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D60 It sounds like SAD DAY, GLAD DAYby Vivian Lauybach Thompson, 1962. ~from a librarian
More on the suggested title - Sad Day, Glad Day, by Vivian L. Thompson, illustrated by Lilian Obligado, published by Holiday 1962, 38 pages. "Warmly appealing story for little girls of first and second grades. They can sympathize with small Kathy when on moving day she has to leave a familiar home and forgets her doll; and they can rejoice with her in the new apartment house when she finds a bequest from a young former resident who has left a note with a doll, because she could not take all her dolls to her new home. Soft pencil drawings reflect the highly emotional moments of Kathy's big day." (Horn Book Oct/62 p.479)

Possibly one of the books about Sadie & Kevin by Joan Lingard? They were written from 1970 to 1977.
SOLVED!! Yes, indeed, this is the series I was remembering.  I thought the names might be Bridget and Michael, so that just goes to show that memory can be tricky when we are searching for these books. There are five books in this series now, apparently is is pretty well-respected. Thanks to whoever solved it. I KNEW someone would.  So far, all of my stumpers have been solved but one!

I'm sorry I can't be of more help, but I do seem to remember some other details about this book... the heroine gets poison ivy and ends up with calamine lotion all over her hands. The mystery of the jewels centers around a long-dead native of the town named Euphemia/ Euphelia Price (maybe?), or "Eppie" for short.
Clare and Effie. Maybe this one? Quote found online:  "It was a very small picture, framed and glazed, and beneath it was written: Euphemia Price. A corner of the artists room in Paris.Clare took it to the window. It wasn't dark yet, and pearly light revealed the painting clearly...It's a bit colourless," Jamie said, coming up behind her."No," Clare said, still staring, "it isn't." She was thinking it was the most lovely picture she had ever seen."
Merryn Williams, Clare and Effie,1996. 'Not sure this is your book, but it does seem to be the one about Euphemia Price   "In a book for nine to twelve year olds, influenced by the historical characters Gwen and Augustus John, Clare finds that it is no fun being the younger sister of a clever older brother, her artistic talent dismissed, falling behind at school, and upset by her parents' marital problems.When her Welsh grandmother dies, leaving them the family home in Swansea, the summer holiday provides a welcome refuge and opportunity to discover more about the work of her woman artist relative, Euphemia Price - Effie of the title. Her knowledge and admiration grow in an atmosphere of tension which somehow echoes the earlier generation's troubles. Who is more loved - brother or sister? Can a female be a proper artist? Whose fault is it that mum and dad are living apart?"
Aha! I think it might be Caroline Cooney's Safe as the Grave.
Caroline Cooney, Safe as the Grave. Yes! That's it! Thank you!!

I enjoy your site very much.  The book described by "O4" Ocean Adventure sounds a lot like The Lion's Paw.  It was about 2 orphans (a boy and a girl) who run away from the orphanage and take a boat through channels in Florida to Captiva Island in the Gulf of Mexico.  They called themselves "eganaps" because the orphanage sign was backwards to them looking out. They meet up with an older boy or man.  I vaguely remember that the girl soaked her hands in the salt water to get rid of the blisters caused by pulling the ropes on the boat.  I can't remember who wrote the book.  My aunt had given it to us because we had lived on Captiva Island with her.  Alas the book was lost during one move or another.
I don't have a specific title, but it sounds like it could be one of Elizabeth Ladd's books.
The book mentioned in the first response to query O4, The Lion's Paw, is by Robb White and was published by Doubleday in 1946.  It could be the book described in the original question -- at one point the girl, Penny,
soaks her feet in brine when they are sore from going barefoot, and at another point she has blisters on her hands from rowing and the boy who owns the boat puts pine oil on them. (I think my husband must have read all of Robb White's books when he was a kid and then bought copies when he was in his 20's.  Good, solid kid's books of the don't-write-them-like-that-anymore variety.)
i thought it might have been the Lion's Paw. I did a little research and it sounds like another book by the same author - Robb White.  The book might be Our Virgin Island.  I haven't read it but the descriptions sound more like the book being sought.  There is a Robb White III homepage that shows a cover of the book - that might help.  LCCN 53006887, CALL#F2129.W56.  There is a library search "NOBLE" that found the book in the Beverly library in Massachusetts.
Thanks so much for this lead - I am so excited that I may find the book again. I have ordered four possibilities (all Robb White books from the early 40's) through my local public library ILL to try to pin down the right book. Can't wait to find it!!

Thanks to all who helped, I finally got to reread my childhood mystery book. It was Robb White's Sailor in the Sun!  (pub. 1941) Needless to say, my memory of details was not very accurate! The girl's "companion" was not a boy her age, but an elderly boatbuilder! Cherry was sent from New York City to live with poor relatives on the Gulf coast of Florida because her father had died, and her mother was in a sanitorium. The uncle in Florida disliked girls, so the aunt cut her hair short and made her dress as a boy. The boatbuilder who befriended her taught her how to build boats and to sail them. A great "girl heroine" story!

Sounds like the Sailor Jack books by Selma & Jack Wasserman (Chicago: Benefic Press, 1960s). The parrot's name is Bluebell. (Sailor Jack & Bluebell's Dive takes place on a submarine)

Cicely Louise Evans, The Saint Game,1977. This description really tortured me - I was certain I remembered this same story.  The younger girl thought that by burying the mandrake in a certain way, she would force the uncle to reveal his crime.  The mandrake grew a rootlet from its crotch, giving it the appearance of an aroused man - the uncle discovered it and was freaked out and confessed.  I remember the young girl was unfamiliar with the word "rape" and was wondering if it was related to "rapier." I cannot find a plot summary of the book online anywhere.  However, there was a listing for a review of it on Canadian Children's Literature here that is titled "Tragic Innocence" and lists the subjects as "Historical fiction / Religion / Sex," so it may be the same book.
Cicely Louise Evans, The Saint Game. Yes, thank you, I recognized the name of the book.  It is The Saint Game.  I am so pleased someone else remembered it.  I don't remember the saint part of it, though you would think I would, but I definitely remembered the anatomically-correct mandrake root that triggers the uncle's confession.  Another stumper solved for me - many thanks again!

G36 Girl Scout Camp:  Good thing that person remembered the girl's name was Sally - it triggered my own memories of the book. It's SAL FISHER AT GIRL SCOUT CAMP by Lillian S. Gardner, 1959, 1966 (1966 is the Scholastic date)
DEFINITELY "Sal Fisher at Girl Scout Camp." Thank you so much! As soon as I read the title I remembered it.
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A children's book about a seven year old girl and her bothersome little sister.  One chapter was about her cutting her brownie uniform and when mended it looked like an L which she felt showed she was left handed. At the end of the chapter someone showed her that it was not an L but rather a 7 which stood for how old she was.  Also the little sister throughout the book kept yelling that "SHE WAS TOO A SUSIE/MARY SUNSHINE".  I always thought it was a Bezzis and Ramona book, but I think I have read all of them over the last few years and none of them had the two parts I remember so it must have been some other book.  I would have read it in the 1960s so it would be written then or before.

