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A A Milne, A Gallery of Children, 1925.  I found the title and author, now I just need the book!

Carole Kendall, The Gammage Cup.
The Gamage Cup (Harcourt, 1959)   "A handful of Minnipins, a sober and sedate people, rise up against the Periods, the leading family of an isolated mountain valley, and are exiled to a mountain where they discover that the ancient enemies of their people are preparing to attack." Major characters= Fooley (balloonist), Gummy (writer), Curley Green (painter).
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A book about people who are secluded from the world. One of them left before in a hot air balloon and brought back things like "&" which is actually one of the character's names. These people get attacked by a savage race with poisoned weapons. Thier houses are colorful and a character chews garlic.

Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup, 1960, approximate.This has to be The Gammage Cup, by Carol Kendall, a childhood favourite of mine. There is also a sequel called The Whisper of Glocken, and when researching this, I've found another sequel called The Firelings. Whisper of Glocken was quite good, so now I guess I'll have to hunt down the other one too!
Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup. The Minnipins are a strange people whose ancestor, Foley the Balloonist went on an exploration mission and brought back names such as LTD, Etc... their ancient enemies, the mushrooms later attack with poison spears.
Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup. You'll get a dozen responses to this one - it is, of course, The Gammage Cup.
Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup. Sounds exactly like The Gammage Cup. The upper class were named from a list with "periods" (ltd., etc., co.).
Carol Kendall, The Gammage Cup, 1959, copyright. It's a Newbery Honor book. There is also a sequel to it.

Solved: The Gammage Cup
Yes, this is the book! Thank you so much all of you. You have no idea how much it means to me to finally be able to read this again after nearly 14 years. It was a librarian who told me to look this website up. I'll definitely recommend this site in the future.

Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron, The Gandalara Cycle. This is definitely the Gandalara Cycle, I just reread it last month. My copies are bound in three books, but look as if they were originally seven different books. My copies are Gandalara Cycle One (which consists of The Steel of Raithskar, The Glass of Dyskornis, and The Bronze of Eddarta), Gandalara Cycle Two (which consists of The Well of Darkness, The search for Ka, and Return to Eddarta), and The River Wall.
Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron, Gandalara Cycle. This is actually two trilogies the books are (in order): The Steel of Raithskar, The Glass of Dyskornis, The Bronze of Eddarta, The Well of Darkness, Return to Eddarta, The Search for Ka. Garrett became ill partway through, and after the first book, most of it seems to be his coauthor's work.
the solution to my request has been filled successfully.  you may mark w174 as solved.  the gandalara cycle is correct.  thanks
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A series of books (at lease 20 years old) about warriors in a desert-like setting in which the warriors rode and had a special bond with giant cats (like lions or pumas, maybe). I think the cats were unvaryingly white. The main character discovered he was a member of this race/tribe and must cope.

Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron, The Gandalara Cycle. These are definitely your books - the first in the series is called "The Steel of Raithskar".
Randall Garrett, Gandalara cycle, 1981. This sounds like the Gandalara series by Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron.  The series starts with The Steel of Raithskar.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandalara_Cycle 
Randall Garrett and Vicki Ann Heydron, Gandalara Cycle. This was a series of seven books (though the paperback copies I read were combined into three: Gandalara Cycle 1, GC 2, and The River Wall) about a modern human who is hit by a comet and wakes up in the body of a strange race that is human-like. The body he was in had a bond with a huge white cat. Throughout the books he has to integrate into the new society while solving some difficult political problems caused by a special stone. His dual nature comes in handy because a mind-control villain has a difficult time controlling him, for instance when he thinks of sailboats, since this is a desert land.
Randall Garrett and (mostly) Vicki Ann Heydron, The Steel of Raithskar and sequels, 1981+. Perhaps the Gandalara books, credited to Garrett and Heydron (but mostly written by the latter after Garrett's early death).  I haven't read them and don't know if the cats were white, though.  See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gandalara_Cycle
SOLVED: Randall Garrett, Gandalara Cycle. Several people posted the response to my query -- I recognized the author, title and series name instantly! Many thanks to those who responded!

M41 Moon path -- The Garden Behind the Moon by Howard Pyle? Plot description from the Parabola reprint (1993) "A lonely young boy discovers the secret of walking the glimmering path across the ocean waves to the moon, where he then learns of the beautiful, happy garden behind the moon"
M41 moon path: more on the suggested Garden Behind the Moon, a Real Story of the Moon Angel, by Howard Pyle, copyright 1895, reprinted 1988 by Parabola. "David, a lonely young boy who's ridiculed as a "moon-calf" by the other children in his seaside village, one night learns the secret of walking the glimmering path on the ocean, where he discovers the beautiful, happy garden behind the moon. Passing behind the Moon Angel, he also passes into manhood and starts on a hero's journey to bring lost treasures back to earth, riding a winged horse and fighting a giant along the way and winning the hand of a princess in the end... Howard Pyle wrote this book following the death of his young son. It is a touching and tender allegory."
Wow!  either you or your readers are fabulous - this is totally it! Thank you so much!

The Garden Behind the Moon, Howard Pyle.  (reprinted in 2002)  "In the fishing village where he lives, David sits alone by the shore at night, watching the path of light that stretches across the sea until it almost touches the moon.  Wondering, where does it go?  Then one day he hears a voice of the Moon Angel.  Why not try the moon path tonight?  As David will discover, the path leads to a magical world behind the moon."
Howard Pyle, The Garden Beyond the Moon
Howard Pyle, The Garden Beyond the Moon

George Selden, The Garden Under the Sea, 1957.  "Humorous juvenile fiction, where talking starfish and crabs and lobsters make an underwater garden of the things people leave behind on the beach, like people do when finding rocks and shells and glass from the sea." 

I believe that's Louisa May Alcott.  Originally published in 1908.

Rayner Mary, Garth Pig and the Ice cream lady, 1977.  This book tells the story of Garth pig and his brothers and sisters.  Garth is sent to buy 8 whooshes from the ice cream truck with the magic music - and a terrible fate awaits.  Not sure of the earliest published date, but there is a 1977 McMillan version.  There are several books about Pigs by Rayner.
This probably isn't it, because the poster seems pretty sure about the Lupino name, but perhaps it's Garth Pig and the Icecream Lady, by Mary Rayner, 1977.  "When Garth Pig tries to buy ice cream, he is kidnapped by Mrs. Wolf, driver of the ice cream truck."
I posted the first solution.  Maybe there are two versions of this book, because the one I have seen in the library definitely has Madame Lupino and not Mrs Wolf.  I did find a reference to it on the web, and it also referes to Madame Lupino.  Possibly a difference in British/US publications?  Here's the web ref.
Rayner, Mary, Garth Pig and The Ice Cream Lady, 1977.  Hi there- I posted this stumper, and can officially declare it resolved.  Despite the Lupino/Mrs. Wolf question, the description sounded close enough to check out. I recieved my copy in the mail yesterday, and it is indeed the book, Mrs. Lupino and all.  It's nice to have it back after all these years. Thanks to the poster who solved this for me, and to Loganberry books for running such a valuable service.  It was well worth the two bucks.  You are free to file this under Solved Mysteries. Thanks again.
M238 When you think of word derivations, Wolf would be a rough translation of Lupino.

Sound like a cross between Mary Chase's Harvey (the seven foot rabbit) and the comic strip by Crockett Johnson called Barnaby...
I10 I just bought this book at a thrift shop. Gary and the Very Terrible Monster by Barbara Williams, illustrated by Lois Axeman, Watertower, 1973. "When Gary was five, he had a pet monster, a very terrible monster. His name was Mr. Green Nose." Mr. Green Nose makes a terrible noise "a noise like a little boy burping" Because only Gary can see Mr. Green Nose, other people think it's Gary who throws the rock through Mr. Mudd's window into his goldfish bowl, ties cans to Mrs. Fitt's fat cat and puts a fly in Debbie White's milk.
I10 imaginary friend monster: Gary and the Very Terrible Monster sounds like a good match - Gary is close to Harry, and the fly in the milk episode sounds pretty distinctive.

I'm hoping you can help find a cherished book from my childhood.  It was one of my favorites, but I believe my little brother destroyed it, (he was a book shredder in his toddler years).  I read your Stumper page and believe it may be the same book being searched for under P4?  Two pigs, a brother & sister, I believe their names were Francine & Francois traveled to Paris, they rode a train & a cruise ship & were locked in a barn to be fattened up.  They escaped & returned home.  I believe the book was old when it was read to me, some 30 years ago.  Would love to have it again to relive childhood memories.  Would appreciate any help your site can offer.  Thanks!
I think I remember the same book.  I've been looking for it on the Internet. I think it's a Little Golden Book called Gaston and Josephine (I remember that when I read references to "Alphonse & Gaston" I thought they were talking about my book.)  I remember something about the two little pigs go into the dining car but they don't have any money for their food, and the
little boy pig wears a navy blue sailor suit and sort of a blue tam with a white pom-pom.
P-4  Gaston and Josephine! Yes!  Those were the pigs. How could I ever forget those names...
Yes, indeed. It's Little Golden Book #65 by Georges Duplaix and illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky in 1949. And hard to find, of course!
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I am looking for a story read to me by my nana when I was a child some 20 to 30 years ago.  It is a story about 2 little pigs (in my memory they are French,) coming over on a ship, basically ostrasized by the other passengers, but when they are in a fog, they save the day when the foghorn is broken by oinking and being heroes.

Georges Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine, '40s or 50s, approximate.  A classic Little Golden Book illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky.  The pigs are on a ship to America.  When the ship's siren breaks, they climb up into the crows nest and squeal loudly so that other ships will hear them coming through the fog.
George Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine, 1933, copyright.  A Little Golden Book, illustrated by Feodor Rojankovsky. Cute story of 2 French pigs on their way to America to visit their uncle. After several misadventures, including their wallet being stolen by a kangaroo at the Paris zoo, a missed train, being locked up by a man who wanted to eat them, and a flat bicycle tire, they finally make it onboard ship. When the thick fog rolls in and the ship's siren is out of order, they climb to the crow's nest and squeak loudly to warn other ships, becoming heroes to the captain and grateful passengers.
Georges Duplaix, Gaston and Josephine, 1950's, approximate.  This is an older Little Golden Book, illustrated by Fyodor Rojankovsky.  It is out of print, I'm pretty sure.  The story is just as described by the poster, and yes, the pigs are "two very rosy French pigs."  They are on their way to America to visit their cousins when the siren breaks during a heavy fog and the pigs save the day.

