadow in Mary Poppins, but a lot of the rest seems to fit.
Captain Ghost, mid-60s.  I remember this book as well!  I've also been looking for it for ages.  I think the title was Captain Ghost, and the author's last name may have started with a C.  The Captain wasn't a ghost, but at first he wouldn't come out to see the kids, so they thought he was.  Eventually, they join him to help build his boat.  I think there was a mystery, and the captain's hankerchief figured into it somehow. Actually, it's on the Solved Mysteries page.  Captain Ghost  :)
Thelma Harrington Bell, Captain Ghost, 1959.  I remembered reading this book myself, sometime in the early 60's, but I couldn't remember many of the details,but I'm sure it's the same book. Here is a description I found:  Gary and Mike, eleven and eight, were boys of course, and Ginger, ten, was a tomboy. Sharing plans and secrets, the three friends were inseparable. How they came to meet the owner of a Victorian house (they called him Captain Ghost among themselves), learned how to build and man a ship, met a sinister stranger, and finally solved an old mystery makes for exciting reading.

#N25--Nautical Book:  Has to be Captain Kitty, by Godfrey Lynn.  Word of caution to the wise:  be sure to get the library bound or Junior Elf hardcover version and not the paperback, Tiny Elf version!  When the Rand McNally Junior Elf books were reissued in paperback as Tiny Elf books, some were the same stories with the same pictures, while others used the original pictures with a different title and author!  The "Captain Kitty" pictures were done over in this way, so if you find a Tiny Elf book where the pictures seem very familiar and the story doesn't really, that's why.  The Junior Elf version was also reprinted and is easy to find.
Could you possibly be looking for Captain Kitty?  It's a tiny book with a black cat standing at the helm wearing nautical garb.

L15 - I am pretty sure that this person is remembering Barbara Sleigh's Carbonel books. Carbonel King of the Cats is one and the other is The Kingdom of Carbonel.  They are pretty hard to find.  I loved them as a kid and had forgotten all about the apothecary jars until I read this description.
This sounds like the first Carbonel book by Barbara Sleigh.  I can't remember the exact title but there are two or three books with the same characters. Carbonel is the cat.
I am a bit of a Barbara Sleigh fan too from my childhood.  Good answer on the apothecary jar, but that is actually the second book in the series - The Kingdom of Carbonel. The first book in the series is Carbonel, King of Cats.  In this story, Rosemary and John communicate with Carbonel by holding onto the witch's broom - but
which is destroyed accidently toward the end of the first book - hence the need for the special liquid in the second book. The third book, Carbonel and Calidor, is by far the hardest to find.  I have yet to read it but have finally tracked down a paperback copy in England at an outlandish price, but which should now be enroute to me. The first book can be obtained as a new paperback from several UK children's bookstores online.  Amazon UK and childrensbookcentre.co.uk both typically have it in stock at prices between 4 and 5 pounds sterling. Both ship internationally.  To bad the other two books are not avaliable as paperback reprints.

Theodore Sturgeon, Yesterday Was Monday.  Okay, this is a long shot, but Theodore Sturgeon wrote a short story that sounds similar to the description.  Most recently, the story was included in Microcosmic God- Volume 2: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon.
This sounds similar to a book my mother bought in the early 1990s, called something like The Secret Club.  The members of the "secret club" do the kinds of things you describe (for me, the most memorable one was making sure that people don't step in dog poop!), and the book ends with the line, "Are _you_ a member of the Secret Club?"  The illustrations are more strange than cute (they reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon), and some of them had word balloons apart from the main text. After an internet search, I think it's Shh: It's the Secret Club by John Watson.
Cooper Edens, Caretakers of Wonder, 1980.  I think it's Caretakers of Wonder, which exhorts you to open your eyes. "For even at this yawning hour, so many of your friend are working to keep the world magical".  This is illustrated with imagination, the sky and the horizon safety-pinned together, the "ones who light and keep the stars burning" floating off in a hot air balloon full of giant matches, the starry sky folded up like a quilt.
I am sure this is the Caretakers of Wonder by Cooper Edens published in 1980 by Green Tiger Press.  The imaginative illustrations show "the sky and the horizon" safety-pinned together, the stars being lit by a man in a hot-heart balloon full of giant matches, the sun hoisted up by a pulley, the starry sky folded up like a bolt of cloth on a worker's back, "the ones weaving the meadows and telling the trees where to stand" and more.

Marjories Vetter, Journey for Jennifer, 1954. This sounds like it could be the same as C344.  This is a guess - here's the only description I could find: Jennifer could feel her face stiffen as she watched Steve say good-by to the others. Didn't their dates on board the ship to Havana mean anything to him? Wasn't he going to miss her at all when she was in the hill country?
Marjorie Vetter, Cargo for Jennifer/Journey for Jennifer, 1954/196. My Bookstumper A346 was solved by readers input directing me to Marjorie Vetter's 1954 hardcover book Cargo for Jennifer.  This book was reprinted in 1964 as the paperback Journey for Jennifer.  C344 had similar information and helped me find this book.  Thanks everyone!'

Caroline and Her Friends

Could be the elusive and much sought-after Golden Treasury of Caroline and Her  Friends, Golden Press, 1961.  Check out the Most Requested page.
Probst, Caroline's Grand Tour  You did it again, Harriett!  Thanks for your help, now I begin the search to find a copy of it.

Santi's Collecting Little Golden Books lists an LGB called Cars and Trucks illustrated by Richard Scarry.  It was originally published in 1976 as LGB# 210-42, and reissued several times. 

C88 carter is a painter's cap: Okay, I KNEW there was a typo there somewhere, and my vote is for Carter Is a Painter's Cat, by Carolyn Sloan, illustrated by Fritz Wegner, published Longman 1971, 30 pages. "Carter is a painter's cat. Every day his master paints him in a different guise. It must be very tiring, not to mention confusing, especially when he hasn't enough legs or too many tails. But whether emaciated or after Picasso, Carter is beautifully feline and very funny, and so are his more stable friends. At last Carter has his revenge. He paints Mr. Blob himself, in a variety of improbable poses, finally painting him in the bath and leaving him there. He then painted himself in his holiday gear and was off. This is an original story, not over-written, and the pictures are hilarious, packed full of ridiculous jokes." (JB Oct/71 p.302)

T124 Could this be the John Peterson series?  The secret hide-out. Scholastic, 1965, 1988  and Enemies of the secret hide-out
#T124--Treehouse Mysteries:  This is probably the Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton.
I have researched the two suggestions, and would like to thank you very much for your help.  In fact, I am now sure there was also a dog.  It seems to me that Enid Blyton's plots are very similar to the books which I am referring, except the characters' clubhouse was definitely a treehouse.  It also seems to me that the style of writing is similar to John Peterson.  Could there be a series written a bit later based on these same ideas and style?  Please, please, keep the suggestions coming...I know we are getting closer!  Thank you!
I came across your site while trying to find a reasonably-priced copy of Mary Ann's Mud Day.  I read with interest your "Stump the Bookseller" section, and think that the solution to #T124 may be a short series of books about a group of kids called The Three Investigators.  They didn't have a treehouse, but a really cool hideout in a junkyard that required all manner of maneuvering to access.  William Arden is the author of that series from the late '60's, and I think an annoying tagalong sibling is among the characters.
I'm not positive, but it sounds like The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne.  There are over 20 in the series.  The main characters are Jack and Annie, and they have a dog named Fluffy.  The stories involve traveling back in time to solve problems and have adventures.  My son reads them now and is addicted...If I'm wrong (the time travel aspect is a biggie) , sorry!
I know these books!  They were "easy reader" mysteries, written by Crosby Bonsall.  The characters, Wizard, Tubby, Skinny and Snitch, were members of the Private Eyes Club, and had a treehouse clubhouse. One of them was always eating peanut butter sandwiches (I believe it was Tubby).  As the original stumper noted, there were several books in the series.  Three titles that I remember reading are The Case of the Cat's Meow, The Case of the Scaredy Cats and The Case of the Dumb Bells.   When I did a search to see what other titles I could remember, I discovered that the books have been reissued/reprinted (yay!).  There are a few other titles that I didn't read as a child, but also appear to be part of the series (The Case of the Hungry Stranger and The Case of the Double Cross).
Bonsall, Crosby Newell, The Case of the Hungry Stranger, 1963.  I too am convinced the poster is referfing to Crosby
Bonsall's books and this one in particular.  The hungry stranger centres on the stealing of a blueberry pie from Mrs Meech's (??) windowsill.  It fascinated me, as blueberries weren't available here in NZ, and thought of any food that could turn your teeth blue was utterly fantastic.  The Wizard Private eye club investigate and Snitch - Wizard's snaggle toothed little brother tries to tag along, and I think ultimately solves the mystery.  They have a clubhouse (no girls allowed!) - though I think Tubby eats cookies in this book not peanut butter sandwiches.  After asking everyone from the mailman to Mrs Meech herself to smile (to see if they have blue teeth and thus would have stolen the pie) they discover that the old english sheepdog is the culprit(I think).  This is another of my lost books - and though I'm happy to see it reprinted, the thought of a full colour version isn't quite the same as my beloved black and white Scholastic copy.
govan, and west, the lookout club series, 1960's.  possibly the "lookout club" series?? usually prefaced by the heading "mystery at the _______"

Clive King, Me and My Million
E-52, English kids foiling a robbery scheme, possibly one of Nina Bawden's books? Maybe A Handful of Thieves?  She wrote lots of wonderful books involving English children getting into (and out of!) impossible situations.  Try this link to see descriptions of her books.
Terrance Dicks, The Baker Street Irregulars in the case of the missing masterpiece, 1978.  When an early painting by Constable is stolen from a private collector, four English children decide to solve the crime.
Desmond Skirrow, The  case of the silver egg.  An amusing story of a gang of British boys foiling thieves who have stolen a top secret energy source, the silver egg, from the gang leader's father's laboratory by applying popular science experiments like how to develop your own photos, suspend an egg in water, put out a candle, etc.
Desmond Skirrow, The case of the silver egg.  Further to my previous posting on this, I've now reread my copy of The Case of the Silver Egg and it is definitely the one.  The scene happens as described except that the boy is locked in with his
father and the explosive is liquid gelignite.  The boy mixes baking powder with vinegar to create carbon dioxide which he pours down the shelf liner tube to put out the candle.

B202 Could this be ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN or RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN by Alexander Key? ~from a librarian
B202  Alexander Key, The Case of the Vanishing Boy.  Jan is running away from bad people but he doesn't know why because he has amnesia.  He meets Ginny on the bus.  Ginny is blind but she can see in a different way. She takes Jan to her
home where he meets her aunt and uncle and little brother who have special ESP powers.  Jan and Ginny are kidnapped by
the bad guys (an evil doctor who has a brainwashing machine named Matilda) because they want to control Jan who has the unique ability to teleport. They eventually escape and Ginny's family find out that Jan is the missing family member they have been searching for.

Regarding your solved title, The Case Of The Vanishing Boy, I just wanted to add that this was Alexander Key's last book.  He died in 1978 and the book was published posthumously by his wife, Alice Towle Key.  It'\''s out of print and can be difficult to find.  It was only published in paperback - there's NO hardcover edition.

This is probably Norman Dale, the Casket & the Sword (Harper& Row, '56).
Casket and the Sword by Norman Dale, illustrated by Biro, published Barrie 1956, 207 pages "Clive and his sister Sally, coming back from abroad to find the family mansion in the hands of unfriendly strangers, determine to restore the fortunes of the house by endeavouring to break in and find the casket and the sword, hidden there by a piratical ancestor in the 17th century. They enlist the help of young Jeremy, staying nearby, and the poetical  odd-job man Mickey Few, and at last, after a nerve-wracking night and day spent being chased around the estate by keepers and bloodhounds, letting off fireworks to distract their enemies, and encountering boars and other unusual animals let loose in the grounds, they achieve their object. A curious book, with the author bursting into verse (quite good verse) on occasion ... begins very well with mysterious trumpet-calls in dark and messages tied to arrows ..."
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The Casket and the Sword (maybe??)  1950-1957.  I think this book was set in England and may have involved a boy (?) who was sent to the country. There he solved some kind of mystery or found something of great value that was hidden in a dark place--maybe a crypt(???). I read this book in 5th or 6th grade and have thought of it hundreds of times since then. I was completely lost in the story.

#C162--casket-sword mystery:  The Casket and the Sword.  Dale, Norman,  Illustrated by Irv Docktor.  New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956.
C162: Long shot, but this reminds me of Clyde Robert Bulla's The Sword in the Tree, 1956.
Eleanor Jewett, Hidden Treasure of Glaston. This book features an English boy being sent to a monastery for safekeeping during a war, and helping to discover the graves of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.  Arthur's sword is with him in his casket.
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Sword and ? or ? and Sword  Author's last name -- between J & W in the alphabet.  1950s.  3 main characters: I'll call them Jim, David, and Sally.  Jim is visiting a distant aunt for the summer.  While messing around in the backyard, he finds some kind of opening or break in a wall, admitting him to the house next door.  The house is a large estate/mansion belonging to a rich, reclusive family.  While there, Jim meets David and Sally, children of the aforesaid family.  They are living in hiding on their own estate.  They are hiding from the family servants, who have done something illegal -- possibly killing David and Sally's parents.  David and Sally are trying to find positive proof of the servants' guilt and wrong-doing.  The servants are trying to find David and Sally and silence them so no one will ever find out what they have done.  David and Sally enlist Jim's help.  The plot revolves around the three characters' escapades, adventures and final success in bringing the servants to justice.  Additional clues: David used an armbrace sling-shot and steel ball bearings in fighting the servants.

Norman Dale, The Casket and the Sword, 1956, copyright.  I'm pretty sure this is the book you're thinking of.  Jeremy is visiting his Aunt Eleanor to fully recover from measles, and finds Clive and Sally Palfrey, the heirs to the neighboring estate, living in the estate grounds, which have become dangerous since the bad guys (groundskeepers in the pay of an old servant who wants the land and a rumored treasure) have let the menagerie out of their cages.  The children have to dodge wild animals, escape the keepers, and find their way into the house to locate the treasure that will save their home.  They have a friend named Mickey Few, and a long-lost uncle also turns up to help.  And yes, Clive uses a metal slingshot in addition to his bow and arrows.  The three children use trumpets and a penny whistle to communicate via a signal tune.
Norman Dale, Casket and the Sword, 1956, copyright.  My brother, Dennis, says this is indeed the book he's been looking for (the solution posted on the website).  He is delighted to find the title after all these years.  Now -- just to find an actual copy of the book that doesn't cost $200+.  Thank you so much.
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From mid 1960's.  Children's adventure set in country estate called Castle Combe (or Coombe).  Map of CC in front.  Children spending summer holidays in a house next to CC. Sneaked into grounds, sometimes at night.  Watched strange happenings from tree.  Eventually went inside building. Green cover

Sure it isn't The Mystery of Castle Croome by Hilda Boden, 1967? "Castle Croome belongs to Molly Stewart now, willed to her by her great-uncle. But obviously the caretaker doesn't want her there. What secret is he hiding? And who are the mysterious paying guests who roam the castle? Molly is afraid."
Hilda Boden, Mystery of Castle Croome, 1966. Sounds like the Mystery of Castle Croome by Hilda Boden.
Norman Dale, The Casket and the Sword,1956. This sounds like the beginning of The Casket and the Sword. Jeremy is the boy who watches Castlecombe from a tree, then gets inside the estate'\''s wall and meets its owners, young Clive and Sally Palfrey. There are lots of plot descriptions on the Solved Mysteries page under this title.
Norman Dale, The Casket and the Sword, 1956. This is definitely the book I was searching for.  Thanks to everyone that helped to find it. I have now purchased a copy.  It brings back so many childhood memories and I am delighted to have the chance to read it again.

C57 Calico-covered town -- Just from the title of this one by Nan Roloff Cassie's Magic Flowers: the story of Calico Crossing, illustrated by Nancy Duell. The listing I have shows it as published by Current in 1984, and that may be too recent.
A description for the Roloff book: "Very nice book about a little girl named Cassie who lived in a town that wasn't on any map. First part of book in black and white with the last half in color."

Winterfield, Henry, Castaways in Lilliput,1958.  Australians Peggy, Jim and friend Ralph drift on a rubber raft until they land on an invisible island.  It is populated by Gulliver's lilliputians and the children have several adventures trying to get back home.  Including drinking hundreds of buckets of milk and riding on the top of a train.
I really think this is Castaways in Lilliput by Henry Winterfeld. It's about three children who wash up on an uncharted island that turns out to be Lilliput, and they are the first "giants" to visit there since Gulliver.
Would suggest - Castaways in Lilliput by Henry Winterfeld, translated from the German by Kyrill Schabert, illustrated by William M. Hutchinson, published by Harcourt 1958, Weekly Reader 1961, reprinted in 1990, 188pp."Cast ashore in Lilliput, Peggy, Jim and their friend Ralph are surprised to find Lilliput completely modernized and up-to-date." "After drifting for hours in a rubber raft out of sight of the Australian Coast, Jim and Peggy and their friend Ralph find themselves on a sandy shore. But the only signs of life are miniature farms, a toy-sized village and tiny roads. They have to be very careful not to step on something important!"

It may be ARABELLA & MR CRACK by Dick Gackenback. It's not as old as the person remembers (pub. in 1982), but it's worth a look just in case.
Thanks for the update.  Actually I have found the book I was looking for.  It is The Castle Number Nine by Bemelmens.  Thanks for your help.

Beryl Netherclift, Castle Steep aka The Mystery of Castle Steep. I solved this one myself.  It's by the author of another of my most favorite childhood books - Beryl Netherclift,the author of THE SNOWSTORM.  The book is about a summer adventure in the English countryside, involving a young girl, her best friend Persephone and her unusual family.  There is a island with some abbey ruins, some caves, some mysterious singing, and a flood that imperils a little girl and her nanny in the caves, and a mysterious young boy who helps rescue them.  Tennyson's poem THE LADY OF SHALOTT is featured prominently as a plot analogy.  I've been interested in the poem ever since.

by Else Holmelund Minarik   Illustrated by Fritz Siebel, Cat and Dog. One of the "I Can Read Book" series.

Esther Holden Averill,  The Cat club / or, the life and times of Jenny Linsky, 1944.  This was my favorite series as a child since I'm just crazy about cats.  Esther Averill wrote and illustrated a number of stories about a small black cat named Jenny Linsky. Jenny Linsky lives in New York City with her master, Captain Tinker, who is a kindly retired old sailor. Many of the stories revolve around the Cat Club, of which Jenny is a member. The stories about and involving Jenny Linsky and her Cat Club friends are:  "The Cat Club", "Jenny's First Party", "When Jenny Lost Her Scarf", "Jenny's Adopted Brothers", "How the Brothers Joined the Cat Club", "The School for Cats", "The Fire Cat", "Jenny's Moonlight Adventure", "Jenny's Birthday Book", "Jenny Goes to Sea", "Jenny's Bedside Book", "The Hotel Cat", "Captains of the City Streets", "Jenny and the Cat Club" (containing the first five books).  Pickles was the name of the firecat.  One of her brothers was named Checkers and he had a talent of retrieving balls.  I can't remember the name of the other brother.  There was also a set of twins who were members of the cat club.
Esther Averill, Jenny Linsky series.  If it makes a difference, I'll add a second voice to the suggestion that this is likely to be the "Jenny Linsky" series.  These books are terribly collectible, and remembered fondly by all sorts of people.  They've been reprinted a number of times, but currently aren't in print.
C187 Averill, Esther.  Jenny¹s first party. illus by Esther Averill.  Harper, 1948.  Pickles the cat mascot of a New York City fire dept & friends Jenny Linsky and Florio join a party of dancing cats 

Grabo, Carl Henry, Cat in grandfather's house, 1929.  This may be the book the reader remembered as The Clock in Grandfather's House.  The reader did mention a cat, so it might well have been The Cat in Grandfather's House.  The date is about right.
I have new information. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't want to ask my father the exact name of this book because I wanted to surprise him for his 75th birthday. It all became too much for me, though, and I finally called him. According to him, the name of this book is The Cat in Grandfather's House, and it was published in 1929, the year of his birth. He lives in San Diego near the famous "Prince and the Pauper" children's bookstore, and some time ago they said they had a waiting list for this book. I contacted them today and they are looking into it, but of course, any help on your end would be wonderful.

Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary

I think the request for the ABC book is for a book by Maurice Sendak. Just reading that line, I got a flashback of some illustrations by him. For some strange reason, I think that book had something to do with chicken noodle soup, or am I thinking of something else? So check it out, I hope I'm right!
Well, gee, I have The Nutshell Library sitting right here on my desk. One of the four books (including, of course, Chicken Soup with Rice) is an alphabet book called Alligators All Around. No Aviators here.

Your site is marvelous. My friend posted stumper A1 (the ABC book beginning with AVIATOR ALLIGATORS) for me some time ago, but I wanted to add some more images I remember in hopes that someone will recognize the book. Turns out it's neither Sendak nor Alligators All Around. C is for CHIMPS at CHRISTMAS and one of the many chimps is a baby chimp in a CRADLE labelled "CONNIE." E is a huge blue EGG. G is GIRLS sliding down a GIRAFFE'S neck. I is an INDIAN girl with braids eating an ICECREAM cone and Y is for a YAK standing in a fenced YARD next to a house. Does anyone remember this book? It was probably published in the mid to late 1960s. Please, please help!

I just discovered your wonderful website yesterday and thought I might be able to help you out with the A1 stumper.  I remembered a children's dictionary (not just an ABC book) with whimsical examples like those given by the people writing to you, first published in the mid-1960s when I was very young, and it seemed that it was illustrated by P.D. Eastman.  As recently as the early 1990s I bought a copy of this book new for my nephew.  I wasn't expecting it would still be in print, but I did indeed find the Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary by P.D. Eastman.  I'll be eager to find out if this is the book the person was looking for!  This was the only stumper I read, so now it's on to the rest to see if I can figure any of  THEM out. This sure is fun!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Eastman, P.D.  The Cat in the Hat Beginner Dictionary.  Random House Beginner Books, 1964.  A well-loved copy, some water damage and hinges taped.  P.  $10

Stolz, Mary, Cat in the Mirror, NY Harper 1975.  Sounds like this one. "Erin and Irun, one lives in New York City and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago! In many ways, their lives and fears are the same. A cat called Ta-she seems to bind them together.
Mary Stolz, The Cat in the Mirror, ~1970s. This is certainly the Cat in the Mirror. Erin experiences her previous life, 3000 years ago in Egypt, where her name is Irun. There is a boy named Seti both now in New York and then in Egypt.
Pamela F. Service.  I don't remember any of Pam Service's titles, except for Winter of Magic's Return, which is not the one the seeker wants.  But do some paperback research--Loganberry had a few when I left--and she's probably the author of the stumper title.
Y11 is Cat in the Mirror by Mary Stolz. From the front flap: "This is a story of two girls: Erin and Irun. One lives now in New York City, and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. One is fascinated by things of the past, and the other is haunted by a voice from the future. ...There are other things that bind the girls -- the same appearance, their relationships to their parents, and a cat called Ta-she. Perhaps the two girls are in some way the same person after all."
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.  I'm sure it's the one - a very good book!
Stolz, Mary, Cat in the Mirror, 1975, Harper & Row. From the book jacket -- "This is the story of two girls:  Erin and Irun. One lives now in New York City, and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. One is fascinated by things of the past, and the other haunted by a voice from the future. . .She is a loner until a young Egyptian boy, Seti, transfers to her school and befriends her."  From the CIP -- "An unhappy teenage girl, unable to cope with problems at home and at school, suffers an accidental blow on the head and is transported 3000 years back in time to another existence in ancient Egypt."  Sounds like this is the book.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.It's about a girl who has trouble fitting in at a new school, and she receives a blow to the head and is transported 3000 years back in time to ancient Egypt.
And Y11 - could it be Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander?  It is a boy who travels back in time, but he does go to
Egypt ...
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.  My copy of the book isn't where I thought it was so I can't check for sure without going through every book in the house to find it--that would take weeks!--but the description on the Boston Public Library site sounds right: "A bump on the head sends Erin Gandy back 3,000 years to ancient Egypt in the days of the pharaohs." Reference.  Here's also a brief summary/review by an 11-year-old reader.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975.  Story about Erin and Irun, one from modern day NYC, and one from ancient Egypt.  There are boys named Seti from both times and cat named Ta-she.
Y11 is Mary Stolz's Cat in the Mirror which features two girls, Erin in New York and Irun in ancient Egypt.
Madeleine L'Engle, The Sphinx at Dawn: Two Stories.  I think this one may have a similar plotline to what you are describing...
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1974.  This instantly rang a bell with me.  It's not actual time-travel I think.  The two girls Erin and Irun are haunting each other across 3,000 years. Enjoy!
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975.  Erin, Erun, friend named Seti, time travel(?) to ancient Egypt. Seems to
match description exactly.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975. Description found on the web: "Erin has a few problems but starts off on
the right foot with Seti, the new boy at school who has just moved from Egypt. When he makes it into the "in crowd", he doesn't forget her. The story turns to fantasy when she bumps her head on a museum stone artifact and floats back to the days 3000 years ago when she is Irun and Seti is still her friend. She does recover and Seti seems to know where she's been. This is a good tale of friends that stand the test of time and peer pressure."

The Cat Sat on the Mat
I remember this book from my school library -Early 90s. A girl (and her mother?) live in an old bus because they're too poor to afford a house. They could only afford bad apples to eat, from the grand house(?) where mum works. Then the girl had some magic way of getting other food (magic pencils?).

Joan Aiken, The Cat Sat on the Mat. This sounds like "The Cat Sat on the Mat" from the collection of stories found in A Necklace of Raindrops. Emma Pippin and her aunt live in a bus, and eat the bad apples from the orchard the aunt works in.
SOLVED: Joan Aiken, The Cat Sat on the Mat, 1968. I will love the person that solved this for me FOREVER.
On a chilly Cleveland day, this comment warms our hearts! Thank you ALL.

Jackson, Kathryn and Byron, The Cat Who Went to Sea, and other cat stories.  Simon & Schuster, 1950.  Golden Story Book 16, 124 pgs., illus Aurelius Battaglia.  contents:  Cat Who Went to Sea, Tiger Play Tiger, Little WHite Kitten, Terrible Tomkit, Too Many Cats.
The Cat Who Went To Sea.  I googled "Terrible Tomkit" and found the following closed (alas!) listing on E-bay for a Little Golden Book. I hope this helps.  THIS BOOK MEASURES 7 1/4"X5"X1/4".  128 PAGES OF ADORABLE PICTURES AND CUTE CAT STORIES.  THERE ARE 5 STORIES IN ALL THE OTHERS ARE, TIGER PLAY TIGER, THE LITTLE WHITE KITTEN, TERRIBLE TOMKIT, AND TOO MANY CATS.  THE INSIDE COVER READ ALL THE MATERIAL IN THIS BOOK IS ORIGINAL .  IT WAS ESPECIALLY PREPARED FOR THE GOLDEN STORY BOOK AND NEVER BEEN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED.THE BOOK IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, IT WAS PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER IN 1950.  THE STORIES WERE WRITTEN BY KATHRYN AND BYRON JACKSON.  PICTURES BY AURELIUS BATTAGLIA.  THE INSIDE COVER ALSO READS "THE VOCABULARIES HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY CHECKED AGAINST GRADED READING LIST, AND THE PICTURES ON EVERY PAGE HELP MAKE READING EASY"
Kathryn & Byron Jackson, The Cat Who Went To Sea. (1950)  This is a Golden Story Book, published by Simon and Schuster, and illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia. It contains 128 pages of cat stories and pictures.  Stories include The Cat Who Went to Sea, Tiger Play Tiger, The Little White Kitten, Terrible Tomkit, and Too Many Cats.

Gryski, Camilla, Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes: A Book of String Games, Morrow, 1984.  This book fits your description. The diagrams of the hands and string are black with red arrows showing the direction movement of the string.  Also, special notes are in red boxes. However, the only photo is on the cover - it's a headshot of a girl holding up her hands with a
string design stretched between them.
C306 [I haven't checked for color of illus., but it does definitely have cat's cradle stuff.] Jayne, Caroline Furness. String figures and how to make them; a study of cat's cradle in many lands, w an ethnological intro by Alfred C Haddon.  Dover 1962 [Scribner 1906].  Camilla Gryski, Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes.1984.  Could this possibly be the one wanted?  Our copy is hardback, but the illustations are in black and red.  Another possibility is Cat's Cradles and Other String Figures (copyright 1979).  It has actual photographs rather than line drawings so that might not be it.
Klutz Press, Cat's Cradle, 80s. Even if this isn't the one being looked for, it is one of the best on the market.
Camilla Gryski, Super String Games, 1987.  This may be too late to be the one you're looking for, but I have it in front of me and it does have black and red illustrations - the hands and string are black, and the red indicates the movements you do.  One thing that may set this book apart from others is that it gives the history of each design, and presents a story that you can tell as yo''re making them. The designs are for children, but they are quite complex.  I was really into string games in the 1970s but I've never seen most of these.

