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I am not sure how this site works but this was a request for information about Irene Sand by her grandchild.  I am Jan Sand and Irene Sand (Irene Drelich) was my mother and I am curious as to what information I can supply. I have a hunch that the requester was Valerie Sand but I am not sure because, by monstrous concidence, there might be two illustrators named Irene Sand, formerly Irene Drelich.

Could this have been a pop-up book? There was a pop-up Sleeping Beauty published in 1975 by Chatto & Windus, with illustrations by Karen Avery.
S20 sleeping beauty: perhaps too old - Sleeping Beauty, a Peepshow Book, illustrated by Ronald Pym, published Houghton Mifflin 1950. When the cover is tied back, the book forms a 6-sided star with the scenes viewed through frames.
S20 sleeping beauty garden: perhaps The Sleeping Beauty, illustrated by Molly B. Thomson, published Collins Clear-Type c. 1940s. octavo, 18 pages, stapled paperback. A "Kiddie Kut" book, referring to the cut-outs in the illustrations. It's kind of early, though. At least one of the "Peepshow" books was reprinted in the 1970s, so they may be a better bet.
I can't believe someone mentioned the Kiddie Kut books, I have several and they are so wonderful, so beautiful.....I got them as a child in the 50's...mine are falling apart and the two that I am missing that I would love to have are The Water Babies and Sleeping Beauty...I currently have Snow White, The House that Jack Built, Fun in the Frozen North, The Bells of London Town, The Three Bears, Nursery Nonsense, and Jack and the Beanstalk....  before today I  had never heard of any one else knowing of these books..I think as a child I probably looked at these more than any other books that I had, they were just magical, so delicately and wondrously wrought.  I still get them out and look at them sometimes and somehow the magic has never faded. Molly B. Thomson was an extremely gifted illustrator!
I've attached the end page of my copy of The Sleeping Beauty, by Molly B. Thomson. It's published in Great Britain, no date given, but it was mine as a child and I was born in 1968. Not sure where it came from - my aunt and uncle lived in England, though. Definitely cherished, and I thought of it when I read the stumper. This page shows what could be the second to last pages referred - the window arch is shown, but the last page isn't a beautiful garden. Her bedroom looks like a beautiful garden, however.

I can't vouch for this specific incident, but maybe Two and Two are Four by Caroline Haywood, Harcourt 1940, 171 pages "Two children come from a city apartment to live on a farm and two children come from Washington to visit their grandfather, the farmer. Four lively youngsters, two boys and two girls, around six years of age, make this story suitable for boys and girls of five to eight years. Very like B is for Betsy in makeup."
Again, can't vouch for the specific incident, but there's also Puppy Summer, by Meindert DeJong, illustrated by Anita Lobel, published Harper 1966, 128 pages "Two little boys, vacationing at their grandparents' farm, are as carefree - and careless - as the three lovable puppies put in their charge."

Might be Dancing Shoes by Noel Streatfield.
Well, up until the yellow room with brown trim, at any rate.  If you add a snotty cousin to the mix, that comes a bit closer.
Could S43 be Jacob Have I Loved?
S43 - certainly sounds like Katherine Paterson's Jacob Have I Loved
It may be AMY AND LAURA by Marilyn Sachs, 1966. It was definitely a Scholastic book (although 1966 may or may not be the Scholastic pub. date) Amy, the older sister is outgoing and the younger sister, Laura, is more studious and a bookworm. This web address  has a short booktalk about the book. Perhaps the description will help. However, it's been a long time since I read the book, so I can't remember the physical features of the girls or the room.
#S43--Sisters, very different.  There is a book called Second Best, by Barbara Clayton, about rival sisters.  Like Jacob Have I Loved, it is set on the east coast.  Jacob Have I Loved near the sea in Maryland, and Second Best near the sea in Maine.
Thank you so much for all this information!! Jacob Have I Loved can be ruled out...I'll look into the other two.  I thought this book was gone forever!!  I so appreciate this info!
S43 - I'm wondering about Lowry's A Summer to Die, which starts with the two sisters sharing a room, and the  pretty one gets ill while the 'plain' one makes friends all round the new neighbourhood
A little more on Amy and Laura by Marilyn Sachs, illustrated by Tracy Sugarman, published by Doubleday 1966, 192 pages. "The third book about Amy and Laura Stern develops their sisterhood and their individual personalities. The girls are opposites in both physical and emotional attributes, and each responds in her own way to their invalid mother's home-coming after months of hospitalization. ... Amy - outgoing, impulsive, and a self-determined academic failure - must choose a best friend for the subject of a composition assignment. Laura - shy, sensitive, and a newly-appointed school monitor - wrestles with confusing concepts of loyalty and duty. The setting and the school belong only to the Prospect Park area of Brooklyn, but the anxieties and joys experienced by Amy and Laura are known to girls everywhere." (Horn Book Dec/66 p.718)
I remember a book with this plot from that same time frame. Practially Twins.  The girls were step-sisters, the popular girl's dad married the plain girl's mother.  The plain girl was really the main character.  She was jealous of her step-sister's popularity & set a kind of trap for her--the popular sister copied a termpaper written by the plain one & turned it in--got herself in trouble for plagarism.  In the end they worked out their differences . . . I think it might have been a Whitman book.
Viola Rowe, Practically Twins.  In case this is the book you were thinking of, I saw it on ebay. Viola Rowe also wrote Freckled and Fourteen.  I know I enjoyed both of these books way back when . . . (not really so long ago)
Betty Cavanna, The Boy Next Door, 1950's.  I'm sure this is the answer to the "Sister, very different" query.  The older, plain sister was Jane and the younger pretier sister was Linda.  They were rivals for the boy next door, hence the title.  I also recall Linda wore a charm bracelt and at one point, Jane looks out her bedroom window at night and see Linda and the boy together and gets very jealous.
Lois Lowry, A Summer to Die.  Have you tried checking A Summer to Die?  The older, prettier sister ends up dying of leukemia.  The "reward" at the end puts me in mind of the scene where a photo of the plainer sister makes it into a museum show---she ends up finally feeling a little better about herself & is more confident in her abilities.
The Odd One.  This was a book about two teen sisters, but focusing on the "odd one," the sister with the long straight dark hair.  Her blonde sister was always giving her a hard time.  The blonde one was taking voice lessons or something, because she had to concentrate on speaking from her diaphragm so she didn't squeak.  The dark-haired sister felt very out of place until an older woman (aunt, teacher, family friend?) took her shopping for clothes and showed her what colors looked right with her coloring.
I've been trying to find what I believe is the same book and have not been able to remember the title or author, but I do remember a few other details.  The sisters, I'm pretty sure, were named Debra and Dorie Dark, Dorie being the dark-haired "plain" sister.  It's written from Dorie's point of view, and she describes Debra's beauty as pale and silvery, but not "the least bit insipid, because her eyes are so bright and her lips so red".  Dorie herself is described by one of her teachers as "dark by name and dark by nature" when she is feeling gloomy about Debra always seeming to be more acomplished and popular than herself.  Both girls are serious students of ballet and Debra always gets better parts and more attention than Dorie, but in the end Dorie turns out to be in some way more talented than her popular sister. I'd love it if someone figured out what book this is, as it's been bugging me for years. I read it sometime in the mid 70's, about the same time as I read "Ballet Shoes". It may have been published in the UK.
Jean Estoril, We Danced in Bloomsbury Square, 1967.  The last commenter on this thinks she is looking for the same book, but what she describes is _We Danced in Bloombury Square_.  I vividly remember the names of the fraternal twins, Debbie and Dori (Deborah and Doria) Dark.
Sounds a lot like a story I read, about two sisters, one a cheerleader, the other a basketball player. The basketball player is
able to shoot 3 pointers easily, but is considered unattractive by classmates. She has a crush on the cutest guy in school, and when the guy asks her on a date she finds out that he was dared to do it, as a form of initiation into a club. She goes on the date with him, and it turns out he ends up liking her after all. She was called Mike in the story, and I seem to believe that the name of the book was For The Love of Mike. Don't know the author, I seldom do!
Amy & Laura, 1970?  I remember reading this as a preteen & enjoying it quite a bit.  Amy was the bubbly, curly-haired student having problems with her grades, and Laura was shy and withdrawn, but also on the safety patrol.  She had the unfortunate luck of having to turn in one Veronica Ganz (another book by the same author?)  Their mother had been in an accident and was paralyzed and home after a long stay in the hospital.  I remeber something about AMy and a friend going on a long scavenger hunt on Halloween, and Laura and friends going on an even longer bicycle excursion in the park.  At the end the sisters got into a hair-pulling, biting scratching fight in front of their mother over the fact that Laura had helped Amy with a composition and Amy had taken credit for it.  I hope these details help, and I hope you find a copy.  It was a really nice little book.
VIola Rowe, Practically Twins, c.1968.  The book you are looking for is definately Practically Twins.   The story of pretty Jan and new step sister plain Mary Ann. The author Viola Rowe was an editor for Scholastic Books. It was a hardback book with a mostly white cover.
Hi, what a neat site you have.  I'm wondering if S43, Sisters very Different, could be Tempest and Sunshine.  I didn't see that book listed in the suggestions.  Tempest is the darkhaired temperamental one and Sunshine pretty obviously is the sweet one.  What makes me think of this book is that when Sunshine's beloved comes to call, Tempest fakes Sunshine's voice being awful to someone, maybe a servant.  This cools the lover's ardor and turns him toward Tempest but of course in the end, Sunshine does win out.  I don't know the author but do believe the book might be at least 60 years old.
Amelia Elizabeth Walden, My Sister Mike. This is definitely the book you are looking for.  The younger, prettier, sister helps her older sister, 'Mike' (Michelle) become more popular.  Mike sort of sacrifices who she really is to get the guy that she wants. Not a good message for young girls but this was the seventies!!

