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It's my own query, but I now wonder whether this was an edition of Ransome's Old Peter's Russian Tales. Anyone recognize it?
I don't know this, but just to be sure, you do mean "snow maiden," right? Because that Russian(?) story - about a childless couple that builds a child of snow which comes to life - is very different from The Ice Maiden, which is a long Hans Christian Andersen story about a spirit of the Swiss glaciers who furiously pursues Rudy, a handsome young man saved from her three deadly kisses as an infant. (Sounds like "The Snow Queen," doesn't it? Given the portrait of Rudy's shallow, fickle fiancee, you can't help but wonder if Andersen thought of the ending as a "happy" one, even though it was supposedly based on a true story at Lake Geneva.)
Zvorykin Boris, ill.. Boris Zvoriykin illustrated a book of russian fairytales, including the snow maiden. the book I am thinking of is too late to be yours, sometime in the 70s I think, but he may have done other editions. see if his illustrations look familiar.

There are several books about young boys, Indians, canoes and the Hudson's Bay Company. But I don't think any of them feature popcorn because corn doesn't grow anywhere the HBC operated and canoes were used. Could the requester be mixing two books together? Possibles - Olive Knox Little Giant (Miss-top-ashish): the story of Henry Kelsey illustrated by Clarence Tillenius, published Toronto, Ryerson, 1951 "Historical novel for young readers about an English boy who came to Canada in 1684 where he joined the Hudson's Bay Company, exploring Northern America, making friends with the Indians." Ronald Syme Bay of the North: the story of Pierre Radisson published London, Hodder, 1951, 125 pages "Pierre Radisson was captured by Iroquois Indians when he was a boy and became a great explorer and hero of the Canadian wilds."William O. Steele  The Far Frontier published New York, Harcourt 1961 (Weekly Reader) "Story of a young white boy from Philadelphia who is taught the ways of the Indians and living off the land." Olive Knox (again) Black Falcon published Toronto, Ryerson 1954, 192 pages "Story of a boy kidnapped by Indians in Ohio in 1789 who went on to become the first white boy to live on the prairies of Manitoba."
On the corn side of the story, there's Runner in the Sun: a story of Indian maize by D'Arcy McNickle, illustrated by Allan C. Houser, published Winston 1954, 234 pages, Land of the Free series. "The story of Salt, a teen-age boy being groomed to lead his people, who as he grows into manhood, is accepted into the tribe and makes a life-and-death trek to the opulent cities of the ancient Aztecs in search of a hardier kind of Indian maize."  Also, more on the Hominy story cited elsewhere - Hominy and his Blunt-Nosed Arrow by George and Doris Hauman, published Macmillan 1950, 145 pages "... and whose skill won him a real reputation with the tribes and a beautiful silver arrow. Almost best of all - he discovers popcorn!" (Children's Catalog 1956 ed.) Actually, that sounds like a good possibility.

I8 may be the following: "I made you look, you dirty crook, you stole your mother's pocket book.  You turned it in, you turned it out, you turned it in to sauerkraut."
My dad always said -"Made you look, made you look, made you buy a penny book."
Iona and Peter Opie's Lore and Language of Schoolchildren (Oxford University Press, 1959) includes several variants of an English children's rhyme, "Made you look; made you stare"; the commonest seemed to be:  Made you look, made you stare, Made the barber cut your hair, Cut it long, cut it short, Cut it with a knife and fork.
I always knew this one as 'Made you look, made you stare, made you lose your underwear'.
When I was growing up, the rhyme was "made you look, made you stare, made you lose your underwear"!

Keeko, written and illustrated by Charles Thorson.  The illustrations are wonderful-a charming picture book from the early 50's.
#I19--Indian boy plucks eagle's tailfeather:  Not Indian Two Feet and His Eagle Feather, by Margaret Friskey, to save you the trouble of even trying that one.
On #I19, Indian boy plucks eagle's tailfeather, by far your best bet is Eagle Feather, by Clyde Robert Bulla.  Originally published by Thomas Y. Crowell in 1953, it went through a gazillion Scholastic printings and is by
far the most common of such titles.  Here, however, are some other possibilities:  "Eagle's Feather," by Emily Post.  Dodd, Mead, 1910. "The Eagle Feather Prize," by Lyla Hoffine.  McKay, 1962. "The Eagle Feather," by Clide Hollmann.  Hastings House, 1963. "Eagle Feather for a Crow," by Alice Durland Ryniker.  Persimmon Hill, 1980. "Eagle Feather--an Honour," by Ferguson Plain.  Pemmican Publications,  Winnipeg, 1989. "Quest for the Eagle Feather," by John Duncklee.  Rising Moon, Arizona,  1997. "Eagle Feather," by Sonia Gardner.  Writers Press, 1997.
Thanks so much for the reply about the book about the little Indian boy and the eagle feather.  I am forwarding the email to her and will let you know if that is the book she was looking for.  I can't tell you how much I enjoy visiting your website.
#I19--Indian Boy plucks eagle's tailfeather: Running Fox, The Eagle Hunter.  Shannon, Terry, Illustrated by Charles Payzant.  Chicago:  Albert Whitman & Co., 1957.  Hard Cover.  ISBN:  57-7755.  48 pages.  This story of a Hopi Indian boy in Arizona is not the one described.  In this, the boy steals an eaglet from the nest, not a tailfeather.