Johnson, Siddie Joe, Cathy. illustrated by Mary Lee Barker.  NY Longmans 1945.  Pretty certain this is it: The book is set during WWII. Cathy's father is a pilot and her mother is doing war work at the airplane factory. The Mexican housekeeper, Rosita, tells her stories of Spanish treasure and ghosts. She learns that the house she and her mother live in (near Daddy's training station) used to be a farmhouse, and that during the last World War, three children lived there, whose father went away to the army. Cathy climbs into the attic and finds a blue-painted chest with three names on the drawers - Sarah, Gilbert, and Linda. On Valentine's day Cathy opens the desk and finds a bundle of letters and a beginning Feb 14, 1918, in Sarah's drawer.In the diary are old Valentine cards, inspiring Cathy to make a Valentine bouquet for her mother. Gilbert's drawer has a box of marbles and snake rattles, and a school essay on courage, which comfort Cathy when Rosita can't come and she must manage alone in the house. The shopkeeper, Mr. George, takes her to catch crawfish with his sons. Linda's drawer has a doll, a tea-set and a copy of a letter to her father. The letter talks about earning money for thrift stamps by killing "the big green fat worms on the potato vines ... make an awful plop when I smash them ... I think the worms look like green dragons. I am St. George, I guess." Cathy decides to do the same thing, earning war stamps by killing tomato worms for a young mother on her street. With some coaching from Mr. George she learns how to "catch one by the little horn" and pull it off the stem of the plant. She smashes them between two bricks. She begins her own garden and grows radishes, beans and Swiss chard as well as babysitting Rositas grand-daughter and neighbourhood babies. Then she reads in Sarah's diary that the 3 children's father is missing in France and that Sarah is writing a fairy tale to comfort herself, a fairy tale which mysteriously disappears. With the help of Rosita's younger daughters, Cathy searches the old barn and finds a little book with a silver clasp, containing the fairy tale The Silver Princess.  The story and the diary give her courage when her Daddy is reported missing in action. At the end of the book she meets the grown-up Gilbert, just before her own father comes home.
This is definitely the book. All the details seem familiar. Thanks so much!

There have been several Oregon Trail stumpers before.  Check out the comments and suggestions listed under O9: Oregon Trail story and look on the Solved Mysteries pages (by title) for Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr, 1943 and Oregon at Last! by A. Rutgers van der Loeff.
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail, 1954.  This is likely one of the first two books in the "Cathy and Carl" series published by the very Christian-oriented Scripture Press, about two siblings and their adventures going west on the Oregon Trail and afterward.  The second book was also published in 1954 and was titled Cathy and Carl Captured, and included the incident with the Whitmans and the two children being captured by Indians.  Later titles in the series include Cathy and Carl Join the Gold Rush (1955), Cathy and Carl Shipwrecked (1956) and Cathy and Carl and the Sea Horse Mystery (1957).
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail, 1954.  This is likely one of the first two books in the "Cathy and Carl" series published by the very Christian-oriented Scripture Press, about two siblings and their adventures going west on the Oregon Trail and afterward.  The second book was also published in 1954 and was titled Cathy and Carl Captured, and included the incident with the Whitmans and the two children being captured by Indians.  Later titles in the series include Cathy and Carl Join the Gold Rush (1955), Cathy and Carl Shipwrecked (1956) and Cathy and Carl and the Sea Horse Mystery (1957).
This is it! Thank you thank you! I can't believe you found it so quickly. Cal, Carl, well at least I was close!
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Covered Wagon, 1954.  I have this book and the actual title of it is Cathy and Carl of the Covered Wagon, not Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail.

Maybe Cathy's Secret Kingdom, by Nancy W. Faber, illustrated by Howard Simon. E.M. Hale and Company, 1963. "A warm story of Cathy & Anne, two completely unlike step-sisters who solve mystery of an old house & develop a wonderful relationship in doing so." Cathy finds a secret "kingdom" where she can spend time away from her problems -- including her handicapped sister... However, she soon finds that her sister is the only one who can help her solve a mystery... Cover shows two girls on bikes, one blonde, one dark.
I am all weepy with happiness as I write to say THANK YOU for your wonderful site, and for being available for me to finally have the title and author to my second favorite book, S111!!!  I would love to let that person know how very very grateful I am!!! (If I could find G54, I will hunt down you and the finder and HUG you both) It is SO great that you have this site, and I saw your comment about charging.  I for one would be delighted to send a fee for the wonderful feeling I had when I realized my search was over for one of my books.

C59 cat care manual: Well, it's not Searle's Cats, because I checked our library's copy and it doesn't match up. Perhaps Eric Gurney's book How To Live With a Calculating Cat? It was published in 1962, reprinted 1976, illustrated by cartoony line drawings. "Provides many facts about the domestic cat in an informal setting with cartoons on most pages." The cover is red, with a drawing of a cat lying back on a cushion with a tin of sardines and bowl of caviar. There's a sequel, The Calculating Cat Returns, published 1978, with text by Nancy Prevo and cartoons by Eric Gurney. "Volume has 130 illustrations accompanied by words which explain in no uncertain terms the basic facts of cat life." The cover of the sequel is yellow, with a drawing of a striped cat carrying one kitten in her mouth while 3 others run past her. Ring any bells? Another possible is The Last Damn Cat Book, by Fred Schwab, published Secaucus, Citadel Press, 1982, 96 pages, illustrated with b/w drawings. "Humorous drawings of the foibles of cats."
Wilfrid S. Bronson, Cats, 1950. I solved my own mystery!  I originally posted the query long ago, and I've found the book I was looking for!  I have an interlibrary loan copy in my hands right now.  I found it by doing a search online in the WorldCat, using the delimiters I could think of... and it brought up a few hundred possible titles.  My heart sank.  But there, the third one down, my little voice told me that was it, and the author's name seemed murkily familiar.  On the chance I was right, I ordered it, and well -- a happy ending!  Now that I have the right information, I can start searching for a copy of my own - as I said long ago - one that doesn't have to go back to the library.  Bronson, Wilfrid S., Cats.  Harcourt Brace and Company: New York 1950

Anthony Taber, Cat's Eyes, 1978.  well, guys, after much search on my own I have found my own book!!!  I have even located an original and signed-by-the-author copy!!!  Thanks so much for you assistance anyways!!!! 

Catwitch

Tuttle, Lisa.  Catwitch.  Illustrated by Una Woodruff.  Doubleday, 1983.
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Hi there!  I’ve been looking for a book that has this going on in it.  I’ve seen it once before and can’t remember the name.  It starts out in a cottage in the woods owned by a homely but happy witch who at one point was a actress who travelled a lot. She has a cat that can think for him self and talks as well.  While she (the witch) learns her lines for a possible job, cat finds the door or window to the other realm their he meets all types of faireies doing all types of things.  The pictures are fabulous, the detail is great but do you think I can find it.  My dad hasn’t seen it for years boohoo! So I hope thats enough to go on  mail me if you find anything   Tanks

W17 Witch actress is, I believe, a book called Catwitch by Una Woodruff (well, idea and illustrations are Woodruff's and text is by Lisa Tuttle, and its Library of Congress is under Tuttle).  The copy I have is Doubleday & Co., Inc. 1983, copyright Dragon's World LTD.  The cat's name is Jules and the witch/former film star is Eva Eden who takes little Jules into her home in Unicorn Cottage and teaches him to read and write and then seeks his help finding something called Alicorn. Jules has all kinds of adventures including summoning faeries through the television set, etc.  Hope this is it!!
This does sound like Catwitch, from the description on the Solved list.

C197: The Cave Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins, 1916. I love this one best of all the Twins series for the details of their hunting, gathering, cooking and building - plus the humor and suspense. Here's the plot, which takes place in prehistoric southern England.  She wrote at least 26 Twins books. Here's a link for them, though I don't think Perkins was very good at criticizing sexism in societies if that were really her intention, as the link implies.   While Michele Landsberg, in Reading for the Love of It (1987, p.57) wrote "All those series were commercial, badly written, thinly plotted - and devoured by my generation for the exhiliration of being able to read and the easy diversion of their simple, predictable plots and undemanding characters," this one stands above the rest, I think.
Lucy Fitch Perkins, The Cave Twins
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Born in 1936, I was read to by my mother from an illustrated children's book about a nuclear family of cavemen (remember we are speaking of the late 30s, early 40s).  I have no idea of the title, author, publisher or date of publication.  The most graphic image I retain is that the children of the family  were sewn into all-enclosing garments of animal hides to keep them warm all winter long.  The illustrations made the children look like bear cubs with human faces. Any help in locating this book would be greatly appreciated.

Sounds like The Cave Twins by Lucy Fitch Perkins again.  See C197.

Theodore Taylor, The Cay
Theodore Taylor, The Cay
Such a quick solution to Caribbean stranded on island setting book, The Cay.  Gracias.

E47: Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, 1943. "A collection of six stories of mid-western America. The stories are: The Case of the Sensational Scent, The Case of the Cosmic Comic, The Doughnuts, Mystery Yarn, Nothing New under the Sun (hardly), and Wheels of Progress. Book was winner of the 1947 Young Readers Choice Award of the boys & girls of the Pacific Northwest." I saw a very short movie about the donuts once in the 1970s, plus the story about the "magic powder" was excerpted and used in our pink 6th grade textbook Impressions (1970s) as an example of how advertising works! There's a sequel, so it could be that book too, but I'm not sure.
#E47--Ever So Much More So:  These are Homer Price stories from Homer Price and Centerburg Tales, by Robert McCloskey.  The one about the donuts was made into a film, which was shown to our class around the time we had a Homer Price unit in our reading book in fifth grade.
Robert McCloskey, Centerburg Tales/Homer Price.  Homer Price definitely deals with the doughnut story but I think that Centerburg Tales has the doughnut story as well as the others.
Robert McClosky, Centerburg Tales.  I solved my own stumper!  Suddenly the name Homer Price popped into my head.  My book is the second one McClosky wrote--first one is just called Homer Price.
E47: Homer Price by Robert McCloskey, 1943. "A collection of six stories of mid-western America. The stories are: The Case of the Sensational Scent, The Case of the Cosmic Comic, The Doughnuts, Mystery Yarn, Nothing New under the Sun (hardly), and Wheels of Progress. Book was winner of the 1947 Young Readers Choice Award of the boys & girls of the Pacific Northwest." I saw a very short movie about the donuts once in the 1970s, plus the story about the "magic powder" was excerpted and used in our pink 6th grade textbook Impressions (1970s) as an example of how advertising works! There's a sequel, so it could be that book too, but I'm not sure.

Josh Webster, Ceremonies,1982, approximate.Credit to the last poster on my original query for solving this 10+ year old mystery! I had the same feeling as he/she - as soon as I saw the cover I recognized it.  Thank you, thank you!!! Now I just have to get my hands on it and finally finish it =) Thank you, Loganberry Books, for this awesome site!

Margaret Mahy, The Changeover, '80s.  It's set in New Zealand  Jacko's soul is being slowly sucked away by Carmody Braque, a warlock.  Laura, Jacko's sister, visits the neighborhood witches (one of them a male, just older than she) and becomes a witch herself to counter Braque's powers.
Margaret Mahy, Changeover.  I'm pretty sure this book is Changeover - the prefect who helps the girl (Laura Chant) is Sorry - a wonderfully touching angsty romantic hero.  Good book.  Set in New Zealand, not England, btw.
Margaret Mahy, The Changeover: a Supernatural Romance.  '80s.  Absolutely no doubt about this one. The book is set in New Zealand, and Laura Chant must become a witch (changeover) with the help of Sorenson (Sorry) Carlisle, a young male witch, in order to save her little brother who is the victim of a kind of spiritual vampire. Excellent book, and still (I think) in print.
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Witch romance & must save brother.  Juvenile fantasy book about a girl who finds herself hanging out with a loner boy at her school. Her brother is in danger from some evil force, so she and the boy are trying to save him.  A coming of age story as she grapples with the magic powers that are starting to awaken in her, and the responsibilities of engaging in a relationship.  Story set in a city, possibly the States, but could be England. Title could have the word "dark" or "omen" in it? I read this in the early 90's or late 80's.  Not sure when it was pubished, the setting was modern times (1960's-1980's).  I really hope you can find this, I have had no luck!

Margaret Mahy, The Changeover, 1985.  This sounds like Margaret Mahy's Carnegie winning book The Changeover.
Margaret Mahy, The Changeover.  Maybe this one?  Laura needs to save her younger brother Jacko from an evil man that placed a strange tattoo on his hand that is sapping his life force.  She enlists the help of a classmate Sorenson (Sorry) who is a male witch and learns to unleash her own witch powers.  Romance with Sorenson is a big part of the book.
Margaret Mahy, The Changeover.  Story about a teenage girl whose little brother is possessed by an evil power that is draining him of life. She saves him by seeking help from a loner boy at her school who has magical powers and helps her to find her own magical powers so she can save her brother. At the same time she gains understanding of adult relationships. Set in a New Zealand town. A great book which won the Carnegie Medal in 1984.
W185  This is definitely THE CHANGEOVER: A SUPERNATURAL ROMANCE by Margaret Mahy, 1974 and republished since. It's a great read!~from a librarian
Mahy, Margaret,  Changeover, 1984?  I'm almost positive this is it: When her little brother seems to become possessed by an evil spirit, fourteen-year-old Laura seeks the help of the strangely compelling older boy at school who she is convinced has supernatural powers. Its also on the Solved Mystery pages.
Margaret Mahy, The Changeover, 1984.  When her little brother seems to become possessed by an evil spirit, fourteen-year-old Laura seeks the help of the strangely compelling older boy at school who she is convinced has supernatural powers.  The setting is New Zealand.
#W185:  Witch romance saves brother--This sounds like The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy, which is on your "Solved Mysteries" pages.
Margaret Mahy, Changeover, 1984.  Sounds just like Changeover! See the Solved Mysteries for more info.
THANK YOU!  That is the book I have been looking for... It really resonated with me and has hung on the corners of mind as something I'd like to re-read again.  Book Stumpers - you and your internet friends are my super heroes!

PETER DICKINSON, THE CHANGES TRILOGY.  This sounds like the changes trilogy - the books are The devils children, Heartsease, The weathermonger. The first is about a girl who is separated from her parents when the change (back to a medieval mindset) happens -she travels with a group of Sikhs who are not affected, and is able to warn them if anything they do is likely to be seen as 'witchcraft' or evil. Heartsease is set during the changes and The Weathermonger about how they happened and and how they are ended. I think all the books are in print and also available as a sigle volume
M289 (Merlin awaking etc) is Peter Dickinson's The Changes trilogy: The Devil's Children, Heartsease, and The Weathermonger.  Although there are clues scattered throughout the books about what's happened to the world, Merlin doesn't actually come into it until the very last book.
Peter Dickinson, Changes trilogy, 1969/70.  Three books about Britain, The Devil's Children, Heartsease and The Weathermonger. Merlin appears in the third book as the reason for Britain becoming anti-technological.
M289 Not 100% sure, but it may be WINTER OF MAGIC'S RETURN by Pamela F. Service, 1985. In a post-nuclear world, Merlin is resurrected. There is also a sequel, TOMORROW'S MAGIC.~from a librarian
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger, 1968.  see this interview with the author.
M289: Pamela F. Service, Winter of Magic's Return, 1985.  After 500 years of nuclear winter, Britain is coming alive again, and there is evidence that humanity's next cycle may be an age of magic, not technology. Three teenage "misfits," including Merlin in the body of a 14 year old, begin an arduous journey across the countrys desolate wastes in search of King Arthur, who may still be alive. Along the way they battle dangers and enchantments, finally winning through to an Eden-like Avalon, their task accomplished, and the dawn of magic's dominion at hand. The action-filled plot and finely drawn characters will hold readers, and while there is no overt anti-war message, the starkness of the bleak landscape, where a sunny day is a cherished event, is a haunting symbol of what might be.  There is also a sequel, Tomorrow's Magic.
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger,1968.  A childrens/YA science fiction classic, the first book in of the Changes trilogy.
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger.  Other books in the same series are The Devil's Children and Heartease
C S Lewis, That Hideous Strength.  Not sure, it's been such a long time since I read it, but is there any chance that Lewis' That Hideous Strength is the book referred to?  Merlin is definitely in it, and people do hate and fear the machines.  Part of his Sci Fi series, along with Perelandra and Out of the Silent Planet.
Peter Dickinson, Changes trilogy, 1969/70.  Three books about Britain, The Devil's Children, Heartsease and The Weathermonger. Merlin appears in the third book as the reason for Britain becoming anti-technological.

Pat Hutchins, Changes, Changes. Maybe this one, if it's a picture book--still in print and you can view the cover online.
Hutchins, Pat, Changes, Changes.Thank you for your help in finding this lost favorite. Cheers!

Coopersmith, Jerome, A Chanukah Fable for Christmas, illus. by Syd Hoff, G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1969.  "A young Jewish Boy's wish for a 'fat man in red' for Chanukah comes true." Told in rhyme, shows boy and man in red riding a giant dreidel in the sky.
Jerome Coopersmith, A Chanukah Fable for Christmas. 1969.  Illustrated  by Syd Hoff.

ATIA Character Sketches.  These books were produced by the Advanced Training Institute to support Christian education in homes.  You can see a picture of them here, including the growling bear on the cover.  If that link doesn't work, just go to iblp.org and click on Character Sketches.
I'm not sure if this is correct or not, but it can't hurt to try.  There was a set of books I had as a child with a religious theme to each & they were also hardcover white books.  I can't remember all of them, but if you do a search for "House in the Hole in the Side of the Tree" or "Coco's Candy Shop", you should be able to find the whole set.  I think there was one book that told more about animals....I hope it helps!
OH MY GOD! "Character Sketches" is it!! How cool to see that cover again after all these years...I had no idea there were 2 others in the set! Thank you thank you, once again. Ebay here I come...

Charles

It's a hard one to find, but I have one!  I wouldn't have remembered the author myself, but I'm quite a fan of Martha Alexander.  Check this out for more on Martha Alexander (and a picture of Charles).

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Skorpen, Liesel Moak.  Charles.  Illustrated by Martha Alexander. Harper & Row, 1971.  First edition.  Slightly soiled, otherwise VG-.  Scarce.  <SOLD>

R54: Sounds like the British book A House for Charley (or A Home for Charley) which also goes under another name, I think. I can't find any more info about it right now - on the Net at least. Try your library. She thinks her aunt doesn't want her and so she goes to live in a field and pretends she can't talk so she won't have to answer questions from strangers in the store. The bugs are earwigs. Her system for staying fed and inconspicuous is as elaborate as E.L. Konigsberg's for Claudia and Jamie, though the book as a whole hardly compares with Konigsberg's.
OK, I answered before and now I think I know the right answer - Charley by Joan G. Robinson, 1969, later
titled The Girl Who Ran Away. She's also the author of Dear Teddy Robinson and When Marnie Was There, about a foster child and a mysterious companion.
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This is a book that is probably from the mid-70's or earlier.  It's about a girl, whose name might be Rowan, who decides to run away for the summer.  I don't think she was particularly unhappy at home.  I can't remember the reason, but I think she wanted a little adventure.  I think she finds a hedge with a little nook, and she makes her home and sleeps in there.  It's a very low key book, but kind of  charming. I thought Rowan might be the name of the book, but no searches on that turned up what I was looking for.

This might be Charley by Joan Robinson.  I think she may have wanted to be called Rowan.  Check out solved mysteries under Charley.
Joan Robinson, Charley.  I think this may be the book. Rowan is the heroine's real name, but she is usually called by her nickname, Charley. She runs away because her parents are away (I can't remember the reason), and she can't get on with the aunt who is looking after the family. The last straw is when she gets the mistaken idea that another, favourite aunt "doesn't want her". I think she does sleep in a hedge  and she meets a fawn at one point in the book.
Joan Robinson, Charley, 1970.  Someone on rec.arts.childrens.books was able to identify this for me.  It is a British story about a young girl who runs away thinking it would be nice live on her own.  Rowan is the girl's real name, and Charley is her nickname.  Charley is British slang for a foolish person.  I have another stumper to post though!
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childrens fiction book which I read in early 80's, not sure how old book was. It was about a girl who ran away and stayed in a field in some sort of old shelter; a wagon or caravan??. I dont remember a lot of the story. I borrowed it from a library in North Royalton Ohio where I lived at the time. thanks to anyone who might know.

Robinson, Joan, Charley, 1969.  check solved mysteries.
Robinson Joan G, Charley, 1969.  Lovely story of Charley, who is sent to stay with relatives in the English countryside.
Believing herself to be not wanted, she sets up camp near her aunt's house.  She befriends various people including a gardener at a big house and manages very successfully on her own!
Check under Solved Mysteries for the title Charley, aka The Girl Who Ran Away.
Rumer Godden, The Diddakoi.  It's not a lot to go on but I wonder if you're thinking of "the Diddakoi" by Rumer Godden? The little girl, Kizzy, is part romany and runs away to try to save herself and her horse, after her grandmother dies. She ends up with a Gypsy caravan of hre own to stay in. If this is the one, it is in print, by MacMillan (isbn 0330398687).

I have *no* idea if this is a valid lead or not, but the description of C12  made me think of the Jenny and the Cat Club series by Esther Averill.  Might "Charlie" have been one of the characters from there?  I no longer have any of those books, so can't confirm....  Anyway, thought I'd pass the hunch along...
Also consider Yellow Cat by Betty Ren Wright. It is a Tell-A-Tale book and a Fuzzy Wuzzy Book, Whitman Publishing Company, 1952.  It includes this: "Is a yellow cat with purple ears, / A flouncy, pouncy kind of cat, / With pointed, purple ears. / But I'll never see that."
This book is called Charlie and it is a Little Golden Book.  It was written by Diane Fox Downs, illustrated by Lilian Obligado, and published in 1970.   In it, Charlie runs away from the alley where he lives in search of the
country, where he can play "tiger in the grass." He is adopted by the  families that share a walled courtyard after he rescues Mrs. Twilliger's hat from a tree.
C12 Charlie the yellow cat: The suggested Little Golden Book, Charlie, by Diane Fox Downs, seems like a good match with publisher, title and subject. 

Madeleine L'Engle, An Acceptable Time, 1990, approximate.  This is, I believe, the final book in the Wrinkle in Time series. Polly goes back in time to ancient America and meets very early Native Americans. Her boyfriend goes after her and they have several adventures together, but she also grows very attached to one of the Indian men. She and her boyfriend finally make it back to their own time, but their relationship has drastically changed.
Catherine Hart, Charmed.  Found the book at second chance bookstore - I was off on the cover - it was a waterfall.

C54 is Palmer Brown's Cheerful about the little city church mouse who dreams of living in the country and eventually escapes there by riding in a panoramic Easter egg.
#C54:  Church mice--no luck with librarians, but a bookseller got another bookseller to look at the book, and it seems Cheerful; a picture-story, by Palmer Brown, is the one I want.  I'm awaiting the opportunity of an affordable copy and thank the person who sent it in!
This latest stumper deluge caused me to finally break down and go through the "Literature for Children" list in my 1963 WORLD BOOK Encyclopedia, which I almost never look at as I usually use the 1974 list.  I also assume (ha) that anything famous enough to be on this list would be quickly spotted by one of the experts.  Well, YOU'LL NEVER GUESS WHAT BOOK WAS ON THERE!  Cheerful, by Palmer Brown, my all-but-impossible-to-solve stumper which was solved ONLY by just ONE PERSON on your site!  I might not have recognized it just by the description, but it did say the story is about a church mouse.  This title didn't turn up on ANY "church mouse/mice" searches anywhere online, including at the Library of Congress, but here it was sitting in a book I own at home!  Now if only my dognapping book would turn up right under my nose!

Interpreting Condition Grades

Brown, Palmer.  Cheerful.   Harper & Brother, 1957.  Adorable illustrations in color and black & white.  Stain on lower quarter of dust jacket and book cover.  Interior fine.  Scarce.  F/G.  $65

You know, in the meantime, I think I figured it out! It looks like the book is called The Cheery Scarecrow by Johnny Gruelle, who I guess also did Raggedy Ann. Would you have a copy in decent shape?

Cheese, Peas and Chocolate Pudding.  Here is information both about the story and the storytelling anthology in which it was included:  LINK.
Cheese, Peas and Chocolate Pudding from Caroline Feller Bauer's New handbook for Storytellers: With Stories, Poems, Magic and More. Chicago: American Library Assoc., 1993.

Syd Hoff, Chester,  Not sure if this is the book you're looking for, but the horse and the carousel brought to mind a beginner book that I had as a child. Chester is a wild horse who wants to be tame. The cover of the book shows Chester running away from the carousel on which he had pretended to be a wooden horse.
Lois Maloy,  Arabella of the Merry-Go-Round, 1935.

Syd Hoff, Chester.  Thank you for this suggestion, I think it may be the right one. It is the only story that I came across with the horse jumping ON to the carousel rather than escaping from it. I had looked at Arabella of the Merry Go Round but I dont think it was that one. Thank you for your help though

The Runaway Flying Horse by Paul-Jacques Bonzon, illustrated by William Pene du Bois, originally published in 1960.  "Bored with his life on the merry-go-round, a little wooden horse decides to run away."  But he gets lonely and comes back to join his old carousel horse friends.

Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak.  The boy is Hungarian, but otherwise this sounds like the book.
Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak.The Chestry Oak features a contrasting set of Hungarian and American characters. Prince Michael, a bright and precocious six-year-old early in the story, shows a mixture of assertiveness and dependence typical of his age, enjoying the protectiveness of his nurse while trying to be more independent. He is eager to show his father how well he can handle a horse, but his father, the old Prince, is preoccupied with the difficult affairs of war and cannot give his son the time and attention he needs. Young Michael is very proud of his Chestry heritage, and on his seventh birthday, he plans to follow the family tradition of planting an acorn alongside the venerable old Chestry oak on his family's estate.
Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak
Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak, 1948
Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak, 1948.  I think this is the one you're thinking of. The boy rides dressage on a magnificent horse, his country is occupied by the Germans and his father, the ruler, appears to be a collaborator. the boy later goes to America where he uses the name Michael Prince, and also discovers his father was actually a hero.
Kate Seredy, The Chestry Oak, 1948.  This sounds like one of my favorite books:  Michael, Prince of Chestry (an 800-yr-old castle in Hungary) is a small boy when the war begins, learning to ride his magnificent stallion, Midnight.  Eventually he escapes when the castle is destroyed, lies injured many months, becomes a DP (Displaced Person), meets an American soldier, and learns to deal with the loss of his heritage.  That is the bare bones of the plot, but the emotional depth of the story is much greater.  Michael's relationships with his father and his old nurse are beautifully described, as well as his love for Midnight and the special steps they learned together.
Thanks so much!

Mahy, Margaret, The chewing-gum rescue and other stories.  The two stories the stumper remembers from this collection by the wonderful New Zealand writer Margaret Mahy are "The Devil and the Corner Grocer" and "Midnight on Griffon Hill".  The book is still in print.
Here's info on the tape:  The chewing-gum rescue and other stories, Margaret Mahy/ Richard Mitchley, 1994.  Fiction : Juvenile audience :  Cassette tape 3 sound cassettes. Bath, England : Chivers Audio Books,  ISBN: 0745185312   A collection of short stories by the noted New Zealand author.
Thank you so much for solving my stumper!  I ordered the book from [unmentionable] and I just got it in the mail today and it's definitely the one!  I'm absolutely delighted!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bierce, Ambrose.  In the Midst of Life: Tales of Soldiers and Civilians.  Intro by George Sterling.  Modern Library, 1909, 1927.  Hardcover, no dust jacket.  VG.  $7.50 Bierce, Ambrose.  Tales of Soldiers and Civilians.  Edited by Donald T. Blume.  Kent State University Press, 2004.  Remaindered trade paperback.  $12.98

There is a 1977 book by Angus McGill and Dominic Poelsma called Augusta the Great, but it's a collection of comic strips that were originally published in the newspaper.  It's more likely that the book you're searching for is The Chicken Pox Papers by Susan Terris (author) and Gail Rockwell (illustrator) (1976).  The cover of the paperback shows a red-haired girl holding a pair of scissors and looking at her newly shorn head---there's a heap of red hair on the flat surface in front of her.  Unfortunately, I haven't read this book, and the only online description I can find isn't very detailed: "When she contracts a case of chicken pox, a ten-year-old writes a series of letters that express her frustrations."  Out of print but inexpensive and not hard to find.
It's not my stumper, but having read THE CHICKEN POX PAPERS, I can confirm that the other poster was right in suggesting it. The girl's nickname is Gussie (short for Augusta? can't remember) and the element of chicken pox, cut hair and antique desk with hidden compartment are all in the book.~from a librarian

Manes, Stephen, Chicken Trek: The Third Strange Thing That Happened to Oscar Noodleman, 1987, copyright, New York: Dutton.  Oscar spends the summer with his inventor cousin traveling around the United States in a Picklemobile eating chicken in the bag to win a contest, while being pursued by an angry woman with mystical powers, who is also determined to win the contest.
Manes, Stephen, Chicken Trek: the third strange thing that happened to Oscar Noodleman, 1987.  "Oscar spends the summer with his inventor cousin traveling around the United States in a Picklemobile eating chicken in the bag to win a contest, while being pursued by an angry woman with mystical powers, who is also determined to win the contest."
Stephen Manes, Chicken Trek, 1987.  Thanks!  I love this service and will definitely return.
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Hi, I'm looking for a children's book that I think had color illustrations. The plot involved a contest sponsored by a restaurant or diner that required the contestants to visit every location in the US (illustrated on a place mat with a map of the country, as I recall) and maybe some kind of scavenger hunt. The diners ranged in quality from barely edible to five star or similar. There was a group in the contest who were the heros of the story, and some other villainous person or group. There was something about a pickle; maybe the diners had a pickle logo, or maybe the heros had a pickle-shaped car. There was some kind of time limit on the contest, maybe a year. Thanks for the help!