I'm pretty sure that the book is The Gauntlet, by Ronald Welch. Oxford U. Press, date unknown. I can check my copy at home if you like.
See also the listing under Danny Dunn: Invisible Boy.
Description from Four to Fourteen: a library of books for children compiled by K.M. Lines, 2d ed. 1956:
Welch, Ronald, The Gauntlet illustrated by T.R. Freeman, Oxford Univ Press, 1951 "The finding of an armoured gauntlet takes schoolboy Peter back into the past and through his experiences the reader shares life in a castle on the Welsh Border in the fourteenth century."

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Welch, Ronald. The Gauntlet.  Illustrated by T.R. Freeman.  Oxford University Press, 1952.  VG/VG.  <SOLD>

Genevieve Goes to Bed Early (title of story within book).  This was a story within a collection of short stories  not a separate book. I can't remember the title, author or any of the other stories, but I do remember that this was the title of the story. I read it as a child in England in around 1966/1967. So not really a solution, but a little additional info.
More info about a solved mystery, "Genevieve Goes to Bed Early."  This story was in the Golden Story Treasury, a Big Golden Book from 1951 with stories, songs, and poems.  The stories are: Samson, Biffington Bopp, Conundrums, The Very Quiet Fores(t?), Bumps, William the Rooster, Genevieve Goes to Bed Early, The Tree-Toad Weather Man, Ellie Phantastic, The Littlest Fire Engine, The Kite, From a Tree Top.
I have spent about 3 weeks on the internet trying to find any information on a story I remember from my childhood in the 50's.  I had no success as I didn't know the name of the story or the title of the book it was a part of.  There were several other stories in the book as well.  I found your website through a search engine.  When I started looking through your site, I knew right away that I would find what I was looking for.  How exciting!  However, it was listed as a "solved mystery".  The reference number is "G123 - Genevieve Goes To Bed Early".  I was thrilled to just see it posted there, but I would like to know what book it came from & would be interested in buying the book.  Could you please tell me how to proceed.  Thanks so much for your help.
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A little girl is staying up too late, so her parents take her to the doctor, who tells her she should go to bed an hour earlier every night. The little girl, in a defiant mood, decides to take this literally, so she goes to bed at, say, 7 p.m. the next night, and then 6 p.m., then 5, then 4, and so on. Finally, she is sleeping during the day and awake all night, and her only friends are the mice, who come out in the middle of the night to keep her company. At the end, she has gone back to a sensible bedtime. As I recall it, this was a story in an anthology (like a Golden Books anthology?) from sometime in the early or mid-1950s.

Golden Story Treasury, 1951, copyright.  See "Genevieve Goes to Bed Early" under Solved Mysteries.
Golden Press, Tibor Gergely (illus), The Golden Story Treasury, 1951, copyright.  The story you are looking for is "Genevieve Goes To Bed Early," which can be found in The Golden Story Treasury, which is a Big Golden Book. Other stories include: Samson, Conundrums, Very Quiet Forest, Bumps (song), William the Rooster, Tree Toad Weather Man, Big Barnyard, Jolly Jack-o-Lantern, Worm's House, Kite, From a Tree Top, Key Kittens, Growing Up of Littleberry Johnson, Aerobatic Bee, Mirror, Littlest Fire Engine, Oliver the Old-Fashioned Trolley Car, Farmer Jim, and Ellie Phantastic.
Tibor Gergely--illustrator, The Golden Story treasury: a big golden book in full color, 1951 Golden Press, copyright.  I had this book, too, and the cover is absolutely pink!  It's a large format Golden book, with an elephant, a fire truck, kids flying a kite and other illustrations on the cover. I vividly remember the little girl who went to bed an hour earlier every night. This is definitely the one.
Genevieve Goes to Bed Early, 1951.  A short story from the Golden Story Treasury, a Big Golden Book. Pretty sure this is the answer! See Solved Mysteries: G for more information.

Konigsburg, E. L., (George).  NY Atheneum 1971.  The poster has a good memory. "Benjamin Dickinson Carr is more than just an average sixth grader. He has a sky high I.Q., a knack for all kinds of science, and most of all, he has George. He has an inner self named George. Ben ignores warnings from the "little person" inside until the truth is out." "George is the funniest little man in the world & he lives inside a boy named Benjamin Carr & creates difficulty for Ben's brother Howard." Ben is in an accelerated class (organic chemistry?) with older children, and his lab partner is involved in something illegal, but Ben wants his friendship so badly he ignores the warnings of his imaginary friend George.
E.L. Konigsburg, (George).  The English edition is called Benjamin Dickinson Carr and his (George)

hee, hee, I love it when I know the answer!  George and Martha by James Marshall.  There were several in the series, starring simple drawings of very funny (and big) hippoes.  I don't know why these books aren't better known, they're classic!  Maurice Sendak, for one, spares no praise for the "judicious, humane, witty, and astonishingly clever head of James Marshall."
The original books are hard to find, but these are new and in stock:
Marshall, James.  George and Martha.  Houghton Mifflin, 1972.  New hardcover edition, $16
Marshall, James.  George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends.  With a foreword by Maurice Sendak.  Houghton Mifflin, 1972-1988, 1997.  New hardcover edition, $25

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Marshall, James.  George and Martha: The Complete Stories of Two Best Friends. Foreword by Maurice Sendak.  Houghton Mifflin, 1997.  New hardback,  $25 Marshall, James.  George and Martha.  Houghton Mifflin, 1972.  New hardback,  $16  New paperback, $7 Marshall, James.  George and Martha Encore.  Houghton Mifflin, 1973.  New paperback, $7 Marshall, James.  George and Martha Rise and Shine.  Houghton Mifflin, 1976.  New paperback, $7 Marshall, James.  George and Martha One Fine Day.  Houghton Mifflin, 1978.  New hardback,  $16.  New paperback, $7 Marshall, James.  George and Martha Tons of Fun.  Houghton Mifflin, 1980  New hardback,  $16.  New book.  $16 Marshall, James.  George and Martha Back in Town.  Houghton Mifflin, 1984.  New hardback,  $16.  New paperback, $7 Marshall, James.  George and Martha Round and Round.  Houghton Mifflin, 1988.  New hardback,  $16.  New paperback, $7

The Gentle Giant?
Dooly and the Snortsnoot. Summary: Although he enjoys playing with the village children instead of scaring them, Dooly, a giant who never grew, can't quite forget that giants are supposed to be big, brave, and scary.
I think G89 may be a Weekly Reader book titled George the Gentle Giant by Jeffrey Severn. I just flipped through it at a book sale this weekend, and it certainly seems very similar!
Could this be The Amiable Giant by Louis Slobodkin (1955)?? Found in an anthology- Golden Treasury of Children's Literature.
George the Gentle Giant by Adelaide Holl 1960- Cookies as big as wagon wheels and ice cream cones as big as haystacks- A Golden Read it Yourself Book.

This sounds familiar - could it be Georgie and the Robbers, a smallish paperback I believe Scholastic book, probably from the 70's?
Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers. This is definetely Georgie and the Robbers It is still in print.
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1960s or 70s.  Burglars target older home while owners are away, but resident ghosts thwart them.  One character named, "Gus" (can't recall if it's ghost or burglar, though).  Some of story takes place in town; there's a gazebo in town square.

Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers, 1963, copyright.  Georgie thwarts burglars who attempt to rob the Whittaker's home while they are away at a church social. Could the Gus you are remembering be from a similar story, "Gus Was a Friendly Ghost", by Jane Thayer?
Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers.  This sounds a lot like Georgie and the Robbers.  Mr. and Mrs. Whittaker go off to a church sociable  I don't know whether there's a gazebo in the picture.  Maybe the requester is also thinking of Jane Thayer's (Catherine Woolley's) Gus the Friendly Ghost books?
Thayer, Jane, Gus Was A Friendly Ghost.  The book I thought of immediately is Gus was A Friendly Ghost, but just now when I looked up info on it, I found that there were other Gus books.  So, look into the others, too.
One of the Gus books by Jane Thayer and illustrated by Seymour Fleishman? See under Gus at Solved Mysteries.
Jane Thayer, Gus Was a Friendly Ghost, 1962, copyright.  Possibly this or one of Thayer's other picture books about Gus the Ghost.
Gus was a Friendly Ghost.
Robert Bright, Georgie and the Robbers.  As suggested, I may have "borrowed" Gus from memories of another book.  Georgie, however, is beginning to sound right - I think you've solved it.  Wonderful!

Thanks for your message.  We have two copies of Geraldine Belinda in stock...
Hi, I just want to be sure it is the book I am looking for. I thought it was called Geraline Belinda Mabel Scott. What is the picture on the cover of the book. Thank you.
It's the right book.  The dj shows a little girl flouncing across the cover with hands in a muff and braids trailing behind.  The first page talks about Geraldine Belinda Marybel Scott.
I am delighted that you have the book. Please reserve one for me.
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Ever heard of a book called Geraldine Belinda Marybell Scott - a childhood favorite of mine.  Would love to get copy for grandchildren.

Yes, and I have a beautiful copy of Geraldine Belinda for you.
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I'm looking for a little thin book, about 3"x 5."  I remember reading this book when I was very young, probably around 1960.  I think the cover was red.  The story was about a young girl who went to the candy store.  I remember a picture of her looking in the window at all the candy.  There was a man behind the counter.  She had a small purse that held her coins.  Her clothing was old fashioned.  I believe she was wearing a coat, and maybe a hat.  Maybe even gloves.  The drawings were fairly simple, and mostly black and white.

HRL:  I think this is Geraldine Belinda by Marguerite Henry, 1942.  Geraldine Belinda goes on a shopping spree and doesn't want to share her new treasures with her friends she passes on the way home.  But by holding her head so high, she misses that each of her little toys falls out of her bag (paper horn), and cries when she discovers her empty load at home, until all her scorned friends arrive on her doorstep, each one holding one of the toys she'd dropped.
Marguerite Henry, Geraldine Belinda, 1942.  Yes, thank you, this is the book I remember.  Although I remember it being much smaller!  I bought a copy and read it with delight.  I was so surprised to see the little girl wearing a white fur hat and carrying a hand muff.  My sister and I had those, too, probably about the same time I read the book.
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I'm looking for a little thin book, about 3"x 5."  I remember reading this book when I was very young, probably around 1960.  I think the cover was red.  The story was about a young girl who went to the candy store.  I remember a picture of her looking in the window at all the candy.  There was a man behind the counter.  She had a small purse that held her coins.  Her clothing was old fashioned.  I believe she was wearing a coat, and maybe a hat.  Maybe even gloves.  The drawings were fairly simple, and mostly black and white.