There's a famous series of books with black and white photos about a doll named Edith and her bear friends (The Lonely Doll, Dare Wright).
There is the Dare Wright book Take Me Home aka The Little One published by Random House in 1965 and illustrated with photos. However, Susan is the little girl. It's the one with the little naked doll living in the woods. There's also Suzy Goes to Mexico by Mary Carney Thielmann, published by Whitman in 1942, illustrated by photographs. "Suzy is a bisque porcelain doll that two little girls were given by their Aunt Catherine. Each page has real photos of two little girls, Patty and Jo, and their doll Suzy in various costumes they have made for her. Also pictured in real-life photos is Mexico of the 1940s. This book introduces children to Mexico and some of their culture and holiday events near Christmas."
here's another, though less likely because it's English and the photos are colour - Susan and Spotty, by Antonio Colacino, illustrated with 24 colour photographs, published Oxford, Wheaton 1967 24 pages. "Kate sleeps all the more soundly for knowing that her doll Susan and her dog Spotty are safely tucked up in bed with her. Little does she know that her toys have a life of their own, which begins as soon as she is asleep." (JB Oct/67 p.288 pub ad)
Jones, Elizabeth Orton, Big Susan, 1947, copyright.  There is a recent reprint.

I think S57 is A Little Cowboy's Christmas  by Marcia Martin--a Wonder Book.  I have this book and glanced through it tonight.  It's really cute.

Regarding S66-Sea Child: Perhaps if the poster uses the keyword "selkie" she might have more success...
Hi.  I'm the poster for query S66: Sea Child. I looked up selkies to no avail, so far.  I suddenly remembered that the orphan was named Meave (or possibly Maeve).  In doing a search on the net I discovered that Maeve is an Irish heroine and it occurs to me that "Da," what the young people called their father in the story, is also an Irish phenomenon.  However, the book is most definitely NOT a folktale; it's set in the future.  The book also has to have been written before 1987, because I read it in high school.  I hope these scant details will spark a memory in your other readers.

I keep thinking of Poul Anderson's The Merman's Children, but that's not a children's book, and has sex and violence as well as fantasy about the last remnants of Faerie being driven out by Christianity. Other than that,
not a lot to go on, but maybe The sea child by Carolyn Sloan, New York, Holiday House, 1987, 127 p. "A mysterious "sea child" ventures into a nearby village where she meets a lonely nine-year-old." It's just on the edge for the date, though.
Maybe Eyas by Crawford Killian. New York: Bantam Books 1982 "Through the long centuries of humanity's twilight, the People of Longstrand lived in peace and harmony with nature, under the protection of their goddess from the sea. Then she put her mark upon a raven-haired child who would alter their destiny forever -- Eyas, nestling of the hawk."
Perhaps - The Selchie's Seed, by Shulamith Oppenheim, published 1975 "Story of a girl from the "Seal folk" - who shed their skins, & live as humans on land. A fantasy adventure tale of a whale and respect for nature and family. Beautiful illustrations in brush and wash half tones by Diane Goode."
Perhaps - The Curse of Seal Valley, by Joyce Stranger, published by Dent 1980, 122 pages. "The scene is the present, the world of colour television, but in a remote place where emotions are elemental and the savage is waiting just underneath the skin. Hughe lives all alone, nursing his grief at the loss of wife and family and quietly doing good. Among his cares is that of wild creatures which have been damaged in the oil-polluted sea, and one day a strange creature indeed comes into his care, a girl from a distant country, speaking an unknown language. He nurses her back to health and eventually marries her. But the valley is tainted by Gwyn the daftie, retarded and malicious. Gwyn decides that the girl is a seal-woman and that she shall bring bad luck to the village. He plays on the superstitious fears of the villagers and builds up hostility towards her. The ugliness mounts and bursts out into arson and violence." (Junior Bookshelf Aug/80 p.201)
Probably too short, and the child is a boy, is Greyling: a Picture Story from the Islands of Shetland, by Jane Yolen, illustrated by William Stobbs, published World 1969, 32 pages. "A lonely fisherman and his
wife long for a child of their own. One day the man finds a grey seal pup "stranded on the sand bar, crying for its own." Out of pity he wraps it in his shirt and takes it home, only to find that it has turned into a strangely handsome child with grey eyes and silvery hair. Vowing that he should never return to the sea, the foster-parents bring him up as their son. But when the fisherman is foundering offshore in a terrible storm, the boy rushes to his rescue, plunging back into the wide, enveloping sea."
S66 sea child: here's another - Seal Woman,by Ronald Lockley, published Bradbury 1975, 431 pages "Shian was the last of the O'Malleys of Kilcalla, descendants of Irish kings and Vikings. A born naturalist, intuitive and intelligent, Shian could swim long distances with the seals (she had thin webs between her fingers and toes) and she could talk with, and even tame, wild animals. From early childhood, Shian had been told by her grandparents that she was a sea-child born in a seal-cave and that one day a sea-prince would come and take her back to the kingdom beyond the horizon whence she had come."
S66 sea child: not really sf, but there's Marra's World, by Elizabeth Coatsworth, illustrated by Krystyna Turska, published Greenwillow 1975, 83 pages. "based on a Scottish legend transferred to the Maine Coast, a strange, taunted little girl cared for by a harsh grandmother comes to learn that she is the daughter of a sealwife."
Another long shot on the sea child -- Rosalie K. Fry's The Secret of Ron Mor Skerry (the basis for the movie "The Secret of Roan Inish."   There's an excerpt on the web with part of the legend.
Baird, Alison, The Hidden World, 1999 (darn it!).  If it weren't for the publication date this would be almost perfect: "Maeve O'Connor is 15, wants to be an actress, is not particularly pretty, and is a perennial outsider at her school near Toronto.  To make matters worse her father has just lost his job, her rebellious older brother is driving her parents apart, and to top it all off they have sent her off to rural Newfoundland to spend the summer with her aunt and uncle.  Through a talisman she discovers in a bureau -- and her own fey nature -- she begins shifting back and forth between Newfoundland and a parallel universe of Celtic myth, Annwn, which her grandmother had described in a children's novel. She is befriended by Thomas, an Annwn-born boy of her age and his community, but terror soon grips the land as the evil sea-dwelling Fomori, bent on subjugating Annwn drive forth Thomas' people from their homes. When things are looking bleakest for her friends, she and Thomas mount a bold bid to enlist the aid of the fairy folk."  The heroine's name, the Celtic background, the evil sea  creatures ... but Baird doesn't even seem to have published before 1994. If Maeve's grandmother's book were real, maybe that would be the answer.
McKillip, The Changeling Sea, 1980s. I don't think this is your book, but The Changeling Sea by Patricia Mckillip has a very similar plot, with the genders reversed.  Angler's daughter finds a young man on the beach, who looks very much like the son of the ruling family, Prince Kir, who is obsessed with the sea..  A Sea Dragon is threatening the land.  In the end it is discovered that the found youth  was the real prince, enchanted to be a dragon, and Prince Kir, the changeling, goes back to the sea.