Manes, Stephen, Chicken Trek, 1987. I found a reference to this on Goodreads - someone else remembered that it was a chicken eating contest and the main character travels in a picklemobile. Sounds like your book!
Manes, Stephen, Chicken Trek. Hi, you posted an answer to my stumper. I checked it out and I'm sure that's it. Thanks!

I didn't find this on the Chronic Illness books list.
Corcoran, Barbara, Child of the Morning,1982.
Barbara Girion, A Handful of Stars, 1981.  "Julie, a busy high school sophomore suddenly stricken with epileptic seizures, must learn to live with her condition as the doctors attempt to control it through medication."  I believe this book contains all the scenes that you have described.
Two possibilities: 1) A Handful Of Stars by Barbara Girion (Dell, 1981) "Julie, a busy high school sophmore suddenly stricken with epileptic seizures, must learn to live with her condition as the doctors attempt to control it through medication."  2) Child Of The Morning by Barbara Corcoran (Atheneum, 1982) "Susan joins a summer theater group, but fears she will have one of her odd spells, a result of undiagnosed epilepsy, while on stage."
Barbara Corcoran , Child of the Morning.  Nevermind. I found the answer myself. 

Betty Chancellor, A Childs Christmas Cookbook, 1964.  I think this might be it. I work in a school library and as soon as I saw the description I immediately thought of this book. Exactly as described, red, old-fashioned Santa, recipes and anecdotes. The only difference is it is hardcover. Hope this is right.
Betty Chancellor, A Child's Christmas Cookbook, c. 1964.  I am the original requester and this one has been SOLVED! Thank you so much to the person that recognized this book from my vague description. This is indeed the book I have been looking for! 30 year mystery solved!

I have a few of these. They are Puppet Storybooks, published by Grosset and Dunlap, Inc. There  are quite a few titles listed, including some books of rhymes, poetry, alphabet and counting. They are copyright late 1960's, early '70's. Also, the covers have a 3-D effect picture, glued onto the book. The books are board books.
I posted this question....and having seen some of the "Puppet Storybooks"--I don't think that's it. What I am looking for has flat (not 3-D) fabric pictures--cloth is like burlap and other materials cut & sewn. The pages are regular paper. Thanks for the input though!
Faith Ringgold.  Not sure if Faith Ringgold was publishing in the '70's. But originally she worked in fabric and quilt media.
I47 I doubt if it is this one that I noticed today:  Schwalje, Marjory. Two kittens stitchery by Virginia Tiffany; photo by
Xfa-Duesseldorf. Whitman c1966  clothed kittens illustrated by a combination of stitchery pictures and of color photos
Tell-a-Tale 2406-2
Robert Louis Stevenson, a child's garden of verses, 1972.  My husband had this from his childhood--the illustrations are all done in needlework. Hope this helps!
Oh, I know this one.  Yes, of course.  Selections from A Child's Garden of Verses by Robert Louis Stevenson.  Stitchery by Virginia Tiffany.  Western Publishing, 1969.  A Big Golden Book, #10873.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Stevenson, Robert Louis. Selections from A Child's Garden of Verses.  Stitchery by Virginia Tiffany.  Western Publishing, 1969.  A Big Golden Book, #10873.  Worn to edges, otherwise VG.  $10

There is a poem in one of the childcraft books called To the Little Girl Who Wriggles.  She doesn't wiggle out of her clothes, but they talk about how she wriggles like an eel.  The poem is by Laura E. Richards
Well, if it's the poem about the wiggling girl that's in Childcraft, it's by Laura Richards, so (big if) if it's poems rather than stories, it could be this anthology by the same author: Richards, Laura E. The Golden Windows Boston, Little, Brown 1915, 6x8 hard cover green with gold print, 123 pgs. "charming stories for children, about the stars , etc."
Another anthology by Richards is Tirra Lirra, illustrated by Marguerite Davis, published Little, Brown 1932, reprinted 1955, 194 pages. Nonsense rhymes, including the 'elephant who tried to use the telephant' and the
frog 'who lived in a bog on the banks of Lake Okeefinokee'.
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This was one volume in a library set (early 70's) of large, brightly colored hardcovers, and the only one I remember. It was an anthology about children in many countries.  They were short stories, mostly contemporary, not folk or fairy tales.  Some I remember:  a German or Scandinavian story in which a little boy shrank and made friends with a tiny elf,  a Scottish one in which a girl and her brother (Crispin?) were involved in New Year's first-footing, and she lost a necklace, an Irish one with a father out at sea, a suspenseful one about a boy climbing a tower to raise a flag during a war or occupation and one set in Australia in which a little boy had a crush on a girl named Patricia, whose house had a glass room he could see from his window.  I've wondered if this could have been part of a 70's edition of the Childcraft series, but have never been able to confirm the contents.

I believe the anthology you are looking for IS a Childcraft volume.  My edition was published in 1981 and Vol. 3, Children Everywhere, contains the stories you describe.  The story from Lithuania, Little Peter's Flag, is about the boy and the flag.  Hogmany, the story from Scotland is about Henny and Crispies and the first footing.  Nils Karlsson, the Elf is the Swedish story and The Glass Room is the Australian story. However, the Irish story is about a leprechaun.  The story about the father at sea is from Greece and is entitled Spirodoula's gift.
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This was already an older book when I read it - I was about 8-9 years old. It was a  hard cover and I believe the cover was a rusty orange. I don't have the name of the book or the author, unfortunately, however, I remember it was a book with poems, nursery rhymes and short stories (one page). Each story had an illustration with it. I remember only a couple of the illustrations - one was of a boy playing with a large black thunderbird flying above him. Another was a picture of two girls sitting in front of a fireplace shelling peas with a cat lying beside them. There was another picture of an old man sitting in what I believe was a rocking chair. The book started out with the "here we go around the mulberry bush" song and showed several children circling a bush. Any help you can give me on finding a copy or at least the name and author of this book would be greatly appreciated. My sister and I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book over and over when we were younger and we have been looking in bookstores and garage sales for years hoping to find another copy.  One thing I would like to add after talking with my sister is there was also an illustration in the book showing an old man sitting in a rocking chair. We still have no name or author.

 #T103, Thunderbird with Little Boy Story, keeps sounding to me like a  1954 edition of Childcraft, Volume 1 or Volume 2.  That was the orange cover with the blue-and-white illustrations.  It is identical to the 1961 edition, except the 1961 has a red-and-white cover with black and gold illustrations.  The one thing I *can't* equate with anything in Childcraft is a black thunderbird.  My place is in such a state I can't get to my set to check it.
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I remember my sister and I reading this book when we were young trying to escape the abuse in our home.  It brought many, many hours of peace to both of us but somewhere in one of our moves it must have got lost or thrown out. I'm now almost 50 yrs. old and I was around 8 or 9 at the time and the book was pretty old then. The book had various rhymes and one-page stories in it with illustrations on each page. I recall the very first story being "Here we go round the mulberry bush". There was also a story in it about a boy with a Thunderbird and it showed a picture of a young boy and a large black bird. There was another story in the book with a picture of two girls shelling peas in front of a fireplace with a cat beside them. This book is very sentimental to both my sister and I and I would love to see it again or, better yet, purchase a copy of it.  Thank you for your help.

G68 girls shelling peas: this sounds like an almost identical query to T103 thunderbird with little boy - are they from the same person? T103 was solved as a 1954 edition of Childcraft, so perhaps this is the answer for
G68 as well?
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I'm looking for a set of encyclopedias for children that were dated the early 70s at the very latest.  The set had approximately 25 volumes and each was a different, solid color.  For instance, there was fire engine red, pink, dark blue, turquoise, green, purple, orange etc.  Though each volume was one solid color, the books would have a horizontal band of photos stretching across the center.  I researched all of the encyclopedias that Bookshelf for Boys & Girls published and I never found a set that was multi-colored.  They were usually all white or all red in color.  In addition, I seem to remember different titles for each numbered book, but they are eerily similar.   I'm almost positive the title is something like "Encyclopedia for Children."  Here are some of the volume titles I remember, though I may be slightly off on one or two:  Stories from Around the World, Things to Make and Do.  There were also volumes for fairy tales, science, animals, technology, etc.  Some unique features was an exercise where you were mayor and you turned each page to make different choices about what to build in your town.  There were optical illusions, and even information about ligers and tigons, funnily enough.

Childcraft Encyclopedia.  I'm pretty sure this is the Childcraft Encyclopedia (put out by World Book) I had this set as a child and I distinctly remember the Things To Make and Do volume, the different colors, and the optical illusions. I don't remember the mayor one but that sounds interesting!
Childcraft: the how and why library.  This is a Childcraft set.  Our library has the 1954 all orange set, the 1985 white set, and the 1979 set - which is the one that matches your description.  Each one is a different color with a band of pictures going across.  On page 345 in vol. 8 How We Get Things is "Start Your Own Town", where you get to be the mayor -- "Let's make you the mayor of a make-believe town.  This week, you can pick only 6 out of 18 buildings that people want to build in your town.  You must choose what the people need the most.  Turn the page, Mayor, and start deciding."
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My grandmother used to read me this collection of short stories. There was a story of a monkey that jumps into a cake covered in coconut shavings. Another story was a ghost story with two kids in it. She read it to me in the late 80s, but it was old then. I think "Little Black Sambo" was in it, too.

Michelle, The Family Treasury of Children's Stories - Book 2, 1956. Based on some Google searches, I thought this was the "Better Homes and Gardens Story Book," though the cover and inside illustrations I found online didn't match my memory.  I found a message board that suggested "The Family Treasury of Children's Stories" and the "Better Homes and Gardens Story Book" anthologies printed a number of the same stories. Though I have been unable to verify this with a contents list, the minute I saw the cover, I recognized it.  I'm 90% sure that book 2, published in 1956 with the white cover and green detail, is the one that my grandmother read to me.  If anyone could specifically tell me the name of the monkey story from this book, I would very grateful.
Childcraft (orange editions), 1949, approximate."Wappie's Surprise Cake" by Harriet Bunn is in vol. 4, Animal Friends & Adventures. I think Little Black Sambo is in vol. 3, Folk & Fairy Tales. Can't remember the ghost story, but that may be in another series.
SOLVED: Childcraft. Thank you so much!  It's definitely "Wappie's Surprise Cake" from the Childcraft book. 

I read these books too, except in my library they were orange instead of blue! I can't find the name of the series, but I did find the author of the Jane Addams book (subtitled The Little Lame Girl--how PC!)--it is J.B. Wagoner, who also wrote a book about Martha Washington.
I loved this series or a similar one when I read them during the 1960's.  One possibility is the Childhood of Famous Americans Series.  There are lots of titles, all with different authors, but the publisher was the Bobbs-Merrill Company.  The author of Jane Addams: Little Lame Girl was Jean Brown Wagoner.  Other subjects in the series include Clara Barton, Abigail Adams, and Julia Ward Howe.  Hope this helps.
This series was called, I believe, Childhood of Famous Americans, and were just that.  You won't find them in a set, but under the famous person.  Harry S. Truman would be under T and so on.  They were written by a variety of authors and are not known to be totally accurate by today's standards.  I like them, though,  and collect them as I find them.
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Aladdin Publishing, Childhood of Famous Americans, 1950s.  I'm not sure when these were first published, but I remember the orange covers, too.  The books are still being written - with blue covers now.  I have answered Jeopardy questions because of having read these books.  I think I read all of these that our library carried.
Childhood of Famous Americans Series, 1930s-1960s.  This is the series.  Many have been republished in paperback
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I am looking for books that we had 50 some years ago in our classroom.  They were orange books and the illustrations were sillhouttes.  The books were about individual historic figures.

Childhood of Famous Americans series, 1930s-1950s, copyright.  I remember these well from my elementary school library in the 1960s.  Some have been reissued in paperback recently, I've seen them in bookstores.
Published by Bobbs-Merrill from 30's-50's with different illustrators doing the silhouette pictures, definitely Childhoods of Famous Americans series.  I remember the books about Albert Einstein and the Bank of America founder, A.P. Giannini.

I don't believe it, but finally an answer to this - The Children in the Jungle, by Leif Kranz, illustrated by Ulf Lofgren, translated by Ole Risom, published Golden 1962, 41 pages, winner of 1960 Elsa Beskow prize in Sweden. "Wild and wonderful fantasy, already translated into many languages, with good reason. On a rainy day, the three children, Chris, Amanda (with the ponytail), and Dede (with the straight bangs) take a trip to  India for lack of more interesting things to do. Tor, the troll in the toybox, goes along. Chris draws the wonderful adventures with tigers, natives, elephants, and wild Goppernoppers, and the others help with the painting - they are in the pictures while they are making them. The colors are furious to match the events, and the whole makes a rather indescribable but highly entertaining picture book." (HB Feb/62 p.44)
T5 troll in the toybox: stories with similar ideas are The Circus in the Jungle, by Denise and Alain Trez, published World 1958 "madcap adventures of Pat, Virginia and their dog Banana," and The Magic Wallpaper, by Frank Francis, published Abelard-Schuman 1970, but that's about one little boy. Children in the Jungle is a close match, except for the spelling of Dee Dee.
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1960's, childrens.  On a rainy day, siblings paint a room filled with animals, which come alive and send them on an adventure.  Dangerous situations with the animals chasing them and they paint all the escapes as they happen.

Leif Krantz, The Children in the Jungle.  This sounds very much like The Children  in the Jungle.  Chris, Amanda, and DeDe are bored on  a rainy day, and start painting animals and an Indian jungle to go around them. They have a troll-like friend  who  lives in the toybox and   continually causes mischief that gets the children in danger. There's also a scene where the troll is painting a giraffe, and the kids make him take it off the page because it belongs in Africa.
Thank you so much for providing this website for us.  I just got an answer (P428) to a question I've had for many years.  My mother got rid of this treasured book from my childhood, and I couldn't even start to look for it.  Thank you so much!!!

T140  LM Boston, The Children of Greene Knowe.  The boy's name is Tolly, but one of the magical friends is Toby, also
Alexander and Linnet. Tolly, spends the summer at his grandmothers old family home, and meets the children. Set in
England. This may be on the solved pages.
#T140--Toby, young boy/magical friends: Children of Green Knowe, by L. M. Boston.  Several of the boys are Toseland; Toby is the boy from the past and Tolly is the modern one.
L.M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe.  Tolly is the boy, Toby one of the ghosts of the children who used to live in the stone mansion.
The Children of Green Knowe byLM Boston.  Tolly goes to live with his grandmother in a countryside mansion and makes friends with the children who lived there before him--Toby, Linnet and Alexander.  They're not really ghosts or imaginary  they're just part of life in the house.  This series is back in print except for the last one, The Stones of Green Knowe.
L.M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe.  1954.  This is very likely The Children of Green Knowe (or possibly The Treasure of Green Knowe, known in the UK as The Chimneys of Green Knowe, but probably the first one).  Sequels
include 2)The Treasure of Green Knowe  3)The River at Green Knowe  4)A Stranger at Green Knowe  5)An Enemy at Green Knowe  and 6)The Stones of Green Knowe
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I'd like to find a book I read back in the late 1960's-mid 1970's.  It took place in England, in  the past, maybe in the Victorian era or thereabouts.  It's a fantasy book about some children, all I can really remember are were paranormal aspects and that they used to meet under a huge enclosing tree, a willow?  I believe there might have been more than one book in the series.

Lucy M. Boston, Children of Green Knowe, 1955.  I think this may be the Green Knowe series by Lucy M. Boston, all currently in print! The six titles are:, Children of Green Knowe (1955), Treasure of Green Knowe (1958), River at Green Knowe  (1959), the Carnegie winning Stranger at Green Knowe (1961), Enemy at Green Knowe (1964), Stones at Green Knowe (1976)
Lucy M Boston, The Children of Green Knowe.  This is worth looking into: Tolly meets his magical friends a few times under a tree that forms a conopy. This one is on the solved mysteries pages.
This sounds like it could be the scene in L.M. Boston's The Stones of Green Knowe where all the characters meet up under a willow tree on the grounds of Green Knowe.  Although the primary character Tolly lives in the 1950s, many of the children he interacts with are from the Victorian era (some of their names are Toby, Linnet, Alexander, and Susan).  The stories aren't really ghost stories, but they do have a paranormal aspect to them.  Most of the other books in the series are back in print, but Stones of Green Knowe is out of print.
L.M. Boston, Green Knowe books.  Sounds somewhat like the Green Knowe books  young boy goes to stay with his great-grandmother in an old house and meets and plays with children from the past.  He finds them under a large tree at least one time.  Try Children of Green Knowe.
L.M. Boston, Green Knowe series.  Try the Green Knowe books- I remember a winter scene under the yew(?) tree.
L.M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe, 1955.  I'm not positive, but this description reminds me of Children of Green Knowe, if you've maybe mistaken the 1600's for Victorian times.  The story actually takes place in the present, as modern Tolly goes to live with his great-grandmother in a very old house, and meets the ghosts of his ancestors as children.  They often meet under one of the old giant yew trees in the garden -- the branches sweep down and touch the ground.  The children's names are Toby, Alexander and Linnet, if that helps.  And it is part of a series.
L.M. Boston (Lucy Maria Boston), The Children of Green Knowe, 1954.  Possibly this one?  Young Toseland (also known as Tolly) visits his great grandmother and discovers that her home is also inhabited by the spirits of Toby, Linnet and Alexander, three siblings from the seventeeth century.  I don't have a copy of the book, but I do remember a scene where he meets the children in an enclosed space under a tree or large shrub.  Followed by The Treasure of Green Knowe (1958), published in England as The Chimneys of Green Knowe.   The River at Green Knowe (1959)  A Stranger at Green Knowe (1961)  An Enemy at Green Knowe (1964)  and The Stones of Green Knowe (1976).
Not really a solution, but according to Harcourt's website, The Stones of Green Knowe is scheduled to be on the market again as a paperback in January, 2006. Your original seeker might want to keep an eye out!
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A book probably for children in fourth or fifth grade (not a picture book, and not really a 'young adult' book either) about a boy named Tobin or Tobit or some unusual 'family name' beginning with a T. I think there's more than one book with him in it, but in the one I'm thinking of he's gone to stay or to live with a grandmother or a great-aunt, and there's a scene where they're sitting by the fire and she says 'Buttons! Who said buttons? Poor Mrs. Noah'. I have absolutely no idea why I remember this line and not its context (not to mention the title of the book!), but it's the detail I'm most certain of. There's also a scene where he's outside the house at night during a storm and a big stone (?) statue comes to life and chases him - possibly it's stopped by being struck by lightning, but I'm not sure. I seem to remember also something about a scene where they feed birds that come to the house and something about the storm(s?) causing a flood that surrounds the house (which I remember as quite big, like a mansion) entirely, but inexplicably, the only thing I'm really certain of is that odd little line about buttons...

Boston, L.M., The Children of Green Knowe.  The boy is Tolly short for Toseland which is an old family name. He goes to visit his grandmother during school holiday and has the adventures just as described plus more involving the children from the house's past. This one is on the solved mysteries pages.
Boston, L.M., The children of Green Knowe, 1955.  You are almost definitely thinking of this book and its sequels.  Tolly comes to live with his great-grandmother at the ancient house of Green Knowe and becomes friends with three children who lived there in the seventeenth century.
L.M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe, 1954.  I am sure it is this book that you are looking for. The boy is Toseland, called Tolly and he comes to live with his Great-Grandmother Oldknow. She tells him stories about the three children who grew up in the house during the seventeenth century, one whose name was Toby. The Grandmother does feed birds and there was a flood around the area that they had to drive through to get to the house. Also, the "buttons" line is on page 14.
L. M. Boston, Children of Green Knowe.  Definitely it.  In the reprint paperback, the buttons quote is on page 14.  The boy's name that you were trying to recall is Toseland, called Tolly.
Lucy M Boston, Green Knowe.  I think you are thinkin of Lucy Boston's Green Knowe books (Children of , Enemy at , River At, Stomes of) The little boy is called Toseland, known as Tolly, which is I think also the name of the village. (it is certainly the name of the real village, where the house the books were based on stands) and is sent to live with his grandmother. There is a story in which a statue of St Christopher comes to life, also a scene involving feeding birds. There are also other children who are the ghosts of children who lived in the house in the past. I don't specifically remember the comment about buttons but it has the right 'feel' Thee are other modern children - Oscar, Ping and  Ida (?) who are staying at the hosue in some of the later books.  I think all of the books have been reprinted (I think the publisher is Faber) so you should not have any difficulty getting copies.
L M Boston, The Children of Greene Knowe.  This features a boy with the first name Toseland, a family name. He is called Tolly by his grandmother.
Boston, L. M., Children of Green Knowe, 1954.  It could be another of the Green Knowe books, but this is the one where Tolly (Toseland)came to live with his great-grandmother Oldnkow.  The original name of the estate was Green Knowe but it is now known as Green Noah after a tree pruned in the shape of Noah.  A gypsy, for the revenge of her horse-thief son's deportment at the hands of Judge Oldknow, cursed the tree and afterwards accidents happened to the sons of the family.  During a horrible storm, lightning struck and burned the tree when it seemed to come alive.  Mrs. Oldknow decides to plant two replacement trees -- Noah and Mrs. Noah -- and have a priest come and bless them.  I don't remember anything about buttons but maybe that's in one of the other books where maybe Mrs. Noah has a more prominant role.
Amazing how quickly this one was nabbed! I had seen the Green Knowe books on the solved mysteries pages and thought that one of those Might be it - but somehow I'd completely forgotten about the ghosts of the three other children (nice trick on my part, eh, as it sounds as though they're the focus of the book) and so wasn't too certain that it wasn't only coincidence (I was also pretty darn sure his name was 'Tobit', 'Tolly' still sounds to me like something you'd name a cat). Anyway - I'd been vaguely wondering about this one for years and here it is solved the day it's posted up - Thank you all!
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Read this in 3rd grade- 1981 -which means the book is older. Boy, who stays with his aunt. She lives alone in an old house near a swamp, or forest. The house is filled with old strange things. He finds a box and the mystery is finding the key. Or, the other way around. Has the key - finds the box.

L. M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe. There are probably many stories with missing keys or boxes but this could be The Children of Green Knowe. Tolly goes to live with his great grandmother in a house like a castle, full of old things that his Granny tells stories about. He meets three kids, Alexander, Linnet and Toby, and discovers that they are relations who lived long ago. Tolly finds the key to their old toybox with the help of a chaffinch.
The Children of Green Knowe. This is definitely the one I remember - or vaguely remembered. I picked it up yesterday and started reading and it brought back some memories.  Amazing service - thanks ya'll

Interpreting Condition  Grades

L. M. Boston Children of Green Knowe. Illustrated by Peter Boston and Brett Helquist.  Odyssey Classics,  1954, 1977, 2002.  New paperback, $6 Stranger at Green Knowe. Illustrated by Peter Boston and Brett Helquist.  Odyssey Classics,  1961, 2002.  New paperback, $6 Enemy at Green Knowe. Illustrated by Peter Boston and Brett Helquist.  Odyssey Classics,  1964, 2002.  New paperback, $6 Treasure of Green Knowe. Illustrated by Peter Boston and Brett Helquist.  Odyssey Classics,  1958, 2002.  New paperback, $6 River at Green Knowe. Illustrated by Peter Boston and Brett Helquist.  Odyssey Classics,  1959, 2002.  New paperback, $6

H.M. Hoover, Children of Morrow, 1973.  "After an unfortunate murder two telepathic children, members of a primitive
civilization, are led to escape by a friendly, unseen voice. Tia and Rabbit must escape from the grip of the cruel Major and leave the Base, but how can they reach the safety of Morrow?"  Has a sequel, Treasures of Morrow.
Hoover, H.M., Children of Morrow.  This book is  sitting on the desk next to me.
H.M. Hoover, Children of Morrow,1973.  Tia and Rabbit are miserable because they are so different from everyone in their village. Could there be anyone else left in the world, so long after the Great Destruction? A very Andre Norton-esque plot. Their journey to the sea is exactly the sort of thing I used to imagine before falling asleep-- survival among the crumbling skyscrapers.
H.M. Hoover, Children of Morrow, 1975.  You might like to know that there was a sequel too: _Treasures of Morrow_.  (I don't know whether it's as good though - I've never found a copy.)
H. M. Hoover, Children of Morrow.  In the far distant future, long after the Great Destruction, Tia and Rabbit, who have
always been different, find themselves on the run after Rabbit accidentally kills an official. Helping them escape are the voices they hear when they dream.

C133 cannibal town: I think this particular story may be The Children of Noah by Richard Matheson (1957), which I read in Alfred Hitchcock's Stories My Mother Never Told Me, NY Random 1963 (though this probably is too late to be the collction wanted). My recollection is that the main character is a travelling salesman and that he stops in the town because he is caught in a speed trap. The townspeople are friendly in a strange kind of way and invite him to a big barbecue to be held that night. It ends with him realising that his room is getting hotter and hotter. There are various clues through the story - the town's founder was shipwrecked and lived for some years with Pacific Islanders, the creepy portrait in the hotel and so on, but I don't remember if the salesman figures it out or not.
Matheson, Richard, Children of Noah, 1957.  I've found the Hitchcock anthology with this story, and I do think it is the right story - the Maine seaside town is called Zachry, after Noah Zachry, the founder, a South Sea whaling captain. The police station has a painting of Zachry, and the judge's house has a painting of Zachry and his wife, "a native woman with her teeth filed to points". The salesman is named Ketchum, and he is caught speeding through town in the middle of the night. The police officer takes him to jail and tells him he has to see the judge. They feed him very well, then take him to the judge's house the next day, where he is locked into a room that gets hotter. He remembers seeing a banner saying BARBECUE TONIGHT. The problem is that Children of Noah is only recorded as being published twice - once in Alfred Hitchcock's Mystery Magazine in 1957, and then in Stories My Mother Never Told Me in 1963. I have only seen the paperback reprint of this, which has no illustrations (and no story about a sea captain other than Zachry) - so either the story was published somewhere else in between, or there is another story with the same plot!

This is just a guess, but it could be The Children of Noisy Village by Astrid Lindgren.  One of the children is named Olaf. There'san excerpt online.
That's it! The title still doesn't ring any bells at all but the considerately-provided link to the excerpt instantaneously revealed The Children of Noisy Village to be the book I was thinking of. I wonder why I remembered all the Swedish names but not the protagonist's? But the illustrations and the first line took me right back. Infinite thanks to the solver, and to Harriett for creating this fantastic site!
Astrid Lindgren, The Bullerby Children, 1980s.  I know this one's already solved, but I wanted to point out that in the UK The Children of Noisy Village was published as The Bullerby Children (or something similar, but Bullerby is definitely right).  Which could explain why the original poster didn't recognise the name supplied.

My guess would be Children of the AtombyWilmar Shiras. It's a book of linked stories about children whose parents were exposed to radiation who develop great intelligence and talents (not ESP or anything though). The first is a boy called Peter, brought up by his grandmother (most of the parents died) whose intelligence is discovered by a friendly psychiatrist who helps him find the other children and found a school for them. Most of the children have concealed their intelligence and created pseudonyms under which they have published books, composed music, written syndicated comic strips etc. The problems are finding all the children and creating a way of relating to the 'normal' world.
Wow, sounds like that's the book!
---
This isn't a book I'm nessarily looking for, but I think you'll like this story:  My husband and I were attending the World Science Fiction Convention in Baltimore one year, when we struck up a conversation with a woman who was a fellow attendee. We hit it off so well that all of us went to dinner, and then to the masquerade contest.  We started talking about books we had read as children. I said that I remembered a science fiction book I'd read, before I even knew what SF was, and that I'd always hoped I'd run across it again. All I remembered was that the main character was a boy genius who had had his DNA scrambled in some way to make him smart, but he had to hide his abilities from the adults. He was doing sophisticated genetics experienments with his pet cats, although everyone else thought they were just breeding at random.  "Children of the Atom," my new friend declared.  I was dumbfounded, to say the least. Isn't that amazing!