HRL:  I think this is Geraldine Belinda by Marguerite Henry, 1942.  Geraldine Belinda goes on a shopping spree and doesn't want to share her new treasures with her friends she passes on the way home.  But by holding her head so high, she misses that each of her little toys falls out of her bag (paper horn), and cries when she discovers her empty load at home, until all her scorned friends arrive on her doorstep, each one holding one of the toys she'd dropped.
Marguerite Henry, Geraldine Belinda, 1942.  Yes, thank you, this is the book I remember.  Although I remember it being much smaller!  I bought a copy and read it with delight.  I was so surprised to see the little girl wearing a white fur hat and carrying a hand muff.  My sister and I had those, too, probably about the same time I read the book.

I don't have a solution to this stumper, but I do have more details that might help someone else pin it down. I remember this book and had thought it was called something like Yours Truly, Trudy, but I haven't been able to find anything by that name or close approximations online. The main character's name is definitely Trudy or Trudie, though  I think she starts out hating her name, Gertrude, and then the woman she befriends encourages her to call herself Trudy, which she likes much better. Hope that helps someone track down the real thing.
The hint about "Trudy" seems right---I think maybe the girl signed her diary entries "yours Trudy" instead of "yours truly".  Still no luck with any combo of those terms, though.  I wonder if maybe this was a reprint of slightly earlier book, since the part about the oxygen tent seemed very old-fashioned.
Ruth Hooker (author), Gloria Kamen (illustrator), Gertrude Kloppenberg (private), 1970.  Eureka, I found it!  I read this book many years ago when it was first published, and remembered one detail the stumper requester didn't mention.  Gertrude puts a symbol at the top of each diary entry to show whether she's had a good, bad or medium day.  A good day is marked with a star, a medium day with a circle, and a bad day with a square.  Armed with this knowledge, I did an online search, but could only find a brief synopsis for this title: "A lonely little girl keeps a diary in which she records her search for a 'true blue friend.'"  I borrowed the book through interlibrary loan, and discovered that it is definitely the book being sought!  Gertrude is a latchkey child whose mother works as a bookkeeper for a department store.  (Gertrude's father is never mentioned, and it is unclear whether her mother is divorced, widowed, or a single parent.)  Gertrude and her mother live on the top story of a two family house.  The lower level is occupied by the five Murphy boys and their parents.  Gertrude purchases a black and white speckled notebook and starts her diary on Monday, March 25th.  She signs some entries "Yours truly, Trudy."  On March 28th, Gertrude admires a garden through a knothole in a fence while walking home from school.  On that same day, Gertrude's mother goes shopping with her friend, Miss Rice (the head of housewares), and buys her daughter a plaid dress with a white collar "just like pictures of school girls in magazines."  Gertrude meets Mrs. Blonski, the owner of the garden, on April 11, and her son, Carl, on April 23rd.  Thanks to the kind Mrs. Blonski, the shy and unsure Trudy learns to jump rope, befriends the children at her school, gains the favorable attention of her teacher, stands up to the rambunctious Murphy boys, and becomes best friends with Sandra, the most popular girl at school.  At the end of the book, Trudy nearly succumbs to undiagnosed pneumonia, but is saved by Carl (who is studying medicine) and Mrs. Blonski, who take her to the hospital where she is put in an oxygen tent.  The book concludes with the entry for Friday, May 24th.  This was Ruth Hooker's first book, and it was published by Abingdon Press.  It was followed by a sequel in 1974, Gertrude Kloppenberg II, which starts on Monday, May 28th, four days after the first book ends.
Yay!  I'm so excited to see my old stumper solved!  I swear I don't remember a car accident, though...I'll have to re-read it.

The bear who liked hugging people, and other stories.  Ainsworth, Ruth and Maitland, Antony,   (New York : C. Russak, 1978, �1976) Stories: The bear who liked hugging people.--The witch's cat.--Beware of the bull.--Miranda and the mermaid.--Knock, knock, who's there?--George's picnic.--Winkle the witch.--The ship without a captain.--Mr. Velvet's bad deeds.--Pom-Pom the clown.--The moon walk.--Pix!Pax!Pox!--Miss Peggy Top
Richard Hughes, Gertrude's Child, 1966.  Illustrated by Rick Schreiter.  This is indeed the book that absolutely horrified me as a child, approximately 35 years ago.  I received it in the mail today and after reading just three pages, I can see why I was traumatized!  Thank you so much to this site and to the individual that solved my query!  Thank you Harriet for providing this service.  Without it I surely would never had resolved this and would have been "wondering" forever!
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Illustrated book from the late 60s/early 70s. The main character, a little girl who mistreats her dolls, wakes up in a mysterious world where the dolls choose and own the little girls. She goes through a strange process of being put on a shelf in a little girl store. On a nearby shelf there is a mysterious and beautiful little girl who lies very still with her eyes closed. I think she is under a glass cover. Our little girl is chosen by an awful doll and is treated much the same way she treated her own dolls. One memorable scene has the doll running a bath, plopping the little girl in and forgetting her until the water is ice cold and the little girl is shivering miserably. I can't remember the outcome, but I remember being fascinated with both the haunting story and pen and ink illustrations.

Richard Arthur Warren Hughs, Gertrude's Child, 1966. Gertrude was a wooden doll determined to be set free of the little girl who owns her and abuses her. When she meets an old man who takes her to his store, she finds all sorts of children for sale!
I wanted to thank you for identifying my book! It was indeed Gertrude's Child. I have ordered a copy and look forward to reading it again!
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I am looking for the name of a book that I read as a child.  About 35 years ago.  As I remember it, it was about a doll named "Gertrude", although that could have been the name of the "little girl" in the story too.  The little girl mistreated her doll... would drag her around by the foot, leave her on the floor, etc.  At some point, the doll comes to life and mistreats the little girl. I remember being horrified by the story and have been searching for it for years.

Richard Hughes, Gertrude's Child, 1966.  I entered the key words Gertrude doll.  It came up with Gertrude's Child by Richard Hughes written in 1966.  The description says Gertrude the doll is tired of what she thinks is abuse and runs away.  Could this be the book you're thinking of?  This same author has a 1971 book entitled Gertrude and the Mermaid.
I am almost trembling, I am so excited.  I think the mystery of the title of the book I've been searching for for so long has been solved!  Someone responded to my post about G300, The story of a doll that "owns" a girl and mistreats her.  If this mystery has been solved, the book is titled:  Gertrude's Child by Richard Hughes.  I have ordered it through [some huge corporate monstrocity].  I will let you know as soon as I receive it, if in fact it is the book I'm looking for!

S11 may very well be Richard Peck's The Ghost Belonged to Me, about Alexander Armstrong and Blossom Culp ("the spidery-legged little spook") who Alexander continually refers to as a spider. It was made into a Disney TV movie in the 76-77 timespan.  I am having fun with these, and I'm suggesting the site to others!

I have no idea if this was a book or not.  I saw this movie on TV when I was young (mid to late 70s), so it was probably a Disney or Sunday night movie for kids.  It was about a boy in the South (Louisiana?) who discovers the ghost of a little girl.  She asks for his help in solving her murder. I think she was thrown down a well.  Maybe by an uncle.  I think it was antebellum or thereabouts.  I've tried Disney sites and haven't had any luck, so I thought I would try you.
G10:  The Disney movie is Child of Glass. It is based on the book The Ghost Belonged to Me by Richard Peck.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Peck, Richard.  The Ghost Belonged to Me.  Puffin paperback reprint, 1997.  New.  $5

Lois Lenski, Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison, 1941.  I haven't read this book in a long time, and I don't know how true the novel is to the real story, but Mary Jemison was captured by Indians and her family was murdered, and she eventually married an Indian man. Her hair is supposed to be blonde, but looks reddish on the cover of the 1994 reprint. It could also be Where the Broken Heart Still Beats: The Story of Cynthia Ann Parker by Carolyn Meyer, but I've never read that book and know less about it.
HRL:  another Mary Jemison account is by Jeanne LeMonnier Gardiner, and titled Mary Jemison: Seneca Captive, originally published in 1966.  Mary is definately blonde in this story, an emigrant from Ireland settling in Pennsylvania before being captured by the Senecas.  The hiding in the barn part of the story doesn't match.
I wish I had mentioned in my original post that I don't believe the story to be that of Mary Jemison or Cynthia Ann Parker. I do believe that the book for which I'm searching is fiction. It's also not appropriate for young children.   There was some detail to the goings-on in the birthing hut. There was also a bit of violence in the description of the torture of the rival warrior. (He was forced to walk or run through rows of the tribe while they punched him or hit him with objects. They cut flesh from his legs and forced him to eat it before burning him at a stake.)
I think this is an adult romance novel called Ghost Fox. I remember reading it at about the same time and age as the requester, as a Reader's Digest Condensed Books selection.  The girl had red hair and I think her name was Sarah.  Ghost Fox was the name the Indians gave her, referring to her hair color.  She fell in love with an Indian brave and I thought the love scenes quite risque at that age-  there was one in which he put a string of beads around her waist for her to wear secretly under her clothes.  Unfortunately I have no idea who wrote this and Google turns up nothing. (I was also a fan of Lois Lenski's Indian Captive, which is definitely not the same book.)
You can mark this one as solved. I bought the book Ghost Fox by James Houston and while at least one detail in my memory didn't hold up, the rest did. Thanks so much!