Possibly - Black Bear White Bear, by T. Harriott, illustrated by L. Kopper, published London, Evans 1980, 32 pages "May I borrow a black bear, please? says the white bear who was tired of all the whiteness in his homeland. This cautionary tale is about the two travelling salesmen who changed it all by bringing black dots and stripes to the white land, and white stripes and dots to the black land. Quite how they sorted it all out with the help of a "monstrel" is the subject of this amusing and small picture book." (Junior Bookshelf Jun/80 p.118)
Ted Harriott, illus. Lisa Kopper, Black Bear, White Bear, 1979.  The details don't all match, but I think this could be the one you want.  My copy was a little (British) hardback  4x6in. sounds about right, although it didn't have a red border  the cover showed a black-and-white monstrel (sic).  The two lands both contained bears, and, indeed, they were linked by a telephone wire across a mountain.  I don't have my copy of the book with me, but if memory serves, originally one land contained black bears and the other white bears.  Then a pedlar came to each land, one selling spots and the other stripes.  After trying various things with the new spots and stripes, two bears, one from each side, use up all the remaining spots and stripes to make a monstrel.  Unfortunately the monstrel runs wild and starts eating bears.  Eventually it's down to just the two makers, and they manage to pop the monstrel, possibly accidentally, with a pin left over from when they were sewing it together.  The resultant explosion leaves spots and stripes everywhere, as you say, and everyone lives happily ever after.  If the monstrel doesn't ring any bells, this probably isn't it.
Elsa Beskow, Collected Stories?  This is probably not what you want, but your description reminds me of a short story by Elsa Beskow included in a story collection that in the original Swedish was called "Elsa Beskows sagor" (The stories of Elsa Beskow). This collection includes a story about two villages. The people of one village will wear only plaids, and those of the other only stripes. There is a great deal of tension and rivalry between the two villages. At some point, a Queen suggests that maybe dots would be equally pretty, and they start making dotted fabrics instead.

Has this poster checked out The Secret Garden by Burnett?  There are many similar elements described.
S69 sounds a bit like T39
Philippa Pearce, Tom's Midnight Garden.  1959.  This could be one of the Green Knowe books by L.M. Boston but sounds more like Tom's Midnight Garden.
I don't really think this is it, but just in case ... The Stone Cottage Mystery by Joan Boyle, Toronto, Macmillan 1958 "16 year old Isobel Anderson moves to the small Ontario town of Farston. A broken ankle lands her in a mystery reaching back to the past which had set one Farston family against another." The students in the town's Historical Club investigate clues from old diaries and heirlooms to find a metal box holding papers and a money pouch hidden behind the 'wishing stone' in a stone wall.  Not much evidence, but maybe Seek There by Eleanor Helme and Nance Paul, illustrated by Frank Wallace, published by Scribner, 1930s "A Scotch manor, long-buried heirlooms, two very real children, their aunt, a neighborly man friend and a villain are woven into an excellent story of hidden treasure."
Similar atmosphere - Dark House on the Moss by Constance Savery, published London, Longmans 1948, 216 pages "The Moss, called a peat bog in this country, is fit setting for this English tale of mystery and will-o'-the-whisps. The story has to do with an orphaned brother and sister when they go to stay with an unknown cousin in the north. Here their curiosity is at once piqued by the strange atmosphere of their cousin's house and the attitude of people toward him. Suspense mounts high before the bog breaks loose and the neighboring hamlets are wrecked by the sunken lake it had contained." Title and setting maybe, but Cubs? Sammy and the Secret of Sevenstones by D.E. Booth, illustrated by Kenneth Brookes, published London, Warne, 1956 "All boys of Wolf-Cub age will find excitement reading how Sammy and his fellow Cubs unravel the mystery which surrounds the old manor close by where they are encamped. Suspicion deepens when two Cubs disappear and there are many adventures in store for the boys. Illustrated in line." (Junior Bookshelf Nov/56 publ ad.) And another, by title and atmosphere The Hobstones by Joy M. Bagshaw, illustrated by Geraldine Spence, published London, Chatto 1966 "Four children, looking through old family letters, find references to some puzzling local landmarks: "the Sentinels of Stone" "the Place of Evil". A quest that starts from church registers, old maps in the library, visits to older villagers, becomes a real archaeological discover - and a race before "the fleet of bulldozers come to rip up the moors"."
Could this be The Casket and the Sword, over on Solved Mysteries? There are some resemblances.
If it was only earlier I'd suggest - Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme, by Jane Louise Curry, published 1975.  "When young Rosemary goes to stay with her Aunt Sibby in Maine, she finds a hidden herb garden that the elderly cat Parsley Sage takes her to and shows her the stones marked Sage, Rosemary and Time (not thyme).when she picks a sprig of the time. Time stops for her & she soon ends up back in the 1700s!." "11-year old Rosemary thinks the word "time" cut into a stone in her aunt's old herb garden should be spelled "thyme" until she picks up a sprig of the herb around it and discovers herself back in the 18th century." Young person visiting relative, old house, hidden garden, words cut into stones, these match, but it's a girl, there's magic, and it's too late.
Mabel Esther Allan, Lost Lorrenden, 1956.  Not all the details are right, but shy Phoebe goes to stay with boy cousins at Lorrenden in Bucks.  She's seen a painting of Lorrenden Manor & wants to find it but, when she eventually finds it, it's all in ruins and hidden. She scrapes away the moss from a gravestone in the grounds.  Jay is the cousin who's supposed to look after her, but she makes friends with a local girl called Cathie.
S69 stone wall holds key: This title sounds almost perfect - The Garden of the Lost Key, by Forrestine C. Hooker, published Doubleday Doran 1929. If only it came with a plot description!
Nancy Bond, A String in the Harp, 1976.  I think this might be the book you are looking for. The main character's name is Peter and he finds an ancient tuning key that brings him back in time. Part of the blurb on the back of the book is "...Peter finds an ancient tuning key that must have belonged to the Welsh bard, Taliesin.... Then Peter realizes he's being pulled back in time, forced to intervene to save Taliesin and return the key." It was a Newberry Honor book originally published by Atheneum in 1976. The copy I have is a paperback Puffin edition published in 1987.
Andre Norton, Steel Magic.3 children are sent to live with an eccentric uncle.  They go on a picnic on an island on his property and go explore some ruins.  Passing through a doorway in a stone wall, they enter another land and are involved in a King Arthur/Merlin/ Camelot kind of adventure.  They had taken a picnic basket with silverware and each child is armed with a fork, or a knife, or a spoon because fairy folk don't like iron tools.
S69 stone wall key: could it be The Key, by Joan Penman, illustrated by Michael Charlton, published Chatto 1971, 88 pages. "Matthew is bored and lonely until one afternoon he discovers in his garden a silver key which
lets him into a secret room and leads him on to surprising adventures. Ages 6-8." (Children's Book Review Sep/71)
Is it possible this is the Secret Garden, by Frances Hodgson Burnett? Some things sound similar to it, ie., garden wall, finding hidden keyhole in garden wall?  The other possibility that comes to mind is Spiderweb for two by Elizabeth Enright. Two children are sent on a scavenger hunt of sort with written clues.  One clue directs them to an old stone wall, where behind some moss, they find yet nother clue.
L M Boston, Treasure of Green Knowe, 1958.  I know the poster doesn't think this is Green Knowe but it sounds very like "Treasure of Green Knowe".  Tolly visits again  with his great grandmother at an old manor in Britain.  He explores the arden and discovers an old ruined tower covered with vines (with the requisite trap door and fugitive).  He meets other characters as he slides between his time and the eighteenth century.  I'd say the overall tone is a little sad and lonely because his great grandmother needs money and his ancestor Susan is blind and has a silly mother and very spoiled brother.
Nancy Bond, The String in the Harp.  I also think that this is The String in the Harp.  I re-read this a few years ago and remember that it has a very dark and dreary tone in the first part of the book--I think the father has moved the family to Wales from the US and the protagonist hates it and bickers with the family about adjusting until he gets pulled into the adventure with the harp key and all.
The Basumtype Treasure.  Some elements sound like "The Basumtype Treasure" - not sure of the spelling.  I read it when I was in middle school in the early 80's.  I remember a young boy visiting relatives he doesn't know well in what seems to be an English mansion with gardens - I don't remember the circumstances of why he is there, but remember the feeling of loneliness/unsureness.  There is some kind of mystery about a hidden family treasure.  There is a rhyme or something that is passed down from older generations to tell the location of the treasure, but the meaning has been lost. The boy solves it in the end.  The rhyme has something to do with a box and a fox and it turns out the treasure is in the boxwood tree in the garden, which is the "box" of the poem.  The boy, I think, has red hair and there is a portrait in the mansion of a previous ancestor who he bears an uncanny resemblance to.  I think there may be some kind of link through time where the boy goes back in time or sees back in time through some connection with this ancestor he resembles and this connection helps him solve the mystery.
Here's a synopsis of a book I read in 1967 or '68 which may be the book you're looking for - though I'm afraid I don't know the title! My memory coincides with poster of 69, i.e. manor, garden, ruins, wall, message and clue. According to an old prophecy, ancient key stones belonging to houses lost in shifting sands have to be located in order to safeguard the existence of the last surviving house, and the key stones from the others have to be set in place above its door. Our hero is on holiday, staying at that house with, I think, his cousins... I remember that the dust jacket featured a drawing/painting of the porch of the ancient house, with the 3 or 4 key stones shown set above the door.  There's another later book by the same author which uses the same characters, set in a village in Scotland where the cousins live, visited by the hero of the first book. Not nearly such a memorable tale as the other, though it might jog somebody's memory: surely someone out there knows more..!