I sent this stumper directly to Cornelia Shields, an expert on books on the Oregon Trail.  Her comments are in blue.
Wow, given such commonplace details, there are so many books that could be!  The publication date is as big a clue as any.  All I can say is, IF they are sure of 1849 as the journey date, it can't be any of the Sager books, true or false.  Others, such as Treasure in the Covered Wagon, can also be eliminated as having taken place earlier.  So if anyone suggests those, it's not them.  It's also not Tree Wagon, unless they have the date wrong, and I suspect it isn't Tree Wagon or Treasure in the Covered Wagon anyway, as the original poster has named the most universal details without mentioning any of the distinctive details of those books.  I will pass this on to my Oregon Trail collector friend, who may be able to supply more.
Margot Austin, Willamette Way, 1941.  This is a picture book, 44 pages long, about siblings Annie and Danny, their dog Bigger and Georgette the doll as they travel by covered wagon along the Oregon Trail with their parents, having many adventures and finally arriving at the Willamette Valley in Oregon.  If the book you are looking for is not a picture book but a longer chapter book, possibilities might be On the Oregon Trail by Gina Allen (1942), Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr (1934), Nine Lives of Moses on the Oregon Trail by Marion Fuller Archer (1968) and Westering by Irwin Blacker (1958).  All are about families with children traveling on the Oregon Trail in the 19th century.
Carr, Children of the Covered Wagon, 1950's???  The description provided sounds like Children of the Covered Wagon.  Our teacher read it to us in fifth grade (1963!!!)  ...a fine book...
A. B. Guthrie, Jr., The Way West.  It has a teenaged boy and girl in it, and in one scene the boy goes to carve his name on a big rock.
This is what the Oregon Trail titles collector says:  "Sorry, but I can't find a book of my nearly 200 Oregon Trail titles that
matches this description.  The best clue is the mid-journey switch from  horses to oxen, and the only thing close to that I've seen is William O.  Steele's WE WERE THERE ON THE OREGON TRAIL (Grosset & Dunlap, 1955--a rare G & D original, since most of their books are reprints of originals put out by other publishers).  That wagon was originally drawn by mules, and switched to oxen toward the end of the journey, and is the only journey I've found with that sort of sequence.  The mules' speed as it related to the slow pace of the oxen is credited for saving the party from being ridden over by a
buffalo stampede at one point. Its heroes were 14-year-old Jeffrey Hunt and his 12-year-old sister Corinth, who accompany their mother on the trip west.  Their father had preceded them west and is presumed dead, but shows up nicely at the end of the adventurous trip.  A bit unlikely for the dad to have taken an earlier trip, since this is the early famous Great Migration of 1843.  They started from Independence, not St. Joe.  It is not told in the first person.  The book is tan with a red shelfback with a leaping boy in a coonskin cap on the front cover.  So it doesn't seem to fit the description."  I've read this book, which is by one of my alltime favorite authors, and again it doesn't sound like it to me.  For one, it's so early in trail history--for instance, there would be no abandoned furniture and parts of wagons from previous trains--and for another, there are enough distinct details, like the buffalo stampede, and, I believe, the sister shoots a bear--that the original poster would probably remember these things rather than the more commonplace details.  Another one to rule out, it sounds like.
Carr, Mary Jane, Children of the Covered Wagon, 1943.  Almost certainly this is Mary Jane Carr's novel of an Oregon Trail journey, which is something of a Pacific Northwest classic.  There have been a number of editions over the years, I
think, and I'm sure I recall at least one having a dark blue cover.
Mary Jane Carr, Children of the Covered Wagon, 1943.  Hi, I'm the original poster, and what a great wealth of information, thanks so very much!! Reading it over, I'm almost dead certain that the book I want is Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr.  That name rings a bell, and none of the others do.  I am sure the children were younger than teenagers and that both parents were present during the journey,nor was it a picture book, so that rules out some of the other suggestions. I'll send you a search request for Children of the Covered Wagon soon.  Thanks again!

Try looking under Padraic Colum at your library. He did a few books on Greek myths, and those were illustrated by Willy Pogany; Colum also did a myths of the world thing (called Orpheus)  illustrated by Boris Artzybasheff, but his Grecian stuff was mostly illustrated by Pogany.  This should be easy to check out--you'll know right away if the illustrations are correct.  Let me know if that's the answer!  If not, I'll post this and we'll go back to the drawing board.  Good luck!
Almost certainly not. That is, unless Colum was in the habit of writing in completely different styles on
different occasions. I dug up Orpheusand the illustrator definitely does not match, plus, the writing has a strong classic/timeless style to it as opposed to the rampant sentimentality that I remember in the other one.
G39 greek mythology: You might want to have a look at Golden Porch, or one of the other collections of "Greek fairy tales" by Winifred Margaret Lambert Hutchinson, illustrated by D.S. Walker, published in the early 1900s by Longman. The stories in Golden Porch are Favorite of the Gods; Prince who was a Seer; Peleus and the Sea-King's Daughter; Lad with one Sandal; Pansy Baby; Heavenly Twins; Isle of the Rose; First Horse; Builders of Troy. The other collections are Orpheus With His Lute (1926), containing the story of Orpheus and Eurydice and "fifteen other Greek myths, supposedly told to Orpheus by the Muses"; and Sunset of the Heroes, stories of the Trojan War (1911).
Could this be Nathaniel Hawthorne's Wonder Book for Boys and Girls?? (The first Wonder Book, I think!) The time is about right. I really do not know what stories he covers but I thought I'd offer a suggestion! His tone, sentimentality, might be correct.
G39: Not Hawthorne. I know that one and Tanglewood Tales very well and his style is more of a creeping cutesiness than any adult romantic sentimentality. (E.g., Pandora and Epimetheus are always referred to as "children," and Pluto talks to Proserpina in baby talk.) Though in the end, those two authors - plus the 1960's collections by Evslin, Evslin & Hoopes - all inflict purple prose on the reader. BTW, I forgot to mention that the collection I'm thinking of includes the whole life of Oedipus, IIRC. The illustrations include both pen-and-ink drawings and glossy black-and-white plates.
G39 greek mythology: I haven't been able to find a copy of Hutchinson's Orpheus with his Lute, but looking through The Golden Porch, her style is not a bad match. There's lots of dialogue and description - "Let me first see the face of this maiden," said Pelops, "since I have good hope to make her my bride this day." "Throw back your veil, girl," said the King, and he laughed a cruel laugh; "let your suitor look on you while he may." "She could not see her playfellow with a flower, or a fruit, or a toy, without wanting to have it, and very often she got it, for she could coax very prettily, and if that did not do, the tears would come into her sweet dark eyes, and her rosebud of a mouth would quiver so piteously that he somehow felt himself a cruel little wretch, and begged her to take it."
Finally found it! Unfortunately, I was in a bit of a hurry, so I just confirmed the important details, put it back on the library shelf, and I hope to get it through another library soon. Well, ONE new thing I confirmed was the chaste description of Cupid's first "meeting" with Psyche. Plus another tale listed - "Paris and Oenone." The book is: CHILDREN OF THE DAWN-Old Tales of Greece by Elsie Finnimore Buckley, NEW YORK: FREDERICK A. STOKES CO., ca 1908. Black & white illustrations by Frank C. Pape. Introduction by Arthur Sidgwick. Oh, and here's a link to some of Frank C. Pape's work. He was born in the 1870s or 1880s and died in 1972.
Solved Mysteries - Re Children of the Dawn: You can read much of that at the Baldwin Project -here. http://www.mainlesson.com/display.php?author=buckleye&book=dawn&story

Margaret Sidney, The Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, 1881.  This is a long shot but this is about 5 children and there are other books in the series including Five Little Peppers Midway and Five Little Peppers Grown Up. The youngest girl is named Phronsie.  Mrs. Pepper and her five lively children Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie have had many hard times in the Little Brown House since the children's father died. But no matter how tough things get, the Little Peppers always handle their difficulties with great courage and cheer, They have learned to take delight even in the smallest of pleasures because the children are sure that good times are just around the corner.
Thanks for trying.  I'm very familiar with the Little Peppers and love them, but this is a different series. The only detail I remember for certain is that "Honey" was the baby's name.
unfortunately, I'm not going to be able to provide much specific help, but I remember having a book that might be able to jog some memories?  It had 5 children in it, the youngest named Honey, and they moved into an old house that is restored as the book goes on.  The father lets each of the kids pick a "special place" in the house -- one son has a workshop in the attic, one daughter chooses the parlor, one son picks a tree in the garden. It was supposed to have taken place in Germany.
5 children, each picks a special place...yes, that could be it. Maybe your additional clues will jog someone else's memory? Thanks!
Borchard, Ruth, Children of the Old House, 1963.  I think I found it -- ill. by Lili Cassel Wronker. 181pp. What could be more exciting than to move from Grandfather's too-small house in town to a big house all one's own right near a river? That's what the children thought until they saw the house. I can't find anything about any other books by the same author yet, though.
Borchard R, Donkeys for Rogador, 1967.  Dial Press, New York.  This may be a second book about the same family. Looks like there are five children. The description I found reads: Among the other adventures and crises in this family of seven is the dilemma of feeding sixty-two donkeys that a daughter rescued from slaughter
Yes, The Children of the Old House is it! I ordered a copy to be sure  as soon as I saw the first sentence: "There were five children--Ruth, Michael, Peter, Inga, and the Baby," I knew this was it. Thank you!

Jeremy Burnham & Trevor Ray, Children of the Stones, 1977.  This is a novelisation of a British children's television series from the '70s.  An American edition of the book came out in 1979.  Sandra seems to be the daughter rather than the mother, but the other details look right.
Children of the Stones.  This was a series on Nickolodeon back in the 1980's, part of the program called "The Third Eye."  However, I am unable to find out whether this was based on anything previously written.  Jeremy Burnham has written a book with that title but I am unable to tell whether it is a novelization of the mini-series.

published by Peter Pan Records, The Children's Bible in sound and pictures, 1974.  I actually own this record set still.  There are 2 33 1/3 records and a total of 23 different stories beginning with creation and ending  with the ascension and Pentecost.  The read along book is exactly as the poster described, very comic book like with little bubbles to show character conversation.  If the original stumper is unable to locate the set, I would be happy to make a copy of the records for him or her. 

The scene with the children reminds me of the movie "The Blue Bird" (Shirley Temple)
Your sister's description sounds like Chapter V, "The Kingdom of the Future" from The Children's Blue Bird.  This work began as a play written in 1908 by Belgian playwright Maurice Maeterlinck.  In 1913, it was published (in English) as a picture book, The Children's Blue Bird by Georgette Leblanc (also known as the playwright's wife, Madame Maurice Maeterlinck), translated by Alexander Teixeira De Mattos, and illustrated by Herbert Paus.  The good news: the entire book can be read on line here so you can determine whether this solution is the correct one!

A22 sounds VERY Enid Blyton-ish, but she wrote so many collections it could be hard to discover.
Another possibility is that this was one of the multitude of British annuals, in which case it would probably require divine intervention to identify. So I'm hoping it is Blyton, which would only require amazing luck. One of the (many!) possible Blyton anthologies: Blyton, Enid Round the Clock Stories London, Dean and Son 1963 Charming stories about fairies, gnomes, children, and animals told by English childrens' author Enid Blyton, a pretty little hardback book with pictorial cover, on slick paper. The interior illustrations are all black and white. There are twenty-nine short stories and 182 pages. The book measures 5 inches by 7.5 inches.
Sorry, but it's NOT Round the Clock Stories - I contacted someone who had that book through abebooks and she said while the stories are moralistic, they don't seem to include the ones I listed. If it IS a Blyton book I'm looking for, I'm surprised I ever read it here in the USA at all, given her not-so-good rep with the critics of the last 30 years. Oh well, if it is, maybe some kind Blyton fan will be able to ID this! Thanks again. BTW, www.blyton.com was not able to help when I e-mailed them.
Enid Blyton, The Magic Faraway Tree,1943. Pretty sure that the adventures listed are in The Magic Faraway Tree(including sliding down a tree on cushions and The Land of Tempers) or if not all, then in the sister books The Enchanted Wood and the Folk of the Faraway Tree.  I am not sure if this is in print in the USA, but it certainly is readily available in the UK.
Well, we're foiled again - I contacted ANOTHER store, this time with Faraway Tree and Enchanted Wood and they say those don't match either! They suggested one of the "Short Story" books - who knows how many of
those there are! Keep it coming!
another possiblity is Enid Blyton's Fairy Stories, a picture-cover hardcover, part of the "Enid Blyton Sunshine Library", published by Purnell, 1970. "An absolutely lovely 5x7 hardcover, 156 pages, full of some typically wonderful Enid Blyton short stories, all about fairies and goblins and forests and enchantment." There is no mention of coloured interior illustrations, so I would assume they are b/w line drawings. The 1970 edition contains several stories, including "The Goblin's Toyshop" and "The Wonderful Doll", however the 1990s (unpaginated) book of the same title only includes 3 stories; "The New Year's Imp", "The Fairy In The Cracker" and "Good Gracious Me!" - so confusion is possible.
Enid Blyton, The Wishing Chair,1940s-ish.  It sounds very like a book my Mother had from the 40-50s. It was calledThe Wishing Chair and was about a brother and sister and their friend Chinkie who was a pixie. They had a magic armchair which would grow wings on its legs and they could fly off and have adventures. There were chapters where they me the children from the Faraway tree, like the one with the Brownies.There were two of these books, I think the second one was called The Wishing chair again or something like that. My mother still has them both so can find out for you if you like.
A22 anthology moralistic: some of the titles in this sound promising: The Children's Gift Book, published London, Odhams 1946, 320 pages, hardcover, maroon decorative boards, pictorial colour endpapers and frontispiece (David at the Pantomine). Contents include: The Fairy Who Wasted Food by Geoffrey Dearmer, Lost - A Very Good Temper by Enid Blyton, The Yellow Wishing-Cap by Enid Blyton
It'll be UNBELIEVABLE if this isn't the answer. I just asked the library to do an inter-library loan for it. This will take a while. I did think this had to be a British book at least in part because of the term "black-beetles" in one story, which I think is the British term for cockroaches!
Actually, I think it's time to assume The Children's Gift Book is the one, so I will. Accolades to follow
when I finally get my hands on it.
Here's one listing I found:  ARMSTRONG, Anthony - BARRIE, J. M. - BLYTON, Enid - GRIBBLE, Leonard R. - JOHNS, W. E. - TOZER, Katharine et al, Illustrated by McGAVIN, Hilda - CHIVERS, Lilian - Maben - SINDALL, Alfred et al THE CHILDREN'S GIFT BOOK. London: Odhams Press Limited, 1946 320pp.  Lovely pictorial colour endpapers. Colour frontispiece (David at the Pantomime). Contents Include: Joey by J. M. Barrie - Steven Spurrier, Bumbletoes of Bimbleton by L. C. Ockenden - Maben, The Fairy Who Wasted Food by Geoffrey Dearmer - Newton Whittaker, "Lost - A Very Good Temper" by Enid Blyton - Hilda McGavin, The Table and the Chair by Edward Lear - Pearl Falconer, Tweedledum and Tweedledee by Lewis Carroll - Sir John Tenniel, Power on Deck by N. G. Strong - M. Mackinlay, Cargoes by John Masefield - G. S. Ronalds, The Yellow Wishing-Cap by Enid blyton - Mary Shillabeer, Mother and I by Eugene Filed - Lilian Chivers, Jimmy's Doughnut by l. C. Ockenden - Maben, Sing a Song of Honey by "Euphan" - F. E. Gorniot, Sir Borloys and the Dark Knight by Anthony Armstrong - Seviour, Pussy Can Sit By the Fire and Sing by Rudyard Kipling - C. E. Lupton, Buried Treasure at Bimbleton by L. C. Ockenden - Maben, The Arsenal at Springfield by H. W. Longfeloow - E. B. Thurstan, Jackanapes by Juliana Horatia Ewing - H. M. Brock, The Inchcape Rock by Robert Southey - William Nickless, The Stratosphere Express by Leonard R. Girbble - E. B. Thurstan, The Wanderings of Mumfie by Katharine Tozer - H. Gooderham, Watering the Garden by Stella Tower - S. H. Russ, The Surprise Party by Kitty Barne - Lunt Roberts, The Wheat Field by Laura E. Richards - Seviour, The Compass Points North by Monica Marsden - Alfred Sindall, Worrals Takes a Hand by W.E. Johns - William Nickless, Telegraph Pots by Rose Fyleman - Newton Whittaker, Rikki-Tikki-Tavi by Rudyard Kipling - Sherrifffs, Night by William Blake - Patricia Morris, The Little Silver Pin by Maura Lee - Gertrude Mittelmann, Faery Song by Fiona Macloed - Gertrude Mittelmann, The Clady Crab by Olive Dehn - Steven Spurrier, Horatiur by Lord Macaulay - Ernest Wallcousins, The Unromantic Princess by Elizabeth
Bowen - Grac Golden, Visit From Father Christmas by Clement C. Moore - H. Gooderham.
Anyway, yes, the "moralistic anthology" is in fact The Children's Gift Book! I received it today. I'd like to add that in "The Fairy Who Wasted Food," there are clues as to why she gets taken by the police to court! The impression I got was that the story was probably written during WWII and so by giving food to the pets instead of making them hunt their own food, she was wasting valuable rations and thus unwittingly aiding the enemy overseas. Jeez, I didn't think things were THAT tight in England... BTW, poet Geoffrey Dearmer died in 1996 at age 103! Here's one article I found on the Net:  The Geoffrey Dearmer endowment fund was established in 1997 in memory of the eponymous poet. Geoffrey Dearmer was at 103 the oldest member of the Poetry Society. His family approached the Poetry Society about ways in which they could do something to give Geoffrey Dearmer a lasting place in poetry. By establishing an endowment fund they have enabled the Poetry Society to award an annual prize to the Poetry Review "new poet of the year" who has not yet published a book. Former editor Peter Forbes describes the impact of this: "It is hard work for a young poet to get established, it takes a long, long time. When somebody is named as the Geoffrey Dearmer Award-winning Poetry Review poet of the year people can't help but notice.
Various Authors, The Children's Gift Book, London, Odhams 1948.  Yep, this is it. I have a copy right here. In the Dearmer story "The Fairy Who Wasted Food", a little fairy pretends to be a child evacuee, but can'\''t eat human food. Cassy the cat and Rufus the red setter try to help her by eating her kippers under the table. A passing policeman sees her doing so and takes her off to the Police Station for wasting food (remember wartime rationing) where she is lectured by the magistrate. She gives her picnic lunch to hungry boy scouts and by
then is free to return to fairyland, so she borrows a pole from one of the scouts "and rode away on it like a witch on a broomstick". The first Blyton story "Lost - a Very Good Temper" is about Harry, who loses his temper once too often at a goblin, who sends it away with a spell, leaving Harry stuck with a scowl. He has to travel through Crosspatch Country and the Land of Nuisances to find the Wizard Curlymouth, who "bottles good tempers and sells them to witches". When he meets the Wizard, he is "dressed rather like an airman, with a tight cap down over his ears and a thick leather coat." The next story is "Tweedledum and Tweedledee" from Alice. The second Blyton story, "The Yellow Wishing Cap" is about Alice and John, whose baby brother is sick. They go into the wood looking for a pixy or fairy to help them, and find a tiny yellow cap. Soon they see a notice "Lost - a yellow wishing-cap, belonging to Nobbly the Gnome. Please return to him if found." An ugly brownie demands the cap and threatens to turn them into blackbeetles. Chased by brownies, they escape first in a toy pedal-car through the woods and then down a silver hill on blue cushions, then find the house of Nobbly the Gnome. He is wearing "two pairs of spectacles, one red and the other blue and reading a most enormous book." When the brownies come rushing in he locks them in the cellar and offers to turn them into blackbeetles, but agrees to only spank them when Alice feels sorry for them. Alice gets a wish from the cap and wishes for the baby to be better. The book has coloured endpapers and frontispiece, but all the other illos are line drawings. My copy has a green cover.

Poppy. The fairy trapped in a colander sounds like "Poppy" again.  I know the story appeared in a volume of The Children's Hour (a multivolume set), so maybe that is what you're looking for.  (Was it a fat red book?)
Barrow, Marjorie, Editor, The Children's Hour:  Favorite Fairy Tales, 1953, copyright. This might be the Favorite Fairy Tales volume of the Children's Hour Collection. The fairy with the colandar comes from Poppy the Adventures of the Fairy and is in this collection.
The only book I could find by Elizabeth Thompson Dillingham is Tell It Again Stories (Ginn and Co, 1911).  However, I found a number of books that have "The Faery Song" poem by Elizabeth T Dillingham: Poems For The Children's Hour (Bradley, 1927);  Poems for Red Letter Days, E.H. Sechrist, comp., (Macrae-Smith, 1951); Folk and Fairy Tales (University Society, 1979). This book is part of the series The Bookshelf For Boys And Girls, which has copyright dates of 1900's, 1948, 1955, 1963, 1970, 1979, etc. The '79 edition has various chapters:  Grimm's Fairy Tales, Stories that Never Grow Old, Stories of Magic and Laughter, Peasants and Princesses, and Elves, Brownies, & Fairies.  This last section contains the following:  The Brownies/Palmer Cox -- The Child and the Fairies -- The Elf and the Dormouse/Oliver Herford -- Fairy Lullaby/W. Shakespeare -- Faery Song/Elizabeth T. Dillingham -- Fairy's Life/ Shakespeare -- The Light-Hearted Fairy -- The Little Elfman/John Kendrick Bangs -- Queen Mab/Thomas Hood -- The Shoemaker and the Elves -- Titania's Bower/Shakespeare.  Maybe this is the book you're looking for??
Elizabeth Dillingham, Rabbit Windmill, 1930, copyright. Try this one.  The synopsis says it's children's stories for the holidays and other occasions.
Poppy: The Adventures of a Fairy is by Anne Perez-Guerra, originally published by Rand McNally in 1942. The Faery Song by Elizabeth T. Dillingham seems to also be in your remembered anthology, so that looks like three votes for The Children's Hour.  I'm going to mark this one solved unless you tell me otherwise.

*the requester's award-winning lost book sob story*
I lost virtually all of my prized books in the aftermath of a fire in 1986. The fire broke out in the apartment directly above the one my parents had been living in since 1947 or so...in fact, it broke out in the bedroom directly above theirs while they were sleeping. Thank Heaven, no one was hurt. Everybody evacuated quickly. But 40 tenants lost their homes. I was at Rochester Institute of Technology at the time, far from Massachusetts where my folks lived, and I'm glad I didn't have to see it. It would have broken my heart. As I understand it, my bedroom was pretty badly damaged by falling furniture and debris (the firefighters chopped holes in the floor of the third-story apartment and "what was up there came down here," as Mom put it) and water. Most of my papers were soon reduced to mouldering pulp. The apartment building was also visited by professional looters, who cleaned out my mother's closet and carted off all the kitchen appliances...anything of value they could find, they took. Although my favorite books were stored neatly in a sturdy glass-doored bookcase in my room, I never saw any of them again. My father managed to salvage a few possessions and overflow books I had stored in the living room (such as textbooks from my introductory-anthropology class at NYU...a class I disliked), but most of my cherished things were lost. I miss those lost books terribly, and so when I discovered that there were book searches and lost-book postings on the Net, my heart leaped up!  My dream is to help other readers solve stumpers, so I'll be back. Thanks again!

This is almost certainly Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories by Arthur Maxwell. They were originally published in 20 volumes but later editions had 5 volumes (ie 1-4, 5-8, etc.)
Agreed.  But can anyone pin down which volume or confirm these stories?
Not a solution, but it may help to narrow the search to know that the compilation that had vols. 1-4 of Uncle Arthur's Bedtime Stories does *not* fit this description.  Neither the frontispieces nor the stories match the ones detailed in the request.
C79 More Unc Arthur's that definitely do not fit: Vol 5-8; Vol 9- 12; Vol 13-16; Vol 5; Vol 5
I'm not sure I have the answer to this question, but I may have a clue.  There used to be a radio broadcast called "The Children's Bible Hour" out of Grand Rapids MI.  It had Aunt Bea (short for Bertha I think) and Uncle Charlie during the years I listened to it as a child.  I know they produced many books and "Keys for Kids" etc.  I checked their web store but didn't see the item the writer was talking about.  If that mystery has not been solved, my guess is, it was from the Children's Bible Hour Program.  Here is their web site.  Hope this helps.
Arthur Maxwell, The Children's Hour with Uncle Arthur Book One, 1945.  Volume one is definitely the one she wants.  Saved from the Flood, Splinters of Sin... All the same illustrations 

A68 anthology wynken blynken: would suggest - Children's Stories selected by the Child Study Association, illustrated by Theresa Kalab, published by Whitman 1950. Stories include Wynken, Blynken and Nod, The brand new shoes with brand new laces, and Teddy Bear, plus many others, and the title is close.
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I am in search of a particular poem...The poem is from an anthology we had in our home when I was a child, in the 50's...I am trying to find it as a present for my sister.I do not know the title or the author....The poem is based on a German folktale, and I have been searching for it for 4 years. The first stanza goes: A fairy walked in the forest, she heard a fir tree whine / "The other trees don't have to wear sharp needles such as mine. / I wish that I had leaves of glass that sparkled in the sun." / The fairy heard the fir tree's wish, and changed them, every one.  The poem goes on to tell how a bitter wind comes and shatters the leaves of glass; the tree wishes for leaves of gold, which are stolen by a robber; the tree wishes for leaves of green, like other trees have, and an animal comes by and eats them. The tree finally decides that she is happy as she was, and wishes to be herself.  Any assistance you can provide will be DEEPLY appreciated.

In the Watty Piper anthology Folk Tales Children Love, there's a story called 'The Pine Tree and its Needles', but no idea of the plot.
T73 tree unhappy: in Children's Stories selected by the Child Study Association, illustrated by Theresa Kalab, published by Whitman 1950, there is a story called "The little pine tree who wished for new leaves."
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The children's book I'm looking for is from the 1950's. It was about the size of a legal pad with a white background with pictures of the characters scattered over the front and back. There were many stories and maybe some poems. One story was "Quack, said Jerusha".  Another was about a boy with 16 or so bathtubs and how he tried to avoid them. I thought it was a Wonder Book, but haven't been able to verify that."Wynken, Blynken and Nod" may have been the last story, but I'm not sure now.  One story, and it may have been the bathtub one, showed a boy laying in the grass with a spider crawling on his cheek. I wish I could remember more. Thanks.

Whitman Publishing / Mildred Merryman, Children's Stories. "Quack, Said Jerusha" by Mildred Merryman is included in the Whitman anthology, Children's Stories which contains stories/poems selected by The Child Study Association of America, and is illustrated by Theresa Kalab. Other stories in this book include: "The Shoemaker & The Elves,": "The Golden Touch," "Araminta And The Little Black Bug," "Alladin And The Wonderful Lamp," "The Owl & The Pussy Cat," "The Lion And The Mouse," "Puss 'n Boots,"  "A Good House For A Mouse," "Noah's Ark," "The Duel," "Androclus And The Lion," "Wynken,": "Blynken And Nod" and many others.
Child Study Association, Children's Stories,1950.

Marjorie Barrows,  Lillian B Wuerfel, The Children's Treasury.  1960 Chicago : Consolidated Book Publishers, 384 pgs.  Well, Jill didn't build the house in this book, but there is an Alphabet Park near the end of the book. "An enchanting book full of stories and poems and pictures that little children love." Contents: The House that Jack built / Carolyn Wells  illustrated by Rosemary Buehrig -- The Little gray pony / Maud Lindsay  pictures by Rosemary Buehrig -- A Child's garden of verse / Robert Louis Stevenson  pictures by Clara Ernst --  Bartholomew / Tony Lane  pictures by Lillian B. Wuerfel -- The Three-little book / retold by Ruth Dixon  pictures by Barbara Clyne -- Quacky / Marjorie Barrows  pictures by Florence Salter -- Nursery fun / pictures by Esther Friend -- Posh and Tosh / retold by Mathilda Schirmer  pictures by Adele Koeninger  The Cap that mother made / retold by Jane McHenry  pictures by Ruth Thompson Van Tellingen -- Pell''s new suit / adapted by Jane McHenry  pictures by Ruth Thompson Van Tellingen -- Horace / Mathilda Schirmer  pictures by Ann Davidow -- Over and over stories / pictures by Esther Friend -- Alphabet Park / Dixie Willson  pictures by Clarence Biers  Muggins' adventures / Marjorie Barrows  pictures by Barbara Clyne.
I’m almost entirely certain that the solution sent in is accurate.  I recognized almost all the stories listed, and wouldn’t doubt that my little-girl’s mind wanted the house to be built by Jill instead of Jack (early girl-power!).
You're mostly right.  The very first story in the 1947 anthology The Children's Treasury compiled by Marjorie Barrows from Consolidated Book Publishers in Chicago was indeed "The House That Jill Built", by Carolyn Wells.  Good old Jill DID get star billing here.... Almost 300 pages later, listed as an "over and over story" was the more classic House that Jack Built.

Jack S. Margolis and Robert Clorfene, A Child's Garden of Grass, 1969 (?).   I KNOW that I have read this, and I'm pretty sure it was from this book, or from the record album that was made from the book.  An insider's view of pot smoking, making gentle fun of the practice and its practitioners.  Very popular at my high school in the mid seventies.

"Milky Moo" is a poem from Robert Louis Stevenson's A Child's Garden of Verses.  Maybe Little Golden Books had that book in print at one time and that poem was in the book.
Stevenson, Robert Louis.  A Child's Garden of Verses.  Illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.  Little Golden Books #289, 1957.
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The short story, or picture book, is about a boy that has adventures in the world.  The make believe world is behind the couch.  I learned to read (or memorize) the story while on my mother's lap about 50 years ago.  It may be a Robert Louis Stevenson story however I have been unsuccessful finding it.  Thank you.

B193  Robert Louis Stevenson, "Land of Story Books."  The Stevenson poem you're thinking of is "The Land of Story Books,"  from A Child's Garden of Verses.  But I don't know if it was ever published as a separate book.
Robert Louis Stevenson, The Land Of Story-Books. Is this it?