I think the requester might have two books mixed up here, because the child insisting "I am too a Mary Sunshine"  is a Ramona and Beezus book, (I can't remember which one), but the Brownie uniform  episode is  not.
It's "Merry Sunshine" and that scene is from Beezus and Ramona.
I posted this stumper, and you are right the Merry Sunshine part came from Bezzus and Ramona.  Although my memory had it more important in the whole story.  The L 7 must be from another book which I am still trying to find out it's name -- must have been reading them at around the same time -- what happens when you read alot even as a child.
Gardner, Lillian, Sal Fisher, Brownie Scout, 1953.  If the little sister / Mary Sunshine references are Beezus and Ramona, then it's *possible* that the Brownie references are to one of Lillian Gardner's Sal Fisher books. Either Sal Fisher, Brownie Scout (1953) or Sal Fisher's Fly-Up Year (1957).  I haven't read either, but I read Sal Fisher at Girl Scout Camp many, many times, and there's definitely a reference in there to Sal having slipped with scissors and cut her Brownie uniform in an earlier episode (it's how she became friends with another Brownie).
I got a hold of the flying up and at camp and it does seem like the book I was thinking of was Sal Fisher, Brownie -- now just to find a copy of it.  Thanks for your help this is a great service.
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This might be a longshot. I can't remember Title OR Author! All I can remember is the front cover (soft cover) had a (i THINK) pencil type sketch of a girl , laying on a cot , inside a tent (flap was open I think) writing a letter... I want to say she was chewing on the pencil eraser but I'm not sure. Anyway, it was about a girl who went to camp .. I don't remember anything else really... at the beginning of the book I think she's in her room , all packed and ready to go and thinking she's going to have a horrible summer. I used to love this book and can't believe I can't remember more about it! I hope you can help!

Never mind! Not 2 minutes after submitting payment to you , I found the answer in your archives. Sal Fisher at Girl Scout Camp!  So , I don't need to know where my stumper is going to show up , as I already have the answer. Thanks anyway!

Louise Dickinson Rich, Sally (originally Three of a Kind),1970. My copy is titled Sally but the original title is Three of a Kind.  It's about Sally who goes to live with an older couple on an island off of the Maine coast.  Soon, their autistic grandson comes to stay with them.  The grandson's name is Benjie, the older couple's names are Rhoda and Ben.
Louise Dickinson Rich, Sally (aka. Three of a Kind), 1970.This is absolutely The book, the foster family is named Cooper and the little boy is Benjie, I specifically remember the incident of him seeing the birds. The story actually takes place on an island called Star Island, 7 miles off the Maine Coast.

Her name is Sally. Here's the book you're looking for:
Eppenstein, Louise. Sally Goes Shopping Alone. Platt & Munk, 1940. Illustrated by Esther Friend. 7.5x9.25", 44pp, blue cloth. Cover soiled, interior bright. Good. <SOLD>
I also have: Sally Goes to the Circus Alone. Platt & Munk, 1953. Illustrated by Jean Staples. 7.5x9.25"; 44pp, red cloth. Very Good. $18 postagepaid.

Thank you so much for responding to my search. I would very much like to have the book. It is rather ironic that I remember the story in great detail (as my mother read it to me many, many times)--however I did not remember the little girls name and it is the same as mine!

I shrieked at the memory of SALLY GOES SHOPPING ALONE. I loved that book, and still love to go shopping alone!
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In the late 50s I had a book about a little girl who goes shopping with a velevt purse. Can anyone recall a story like this?

Sounds like Sally to me.  Louise Eppenstein, Sally Goes Shopping Alone, 1940.
The book I'm looking for may be Sally Goes Shopping Alone, I'm not sure  though. Would you have another copy available? Does she have a velvet purse?
I don't have a copy of Sally Goes Shopping Alone right now, but I have a sequel called Sally Goes Travelling Alone, in which she refers constantly to her "little red purse."  She doesn't actually call it velvet, but it looks like a small hand-held purse with a string handle.  Maybe?
Hey! That could be her. It's amazing the impact books have on us as children that stay with us and hold such tenderness in our hearts. TY so much. I'd like to get it.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Eppenstein, Louise. Sally Goes Traveling Alone.  Illustrated by Jean Staples.  Platt & Munk, 1942.  A beautiful copy in dust jacket, dj has a few small holes on front fold-over.  F/G+.  <SOLD> Eppenstein, Louise. Sally Goes To  The Circus Alone.  Illustrated by Jean Staples.  Platt & Munk, 1952.  Front paste-down endpaper torn, otherwise VG.  $25

Lyn Cook, Samantha's Secret Room, 1963.  Samantha's cousin Josh is the owner of the caravan named Nefertiti.
Lyn Cook, Samantha's Secret Room, 1963.  Scholastic Canada.  Samantha (Sam) lives on a rural property in Canada and gains a penfriend by tying a letter to a christmas tree.  The caravan belongs to a cousin who comes to visit for a family reunion.  The secret room is in a root cellar.
Hi again, Harriett. I just wanted to thank you for providing your Stump the Bookseller service. My mystery is solved! You're a wonderful resource, and I'll be back!

Samantha's Surprise. by Bethany Tudor.  J. B. Lippincott Co. (1964)
Bethany Tudor, Gooseberry Lane

This may be Shirley Belden, Sand in My Castle (NY:V Longmans, Green, '58).
Sand in My Castle, by Shirley Belden, illustrated by Genia, published Longman, 1958, 182 pages. "Judith Burritt has one special love - her photography - and all other interests fade in comparison. As she pursues this hobby she begins to realise that she is relying to much on her mother to manage her life and it is time to try her wings away from the family hearth. Encouraged by her father and with her camera as constant companion, she spends a fruitful and energetic summer on Cape Cod, helping an older girl to develop a 'different' tea room. Photography plays an important role as Judith finds new friends, a new love, widened interests, and especially, a more healthy relationship with her family." (BRD 1959) This sounds actually a more complex book than the one remembered, for a higher reading level. A book with a similar title that might possibly be the one wanted is Castle in the Sand, written and illustrated by Bettina, published Harper 1951 "With her usual wisdom and awareness, the author of the beloved Cocolo books tells the amusing and beautiful story of two children who make friends on a beach in Italy. 20 black and white wash drawings. Ages 7-10." (Horn Book Sep/51 p.288 pub ad) The illustration shows a boy with curly black hair and an aquiline nose and an impish looking girl with blonde shoulder-length straight hair.

i think that the book you want is sandeagozu by janann tenner.  harpercollins.  1986.
I read the book you are looking for! Unfortunately I can't remember the title or author either - but here are a few more details. The title was the animals' phonetic interpretation of the words "San Diego Zoo" ie, something along the lines of "Sandy Eggo Zu" etc. It was a novel for adults, and there were definitely some human villans that the animals had to avoid, including one who came to a very bad end by eating dried corn in an abandoned Native American village and then drinking too much water (stomach exploded: ugh!) The cover of the hardback had an illustration of the animals including a large snake. Hope this helps!
Jenner, Janann V., Sandeagozu: a novel, 1986.  Not from the 1970s, but definitely your book.  A Burmese python, coatimundi, macaw and rattlesnake escape from Leftrack's Pet Emporium in NYC in search of the mythical Sandeagozu, a warm land where animals can live without cages.

I managed to ask my friend's mother about this book, and although she remembers it, she remembers it differently than he does.  She also says the book was sandwich shaped, but that it was very short, and contained pages for jam and peanut butter. She purchased it at the drug store.  My friend is in his mid thirties, so this was probably in the early 70's.
David Pelham, Sam's Sandwich.  Looks like the right book.
Sorry, but Sam's Sandwich is far too new to be the book I'm looking for. Amazon claims that the first US edition was printed in 1991.  The book I'm looking for would've been published in the mid-70s at the latest.
Dorothy C. Seymour, The Sandwich.  This was published in the 60s and had the repeating lines "a little of this...some of that...and some bread."  It was a picture book, sandwich shaped, illustrated by Richard C. Lewis.  It may be the book
you are looking for.
Find out more about Dorothy Seymour on the Most Requested pages.