The Naughty Little Rabbit by Richard Scarry.  Not sure about this but it's a very early (c. 1960) book about rabbits by Scarry. I liked it as a very small child, but don't remember it clearly now but think that it was a more ''typical'' picture-story book in style than his later books.
Scarry, Patsy, The Bunny Book, 1955.  ill. Richard Scarry. Golden Press, 1973.  An Australian Little Golden Book #215
I've never read this book, but i ran across this description of a book on a used book website and remembered your inquiry.  This may fit.  This particular book show is dated 1973 but upon doing further research on google, I found the original copyright date of 1955.
Helen Wing   Illus. by Marjorie Cooper, The Bunny Twins.  A Tip-Top Elf Book.  Twin bunnies (Flipper in red overalls with blue striped shirt, Fluffy in matching shirt and skirt) get dressed, eat breakfast (carrots and peas!), and go to school.  They play on a slide, a wagon, and roller skates.  They also play blindman's bluff with the other rabbit children.  No napping but pictures look very similar the Scarry-type illustrations.  Story is written in rhyme.  Very cute.  Hope this is the one.
DuBose Heyward, The Country Bunny and the Little Gold Shoes. (1939)  I own this book. You mentioned something about lots of little bunnies in beds, and although there isn't a picture with all of the bunnies lined up like that in bed, there are a whole lot of them. It's an Easter story, and their mother takes the place of a an Easter Bunny that's grown too old. It sounds like your description. I hope you find your book. Oh, and the copy I have is yellow and hardcover, although there might've been a dust jacket that I lost over the years.

Empress not emperor, but this sounds close: The Magical Egg, by Elfrieda Read, illustrated by Alison Green, published New York, Lippincott, 1965 "Ten-year old Kei-lin and a gracious dragon travel through enchanted lands to make a wicked Empress smile and thus save a Prince's life. Ages 8-11." (Horn Book Jan/65 pub ad p.20)
S75 sneezing chinese dragon: And it looked so good, too - found a copy of The Magical Egg, and although it does feature a little Chinese girl and her dragon friend, the villain is an Empress whose heart has been frozen with grief, and Kei-lin makes a dish of phoenix egg to heal her, letting her weep and smile. The dragon is rather comic (his tail falls off) but he doesn't laugh and sneeze, and there are no deaf or mute servants. Well, back to the search.

Marilyn Singer, Will you take me to town on Strawberry Day? 1981.  There is also The Country Fair by Tasha Tudor (1968) about a boy and girl entering a calf, gander and strawberry jam at the country fair. They are both picture books, but I have no further details.
You have probably checked Strawberry Girl by Lois Lenski, but I thought I'd mention it...

Not sure of 1940s or 1950s but Enid Blyton certianly had a story collection called Sandman Tales - or something similar.
S80 sandman: There is a picture book by R. Strahl, translated from the German and illustrated by Eberhard Binder, published in England by Brockhampton. Sandman in the Lighthouse, 1968, 42 pages "On one of his regular trips to send the lighthouse keeper's son to sleep, the Sandman loses his boat in a storm and until he is rescued from the lighthouse none of the world's children can go to sleep." (JB Jan/68 p.32)

Some differences, but perhaps: Alison's Kidnapping Adventure by Shiela Stuart, published by Blackie, 1952 "Another fine Alison story in which she and her brothers are up against a new kind of mystery in the Highlands. Who is the visitor to Clarig posing as their big brother Hamish, and what has happened to the real Hamish?" (Junior Bookshelf Dec/52 ad)
Sally Watson, Highland Rebel, early '60's.  Possibly Highland Rebel?  I've forgotten some of the details, like the fathers disappearance (their uncle is taken and hanged), but this book is about Lauren MacDonald and her brother Malcolm, who are active on behalf of Bonnie Prince Charlie in 1745.  Lauren is a semi-tomboy, at least for those days. There's also a boy named Murdoch MacLeod helping the cause, who by the end of the book is basically falling in love with Lauren, even though she's only about fourteen.  The story is full of period detail.
Reminds me of a story called "Quest For A Maid"  Scottish setting,  about becoming a bride, going over seas to collect.
Carol Ryrie Brink, Lad with a Whistle. (1941, approximate)  This sounds like Lad with a Whistle by Carol Ryrie Brink. A favorite book when I was a kid, but it's been a while since I read it. It's set in Scotland, where a wandering boy with a whistle (named Rob?) helps out a brother and sister (Annie?). I think they lived in a castle, and their father was definitely missing. Some people who wanted the estate tried to trick the children with an imposter as their father. I believe Rob helped the children escape. I think they might have visited Sir Walter Scott? They all ended up home in the end with their real father.