My childcraft set from around the same time has all the poems you mentioned in it.  I got it at a yearly book sale in my city where they sell out of print sets.   The older Childcraft books had beautiful illustrations.  Good Luck.
I think that A49 and M127 may be the same book, and it's one that has been haunting me for a while.  My recollections are that it was large, perhaps 8"x10", and thick, perhaps an inch or an inch and a half.  Our copy had no dust jacket and had a dark brown or reddish-brown cover -- very much like an encyclopedia volume, but I don't know that it was part of an encyclopedia.  Our copy probably was my mother's when she was a girl -- she has vague recollections of a book which might be this one -- so the 40s could be the right date.  I mentioned Childcraft to her, as A49 suggested, and she thought that was NOT it (and it rings no bell for me).  However, she does think the book MAY have been part of a set;  if so, the other volumes were not exactly of the same nature (stories, perhaps?).  As to content, the book contained a lot of rhymes;  I don't recall if there was any prose.  It was extensively and wonderfully illustrated, possibly by multiple artists.  I remember that it definitely contained the old man who wouldn't say his prayers (I grabbed him by the leg and threw him down the stars), the calico cat and the gingham dog, the owl and the pussycat, Froggy went a courtin', a countdown rhyme about ten little firecrackers blowing themselves up in various ways, the crooked little man, at least one alphabet rhyme (A is for ... -- the only letter I remember is X is for Xerxes). Perhaps these additional details may jog someone's memory.  I would dearly love to find a copy of this again;  the illustrations fascinated me as a child and some still haunt me now.
Wilma McFarland (editor in chief), Child's world, 1947-1950. The book you describe has GOT to be the first volume of an encyclopedia with the over-all title of The Child's world.  My family had it (I was born in 1956, the youngest in my family, and my parents got it for my older siblings in the early 50s). I would give my eyeteeth to get the set again!  The first volume (the one you remember) is called Stories of childhood and it had everything in it that you mentioned.  I absolutely ADORED this encyclopedia!  The other volumes in the set are called: People and great deeds, Plant and animal ways, The world and its wonders, Countries and their children, and there was a volume called Mother's guide that gave advice on how to deal with childhood problems, and which included the index to the set. As I said, I adored the whole set, but that first volume was so special ... I think because I learned to read using it, and the pictures were lovely!

This could be The Little Mommy by Sharon Kane too, LGB #569, 1967. Or Wilkin's We Help Mommy (LGB#352, 1959).
joan walsh anglund, a child's year,1992 (50th anniversary reprint).  as soon as i read your query i jumped up and got the book you described from the childrens bookshelf...sure enough, chubby cheeked cherubs in halloween costumes illustrating the month of october...but they are joan walsh anglund's cherubs, not eloise wilkins

There is a large and beautiful book of JAPANESE FAIRY TALES (translated by Mildred Marmur and illustrated by Benvenuti), Golden Press, 1960.  Perhaps there was a Chinese companion?  Check out the Big & Deluxe Golden Books catalog for more on the Japanese book...
I posted the C120 query about Chinese fairy tales. The Golden Book Japanese Fairy Tales on your page looks like the same type of book, and the date (1960) is right, but I'm almost sure mine was Chinese tales. We are getting warm though, I'll keep looking!
Chinese Fairy Tales.  I'm a 12 year old New Zealander and I took that book out of the library the last time I was there. The story about the old man was the first one in the book. I'll look for it the next time we go to town.
Chinese Fairy Tales, 1960.  There is a nice cover scan of this book here.  The contents are "Princess of Wisteria Wood," "Tortoise Prince," "Wooden Bird," "Queen of Tung Ting Lake," "Extraordinary Beggar," "Crystal Football," "Huang and the Thunder Gems," "Blue Porcelain House," "Green Chrysanthemums," "Palace of the Dragon Pricne," "Tao's Dream," and "Lotus Bud the Beautiful" (small change some of those are slightly off, as I can't read my own handwriting).
C120, Chinese Fairy Tales: I see the most recent posters have discovered the very book! And I did locate a single copy online. Thank you!

I can't believe someone else in the whole world remembers the book Ting Ling and Me Too (I think I remember the little brother's name was spelled Mee Too). I found this site quite by accident this morning and am now so excited, I can't remember what I was searching for initially. My younger sister and I were given the book in the early 40's by my aunt who had been a teacher in China in the 30's. I have no idea what the plot or theme might have been. My mother was a little disturbed because the book referred to "a strange land far, far away" and I think it described the children as "funny-looking". Everytime she read the book to us, she reminded us that Ting Ling and Mee Too would probably think my sister and I were probably pretty funny-looking too, because we didn't have long braids and wore strange clothes! My sister died 4 years ago and we had looked high and low for this book for years. Would love to find a copy for her grandchildren!
I just found a book on eBay called Ching Ling and Ting Ling by Ninon Macknight - 1938 - has a yellow cover with two boys and an owl (maybe an owl kite) on it.  Could this book be related?  Thought this might be helpful.

You are right about the spelling, it's "Mee Too".  It took a long while but finally one day, up popped Ting Ling!  I found it in January of this year and I was lucky enough to win it for only $9.99!  It has an orange cover with the two little brothers on it and my copy is very fine.  I was so excited and happy to see the dear pictures again, each one immediately loved and recognizable and the storyline is adorable!
The other book mentioned, Ching Ling and Ting Ling of China, is part of a an 8-part series, one of many published by Platt and Munk in the 1930's.  I had that set as well, and still have 6 of the 8 originally mine as a kidlet!   Over these last 12 months eBaying, I have found all 8 additionally and bought them as "extras".  They are in the linenette format,  thin books of 8 pages  and the entire set includes Maria and Carlos of Spain, Wilhelmina of Holland, Abdul of Arabia,  Matsu and Taro of Japan, Kala of Hawaii, Olga of Norway, Manuel of Mexico, and Chula of Siam.  Believe me, I am becoming an expert on vintage children's books of the era 1925-1945 and believe it or not, I have found and won nearly every one of my books from my childhood - and there were a lot.  As I looked at my mountain of books I wondered how in the world we stored all those books in a tiny apartment until I realized that over my growing years, my mother got rid of books she considered "too babyish" and they were replaced with more books in the appropriate age bracket.

Ok, so here are the book descriptions for the two rivalling titles mentioned above:
Keto, E.  Ting-Ling and Mee-Too.  Grosset & Dunlap, 1937.
McCrady, Elizabeth F. Ching Ling and Ting Ling.  Illustrated by Ninon MacKnight. NY Platt & Munk, 1936. Full color pictorial linenette wraps.
The book I am looking for is called the Adventures of Ting-Ling.  Its green.  Its about a poor boy who happens to get a look at the princess and her father, the emperor says he must die.  Princess says no So he must first, slay a dragon, 2. bring a bell up from the lake, 3. kill a giant, (he does that with a beehive) 4. Make fire from water. He does them all, marries the princess and lives happily ever after.  Have you heard of this book?
Maybe this is too late, but in the Solved Mysteries section, Ching Ling & Ting Ling are part of the collection by Elizabeth F. McCrady, Children of Foreign Lands, which I know was originally published as separate stories, but became one book in the 1930s.
Bruce, Dana and McCrady, Elizabeth F., Children of Many Lands, reprinted 1960. Just an addendum: in the Solved Section under Ching Ling and Ting Ling, one poster mentioned the Platt & Munk series was reprinted as a single book (in 1936) entitled Children of Foreign Lands. I have a copy which was published under the slightly modified title Children of Many Lands in 1960. Dana Bruce is listed as co-author with Elizabeth F. McCrady. LoCCCN: 60-10845.

Eldon, Magdalen, Bumble, 1950.  Picturebook of small dog and his various smaller friends (like beetles, not sure if there were chipmunks).  But they lived under a tree, amongst the roots, in well furnished rooms.
Fisher-Price Book Illustrated by Cyndy Szekeres, Lightening Strikes Twice - A Woodsey Adventure Story, 1979.  I read this story to my kids - published by Fisher Price- it's a story about the Woodsey Family who look like chipmunks.  First their treehouse is struck by lightening and they escape. They set up a new home in tree roots of a nearby pine tree. The little boy Milkweed is afraid of the lightening and his Papa assures him lightening never strikes in the same place twice.  But it did. They end up living in a hollow log. The book came with puppet figures  and a cloth log house complete with furnishings.  I hope this helps.
C250 Ridlon, Marci.  Lightning strikes twice.  illus by Cindy Szekeres Fisher-Price, 1979. squirrels; optimism - juvenile fiction; Mama, Papa and Milkweed Woodsey
How about the Baby Chipmunk by Miss Francis ( Ding Dong school) Rand McNally.
Norman Wright, Chip Chip, 1947.  Possibly Chip Chip?  This is a Little Golden Book, illustrated by Nino Carbe, about a family of chipmunks that lives in a little hole under the roots of a big old oak tree. All the other chipmunks do their lessons, but naughty Chip Chip gets bored, wanders off and encounters a hunter. He hides in the hunter's coffee pot, and bites his finger when the hunter reaches into the pot. The hunter trips over his sleeping bag, kicks over his shotgun, discharging it, and falls into the campfire, burning a hole in his pants.  Chip Chip finally makes it home, where he is now diligent about his lessons.  Front cover is green, with a picture of the coffee pot hanging from a tree branch, with Chip Chip standing in the top of it.  Inside illustrations are black-and-white (like pencil sketches) and color (mostly shades of green and brown, including several of the chipmunk's home under the oak, with lots of tree roots and things.
Possibly "Two Stories About Chap and Chirpy" a Whitman Tell-A-Tale book by gladys baker bond
Chip Chip is exactly the book I was wondering about!  Thanks!

Platt, Kin, Chloris and the creeps, 1973.  Definitely it.  Jenny's father committed suicide and the story begins three years after this takes place.  When their mother begins to date again eleven year old Chloris begins to rebel against her mother believing that the "creeps" her mother dates will never live up to their father.  Eventually, the mother gets remarried to an artist, Fidel.  While Jenny and Fidel get along, it is a different story for her older sister Chloris.  Jenny feels a divided loyalty for her sister and her new stepfather.
forgot to add that there is a less well-known sequel, Chloris and the Freaks.  Four years after the marriage and there are problems between Jenny's mother and Fidel.  Chloris again tries to break up the relationship.  It also deals with Jenny's transition into teenage years and a little with racism towards Mexicans.
Kin Platt, Chloris and the Creeps, 1973.  Definitely.
Bingo!  Thanks for posting the stumper that's been driving me crazy. Your readers were able to identify it immediately, thank goodness. Don't know how I could forget a title like Chloris and the Creeps, but I'm so grateful.  FYI, according to my local library catalog, there were two sequels, not one--Chloris and the Freaks, 1975, but also Chloris and the Weirdos, 1978.  I think by the third novel the mom's marriage to Fidel might have failed, as the catalog description says "twice-divorced."  Thanks again to everyone who helped me!  I'm going to curl up now with my newly-arrived copy of Kid Sister, which I was able to identify by name only after finding it on your excellent website.

McInnes, John, The Chocolate Chip Mystery, 1972.  Possibly this one?  "The ice cream store seems to be haunted because chocolate chip ice cream disappears every night."
McInnes, John, The chocolate chip mystery, 1972.  The ice cream store seems to be haunted because chocolate chip ice cream disappears every night

Possibly Chocolate Mud Cake by Harriet Ziefert (1988): "Molly and her younger sister Jenny are at Grandpa and Grandma's, making a mud cake, fixing it with sand, adding leaves and other decorations, and baking it in the sun. But when it's time to have a bite, the girls opt for pretzels instead."
Harriet Ziefert, Chocolate Mud Cake Oh my gosh!  That's it!  Thank you so much!!!  This is the best site and I will recommend it to everyone

L54 any possibility?  Burton, Virginia Lee.  Choo choo; the runaway engine.  Scholastic, 1937, 1965
L54 Not 100% sure, but it might be worth taking a look at CHOO CHOO: THE STORY OF A LITTLE ENGINE WHO RAN AWAY by Virginia Lee Burton, 1937.~from a librarian
Katie the Caboose That Got Loose.  Not sure if this helps at all  I just remember this story being read to me when I was very little.  As the title implies, it's about a caboose that comes loose from its train and gets lost. There's a picture at one point of it stuck in the top of a pine tree.  The illustrations are very simple and, if I remember right, kind of cartoon-like, often with double-page spreads.
I am almost positive this is Burton's Choo Choo- The Story of a Little Engine Who Ran Away. Choo Choo ends up following an old abandoned line into a dark forest where the branches look like gnarled claws reaching out for the engine! (lonesome and scary!) Black and white charcoal drawings. A classic!

This description matches a number of series books, and since I don't know when the reader was 8-12 years old, I'll just mention a couple.  The Choose Your Own Adventure series (or CYOA) published by Bantam starting in the 1980's until just a few years ago was probably the most prolific.  Their titles included everything from space, to monsters, to pirates, to animal adventures... lots of breadth.  There was also a popular series for older children published about the same time, Lone Wolf, by Joe Dever (with others).
This person is thinking of the Choose Your Own Adventure series. There are probably around 180+ titles, but the earlier ones are most well-known. #1 is The Cave of Time by Edward Packard.  The most prolific authors in the series were Edward Packard and R.A. Montgomery. There's a good website about the books here with cover scans and summaries: http://www.netaxs.com/~katz/game/cyoalist.htm
CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE.  There is a regular version and an easier version.  White paperbacks with series title CHOOSE YOUR OWN ADVENTURE their number is probably running into the hundreds by now.  Came out in the late eighties.
Choose Your Own Adventure Series. There were probably dozens of books in this very popular series.
You are talking about a series of books known as the Choose Your Own Adventures books. They were published by Bantam Books. The ones that i have, have copyrights ranging from the late 70s, to the early 90s. as far as i know, there were about at least 100 books in the series. Book #1 was The Cave of Time and was pinned by Edward Packard. I sure hope this helps...
Various Authors, Choose Your Own Adventure, 1980's.  This description sounds like the Choose Your Own Adventure series that was popluar in the 1980's.  I think they still have similar books, but I do not know if they are the same series.
I don't know individual titles, but the series were called Choose your own adventure...which is exactly what you did!  All of the titles had "choose your own adventure" written in red and yellow (I think) at the top of the book.  They were very popular in the early - mid 80s.
Choose Your Own Adventure series. Many stories and different authors, paperback.
These books are called:  Choose Your Own Adventure books.  I have several in paperback.  My kids love them.
it was called, I think, the Pick A Path series and was out in the mid 80s. But there were some copycat books. The concept was very popular then.....
These books were known as choose your own adverture stories, and there were many different titles and authors.
I32  Cave of Time by Edward Packard, it's the first book in the Choose Your Own Adventureseries in which the reader decides the next step in the plot by choosing which page to turn to next. ~from a librarian
various, Choose Your Own Adventure series, 1979 - 1998.  There are several series where you choose how the story goes -- Pick-a-Path, Twistaplot, etc. -- but the main one is Choose Your Own Adventure, pub. by Bantam Books from 1979 to 1998.  Edward Packard wrote the first several in the series, but there eventually were almost 200 books written by various authors.
Edward Packard, Choose Your Own Adventure: The Cave of Time.  The series is called Choose Your Own Adventure, and a quick search on the Internet produced a title called The Cave of Time byEdward Packard. Happy literary spelunking!
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hi. i'm hoping you can help. with the holidays around the corner, i am searching for a series of books for my children that i think they would love. these books were popular in the 80's. the series I am looking for was mentioned on the show"i love the 80's". it's a book where you can choose the ending depending on which page you choose. for example, if youwant "mr. smith" to go into the cave, choose page 70. if you don't, choose page 62 etc. i am hoping you can help. i would love to see if they are still available for purchasing at a reasonable price. thanks for your time.

The book series you seek is called Choose Your Own Adventure.  They were mass paperbacks and are still pretty inexpensive.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Montgomery, R.A.  The Cave of Time.  Bantam, 1979.  Choose Your Own Adventure #1.  Mass paperback, G.  $5 Montgomery, R.A.  Ghost Hunter.Bantam, 1985.  Choose Your Own Adventure #52.  Mass paperback, G.  $5

Chiam Potok, The Chosen.  Could it possibly be The Chosen?  I remember that's how I first learned about Hasidic Judaism and I especially remember the mention of the curls and of the numerology associated with the Torah
Chaim not chiam
Chiam Potok, The Chosen, 1967.  This is the book I read at Camp Shiloh in 1985.  The Camp is in Woodridge, New York and used to be a Jewish Camp Facility, now a Christian camp for inner-city children.  This time of my life was a very interesting one...just waking up to the world and this book was a friend when I sorely needed one.  Thank you so much for solving the mystery.  Be blessed!!

Essays Presented to Charles Williams.  Well there's no MacDonald here, but possibly - Essays Presented to Charles Williams (Oxford Univ. Press, 1947 and Eerdmans, 1966).  Contents: "And telling you a story": a note on The Divine comedy, by D. Sayers -- On Fairy-stories, by J.R.R. Tolkien -- On Stories, by C.S. Lewis -- Poetic diction and legal fiction, by A.O. Barfield -- Marriage and Amour courtois in late-fourteenth-century Englans, by G. Mathew -- The galleys of France, by W.H. Lewis.
Essays Presented to Charles Williams, 1947.  No Macdonald, but Sayers, Tolkien, and Lewis are in this one.  Macdonald died when Lewis was twelve, so they'd probably not be in the same book--though, of course, he was a favorite of and inspiration for Lewis.
The mystery is solved.  The name of the book is Christian Mythmakers.  Thank you to everyone.

Patricia Lee Gauch, Christina Katerina and the Box, 1971.  I believe this is the book you are looking for.  It is a refrigerator box that Christina Katerina's parents give to her to play with and she turns it into a castle, a clubhouse, a race car and a summer mansion.  Each time changing it because Fats Watson her sometimes friend keeps destroying it.  In the end it is washed away but Fats brings over two new boxes and they make them into ships.
Patricia L. Gauch, Christina Katerina and the Box, 1971.  Maybe this one?  "A huge cardboard box becomes a castle, a clubhouse, a racing car and more for Christina and her friend Fats. In it they swear undying friendship, wage furious
battles--and drive Christina's mother crazy. You won't believe how much fun a cardboard box can be! A gleeful little story of imaginative playenlivened by the delightful illustrations."
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I'm looking for a book about a boy and a girl who do all sorts of creative things with empty packing boxes. The girl turns an unfolded refrigerator box into, among other things, a fancy table setting. She also plays dress-up on it. Towards the end, the box is so worn down that her mom just hoses it away. But then her mom buys a new washer and dryer and in the last picture, the kids have turned those boxes into ships, so everything is okay! The pictures are black and white, I think. Thanks for your help!

You know what, I found out what the book is called: A Box Can Be Many Things. Unfortunately, the only copies I can find are ones that were published in 1997 with new illustrations. So now I'm looking for copies of the original, which was published in the 70s. If you can help with that, it would be great.
Patricia Lee Gauch, Christina Katerina and the Box, 1971.This book matches fairly well the description given. Christina Katerina starts out with a refrigerator box. Along with Fats, sometimes friend and sometimes enemy, she turns the box into a castle,a clubhouse, a racing car, then spreads it out flat as the floor of her summer house. By then it was ruined and thrown out. However, she ends up with the boxes from a washer and dryer, which are turned into boats on the last page.
Gauch, Patricia Lee, Christina Katerina and the Box, 1971.  First Christina and her dad made a castle out of the fridge box, then it was her clubhouse, then when her friend Fats sat on it and squashed it it became a racing car, and when that collapsed it bacame the floor to a summer mansion and they danced on it and had a feast.  When Fats decided it was dirty and sprayed it with the hose, the floor fell apart and got washed away - and her mother was very happy to have her nice neat lawn back.  Until Fat's mom got a new washer and dryer - two new boxes to play with and turn into boats!
Patricia Gauch, Christina Katerina and the Box, 1999, reprint.  This sounds like it must be this story, the pictures are mostly black and white although I do believe there are bits of color thrown in every now and again. "A huge cardboard box becomes a castle, a clubhouse, a racing car and more for Christina and her friend Fats. In it they swear undying friendship, wage furious battles--and drive Christina's mother crazy. You won't believe how much fun a cardboard box can be!"

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Gauch, Patricia Lee.  Christina Katerina and the Box.  Illustrated by Doris Burns.  Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, 1971.  Ex-library copy in library binding.  G+.  $15

Evans, Joan E., Christine's Fairy Friends (Early Reader series 33).  London, Hampster, n.d.  This is very definitely it. Chapters are: The Garden Fairies, the Heath Fairies, the Cornfield Fairies, the Pitbank Fairies, the Fairies in the Rose Garden, the Rock Fairies, and the Classroom Fairies. "Now Christine was a little girl who believed in fairies, and she asked
Mummy if there would be different kinds of fairies at the seaside, and in the country, from those at the bottom of the garden." Illustrations are line drawings with single-colour accents. The fairies in the classroom include a little boy fairy who has to stand in the corner for getting inky.

Is this Ruth Sawyer, The Christmas Anna Angel, ill. Kate Seredy ('44)?  Set in Hungary; won the Caldecott in '45.

Blyton Enid, A family Christmas, 1993, reprint.  Could this be it?  I found this at booksunderreview.com  Enid Blyton's collection of Christmas Tales became a household favorite. Though they are original tales, they have become a timeless treasure that our family brings out every December. The simple yet interesting stories are matched with enchanting pictures. Morals teaching humility and the true meaning of Christmas are interwoven through the plot. This is definitely a book to be added to any family's shelf.
B279 Blyton, Enid.  The Christmas book.  illus by Treyer Evans. Macmillan,  1953.  Christmas customs; England - juvenile fiction

maybe this one? Child Study Association The Christmas Book Illustrated by Roberta Paflin Racine WI: Whitman, 1954 224 pp. White hardcover with Santa & toys reflected in red Christmas ball, interior has many black and white as well as black, white and red illustrations. "These stories are selected by the Child Study Association of America. Included are stories and poems. There are stories of the Christ Child, of good old Santa Claus, of children celebrating Christmas in many places and in days long ago. Some are humorous and gay, others solumn or tender."
C95 christmas story book sounds like the same book queried in C39 christmas anthology. The cover as described is almost identical.
C39 christmas anthology and C95 christmas story book: just saw this on EBay, and the cover was exactly as described (jpg attached) - The Christmas Story Book, published by the Whitman Publishing, 1954.
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This was a hardcover book containing aprox. 20/25 childrens Christmas stories. I received this book on Christmas Eve 1957. I remember two of the stories were titled "The Little Blue Dishes" and "Bertrum's Reindeer". It was a big book size wise about 12inH by 8inW, aprox. 150/200 pages with some illustrations. I think the title of the book was "The Christmas Book" or something close to that. It may/maynot have been published by Whitman, although I can't find any info when I search on Whitman Publishing. The cover had a big, color "sort of sideview" picture of Sants's head on it with his big white beard lying on his chest (all you really see is Santa's head). A Christmas tree (decorated with lights and ribbons) was displayed on his beard with a few children dancing around the tree while holding on to ribbons. I have been trying to find this book on and off for the last 25 years. Any information you may be able to supply pertainig to this book would be greatly appreciated.

#C95--Christmas Story Book:  A Christmas Treasury:  The Children's Classic Edition, by Christian Birmingham, Running Press, 1999.  A possible reprint or collection from earlier books, it contains at least some of these stories.
This poster might want to check the information under B56: Blue Dishes.
C95 christmas story book sounds like the same book queried in C39 christmas anthology. The cover as described is almost identical.
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I am looking for a book of Christmas Short stories published around 1950. There is story by Laura Ingalls Wilder and one possibly titled Bertrum and the raindeer.  I think The Little Matchgirl is also a story.  Thanks

Child Study Association, The Christmas Book, 1954. Contains Bertram and the Reindeer by Paul T. Gilbert, Surprise, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, The Little Match Girl By Hans Christian Anderson, and many others. Illustrtated by Roberta Paflin. Whitman Publishing Co., Racine Wisconsin.
C117: This may not be right, but it reminds me of The Norman Rockwell Christmas Book, which does include
Laura Ingalls Wilder's Mr. Edwards Meets Santa Claus. The book includes many terrific stories you won't easily find elsewhere, such as one by William Dean Howell about a girl who wishes for Christmas every day and does she regret it! Plus, Down Pens by Saki, The Gift of the Magi, Ogden Nash's The Boy Who Laughed at Santa Claus, and a beautiful story by Louisa May Alcott about a rich girl who's bored with Christmas until she gets to play a sort of Santa herself. There's also a sad story by Langston Hughes about a little black boy in the 1930's and his encounter with a white department store Santa.
I found the book that was suggested.  It was the book I was looking for.  Mystery solved.

Child Study Association.  The Christmas Book.   Illustrated by Roberta Paflin Racine WI: Whitman, 1954
Oh, well.  I should have read more closely.  I got so excited at the thought of solving this 45-year mystery that I jumped the gun.  The answer was right there in your "solved" mysteries.  I'm pretty sure this is the book.  I won't know until I open it and see some of the stories that I can't remember right now.   So near, and yet so far!

Florence Page Jaques.  I have a Whitman book called The Christmas Book: A Selection of Stories Selected by the Child Study Association.  Copyright 1954.  It includes a story called "The Lights On the Christmas Tree" by Florence Page Jaques, which fits the description exactly.  Unfortunately, the story is not credited to any book or magazine--could it have been written for the anthology? There are three or four stories by this author in here, and none of them is credited. I can't and any individual book of that title, or anything near that title, by this author.

Theroux, Paul, The Christmas Card, 1978.  "A few days before Christmas nine-year-old Marcel and his family are driving to their new house--an old farm deep in the snowy woods, then get lost. Luckily they find an old hotel which at first seemed to be closed. Marcel is fascinated by their quaint but kindly host, Pappy, who promises to provide them with directions to their destination the next day.  But the man mysteriously disappears, leaving them only an unsigned, unaddressed Christmas card, which has no words--just a curious sketch of the woods. Marcel gradually realizes that this card is a kind of map to their new home, yet it is much more than that. It is a Magic card, which changes to reflect conditions of the real world outside--of time, light and location. Still Marcel experiences alternating fear and peace in the days preceding the Christian holiday, as a result of the card's shifting hints. The family of four is confused by the mysterious fire glowing in the old cabin did they just stumble upon a meeting and inadvertantly drive the people away? Secular and sacred connotations combine to make a fascinating, enjoy-in-one-sitting read. Will Marcel ever see his beloved Pappy again--just who and what is he anyway? A literary chiaroscuro where the Light combats the Darkness and a young boy tries to choose the right path and make the best "
Paul Theroux (author), John Lawrence (illustrator), A Christmas Card, 1978.  This is definitely the book you're looking for.  Two children and their parents get lost in a snowstorm and find shelter with a mysterious old man.  The next morning, he is gone, but he has left behind a magical Christmas card.  Paul Theroux, primarily known for his adult novels, short stories, and travelogues, wrote only two children's books.  This was the first.

Ah yes, I know it well. But I don't often get my hands on it! It was written by VIP (Virgil Franklin Partch) in 1969, and there are many people who request it... and not too many available copies... Other people remember it fondly also:

This was my favorite book when I was little--my mother must have read it to me a thousand times! I would love to surprise her with a copy this Christmas.
I've looked every where! I really hope you have better luck!
I've been looking for The Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher for years. It was a colorful cartoon book about a boy named Nat who sets out to find an evil snitcher to get the sprinkles back and save Christmas. It's got to be at least 30 years old. The author used a pseudonymn, VIP, I think. Let me know if you have any suggestions.
I happened upon your site in a search, and have a book that I can't find. Maye you could help. I don't know if it's the title or just the story or a character. But I know the phrase Christmas Cookie Sprinkle Snitcher was used a lot. I'm pretty sure it was the name of the villain. The illustrations were color and watercolor I believe Maybe paste.. It was fairly detailed. I know one scene in the book was the Snitcher in a slay over a rootop and a hole was in the bag and he was leaving a trail of Christmas cookie sprinkles as he went. That's all I remember. I love to know if you can find this book.
This book was in my family for many years and loved by all. Somehow it has disappeared and I have desperately searched places like Barnes & Noble to no avail.
I am not concerned with the price of the book as much as I am with the quality of the edition found. This was my favorite story as a child. My mon gave it away and I have been looking for it for many years. Thank you.

This looks good - The Christmas Dolls: a Butterfield Square Story, by Carol Beach York, illustrated by Victoria de Larrea, published Watts 1967, 104 pages. Takes place at Christmas at the Good Day Orphanage for Girls, where Miss Lavender and Miss Plum are wrapping dolls for the little girls. Two extra dolls, Florabelle the rag doll and Lily who is bald and has her head on backwards, are rejected. Little Tatty, who can hear dolls speak, rescues them and takes them to a toy shop, where Lily is repaired (head turned right way round, new wig, tear stitched up) by the kindly owner, and both dolls are given shoes. Tatty gets lost and is taken back to the orphanage by the stern director Mr. Not-so-much, in time for her to be the Angel of Glory in the Christmas play.
Wow -- the Loganberry Stumpers Page and its wonderful participants have done it again! Thanks exceedingly to the solver. I *did* think there might have been two dolls, not just one, and that their thoughts were somehow articulated, but didn't want to convolute the description with possibly erroneous information. Amazing what the subconscious retains; it's recovering the memory that's a challenge -- a trick neatly accomplished by this site!