Anonymous, Santa Claus and Lili Monk,1955.  The reason I think this might be the one besides the date is that apparently the pages are textured.  "A fuzzy wuzzy book Folio. [16] pp. (unpaginated).  This is the story of a little monkey who hitched a ride to the North Pole in Santa's bag when he was visiting the jungle looking for drums. Does Lili stay in the North Pole?"
G.P. Hall, Monty the Monkey, 1943.  Another angle on which to look -- this does''t seem to be the book, but it might be
another book by the same author.  "Thacker's Dumpy Books No. 6. A Little Black Sambo imitation, each page of text in large type faces a full page illus. in line by G.P. Hall. A curious book."
I checked the one for Santa Claus and Lili Monk.  There is no Monty Monk character in that story, so that is not the one I am searching for.  But thanks for trying!
M163 Could this be a comic book series? Monty Monk.  Entry (p. 146) in Encyclopedia of Comic Characters, by
Denis Gifford (Harlow : Longman, 1987). -- See this site.
Still no luck.  I checked out the "Monty the Monkey" book  from 1943, and there definitely were no references to Little Black Sambo in the book that I am searching for, so it cannot be this book.  Also, the next person listed a comic book reference.  The book I am looking for was nothing like a comic book, so this leads me to another dead end. After talking with my mother and brother, they both agreed that the center of the story was...Monty Monk was such a good little monkey that Santa allowed him to ride in his sleigh as he delivered toys to all the girls and boys. Hope someone can help me find this book.  Thanks.
I am so excited!!!!!! My mystery is solved and I have found my book! Actually, I must admit that I made an error.  For several years, I thought the book I was looking for was about Monty Monk. I'm not sure where I got that idea.  There is not character "Monty Monk" in the book I was looking for.  Instead the character is "Lili Monk"!  I took a chance, and ordered the book Santa Claus and Lili Monk from one of the used book sources that you recommend.  And lo, and behold, it was the book of my childhood!  Well, not the actual book, but one just like it!  I am just so  happy. I received it yesterday, sat down and reread it after nearly 40 years!  I still love it, and the illustrations are just as wonderful as I remembered them!  But alas, no one is given credit in the book for the illustrations nor the words!   Anyway, thanks so much for offering this service! My mystery is solved!

The Santa Claus Book.  This is a Big Golden Book.  Mine is so worn that I have no title page, so I can't give you any other information.
I thought there was one by Kathryn Jackson, but when I first looked all I could find was a Golden Super Shape Book by Eileen Daly, Illustrated by Florence Sarah Winship, 1972.  But, I was right the first time.  It is The Santa Claus book; 43 Christmas stories and poems, written and compiled by Kathryn Jackson. Pictures by Retta Worcester. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1952.  It's just hard to come by these nostalgic days.
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C138: I am looking for a book that belonged to my mother who was born in 1945. It is about 8 1/2 by 11 size and is an COLLECTION  of Christmas stories. I have pages 57-100 which have the stories, The Exactly Right Present, The Christmas Eve Whispers, The poem Merry Christmas, The Speedy Little Train, the song Good Nicolas Nicol, A Shoe for Blitzen, Noel's New Birthday, the poem "Song" and "I Saw Three Ships", and THe Puppy Who Wanted a Boy adn The Elves and the Shoemaker. I am desperate to find this book adn would appreciate any help!!!!

Sounds like it could be THE TALL BOOK OF CHRISTMAS selected by Dorothy Hall Smith, illustrated by Gertrude Elliott Espenscheid, 1954. It is about 12 inches tall and 5 inches wide. It contains "The Christmas Story", "I Saw Three Ships" "Christmas Through a Knothole", "Christmas", "Everywhere Christmas", "The Birds", "Babouscka", "The Story of the First Christmas Tree", "O Little Town of Bethlehem", "Giant Grummer's  Christmas", "The Friendly Beasts", "The Christmas Rose", "For Christmas", Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Kittens", "A Christmas for Bears", "Song", "Long, Long Ago", "Away In A Manger", "Santa Claus", "The Christmas Cake", "The Puppy Who Wanted A Boy", "Words From An Old Spanish Carol", "Patapan", "The Holly and the Ivy", "A Little Christmas Wish", "What Can I Give Him?", "In the Great Walled Country", "Here We Come A-Caroling", "The Night Before Christmas".  There were other TALL BOOK OF... including THE TALL BOOK OF FAIRY TALES which includes "The Shoemaker and the Elves". There was also THE TALL BOOK OF MAKE-BELIEVE, but I didn't find a list of its contents. Perhaps all the stories weren't in one book - perhaps the mother owned more than one of THE TALL BOOK series?  ~from a librarian
The Santa Claus Book. This is a Big Golden Book.  My copy is just about worn out and I have no title page.  I think this is the same book described in C124.  It is certainly a wonderful Christmas book.
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C47: I do not have author or title for the book I am looking for It was a Christmas book with several different stories in it. One story was about a poor family who went out to buy a star for the top of their Christmas tree and lost the money, when they got home the tree that was is front of a window was topped by a star  outside.  Another was about a girl who got so upset when they had to take the tree down that they planted one outside. I would be very surprised it you can help, but thought I would try.  I had the book in the 1950's.

I get many requests for a book called a The Shinest Star by Beth Vardon, but I haven't read the book myself.  Might this be it?
I'm quite familiar with the story The Shiniest Star by Beth Vardon, and I'm sorry to say that this great story is not the one described. The Shiniest Star is about three little angels who polish their stars in heaven. The hard working, humble Touselhead's star becomes the Christmas star.
The Santa Claus Book.  This is a Big Golden Book.  It contains several Christmas stories.  One is "Susie's Christmas Star" in which Susie goes to the store and buys a star and candy canes for her family's tree, but loses them on the way home. She follows footprints and finds that a very poor family has found the candy canes and used them to decorate their tree. Seeing this, she generously pushes her star through their window too.  When she goes home a real star is shining through the window over her family's tree.  Other stories in this book include: The Penny Walk, Christmas through a knothole, Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens, The Thirty-nine Letters, etc.
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I am searching for a book my father frequently read me when I was young. I don't recall the title or author and neither does my father but I can still picture the book illustrations and story in my mind. I was a child in the 1960's so the book had to be written before 1965 probably. I have not had any success using the search features as I seem to only get later published books. How do I go about finding this book which may be out of print?  The gist of the book is about a young girl who has a few cents. She goes to the corner candy store and purchases 10 candy canes which the shopkeeper puts in a paper bag. She leaves the store and begins home trudging through the snow covered streets, her boots leaving footprints. When she gets home, she discovers her bag had a hole in it and all her candy canes are gone.
She retraces her steps and follows the path of her lost candy canes which had fallen one-by-one leaving imprints in the snow. She discovers that each one has been picked up so she follows the trail of the "thief" only to discover that it leads to an orphange. Standing in the street outside the orphanage, she looks inside the window and sees all the children happily looking at the Christmas tree. On the Christmas tree are her candy canes! I'm not sure how it ends, but I believe she is happy about where her candy canes have ended up.  This book has such good memories for me that I would like to find it again. Please give me some suggestions about how I can go about finding this book.  Thank you.