To me, #S56, "Sadie's Grave," sounds like a description of the same book as #W29, Witch's Garden, which was identified as Ghost Garden.
S56 Sadie's Grave:  Sounds like the same answer for W29 - The Ghost Garden by Hila Feil, 1976.
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I hope you can help me with this request, I have been searching for this book for at least 15 years. I think the title was The Witches Garden but I am not sure. It was not by Ruth Chew but is possibly an American book. The story was about a 12 year old girl who goes to stay with her Aunt? while her parents are overseas. The Aunt runs a big boarding house/inn/hotel. I think the girls name was Sarah she becomes friends with a girl named Christine? who is described as being very pale - hair, eyes, skin. Christine is fascinated by the local graveyard where a 12 year old girl named Sadie was buried many years before. The girls discover that Sarah is living in Sadie's old house and they find her room behind layers of wallpaper. It still contains her furniture and toys. The girls say a spell at midnight on Sadie's grave in the hope that they will see her ghost but it doesn't work. Then Christine dies, she leaves Sarah some seeds which she eventually plants on her grave, I think they are sunflowers. The rest of the book tells of Sarah learning to accept change. And thats all I can remember.I hope you can help as I would love a copy of it. Thanks in anticipation

Could this be A Witch's Garden by Miriam Young?
No thats not it! Thanks for trying though. If only I could remember the title correctly!!!
W29: Witch's garden: I have this book, although it is in my old room in my parent's house. There is a scene where the girls spread gold dust in a "ceremony" to talk to the ghost. I'm fairly sure the title is The Ghost Garden by Hila Feil, but I'll give them a call and confirm it if I can. **Later...Hello again, I talked with my mom who confirmed the title and author. Hope this helps the person who was looking for it!
Thank you for your help and yes that is the book!!! I have just received my own copy from a bookshop in the US and am very happy!!!
More on the suggested title - Ghost Garden by Hilda Feil, published New York, Atheneum 1975, 236 pages. "A story of childhood friendship, set against a real and vividly drawn backcloth, that of Cape Cod. Into this setting comes Jessica, whose father went butterfly hunting long ago and shows no sign of returning, whose mother has embraced transcendental meditation and a new boyfriend. For the holidays Jessica has been wished on a scatty aunt who lives in a commune in Wellfleet, in a sagging house which reminds Jessica of "one of the old horses that pull the carriages in Central Park". It is anyone's dream of a haunted house and certainly Jessica senses a strange presence in it. Truro churchyard too seems to be haunted, but the pale elusive figure hiding among the graves is no ghost but Christina, another ten-year-old of an unhappy home. The two little girls make an ideal partnership in many holiday activities, notably ghost-hunting and witchery. At the end of the holiday they conduct an eerie seance in the churchyard at midnight, but the reflection which Jessica sees is not that of the ghost but of Christina. Christina, who has always seemed to exquisite to be quite real, dies. Jessica is left to keep her part of the pact which they had made, in blood, at the end of the holiday." (Junior Bookshelf Aug/77 p.233)
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This is a book I read about 30 years ago maybe when I was 10 or so about two little girls who are best friends. I think they may have become friends when one moved in next door to the other. I don't remember any names at all. One of the girls has a vial of gold dust, I believe it was dentist gold that she had gotten from her father. The two girls make an agreement that if one of them dies, they will somehow use this gold dust to somehow bridge the distance between the worlds of the living and the dead. It turns out one of the girls does die, I don't remember how, and the surviving friend performs a ritual with the gold dust, spinning in a circle and scattering it all over. For a while she thinks nothing happened, but then she sees her dead friend in a flower and learns that she has built the bridge but instead of bringing her to the after world, she has brought her friend back to the living world, but only briefly, through this flower. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Hila Feil, The Ghost Garden, 1976. I had remembered the title as The Witch Garden for years, but actually found the book through this Web site a couple years ago! Jessica is the girl sent to live with her odd relatives on Cape Cod, she befriends Christina in the graveyard, Christina later dies.

Ellen Raskin, Ghost in a Four Room Apartment.  I think this may be the book you're seeking.  It's square, one of the men wears a pot on his head, and everyone has big noses. It starts with one child in a room of the house and relatives and friends keep arriving on each page until there is a houseful.  The ghost plays tricks on everyone.
Isabel Eberstadt, Who is at the Door?, 1960.  Nell's mom is busy cleaning the basement and leaves her and her dog in charge of taking phone messages and answering the door.  Mayhem ensues when everyone including a friend, the ice-cream man, an organ grinder and a repairman are let in by Nell.  There is soon so much party-like noise in the house that when Nell's dad rings the bell and knocks, no one can hear him so he needs to climb in through the window.
Maurice Sendak, One Was Johnny, 1962, approximate.  Could it be this book? Johnny lives alone and the book counts up from 1 to 10 as more and more guests arrive at his house for a party, and back to 1 again as they leave. Can't find an image of Johnny with the pan on his head, but I seem to remember it...
The suggestion of "Ghost in a Four Room Apartment" is it! Boy, I wonder how many brain cells I've murdered over the decades trying to think of this?! I'm fascinated by the fact that I remembered a guy with a pan on his head and people with big noses but nothing whatsoever of a ghost.  Thanks so much!

Is there a pair of ghosts? Look at The Wicked Pigeon Ladies in the Garden on the Solved Mysteries page to see if that's a match...
Carol H. Behrman, Ghost in the Garden, 1984.  This sounds like Ghost in the Garden by Carol H. Behrman, in which Jennie and her family move to the country and Jennie discovers the ghost named Samantha in the garden where she paints. A Weekly Reader paperback, its out of print, but fairly available used.
Mary Downing Hahn, The Doll in the Garden, 1989.  This may not be the right book, but the cover shows a modern girl sitting with a ghost girl on a bench in a rose garden.  I read it in about 1990, too.
Behrman, Carol, Ghost in the Garden, 1984.  this book is definitely Ghost in the Garden! I got it from the Scholastic book list in 1988 or so. Jennie and Samantha become friends, they both decide to paint a picture of their houses one day and they realize that they have painted the same house...it turns out Samantha's a ghost and lived in Jennie's house, jennie's mother is an artist. Im sure this is it (what a great book.)

I don't have the title, but just a few more things about it.  The ghost, Felicia, is really obnoxious.  She rides a swing a lot.  The copy I read in 5th grade was hardback but without a jacket--the cover had an actual picture, though; it wasn't just blank.
The Ghost in the Swing, by Janet Patton Smith, publ. by Steck-Vaughn Co., 1973.
G28 ghost felicia: plot description from the LC catalogue for the suggested title The Ghost in the Swing: "A twelve-year-old girl visits her aunt and makes friends with a ghost inhabiting the house." which is a reasonable match.

St. John, Wylly Folk, The Ghost Next Door, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, NY Harper 1971.  Probably not the only one to suggest this - mystery about the ghost of a young girl called Miranda, clues include a cement owl made by her and her aunt. It's on the Solved List with more detail.
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  This is definitely the book. It has all the details the poster mentioned. From the back: "Sherry Aston had never been told about her dead half sister Miranda. So when Sherry came to visit her Aunt Judith, no one could explain the odd things that started to happen. Who was the elusive friend Sherry said she saw in the garden? Was she an imaginary playmate-or could she be the ghost of Miranda who had drowned in the pond years ago? Uncanny reminders of Miranda began to turn up- a blue rose a lost riding whip..." The main part of the plot is Sherry looking for the "owl with love in its eyes".
It must be THE GHOST NEXT DOOR by Wylly Folk St. John, 1971. More info is available on the Solved Stumpers page. ~from a librarian
A Gift of Magic (Laurel-Leaf Books) by Lois Duncan
You'll probably get a slew of responses to #O24--Owl with Love in its eyes.   It's The Ghost Next Door, by Wylly Folk St. John, and appears on your "Solved Mysteries" page.
Wylly F.  St. John, The Ghost Next Door.  This was one of my favorite books too.  I remember reading it many times. My copy is in storage, but I am certain of the title - not sure about the spelling of the author's name.
This is a Wylly Folk St. John book - it is either The Mystery of the Ghost Next Door or The Mystery of the
Girl Next Door.  The main character is visiting her (grandmother?) and discovers that there was a little girl who had died, she and the grandmother died roses blue, made the owl in question, etc.  She drowned in a pond in the backyard after hiding the owl for the grandmother's birthday and the grandmother hadn't been able to find it.  The children, along the way, expose a "psychic"'s fraud when he claims to have found the owl buried by the pond.
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  This seems to be a popular book.  It's been asked about a few times.
Regarding my stumper, O24: Owl with love in its eyes, I just wanted to thank everyone who wrote in and solved this 25-year-old mystery for me. Now I can share this book with my daughter when she is old enough. Thank you! Thank you! This service is terrific!
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I am trying to find the name of a book that I read as a child.  It was about two children who were living in a house with a pond nearby.  A girl named Miranda once lived in the house and drowned in the lake. The children are trying to find out about her, and they find her diary and a ceramic (I think) owl that she made when she was alive.  Does this sound familiar to anyone?  Thanks so much!

Yes! I know this one and I have the book right in front of me!!  The book the reader is looking for under M19 is The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John.
THE GHOST NEXT DOOR by Wylly Folk St. John, 1971

I have been looking for a book that I read as a child.  I've received several responses in the past from sites like this one, but none of them have been the right one.  I remember that the "ghost" in the story is named Miranda--she drowned as the child.  The two children who are staying at the house find her diary and a ceramic owl that she made.  They are trying to solve some sort of mystery surrounding here.  Anyone have a clue?  Thanks!
The Ghost Next Door, by Wylly Folk St. John, illustrated by Trina Schart Hyman, published Harper 1971, 178 pages. "Miranda Alston was deeply loved by her aunt Judith. After her parents' divorce, Miranda and her father came to live in Georgetown with her aunt, and Miss Judith became mother and friend to the lonely little girl. Together they made roses turn blue, had a secret place in which they left small notes to each other, and created a cement owl 'with love in its eyes'. Then in a pond at the back of the property, Miranda was accidentally drowned. Miss Judith was shattered, and Dr. Alston, unable to restrain his grief, left the family home and tried to bury the memory of his daughter in his work. Consequently, when he returned to Georgetown - for the first time since the tragedy - with his second wife and their 10 year old daughter Sherry, all mention of Miranda was carefully avoided. And then Sherry developed a mysterious playmate - one who could not be put to rest until both she and her half-sister were once again lovingly recognized by their family. The plot, which is narrated by the budding-adolescent-next-door, Lindsey Morrow, is punctuated with seances, pregnant rabbits, and infamous psychics." (HB Apr/72 p.148)
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I only know the smallest bits of info on this book.  I think it may have been a Weekly Reader book.  A young girl moves (is visiting?) into a neighborhood.  The neighbor has recently lost their daughter (or other young female relative) and things start appearing in the house that make the neighbor believe the child is still alive.  There are blue carnations (which the little girl used to make by sticking white carnations into blue dye) and I recall an owl with marble eyes...behind the eyes are the words "Love" so that it can be seen when you look into the eyes of the owl.  Hope that is enough info...this has been driving me nuts for ages!  Thanks!  Great site BTW!!!

Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  The owl with love in its eyes is the give away. I have seen this one show up as a stumper many times elsewhere.
St John, Wylly Folk, The ghost next door, 1971.  This is definitely The Ghost next Door.  This info is from your solved pages Miranda Alston was deeply loved by her aunt Judith. After her parents' divorce, Miranda and her father came to live in Georgetown with her aunt, and Miss Judith became mother and friend to the lonely little girl. Together they made roses turn blue, had a secret place in which they left small notes to each other, and created a cement owl 'with love in its eyes'. Then in a pond at the back of the property, Miranda was accidentally drowned. Miss Judith was shattered, and Dr. Alston, unable to restrain his grief, left the family home and tried to bury the memory of his daughter in his work. Consequently, when he returned to Georgetown - for the first time since the tragedy - with his second wife and their 10 year old daughter Sherry, all mention of Miranda was carefully avoided. And then Sherry developed a mysterious playmate - one who could not be put to rest until both she and her half-sister were once again lovingly recognized by their family. The plot, which is narrated by the budding-adolescent-next-door, Lindsey Morrow, is punctuated with seances, pregnant rabbits, and infamous psychics."
Wylly Folk St John, The Ghost Next Door. This is definitely it ... the granddaughter had died some time ago, before she died had hidden the 'owl with love in its eyes' that she and her grandmother had made together. Two visiting girls are trying to find the owl -- some plot with a fake seance.
Harriet, thank you!  I just found the book (it was already on your site and I missed it the other day!).  The Ghost Next Door (and it was blue roses, not carnations!).
Thanks so much for having this site....I've found three books that I thought were lost forever!   ...and even a movie ("The House Without a Christmas Tree".  Someone was talking of the book and I had been looking for the movie!).
St John, Wylly Folk, The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  This is definitely the book, the owl with love in its eyes gives it away. It's on the solved mysteries page.
Wylly Folk St John, Ghost Next Door.  There should be something on the Solved Mysteries about this one.
Wylly Folk St. John,The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  This is The Ghost Next Door, by Wylly Folk St. John, (it had lovely black and white illustrations by Trina Schart Hyman). Two girls become involved in looking into whether or not the ghost of a girl who drowned years ago in the pond behind a neighbor's house has returned. The owl with love in its eyes and the blue flower were things that Miranda had made with her grandmother (whose house it is), now Miranda's father is visiting his mother for the first time since his daughter's death, bringing with him his new wife and daughter Sherry. The appearance of the owl and flower, as well as an old riding crop, taken with Sherry's assertion that she has a new friend named Miranda, make it seem that it might be so.....
B401 This is The Ghost Next Door by Wylly Folk St. John~from a librarian
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door,1971.  See Solved Mysteries.
Wylly Folk St. John (author), Trina Schart Hyman (illustrator), The Ghost Next Door, 1981, reprint.  'Please check the "G" Solved Mysteries page for more information.
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door, circa 1965.  I'm fairly certain this would be the book you seek.  I have loved all of St. John's books!  Hope this helps.
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door.  I don't remember the carnations, but the owl with love in its eyes is in a Wylly Folk St. John book   I'm pretty sure it's The Ghost Next Door
St. John, Wylly Fox, The Ghost Next Door, 1960's or 70's.  I am sure that this is the book that you are looking for!  I loved this one as a girl, it is just scary enough, but not too scary.  The story is (loosely) about a girl who goes to live somewhere new and discovers that the neighbors had a daughter or granddaughter named Miranda who drowned ( I think) in a backyard pond.  The part about the dyed carnations has always stayed in my mind, too.  Good choice for a clue.  I hope this helps.
Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door.
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I am looking for a book that I read about 10-12 years ago.  It was probably published in the 70s or so.  It was about a girl who went to visit her aunt.  While she was there, she discovered a jeweled owl in a tree.  Does this ring any bells?

Wylly Folk St. John, The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  This is the book you are looking for.  It was one of my favorites when I was a kid.  I still own it!  :-)  A child comes to visit her aunt and is seems to be haunted by the ghost of her dead half-sister, whom she knew nothing about.  Two girls that live next door decide to find out if there really is a ghost next door.  The jeweled owl is searched for throughout the story and is a huge part of the mystery.  Hope I helped!
Wyly Folk St John, The ghost next door.  must be this (again!)
Wylly Folk St. John (author), Trina Schart Hyman (illustrator), The Ghost Next Door, 1971.  Is it possible that the owl isn't jeweled, but made of cement with amber glass marbles for eyes?  If so, then this is The Ghost Next Door.  Sherry Alston visits her Aunt Judith and finds an owl "with love in its eyes" that her half-sister Miranda had hidden in a tree many years before.  Please see the Solved Mysteries "G" pages for more information.

I think that person is looking for The Ghost of Dibble Hollow by May Nickerson Wallace.
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I remember reading a book that I considered a very, very favorite book, but over time I have lost memory of the title and author.  The book was very enchanting, and may have had something in the title regarding "secret" or "hidden" and maybe "door" or "garden".  I think that there was a character by the name of "Miles" in it.  The book was read from my local public library in about 1965, but it was not contemporary for that time, it was much older (hence the name Miles).  I would love to find this book again to read it to my children.

Just guessing, but could this be The Phanton Tollbooth by Norton Juster? It's about a young boy named Milo who enters a fantasy world through a magical tollbooth that appears in his house.
Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth.  Not sure...but isn't the boy in this book Miles?
I loved that book too.  From the back cover: "One day Milo finds an enormous and mysterious package in his room.  A phantom tollbooth, with a map to a weird world beyond!  So Milo sets off on a fantastic voyage in which he meets: the not so wicked Witch, Faintly Macabre, Alec Bings who sees through things, and the watchdog, Tock, who ticks."
Could this be The Ghost of Dibble Hollow? It was a book for older children, and was about a boy whose parents moved into "the family homestead," where he encountered the ghost of a long-deceased relative named Miles Dibble. The boy looked identical to Miles, who had died-I believe he drowned-after hiding a bag of gold belonging to him and his best friend (who was now a very old man). The gold had never been found, and was the source of a feud between the Dibbles and the old man's family. It is up to Miles' look-alike relative to solve the mystery of where the gold was buried, and to resolve the feud between the two families.
I think that this is also a book that I have been looking for.  I believe it was set in medieval times and the boy, Miles, father has disappeared and he and his mother were in difficulty until he finds whatever it is that is hidden in the wall in the garden.  I read this in grade 3 which was about 39 years ago and it was an old book then.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow.  That's the book, and I remember it very well, too. It's no longer in print according to my quick research.
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I'm looking for a book that I read in the mid 60's. It was a mystery having to do with the ghost of a boy named Miles and two identical trees on opposite sides of the yard or house. It seems that Miles was entrusted with taking a sum of money home, but disappeared. Everyone thinks he stole the money, but, in fact, he had buried it under one of the trees. He had problems with left and right, and had buried it under the wrong tree to keep it safe, and, I believe, had died protecting the money. His descendant, a boy about his age at his death, is trying to solve the mystery, since the Miles' best friend at the time, the one who thinks he stole the money, is still bitter about it, even though it is about 50 or 60 years later, and he's an old man. At the beginning of the book, the modern boy's family is moving into Miles' old house and finds the well is dry. Miles helps the boy locate a second well. The modern boy's name may be Benjamin or Benny, but I could be confusing his name with one of the Boxcar Children.

May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1965. I believe this is the book you are looking for. Check the solved section for more details. Good luck.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1965. Out of the graveyard comes a ghost�the ghost of ten-year-old Miles Dibble. �I�ve been waiting a long time for you to come to Dibble Hollow, Cousin�, he tells Pug. �Now you must help me find that lost money.� From that moment on, the ghostly Miles leads Pug from one spooky adventure to another. Pug gets used to chairs that rock by themselves, shutters that bang mysteriously, and hair that stands on end. And all the while he follows clues to the weirdest treasure hunt with the ghost of Dibble Hollow."'
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1965. 'The ghost, Miles Dibble, buried the money under a tree because he was being chased by thieves. They chase him to a river, where he is killed and his body swept downstream, and the money was never found. At the end, the boy's family makes peace with Miles' old friend (a neighbor - I think he had a grandchild who was friends with the boy) by finding the money, the family decides to stay in the house, and the unmarked grave where Miles was buried is found.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1950s.This is the book, a great mystery and ghost story combined. Check Solved Mysteries.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow. This is definitely the book you are seeking.  See the Solved Mystery page under G for more details.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow, 1965. Definitely the one you're looking for!  Myles is a ghost, and the great-uncle of the modern boy
 he can only appear to a relative of approximately the same age.  Myles knows what happened, but can't say what it is, he has to lead the modern-day nephew to the clues and let him piece together what happened. He keeps humming or singing the song "The Derby Ram" because his body was discovered in a town called Derby, and once the nephew puts the clues together, and talks to the old man who found the body, he can clear Myles.
May Nickerson Wallace, The Ghost of Dibble Hollow. I'm pretty sure this is the book you're thinking of.  It is in the solved section if you want more descriptions.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Wallace, Mary Nickerson.  The Ghost of Dibble Hollow.  Illustrated by Orin Kincade, cover by Dom Lupo. NY: Scholastic Book Services, 1965, 4th printing, 1967.  Paperback with creases on front cover.  G+.  Hard to find!  $45

N5--The Ghost of Five Owl Farm  has a similar storyline. I probably first read this in '70 or so.
This could be Me and Caleb by Franklyn Meyer.  It is about brothers who live in a small Missouri town.  There is a lengthy description of Halloween activities including greased doorknobs, stuck car horns and a "garbage-launcher." .  There was a sequel, Me and Caleb Again.
More on The Ghost of Five Owl Farm by Wilson Gage, illustrated by Paul Galdone, published Cleveland, World 1966 "Surprised by the visit of two cousins during a vacation, Ted decides to frighten them with ghost stories about an old barn on their property. They all too soon discover that there really are goings-on as they are led through a series of hair-raising experiences. Ages 9-12." (Horn Book Feb/66 publ.ad. p.105)

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Gage, Wilson. The Ghost of Five Owl Farm.  Illustrated by Paul Galdone. Pocket Books Archway paperback, 1966, 4th paperback printing 1973.  VG.  $8

The Ghost of Garina Street by Lillian S. Freehof (1959).
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I read this book in approximately 1961, and I believe it was borrowed from the Vermont State Bookmobile when it stopped at my school. The book would have been published that year or before, so I think we are looking at a book that is pre-1962 and may have been published any time in the earlier decades of the 20th century.  I do not remember the author or the title, but I do remember the book being rather small and its hardcover boards were white which was rather unusual. I believe that the story featured a young child (probably a girl, but it may have been a boy), but I don't recall whether the child was alone or had friends in his/her adventures. There was an old woman who lived in an old house and there was some scariness around both. Perhaps the child thought the house was haunted or the woman was a witch. Eventually the child got to know the old woman who turned out to be a retired Shakespearean actress or something along those lines. The name Julia sticks in my head, but I don't recall if that was the author, a character in the book, or it might have been a person external to the book like the woman who drove the Bookmobile!  I have no other memories of the book other than that it had an effect on me as a ten-year-old girl, and I have been looking for it for years.