Christmas Eve at the Mellops

P56--Christmas Eve At The Mellops by Tomi Ungerer
I'm so thrilled to have the name of the book.  I think I'm going to check out a copy at the local library.  If my children like it as much as I did, I'll contact you about finding a copy.  You've set up a wonderful web site!

Marcia Martin, Waiting for Santa Claus, 1952.  This is a Wonder Book-  very similar to Little Golden Books.  Three children, Sally, Bobby, and Baby get ready for Christmas with their family.  They bake gingerbread cookies, shop for ornaments, visit with Santa, and pick out a tree. They celebrate Christmas with their parents and grandparents and at the end they are tucked up in bed and say "Oh, we can hardly wait 'til next Christmas!"
Marcia Martin, Christmas is Coming, 1952.  This is one of the Wonder Books. I took a chance based on the title listed in another Wonder Book and ordered. It is the one I was searching for.

Gertrude Haan, The Christmas Heart,1957, copyright. You can put this one down as solved! And in a roundabout way, it was solved using this site, as I stumbled across the correct book while researching someone else's stumper. Emily's new doll is stolen by the new girl, Hungarian immigrant/refugee Josephine, on Emily's birthday, just a few weeks before Christmas. The doll is returned, but as Emily gains a greater understanding of the troubles that Josephine and her family have faced, she decides to give the doll to her as a Christmas gift. Josephine reciprocates by giving Emily a heart-shaped locket that is very precious to her, and the two girls become friends.

Jane Thayer, The Puppy Who Wanted A Boy.  1958.  If you're not sure about the cat/kitten angle, you might look at this book.  Petey the puppy wants a boy for Christmas and ends up being adopted by Ricky and his orphange.  There is a illustration of the boys, the tree and the puppy in our version and also a picture of Ricky on a bike.  I think it has been reprinted many times with different illustrations  it was evem featured on Reading Rainbow!
Carroll, Ruth and Latrobe, The Christmas Kitten, 1970.  The story line matches, however, I do not know if the Christmas Kitten by Carroll is illustrated in black and white
The Christmas Kitten is a wordless picture story and is beautifully illustrated in black, white, rusty orange and green.
Very charming story line.  Very obscure book published in 1970.  So glad to have this information!!!  THanks for my seach inspiration.

Truman Capote, A Christmas Memory.  This sounds very much like the short story "A Christmas Memory", by Truman Capote. The narrator is a very young boy, however, but there is definitely an old lady that he is very close to who won't get out of bed on any Friday the 13th, or any 13th after a while, then does pass away. He is grown and away at college when he gets word that the old lady has passed away, and he is remembering their times together, including Christmases.

sounds like Christmas Secrets, by Bayard Hooper, illustrated by Hope Meryman, published Pantheon 1961, 48 pages. "When, a week before Christmas, Pammy offended the Santa Claus standing on the street corner, Carolyn was afraid that, even though he might not be the REAL Santa Claus, her friend would never get the gift she had asked for. The week went like a flash as Carolyn herself tried to make Pammy's gift. She also made a discovery about what makes Christmas the most fun of all. Appealing pictures in two and three colors ... pleasing tones of olive green and brick red." (HB Dec/61 p.545) An ad in the same issue mentions the Santa's beard being real. Illustration shows two little girls in skirts across the street from a Santa ringing a bell by a storefront, city
buildings in the background, snow blowing sideways.

Rumer Godden, The Story of Holly and Ivy, 1957.  I don't supposed this could be the one you're looking for? Ivy, an orphan, is supposed to go by train to spend the Christmas holidays at the Infant's Home, because she has nowhere else to go.  She pretends that she has a grandmother to visit, and gets off the train at the wrong stop, to look for her grandmother's house.  She falls in love with Holly, a lonely doll in a toy shop window, who is wishing for a little girl.  She then meets a policeman, who takes her home to his wife, and they eventually adopt her.
nope.  i think the publication date would be in the early '80's.  i believe it was current a couple years before the david baldacci christmas train book was published, and it has a somewhat similar plot.  thanks anyway.
Chris Van Allsburg, The Polar Express, 1985.  Is it too obvious to suggest The Polar Express? Although it has nothing in common with David Baldacci's book, it certainly has the elements of Christmas, children, train trip, snowfall, mountains, woods, etc.
Thanks, but it's not Polar Express, either.
Gantschev, Ivan, The Christmas train, 1982.  On Christmas Eve, a little girl saves a train from a terrible collision
ivan gantschev!   now that sounds familiar!  this might be it!  my county library has a copy, and i've requested it.  i'll keep you posted.  thanks!
that's it!  The Christmas Train, by Ivan Gantschev.  lovely illustrations, and a gripping tale of a little girl's heroic efforts to warn an oncoming train of a landslide blocking the tracks.   i'm embarrassed to admit that i never even searched at my county library for the title the christmas train because i wasn't sure of it and didn't know if i would recognize the author either.  i should have, though, because there it was!  thanks; what a wonderful service you run. ps: i don't know how i got muddled about the similarity to the david baldacci book of the same name....there is no similarity whatsoever! 

G.Clifton Wisler, The Antrian Messenger, 1986.  This was the first book in a series of three I believe.  It was one of my favorites as well.  I keep coming across it in my own search.
Actually, its definitly not The Antrian Messenger.  The boy in the story I am talking about was a human and the story partly  revolved around his relationship with his father, who had psychic powers until he was in college, when he "closed the door in his mind" to his ability.  At the end of the story the boy enters his father's mind and opens the door in his father's mind so that they can learn together how to be psychic.
Richard M. Koff, Christopher, 1984, reprint.  Many of the details sound fami8liar... the old man, the cube that teaches lessons... and the boy learning to be psychic. (in the book "Christopher" (title character... I picked it up because the title was my name), the boy thinks he is learning magic until the old man ("The Headmaster" he calls himself) explains that he is discovering to use the power of his mind.  I don't recall if the Headmaster turns out to be Christopher's father or not... its been a while.
Richard M. Koff, Christopher.   Thats the one!  Thank you so very much!

This has to be Chum, Judith Anne by Eleanor Stanley Lockwood published by the Bruce Publishing Company in 1939.
Oh my God--Yes!! I can't believe it!  Do you know if it's available anywhere?  I'd love to buy it.  Thank you so much!!  Wait till I tell my sister!

The Church Mice in Action
All I can remember is it was a children's book that I read to my family in the 80s.  There were mice who had kidnapped someone and all they had to compose a ransom note was labels off cans.  I only remember the phrase "it will Beano good" . . . I laughed so hard.  I want to get the book again for my grandkids.  Hope you can help.

Jean Van Leeuwen, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. I think this is the right book though it's been years since I read it.  There are two other books about the same mice, The Great Cheese Conspiracy and The Great Summer Camp Catastrophe.  The mice are Merciless Marvin the Magnificent, Raymond, and Fats.
Jean Van Leewen, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. Sorry, I missed the "mouse" part of the stumper!  This has to be The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper.  The note is even on the cover of the paperback edition!
Graham Oakley, The Church Mouse (series). The good news is that I'm certain one of this series is your book. I've even found a reproduction of the ransom note you remember: http://weereads.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-mouse-books-by-graham-oakley.html The bad news is, I'm not sure which book in the series has Samson, the often put-upon ginger church cat, kidnapped by the scheming church mice. It doesn't matter though, all the books are excellent, hilarious, and beautifully illustrated.
Graham Oakley, Could this possibly be one of Graham Oakley's Church Mice series? We have several of the books, and it's not one of the ones we have, but it does sound very typical of the humor in that series.
Graham Oakley, The Church Mice in Action. I sent this solution in earlier but it may have gone astray.
Graham Oakley, The Church Mice in Action. I was right--it's The Church Mice in Action.  You can see a photo of the ransom note here:  http://weereads.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-mouse-books-by-graham-oakley.html
SOLVED: That's the Book!!!!!!!!!!!! The Church Mice in Action! Mystery solved and I'm laughing.  Thank you so much!

Churkendoose

In your Stump... column, I read a description of a book I might have the title and author for. (Oops - preposition..)  Anyhow, it's number/letter B3, and I THINK it's probably Horton the Elephant by Dr. Seuss.  The part about sitting on the egg was the best clue.
Horton Hatches The Egg by Dr. Seuss is indeed a mixed-up tale of an elephant sitting on an egg, but the original owner of the egg is quite clear: Mayzie the bird is tired of sitting on her egg and solicits Horton's help while she goes on vacation. Seuss's drawings are fanciful, but it's clearly the story of a bird and an elephant, both wanting to claim the egg. I think this stumper is for a different book....
I am an elementary school librarian in Laguna Niguel, California.  I believe that the book you're looking for is The Pinkinsh, Purplish, Bluish Egg, by Bill Peet.  The mystery egg turns out to be a "griffin" a magical animal.  Does this sound familiar?  Hope so.
B3--possibly The Churkendoose, by Ben Ross Berenburg. This is a Wonder Book, and I vaguely remember the premise being the other animals laughed at the Churkendoose for being different and made her cry, then they learned to accept her for being different.
Wonder Book #832, in fact, written in 1946 by Ben Ross Berenberg and illustrated by Dellwyn Cunningham.

Is this person looking for Cinder Edna by Ellen Jackson? Its a 1994 modern feminist version of Cinderella thats quite popular at our local library.
I'm really doubtful about this ID, since the seeker says "I was a child at the time" and the answer was first published in 1994. My suggestion would be The True Story of Cinderella (much closer to The Real Cinderella),
written and illustrated by Quentin Bell, published by Faber in 1957 (much closer to when the seeker may have been a child) and yes, written in a droll and witty style.

The Cinderella Little Golden Book originally came out in 1950.  It is quite beautiful, esp. the early copies of it, and the Big Golden Book version.  There have been several reprintings since.

Maybe this one?  Miller, Alice Duer CINDERELLA retold in verse Coward-McCann, Inc., 1943 Hard cover, white with red border, purple and black letters  dj matches book. Black and white illustrations by Constantin Alajalov.
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I remember this book from the 50's, but it seemed older, so I have no idea when it might have been published.  It was a version of the Cinderella story in verse.  It started out "Poor Cinderella lost her pretty mother when she was a young girl, only 3 or 4 (or it could have been 5 or 6, etc.)."  It had quite a few illustrations, all of them, I think, in black & white.  They were very 'fluid', gracefully done drawings.  It included an account of how the father had died, thrown from his horse during an outing, and there was a drawing of the accident.  I also remember a very funny drawing of one of the big-footed step sisters trying on the glass slipper.  Hope someone can locate this.  Thanks.

C168 I thought of this - though it doesn't fit at all - when I cataloged this book:  Chase, Richard, editor
Grandfather tales [sequel to The Jack tales]  illus by Williams, Berkeley, Jr    Houghton c1948 1948. Beech Mountain, Western North Carolina; Wise Co, Virginia - folk tales; old stories have become local legends: e.g. Ashpet barley recognizable as Cinderella
You have a book listed on your Solved Mysteries page titled Cinderella retold in verse. It's by Alice Duer Miller (Coward-McCann, 1943).  It starts out "Poor Cinderella lost her pretty mother when she was a young girl, only 9 or 10 (it could have been 6 or 7, 8 or 9, etc.)"  The description says it's hard cover, white with red border, purple and black letters,
black & white illustrations by Constantin Alajalov.
I feel pretty strongly that the author may have been Beatrice Schenk deRigniers, sometimes listed without the 'Schenk' -and who can blame her? We have a Jack & the Beanstalk version she did in verse, (my son has an insatiable appetite for all manner of Jack tales) and I'm also aware of her retelling Red Riding Hood in verse. Good luck!
C168 wrong spelling - shld be Regniers

The quote from line K34 is from the book I am looking for!!!  I cannot remember the title but that line jogged my memory.  It is not Kathy Hicks, but Cindy Hicks.
Walley, Dean, illustrated by Susan Stoehr Morris., Cindy Bakes a Funny Cake.  Kansas City, Hallmark n.d.  This being a pop-up sounds like a good bet: Take one little girl, add a pantry full of goodies and a dozen cakes of yeast, stir in a
dash of make believe, and you have the recipe for CINDY BAKES A FUNNY CAKE. Through the magic of three-dimensional pop-up illustrations Cindy's recipe cooks up fun and excitement for every child!

F198 Sounds like FANTASTIC MR. FOX by Roald Dahl, 1970.~from a librarian.
Edith Thatcher Hurd, Fox in a box, 1957.  I boy goes hunting for a fox - sings:  I'll catch a fox and put him in a box and then I'll let him go. Cover shows fox in crate which definitely has a lock on the top.
F198 I just checked the Roald Dahl  book. It definitely is not that.
Marguerite Henry, Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox, 1956.  I'll bet this is Cinnabar, the one o'clock fox.  There IS a song in the book.  It's "A-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go.  We'll catch the one o'clock fox, and put him in a box, and never let him go."   I read this one in the seventies, also.
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Cinnabar, the One O'clock Fox
I am looking for a book from the early 70's or before. It is a story about a fox getting into a farmers hen house and the farmer getting after him. It is NOT "the fox went out on a stormy night". In this book there is a song with a line in it about putting the fox in a box and locking the box and throwing away the key for all the tricks he's played on me. Every one keeps telling me it is an old sunday school song but, I can recall reading this in a childrens book back in the early 70's. Can you please help!!!

F198 Sounds like FANTASTIC MR. FOX by Roald Dahl, 1970.~from a librarian.
Edith Thatcher Hurd, Fox in a box, 1957.  I boy goes hunting for a fox - sings:  I'll catch a fox and put him in a box and then I'll let him go. Cover shows fox in crate which definitely has a lock on the top.
F198 I just checked the Roald Dahl  book. It definitely is not that.
Marguerite Henry, Cinnabar, the One O'Clock Fox, 1956.  I'll bet this is Cinnabar, the one o'clock fox.  There IS a song in the book.  It's "A-hunting we will go, a-hunting we will go.  We'll catch the one o'clock fox, and put him in a box, and never let him go."   I read this one in the seventies, also.

I stumbled onto your site and find it a very pleasant place to visit.  Perhaps you could help me find a book I remember from my childhood - early 1960's - but possibly written before hand.  It is a childrens book with a title like Let's go to the Circus or Circus Fun or Circus World - something like that.  I remember there was a little tour of all the animals and acts.  The Fat lady and the clowns, etc.  But one character is for sure - he was the Tall man - named TALL TOM, and he had a small man (midgett) sitting on his lap!  I don't think it's a Little Golden Book - I've tried that avenue.  If there is anything you can do to help - it would be GREATLY appreciated.

There's a Tell-a-Tale book from the 60's called Circus Alphabet.
I think C 13 and T 32 are also asking for the same book.
Howdy and thanks !!!  Could you tell me how I go about finding a Tell-a-Tale book from the 60's called Circus Alphabet.
I have a Little Golden Activity Book (looks just like a regular book, but seemed to have had a piece on front that moves - but is missing now) called "Circus Time". My first page is ripped out, so I do not have a date, but it is an older Golden book. A little girl named Molly and her daddy go to the circus. Number in corner of book is A2 and price on top corner reads 25 cents.

Perhaps  Maud and Miska Petersham, CIRCUS BABY.  Macmillan, c. 1950.
Circus Baby, written and illustrated by Maud and Miska Petersham, published Macmillan 1950, 32 pages. "This gay picture book about a baby elephant and his mother and their friends, Zombie the Clown and his family, is sure to be popular with children ... Mother Elephant liked the Clown family so much that she tried to teach her baby to do everything the Clown baby did. All sorts of funny things happened when Baby Elephant tried to eat at the table." (HB Sep/50 p.371) Which matches the seeker's memories pretty well. (Zombie the Clown??)

Circus in the Mist by Bruno Munari
Yes, it does help and that was the book!!  Unfortunately, a copy in decent condition fetches a minimum of $200!  If you come across a nice copy, please let me know.
***Hey!***  Look at this...
A while back I answered a stumper for you regarding a book called CIRCUS IN THE MIST. I don't know if you still have the e-mail address for the person who was interested, but it was brought back to print by an Italian art society. They published copies in Italian and copies in English. I am not affliated with them in any way - I just purchased copies of it for my sister and myself. If you want to check out their website, go to www.corraini.com

Marion Conger, Circus Time, 1948.  The little girl's name is Molly, and her father takes her to the circus parade in the morning, after they watch the circus set up.  In the afternoon, they see the sideshows, then enter the bigtop for the main show.  The picture described is inside the book, not on the cover.
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I'm looking for an old story that was read to me in the early 70's. It's about a father taking his daughter to the circus where they eat spun sugar. The key line I remember is at the beginning and repeated at the end "the sky was gray and a little bit pink".  THANKS!

Marion Conger, Circus Time,  1948.   A very early Little Golden Book with pictures by Tibor Gergely.  Molly and her Daddy go to the circus in the morning to watch the circus set up, watch the parade, go home for lunch and then return for the side show and main show.  Before returning home at night, they eat "spun sugar on a stick" and "It is early in the evening.  The sky is pale pink and pale yellow and pale gray."  The changing shades of the sky all day are noted throughout the book.
Marion Conger, Circus Time.  Wow, that was fast. Thanks so much!

Evelyn Sibley Lampman, City Under the Back Steps, 1960.  This sounds like it might be The City Under the Back Steps, which is described more fully on the Solved Mysteries page.
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I am looking for the title of a book I read as a child in the 1960's about black and red ants and some children who intervene in the ants' war.  The red ants smelled like cinnamon and I believe the black ants smelled like vanilla.  It was a green hardcover book with some illustrations throughout the book.  Any help would be appreciated.

Evelyn Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps. After I posted my question about this book I came across entry A276.  Right there was the answer - The City Under the Back Steps!!  I have thought about this book for years and years - I read it every summer.  Thank you for this wonderful site!!'
E.S. Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps. This is without a doubt City Under the Back Steps, a perennial query  on book search boards!  It's the story of two children who are reduced to insect size and live with a colony of black ants (and yes, in the book they smell like vanilla).  At one point their colony is attacked by red ants.'
Evelyn Sibley Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps. 1960.
Evelyn Sibley Lampman, , City Under the Back Steps (...Stairs-British). 1960. I'm positive about this one-see the Solved Mystery pages.
Evelyn Sibley Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps.  June 1960. This is definitely your book. It's out of print but available on a set of CDs at Chinaberry.
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In 1968 I read a children's book where the person was bitten by an ant and shrunk until he (she?) was small enough to live in the ants colony for a time.  At the end, the person returned to full sized  but remembered the experience.  Does anyone know title/author?

Evelyn Sibley Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps, 1960, copyright.  Two cousins are bitten by the queen of an ant colony and shrink to the size of ants.
E.S. Lampman, City Under the Back Steps.  You're probably remembering this much-requested book.
Evelyn Sibley Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps, 1960, copyright.  Honore Valintcourt, Illustrator. Two children (cousins?) are bitten/shrunken and join an ant colony, where they learn to respect the ants.
Evelyn Sibley Lampman, The City Under the Back Steps, 1960, copyright.  I'm impressed at the prompt response and grateful for the information.  With such an obvious concensus, I assume this is the right book. Thank you!

Suzanne Martel, The City Under Ground. InThe City Under Ground, the city is called Surreal, which turns out to be short for "Sur le Mont Real" (sp?).  It's below present-day Montreal.  The inhabitants were indeed hairless, and food was distributed in the form of pills.
Suzanne Martel, City Underground, c. 1963.  Here is what I found on the internet: The book was originally printed in French, in 1963 under the title, Quatre Montrealais en l'an 3000. It was reprinted in 1980 under the title Surreal 3000. Then, in 1982, it was translated into English under the title The Underground City. The main characters are Eric and Luc. Eric is trying to rescue his brother, and Luc is trying to save the life of his girlfriend, Agatha. He decides to break the city's law by going to the surface in search of a cure for Agatha's disease, which I recall being chicken pox. The people on top, sort of an advance stone age, I think, have immunity from it. When Luc is hurt on the surface, Eric goes up too, to rescue him.  I got this tidbit description, "It is the year 3000. In the underground city, Luke discovers a doorway to the outside and ventures into a world devastated by a nuclear attack that occurred one thousand years earlier." Hope this helps!

Wallace, Barbara, Claudia, 1969.  I, too, loved the book Claudia, about a tomboy and outcast dealing with the popular girls at school.  Like you, I bought the book through Scholastic.  The Scholastic cover is absolutely beautiful.
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Claudia.  Maybe?  I haven't read these books but they are about a girl and her best friend not getting along.  There is a series- Hello, Claudia, Claudia, and Claudia and Duffy.  I think the best friend's name is Janice.
Wallace, Barbara Brooks, Hello, Claudia!  Back in print now - there are also two other books in the Claudia series: Claudia, and Claudia and Duffy.
Barbara Wallace (illus. Ethel Gold), Claudia, c.1974.  Maybe this one?   (ISBN:0595153372)   Scholastic Book Services, 1974  Claudia feels so miserable and lonely. All her old friends seem different. And now her parents won't let her play with the only person she really likes!
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Claudia.  I'm certain that this is the book. apparently there are sequels, too!
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Claudia, 1969.  This sounds right!  The author wrote two other books about Claudia.  Hello Claudia describes the close friendship between nine year olds Claudia and Janice, and how the two begin to drift apart once Janice moves away and Claudia meets Duffy, a six year old boy who moves into Janice's old house.  In Claudia and Duffy, sixth grader Claudia finds she is outgrowing fourth grader Duffy, but doesn't want to hurt his feelings by ignoring their friendship---she remembers how much it hurt when Janice snubbed her!
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Claudia.  I think it is your book! I remember this one well, and the fury I felt at the mother painting the furniture pink. There's two books. One is called Claudia and the other is called Claudia and Duffy"  Here is a description:  "In her three popular Claudia books, Barbara Brooks Wallace has created stories that have appealed to boys and girls alike. Misunderstood by her parents, snubbed by a former best friend, on the “outs” at school because of unjust rumors, and finally, forbidden by her family from playing with her only remaining friend, Claudia’s story comes to such a satisfying conclusion kids have written that they wish this would happen to them!"
C370 I had the book CLAUDIA from Scholastic Book Services, and the author is Barbara Brooks Wallace. It looks like there may be a sequel, CLAUDIA AND DUFFY~from a librarian
Barbara Brooks Wallace, Claudia, 1969.  I found the answer to my own inquiry!  Found it by surfing a fabulous site called iUniverse.com, which lets you actually open and read excerpt pages from books... so I'm positive this is the one!  Hooray!

Hans Christian Andersen, The Little Mermaid. The plot you describe sounds quite like that of Hans Christian Andersen's "The Little Mermaid." The mermaid longs to be human and gives up her voice for the opportunity to win the love of a handsome prince and an immortal soul. What I always remembered about the story is that it caused her so much pain when she walked. Here is a good version online.
Günter Spang, Clelia and the little mermaid.  1967.  Pictures: Pepperl Ott.  Summary: Clelia catches a mermaid who becomes a delightful companion in spite of the fact she must be carried everywhere. When the mermaid disappears, Clelia is inconsolable until a new girl who looks very familiar comes to school.
I am the person with the request for the book about the mermaid. I would check every day to see if someone had and answer, then as I became disheartened, I checked every week, then... well, it's been several weeks now. But ALAS there is an answer!  I've been searching for several years and I'm thrilled! You're the best!  AH I am so excited!  Thank you millions!

Grimm  Brothers (as in Grimm's Fairy Tales), Clever Elsie, 1817, approximately.  Sounds like it might be either a slight misremembering of the Grimm story "Clever Elsie" or a later story derived from it.  "Clever Elsie" is online at various places such as here.  The "dangerous" item is a pickaxe stuck in the wall rather than a pitcher, but Elsie sees it while filling a pitcher in the basement.  First she and then everyone else in her household break down into tears worrying about what might happen if it falls down years later, without any of them being bright enough to simply remove it instead of worrying.
Six sillies...or three sillies.  I've heard several versions of this story (in different fairytale books). In each case the man is going to marry a girl, but her family is so silly that he thinks he might be making a mistake. (For example, he goes down into the cellar and finds the mother, father and their daughter worrying about something completely unimportant/irrelevant--like a milk jug falling-- while the cider pours all over the floor.)  He ventures out into the world and says that if he can find three people who are sillier than the girl and her parents then he will return and marry her. Of course he DOES find three ridiculously silly people and returns to his dear, silly love.
M417: Sounds like the British fairy tale The Three Sillies. Here's Joseph Jacobs' version.
The story that my mother remembers is, indeed, Clever Elise!  Thank you!

Corinne Gerson, The Closed Circle, 1968.
Yay!!! Thank you to whoever solved this for me! This has been driving me crazy!!  Thanks again!!!!!!
Corinne Gerson, The Closed Circle, 1968. I remember reading this as a girl. From the Amazon review: "Audrey and her family have just moved to a new town. Audrey makes friends with some of the popular girls and becomes involved in their Halloween prank. They get in trouble and the girls form a club, the "Secret Six," to prove to the adults that they can do good things too. Along the way Audrey befriends Hope, whose family prefers old-fashioned ways and dress. Audrey's attempts to bring Hope and her other friends together, as well as her family's attempts to bring their Jewish friends the Goldbergs together with their Pennsylvania Dutch friends, are honest in the struggle and yet heartwarming.

I remember this story, which I read in a school anthology. The title is Clothes Make the Man, and it is set in Paris. The burglar who is posing as a policeman is so pleased by the respect that passersby give him that when his cohorts come out of the jewelry store or bank thay have been burglarizing, he cries out, "Thieves! I arrest you! I arrest you in the name of the law!" That's how the story ends. Wish I could tell you more, but maybe this tiny bit will help.
Henri Duvernois, Clothes Make the Man - Short Story.  Thanks for the help on this story-with the title I was finally able to locate the story-on the internet!

Cloud Horse
I am looking for the name of a beloved book that I read in fourth or fifth grade.  It was about a young
girl in present times that dreams of a girl from the Viking era and her wonderful Icelandic horses.  The
girl from present times then finds a horse farm that raises Icelandic horses.  The book follows two story
lines, one of the present girl and one of the girl from the Viking era.  Both story lines center around
Icelandic horses. Thank you so much for hellping me with this search.

On Icelandic Horses, try Cloud Horse, by Jill Pinkwater.
I think this is correct - here's more information: Pinkwater, Jill Cloud Horse New York: Lothrop, Lee & Shepard, 1983. Illustrated in b&w. "Kate inherits a legacy of understanding and love for the free-spirited cloud horses of Iceland from a beautiful Viking girl who for a time had made her home on the shores of Vinland many centuries before."
Thank you so much for your assistance.  I found the book and have already purchased it!   I am so impressed with your website, what a wonderful idea.  And I am so pleased to have that wonderful book back on my bookshelf. Thanks again for all your help.  Have a great day.

This sounds like Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett.  People initially live in a town where the weather brings meals, until things go haywire.  One of the pictures does show spaghetti on a man's head, I think, and other pictures show various foods falling from the sky.  The book is still in print.
Could this be Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs by Judi Barrett published by Aladdin Books? It's copyright 1978. It has the illustrations as described.Good luck.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Barrett, Judy.  Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs.  Illustrated by Ron Barrett.  Atheneum Books, 1978.  16th printing.  No dust jacket, but in perfect condition.  F.  $20

I'm looking for a Little Golden Book about a penguin named Pablo.  I believe it is either called Pablo, the Penguin Who Hated the Cold or Pablo the Penguin Who Took a Trip.  Any info you could supply would be greatly appreciated.

Edmonds, Robert. The Cold-Blooded Penguin Illustrated by Walt Disney Studios.  Little Golden Book #D2, 1944.
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I recall a children's book in the late 40's I think, about a Penguin who travels from the Antarctic to the tropics on an Ice Floe. I recall what looked like a shower rod with water gushing from the shower head seeming to propel the Ice Floe. I have no recollection of anything about the title or author, just that it was a coloful book with the images I described. My wife remembers a similar book but also draws a blank. We would love to track this down.

I didn't follow your instructions about checking through solved queries before submitting one of my own.  I think that the answer to mine is The Cold Blooded Penguin which I did later find searching your solved queries.  Heard about you today on NPR Saturday Edition ... hope you are not  overwhelmed by folks like me!
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Searching for book title and possible source to purchase a children's book I remember from the late 1940's, about a penguin who was so cold living at the south pole that he finally floated away on his own piece of ice to a tropical island.   The book may have been part of the Golden Book series for children.  Penguin's name may be Willie? Smokey Joe?

I think this is The Cold-Blooded Penguin.  See Solved Mysteries.