I have been unable to find this story published alone, but here's an anthology in which it appears.  (Thanks for the tip, Barb!)
The Santa Claus Book: 43 Christmas stories and poems, written and compiled by Kathryn Jackson. Illustrated by Retta Worcester.  Simon and Schuster, 1952.  A Big Golden Book.  One of the stories is "Susie's Christmas Star" in which Susie goes to the store and buys a star and candy canes for her family's tree, but loses them on the way home. She follows footprints and finds that a very poor family has found the candy canes and used them to decorate their tree. Seeing this, she generously pushes her star through their window too.  When she goes home a real star is shining through the window over her family's tree.  Other stories in this book include: The Penny Walk, Christmas through a knothole, Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens, The Thirty-nine Letters, etc.
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I am looking for a book of Christmas stories published in the 1950s. The last story in the book was about a little girl named Mary Berry who hated to see the Christmas tree taken down. There was also a story about a penny walk and one about a woman who made edible mittens of yarn colored with candy.  Thanks!

Smith, Dorothy Hall, Tall Book of Christmas. (1954)  From the Solved page - includes Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens, Christmas Through a Knothole, The Penny Walk (flipping a penny to decide which way to walk), & The Perfect Tree (with Mary Berry---).
Dorothy Hall Smith, The Tall Book of Christmas. (1954)  This is definitely the book.  It's in Solved Mysteries.
Dorothy Hall Smith, Tall Book of Christmas. (1954)  I found a copy of the Tall Book of Christmas in the New York Public Library, and it is not the book I am looking for. Although it does contain Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens, it does not contain the Penny Walk nor The Perfect Tree. Thanks though.
Possibly this one?  The Golden Christmas Book (1947) by Gertrude Crampton (author), Corinne Malvern (illustrator).  It definitely contains "Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens" but I don't own a copy, so I can't tell you what else is in the book, except that according to various online sellers, it contains songs, poems (including "A Visit From St. Nicholas"), puzzles (including a maze and crossword puzzle), a pop-up Christmas tree, stories, jokes and things to do for Christmas. Lots of pictures in full color and in black and white. The last page contains answers to the puzzles and riddles.  Clean, intact copies are expensive, but books with a missing Christmas tree and writing on the pages can be quite cheap.
Kathryn Jackson, The Santa Claus Book. (1952)  Thanks to the clues given here (particularly Granny Glittens), I have found the book! It is the Santa Claus Book published by Simon and Schuster in 1952. It contains Granny Glittens, The Penny Walk, Christmas Through a Knothole, Susie's Christmas Star, and The Twelfth Night Trouble (Mary Berry and the Christmas tree). Thank you all so much--I would never have found it without your help.
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C548: For years I have been searching for a Christmas book that was gifted to me when I was very young (in the early -'50s).  I love this book but it was given away by mistake....  Over the years friends and family have sent me numerous books, hoping it would be the one I was missing.  The Tall Book of Christmas has several of the stories but it's definitely NOT the correct book.  The stories I recall are "Granny Glittens and her Amazing Mittens," "The Penney Walk," "A Shoe for Blitzen," "Christmas Through a Knothole," and a story about a young "jester-type of guy who was able to accompany Santa in his sleigh on Christmas Eve - I only remember that he had on leggings and one side was red and the other green (or some variety of mixed colors).  I was only about 6 when the book was given to me but I can remember the cover had Santa with a huge bag on his back and the toys were falling out of it.  If I recall correctly, the picture carried over onto the back cover.  I also think of it as more of an 8" x 10" or more of a larger but not thick book.  Oh, and the background of the cover seemed to be a pretty light blue. The stories were charming and I remember that the cover had like a "film" that covered it -- I had handled the book so much that a piece of the opaque cover was tearing away.  The pages were very smooth, I can still feel my hands sweeping over the pages.   I lived in Ohio at the time and the person who gave it to me lived there as well, so it wasn't like some item that was only available on the coast.  Anyway, I miss it terribly and have long lamented that it got away from me.

Kathryn Jackson, The Santa Claus Book, 1952.  This is in the Solved Stumpers section.  According to their information it contains many stories, among them: Granny Glittens and the Amazing Mittens, Christmas Through a Knothole, The Penny Walk, Susie's Christmas Star, Twelfth Night Trouble (a story about Mary Berry and a Christmas Tree), and Thirty Nine Letters.
Kathryn Jackson, The Santa Claus Book (A Big Golden Book), 1952, copyright.  Front cover is light blue, showing Santa putting toys into an overflowing sack. Toys and elves are on the snow around the sack, and continue onto the back cover.  Forty-Three stories and poems, include Mr. Pig's Surprise, Christmas Through a Knothole, Susie's Christmas Star, The Perfect Tree, Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens, The Exactly Right Present, The Christmas Eve Whispers, The Speedy Little Train, A Shoe for Blitzen, Noel's New Birthday, The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy, The Christmas Angel, and The Penny Walk.
Your mention of Granny Glittens rang a bell! Under Solved there was a solution- Santa Claus Book- Kathryn Jackson- 1952. Hope this is your answer.
Gertrude Crampton, The Golden Christmas Book, A Big Golden Book, 1955 or 1967, reprint.  The later editions of this book have a cover depicting Santa with an overflowing gift sack as he rides on a sled with some children.  The original 1947 edition has a cover with Santa and two angels on his lap.  This book is about 8 x 10 size and has the story "Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens" but I don't see in my copy of the book the other stories the seeker mentions.
Kathryn Jackson, The Santa Claus Book: A Big Golden Book, 1952, copyright.  Found this description on the 'net:  "Kathryn Jackson, The Santa Claus Book: 43 Christmas stories and poems, written and compiled by Kathryn Jackson. Pictures by Retta Worcester. New York, Simon and Schuster, 1952. Stories in this book include "Mr. Pig's Surprise", "Christmas Through a Knothole", "Susie's Christmas Star", "The Perfect Tree," "Granny Glittens and Her Amazing Mittens", "The Exactly Right Present", "The Christmas Eve Whispers", "The Speedy Little Train", "A Shoe for Blitzen", "Noel's New Birthday", and "The Puppy Who Wanted a Boy." Poems included are "Winter Morning", "If I Were Santa's Little Boy," "Christmas," "Sortie", "Song", "What Can I Give Him?", "Santa's Workshop", "Christmas Magic", "Secret Lake", and "Good Nicholas Nichol"."  There are lots of pictures of the book -- which, as you described, features Santa, his sack overflowing with toys, continuing onto the back cover, against a light-blue background that does look like it has a "film" on it.

This sounds like it could be one of the Santa Mouse books by Michael Brown.
M 27 and N 9 sound like the same book.
Thank you, Thank you, Thank you-----I would like to know if you have this book to sell me or a way for me to find it.
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i dont have much info.--- the story is about santa and a mouse. santa fills the stocking so full that " Not One Thing More" can be put in ( could be the title) then the mouse says he can put in"One Thing More" and gnaws a hole in the stuffed stocking. This book was read to me by my Father when I was a child in the 50's (55)??  I'm wondering if you can help me find it so I can read it to my grandchildren--- It had lovely  colorful pictures in it. It was probably bought in a 5&10 cent store. Thanking You in Advavce