Clifford Lindsey Alderman, The Vengeance of Abel Wright. It's eerie that I happened upon your quest for this particular book. I read it when I was very young and I decided that I wanted it for my sons, so I did a search and tripped over your plea. Is this the book that you are looking for?
Not a solution, but a comment: Death Wind was the Indian name given to Indian fighter/killer Lewis Wetzel, who was an ancestor of mine. His story has been fictionalized many times. The poster can do a google search for Lewis Wetzel and will come up with several good web sites about him, including several that list books about him. Wetzel was from just outside of Wheeling, West Virginia, where his remains are now buried. However, Wetzel's family wasn't massacred--though several were killed over the years by Indians. He and his brother Jacob were abducted by Indians when Lewis was thirteen. He was shot, but survived, and the boys later escaped. From that day on, he dedicated himself to revenge. Later his father and brother were killed by Indians on the Ohio river. Hope this is helpful.

I remember something just like that...
I've seen a book by Enid Blyton which seems similar, a large-ish book like a children's annual, called something like Stories of Famous Heroes, with a coloured picture on the cover. Unfortunately I haven't been able to pin down that title or a date for it.
C85 El Cid sounds like I26 stories of heroes

Maurice Sendak, Where the Wild Things Are.  Couldn't possibly be? Max sails away and becomes King of All Wild Things. But he is the only child among them.
Where the Wild Things Are has really never gone out of print...
My Father's Dragon. This may be it, there's 3 of them, I ordered them for my daughter in paperback from Scholastic last fall. I can't remember the author's name, but she wrote them and her daughter illustrated them. I hope this is it.

Henry Gregor Felsen?, Hot Rod?  This is only some information that may help you get further along.  It sounds as if you're certain your book *isn't* one of Felsen's, and I'm not sure either.  (I read several, 35 years ago, but they were always too graphic and gory to read more than once!)  But I checked Google using search words "Henry Gregor Felsen" and "hot rods", and on a website called thecarplace, in a safety discussion of a 2001 car,  I found an extremely grisly description from one of Felsen's books (or so says the discusser) of just such an accident, including dripping battery acid (no info on type of car) and names of victims.  If you recognize the excerpt, that could help.  Then, at another site,  is a description, with photos, of the actual area in Iowa where the accident supposedly took place, and the names match.  (Frustratingly, neither site gives an exact book title (unless it is Hot Rod), and I can't quite tell whether the second one is fact or some kind of "fan fiction", but it clearly relates to Felsen's novel.)  Finally, another writer of similar stuff was William Campbell Gault, if that's any help.
Henry Gregor Felson, Crash Club, late 50's.  The cover of theis book had cars painted with Playing Card synbols  I read it in high school in Virginia years ago.  I have looked for a copy for years  would love to have one someday.  Hope this helps someone else.
Felsen, Hot Rod.  This is DEFINATELY Hot Rod!  I have never forgotten the horrifying image of battery acid dripping into the dead girl's eyes after the crash.

C225/I48: Same book perhaps?

Bennett Wilson, The Magic Feather.  A possibility.
The Magic Feather is not the book; the one I remember had to have been written no later than 1964, and probably before that.

I54 I found it but it is dark red, not white, and I am afraid the emphasis IS on the victim: Meiselman, Karin C Incest; a psychological study of causes and effects with treament recommendations   Jossy-Bass c1978
Revised/Expanded Stumper Description:
I saw this book in paperback at a bookstore. It was in a psychology/self help section. I only got to browse it a little bit. It was a book about incest, but it treated the subject in a very clinical, non-judgemental, and objective way. It went into the history of incest,  the psychology of incest,  the multitude of different legal positions on incest,  the multitude of different social attitudes about incest, etc.  I think that the solution presented is not the book I am searching for.  I clearly recall that the book was NOT about the victim but a dispassionate clinical study of incest as a social condition.
Could this be Robin Fox's The Red Lamp? I read it a few years ago while  working on a paper about the Westermarck effect, and it certainly meets the description ("dispassionate and clinical"). Fox, Robin.  The red lamp of incest. New York: Dutton, 1980.
I am the original submitter of this request.  I browsed the Red Lamp of Incest, and it did not appear  that this book was the one I was searching for.  In the original book, the author explores incest as, in some cases, natural and normal and acceptable.  It also goes into great depth as  to how different societies treat incest and in many cases encourages it.