I think I've seen this stumper before...
Well, the paper doll part made me think immediately of On the Banks of Plum Creek, by Laura Ingalls Wilder, when Laura and Mary go to visit Nellie Olson but I think the chocolate pudding and street lights probably rule it out. Oh well, its a great book anyway.
This is a long shot, but I wonder if #S85 could be Betsy-Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace.  There are two pairs of sisters in this story, which takes place in the late 19th century, and the younger girls play with paper dolls cut from magazines. They also invent a dessert (so to speak!) called "Everything Pudding."
This is just a guess, but it could be The Pink Maple House by Christine Noble Govan. It's about two 8-year-old girls and there's a part where they play with paper dolls.
S85 sisters early 1900s: it might be worth looking at All About Marjory, by Marian Cumming, illustrated by David Stone Martin, published Harcourt 1950, 148 pages. "Texas in the early 1900s is the scene of this sensitive story of 8-year-old Marjory and her little sister Nancy. The band concert in the park, the stolen dream and Miss Louisa's wedding are among the highlights of their lives. One delightful chapter tells of Marjory's trip to New Orleans and her disappointment when the much-talked of 'fairy' that is to carry  them across the Mississippi turns out to be a 'ferry.' Interesting and unusual line drawings." (HB Nov/50 p.473)

Philip E High, The Time Mercenaries, 1968.  Not a WWII-era sub, but a British nuc boat.  It is sunk in a collision with a merchant.  The boat is raised years later and the crew are animated, zombie-style, as a museum exhibit.  They are then fully revived so that they can help defend against the alien attack.

Avi, Who Stole the Wizard of Oz?  Someone is stealing kids' books from the library. Becky and Toby, using
clues from children's books, find the thief.  I remember this book having a lot to do with maps found in children's books and I think that they relate to the layout of the city.
Just to mention the possibility that Y 23 and the old, VERY OLD!! stumper S 93 might be the same book! If so, we now have
more info to go on! I have been working on this one for eons!! 

Sounds very like Dr Seuss ...?
Thanks for posting my stumper. Definitely not Dr. Seuss,though - the illustrations were water colors, I think, and I don't remember the whole book being rhymed.
S97 see duck think: there is a book involving a duck and turtles - The Story of a Bragging Duck, written and illustrated by Juliet Kepes, published Houghton 1983. "A boastful duck gets her comeuppance when she must rely on four little turtles to save her life."
Stevenson James, Monty, c. 1979.  Could this be Monty?  Monty the alligator taxis Doris duck, Arthur frog, and Tom rabbit to school.  They complain about the way Monty does things and so Monty goes on vacation.  They then have to come up with an alternative way to get to school (which may be where the stumper remmbers the "think Duck think" part from. Alternative title seems to be No Need for Monty.

Bernard Miles, Favo(u)rite Tales from Shakespeare. ill Victor Ambrus.  various editions (UK & US). Not quite the set of tales included by the querier, but otherwise, sounds like the book in question.
Thanks for the suggestion, but the book I'm looking for dates to the World War I or Edwardian era. I'm familiar with the work of Victor Ambrus (and like it, and am curious to check out this book)...but it's a completely dfferent one I'm after.
E. Nesbit, The Children's Shakespeare, 1938.  My copy of this contains all the retellings the seeker mentioned, but only b/w illustrations by Rolf Klep, and sounds like it is from a later time period than the book in question.  But I thought I'd mention it anyway, just in case.
E. Nesbit, Beautiful Stories from Shakespeare for Children, 1907.
check out the images at this site.   these are Max Bihn's illustrations for E. Nesbit. Table of Contents: Brief life of Shakespeare -- A Midsummer night'\''s dream -- Tempest -- As you like it -- Winter's tale -- King Lear -- Twelfth night -- Much ado about nothing -- Romeo and Juliet -- Pericles -- Hamlet -- Cymbeline -- Macbeth -- Comedy of errors -- Merchant of Venice -- Timon of Athens -- Othello -- Taming of the shrew -- Measure of measure -- Two gentlemen of Verona -- All's well that ends well
S98 shakespearean stories: From about the right date is Children's Shakespeare, retold by Alice Spencer Hoffman, illustrated by Charles Folkard, published Dutton 1911 (reprint 1936). Contents are Tempest,
Midsummer Night's Dream, Much ado, Merchant of Venice, As you like it; Taming of the Shrew, Twelfth Night, Winter's Tale, King John, King Richard II, King Henry V, Hamlet, King Lear, Othello, Julius Caesar, Romeo and Juliet, Macbeth, Cymbeline, Coriolanus, Pericles. There's also Shakespeare Story Book, retold by Mary Macleod, illustrated by Gordon Browne, published Barnes 1905, reprint of 1902 ed. No contents list available, a retelling of 16 of the plays using "as much as possible of the dialogue". Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch published his retellings in 1900, but he only covered the history plays, so that can't be the one wanted.
Lang, Jeanie, Stories from Shakespeare Told to the Children.  Perhaps it is from the "Told to the Children" series? They
are small hardcover books with yellow dustjackets and a mostly red cover underneath with gilt writing. They have colour plates, but I don't remember any black and white. The series contained famous Western Classics (Homer, Chaucer, the Bible, etc) retold very simply. My father had these growing up in England (1950s), but I think they might be from much earlier. They are very much treasured in my family.

Let's try Seatmates. by Mary K. (Katherine "Kate") Reely, illustrations by Eloise Wilken, published 1949. From the jacket: "Seatmates is a pleasant, easy-to-read story about a long-ago little girl in a small midwestern town, but modern little girls will read about Kate and Lily and Tottie with a cosy, today sense of identification. Kate's story took place fifty years ago, but in her small Wisconsin town she enjoyed many of the things that girls today find fun - May baskets and marbles, paper dolls and picnics, church Christmas trees, skipping rope, and diving out to the country with father." Back flap shows b/w photo of Kate & Lily, the "seatmates" of the book, and explains that Kate based the story on her early life on a farm near Spring Green WI. It also shows a picture of Eloise Wilken with her dog. "Anyone who likes Laura Ingalls Wilder or even Betsy and Tacy by Maud Hart Lovelace is sure to adore this book."
S99 seatmates: it's not actually called Seatmates, but Bertie and May, by Andre Norton and Bertha Stemm Norton, illustrated by Fermin Rocker, published World 1970, 175 pages does involve girls (sisters) sharing a  desk and is set in Ohio. "The story of a year in the lives of Berie and May is a leisurely period piece: Their father kept a country flour mill; and the girls, always sharing a desk, learned to read and write in a one-room rural school. But times were changing ... after the family was forced to move to the strange town, Bertie and May felt like country fieldmice; their new home, however, meant more friends, a fine large school, and plenty of books to borrow from the Sunday school library." (HB Feb/70 p.42)

Frank E. Peretti, Escape from the Island of Aquarius, 1990.  Don't know if this is right - not everything matches up.  If I remember correctly, a family accidently sails to an uncharted island.  They find that the natives are being oppressed by some sailors who arrived years before.  They eventually have to escape through an underwater tunnel.  Hope this helps! "When Jay and Lila Cooper travel with their archaeologist father to an exotic South Sea island, they find some mighty strange things going on! Could the arrogant, tyrannical leader of the island colony be the missing person they've been sent to find? If so, why is he acting so strange? As the Coopers attempt to solve the mystery, they encounter deadly perils--vicious poisonous snakes, fierce biting insects, bone-crunching earthquakes. The very foundations of the island seem to be jarring loose. Jay, Lila, and their dad must find a way to overcome the evil that holds the colonists in a death grip. But can they do it before the entire island breaks apart?  A thrilling tale filled with adventure, mystery, and sudden danger that will hold readers' interest through the last exciting page. By the bestselling author of This Present Darkness and Piercing the Darkness."
No - this isn't even remotely similar to what I remember.  I read the book sometime around 1967, if this helps. The parts about the scuba gear and the cave are very clear in my mind. Thanks for the suggestion, though. 