M 27 and N 9 sound like the same book.
N9--  Thanks for reminding me of this.  It was a poem my grandmother used to recite.  Unfortunately, my mother doesn't know the title or the author, but the fact that Grandma recited it to her children, then her grandchildren, puts it back to the 1930s--probably earlier.  Some of Grandma's stories predated Grandma.  I'm having the devil's own time finding a story she used to recite--we've figured it originated in a magazine printed before she was born; more on that later.  Keyword searches on this (not one thing more, stocking, mouse, Santa Claus, etc.) in the Library of Congress were not much help.  Maybe someone can do better with them than I.  If this was printed, either by itself or as part of a larger book, I would very much like to know where, and how to get a copy!
Regarding N9, the original poem, "Santa Claus and the Mouse", was written by Emilie Poulsson.  If this was made into a children's book, perhaps having the original author will help.
The book which is identified as from the "Santa Mouse" series is actually the same poem I sent to solve stumper #N9.  They should both be listed under that title.
Well, it sure helps to have the correct spelling of the author's name!  When I searched under "Emilie Pouisson" in the Library of Congress I didn't find a thing, but under "Emilie Poulsson" all sorts of stuff came up!  I still didn't find anything to indicate that Santa Claus and the Mouse was a picture book by itself (and want to know if it was) but there were all sorts of collections of poems, including holiday poems, and of course it could have appeared in someone else's collection of poems.  I also did a search on Google with "Emilie Poulsson" and "Santa Claus" and still couldn't find anything like Santa Claus and the Mouse as a picture book, but did find a story called How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas, by Phyllis McGinley.  Does anyone know if this story featured a sugar plum sleigh?  It might be the one I'm looking for.
a copy of this poem can be viewed at http://www.geocities.com/grandma_lyn/SantaMouse.html.
I think "How Mrs. Santa Claus Saved Christmas" is the same as "The Year Without a Santa Claus", which was made into a popular Christmas TV special with Mickey Rooney. (It was first published in a womens' magazine, 1956.)  Don't remember any particular mention in it of a sugar plum sleigh.
Many thanks to the person who identified Emilie Poulsson as the author of Santa Claus and the Mouse.  Recently I was going through a box of books and found a very old one by this author which must have belonged to my grandmother.  Sure enough, the poem was in it!  I'd never have known to look for it there had I not been informed of the author's name.

Barbara Chapman, The Wonderful Mistake,1948.  When I read this "memory", I thought I'd read it before. When I looked it up, however, my anthology entitled Santa's Footprints put together by Aladdin Books, had a story called The Wonderful Mistake in it. There is a princess who is thrilled to get a regular boy doll who is "not to go in a glass case  he is just to play with!" by mistake and a family of 4 war orphans who end up with a fancy doll that was intended for the princess. The orphans decide to make a nativity scene and the fancy doll becomes the beautiful Virgin Mary. It ends with having the mistake be one that "made this Christmas the best for everyone." This story is the next to the last one in the book.
I am the original poster, and Santa's Footprints is the correct book.  You can put this one down as solved!

Augusta Huiell Seaman, Sapphire Signet, 1916.  You may want to check out this book.  The author was an extremely popular writer of children's mysteries nearly 100 years ago.  I have never read this particular one, because it's very rare, but the plot you described sounds about like something she would have written.  Also, one of the very few references I found to this book by googling revealed some of the plot: "Set in a very modern New York City (that is, in the early 1900’s), where change is constant and construction of the new subway system brings noise and turmoil to what had been a quiet neighborhood, the plot involves three sisters, a younger cousin, and a new friend who together work to solve a mystery rooted in the Revolutionary War."  "...One of the young girls in the story, Corinne Cameron...“offish and queer and quiet. . . and when she isn’t studying she is always reading something”(p. 8). More significantly, when the twins, Jess and Bess, visit Corinne for the first time, she talks about her father with whom she lives (her mother is dead) and she picks up on old book with the title Valentine’s Manual, Volume II, an old history of New York, and said that her father had picked it up an auction sale and given it to her for her birthday. When the twins are nonplussed at the pleasure she is showing in this “old, dilapidated, uninteresting book” she says that she is a born “antiquarian” just like her father (p. 11)."  Lest you should think this book is too old, it was republished in 1936 & 1941 -- just in time for a new generation of girl readers.
Seaman, Augusta Huiell, The Sapphire Signet.  This might be the book you're looking for. I'm not sure of the exact plot, but this sounds like something she might have written.
Augusta Huiell Seaman, The Sapphire Signet, 1916.  I believe this may be it.  The diary is found in a secret compartment and is deciphered by an invalid girl.  The diary is destroyed by a housekeeper (who is in the place of a mother--thankfully after the whole diary has been deciphered).  The signet is eventually found and delivered to the proper owner by the invalid girl who has regained her health.

Roberta Leigh, Sara and Hoppity, 1960.  The book is Sara and Hoppity, about a "goblin toy" that is brought to Sara's parents' toy shop. Her parents and helper, Miss Julie (that's probably who the requestor remembers" repairs for her. It's the mother who paints the plate with Hoppity's picture on it, so Sara will eat her spinach with egg. What happens is that Sara hates the taste so much that when Hoppity "tells" her to slide the food into the pocket of her apron and tell her parents she ate it (Hoppity is a very naughty toy)! Sara is found out and punished by being sent to her room, and you never find out whether the leg on the plate is shorter than the other. In the end she sees Hoppity, at whom she has been very angry, standing in the corner, so she knows he feels remorseful and realizes how much she loves him. This story and its sequel, Sara and Hoppity Make New Friends, were my favorite childhood books, and I've never known anyone else who recalled them.
Sara & Hoppity.  Apparantly there were 6 books and it may interest your requestor to know that there was also a television series that aired in the 60s.  My mother and sister remember it fondly.  There's more information about both books and tv show at this site.
Though not my "Stumper" this has helped me with a childhood memory.I grew up in southern England in the '60s, and have a distinct memory of Sarah and Hoppity being a puppet show on local TV. I actually recall being a bit upset that Sarah was always getting into trouble for things Hoppity had instigated. Anyway, now I live in Scotland, no one else remembers the show, and I had started to think I had dreamt it, so thank you for confirming that the memory may be correct.
Thank you for solving this one for me!  It has intruded on my thoughts for 10-15 years and I couldn't figure out how to find the title.  I LOVE this website -- many thanks to Harriett Logan for this wonderful service.  I was able to find 2 other elusive books from my childhood (Magic Elizabeth and Candle in her Room) simply by searching the solved stumpers.  But all I knew for sure with this one was the short leg and painted plate -- not a lot to go on.  The story seems to be a lot different than what I thought I recalled.  I'm sure that over the years I have mixed up a number of favorite books, making it even harder to track them down.  (As a child, I may even have dreamt about the stories, thereby distorting my recollection even more.) Thanks to the posted solution I found a website that summarizes all of the books.

This sounds like Sarah Canary by Karen Joy Fowler.
i would like to thank the person that figured out my book.   as a matter of fact, i feel like i should give them my firstborn child i am so grateful.  i just knew i would never find this book again.  thank you!!!!!!!!!!!!

I have a definite answer for one of the stumpers!!  N7 is a book called Sarah's Room by Doris Orgel, illustrated by Maurice Sendak.  I still have the copy that my Mom gave me as a little girl.  (Although it didn't help me keep my room clean!)  She gave it to me because she liked finding books with a Sarah as the main character.