Barbara Wersba, The Dream Watcher. I'm not certain about this one... here's some details about the Dream Watcher so you can determine if it might be your book.  It's about a teenage boy named Albert Scully who befriends an elderly lady named Orpha Woodfin.  She claims to be a great  actress and to have known Sarah Bernhardt.  She quotes Shakespeare constantly.  At the end of the book he finds that it was all an act and she wasn't really a famous actress in her youth.  Another possible is The Ghost of Garina Street by Lillian S. Freehof- it was recently a stumper here.  In this one a teen boy named Ted encounters a pair of elderly sisters- Juliet and Mary- who quote Shakespeare.  He eventually finds that there is really only one lady who is playing the role of herself and a sister.
Freehoff, Lillian, Ghost of Garina Street, 1959. Sounds similar with an old Shakespearian actress.  See T 331 in "Stump the Bookseller Queries" - T.
Lillian Freehof, The Ghost of Garina Street, 1959. Sounds like this is probably the one you are looking for.  A teenage boy befriends two old women, both of whom quote Shakespeare frequently.  One of them is nice to him, the other kind of mean.  He later discovers that they are both the same woman, a former Shakespearean actress suffering from mental illness.
Thank you very much for posting my inquiry R171 on Monday. It was solved right away, and The Ghost of Garina Street appears to be the correct match. If I had had the patience to wade through all the old postings, I might have found the answer anyway, although this was a much more efficient way to get an answer. This was my first time using your service and I want to tell you how delighted I am. What a novel idea you had to start this! Thanks once again.
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A boy meets these two old ladies that are living in poverty.  He brings them food and helps them around the house.  One lady accepts his help, the other rejects it.  They both quote Shakespeare a lot and he learns it so he can talk to them, it helps him do well in English class but his other subjects suffer because he's working to try and support them.  Eventually he finds out the two ladies are actually the same person, the woman has dual personalities or is having fun with him.  The lady dies in the end and leaves a fortune to the boy.  I read the book in my grade school (grades 1-6) back around 1974.  It was in with the regular fiction so it was for at least grades 3-6.  I have the impression it had been there for a while so I'm guessing it was published somewhere around 1970.  It is so frustrating, I can remember sections of it so clearly yet not the title.  There was one chapter where the boy is bring these two old ladies milk and bread because he knows they have nothing to eat in the house.  The nice sister takes it and thanks him, then disappears, then the cranky nasty one appears a minute later and kicks him out.  He looks in a window and sees her gulping the food down and realizes they are one and the same person, she is just playing a game with him.  I remember they are always acting out things from Shakespeare and he learns it from them and his English teacher is thrilled but his other teachers are angry because he has let his other work slide since he's helping the old lady.

Barbara Wersba, The Dream Watcher.(1968)  This could be the book you're looking for.  It's about a boy, Albert Scully, who doesn't fit in at home or school, and the friendship he forms with Orpha Woodfin, an eccentric 80-year old woman who claims to have been a great Shakespearean actress in her youth. This book is back in print.
The Ghost of Garina Street by Lillian S. Freehof (1959).
Freehof, Lillian, The Ghost of Garina Street, 1959.  We looked for this for over a year on another stumper forum.  It has been confirmed as the correct answer by someone who had the book in her hands -- all the details match.

N10 is Thomasina, the cat who thought she was God, by Paul Gallico, Doubleday, 1957.
The Disney movie was based on the book Thomasina by Paul Gallico.
N10 - I am wondering if the could be The Ghost of Opalina by Peggy Bacon. Opalina is a cat and the book recounts her nine lives among generations of a family.  I think there is a hidden treasure.
This couldn't be Finnegan II: His Nine Lives, by Carolyn Bailey, could it?  My sister and I *adored* this book growing up in the mid 1960's.
It's got to be Thomasina by Paul Gallico.
I think The Ghost of Opalina is definitely the book I'm looking for.  I must have seen the Disney movie about the same time and blended them together in my memory.  I have reserved it through the library's loan service.  It's a children's book and I remember as being on the first shelf of the library(A-B
authors). The full title is The Ghost of Opalina or Nine Lives and I'm certain the cat was female. Thank-you very much for the great leads.
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Children (a brother & sister) are playing in the attic while visiting their grandmother for thanksgiving.  They discover that grandmother's cat (a tabby) can talk because, in the ninth life of a cat, they acquire the ability to speak.The cat tells stories to the children of all of it's previous eight lives living in that house. Since the cat has lived a very long time, the stories are dramatic and date back to days of kings & queens.  I think the book was written for sixth or seventh grade levels.  I originally checked this book out from the Cedar Rapids Public Library. I've looked for it there but had no luck. I would like to purchase this book if we find it.  Thank you!

Peggy Bacon, The Ghost of Opalina or Nine Lives, 1967.  This is the all-time favorite book of anyone who's ever read it. Maybe that's a bit hyperbolic, but probably not. Searching the web for succinct synopses (to be ultra-brief, Very Important Presence Opalina tells three children of her adventures from the 1700s to the modern day), I came across this 'net post that for some reason brought tears to my eyes: "We who have loved Opalina are free to think of her still in her velvet chair in the paneled room. She's a very special cat and couldn't possibly be limited to nine lives."
Bacon, Peggy, The Ghost of Opalina or Nine Lives.  Little, Brown, 1967.  "A ghost cat tells three children, the latest inhabitants of an old house, all about the people who passed through and the events which took place in the house during her previous eight lives."
C159 This might be THE GHOST OF OPALINA; OR NINE LIVES by Peggy Bacon, 1967 ~from a librarian
Thank you so much - we're expecting our first child and I wanted very badly! The check will go out today.

The Ghost of Opalina is a great story. Anyone looking to see it come back into print go to twolakespress.com Sean Dwyer has recieved permission to reprint the book by Peggy Bacon with her origianl artwork.  The reprint will be avaiable in the summer of 2005.
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It's told as a series of connected stories following several generations of children from one family. A cat is used as the link (maybe by following through its 9 lives?) I think the cat was the narrator, telling the current generation of kids about things that happened to their parents, grandparents, etc. when they were young.  I remember that one set of the kids were very strict parents when they grew up, the next generation in reaction were very permissive parents.  I read it about 35 years ago.  Suitable for 8-10 year olds if I'm remembering right.

Bacon, Peggy, The Ghost of Opalina, 1960s, approximate.  This sounds like The Ghost of Opalina. This book is a favorite of everyone who ever read it. Since most of the limited printing went to libraries, it's hard to find and very expensive. See the Solved Mystery page.
Peggy Bacon, The Ghost of Opalina.  Almost certainly The Ghost of Opalina.  The book recounts her life (well, afterlife ;-)) with a family over many generations.
Peggy Bacon, The Ghost of Opalina.  Sounds like this book in "Solved Mysteries."
Peggy Bacon, The Ghost of Opalina, 1967, copyright.  Oh, I loved this book! I'm sure that The Ghost of Opalina is the book you're looking for. She has nine lives, and she relates all of them to the three kids currently living in the house she inhabits. I think, in the end, she vanishes because her previous life was the last one, and she either is or turns into a ghost.  Good luck finding a copy though!  They're pretty rare.
I did a search on The Ghost of Opalina, and this is certainly the book I was thinking of.

THE GHOST OF GRAVESTONE HEARTH by Betsy Haynes, 1977
I think this is The Ghost of the Gravstone Hearth by Betsy Haynes ('77)
WOW!!!  That's it and I can't tell you how impressed I am!  Next time I'm in Cleveland, I'll swing on by.  Thanks and have a great weekend!

Clyde Robert Bulla, The Ghost of Windy Hill, 1968.  I remember excitedly snapping this up from the Bookmobile!
Clyde Robert Bulla, The Ghost of Windy Hill, 1968.  I believe this is the book. Its about a girl named Lorna and her brother Jamie. They are housesitting with their parents for the summer because the owners of the house think it is haunted. The children meet some strange people, including a crippled boy and and eccentric old woman. Plus they solve the mystery of the 'haunted' house. My copy of the book is a dark blue hard back with a silhouette of a house in a darker blue, with one window lit.
I am the original poster.  Thank you so much for responding to my request. Yes, I believe this is the book.  I have been trying to remember this for years and am very excited about this website.  This is so cool.  I have called my local library and will check this out this week.  Will let you all know if this was it.   THANKS!!!
This one is solved.  Thank you to the responder, the title The Ghost of Windy Hill is correct.  I NEVER would have remembered this...  THANKS SO MUCH!!!! 

Clyde Robert Bulla, Ghost Town Treasure, 1957.  This was a favorite of mine when I was young.  Ty tries to save his near-deserted hometown when he finds an old diary that he thinks says there is gold in a cave nearby.  He finds the hidden cave, and although he is disappointed to realize the diary actually said it was cold in the cave, the new tourist attraction brings his town back to life anyway.
Clyde Robert Bulla, Ghost Town Treasure, 1957.  This one was familiar to me, but I had to go search the attic for the book, since the title wouldn't come to me. This is from the back cover: "This is where I want to live," says Ty. "It's the best place  in the world!" But Gold Rock is a Ghost town now, and Ty's family must move to the city to make a living. Then Nora and Paul come to visit, and they bring Great-Granfather's diary. The words are faded, but there under the magnifying glass they can read the thrilling words: "gold in the cave"! Can they find the treasure in time to help Ty's family?
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Kids are looking for treasure or gold in a canyon with a map or clue that says it is below a cross. The cross turns out the be formed by large cracks in the canyon wall.

I believe Treasure Mountain by Florence Laughlin might be the solution. Check it out!
C307  While I was going through ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S HAUNTED HOUSEFUL, I noticed a story in which the characters were refering to a cross in a cave and money. And there they find the treasure.  It was in "The Treasure in the Cave" story, which was an excerpt from Mark Twain's THE ADVENTURES OF TOM SAWYER.~from a librarian
Bulla, Clyde Robert, Ghost Town Treasure, 1957.  As I recall, the hidden cave (which the searchers believe contains gold) in Ghost Town Treasure could only be found by locating a cross on the canyon wall.  Funny, another poster was just looking for this same book last month.
Bulla, Clyde Robert, Ghost Town Treasure.  This is definately the book I was trying to remember. Another clue I forgot about was the line "gold in the cave" that actually turned out to say "cold in the cave". Thanks for providing such a great service!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bulla, Clyde Robert. Ghost Town Treasure.  Illustrated by Don Freeman.  Scholastic, 1957, 8th paperback printing 1966.  paperback; Good.   $6

The Ghosts by Antonia Barber, 1969, 1993. Great book!
I just wanted to thank you for your help! I saw the information added to the e-mail I sent you and I'm going to find the book mentioned there. What are the odds that someone else would know the story I was trying to describe and with so little to go on! I really appreciate it!!
"The Amazing Mr. Blunden" was the name of a movie adaptation of this book.  It's apparently not currently available on video.