Hendrich Paula, Who says so?, c. 1972.  GK Hall, Boston.  Illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman. A girl loses her best friend, an imaginary creature, at the end of a fun-filled summer but gains a new flesh-and blood friend who seems very familiar
The book was a short book...  Who Says So is 176 pages but thanks anyway.  I think I remember the book being smaller like the size of a Junior or Tiny Elf book.  The book was purchased at a discount store in Memphis, TN in the late 1970's.  I sort of remember the monster had spots???
I've read Who Says So? and I don't think it's a match with what the reader describes.  Some of it is vaguely reminiscent of A Birthday for Frances by Russell & Lillian Hoban, but there is too much that doesn't match for that to be right...
Lystad, Mary, Millicent the monster, 1968. Doesn't fit exactly but as the requester was only four at the time...it does not
actually have a monster, Millicent is the one who is the monster.  There is a swing in it which is why I thought of it, she has a little baby brother, and she decides to be a monster. Cute story even if it isn't the right one.
I don't think it is Who Says So.  When I looked that book up it's main characters were animals as far as I could tell.  Thanks for trying.  It would be so nice to find this book as I would love to get it for my children.  The one thing that I am sure of is that a character in the book was named Geraldine.
Francis and Zenobia has several elements that are the same as the I64 query: a little girl, a birthday, an unusual friend. Her friend is an owl, so the feathers may have been spotted.  The publication timeframe of mid-1970s is the same. The girl's birthday may have been forgotten also.  There is a birthday cake in the story. At least part of the action takes place in a tree or on a tree limb. This book is out of print and I think it was written by Edward Gorey, but it was not illustrated by him. I know the name Geraldine is missing, but so many other elements were similar that I thought I'd make the suggestion.
I am still looking for this book if anyone has suggestions please post.  Perhaps it was a Tell-A-Tale book if anyone is familar with those books during the 1970's.
John McInnes, Have You  Ever Seen A Monster?  I remember the book, she was sitting in a swing on the cover. I think this is it, one of the lines is Have You ever seen a monster? I have. My monster is... All the copies I could find on various sites had no photo and just condition descriptions.
This sounds like the book I am looking for, except I thought the girl's name was Gertrude.  It was about a little girl, with a friend who was a monster, and I remember a tree on the front but I thought her and the monster were near a forest. It had a picture that filled most of the cover and then an orange or yellow border.

Coombs, Patricia, Dorrie and the Witch's Imp, 1975.  That's just a guess, but it's the only book I could think of with an imp.
I66 It's too cold and dark to check this now in storage to see if if matches: Will and Nicolas, pseud of William Lipkind    Perry the imp.   illlus by William Lipkind    Harcourt    1956 

Vague possibilities:  Montgomery, Rutherford. Amikuk.  illus by Marie Nonnast.  World, 1955.  polar regions; Aleutian Islands; sea otters; Alaska.  Finney, Gertrude E.  Stormy winter. illus by Don Lambo.  Longmans, 1959. San Juan Islands - Canadian- American border dispute; Haida Indians.  McCracken, Harold.  Caribou traveler. illus by Rod Ruth.  Lippincott, 1949.  polar regions; caribou; Barren Grounds, Arctic Islands. Catherall, Arthur.  The strange intruder [former title The strange invader]  Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1965.  Faroe Islands; Faroes; polar bears; rescues.

Lavinia R. Davis, Buttonwood Island.  I'm not sure if this is the correct book, but there are some similaries - finding arrowheads, finding an untouched indian mound, and a big storm at the end. The children involved are all interested in horses and have a riding club on Buttonwood Island, which is near the farms where they live in Connecticut. The father of one of the boys trains horses for a living.
Hi!  I am the original poster of this stumper and appreciate the suggestion I received that the book might be Buttonwood Island.  I have purchased this book and read it and although it is somewhat similar, it is not the book I am looking for.  Any further suggestions would be so helpful, I have been trying to find this book for over 20 years.  Thank you!
---
I am the original poster and wanted to thank you for the suggestion but the book I am looking for is not Buttonwood Island I read the book and it was similar but not them same story.  Any other suggestions would be greatly appreciated, this has been bugging me for over 20 years.....   The book seemed very like a Trixie Belden story but it is definitely not one of that series, I don't think it was a series book at all, just the style reminds me of Trixie Belden.

This sounds like it could be Fairy Tales and Fables by Gyo Fujikawa, or one of his other books.
The book you describe is definitely NOT Fairy Tales and Fables by Gyo Fujikawa.  Rip Van Winkle is not in the Fujikawa book.  The edition that I have (c. 1970) does not have the rich illustrations you describe (e.g., I saw not one mouse peeking out from a tree in the book).
Did you look at the Ponsot/Segur The Golden Book of Fairy Tales?  There's a reprint available.  See the Anthologies Page.
I don't think the book described is The Golden Book of Fairy Tales, translated by Marie Ponsot and illustrated by Adrienne Segur, original copyright 1958 (reprint available).  In the Ponsot book, Rip Van Winkle does not appear.  The illustrations are beautiful and detailed, but not exactly as described.  Some of the illustrations are in black/white/pinkish tones, rather than color and even so there are not pictures on every page. I searched through my (reprinted) copy and never saw scenes with as much detail as described.