Otfried Preussler, Satanic Mill. This very special book is by the popular German author Otfried Preussler,
beautifully translated by Anthea Bell.
Otto Preussler, Satanic Mill, 1970?.  Poster remembered title OK. Fairly sure I have the author's name spelt
correctly - no longer have a copy to check! Story (as I remember it) spot on, though.
Would suggest The Satanic Mill, by Otfried Preussler, translated by Anthea Bell, published Macmillan 1971, 185 pages "In seventeenth century Germany, a boy named Krabat desperately wants to escape from a school for Black Magic where he is held captive by demonic forces. Krabat must learn enough magic to escape." "Krabat, the protagonist, is a young orphan who starts working as an apprentice at a mill where black magic and witchcraft are at work. The miller has made a deal with the devil, and each year one of the apprentices has to be sacrificed by the miller to keep his side of the deal. Some of Krabat's friends end up dead. Krabat, however, finds
salvation through his love, a singer from the nearby village. She is able to rescue him from certain death and put an end to Satan's reign, even when the miller casts an evil spell, because her love for Krabat is stronger than witchcraft." (from the Amazon review)
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There are several books with the title "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" (which I thought was the correct title) but none match my memory of the book...  a young boy is apprenticed to an evil magician.  He is expected to perform several difficult tasks (i.e., emptying a well of water, but his bucket has a hole in it sweeping the feathers from a room, but the wind keeps blowing them back).  Finally he defeats the evil sorcerer when the sorcerer becomes a raven.  Thanks for your help!

Padraic Colum wrote a book entitled THE BOY APPRENTICED TO AN ENCHANTER, 1966 (although there was an earlier printing in the 1920s?). I haven't read it and I couldn't find much info. on it except that Eean the fisherman's son is apprenticed to the evil Zabulun. Might be worth a look. ~from a librarian
Thank you for the tip, but it was not A Boy Apprenticed to an Enchanter. I have since remembered that the book had a windmill in it... does that help anyone?
S134 sorceror's apprentice: the impossible tasks are a very common folktale motif. Usually the boy or girl (most commonly a girl) is helped by animals that he or she helped earlier in the story. I'd guess that the boy was acting as a servant rather than an apprentice - that's the usual arrangement.
Otfried Preussler, The Satanic Mill. Suddenly, after all these years, the title came to me! It is The Satanic Mill.  I checked it out at the library and it was the right book.  I enjoyed it again!
S134 sorceror's apprentice: if the book had a windmill in it, could it possibly be The Satanic Mill, from the Solved List? Later - I had a look at our library's copy, and it doesn't seem to have the impossible tasks in it, just a lot of shape-changing and the trial is recognising the transformed loved one.
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S234:  The miller or the Mill at..., mid 1970s.  Book has been driving me crazy, read it once when I was a freshman in high school - so that would be in the early 1980s.  Book was about a sorcerer who had a mill at the edge of a village.  He would take in orphan boys as apprentice.  At the end of each year, one of his apprentice must die before a new one could take his place.  Book is about an orphan boy who becomes an apprentice.  At some time in the book he tries to escape, turning himself into various animals, each time the miller who was following him, turned himself into something stronger.

#S234--sorceror or miller:  The Satanic Mill.  Otfried Preussler.  Abelard-Schuman, London 1972-1st ed. (U.K).  New York:  Macmillan Publishing Co., Inc. 1972-1st ed. (U.S).  Set against the colorful background of 17th-Century Germany, the story of Krabat's captive apprenticeship and ultimate victory over the master is an unusual, tension-packed thriller that readers of all ages will find difficult to put down.  Author's sixth release, this title received the German State Children's prize for 1972.  Quite a "dark" book and themes, for a children's story.  Set in Southern Germany during the thirty years war.  8vo-over 7¾"-9¾" tall.  185pp.  Murray Tinkelman, jacket illustrator.  Translated by Anthea Bell.
Otfried Preussler, The Satanic Mill, 1971.  See Solved Mysteries Page.
Otfried Preussler, The Curse of the Darkling Mill, also known as The Satanic Mill.  "Secret Arts. Unexplained deaths. What is happening at the mill in the fens? Drawn by powers beyond his control, fourteen-year-old Krabat finds himself apprenticed to the dark mill and begins work with the Miller's eleven other journeymen. But strange things continue to happen at the mill. Time passes at an unnatural pace, and the journeymen have superhuman powers, and can turn themselves into ravens and other creatures. Trapped by an evil power which makes escape impossible, Krabat is forced to submit to the Master of the Mill as he tries to unravel the mill's secrets. The Curse of the Darkling Mill is an eerie tale of sorcery and nightmares, which will keep you guessing right to the end."
Otfried Preussler, The Satanic Mill.One of my favorites! 

This is Saturday, the Twelfth of October by Norma Fox Mazer.
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This YA book was a time travel novel about a girl (about 12 or 13) who lived (I believe) in New York in the 1970s.  Somehow, while at Central Park, she ends up traveling back in time to an ancient, tribal civilization.  She spents almost a year there trying to find a way home.  She brought with her a key, a safety pin, and a knife and these items end up playing a key role in ruining the civilization.  It was an incredible book that I used to read in the 1980s.  It had a lot of feminist and naturalist elements to it.  I would really like to find it again!  I'm almost positve that the title was a date, starting with the name of a month (September?  October?)

Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October.
Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October.
Mazer, Norma Fox, Saturday, the twelfth of October, 1975, copyright.  After spending almost a year with cave people from an earlier time, a young girl is transported back to the present greatly changed, both by her experience and by the fact that no one believes her.
Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October, 1975, copyright.
Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October.  This was the only book my mother ever censored when I was a kid! Now I want to find it and read it again.
Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October.  This is defintely it. Great book.
Norma Fox Mazer, Saturday, the Twelfth of October, 1975, copyright.  Thanks!  This is definitely it.

The latter part of S45 sounds a lot like The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright.  Mona, Rush, Randy and Oliver
are four siblings living in NYC in the 30s. They pool their allowances so that they can each have an adventure on a Saturday. They called their club ISAAC and named their dog Isaac, too.
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Family detective series--This is a wonderful series of books for upper elementary/jr hi about a family--no mom, a housekeeper named, I think, Curly, several kids, and a dad.  The kids solve a mystery in each book but that's not the main point.  The oldest boy plays the piano.  The oldest girl goes around reciting recipes in one book; she also gets a perm that's too tight,  earning her the name "Brillo Queen."  I think one book is titled "The Tangled Web," but I had no luck in searching the Lib. of Congress for it.  The girl also takes off her nail polish with her treasured bottle of perfume in one book.

I found lots of titles called A Tangled Web, including one by L.M. Montgomery (1931).  Maybe?
#F113--family detective series:  Tangled Web could be Mangled Memory of Melendy Family stories by Elizabeth Enright.  Some details, such as Mona getting a permanent and Rush playing the piano, are right, and the maid's name was Cuffy, which is pretty close.  The mystery title in the series was Spiderweb for Two:  A Melendy Maze.
Could be the Melendy books by Elizabeth Enright. Four books: The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five and Spiderweb For two: A Melendy Maze.
F113 is definitely not L.M. Montgomery's a Tangled Web.
Elizabeth Enright, Melendy family series.  Took me a few minutes to put your clues together, but this is definitely it.  The books are The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two.  The children are Mona, Rush, Randy, and Oliver.  They are not mystery books but Spiderweb for Two is about a year-long treasure hunt that the rest of the family puts on for Randy and Oliver.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays. The housekeeper is Cuffy, the eldest son, Rush, plays the piano, Mona gets her hair permed and nails painted and removes the polish with perfume. A Tangled Web by Montgomery is about a will and all the members of the family who wish to inherit a certain vase.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays and Spiderweb for Two.  This sounds like the Melendy family.  In The Saturdays, Mona uses her Saturday to get a perm and manicure.  In Spiderweb for Two Randy and Oliver get clues to a year long treasure hunt when the older kids are away at school.  Rush plays the piano.  Their housekeeper's name is Cuffy.
Don't think that this is an L.M. Montgomery.  Not the right type, and her list of works doesn't seem to have a series of this type.  Title should be The Tangled Web, not A Tangled Web.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  Sequels: The Four-Storey Mistake, Then There Were Five, Spiderweb for Two. Mona is the one who gets nail polish off with perfume! Cuffy is the housekeeper.
Enright, Elizabeth, Spiderweb for Two: a Melendy Maze, 1951.  Might these be Enright's books about the Melendy family?  The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two.  Although the children are not detectives, per se, Spiderweb for Two does feature a mystery with the two youngest children, Randy and Oliver. Other details: no mother, the housekeeper's name is Cuffy (not Curly), there are 4 (then 5!) kids, and a dad.  Rush (the oldest boy) plays the piano.  Mona is an actress who gives frequent dreamy recitations  I believe recipes are included.  In the first book, The Saturdays, Mona indulges in a scandalous beauty treatment including haircut (although I don't think "Brillo Queen" featured) and manicure, and she ends up removing her nail polish with strong perfume. I hope these turn out to be the right books -- they should be great treat to re-discover!   I never "lost" Enright's children's books (among my favorites), but I've just discovered her adult fiction (short stories) with very great pleasure, and would highly recommend them, especially to fans of her writing for children.
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A woman wrote this book,  1950s.  Four children live in a Victorian house - it has a cupola - I believe there was an illustration of it, might have been on the cover.  I think the children live there on their own. Each weekend, one of them is "allowed" to leave the house and have an adventure.  They weren't in prison!  I think they might have been so poor, there was some "sensible" reason for this situation.  It was charmingly told each adventure was engaging.