Just possibly - Peachblossom, written and illustrated by Eleanor Frances Lattimore, published Harcourt 1943, 96 pages. "When war came to her home and planes flew over the farm, six-year-old Peachblossom was taken on a long walk to the city, where at last she found school and her aunt and a new home ... Peachblossom, with her doll and the other small treasures she loved, is the same in every essential as little American girls of her age." (Horn Book Sep/43 p.317)
SO FAR FROM THE BAMBOO GROVE is the story of a refugee family fleeing China for Japan.  Very interesting details, but sad. There is a little girl who, early on, has a shrapnel wound to her ear, an older sister and brother, and the mother.  At one point, they are living/sleeping in the railroad station and the mother is quite ill. Any help?

#S104--See #s S69, S81, and V1 to see if any of the titles mentioned there sounds like your book.
Rather a lot of possibles ... Camerons at the Castle, by Jane Duncan, illustrated by Victor Ambrus, Macmillan 1964 "The Cameron family go to stay at Castle Vannich, which the owner is hoping to open as a hotel. There is a local superstition that the tower of Vannich will stand as long as the white hind of Vannich does not leave. It is because little brother Iain (a Downs Syndrome child) is so devoted to animals, and follows Tibbie and her kittens, that he finds the lost room in the tower and the mystery of the white hind is solved." (Junior Bookshelf Nov/64 p.308) Also - The Black Loch, by Patricia Leitch, illustrated by J. Duchesne, published London, Collins, 1963, 192 pages "Kay Innes and her cousins Sara and Edgar travel North to the Highlands to stay with Uncle Vincent and his family at Deersmalen, a dilapidated, castle-like house surrounded by rough country. Edgar becomes the villain of the piece, and for filthy lucre betrays the curious Water Horse of the Black Loch to an animal collector. Kay has been accepted by the household as the future guardian of this strange creature, so she and cousin Jamie ride off through the night in pursuit of the thieves. There is an odd character called Fergus who with his attendant wolves and flowing cloak, can call seals from the water or set everyone dancing with his silver pipe." (Junior Bookshelf Jul/63 p.154) Then again, there's Scottish Adventure by Viola Bayley, illustrated by M.L. Foster, published London, Dent 1965, 172 pages. "The young laird of Moray has been forced by lack of money to let his house to some very odd Americans, while he takes in paying guests in one of the island crofts. While Oliver, Sara and Hugh are staying at the croft they realise that something is worrying Iain Macdonald and offer their help. This leads them into a much more exciting holiday than they had expected as they help to solve the mystery of the lost treasure and the ruthless enemy agents." (Junior Bookshelf Oct/65 p.285)
A few more - Auntie Robbo, by Ann Scott-Moncrieff, illustrated by Christopher Brooker, published Viking 1941, 1959 "Tells of 81-year-old Auntie Robbo who in a mad escape-and-pursuit takes to open country in a tinker's cart with her 11-year-old nephew and some other, strangely acquired, child companions. The evocatively created atmosphere of the Scottish Highlands and of her hastily purchased rock heap of a haunted island strongly supports this unorthodox situation." (Horn Book Dec/59 p.483) Also - Highland Fling, by Sybil Burr, published Westminster 1957. "In this suspense-filled adventrue story, three youngters explore the Scottish island of St. Bride and become involved with a secret hidden in an old tower." (HB Apr/57 p.182 ad)
S104 scottish mystery: maybe The Horse on Ben Awe, by Mel Wayne, published Duell, Sloan & Pearce 1962. "Two venturesome brothers who start a pony ranch in the misty Scottish highlands find a marvelous horse, befriend a frightened girl, and solve a mystery. Ages 12-16." L(HB Apr/62 p.127 pub ad)
Hilda Boden, The Mystery of Castle Croome
Phyllis Whitney, Mystery on the Isle of Skye, 1955.  Could this be Phyllis Whitney's Mystery on the Isle of Skye(1955)? I believe there is a lot of Scottish history, McLeods and McDonalds, etc. woven into the mystery.
Enid Blyton, The Castle of Adventure
Mystery of Mordach Castle by William MacKellar (Follett-1970) or one of his other books set in Scotland!
I would check out some titles by William MacKellar- Mysteies set in Scotland. One title comes to mind- Mystery of Mordach Castle. Follett Publishing Company (1970)
Carol Ryrie Brink, Lad with a Whistle, 1941.  One of my very favorite books as a child, I hope it's the one you're looking for! This description is from the Clan Cameron website:   "Guardian for two children of wealth and gentle birth is an unusual responsibility for a young beggar boy who had earned his living by whistling and playing the drums. But strange events which happened fast brought young Bob McFarland into this amazing situation. Since Bob is a lad of convictions and of resourcefulness, as well as of jolly disposition, he not only wins over the children and becomes their lively playmate, but also circumvents a plot and brings the story to an unexpected and happy ending. A lively, "romantic" story of Scotland in the days of Sir Walter Scott, a land of wandering minstrels and high adventure." 

Another possible is Strangers in Carrigmore, by Meta Mayne Reid, illustrated by Richard Kennedy, published London, Faber 1958, 176 pages. "Colly and Kay McKean, their cousin Charlotte and half-cousin Rosa, become involved in a plot to rob the Museum of Carrigmore Castle of its priceless relics in gold and silver. They are instrumental in placing in charge of the hostel part of Carrigmore Mrs. Warlock, a modern type of witch, who proves to be the moving spirit of the plot. Tiffany the magic cat plays his part as usual, so does the swan who responds to the magic of the hazels which the children hold." (Junior Bookshelf Mar/58 p.71) And another, though probably too late, is The Mystery of Island Keep, by Hilda Boden, published David McKay 1968, 152 pages "YOUNG ADULT NOVEL OF A MYSTERY AT A CASTLE IN SCOTLAND BY THE AUTHOR OF FARAWAY FARM; FOXES IN THE VALLEY; HIGHLAND HOLIDAY; AND MANY OTHER FINE STORIES ABOUT SCOTLAND."
More on the suggested, but nothing conclusive - The Magic Squirrel, published Stokes 1934, 143 pages. "How Petrushka the magic squirrel and his comrades brought happiness to Keera, the little Russian boy who was kind to animals and especially to Petrushka." (BRD 1934)
S105 scottish mystery: And here's another - Scottish Treasure Mystery, written and illustrated by Decie Merwin, published Lippincott 1960. "Janet spends an unforgettable, and at moments dangerous, summer with her
grandparents on the Isle of Skye. Ages 9-11." (HB Dec/60 p.541 pub ad)
Kooistra, Mary Ellen, The Luck of the McElroys. (1946)  The speech in this book is written phonetically and the story features a cairngorm brooch. The book is for younger children and is illustrated in color.