There is a short story by George MacDonaldnamed the The Carosyn [The Fairy Fleet]  A young boy named Colin is taken by fairies that live in a stream that runs through his bedroom.  He must get the queen fairy something known as the Carosyn to rescue a little girl.  I have the story in a collection of George MacDonald children's stories, Gift of the Child Christ & Other Stories and Fairy Tales  that is published by Eerdmans, but I'm sure it was published by itself at one point.
Thanks for letting me know about this. I do not think it was by George MacDonald as the story had a very modern feel to it. That is modern at the time I read it which was in the late sixties, early seventies.
I'll keep checking at your site!
C20--Could this be Mindy's Mysterious Miniature by Jane Louise Curry? The main character is a girl who is shrunk--along with her house!-- by an crazy scientist who shrunk an entire town 30 years ago...and keeps it
in a barn as a tourist attraction.  Mindy meets the people still living in the town and helps them get back to normal size.  There was a sequel, which I think featured a boy...but I don't remember the title.
Hi, Did he enter cities he built out of his own blocks and stuff?  Could you have gotten his name wrong - he was called Phillip in The Magic City by Edith Nesbit.  It has just come back into print - I was deeelighted and bought it.
I strongly suspect the first answer was right, that this is George McDonald's story "The Carasoyn."  It does have a modern feel to it, some of his stories are remarkable that way, i.e., "The Light Princess."  This story has my favorite sentence in the English language in it -- the fairies are banished and must wander, and even though they find a beautiful place to live, they miss their home:  "Under the leafy foliage of the Devonshire valleys, with the purple and green ocean before them, that had seen ships of thousand bells, or on the shore rich with shells and many-coloured creatures, they longed for the clear, cold, pensive, open sides of the far-stretching  eathy sweeps to which a grey, wild, torn sea, with memories only of Norsemen, whales, and mermaids, cried aloud."  Anyway, it's easy enough to check, the story is one of three in a little book called Evenor, out of print but easy to get, published by Ballantine Books, 1972
A possible match: PARSIFAL RIDES THE TIME WAVE by Nell Chenault, illustrated by Guthrie Vee, published by Little, Brown Weekly Reader Bookclub 1962 "A story with a young boy, dogs, a magical Poddley, and time travel to Scotland at the time of Robert the Bruce. Parsifal is a Poddley, strange creatures that are mildly magical and whose job it is to help unhappy children. Poddleys are little green creatures about a foot high, they wear a pith helmet and a long white nightgown with shoes or socks and a star with their # on it. When Colin's collie dog dies, Parsifal must help."
This seems much more likely : Chase, MaryColin's Naughty Sister illustrated by H. Berson, 221 pages, published by Heinemann, 195 "It is mainly about a palace full of bored miniature beings, or rather about the children they entice to their domain by appealing to the more fallible side of each child's nature." Junior Bookshelf December 1959 review p.333
Chase, Mary, Colin's Naughty Sister, 1959, approximately.  I have been looking for this book for a very long time, so when i went on your web site, I decided to check postings.  The plot is instantly recognizable for
Chase - the bored countess and her cohorts try to lure children.  I recall that the girl's name was Loretta.  She is lured into the world by tinkling music coming from her closet, she enters through an opening, and becomes miniature when she crosses the bridge.  I think she and Colin were adopted, and the countess has great influence over her because she doesn't feel she belongs to the family.  Colin follows her, and they save each other.
Hey! It looks as if Colin's Naughty Sister is the UK title for Loretta Mason Potts! Mary Chase, 1958-1959 "Colin Mason was ten years old before he learned he had an older sister ..."
What a fabulous site you have!  I know that about a year ago, I saw this somewhere buried in a description of another stumper.  But I have just spent several hours searching through your site and cannot refind it.  I also can't figure out how to work the Pay Pal.    I remember that you (?) said that the book had been renamed.  A girl realizes that her neighbor (a man) has shrunk a real house.  Later, when it's full-sized, she goes inside, and then is shrunk inside it when he reshrinks the house.  I think I read it in 5th grade (1974?), probably a via a Scholastic book order.

The Junior Classics, 1958, reprint.  Nearly all of these stories are in my edition of The Junior Classics, 1958 edition.  The Junior Classics have been produced many times in many editions.  My set has 10 volumes in bright colors. The House That Jack Built is in Vol. 10(Poetry).  All the others mentioned except The Gingerbread Man are in Volume 1, Fairy Tales and Fables (dark red cover, but no brick pattern.) The lamb sewn inside a drum is "Lambikin" by Flora Annie Steel, said to be a story from India.  The lambs tricked by a wolf were actually baby goats, in "The Wolf and the 7 Little Goats" by the Grimm Brothers.  The Teeny Tiny Woman is there as "Teeny Tiny" by Joseph Jacobs.  For many years The Junior Classics were included with Colliers' Encyclopedia, which is how my parents got my set.
Enid Blyton, Blue/Red/Green/Yellow Story Book, 1945-1950.  Short Story compilations written by Enid Blyton.  I don't own copies, but they were first published by Methuen between 1945 and 1950.  As far as I know there are many later reprints. See this website for more details.

The Colossus
The Colossus? Date: early 1900s. A favorite science fiction book of my father's, he was even having a hard time finding a copy back in the 1980s. It was a slim paperback and the cover art was black and grey, blurry, of a muscle man's V-shaped torso, and on the back cover, I think there showed a small black and grey drawing of a square-headed man whose mouth was in anguish.The story was a sad one about a man (creature?) of superhuman strength. I think the man was some type of scientific experiment, and I believe his mother turned out to be involved. I think he wanted a life (maybe a love?) of his own, but it could never happen, because he was being controlled by the scientists. Extensive googling for colossus, strongmen, etc has not revealed any hits pertaining to what I'm searching for. He was not a comic or video game, not associated with Rhodes.... I don't think he was a computer, unless maybe "half" one? Thank you! I'd really like to find this classic and read it myself.

SOLVED: Opie Read, The Colossus. Thank you. I already found it, and the story is nothing like I imagined the book would be.

There's also a Little Golden Book called The Color Kittens by Margaret Wise Brown and illustrated by Alice and Martin Provenson in 1949.
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I would so love to find a book I owned in the early 1950's about some little pigs that get into a lot of trouble with paint.  I believe there were two of them and they were pictured floating around on rivers of various paints - very colorful.  I think the book was called The Paint Pigs...can you help?

Margaret Wise Brown, The Color Kittens, 1949, copyright. Well, I couldn't find any books about pigs, but I do remember this one about kittens.  "Blue is the door that takes you through into the world of kittens.  And so begins the story of Brush and Hush, the color kittens, who have "buckets and buckets" filled with different colored paints. They spend their days splashing the colors about and mixing them up, for "out of these colors they would make all the colors in the world." When the kittens realize that they have no green paint, they decide to make some by mixing other colors together. Soon they have almost all the colors of the rainbow - EXCEPT the color they most want! Can they find the right combination of colors to create green?
Margaret Wise Brown, The Color Kittens, 1950s. Little Golden Book
I found Peter and Patsy Pig's Paint and Story Book, 1950's, but it's listed as a coloring book so it wouldn't be "very colorful" -- unless you colored the pages!
Brown, Margaret Wise and  the Provensens, Color Kittens, late 1940s, early 1950s, approximate. Could this be The Color Kittens by M.W. Brown? There is a pink pig in one of the pictures.  The two kittens get into paint and do make rivers of paint "Green as cats' eyes/ green as grass/ By streams of water/ Green as grass.  Anthologized in A Treasury of Little Golden Books.
Richard Scarry.  There's paint pigs in some of his books, good luck narrowing it down. If all else fails, you might try A to Zoo, a reference book in most public children's libraries that lists titles grouped by animals. Not sure how far back they go.
I must tell you, I am the person who submitted this query and when I read the response today I nearly fell over - of course, you are right! It WAS The Color Kittens!  I am overjoyed to have found the answer since this is the book that made me want to be an artist at a very young age.  I was thrilled so see that it has been reissued with it's original cover art, etc.  Thank you so much!

Madison, Susan, The Color of Hope, 2000. I think that L147 is The Color of Hope by Susan Madison.
Susan Madison, The Color of Hope, 2000.  Oddly enough, I just read this a week ago!
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I am looking for the title and/or the author of a book I read several years ago-before 2005 for sure. The story is about a busy city family of four that goes to a lake or beach house. It is the Dad's birthday I think and they go out for a sail to celebrate. A storm rolls in and they "lose" their teenage daughter. Presumed drowned, she has actually run away and is living with an artist in the local area. She is a “wanna be” artist and her family doesn’t approve. They close up the house and don’t return for quite some time. When they do return it is because their son is going to die and asks to go there. After they arrive they begin to find clues that she is still around - a certain flower is left on the porch, an unfinished bench she and her Dad were building is finished. The girl does meet up again with her family and she takes her brother out on a boat ride, where he does pass away.  I don't remember what the cover looked like. I feel like the title MAY HAVE had either the word Flower or the specific flower she liked in it. I feel like the title MAY HAVE had the girls name in it too.

Susan Madison, The Color of Hope, 2000, copyright.
Susan Madison, The Color of Hope, 2000, copyright.  Someone has solved the mystery. Thank you for the service!

Don Freeman, Come Again, Pelican, 1961.
Come Again Pelican, written and illustrated by Don Freeman, published Viking 1961, 44 pages. "The story here is quickly told, but there is much to linger over in the pictures. A small boy in red boots, newly arrived at his family's yearly vacation place, watches his friend the pelican perched on his same old post. Sun-drenched lithograph-effect drawings in four colors depict the fishing activities of boy and pelican the next day - the pelican shown in wonderful big outlines, carrying a fine surprise for the little boy." (HB Oct/61 p.434)

Gyo Fujikawa, Come Follow Me... To The Secret World of Elves and Fairies and Gnomes and Trolls, 1979, copyright.  A collection of stories and poems about elves, fairies, and other magical folk, beautifully illustrated by Fujikawa, which includes Elbert the Littlest Elf, The Pretty Red Ribbon, The Fairy Queen, Jupie the Space Elf, Old Nosy Gnome, A Goblinade, The Little Elf Man, A Fairy Went A-Marketing, and many others.  I can't find my old copy - maybe my sister has it - so I can't confirm whether "Three Little Witches" is in there or not.  It is not listed in the table of contents I was able to find online, but I'm not sure that it's a complete listing.  There are some Halloween-themed stories/poems mentioned, which might contain witches, such as "Halloween Song" or "Could It Have Been a Shadow?"
I just wanted to take a moment to thank you for your website.  I have spent WEEKS on end researching the internet, asking librarians for assistance, etc., to find the story book containing, as one of its stories, Elbert the Littlest Elf.  After a mere $2.00 investment and a couple of days posted on Stump the Bookseller, the mystery has been solved and I have now located a copy of the book.  I am so thrilled to be able to present this book that was my daughter-in-law's favorite to my new grandson on his first Christmas.  It will be a huge surprise to everyone!  A librarian suggested your website towards the end of my search.  In fact, I had already given up by the time I received the email.  I will definitely spread the word.

C86: Come over to My House (1966) by Theo LeSieg, which is an anagram of Dr. Seuss' real name! I don't
remember it too well, but I think it's different in that there are none of the usual Seuss nonsense words or fantastic situations in it, which is probably why he didn't use his usual pseudonym.
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A children's book from the 60s or early 70s (maybe late 50s?) about different types of homes around the world.  I specifically remember a part about children living in Venice, and I think children' living in a treehouse or hut in Africa.

Theo Le Sieg, Come Over to My House.  AKA Dr. Seuss! I loved this one when I was young.
LeSieg, Theo, Come Over to My House. (1966)  Boys and girls around the world show the houses they live in - and yes, the gondalier and the hut are in there, as well as a houseboat, the taj mahal, reindeer, kangaroos, etc.
Possibly The Little Boy & His House by Stephen Bone and Mary Adshead?  I don't know if Venice is a match, but there is a section about African huts and other homes around the world.  First published in 1937, re-released in 1967.  Please see the "Solved Mysteries "L" page for more information.
Probably it's Come Over to My House (1966), by Dr. Seuss. See Solved Mysteries.
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I am looking for a children's book from my childhood about different houses of the world. It was illustrated with color drawings and I remember a house by the canal in Venice and maybe a house on poles from Africa? I also remember the colour pink. I think it must have been an American book from the late 50's - 60's.

LeSieg, Theo  (aka Dr. Seuss), Come Over to My House, Beginner Books, 1966.It starts out "some houses are bricks and some houses are sticks, Some houses are square and some houses are roung.  There are all kinds of houses around to be found."    It then goes around the world and kids describe their house.  Venice: "My house is bright pink and it's happy and gay.  Our streets are wet water.  We like it that way."  India:  "Come over to my house and stay for the night.  We have 200 rooms so I'm sure it's all right.  But don't touch the tigers.  They're liable to bite."
Theo LeSieg, Come Over to My House. This is on the solved mysteries board.
Theo. LeSeig, Come Over to My House, This has pictures just like you describe.  Houses and children around the world including an igloo and house on stilts.
LeSieg, Theo, Come over to My House, 1966. I think this is the same as H180, Come Over to My House by Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss)
Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss), Come over to my house, I think this could be it - the cover is bright pink and I remember the Venice illustration very well
Dr. Seuss, Come Over To My House. I remember this too! I may not have known the book without your "venice" reference!
Theo LeSieg, Come Over to My House, 1966. You might be looking for Come Over to My House...a Dr. Suess beginner book!
Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss), Come Over to My House. Come over to my house, come over and play! This is definitely the book. Basically, it shows fanciful pictures of kids and their houses all over the world--including Venice "Our streets are all water, we like it that way"
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1970's, childrens.  In this bed time story, a little boy goes to bed in the US and then travels to other countries to see how other children sleep.  You follow his little black footprints across the pages as he "walks" from continent to continent.  In Africa, we see a child who sleeps in a hammock.  In Japan, we see a child who uses a wooden stand as a pillow.  In Alaska, the children sleep in an igloo.  In the American West, a child sleeps in a teepee. I may have some of this information jumbled up, after all, I was only a child when this book was read to me, however, one thing I remember for certain are the footprints across the pages.  There were also footprints along the inside covers, front and back.

Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss), Come Over to My House.  This is your book! It is not illustrated in Dr. Seuss's typical style, but it has the footprints as you travel over the world to see the different kinds of houses people live in.
Come over to my house, come over and play.  I'm pretty sure the requester is looking for Come Over to My House, Come Over and Play. The foot prints are on the endpages, and there is a section devoted to how each kid sleeps--one shows the Japanese boy with his head on the wooden pedestal--the entire book is not just about sleeping, though, as it shows kids eating, playing, etc.
Thank You!  Thank You!  For helping to locate a book from my childhood when I didn't even know the title or author!  My "stump the bookseller" request was A385 and as it turns out, the book I was looking for was, indeed, Theo LeSieg (Dr. Seuss) Come Over to My House, Come Over to Play.  I am thrilled!!!  THANK YOU!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

LeSeig, Theo.  Come Over to My House.  Illustrated by Richard Erdoes.  Random House Beginner Books, 1966.  Some edgewear, otherwise fine.  Hard to find.  VG.  $55

Edith Osswald, Illus. by Eloise Wilkin, Come Play House, 1948.  This is Come Play House, one of Eloise Wilkin's charming Little Golden Books.  The picture of the boy is exactly as you remember it, and the text, titled "Mowing the Lawn" reads "The wheels roll smoothly round and round. The blades whirl with a whizzing sound. They cut the grass. It smells so sweet. It scatters all over and tickles my feet."  On the same page as the text is a black-and-white drawing of baby sister running barefoot in the grass. The book contains a number of lovely color illustrations, including Wedding, Valentines, Jungle Gym, and The Show (dancing toy monkey puts on a show for an audience of dolls & a teddy bear) and lots of sweet black-and-white sketches.  They show children doing all sorts of "grown up" things, like washing dishes, using a carpet sweeper, baking a cake, going grocery shopping, ironing, gardening, packing, and even moving to a new house. This was a huge favorite of mine, and while it is regretably out of print, copies can still be found. "Rain Rain Go Away" is not in this book, but you might check some of Eloise Wilkin's other Little Golden Books for that one.
Someone supplied the name of my book and even described scenes from it!  NOW I can try to find a copy of it...to bring back 55+ yrs-old memeories!.

Jean Craighead George, On the Far Side of the Mountain, 2001.  I think this may be what you are looking for if it's recent. It is a sequel to My Side of the Mountain, which came out thirty years earlier and was one of my favorites as a kid.
In reply to the comment that was added, the book had to have been published before 2001.  I read it as a teenager, so it would have been published by 1988 or so.  Thanks!
This sounds a lot like a book that came out in the late 70's or early 80's.  I don't remember the title but the author was Read or Reader.
Dennis Reader, Coming Back Alive, 1981.  Thanks to the person who remembered the author's last name.  I was able to track it down!
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I read this book in the late 70s, most likely a scholastic book for teenagers.  It was about a girl and boy (not brother and sister...they didn't live together) who planned to run away.  I think the girl lived with an aunt or something, but the woman didn't like the boy, so the kids had a code to signal to meet somewhere...the boy would call pretending to have a wrong number.  If he asked for something with green in the name she would sneak out to meet him.  If it was red, she would know it wasn't safe or he couldn't make it.  They used names like the City Greenhouse or Mr. Redmond.  They plotted their escape and ran away, but the rest of the book is hazy.

Here's a total longshot: could this be The Lion's Paw, by Robb White?  The boy and the girl at the beginning are brother and sister, but they're in an orphanage that divides the boys and the girls, so they have a whole system worked out to meet and plot to run away.  I haven't read it for years, but I vaguely recall a color code involved.  If it is The Lion's Paw, the brother and sister (Nick and Penny) do run away. They stow on board a sailboat owned by another boy (Ben) who is also running away from an evil uncle who wants to sell the boat. The three become friends and sail down the coast to look for a rare seashell called a 'lion's paw' because the boy who owns the boat is sure that if he finds it, his father--who's MIA during the Korean War--will return.  Good Luck!
Not "The Lion's Paw."  The book I read was more contemporary.  It would have been written in the late 60s at the earliest, but most likely mid to late 70s. Today it would be classified as a YA book, not a children's book.  It was the kind of relatively short paperback you'd get on cheap paper from the book-order in junior high.   I can't come up with any more details but I'm sure the boy and girl weren't related.
SOLVED: Dennis J Reader, Coming Back Alive, 1981. Someone on Goodreads' What's-the-Name-of-That-Book thread suggested I look at Coming Back Alive by Reader. The title meant nothing to me, but this weekend I reread the book and that was it!!  I had the description slightly off, and it turns out the codewords were a very minor (half page at most) plot device, so I'm not surprised it was so hard to find based on my description.  Thanks so much for keeping the link and helping me on my quest. 

Herman, Victor, Coming Out of the Ice.  I found a listing for "Coming Out of the Ice" on the Internet Movie Database.  It was a 1982 made-for-TV movie starring John Savage and Willie Nelson (yes, THAT Willie Nelson!) and sounds like the plot you remember.  It's based on an autobiography by Victor Herman.  He was an American who lived in Russia and then was banished to Siberia for many years.

This young adult book is about a girl in hollywood - she acts in commercials and such and is basically supporting her family.  I seem to recall that it's just her and her mother and maybe a sibling?  At some point in the book I think she's cast on a series of some kind.  One scene I remember is when she's called upon to cry while acting she has a hard time doing it until she has some kind of difficult time with her mother (I think a talk about money and supporting the family but I'm not positive) and after that she says something like "I never had a hard time working up tears again, I just remembered the look on my mother's face."  I also seem to recall that she refered to her mother by her first name throughout the book and it seems like her mother's name started with a 'D'.  Vague, I know but the usual searches haven't turned up anything.

G179 Not sure, but try looking at LOVE STORY, TAKE THREE by Gloria D. Miklowitz. The teen's name is Valerie, and she wants to become more independent from her overprotective mom.~from a librarian
Joan L. Nixon, Hollywood Daughters series. (1990)  The last title in this series "Encore" sounds a lot like the plot described.
Marlene Fanta Shyer, Adorable Sunday,October 1986. I'm not sure if this is the book you are looking for, but it immediately came to mind when I read your request.  I seem to remember that her trademark was a long french braid.
Mark Jonathan Harris, Confessions of a Prime Time Kid, 1985, copyright.  It's about a girl named Meg who becomes the star of a sitcom called The Kid and the Cabbie.  The mother is Darlene, which is what Meg calls her instead of Mom.  The sibling is a brother named Kelly.  The crying scene happens in an audition for a stain remover commercial.  Darlene had splurged on an expensive dress for Meg. "Thinking of how upset Darlene would be [if the dress actually got stained], I ran to the casting director, 'Mom, Mom, look at what I've done...' Suddenly I was crying, the rest of my lines lost in tears."
Mark Jonathan Harris, Confessions of a Prime Time Kid.  That's exactly right - as soon as I read the title I recognized it.  Thanks so much!

Congo Boy
A 1960s(?) book...an African boy wants to go hunting with his father but he is told to stay home and do
farm chores because he doesn't have a spear. He keeps lending tools to people and they keep getting damaged and replaced with other things as compensation, so his list, as he tells it, keeps getting longer. In the end, he lends a blanket to two warriors, they fight over it and rip it, and they give him a spear!
Joyfully, he joins his father.

Well, I finally found it myself - it's Congo Boy (1965, SBS) as retold by Mollie Clarke and illustrated by Beatrice Darwin. The back cover says: "This is the story of a little African boy and how he got a milking pot, a knife, a blanket, a shield...and something he wanted most of all!"

It might be CONQUER THE WIND by Ernie Rydberg (teen with chip on shoulder learns to soar) Longmans green & Co NY 1957. Or, It might be HIGH CHALLENGE, by D.S. Halacy , Macmillan 1957. Teen solos and gets in trouble.
It is Conquer The Wind, found it.

This is definitely Robert Silverberg's CONQUERORS FROM THE DARKNESS (first book edition 1965, several later reprints, originally in shorter form in a magazine in 1957).  Here's one edition's blurb:  A thousand years in the future, the earth has been conquered by an alien race and covered by a single sea. Dovirr Stargan, who is digusted with the servility of his life on the floating city of Vythain, longs to become one of the Sea-Lords, who roam the sea as powerful protectors of the cities. Dovirr gets his wish, but the return of the alien race brings unexpected and critically dangerous crises to his new life as he learns the real, sometimes terrible, significance of power.  *********  The requestor might also enjoy Jack Vance's THE BLUE WORLD, which has a similar setting and sort-of similar plot (floating ecosystems on an alien world, humans subjugated to aliens, one outcast instrumental in overthrowing same).

HRL:  Williams, Jay. THE COOKIE TREE. Illustrated by Blake Hampton. Parents' Magazine, 1967.   I don't have a complete list either, but I'll keep adding titles to my PMP catalog page, and maybe eventually I will.

Arthur Ransome.  Try any of the Ransome books. Swallows and Amazons, etc.
Arthur Ransome, The Coot Club or The Big six
S225 I just thought of something like this I enjoyed many yrs ago: Swallows and Amazons by Arthur Ransome?
Aubrey de Selincourt, Family Afloat, late 30s/ early 40s.  Several sequels, about an English family whose hobby is sailing. Ransome is a more likely solution but if not, try this one.
Arthur Ransome, The Coot Club.  There are a lot of Ransome books to wade through if you want a particular one.  If it's a lake, try Swallows and Amazons or one of the other books with Nancy and Peggy as characters.  If it's sailing on the Norfolk broads (canals and rivers), look for characters named Dick, Dorothea, Tom and/or Pete.
Arthur Ransome, Coot Club, 1932.  amonost certainly Coot Club.  I adored all of Arthur Ransome's books as a child and
read each several times.  There is a tremendous web-site  with links to synopses and character lists for all the books.

 expect to become addicted to the Vorkosigan family's ... ummm ... adventures.

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Corduroy

The teddy bear is named Corduroy, and the book is written by Don Freeman.  A classic.
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I read this book in the mid 1980's. From what I remember a little boy goes to a toy store and can pick any toy/stuffed animal he wants. He scans the shelves filled with beautiful dolls and stuffed animals, ones that have glass eyes and dolls that can cry. But the child picks a teddy bear that has button eyes and a sewn mouth. I think one of the illustrations shows the child walking down a city street to the toy store. Does anyone remember this book? Thanks so much!

Dorothy Meserve Kunhardt, Kitty's New Doll, 1984.  This is about a cat not a child getting a new doll but it is very similar to what you are describing."Kitty and her mother go to the toy store for her very first doll. Which one does Kitty choose? Not the doll that walks and talks. Kitty chooses a rag doll that can’t do anything, not even sleep. “But she can pretend cry and pretend sleep . . . and she can say anything I want her to say,” says Kitty. And as she walks home with her new doll, she holds it close and pretends that it says, “I love you.”
Don Freeman, Corduroy.  This sounds a lot like Corduroy, except with a boy instead of a girl.
Robert Larranaga, Sniffles, 1973.  Also published as Lonesome Little Puppy, 1974.  I haven't seen this book in 20+ years but the description reminded me of it.  The toy is a dog rather than a bear, but it's a sweet story of a stuffed animal that was accidentally made of tweed instead of fur.  This causes him trouble finding a home.  A little boy picks him out eventually.  I can't testify to the button eyes, but the mouth definitely has a kind of sewn on look, almost like a big zipper.
Freeman, Corduroy.  This sounds like it could be Corduroy by Dan Freeman (see solved stumpers), although I think Courduroy the bear is picked by a little girl rather than a little boy.
Don Freeman, Corduroy, 1968.  Had this one around the house when I was young -- a favorite.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Freeman, Don.  Corduroy.  Illustrated by Don Freeman.  Viking,  1968.  Weekly Reader Book Club 18th printing 1987.  $5 Freeman, Don. Corduroy.  Viking, 1976.  New hardback, $15.  New paperback, $6.

You're real close.  Corally Crothers Birthday by Romney Gay, 1944.  Rather scare!
You did indeed solve the mystery of Corally Crothers Birthday.  I was able to print out the whole book, pictures and all,  by using the FLICKR web site,  but was discouraged to learn that available copies of the book are sooooo expensive.  This may have to do for a while.  My sister and I are thrilled with what we have, nevertheless. We always start our birthday good wishes to each other with the first lines of the book and we are in our 60's!  Thank you so much!

Corrupting Dr. Nice, by John Kessel, 1997.
John Kesel, Corrupting Dr. Nice, 1997.  1st edition=1997, Tor Books, Hardcover, ISBN 0-312-86116-8.  2nd edition:  Orion Millenium, 287 pages, paperback, September 30, 1999.  Time travel, con artists, a rich paleontologist and a baby dinosaur meet in 1st century Jerusalem...

Engle, Eloise, Countdown for Cindy, 1962.  I may have just solved my own stumper.  I found a listing for this book, and the synopsis sounds close.  Apparently NASA cooperated with the writing of this book, and Cindy is a nurse, and the first woman on the moon.  I won't know if this is the one until I see it.
I just got this from InterLibrary Loan and...Yes, Yes, Yes!  This is IT!  I'm so excited!  Please, Harriet, tell me you can get  me a copy of my very own.  I feel 13 years old again.

Just in case the poster didn't have the right title (Countdown For Cindy), here are more suggestions from your solved page.
Paula Danziger, This Place Has No Atmosphere. I know this is about a self-centered teen who is unhappy at having to move to the moon for a year, although I don't remember the ending.
Engdahl, Sylvia Louise, Journey Between Worlds, ca1970.  Just read it this summer.  Girl goes off for about a year to accompany her father, a businessman,  figuring she'll return to her boyfriend afterward.  En route, on the spaceship, she meets a young man,  is friendly with him and his family while she's on Mars, and even helps his sister-in-law as a teacher's aide. As described in the stumper, she initially has problems due to her prejudices about the planet,  loses her father in the shuttle explosion (forcing her to stay on the planet), and, after a near-fatal  accident on an excursion to one of the nearby Moons (with schoolchildren and the young man), realizes he's right for her and stays on with the colony. 

I remember encountering this as part of an exercise in an education course.  Although I don't remember the specifics for this story, I do know that most of the stories we used in class demonstrations came from Chicken Soup for the Teenage Soul.
Richard Y. Thurman, The Countess and the Impossible.  I remembered one detail the stumper didn't mention: the woman who hired the boy offered five dollars for a perfectly mowed lawn, but smaller amounts for lesser efforts.  I searched Google for "five dollar lawn" and found one pertinent entry.  The story is reproduced on this web page, but I don't know whether it is the original, an abridged version, or a retelling.  Ths web page indicates that "The Countess and the Impossible" by Richard Thurman was printed in the June 1958 issue of Readers Digest.   I searched "The Countess and the Impossible" on Google and found one entry.  Mosdos Press sells textbooks for children in 6th through 9th grades.  "The Countess and the Impossible" by Richard Y. Thurman is reprinted in their 8th Grade Gold: Book Two.
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Maybe a short story not a book.  Woman hires boy to do chores or yard work for a set amount.  But she says doing ten dollars worth of work would be an out of reach goal for the boy. The boy works hard and when the lady prepares to pay he tells her he has strived for the ten dollars worth.  Looking for this story for my 70 year old mom who remembers it from years ago so it may be quite old.  Unable to find it in any available short story indexes.  The only phrase she can remember is "ten dollars worth".  Thanks.

Richard Y. Thurman, The Countess and the Impossible, 1958.  Is it possible that your mother is mistaken about the amount of money involved?  Ten dollars was a LOT of money a long time ago!  Besides, her description sounds like Richard Y. Thurman's short story The Countess and the Impossible.  A dignified and reserved elderly woman hires a neighborhood boy to mow her lawn, but instead of paying a set amount for this service, she pays according to the quality of work he has achieved.  She is willing to pay up to five dollars, but tells the boy that it is nearly impossible to achieve such perfection.  The boy then becomes determined to produce a five dollar lawn.  After many attempts, he finally succeeds.  This story appeared in a 1958 edition of Reader's Digest magazine, but it was probably reprinted from another source, and may have been abridged.  It is still in print in an eighth grade textbook published by Mosdos Press (Literature Series Eighth Grade Gold: Book Two) and you may be able to find it in other places.  It was once available online, but that webpage no longer exists.
I spoke too soon!  The Countess and the Impossible can indeed be found online.  Please visit and let us know if it is the correct story!
Richard Y. Thurman , The Countess and the Impossible, 1958.  Posting this stumper became a conversation piece and someone else remembered this story
 not a "ten dollar job" but a "five dollar lawn", which I was able to Google and also see it is already a solved request on your site.