I believe this is Elizabeth  Enright's The Saturdays. The Melendy children pool their allowance so each one of them, on their Saturday, can plan some special all day outing. The children are not poor but I believe the war is on and they are still rationing.  Their home, with cupola, is described at great length in The Four Story Mistake.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays/The Four Story Mistake. You're combining two of the Melendy family books.  In The Saturdays, the family is living in New York City and the children pool their allowances so that they can take turns going
to the art gallery, the opera and so on.  In The Four Story Mistake, they move to a house in the country that has a cupola.
Enright, Elizabeth, The Saturdays/Four Story Mistake.  This sounds like a combination of both these stories - in The Saturdays, the kids take turns having adventures, and in The Four Story Mistake, they've moved out to the country and
the house has a cupola.
Elizabeth Enright??, The Saturdays, The Four-Story Mistake ??  Is it possible you're remembering parts of two of the books about the Melendy family?  In The Saturdays, the four children (Mona, Rush, Randy & Oliver) pool their allowances so they can (individually) afford an adventure each Saturday  this is in New York City.  In the second book, they move to the country and live in a Victorian house with a four-windowed cupola on the roof.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays. This sounds like an amalgamation of The Saturdays and its first sequel The Four
Storey Mistake. In the first book, the children live in New York, and pool their money so that each child can have an adventure on successive Saturdays eventually they start having their 'adventures' as a group. In the second book, they move
to a house with a cupola.
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HI!  I'm looking for a book I read as a child about a family - there's at least a couple of daughters, a father and I don't know if I remember a mom or a grandmother.  Each chapter of the book is a different "episode" in the life of the family...all I really remember is that in one chapter, the eldest daughter goes to the city for the day, and, feeling more grown up than she is, gets her fingernails painted (a no-no in the house).  She tries to hide her hands during the next meal with the family, but gets caught and becomes more upset when she thinks the polish won't come off.  That's all I remember, I apologize, but I'd really like to find this book.  I would have been reading it around 1978 or so, but I'm not sure how old the book was at the time (it seemed a bit antiquated in its reflection of family values, I recall!) Thanks so much!

Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  This is the first of the Melendy stories. When they can't afford a vacation outside NYC, the four kids pool their allowances and each does something exciting with all the week's money. Mona gets her hair bobbed and (accidentally) a red manicure, and the hairdresser tells her a story about running away to the city. The other kids go to an opera, an art gallery, and the circus.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays, 1942.  This is definitely the book. The girl with the nail polish is Mona, and she also has her hair cut that day. Its the first of the Melendy Quartet.
not sure of author, but this is definately The Saturdays! The girls name was mona and it was her turn to used the combined weekly allowence of all the kids to do exactly what she wanted - she got a perm and a manicure - and got in big trouble!!
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays. Definitely the one.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  See solved stumpers.  In one chapter Mona, the eldest daughter, spends her Saturday money having her hair cut in a grown up style and inadvertently gets a manicure at the same time which causes almost more trouble than having her braids cut off
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays, 1941.  In this book, four siblings decide to pool their weekly allowances and take turns spending the money on a special Saturday outing. On her Saturday, teen Mona Melendy takes a trip to a beauty salon where she gets a short and stylish haircut and a manicure with bright nail polish.  Her father (a widower) disapproves and she later removes the nail polish with cologne or perfume.  Followed by three sequels.  Please see the "S" solved pages for more information.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  This is the one about the siblings who pool their allowances so each child can have a Saturday outing on their own.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  Almost definitely The Satrudays.  See solved stumpers.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays, 1941.  I believe this is the book you're looking for.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  This sounds like The Saturdays, the first book in the series about the Melendy family. In it, Mona, the oldest girl, gets her hair cut and her fingernails polished on one of her outings and gets in trouble for it. The setting is in NYC during WWII.
Enright, Elizabeth, The Saturdays. Solution for nail polish no-nos- Mona, the eldest daughter in the Melendy family, uses her Saturday to get her hair and nails done.
Elizabeth Enright, the saturdays, 1941.  Sure sounds like the Saturdays and the Melendy family, with Mona being the eldest daughter  they live with their dad and their housekeeper and each saturday one of the kids goes on an adventure.  The other three kids are Randy, Rush, and Oliver.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  Sounds like it might be this classic. Mona is the girl's name.
N60 is The Saturdays by Elizabeth Enright.  Each of the Melendy children pool their allowance and take turns having a Saturday out alone.  Mona goes to the beauty shop, gets her hair cut, and a manicure.  Cuffy, the housekeeper, removes the nail polish with perfume.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays, 1941.  This episode is from the first book about the Melendy Family. The four children pool their allowances so that they each have an adventure in NYC. Mona, the oldest, uses the money to go to a beauty salon  she gets her hair cut and has her nails done, much to her family's dismay.
Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays, 1950s.  This sounds like one of the chapters from The Saturdays, where Mona Melendy spends the siblings (Mona, Rush, Randy and Oliver) pooled allowance to go to the city for a makeover.  Each chapter is one of the kids using the allowance money for something they really want.  The Melendys series consists of The Four Story Mistake, The Saturdays, And Then There were Five, and Spiderweb for Two.
Enright, Elizabeth, The Saturdays.  The kids form a group called Isaac to pool their money together so each kid can have his/her own "day".
This sounds like The Saturdays to me...when Mona gets her turn to have an adventure on a Saturday.  I think she gets her hair cut too.  The other kids are Rush, Randy and Oliver.  There's a dad, but the mom died, and Cuffy is the housekeeper -- definitely a grandmotherly type.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Enright, Elizabeth.  The Saturdays.  Henry Holt, 1941, 1969, 2002.  New hardback with new cover illustration by Tricia Tusa.  $16.95 Enright, Elizabeth.  The Saturdays.  Henry Holt, 1941, 1969, 20th hardback printing.  Ex-library edition with only stamp being on top edges, very small water damage to top corner of pages.  G/VG. $20