This sounds like Magic Squirrel by N.G. Grishina-Givago
S106 squirrels underground: some resemblance, but not very definite - The Best of Friends, by Josephine Haskell Aldridge, illustrated by Betty F. Peterson, published Parnassus 1963, 33 pages. "The boy Tad and his friend Squirrel admired each other's houses and decided to exchange. Tad had to enlarge his new home to make it comfortable, and Squirrel had to make his more cozy. With the seasons' changes and the passage of time the landscape absorbed the new houses in which Squirrel and Tad were happy alone or visiting each other. Illusrations blue and rosy red wash with black line." (HB Feb/64 p.47)  More on the other suggested, but not much help - The Magic Squirrel, published Stokes 1934, 143 pages. "How Petrushka the magic squirrel and his comrades brought happiness to Keera, the little Russian boy who was kind to animals and especially to Petrushka." (BRD 1934)

This may be too recent, but there's Secrets of the Wolf, by Saranne Dawson, published Dorchester 1998 "An
artist and the ruler of a lost world find love despite the secrets conspiring to keep them apart. Beautiful Amanda Traynor was being followed. As she embarked on a mission to unearth the lost civilization of the Kassids, the flame-haired beauty was rescued from an attacker by a seductive stranger with ice-blue eyes. Hidden deep in the Kassid fortress, shrouded by the mist of the Dark Mountains, ancient legends threatened to quench their flames of passion and destroy the Kassids forever. Together they could save his people, but only if their love was strong enough to survive the mysteries hidden in his piercing blue eyes." Somewhat older is Enchantment, by Kristen Hannah, published Fawcett 1992, 404 pages. "Emmaline Hatter was a beautiful, brillant, and rich Wall Street
financier in the nineteenth century--until the crash of 1893 wiped her out completely. Without friends, family, or money, she decided to take a wild risk and joined Dr. Larence Digby in his search for the treasure-filled lost city of Cibola. Somehow, in a world of enchantment, each would have to learn to believe--to trust the other with their lives, their secrets, and their hearts."There's also The Takers: River of Gold, by Jerry Ahern, published Worldwide 1984, 387 pages. "Josh Culhane, two-fisted adventurer who'll go anywhere, do anything, teams up with the sexy scholar Mary Mulrooney. They battle halfway across the globe, into the Brazilian rain forest; far upriver, the jungle yields its deepest secret: the lost city of the Amazon warrior-women, to a last stand beneath the Antarctic ice cap, where they find an ancient starbase whose builders had never gotten home." Then there's The Sunbird, by Wilbur Smith, published Heinemann 1974, 500 pages "Like his ancestors before him Louren Sturvesant had spent money wisely. He had the financial muscle to fulfil the dreams of his friend Ben Kazin by funding an expedition to a lost city in the red cliffs of Botswanaland and the treasure it would contain. But it is a city haunted by an ancient evil let loose in the distant mists of pre-history. From the dramatic whirlpool of Africa today - big game hunts, terrorism and intrigue - the protagonists of The Sunbird are swept back in time through the battle, romance and tragedy of their pasts in the savage epoch of ancient Carthage."
S112 searching for city: yet another possible, This Fierce Splendor by Iris Johansen, published Bantam 1988. "Scottish beauty Elspeth MacGregor travels to Hell's Bluff to hire Dominic Delaney to lead her to the magical lost
city of Kantalan, but at first he refuses ... the last thing he needs is to join a virginal scholar on a dangerous quest. But Elspeth's fiery will coupled with her silky hair and milk white skin prove irresistible, and Dominic acts ... first with angry lust, then with a searing yet tender passion that brands her eternal soul and bonds them both to a heated and turbulent future.  Through wonders and tragedy, across the untamed splendors of Arizona and Mexico, Elspeth and Dominic draw closer to their dual destiny: to experience the dark mysteries and magnificent riches of Kantalan ... and to fulfill the promise of lasting love and the birth of a bold family dynasty."

Two things to check right off the bat: Maud and Miska Petersham's Miki series, and the D'Aulaire's Ola.  They're surprisingly similar books in age, artistry, and ethnicity, but of course very different.
Another author to try - Selma Lagerlof
S124 scandinavian old man: this was suggested for another stumper, but perhaps better here - Grandpa's Maria, by Hans-Eric Hellberg, translated by Patricia Crampton, illustrated by Joan Sandin, published Morrow 1974. "An award-winning author tells this sensitive, funny story of a seven-year-old girl left in the care of her grandfather (HB Oct/74 p.204 pub ad)
I suggest this only because it wasn't already mentioned!  Madame Spyri, of course, wrote Heidi, but Charles Tritten eventually produced two sequels, Heidi Grows Up and Heidi's Children -- so a library might possibly have had all three books.
Martha Inez Johnson, Singeli's Silver Slippers, 1951.  This story, translated from the Swedish, is anthologized in The Golden Books Treasury of Elves and Fairies (Jane Werner, editor).  In it, a shoemaker sews a pair of silver slippers for his daughter that protect her from harm and lead her to her prince.
Patricia St John, Treasures of the Snow.  Could this be it? I haven't read this book for a long time, but your description of your book made me think of it. It takes place in the Alps. The main character is a girl named Annette. She lives with her (possibly widowed?) father or grandfather and younger brother.
More on the Heidi Suggestion. I believe Heidi's Children has a big revelation involving a ring that was lost under a stone. One of Heidi's kids finds it and it proves that Heidi's friend is actually her relation (cousin?). I remember the little child keeps saying "Schoen, schoen" or something like that to mean pretty when she finds the ring.

S126 set at convent: a couple of possibles - Quiet as a Nun, by Antonia Fraser, Norton 1977, with the detective being Jemima Shore, who is also featured in a short story set in the convent school. If the detective is a nun, there is a short series by Veronica Black, with Sister Joan as the detective.
Dorothy Gilman, Nun in the Closet.  I'm not sure if the plot matches, but a very funny short mystery about two nuns is "The Nun in the Closet" by Dorothy Gilman (author of the Mrs. Pollifax books).
Nunsense.  There's a musical entitled "Nunsense" that has many of the elements you describe.  I don't know if it was originally a book.  If it was, it would certainly not be for children.  It's very funny, and many of the nuns become sick after eating poisoned fish.  I believe the original Mother Superior dies from the fish and has to be replaced.  One of the nuns has Amnesia and cannot remember her name, if that helps.

The Aminal or Zagazoo.  Could this be The Aminal about a little boy who says that he has an "Aminal" and the other children imagine and animal with all these different body parts, and then it turns out to be a turtle? Or could it be Zagazoo by Quentin Blake where a baby that a couple have turns into all these different creatures representing the phases of a child's life?
This sounds like a popular children's book when I was a kid-aprox 1970's. I don't know the title or author but the plot involved a small bird-perhaps a crow? who was not happy with his body and coveted the other animals bodies. He ended up by asking the animals that he met one by one if they would trade with him until he ended up to be very strange looking indeed and could not eat or drink. He then had to give back the body parts and on the last page he was a crow again and happy to be one. Hope this helps.
S129 still can't figure out: perhaps The No-Sort-of-Animal, by Mary B. Palmer, illustrated by Abner Graboff, published Houghton 1964, 48 pages. No plot description available, though.
I don't know the title of the original request (though I can see a picture of an alligator with small wings in my head so we must have the book in our library somewhere), but I think the other book described here is What Kind Of Bird It That? by Mirra Ginsburg, Crown, 1973.  A goose trades with other birds and gets Crow's wings, Crane's legs, Peacock's tail, Rooster's comb & wattle, Pelican's beak, and Swan's neck.  Unfortunately, this makes it difficult to eat, swim, and get away from the fox.  After his geese friends rescue him, he trades back with the other birds, and "He became a goose like all other geese, but now he was wise and kind and never envied anyone again."
S129 still can't: perhaps, Lord Rex, the Lion Who Wished, written and illustrated by David McKee, published Abelard-Schuman 1973. "the story of a lion who wished he had wings like a butterfly, a trunk like an elephant, a parrot's tail, a kangaroo's hind legs and a giraffe's neck - and acquired them all. Lord Rex's appearance becomes more ludicrous on every page until on the last page, after a final look at his hybrid self in the pool, he wishes himself back to lionhood. Deliciously absurd." (Children's Books of the Year 1973 p.22)
S129 Might be You Look Ridiculous, Said the Rhinoceros to the Hippopotamus by Bernard Waber, c1966 Houghton Mifflin...  also reprints '73, '79 and '99. Black, White, Green, Red Hippo was perfectly happy wallowing in some mud until grumpy rhino tells looks ridiculous because no horn. Other jungle animals agree, but because no spots, flappy ears, etc. Cute!
In case you have remembered the animals incorrectly-- In a Dick and Jane reader (New Times and Places) there is a story of three animals (rabbit,cow,dachshund) wishing they could be three other animals (giraffe, owl, duck). THEN, voila: a GIRabbit, a DUCKhund,a COWL). Story taken from a book by Challis Walker called Three by Three (Coward-McCann-1940)
Me Too Iguana. This may be a long shot, but the Me Too Iguana book was part of a series of books featuring animals with stories to teach lessons. Me Too Iguana is about Imitating Iguana, who sees other animals and tries to imitate them till the other animals show her that being herself is most important.  Some of the other animals were Capable Camel, Zany Zebra, Responsible Rabbit and so on.  All the names were alliterative.
The Scroobious Pip.  A book about an animal made of many different parts.  Maybe in rhyme.