Constant, Alberta, Those Miller Girls, The Motoring Millers and Does Anybody Care About Lou Emma Miller, c.1979.  These take place around the turn of the century and are about Lou Emma and Maddie Miller who live with their father in Gloriosa Kansas. I know in one of them one of the girls starts a lending library, and their father has a romance with a woman he later marries. I believe she owns a hat shop though.
No, I am sure this is not it. The period is too early, and they didn't really live anywhere, which is part of why she was so unhappy. She was hoping they could settle down and have a home. They traveled, picking other farmers crops, etc. I don't believe the main character had a sister, and the woman his father has an interest in is either a librarian, or one of the girls teachers.
Doris Gates, Blue Willow.  This is a longshot as there was no romance involved but it does tell the story of a little girl who is living the life of an itinerant farm worker during the dust bowl.  She travels with her father and stepmother from farm to farm.  They stay in one place until the work runs out then they move on.  The title refers to a blue willow plate that used to belong to her mother.  There is something about a school teacher and a librarian but no romance with the dad.  You might check it out as it should be very easy to find, even if only to rule it out.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Velvet Room, late 60s/early 70s.  I think the mother in this book was alive, but the girl (who's family are migrant workers) finds an abandoned mansion with a library, where she goes to hide out.  There is some kind of puzzle about who owns the home, and I think a semi-romantic resolution.  Not involving the parents though, but the home owners.  Maybe something to check out?
It's neither Blue Willow nor The Velvet Room. Written for an older audience than Blue Willow. I'm sure the main character is at least 13--she' coming of age. I'm pretty sure she experiences a kiss with a boy around her age, with all that angst and joy stuff. I think he was also an itinerant worker.  Definitely a bit more bitter and cynical than Blue Willow. She really wants better for herself. I think her father's meeting with the teacher/librarian has to do with that--perhaps getting her more schooling, or into a special program, something like that.
Sue Ellen Bridgers, Home Before Dark.  A long shot- Teen girl (Stella) and migrant family return to father's family farm (tobacco). She longs for a permanent home, family moves into cropper's house. Mother(Mae?)dies and father begins to court spinster lady (Maggie?) who owns a clothing store. Stella refuses to leave her first real home when father marries Maggie. Stella dates rich Rodney, but is also courted by poor boy.  Link to excerpt.
Lois Lenski, Judy's Journey. (1947) I haven't read this book, but found the following summary here and was struck by the possible similarities:  Ten-year-old Judy longs for a permanent home as her family goes from sharecropping in Alabama to Florida, where they become migrant workers. The family follows the crops north up the coast to New Jersey. The hardships of the lives of migrant workers and their children are realistically portrayed.  Ten seems a little young for a first kiss, but I don'\''t know how much time the book covers, so maybe she gets old enough during it?

Eulalie Osgood Grover, The Sun-Bonnet Babies Collection, 1900s.  " The inside cover of the books shows three small babies beside a huge ink- well, while two more are carrying an immense quill pen." I found this info on the web. Its the closest I could find to ink-well babies and since they are the size of one it sounded like it may be it. Its also about the right time frame. Hope this helps.
Ruth Dyer, Adventures of the Ink Spots, 1916.This might be the one your uncle is seeking. The ink spot people are drawn in red and black. Cute stuff. I hope this helps.
You might try The Adventures of the Ink Spots by Ruth O. Dyer (Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1923). The characters are ink spots, and the illustrations are in red and black.
I too remember reading that book.  I'm 54, but we had the book in our house in the late 50s/early60s .  The title is "the Ink Bottle Babies" and the babies were fat drops of ink.  I don't know the author though, and I'm still searching

Sounds a lot like The Golden Compass, except that it was published in the 90's, not the 80's. Here is the synopsis: In this first part of the "Dark Materials" trilogy, Lyra's friend Roger disappears. She and her daemon, Pantalaimon, determine to find him. Their quest leads them to the bleak splendour of the North where a team of scientists are conducting unspeakably horrible experiments. This book is readily available in bookstores and libraries if you want to check it out.
Sorry, The Golden Compass is not correct.  I am positive I read it during the 80’s, because I was still in school at the time. But thanks for the suggestion.

Phyllis Krasilovsky, The Very Little Girl.  There's at least 2 editions, with slight updating.  There's also The Very Little Boy.  It's about a little girl who is getting older, just in time to take care of a new baby brother.  She does sit at her own little table in the book.
Can't be The Very Little Girl because that was written in third person, not first person. "But one day, she could reach the doorknob," and so on.
Not much help, but I've seen somewhere a series of books I Am Three, I Am Four, and so on.  Could it be one of those?