On #P16, "Pot Named Pete," there's also a book titled Teena and the Magic Pot, illustrated by Jack and Louise Myers, a 1961 Tell-A-Tale which appears on page 469 of Santi's "Collecting Little Golden Books" guide, 4th Edition.
#P16--A Pot Named Pete.  There's a Rand McNally Junior Elf Book called The Magic Pot.  It's the only kids' book I've seen about a pot (not counting The Black Cauldron) except for Caroline and her Kettle Named Maud.
Thanks for the info. I'll have to ask my friend if these sound familiar to her.
Hi again.  I have spoken to my friend about this book and she has provided further information.  The pot is definitely called Peep, not Pete.  It wasn't a magic pot, it was simply one that was divided into three sections where you could cook three different things (unheard of at the time).  The father of the family was a travelling salesman who sold the pots and the family all had Norwegian sounding names.  The book had a cloth cover. That's about it!  Thanks a lot.
P16 Pot named Pete --  Not magic but possible, but Edith Unnerstad's Saucepan Journey, illustrated by Louis Slobodkin, Macmillan 1951, "amusing story of the Larsson family, father mother, and seven children, who spend part of a summer traveling in horse-drawn wagons from Stockholm to Norrkoping. Father is an inventor and his whistling saucepan, Peep, makes the trip lucrative, exciting and funny. The story is told by eleven year old Lars."
That's it!!  Thank you thank you!  And I actually managed to find a copy in Australia (which is where I am) so I am now VERY happy.  I just looooove this website........

Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Sawdust in His Shoes (NY:Coward-McCann, 1950)
Sounds right.  Where I remember the book being shelved in the school library could well have been the M's, and the publication date is feasible.  I'd like to have a copy of this one as well.  Thanks.
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The book i am looking for was probably considered YA (i read it in the early 1970's) basic synopsis teen boy in the circus has to leave it for some reason (dont remember) and runs away from where he is put- he ends up living on the farm of a family that takes him in.

Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Sawdust In His Shoes. Sounds like Sawdust In His Shoes, the story of a teenage circus equestrian who is placed in an orphanage, but runs away and is taken in by a farm family.  He trains one of the plow horses, develops an new act, and eventually rejoins the circus.
McGraw, Eloise Jarvis, Sawdust in His Shoes. The boy's father, a lion tamer, gets killed, and he has to go to an orphanage, from which he runs away. The boy is a solo equestrien and finds the perfect horse for him on the farm.  He ends up back in the circus as a headliner.'
Eloise Jarvis McGraw, Sawdust in His Shoes. 1950.
I vaguely remember reading something similar back in the early 80s. I think the title was "Sawdust in his Shoes", and I thought the author was Edward Fenton, but I couldn't locate it online, so probably not.  Maybe this will help jar someone else's memory though..

Well, it's not common, but I did find one:
L. T. Meade,  The Scamp Family.  London, W. & R. Chambers, n.d.  Illustrated by A. Talbot Smith. Decorative board with picture of four children sitting on a wall. Foxed. Spine a little bit cracked. Good.  $35
I think the poster may be conflating two books: Meade's The Scanp Family, which fits most of the description  and
Noel Streatfield's Ballet Shoes, which includes the travelling Great Uncle Matthew, called Gum for short.

James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis.  I was absolutely haunted by this story...it made a lasting impression.  It apparently made an impression on my uncle as well (so the story must be at least from the 60s), who ended up naming his company after it.
James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis.  This is the story. Its been a staple of high school literature books since at least the 1960s.
James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis.  The brother's name is Doodle.
James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis.  The short story, one of my persnonal favorites, was in the 9th grade literature book used at Beaumont Junior High, Lexington, KY.  The date - 1967-168 school year.
James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis.  Been a while since I read it, but I'm pretty sure this is it.
This is definitely The Scarlet Ibis by James Hurst.  The young brother's name is Doodle.
James Hurst, The Scarlet Ibis, 1960.  Oh, thank you everyone for finding the title of this short story. I read it when I was in 8th or 9th grade and I remember reading it over and over because I was so moved and saddened by the story. This is now one of my favorite websites. Keep up the great work!

Dang, I just solved it myself! ...the title is indeed Scarred, and it's by Bruce Lowery, from 1961.  Think I'll try to get it on interlibrary loan, just to see if it's as powerful as I remember.  I remember that my sixth grade self was really shaken by the raw portrayal of the guilt felt over the death (as I remember it---perhaps it was just a severe injury) of a younger sibling.

When a hearse goes by is a line from an Emily Dickinson poem.  I think the poem you're looking for goes something like, The worms go in,/ The worms go out./ They eat your guts,/ And they spit them out.  Lovely imagery!
#W57:  Along with a lot of other people, I can definitely help you with this.  Alvin H. Schwartz did a series of Scary Stories books.  I believe it is the first one which contains the "worms" song, all the words, as well
as notes on its origins.  Highly enjoyable and entertaining books with GREAT illustrations!
W57 The person is right about the Schwartz book as a source for the song. Specifically, it's in the first one called SCARY STORIES TO TELL IN THE DARK and it's called "The Hearse Song" in the book. Schwartz also includes a good bibliography at the back, so the person can take a look at that too.

I've had this book before.  I believe it's called exactly that: Scat! Scat! by Sally Frances, Platt & Munk, 1929, 1940. 

Ruth & Latrobe Carroll, School in the Sky, 1945.  No mistaking this one -- it's School in the Sky.  It's been quite a while but I recall one of the students was a girl named Annie, and they had a cow in the plane with them!  I remember being fascinated with the description of strapping in the cow for takeoff!
Dear Harriett, I am very happy I found your website!  My search for a book was solved with the title "School in the Sky".  I can't figure out how to respond within the post so I am writing to you to say "thanks" to whoever solved it.  I am very grateful. I made this request on behalf of someone I met at a dinner.  We started talking about children's books and she mentioned one about children traveling the world in a glass-bottomed airplane.  She said she didn't know the title or author, but had searched everywhere for the book with the little information she had.  I found your website later that night and now we have the answer.  She will be thrilled. Thanks for helping people rediscover the books that shaped their worlds when they were young.  Finding a book you once loved is like opening a door and stepping into the past for a while.  I have two young daughters and can't part with a single book of theirs, because I want that door to their early years to always be close by. 

Alberta Armer, Screwball (NY, 1963) has 2 brothers & a soap box derby; one brother has been lamed by polio. Don't know whether this is the book you're looking for, but the author's name seemed close enough to Armstrong to be worth a shot.
That's it!  I remember the title now that I see it!  Is this out of print, and if so can you find an inexpensive copy for me?

This might be one of Elisabeth Ogilvie's books...she was very prolific writing for both young readers and adults, and most of her stories are set in Maine and deal with fishermen.  She's still writing, but most of her young readers stuff would be vintage 40's or so.  Maybe this will help!
How 'bout:  Ogilvie, Elisabeth. Masquerade At Sea House. McGraw Hill, 1965.
Thanks for keeping this request in mind.  Yes, you had sent the Ogilvie suggestion before and my mother says she has looked at Ogilvie's books and none of them is it. Someday, we'll find it!
I wonder if this could be the book by Eleanor Mercein Kelly.  I don't know anything about her except that she won the O Henry award a couple of times for her short stories, and she was from Kentucky.  She wrote from the 1910's through 1940's or so, and her stories were set all other the place.  She did publish a book called Sea Change, in the early 30's, I think, but I've never read it.
Thanks for the tip.  My mom swears it's not this one, but I've put in an interlibrary loan request for a copy, just in case.  I can't find a used one anywhere.
I tracked down Eleanor Mercein Kelly's Sea  Change.  Definitely not it.
Res