Sister Mary Jean Dorcy was known for her lovely black silhouettes cut from paper. She illustrated some Catholic books with these silhouettes and also was an author (but not might be the author of this particular book). Maybe an online search with her name as the keyword or illustrator will come up with a title. Good luck!
Your suggestion about Sister Mary Jean Dorcy was excellent. Her style and subject area seem like a perfect match, as shown on various web sites discussing her work, but none of the books mentioned was the one I sought. So I wrote to her student and artistic heir Dan Paulos in New Mexico. He kindly responded, but said none of her 26 books matched my description. My only remaining hope, assuming her to be the creator of the silhouettes I recall, is that he may not have known all of the books she illustrated for other authors.  The search continues.  Thanks again for your help.
Joan Windham, Saintsseries, 1930s.  Could it be Joan Windham? I have a reprint of Saints by Request first published in 1937. There were also "Saints specially for boys" "...girls" "...upon a time" "...you have asked for" "six o'clock saints" The illustrations are I think woodcuts but very simple blocky black & white". Publishers Sheed & Ward.
I just included in an order a follow-up to a long ago inquiry to Stump the Bookseller - after which I successfully navigated the site and found my old question (S130) still in place. The last suggestion was about Joan Windham’s British books on saints.  I remember her books well and know that her breezy style and format were not compatible with the book I am still looking for.  I have combed the LC catalog, and even started a poky search of the LC’s microfiched copies of publishers’ annual lists for the period. (I was dismayed to find that “Books in Print” did not begin until the late 1940’s.)  While I did not find my book, I did find some funny long-forgotten titles, including the saccharine “Tom Playfair” and “Percy Wynn” which, along with “Helen’s Babies,” were read aloud to us by old Sr. Remigia when teaching 35 fourth-graders got to be too much to deal with.  The only Catholic publisher I found in that time period was Benziger.  Sheed & Ward came along later.  If you know of any others, including British ones, I’d appreciate any suggestions.  Thank you.
Just a note - St. Edmund Campion was not canonized until 1970.  In the 1930's he would still have been Blessed Edmund Campion so your book title might have something more than just Saints in the title - Heroes, for example.

I believe that this is one of the Uncle Wiggle stories. I say that because the description conjures up a very strong image of an illustration of the beast in question biting into a pincushion.  The story was one of many in an anthology I had as a child back in the 1950's or 60's. I think the author is Burgess (Thornton?) -whoever wrote the Uncle Wiggly stories.
It could be one of Thornton Burgess' Uncle Wiggly stories...  there are so many, though...
S135    Maxwell, Arthur Uncle Arthur¹s bedtime stories  Vols 13-16 [or Series 13-16]
Thorton W. Burgess was the author of many animal tales such as the Tale of Reddy Fox, Blackie the Crow or Old Mother West Wind, these were stories meant to impart knowledge of how different animals actually lived.  Uncle Wiggily was written by Howard R. Garis and was clearly a fictional story character.  I don't remember any character with a name like the one you mentioned.

More information on this stumper is promised, but in the meantime, it does make me think of Margaret Bloy Graham's Be Nice to Spiders (Harper & Row, 1967).  It's a little boy's pet spider who is sent for safekeeping to the zoo, where she quickly saves all the zoo animals from flies and other pests.  The spider's name is Helen, and her original owner's name was Billy.  Might also want to investigate Edward Gorey....
Cresswell, Helen, Meet Posy Bates,illustrated by K. Aldous.  Oxford, Bodley Head, 1990.  This is the only book I've seen yet which has a girl with pet spiders. "Posy longs for a pet, but Daff (Mum) has banned them, so she makes do with Punch and Judy, who are spiders, and Peg the Leg, a stick-insect. Their lives are short, so their names are given to a succession of replacements as the originals die or are swept away in one of Daff's cleaning sessions." Posy gets a magic bobbin (thread spool) from the local "bag lady" which helps her when she organises a "green" pet show in which Punch and Judy and Peg the Leg feature.
Schwartz, Ellen, Starshine. (1995)  A possible, since the original poster hasn't come up with more information to rule it out. "Starshine Bliss Shapiro has a problem: her name. What's worse is that she might not go on the grade four camping trip because of a squabble with her parents. But Starshine has a plan involving her hobby--spiders--and the help of her best friend Julie Wong. Now if only her pesky little sister doesn't foul things up ..." Sequels are Starshine at Camp Crescent Moon, and Starshine on TV. The American Association of Arachnology is featured. Her pet spider in the first book is Goldie, a Nephila spider that accidentally arrives in a box of papayas.

Verna Aardema, Why Mosquitoes Buzz in Peoples' Ears
S139 Sounds like it could be WHY THE SUN WAS LATE by Benjamin Elkin, illustrated by Jerome Snyder, Parents Magazine Press, 1966. It's a retelling of an African folktale in which a series of events, starting with a fly, causes a bird not to sing and so the sun doesn't wake up. ~from a librarian
S139 sun slept late: if this poster is also incorrect about it being a fly, it could be Why Mosquitoes Buzz in People's Ears, on the Solved list. If the memory is correct and it is a fly, it could be Why the Sun Was Late, by
Benjamin Elkin, illustrated by Jerome Snyder, published New York, Parent's Magazine Press 1966, unpaginated. It starts with the fly landing on a dead tree, which topples with a crash. The fly thinks he did it, and tries to push two boys out of another tree. When a boy swings at the fly, he instead knocks three squirrels out of the tree, which startles four snakes, who slither off into a herd of five elephants, who rush madly into a hill, knocking six eggs out of a nest. The mother bird says "Now my heart is broken, too. Never, never, never shall I sing again." Without the bird's song, the sun is not awakened. The Great Spirit has to look into it, and retrace the story, until he comes to the fly, who is too embarrassed to answer and just buzzes. Or it could be Why Flies Buzz, retold and illustrated by Joanna Troughton, published Blackie 1974, 30 pages. "In this Nigerian cumulative tale a fly buzzing round a boy gathering palm nuts in a tree sets off a series of reactions that ends with the guinea-fowl neglecting to call up the Sun. Obassi, Lord of All Creatures, decrees that the fly shall lose its power of speech as a  punishment."

Hi again,  In looking over the new listings, I have a glimmer of an idea about S143 -- The Selfish Giant.  In 1973, I had to translate a children’s story about a Selfish Giant from English into French for a school project.  I routed through my attic and found only the photocopy of the story.  It was from the March 1973 Reader’s Digest and was adapted from the Oscar Wilde story.   Perhaps if the original Reader’s Digest could be located, it would point the direction of the book.
Just carrying on the Readers Digest thread - my daughter had, in the 1980's, a two volume set of stories that I am almost certain were published by Readers Digest.  I remembered them as being fairy tales, but it may well be that some of them were versions of classic stories, like the Selfish Giant and Water Babies (the chimney sweep?)  The covers were turquoise, with pictures on them, and I am surethe stories were illustrated throughout.
Hilda Boswell (ed.), Hilda Boswell's Treasury of Children's Stories, 1971.  This w