Margaret Storey, Timothy and the Two Witches, 1966.  It sounds like this one. Lots of people seem to remember this book! See the Solved Mysteries for more info.

Ray Bradbury, Jack-In-the-Box.  Sounds a lot like this short story by Bradbury, which is included in his anthology The October Country.  A boy lives in an isolated castle and abides by very strict rules, until one day he discovers that all the people in his life (his tutor, etc.) are really an elaborate series of costumes donned by his mother.  She dies and he gets released into the outside world for the first time.
Ray Bradbury, Jack-In-The-Box.  I suggest this one- it can be found in the collection "The October Country"
William Pene Du Bois, Lazy Tommy Pumpkinhead. (1966)  Amazon did not have a review or a description, but the stumper's question sounded like good old Lazy Tommy. I was always fascinated by this character's inability to dress himself and comb his hair. The illustrations only add to the weirdness - definately a classic!
Regarding I87, they sounded like they might be the story (and are clearly very entertaining in themselves) but, alas, neither are the one I seek.
H. G. Wells, Love and Mr. Lewisham, 1900, copyright.  Could it be the novel Love and Mr. Lewisham by H. G. Wells?  It's not a children's book, but the first chapter of the book describes the 18 year old Mr. Lewisham is his attic room at the school in England where he is an assistant master and his life is completely ordered by two lists he has taped to his wall: a Schema and a Time-Table.  You can read the first chapter on this website http://www.online-literature.com/wellshg/love-and-mr-lewisham/1/ .  Ever since I read this book I have never forgotten the description of the schema and sometimes whenever I get very romantic about how I'm going to get all organized, I'll title whatever I write down on paper as my schema (just like Mr. Lewisham did!).

Stirling, S.M., Island in the Sea of Time.  I haven't read it, but possibly this first book in a trilogy about the island of Nantucket that gets sent back 3,000 years?
S.M. Stirling, Island in the Sea of Time.  A cosmic disturbance transports the island of Nantucket and its inhabitants ovewr three thousand years back in time to the shores of stone age America. In addition to coping with the day-to-day problems of survival and the trouble with losing all connection with the modern world, the residents of the time-stranded island find their lives complicated by the presence of native tribes across the water.
I don't think this is it...Island in the Sea of Time seems to have been written in the 80s or 90s. I'm looking for a book I read in the 60s or 70s.

Edith Lambert Sharp, Nkwala.
Parker, Red Streak of the Iroquois.  This is a comming of age novel of a young Iroquois boy named Red Streak because of a streak of color in his hair I think.  It was set in a pre-european contact time I think, and had a lot of detail of the manhood initiation rites, and daily life of the people who lived in long houses.
I didn't dig out my copy of Nkwalato check the story because my  computer record says it has illustrations.

That story appeared in either Projection in Literature or  Counterpoint in Literature (Scott, Foresman: America Reads series) in the 1970s. This is back when junior high and high school English textbooks had some substance and presented stories which dealt with adult themes, inviting thoughtful discussion. My copy is in storage, and I can't remember the name of the story, but I remember it vividly.
Flack, Ambrose, The Strangers That Came to Town.  I think this may be the one.  It dates from the '50s.  I'm pretty sure "The Strangers That Came to Town" was also dramatized for a 1959 episode of "The Loretta Young Show."

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Cunningham, Julia.   Dorp dead.   illus by James Spanfeller.   Pantheon, 1965.  exlibrary; glossy heavy boards, missing ffep.  G [AQ11628]  $6

Is this a picture book or a chapter book?  If it's a chapter book, you might be thinking of The Ice Cream Heroes by Judy Corbalis." Delivering an ice pick to his mountaineering mother in the Himalayas, Oskar and his friend Henrietta (a girl dressed as a gorilla-gram) meet a tribe of abominable snowmen and find themselves captives in a palace made of ice cream."  There's no rhino in it that I remember though.

Brewster, Patience, Nobody, 1982.  Whenever something happened and mom asked who did it, 'Nobody' always got blamed.  "Although Sarah frequently claims "Nobody did it," no one is more surprised than she when Nobody is finally revealed to be somebody."  I don't remember it being pink, I remember the pages as mostly white.  I think Nobody resembled a stick figure with curls - but I could be remembering incorrectly - so this may not be the right book.
Greenfield, Eloise, Me and Neesie, 1975.  While I cannot find any references to sticks of butter, I believe this is the book.  The child's imaginary friend is constantly getting her into trouble  the copy I have is "squarish" and red which could easily have faded to pink in the copy you remember.  A sample of the dust jacket blurb:  "Neesie was Janell's best friend and they had fun all the time.  Before Neesie came, Janell didn't have anybody to play with.  Neesie got Janell into trouble, too--especially when Aunt Bea arrived."  I hope this helps.
Zolotow, Charlotte, Three Funny Friends, 1961, 2003.  I am positive that this is the book you are looking for.
Zolotow, Charlotte, Three Funny Friends, 1961.  It is the 1961 edition of this book, illustrated by Mary Chalmers."A little girl moved to a new town. She didn't know any children there, but she wasn't lonely because she had three funny friends. Guy-guy, Bickerina, and Mr. Dobie."   (and its Guy-guy who puts the butter on top of the stove where it melts)

Beatrice Schenck de Regniers, How Joe the Bear and Sam the Mouse Got Together.
Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, How Joe the Bear and Sam the Mouse Got Together. I'm pretty sure this is the book.  I've seen a couple of versions as far as illustrations go, but the text matches your description.