Pam Conrad, Stonewords: A Ghost Story. (1990)  Zoe's eccentric absentee mother named her after a tombstone inscription. When Zoe goes to live with her grandparents, she meets the ghost of her namesake, Zoe Louise, an 11-year-old girl who died in a fire in the 1800s -- but isn't aware of it. Eventually, Zoe finds a way to cross over into Zoe Louise's time, and strives to avert a 100-year-old tragedy.
Pam Conrad, Stonewords.  This might be too new - but could this be Stonewords by Pam Conrad?  The haunting by the Victorian girl, the brother and sister caught in the fire, the changing of history to prevent a tragedy - all are in here. If this isn't the right one, it's still a terrific book!!
Antonia Barber, The Ghosts. (1975)  If there were a brother in modern times, it would sound a little like The Ghosts: James and Lucy go to live in an old country house that's falling down with their mother, who's the caretaker.  They see two shadowy figures in the garden, and befriend them. It turns out they're the ghosts of two children who died in a fire in the house 100 years ago.  James disappears and Lucy tries to find him...there's a fire in the house, a maze and an an unexpected heir.  (Now that I've typed out what I remember, it's only vaguely like what you're looking for, but it might be worth checking out anyway.)
Antonia Barber, The Ghosts.  Well, I guess my memory is worse than I thought.  After investigating through this site I bought a copy of The Ghosts by Antonia Barber thinking that it was not the book I was seeking but would still be a good read for my pre-teen.  When I opened the package, I instantly recognized the front cover.  This is the book.  The main character was not just a girl...her brother played an important role in the outcome of the story.  Their father was the deceased parent, not the mom.  They drank potion in the overgrown garden and were able to go back in time to the day the murder of the ghosts from the past happened and change the past, which also changed the present.  Thanks to anyone who read my original post in an attempt to help solve the mystery!

ed. Robert Arthur, Ghost and more Ghosts, 1963.  I'm not sure if this is the right collection as I couldn't find a picture of it
but I know it contains the story "Do you believe in Ghosts?" by Robert Arthur (also published under the title "The Believers") which I am sure is the story you remember about the reporter and the monster conjured up by listeners imaginations with a head like an oyster.  Another book which contains this story is The Mammoth Book of Ghost Stories 2 which appears to be geared more towards adults.
I can tell you the titles of each of the three stories described, but I can't be sure of the exact book. The cover description and 1 story fits one book I have, and the 2 other stories are from another. So maybe it's from a completely different source, or maybe some memories have combined. The story about the radio host is "Do You Believe in Ghosts?" and the story about the unusual shop and the gift of forgery is called "Mr. Milton's Gift" (and I found references online that make me think it may have been published under the title "The Man with the Golden Hand"). Both stories are by Robert Arthur, and the book I have is called GHOSTS AND MORE GHOSTS, with  a distinctive silver cover with creepy cover illustrations and with a black & white illustration at the beginning of each story (Windward Books/Random House, NY, 1972 (original pub. 1963) ISBN: 0-394-82197-1). However it doesn't contain the water ghost story. The water ghost story is "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs and can be found in various ghost story compilations, but the book that I have pretty much matches the book description of the query. It is ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S HAUNTED HOUSEFUL, and it's a large hardcover with a spooky mansion, one ghost, some bats, a large face that might be Hitchcock, and the picture wraps around the spine and continues onto the back becoming a wooded scene with a running person.  The endpapers are a dark black and blue with creepy images from the stories. Each story begins with a black illustration with a dark blue wash behind it, and there are some half page and full page illustrations throughout the book. (Random House, 1961, ISBN: 0-394-81224-7). I hope this helps.~from a librarian
I recognize one story as John Kendrick Bangs' (1862-1922) "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall", which can be read online.  A search on that title led to these 4 collections:
THE SCREAMING SKULL: House of the Nightmare; Transferred Ghost; Real Right Thing; Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall; The Eyes; Shadows on the Wall; Rival Ghosts; Consequences; Ligeia; A Ghost Story; Ghost of Dr Harris  Hartwell, David G. (editor) (F. Marion Crawford; Edgar Allan Poe; Mark Twain; Nathaniel Hawthorne; Edward Lucas White; Frank R. Stockton; Henry James; John Kendrick Bangs; Edith Wharton; Mary E. Wilkins Freeman; Brander Matthews; Willa Cather), Illustrated by Jim Thiesen
THE (First) 1ST ARMADA GHOST BOOK (1) One: Sandy MacNeil and His Dog; School for the Unspeakable; The
House of the Nightmare; The Story of the Inexperienced Ghost; Prince Godfrey Frees Mountain Dwellers; The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall  Bernard, Christine (editor) (Sorche Nic Leodhas; Manly Wade Wellman; Edward Lucas White; H. G. Wells; Haline Gorska; John Kendrick Bangs; Louis C. Jones; Sir Arthur Quiller-Couch), Illustrated by Gino D'Achille;
CHRISTMAS GHOSTS: Their Dear Little Ghost; The Curse of the Cataflaques; The Story of the Goblins Who Stole
a Sexton; Christmas Night; A New Christmas Carol; A Christmas Game; The Great Staircase at Landover Hall; The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall   Cramer, Kathryn; Hartwell, David G. (editors) (Elia Wilkinson Peattie; F. Anstey; Charles Dickens; Elizabeth Walter; Arthur Machen; A. N. L. Munby; Frank R. Stockton; John Kendrick Bangs; Rosemary Timperly; William D. O'Connor; Sir Andrew Caldecott)
The Water Ghost and Others. 1. The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall, 2. The Spectre Cook of Bangletop, 3. The Speck on the Lens, 4. A Midnight Visitor, 5. A QuicksilverCassandra, 6. The Ghost Club, 7. The Psychical Prank, 8. The Literary Remains of Thomas Bragdon.
C304 sounds like Hauntings, ed. Henry Mazzeo, illus. Edward Gorey in appearance, but not necess. in content. The woman haunting the castle who leaves behind a puddle of cold water is probably "The Water Ghost of Harrowby Hall" by John Kendrick Bangs, found online here.
This is kind of a double solution.  GHOSTS AND MORE GHOSTS was the book I was primarily thinking of--it includes two of the stories I dimly recalled and has a cover featuring the cemetery scene I was remembering.  But I do seem to have blended the memory with details from ALFRED HITCHCOCK'S HAUNTED HOUSEFUL as well. I owned both books long ago.  Thanks so much.  You folks are miraculous.
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A blind newsstand owner does not believe the story of one of his customers that he is being pursued by a mummy.  Later that night, though, he hears the footsteps of some creature shuffling by his stand.  This story was in a book of other similar stories.  I read the book in the early 80's but the book was probably from the 60's.  Another story featured a man who was somehow cursed so he could only speak in ryhme.

Hi, I'm the person who posted C304, and while I don't have a solution for you, I am fairly sure you and I are looking for the same book.  Although I had forgotten them, both the plot lines you summarized (the mummy and the blind newsstand owner, and the man who could only speak in rhyme) immediately struck me as coming from the anthology I described in my post.  Does my description of the book cover and fragments of other story lines ring any bells for you?
Two clever people found the book I was looking for (Stumper C304), Robert Arthur's GHOSTS AND MORE GHOSTS. And, as I thought, it does seem to be the book you had in mind as well. A Google search revealed it to contain a story called "Footsteps Invisible", which I feel quite certain is your story concerning the blind news stand owner and the mummy.  I'm not sure which title corresponds to the story you remember about the man who could only speak in rhyme (The Rose Crystal Bell, maybe?) but I'm convinced it's in there.
Robert Arthur, "Footsteps Invisible", 1940.  I too have been looking for this story for years.  With the help of posts M270 and C304, I managed to track it down! The story is "Footsteps Invisible", by Robert Arthur.  It was first published in Argosy magazine in 1940. Thanks so much for this site!
M270  I think the poster is thinking of GHOSTS AND MORE GHOSTS by Robert Arthur. It was part of my answer for C304. Pretty sure the story about the man being chased by a mummy is "Footsteps Invisible" and I think the rhyming
one is also a part of "Mr Milton's Gift" but I have to doublecheck the book to make sure.~from a librarian
I checked my copy of "Mr. Milton's Gift" from Robert Arthur's GHOSTS AND MORE GHOSTS, and it does match the description. Mr. Milton wants to buy a gift for his wife, and the gift ends up being the gift of making money (and in a wish-gone-wrong way, it's the gift of forgery) and as a free bonus gift, he gets the gift of rhyming (which annoys everyone because he can't speak without rhyming). ~from a librarian
Thank you so much for your site!  I have been thinking about this book since I was a kid.  $2.00 is a small price to pay to finally be able to get my hands on a book that meant so much to me.  Thanks.

C134 This drove me crazy because I know I read it and I knew we had it in our library. It's THE GHOSTS OF AUSTWICK MANOR BY Reby Edmond MacDonald. Donald inherits a dollhouse that is a model of the ancestral home. There is a curse on the MacDonald family, and the sisters and brother end up experiencing the past through the dollhouse. Don's friend Charlie has a scar that marks him as the one who carry out the curse, and Charlie ends up in a car accident. ~from a librarian
Reby Edmond MacDonald, The Ghosts of Austwick Manor, 1982, reprint.  Ten-year old, Hillary and 8-year old Heather MacDonald are excited when their 15-year old brother, Don, inherits a dollhouse made to look like the family's old home in England.  Their parents discover 4 sets of dolls in a drawer with a "do not touch" note attached but put one set in the dollhouse anyway.  The children then find that on certain nights they can enter the dollhouse.  There is also a curse on the family that places Don in danger.  A book review on the net reads:  "I think the best part is when the kids visit the Tudor House in the 1700's during a robbery. Donald with his fighting skills saves the day, or so you think! This book isn't scary until you get to the end, it turns out that Don & friends get into a car crash. Was Don supposed to be in the car and die that day? Or was it just a coincidence?"
Hello!  My post C135 is solved!  It is The Ghosts of Austwick Manor.  Thanks very much!  I appreciate your help, and the two folks who helped solve my stumper!
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Time travel book I read in the mid-80's.  3 siblings whose father had mysteriously died.  There is a curse on the family where the oldest son always dies.  The kids have a dollhouse shaped like a medeival castle that has been handed down for hundreds of years.  There is a doll in the dungeon that has a mark on his head.  They end up time traveling through the dollhouse back to medieval times and find out that is when the curse started,because they find a man with a horseshoe mark on his head and realize he is the murderer then.  Then they realize that a friend of the older brother has a horseshoe mark on his head and when the kids break the curse this friend dies then they realize he was a bad person because of the mark on his head.  Any help would be greatly appreciated.