Distant bells are ringing... let me ponder a moment...
For the person who was searching for a rabbit who became an easter bunny: the book is called The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes it is by Du Bose Heyward. I too love this book.
About 20 years ago I remember reading a book that I think is called The Easter Bunny and The Gold Slippers. It is a hard back book and I think may have been published in England. I think it had a pink cover.  The story goes like this. The Old Easter Bunny dies and a new one is needed to deliver eggs to all the boys and girls for Easter morning. So they have a race. Most of the Bunnies are big, strong fast males but one is a smaller, slower mother or 12 or 13 or so. The Bunny that wins the race gets to wear the Gold Slippers and be the Easter Bunny. I won't give away the ending incase others see this and want to read the book but I would love to find a copy. you seem to know other English books that I have read growing up in New Zealand and I hope you know this one. Many Thanks.
I sent a message a few minutes ago about a book. I then went back to your site and saw the book I want on the Solved Mysteries page. Please let me know if you have any copies of The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Du Bose Heyward. Thanks again what a great web site.
One of my favorite stories, but I can't remember the name, is about a Bunny who wanted to be an Easter bunny.  So when she grew up, she went to the qualifying race, and they said that she couldn't run because she was a mother with so many children who neeeded her that she couldn't be gone on Easter night delivering eggs.  She said that her home practically ran itself because she had two bunnies who cooked, two who set the table, two that swept, etc, etc.  So they let her run the race, and to their surprise, she was very fast, and won.  She tours the egg palace which has rooms full of each color of eggs.  But she is given a special assignment, to deliver a beautiful egg, with a scene on the inside to a sick child on the top of a snowy mountian.  She struggles, but safely gets the egg to the child, and is home in time to be with her bunnies on Easter morn.
The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes, by Dubose Heyward. I read this book many, many times to my daughter when she was little, and I have to admit I always got a little choked up reading it.
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I was so excited to find your web page.  I've been trying to figure out what this book is.  I remember the cover being pink and there being a whole line of little rabbits across the front and a big (mother?) rabbit in the middle of the line.  The story was something about easter eggs (the kind you can look inside one end and see a scene) being made up on a mountain?  Does this sound at all familiar?  Please say yes, ha ha ha!

B50: Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Dubose Heyward and illustrated by Marjorie Flack(?).
Roughly half a century old, it breaks all sorts of social stereotypes in its tender way while reminding the reader that some old-fashioned standards still hold true - such as kindness, self-discipline (regardless of age) and  perseverance. Read about it in the "Solved Mysteries" page.
B50: I'm pretty sure this book is Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes by Dubose Heyward. Really great, and in print in soft cover.
Though I'm rather reluctant to snap answer this to all Easter Bunny stories, The Country Bunny and the Little Golden Shoes by Dubose Heyward does have a very similar cover to the one described here.
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I read in 1976-77....small book about a rabbit who runs away or get losts...sort of a sad book.  It is illustrated and one image is of a house(farm?) at night and it is snowing.  Not Beatrice Potter. I think the cover was pink in color and maybe I am confusing with a different book, slippers????

Sounds like The Runaway Bunny by Margaret Wise Brown.
DuBose Heyward, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes.  I have a feeling this is the book.  According to my memory, although the bunny in the story had not run away, the cover is pink, and it does involve a house/cottage in the snow, and there is a degree of "sadness," and the story does involve slippers -- or, more accurately, gold shoes.  There's a link to it in Solved Mysteries, including a picture of the cover.  Basically, the plot is that a mother bunny is chosen to be one of several Easter bunnies.  Her last assignment on her first Easter is to deliver an egg to a boy who lives in the cottage on top of a mountain who has been very ill (hence the "sadness" component).  The bunny tries to make it up the mountain but, I think, slips on some ice or snow (there because the mountain is so high) and falls back to the bottom.  The head Easter bunny appears and gives her golden shoes, and she is able to make it up the mountain in two jumps and deliver the egg.  A wonderful book.
From the detail about the pink cover and slippers, it sounds as thought this person is looking for The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes.
F.Y.I.  The author, DuBose Heyward, is also the author of the novel "Porgy," from which the operatta "Porgy & Bess" was derived.  I have the novel and it is interesting to read the original story.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Heyward, Du Bose.  The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. Houghton Mifflin, 1939.  A beautiful copy, with some rips and nicks on dust jacket.  VG/G.   <SOLD> Other copies may be available; please inquire!

You dont mention a canal, but the only cow named Hendrika that I could find is in The Cow Who Fell in the Canal by Phyllis Krasilovsky (Doubleday, 1953).  "Hendrika, a Dutch cow, falls into the canal.  She pulls herself onto a raft and floats down the river to the city."  "Hendrika, a bored cow, longing for the wondrous sights in the city, falls into the canal and gets her wish."
Phyllis Krasilovsky, The Cow Who Fell in the Canal, 1953.  Hendrika the Dutch cow is bored living on the farm. She longs to see the wondrous sites in the city, a place she has heard about from Pieter the horse. Quite by accident, her wish comes true one day when she falls into the canal and floats downstream on a raft.
Phyllis Krasilovsky , The cow who fell in the canal, 1957.  Hendrika was an unhappy cow. She lived on a farm in Holland, where it is very flat. All summer long she ate grass.  All winter long she ate hay.  All winter and all summer she did nothing but eat.  And she gave milk to Mr. Hofstra, the farmer. Mr. Hofstra thought she was a fine cow because she gave such white creamy milk. "Eat, eat, Hendrika," he would say. "The more you eat the more creamy white milk you can give me." Hendrika loved Mr. Hofstra, so she ate more to please him. But she was unhappy.
Phyllis Krasilowsky, The Cow that Fell into the Canal.  Illustrated by Peter Spiers.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Krasilovsky, Phyllis. The Cow Who Fell in the Canal.  Illustrated by Peter Spier.  Scholastic, 1953, 1957.  Third paperback printing, 1975.  VG.  $8

Edna Chandler, Cowboy Andy, 1960s.  The description sounds like a beginner reader book my sister and I had entitled COWBOY ANDY
Cowboy Andy - that was it. Thanks for the solution! I looked it up on the net and was able to find a picture of the book cover. Brought back lots of memories.
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Childhood early 70s; it's about a boy who goes to stay on a ranch, but one of the men at the ranch is skeptical that he won't fit in. I vaguely remember the many saying, for example, "he won't eat what cowboys eat," and then the boy discovers that the cowboys eat pan cakes, which he likes, and everyone laughs at the man, saying, "see? He likes what cowboys eat." Then at the end the boy enters a rodeo and does well, and the skepical man goes out and shakes his hand.

Edna Walker Chandler, Cowboy Andy, 1959, copyright.  Oooh, oooh, I had this book too!  It is definitely Cowboy Andy -- your description matches perfectly.
Edna Chandler, Cowboy Andy.  This is already in your solved stumpers list!
Definitely Cowboy Andy, I just read it last week!

Tommie Tabor, Cowboy Jack the Sheriff.  Just located an old "reel to reel" recording of my mother reading this book to us children, and she read the title first!  I'm so glad this mystery is solved!

Yagawa, Sumiko, The Crane Wife, Morrow 1981.  I don't know whether it's this specific version of the story, but the plot outline strongly suggests this Japanese fairytale.
The Crane Maiden, Miyoko Matsutani, 1968.  If your book was a Parents Magazine Press book, it was probably The Crane Maiden.  But the story has been retold in other versions, including Katherine Paterson's The Crane Wife.
Miyoko Matsutani, The Crane Maiden, 1968.  Solved!  Thank you!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Matsutani, Miyoko,  translated by Tresselt, Alvin.  The Crane Maiden.  Illustrated by Chihiro Iwasaki.  Parents Magazine Press, 1968.    [AQ5210]  $12

Tomie De Paola, Bill and Pete.  Pete the crocodile and his toothbrush (the bird) Bill save the day. Hugs and kisses to Tomie De Paola
peter nickl, crocodile, crocodile, 1975.   The plot is right  It's written all in rhyme. Omar the croc hears 2 ladies talking about the things they sell in the crocodile store. he mistakenlly thinks it's a store FOR crocodiles. he goes to paris and eats the sales lady.he brings french perfume back to egypt with him. LOVE IT!

I think I've found it: A Crocodile's Tale: A Philippine Folk Story (1968 by Jose and Ariane Aruego).
A Crocodile's Tale: a Philippine Folk Story, written and illustrated by Jose and Ariane Aruego, published Scribner 1972, 32 pages. "A plain-speaking folk tale illustrated with delightful pictures. A little boy saves the life of a crocodile who then turns around and threatens to eat him. In vain, Juan appeals to others, but 'People are not grateful, crocodile, so why should you be? Go ahead and eat him.' is their reaction. A clever monkey finally rescues the child, but only after Juan has promised to persuade his father to plant more bananas, so 'there will be plenty for all of us.'" (HB Jun/72 p.259)

T18 about the girl in the boat who goes back in time and is rescued by her grandfather might be Crazy Creek.
I just got a copy of the book Crazy Creek by Eleven Sable Lampman and just had to tell someone.  (So I don't call my mother and spoil her Christmas surprise)  Haven't read the whole thing yet but it definitely must be the book she was looking for.   Thank you to the person who suggested it and thank you for your great site.
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The story is about a girl who likes to hear stories about when here grandfather was a boy.  She has some sort of accident and ends up in the past.  A family takes her in and it turns out it's her grandpa's family.  They live in a log cabin that is not close to a town.  She lives with them for about a year.   She has no money to buy Christmas presents, but she uses the material from the outfit she was wearing - I think it was a checked play suit - to make a needle book.  I think she made other presents too.  After a year, she gets bumped on the head and ends up back at home.  No one believes her, but she tells her grandfather things about his life that he never told her.  This story must be from sometime in the middle to late 60's or earlier.

Lampman, Evelyn, Crazy Creek.  This is the stumper I posted a few years ago and the answer was Crazy Creek.  "A young  girl is injured falling into a boat. She floats downstream and is rescued by a young boy, who turns out to be her grandfather. She has gone back in time. She and her grandfather have lots of adventures  including, either chasing a greased pig or climbing a greased pole at the fair. When she finally wakes up in her present, her grandfather is sitting next to her bed."
Lampman, Evelyn Sibley, Crazy Creek, 1948, copyright.  Thank you!  I obtained a copy of this book and it is the one.  I immediately sat down to read the part about the christmas presents.  She made fish hook and needle books, a baby bonnet and a pen wipe for Pa.  She used the pink checked material from the belt of her sunsuit.  Of course, when she did get home, they said she just lost the belt in the river.  I have been thinking about this book for years, but had so little to go on, I thought I would never find it.  Thanks again.  This is a wonderful site.

John Goodall, Sounds like John Goodall's work -- Shrewbettina's Birthday, Creepy Castle, and others, most originally from the 1970s and 1980s.  
John S. Goodall, Naughty Nancy Series, Creepy Castle, plus other titles, 1980s, approximate.These tiny little wordless books by John S. Goodall usually featured mice, but sometimes included other animals (pig, koala) and dolls.  He created these for his daughter and granddaughter.  One interesting about the books is that every other page is a half-page, which allows you to see the action being shown in the picture. Example, the two page spread shows 2 mice knocking on the door of castle, then when half page is turned, the picture shows the 2 mice standing in front of the now open door. Some of the titles are: Creepy Castle, Naughty Nancy, Naughty Nancy goes to school, Shrewbettina's birthday, Paddy Pork, and The Midnight Adventures of Kelly, Dot and Esmerelda.

John S Goodall, Creepy Castle, etc.Yes-- that's the series I was looking for!! I actually own Lavinia's Cottage and didn't realize it was the same artist.  Though many of his books are (sadly and unjustly) out of print, now I can start building a library of his charming works.  Thank you Loganberry Book Stumpers for your help! (Though I must add, it was originally very frustrating to fit all the description I'd wanted to write, into the tiny area Paypal allows for comment... I'm glad it was enough to help someone remember for me!)
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Beautifully illustrated children's book (probably European) about mouse dressed up in renaissance clothing and sporting a rapier, crosses a moat into a castle to rescue mouse princess with a cone on her head. Book probably in landscape and author had other books about mice (at beach, etc.). The mouse crosses over a moat at one point, I believe. The final page, I'm pretty certain, are the mouse and mouse princess sitting in a chair with a fire in between, sipping on some chocolate/tea. There is a banner above saying something along the lines of "home, sweet home". I *think* the book was from Belgium/France but I could be very wrong. The book was most probably in landscape format. I was born in 1981, so my parents must have bought me the books around 1985 give or take a few years. I grew up in Greece and most of the books I read were probably more from the UK, France and Belgium and less from the US.

John Goodall, Creepy Castle, 1975. Probably this one.  Cover shows Mouse in green renaissance outfit with sword and mouse princess in pink pointy hat.  Format is landscape. Goodall wrote many wordless books about mice and other animals.
SOLVED: I just checked the page, and someone has solved one of my questions!! I am extremely happy - thank you so much!! It's a wonderful website you have. :) The solved one is R261: Renaissance Mouse -  John Goodall, Creepy Castle, 1975. is the correct book.

Sounds like Paula Danziger's type of books - the first could well be The Divorce Express.  She wrote many books about dysfunctional families.
goodbye to stony crick or goodbye to stony creek?
No, sorry, I'm sure it isn't a Danziger book, and Stony Creek doesn't sound familiar.  I thought the one with the boy as the main character was called "Cricket," after the horse in the book, but none of the "Cricket" books I've found have been a match.  I thought the other book's title might've been the name of the girl in it.  I remember that they were sort of large-sized paperbacks with textured covers, rather thin, not a lot of pages.
Have you heard of a children's author named Betty Killian/Killion?  I caught the tail end of a story on the local news, and all I heard was "...local author Betty Killion..." (spelling may be wrong).  Just wondering if she might've been the author of this book stumper I sent to you, since I was sure she was from around here.  Could be wrong, because my local library shows NOTHING under that name (tried several spellings).  I can't find a trace of her on the Internet so far. I'll keep looking because I hate to bother you with it if I can find out on my own, but I thought you might recognize the name.
I solved my own Stumper!  The author is Dorothy Hamilton, and the books I described were Cricket and Mindy.  After seeing her bibliography, I also remember reading Christmas for Holly.  I haven't confirmed yet if I was right in thinking that she was from around here, but I DID see another of her books that was  titled Christmas at Metamora: An Indiana Story, so I'd say it's a good bet she was. Thanks anyway, and you can move me to the Solved page now! 

S341 I just read this one and it doesn't quite match the plot, but is popular: Noble, Trinka Hakes,  Jimmy Boa bounces back,  illus by Steven Kellogg,  Dial/Dutton, 1984.
S341  Try CRICTOR by Tomi Ungerer, 1958~from a librarian
Tomi Ungerer, Crictor, 1958.  Definitely the right book.  Crictor is a snake sent to a little old lady in France by her son, who is studying reptiles in Africa.  Madame Bodot is a teacher who takes Crictor to school, where he plays with the children by letting them use him as a jump rope and a slide.  Madame Bodot does indeed knit Crictor a long sweater.  One day, Crictor becomes a town hero when he apprehends a burglar trying to break into Madame Bodot's home.  This book was featured on "Reading Rainbow" and is still in print in paperback.
S341: Crictor by Tomi Ungerer? It takes place in France, and the clever boa rescues his elderly owner from a burglar and gets a medal.
Is the snake green and kind of cartoon-style?  I have a vague recollection of this and think his name might be Victor the Constrictor, or maybe Hector the Constrictor.  I can't find anything more specific online.
Tomi Ungerer, Crictor, 1958.  The snake story sounds like Crictor by Tomi Ungerer.  He does wear a sweater in winter and is a jumprope for school children.  In the end, he saves Madame Bodot from a burglar.
Ungerer, Tomi, Crictor, 1958.  Madame Bodot's son studied reptiles, and one day he sent her a large doughnut-shaped package.  She named the baby snake Crictor and he grew to be an affectionate and loving pet.  He attended Madame's classes and learned to form letters and numbers with his body.  He was helpful with the children, letting them use him as a jump rope and retrieving lost kites.  And one night when a burglar breaks into Madame's house, Crictor saves the day.
Ungerer, Tomi, Crictor, 1958.  Son sends a boa constrictor to his mother.  She takes him to school where he forms letters and numbers, the children play with him, she knits him a scarf and the snake saves her from a burgler.
Crictor.  Don't remember the author, but I believe the book is Crictor, about a snake who lives with an old lady.  Easy to find--it's in your local library I'm sure.
I bet you want Crictor.  Crictor is a boa who is sent to a nice old lady in Paris by her son.  She adopts him, makes him a LONG sweater, and takes him to the school class she teaches.  Later he saves her from a robber and becomes a hero.
Tomi Ungerer, Crictor.  This is a funny story about a green boa constrictor named Crictor.  An elderly lady knits him a sweater.  I hope it's the one you remember.
Ungerer, Tomi, Crictor.  This sounds exactly like Crictor. I think it is still in print. I loved this book too.
Tomi Ungerer, Crictor, 1958. This sounds like it.  Crictor is a boa constrictor who is the pet of Madame Bodot.  She knits a long woolen sweater for him and there is a picture of him being used as a jump rope.  Our copy is even green!

Helen and Alf Evers, Crosspatch, 1949.  This picture book had a picture of a lion cub on the cover, so could well be what you are looking for.  You can see a picture of the book at this site. There was a sequel, Crosspatch and Pokey Bear, too.

Aldous Huxley, The Crows of Pearlblossom, 1967.  I happened on this site while doing a search and came upon the description of this book.  I am glad to help, as I still have the book.  I can't part with any books from my childhood
Aldous Huxley, The Crows of Pearblossom. (1967)  This is it! Thanks to a fellow "stumper" viewer.  Now a have a copy of my own to share with my kids.

book about a little girl (Molly?) who's mom died of a brain aneurysm and so she moves to Salem, MA and hears crying voices in her house and figures out that they are coming from another little girl (Sarah?) who's mother was accused of being a witch (and maybe hanged?) during the Salem witch trials--book was in paperback--I read it in the late 1980's or early 1990's--thanks

Sudbery, Rodie, A sound of crying, 1968.  Could you be confusing two books.  A sound of Crying (UK title: The house in the woods) features Polly Devenish who goes to stay with relatives in an old country house,in England not the US.  In her dreams she hears a girl crying.  THis girl is Sarah who lives with her nasty Uncle Simon.  It is definitely not set in the US though.
Rodie Sudbery, A Sound of Crying.  Probably not it as the details don't match but it does involve a girl (Polly) who's mother is ill going away to live with an aunt.  She hears a sound of someone crying and goes back in time to relive the life of Sarah.  Sarah's mother is dead and she's living with her wicked uncle but there's no witchcraft in the book as I remember.  Good book.
Thanks--that book sounds good too!!--but the book I am looking for was definitely set in the US and definitely had some kind of witchcraft involved.  I'm not sure about the two girls names so I could be confusing those with other books.  I do remember that the town they are in had some kind of "historic district" where people in the town dress up and "play parts" like they are in the 1800's (or whenever) and that's where a lot of the action in the book takes place.  Thanks again!
Ellis, Carol, A Cry In The Night. (1984) I found it! Turns out my parents had been saving it for me all these years :)
A Cry in the Night. This is a book about Molly, who moves to Lynnbrook, MA with her father an brother and stepmother.  She hears a ghost in her room and finds out that it is Rebecca Woolrich, whose mother Sarah was hanged as a witch.

I am searching and searching for a book titled the Crystal Horse  I am Sure that is it.  About a young couople in pre war Japan...she Japanese, he American.  Seprated but reunited after the war becuse he recognized the crystal hetsuke horse around her neck.  I have put the request out to some other sites with zero response.  Anyone who knows about Beany Malone books must know about his one.

LC listing, no plot description:  Magee, Catherine (Fowler) 1903- The crystal horse Decorations by Yukio
Tashiro. [1st ed.] New York, Longmans, Green 1959, 184 pages 22 cm.
Found a short plot description for The Crystal Horse by Catherine Fowler Magee, Longmans Junior Books ad in Horn Book Aug-Sep/59 p.338 "Decorations by Yukio Tashiro. The poignant story of a young  Japanese-American girl who was forced to return to Japan after Pearl Harbor. How she managed, with her different upbringing, to live out the war in Japan has meaning for all young people in a war-torn world. Ages 12-16"

Lindquist, Jennie, The Golden Name Day, The Little Silver House, and The Crystal Tree. This could be a series by Jennie Lindquist. In the first of the three books, The Golden Name Day, Nancy has been sent to stay with her grandparents. She loves yellow and flowers, especially yellow roses. She spents lots of time with her cousins, two of whose names are Sigrid and Helga. The last book has the crystal tree. The first book has a scene in which Nancy walks through the orchard in the twilight when all the trees are in bloom- not sure if they were apple or not.
This could be The Crystal Tree by Jennie Lindquist.  There are two other books about the same family The Little Silver House and The Golden Name Day.  I'm pretty sure the name of the main character is Nancy.  The illustrations are by Garth Williams.
Lindquist, Jennie D, The Crystal Tree, 1966. I found a copy showing a cover of an old fashioned family standing on a wooden platform, father holding a boy in a blanket, girl in a long blue coat, mother in a long pink coat with hat, white dog, and a horses head.  Then I found another description that mentions Nancy goes to stay with friends, so I'm pretty sure this is your book.
Jennie Lindquist, The Little Silver House, and The Crystal Tree. The main character's name is Nancy (that's the problem in the first book she wants a "name day" like all the Swedish people in the area she is visiting, but there is no "St. Nancy")
Three books by Jennie Lindquist--Golden Name Day, Cystal Tree, and Little Silver House. They all deal with Nancy who goes to visit friends of her parents while her mother is sick.  She and her cousins all love flowers.  Nancy is sent out into an apple orchard one night with all the trees in blossom.
etc.

Louis Slobodkin, The Late Cuckoo, 1962.  "Story of one hundred and twenty-three cuckoo clocks, an old clockmaker and a sultan. What happens when 122 cuckoo clocks say "cuckoo" at the same instant every hour & every day, but #123 says "cuckoo" one minute later, which is the correct time.  Illustrated in color throughout by the author."
Edward Ardizzone, Johnny the Clockmaker.  A possibility, though I don't remember whether it included birds.
Johnny in Johnny the Clockmaker is a little boy who wants to make a clock -- no birds in the story.
natalie babbit, kneenock rise, 1970.  I didn't think this book was that old, but I checked the date and it is very possible that the stumper read this then. It is a Newberry book and would have been found in libraries. It has a clock maker and the birds are very important to the story and his clocks. When I read the stumper it was the first book that jumped to my mind.
Mary Stolz, The Cuckoo Clock.  A young orphan boy who lives with a wealthy family (and used as a servant)is befriended
by an old clockmaker.(In the Black Forest) He becomes the clockmaker's apprentice and is allowed to carve the last detail (the clockmaker's dog) on the old man's masterpiece, which is covered with lifelike birds, other animals, etc. The last to be carved is the cuckoo itself, which is magical, and flies around the cottage.

Check Paul Galdone's retelling of old folktales and fables...
T15 turtle shell: too recent, but probably the same folktale is The Flying Tortoise, by Tololwa Mollel, published Clarion Books 1994 "Mbeku, the greedy tortoise, gets himself invited to the banquet in Skyland, but is trapped with no way to get back to Earth in this Igho tale (Nigeria) of why the tortoise has a checkered shell."
T15 turtle shell cracks: okay, this time I think we've got it - The Cunning Turtle, story and pictures by Kurt Wiese, published Viking 1956. "Mr Turtle's adventures in cloudland at a meeting of the winged musicians - or why all turtles have cracks on their backs! Chuckling pictures on every page. Ages 4-7." (HB Feb/56 p.82 pub ad) This matches with the orchestra detail and the emphasis on the cracked shell. However, there's yet another version of the fable - Look, There Is A Turtle Flying, written and illustrated by Janina Domanska, published Macmillan 1968, "How could a turtle possibly fly? This is the story of one turtle who thought of a way of flying, and of what happened when he tried it. In words and pictures full of the kind of sprightly humor children love, Janina  Domanska tells her own charming version of the folk tale about the talkative turtle who had to try flying in order to learn when to keep his mouth shut."
Wiese, Kurt, The Cunning Turtle.  Viking 1956.  "A cunning turtle hides inside the buzzard's guitar so he can attend the birds' concert in the clouds--with disastrous results. Delightful story written and illustrated by Wiese of how the turtle got
the cracks in his shell. Cover illustration of a turtle using another turtles shell as a drum." I'm going to suggest this version of the folktale, because it is the only one that seems to feature music in the clouds, and not just a turtle wanting to fly. Also the date is right for being in a library in the '60s. 

Gertrude Chandler Warner, The Boxcar Children.  I think this could be your book.  It's the first of the series (the original) and talks about the children finding an old boxcar in the woods and making it their home or clubhouse. Good luck!
Hi again - I am almost certain this was a picture book (I remember a double-page spread of them painting the newspapers) so I don't think it was Boxcar children, but will check . . .
Elizabeth Enright, Four Story Mistake, 1942.  The description doesn't fit in all aspects but reminded me of this book.  The four Melendys (2 girls, 2 boys) move to the country and their attic playroom, called the Office, is papered with old newspapers and magazines.  The newspapers cover a door to a secret room that they use as a clubhouse.
Beverly Cleary, Henry and the Clubhouse.  A possibility?
Leonard Shortall, The Curious Clubhouse, 1967.  The Curious Clubhouse is about a group of youngsters who fix up an abandoned house as a place for all of their projects and their various animals and bug collections.
Shortall, Leonard, The Curious Clubhouse, 1967.  Has a blue cover with a picture of an old house on it.  A group of children make an abandoned house their clubhouse, but their parents don't know about it.
I realize you have posted a solution to this stumper but I have found another answer that fits. This book definitely features the described episode of papering the walls with newspapers. Hans and Peter by Heidrun Petrides. She was only 15 when she wrote and illustrated this delightful story! I found it in Wide Horizons -a reader by Scott Foresman.
I solved this one a few years ago!!!! Hans and Peter by Heidrun Petrides-1962. The author was 15 years old when she wrote and illustrated this book! I found it in an old reader Wide Horizon- Book 2- Scott Foresman- companion book to the New Basic Readers. It was originally done as a stand alone book.  The wallpapering with newspaper is definitely in Hans and Peter!!!

Vimar., A.  The Curly Haired Hen.  NY: Grosset & Dunlap (1914).  yellow cloth. Yollande the hen has been
plucked, by mistake. A maid tries a salve on the bald chicken and, now, Yollande has curley hair. Humorous sketches accompany the story.  It's out there, but it's not real cheap.  I could get you a copy for about $42.

Well, I took so long to email, someone else solved the ones I knew haha. I sort of know R57--not the exact title, but there were two series that fit the description--Dark Forces and Twilight. The rest in the series are: The Bargain, Rex Sparger; Devil Wind, Laurie Bridges & Paul Alexander; Curse, Larry Weinberg; Eyes of the Tarot, Bruce Coville; Waiting Spirits, Bruce Coville; Blood Sport, R.C. Scott; Beat the Devil, Scott Siegel. I am betting it's Eyes of the Tarot or The Curse (probably The Curse).  My favorite was The Game.
She's right.  I think it's Dark Forces, not Twilight.  Good book.
Just a guess -- I've got a list of the first 20 books in the Twilight
(Where Darkness Begins..) series, and there's a title that sounds promising: #13 Vicious Circle by Imogen Howe, Dell, 1983, ISBN 0-440-99318-0. Try Interlibrary Loaning it at your local library to see if that's the right book.  Some other titles in the series include Deadly Sleep, Play To Live, Blood Red Roses, Demon Tree,
Footprints of the Dead, Watery Grave, and Dance of Death.
BTW, the person whose stumper this is says he *knows* the book is *not* The Rose Round.
It's The Curse by Weinberg

Alan Dean Foster, Midworld by Alan Dean Foster 1975 Hardcover, 1975, copyright. Midworld -If you think the movie Avatar is fantastic, then you should read this book  I believe this is really where Mr. Landau and Mr. James Cameron got their story and not so original ideas for Avatar from. Read the book, then you tell me.

The Cybil War by Betsy Byars
W32, the "War over redheaded girl" book sounds like Cybil War  by Betsy Biars.
More on the suggested title - The Cybil War, by Betsy Byars, illustrated by Gail Owens, published Scholastic 1981, 112 pages. "Universal truths about the course of true love, as a young boy struggles for the attentions of his red-haired schoolmate." "Every time Simon sees Cybil Ackerman, his heart pounds. Falling in love with her was easy, but winning her is not. Simon's best friend, Tony is also swooning over Cybil, and he'll stop at nothing to ruin Simon's chances of impressing her. When Simon realizes what Tony is up to, the war is on...but only Cybil can decide the outcome. Who will be the lucky winner of Cybil's heart?"