Alan Nourse, The Bladerunner,1974. I think this may be Nourse's The Bladerunner, from memory of reviews I'd seen (I've not read it).  At least Nourse's premise is the same -- idealist fights against system in a future where medical care has been forbidden.  The Nourse novel should not be confused with the movie "The Bladerunner," which was based on a Philip K. Dick novel (though as I recall the film company did buy rights to Nourse's novel, just so they could use the title).

 The Little Golden ABC, 1951. I have a 1951 Little Golden Book version.  The picture for the letter "I" is of an Indian sitting on an iceberg eating ice cream.  The cover of the book features a dancing alligator, bear and clown.  Originally, inside the back cover there was a jig saw puzzle of a zoo.
That's not it, but thanks.  It's definitely like the picture I described.
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Someone told me that it could be a Rand McNally book by Dean Shirley.

1970. Many details are different, but this sounds a little like Molly Weir's three volumes of memoirs of growing up in Glasgow titled Shoes Were for Sunday,  Best Foot Forward, and A Toe on the Ladder.
I looked up Molly Weir's books and it is not what I am looking for.

I read this book, too, and now I need to know the name of it!  I was thinking it was a Phyllis A. Whitney book, but I couldn't find one that fit the description.  I seem to remember it having the word "sea" in the title.  I believe it was a sea town they lived in.

Graham, Bob, "Let's Get a Pup" Said Kate, 2000, approximate.  A long shot, but Graham's picture book is done in colorful, cartoon style and the mother has tattoos and piercings.  The book is about a family (Kate and her parents) adopting a puppy and a large older dog.

Mary Tannen, The Wizard Children of Finn.  This is a book about Fiona and her brother Bran who go back in time and meet Finn McCool and the Fianna.  There's a mysterious family connection- perhaps their father is out of the past?  There's a sequel- "The Lost Legend of Finn".
Mary Tannen, The Wizard Children of Finn.  Possibly The Wizard Children of Finn? A brother and sister go back to the time of the legendary Irish hero Finn MacCool, and discover he was an ancestor of theirs.
Nancy Bond, The String in the Harp.  This is probably The String in the Harp, by Nancy Bond, which was a Newbery Medal honor book in 1977. There were a couple sequels though, so it could be one of those.
Tannen, Mary, The Lost Legend of Finn, 1982. New York : Knopf : Distributed by Random House, ISBN: 0394852117 / Determined to find out the truth about their father, Bran and Fiona use their uncle's magic book and go back in time to ninth-century Ireland. Sequel to "The Wizard Children of Finn."

Ottenheimer Publishers, Inc., My Giant Storybook, 1972,1973, copyright.  This might be the book.  It is on the found pages (my original post : ) ).  It has Snow White and Rose Red and Beauty and The Beast but not The Swan Prince.  But it has a lot of other common fairy tales from Grimm and Anderson, etc.

Glenn Balch, Spotted Horse.  The solution to stumper #I118 is, without a doubt, Glenn Balch's Spotted Horse.  I read this book over and over again when I was young (although I don't recall the Native American putting the stallion's skin on the mare), checking it out many times from the school library.  I loved every single Glenn Balch book I could get my hands on- oh, the thrill of discovering new Glenn Balch books at the library!  Simply terrific writing.  Many happy hours spent reading them, many happy memories.
Glenn Balch, Horse of two Colors.  Hi, I'm the person who sent in the solution to Stumper # I118 as being Glenn Balch's Spotted Horse.  But after deciding to do a Google search on Balch as a trip down memory lane, I have found out my own memory was not as good as I thought it was.  Apologies... it turns out that the book is called Horse of Two Colors, not Spotted Horse, as I thought.  Apologies to the poster!

Field, Eugene, Winkin Blinkin and Nod.  It sounds like it could be an illustration for Field's poem--there have been so many illustrators:  Cooney, Dutton, Johnson, Westerman, Jeffers, Berg, Parrish...
Gertrude Elliott, illustrator, The Golden Book of Poetry.  I think this is from my mother, Gertrude Elliott's illustration for the Land of Nod, probably in the Golden Book of Poetry.  I always loved it too.  I'm unable to find my copy, perhaps someone else can check this.  I seem to remember it was on the endpapers.  A deep blue sky-sea with a big golden fish, night clothes, a sail, perhaps.  It's one of the illustrations I would love to have in the original.  I have so few - the Oh Ball, The Gold Fairy Book, Jamie and the Fire Engine, her first book, in 1940.
Gertrude Elliott, illustrator, The Big Golden Book of Poetry, 1940's.  You may mean Wynken Blinken and Nod, by Eugene Field, in the Big Golden Book of Poetry.  The illustration is a wooden shoe afloat in a skylike sea, with three children in nightdress, and a big golden fish.

This picture, or at least the old woman, reminds me a bit of Alexander and the Magic Mouse by Martha Sanders.  Information about the book, including a picture of the cover, can be found under Solved Mysteries: A.  Maybe this will help get you started.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake.  Based on the children's modern clothing and the woman's 1890ish garb, I'm guessing that this illustration shows Portia, Foster, and Aunt Min from Gone-Away Lake, or possibly the sequel Return To Gone-Away.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  I can't seem to locate my copy of this, so I can't be 100% certain that it is this book and not its sequel, "Return to Gone-Away". I am, however, positive that the illustration is from one of those two books, and probably the first one. The illustration was done by Joe and Beth Krush.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake.  This picture is from Beth and Joe Crush illustrated version of Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. Here's a link to a picture of the cover that was illustrated by the same illustrators (there are several different covers now):
http://derosia.com/phlog/graphics/book_covers/gone_away_lake.jpg.  You can see the boy has the same striped shirt and glasses. In my edition, the picture appears on page 40.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  The kids' names are Portia Blake and Julian Jarman, the old lady is Mrs. Cheever. The illustrations in the book are done by Beth and Joe Krush. The picture is on page 40 of my sister's copy, which I'm borrowing right now. Good luck with the contest!
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone Away Lake, 2000, reprint.  The illustration looks to me like Joe and Beth Krush, who did a few Beverly Cleary books, inluding Fifteen.  The boy looks very much like the character of Buzz (at least I think that was his name) from Fifteen.  I looked up their names as illustrators and this book came up and both the boy and girl were wearing backpacks so I though it might be fitting or at least worth checking out.  In a follow up book, they go searching through an old Victorian home.  I also have another suggestion, but I'll repost.
Chew, Elizabeth, Secret Summer or Baked Beans for Breakfast, 1976, approximate.  My other guess, one of many of Elizabeth Chew's Scholastic books, this one was written and illustrated by her.  I just remember from the book that two kids took off and were on a vacation on their own, camping. One thing they did, though, was visit an older lady in an old fashioned home and help clean her house and attic and she fed them and they hadn't had good, warm food for days so they were very grateful.
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone-Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  This illustration is 1/2 of a double page illustration found on page 40 of this book.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  Illustration is from this classic book.  It's of cousins Portia and Julian visiting the old home of Minnehaha Cheever in the country town of Creston where Julian lives.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  this is a delightful book! It's called Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright, and the illustrations are by Beth and Joe Krush. The illustration you listed shows Portia Blake and her cousin Julian Blake meeting Mrs. Minnehaha Cheever for the first time.
Beth and Joe Krush.  The style of the drawing looks very much like the work of Beth and Joe Krush.  Just looking at the drawing, of a lady in old fashioned dress and two kids in modern dress, reminds me of Elizabeth Enright's Gone Away Lake or Return to Gone Away, which were illustrated by the Krushes.
Wow, everyone figured this out really quickly!  Definitely Gone-Away Lake.  The picture is indeed on page 40 of both editions listed for sale below.  It shows Portia Blake and her cousin Julian Jarman with Mrs. Minnehaha Cheever.
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone Away Lake, 1957, copyright.  This is an illustration by Beth and Joe Krush. It shows Portia Blake and her cousin Julian Jarman with Minnehaha Cheever. Mrs Cheever, later to become 'Aunt Minnehaha' to them, and her brother Pindar Payton live in a house each by a large swamp, where a lake  had been. It is a lovely read.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake,  1957, copyright.   Easy-Peasy - just re-read this last year. I hope it's not a cheat to give you this info! In my first edition, the picture spreads double-paged across pages 40 and 41 (what you show is only half of the picture). The illustrators are Beth and Joe Krush. The girl is Portia Creston and the boy is Julian Jarman. The old woman is Minnehaha (Mrs. Lionel Alexis) Cheever.

Ok, so this isn't so much a solution as a follow-up question for the original poster.  Based on the number of responses you received, I'm sure there are quite a few of us out here wondering, how did you do in that trivia contest?

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Enright, Elizabeth. Gone-Away Lake.  Illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush.  Schoolastic, 1957, 1985.  Trade paperback, as new  F.  $8 Enright, Elizabeth. Gone-Away Lake.  Illustrated by Beth and Joe Krush.  Harcourt Inc., 1957, 2000.  New hardback with dust jacket.  New.  $17

J12 jason and fleece variation: perhaps The Dawn Palace: the Story of Medea, by H.M. Hoover, published Dutton 1988, 244 pages. It's a novel about Medea and Jason.
J12 jason and medea: there's Strangers Dark and Gold, by Norma Johnston, published Atheneum 1975, but it looks like more the complete Argonaut story "Jason, Medea, the Argonauts, the quest for the golden fleece, and the final tragedy that rose from the unequal love between Jason and Medea. 12 up." Another possible is Witch Princess, by Dorothy Johnson, illustrated by Carolyn Cather, published Houghton 1967. "Told from the point of view of Daphne, a handmaiden to Princess Medea, the author takes her turn at interpreting the mystery and legend of the Witch Princess. Ages 12-up." (HB Oct/67 p.535 pub ad) Was the novelization for young adults or for adults? For instance, did it include or hint at Medea's murder of her young brother while escaping with Jason (throwing his body into the sea to delay her father's ships pursuing them) or at Medea's later murder of her own children by Jason?

J15: One of my all-time favorites. It's The Case of the Marble Monster by I.G. Edmonds, 1950s, originally
known as "Ooka the Wise". BTW, the proper pronunciation is "oh-oh-ka"! There are 17 stories about the cases undertaken by the clever but unconventional early 18th-century Japanese judge. Back cover:   "If you were a judge, would you: -punish a man for stealing a SMELL? -call in a WILLOW TREE as a witness to a crime? -order a barber to give an OX a shave?  "Judge Ooka does all these things. And when Ooka commands, let the thief and the cheat beware!"
The Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories is the version I have which is a Scholastic paperback that I got from a school book order in '67-'68 and does have the illustration described. The judge is named Ooka and
always makes wise and fair judgements.  This version is not a complete collection; I saw a large hardback at a bookstore which contained more stories.
I checked my copy of The Case Of the Marble Monster and the author is I. G. Edmonds and Ooka the Wise is listed as the original title.
This sounds like I.G. Edmonds The Case of the Marble Monster and Other Stories (original title: Ooka the Wise), illustrated by Sanae Yamazaki, published by Scholastic in 1967. I have the Scholastic edition and it does
have a picture of a green statue in front, of a lion-dog, if I remember rightly.
One further note: For those who like accuracy, the stories in COTMM are taken from two older collections of the 1950s - Solomon in Kimono and Ooka: More Tales of Solomon in Kimono. Each book has at least a dozen stories in it. The afterwords make it clear that many stories the Japanese attribute to Ooka are actually fictional Japanese folk tales - or sometimes not even Japanese, as in the Aesop-derived tale of the Stronger Stick! However, the stories in COTMM which DO seem to have a direct connection to Ooka are: Marble Monster,
Terrible-Tempered Tradesman, Tosuke's Tax, Willow Witness, Wasted Wisdom, Suspect Statue, First Two
Sons, and Death Decree.

J16 julie and time: a long shot, and I haven't read the book, but perhaps The Day and the Way We Met, by Mary Stolz, published Harper 1956, 250 pages. It's a sequel to Ready or Not, and the main character is Julie Connor. "The book opens with Morgan's marriage and it is Julie's turn to take over. Far less successful than her sister at homemaking and mothering, Julie has to struggle with problems that never bothered Morgan. ... at first in her own dreamy  adolescent world, in love with Geoff, her much older brother-in-law; and breaking away at last toward maturity and a realization of the world around her." (HB Aug/56 p.274) On the other hand, this is a fairly well-known book, so if it were correct someone would probably have already suggested it.
Craig, Margaret Maze, Julie, (1950's). Same as J73 which I answered. I own the book and read it recently. :)

This isn't much help, but there are several stories from the Apocryphal Gospels (the writings removed from the official King James Bible) about the childhood of Jesus. Two or three deal with him playing in the clay by the
river, either making dams or figures of birds etc. These stories were popular in the Middle Ages and Renaissance, and some became carols (Withy Tree Carol, Cherry Tree Carol etc.) I have not heard of any being made into
modern children's books.
The Infancy Gospels or The Mysterious Stranger.  There are two possibilities. The first is the Infancy Gospels. Jesus is portrayed as innocently using his miraculous powers in play, also doing a lot of damage when he has a tantrum. He's a bit of a brat. This is online, and also in "The Lost Books of the Bible & the Forgotten Books of Eden" -- we had that in the house when I was real little, and I used to read the Infancy Gospels all the time. The second possibility is a wonderfully tragic book by Mark Twain, "The Mysterious Stranger". In medieval days, a child angel (named Lucifer, after his Uncle Satan) comes to earth and plays with human boys. He makes birds, animals and people out of clay and brings them to life. When his clay people make too much noise he squashes them. A girl asks him to make her father happy and he makes him a lunatic, because only crazy people are really happy. Shows Mark Twain'\''s sour view of God! I'd recommend it for older kids, maybe 11+ as I read it at that age and loved it. Hope this helps.

Jelly Beans for Breakfast?