MacDonald, Reby Edmond, The Ghosts of Austwick Manor, 1982.  This sounds like the book. The details match the poster's descriptions. Its on the solved mystery pages.
Reby Edmond MacDonald, The Ghosts of Austwick Manor, 1982. I am postive that S494 is The Ghosts of Austwick Manor by Reby Edmond MacDonald. Hillary and Heather find themelves entering the sixteenth century as a direct result of their older brother Don's inherited dollhouse. Will they be able to save Don who is in grave danger from an ancient curse?
The Ghost's of Austwick Manor, 1984.  This is the book I was looking for. Thank you very much!!!

Hi Harriett!  I feel like a real goof---just after I submitted my stumper on the teenage car crash ghost story, I solved it.  It's called Ghosts of Departure Point and is by Eve Bunting.  Go ahead and put it up on solved mysteries if you want---maybe someone else is looking for it too! If you get a copy of it, let me know! 

Ghost Hotel
Larry Weinburg, 2005, reprint
Last name may be Post. I think she may have been in a wheelchair. On family vacation, they are forced to stay at a very old hotel. Dad is history buff. May be ghosts involved. Girl falls into an empty grave and crawls through a tunnel and back in time. She helps her friend, a slave woman, run away.

Weinberg, Larry, Ghost Hotel. Mysteriously drawn to an Indiana museum, a twelve-year-old paralyzed girl encounters ghosts who return her to a former life, where she attempts to save the son of a freed slave traveling by Underground Railroad in Kentucky.

Larry Weinburg, Ghost Hotel, 2005, reprint. Thank you so much for solving my mystery, and for providing this service.

#M131--Mortimer:  If this is the one I think it is, Ghosts Who Went to School, by Judith Spearing, it was until recently or still is in print, a classic not to be missed.
Spearing, Judith, Ghosts Who Went to School

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Speariing, Judith. Ghosts Who Went to School.  Illustrated by Marvin Glass.  Scholastic, 1966, 5th paperback printing, 1970.  VG.  <SOLD>

The Giant Jam Sandwich by John Vernon Lord, 1972 - it's told in rhyme. Check out his article "Creating
the Giant Jam Sandwich."
Yes, that is the book!  Thank you for the information.

Giant John is definately the book you seek.  I have a copy here and read it to confirm, cute book!
Lobel, Arnold.  Giant John.  Harper & Row, 1964.  Pictorial boards.  Excellent condition.  VG+.  $18 plus $3 shipping.
I located the book several months ago, my sister found it on ebay. My son loves it as much as I did or still do.  I can't believe it is out of print-it's such a wonderful story.

I remember a book from the early 60's and I came across your site by doing some random web searching. The name of the book may be George the Gentle Giant. Can you tell me anything about this book that might help me identify whether or not it is the book I'm looking for and also do you have a copy available. The book I remember had some great, fun illustrations of a giant that wandered around different landscapes - country, small towns, etc.
I'm not sure about the plot of George the Gentle Giant, but I can tell you about Giant John by Arnold Lobel,
which sounds much alike in name and plot (and might help you distinguish between the two titles):   Giant John's mother is very poor and sends John out to find work.  He finds work at a nearby castle, holding an umbrella over them during rain and shading them in sunshine.  A group of fairies comes by and begin to sing, causing John to dance uncontrollably.  He tries to stop, but can't, and winds up stepping on the dog and knocking over the castle.  When the fairies do stop, John rebuilds the castle, and although it is not the same, the people are happy, and John goes home with his pay and invites the fairies to join him and his mother for dinner.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Lobel, Arnold.  Giant John.  Harper & Row, 1964.  Weekly Reader Children's Book Club edition.  F.  $18

William Pene du Bois wrote a couple books featuring a huge yellow dog named Otto.  They're hard to find, but I do have Otto at Sea (1936) presently.  Sounds like you want the first of the series though, Giant Otto.  I'll keep my eyes peeled for you.
duBois, William Pene.  Giant Otto.  Viking Press, 1936.
Thank you very much.  I had assumed it was from the 50's because that's when I read it.  Looks like it was something my mother saved from her childhood.  Hey, I'm just thrilled to know it wasn't a figment of my imagination.

Interpreting Condition Grades

duBois, William Pene.  Otto at Sea.  Viking, 1936.  First edition.  Worn at edges, and especially at the spine.  Brilliant color.  Rare.  G+ $95

Golden Press, The Giant Walt Disney Word Book, 1971.
Harriett-- thanks so much for finding my book!  I have been looking for years!!!!!!  I am so happy-- thanks again! 

G99: Sounds like Jolly Roger Bradfield, GIANTS COME IN DIFFERENT SIZES, 1966. Plus, there's an
evil wizard and hamburger trees. 

R.G. Austin, Giants, Elves, and Scary Monsters,July 1983, copyright. I was going crazy trying to figure out the name of this book, finally I put the correct search term in on Google, which allowed me to figure out the the the company who made the book which was "Which Way" books. They only made 35 books, so I searched every title and finally found it! It was like finding a long lost tresure, I'm looking forward to ordering this book from Amazon and reading through it! Thank you for your services!

Phyllis R Fenner, Giants & witches, and a dragon or two, 1943.  Possibility:  "Seventeen stories, including both folk tales and a few original stories, about various creatures of fantasy, including Baba Yaga, King Stork, Jack the Giant Killer, and The Terrible Olli."
There is a story in Giants and Wtiches and a Dragon or Two (selected by Phyllis R. Fenner, Alfred. A Knopf, 1943 titled "The Hungry Old Witch" (from Tales from Silver Lands by Charles Finger) that has a scene with ants.  Stout Heart had climbed a tree to escape the witch and she sprinkled some powder over grass blades, and the blades turned into ants.  She told them, "Creep and crawl--creep and crawl! Up the Tree-trunk, on the branch.  Creep and crawl--creep and crawl!...Seek and find the living thing....Pinch him, bit him, torture him."  So Stout Heart droped from the tree branch into a lake, woke up in a stone house where he met a maiden, whom he eventually married after they did away with the witch (she drowned in the lake after swallowing a bunch of turtles.)  Is that the right story?

This sounds like one of the Green Knowe Books, or possibly one of Susan Cooper's series.  I know there was a green giant (shaped from shrubbery) in one of the Green Knowe series, but the Vikings and mummies don't ring a bell otherwise.
John Gordon, The Giant Under the Snow, 1968.  My memory is a lot hazier than the requester's, but I'm pretty sure this is the one.  Good book  reminiscent of Alan Garner.  It had a belated sequel, apparently - Ride the Wind, published in 1989.
Gordon, John, The Giant Under the Snow, NY Harper 1970.  This one again! Me and a dozen other people suggest The Giant Under the Snow. "When one of them finds an ancient talisman in the backlands, three British teen-agers are plunged into a terrifying and dangerous mystery that appears to be connected with an old legend. was the wood on the heath haunted? who was this strange woman? and what is this buckle that completes the belt?"
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I read the book in the early to mid 1970s. All I remember is that it was a suspense/mystery book set in England, and at the very end the "green man", a giant, came alive from underneath the forest and fields and went stalking across the land. I think it was tied in some how to the myth of the green man.

LM Boston, The Secret of Green Knowe.  A fabulous book - and recently back in print, I think.  The estate where Tolly goes to live with his great grandmother used to be called Green Knowe, but is called Green Noah after the tree sculpture of Noah. A curse was put on the tree in the past  at the end of the story the tree comes to life.  Story also involves the ghosts of several children who lived in the house and numerous stories about the house's history.
No, this book is not it. The book I am recalling was not part of a series. Please keep your suggestions coming!
John Gordon, The Giant Under the Snow, 1970.  Sounds like this one!  Please see the Solved Mysteries G page for more information.
Lucy Boston, The Children of Greene Knowe
Susan Cooper, Greenwitch.  I'm not sure if this is the one as the description doesn't fit exactly-  Jane and her brothers get caught up in an ancient ritual in England- the making of the Greenwitch.  The Green entity does come to life but I believe it stays in the sea, I don't think it tramps around the forest.  Still.. a good book, worth mentioning.
John Gordon, The Giant Under the Snow.  This was the book I was searching for! Thanks so much for finding if for me! It's better than I even recalled, though much scarier too.

I think this may be A Book of Fairy Tales published by Dean & Son and illustrated by Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone.  My edition was published in 1977 and has all the stories you mention.  Some of the other stories are Little Red Riding Hood, Hop O' My Thumb, The White Cat, Blockhead Hans, and Thumbelina. The cover is grayish blue with Mother Goose and some of the story book children waving to her. There is no castle.  It states it was originally published as Janet and Anne Grahame-Johnstone Gift Book of Fairy Tales, Hans Christian Andersen Fairy Tales, Gift Book of Fairy Tales, and The White Cat.  I don't know if that means the book had four previous different titles or the other four books were combined to make this edition.
The edition suggested was reprinted in the 80s under the title Dean's Book of Famous Fairy Tales: Stories After Hans Christian Andersen, illustrated by Janet & Anne Grahame-Johnstone, published London: Dean, 1984, Pictorial Cover.
could be Treasury of Hans Christian Andersen translated by Erik Christian Haugaard, published Garden City NY, Nelson Doubleday 1974 - book club edition - hard cover - 528 pages, 72 tales includes classics like: Ugly Duckling, Emperor's New Clothes, Red Shoes, Snow Queen, Little Mermaid, Little Match Girl, Tinderbox, Steadfast Tin Soldier, and many others. Deluxe edition has dark blue cover with gilt decoration, no information on cover of book club edition.
Dean's A Book of Fairy Tales, 1977.  This is def. the book you're looking for.  You can see the book under
Loganberry's Most Requested Books, but the cover is a different edition, probably an older one.  I looked for this book for years without a title of good idea of the cover until I found it though Harriett's Book Stumper.  I'm sure this is the book by your description.  If Harriett doesn't have any in her store then you an probably find a copy on ebay.  Janet and Anne Grahame Johnstone are the illustrators.

Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic, 1971/2.  I love serendipity!  Having just read the latest Stumpers, I happened to browse Solved Mysteries and came across "And This is Laura" which has several other guesses listed with synopses! The Duncan book sounds closest to this posting.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.  This is definitely "A Gift of Magic".  Nancy has ESP and uses it to save her brother Brendon when he gets in trouble. Each of the children has been granted a "gift" by their dying grandmother---Kirby, the oldest daughter, is a dancer  Brendon is into music  and Nancy gets ESP.
Lois Duncan, A gift of magic, 1971.  Until she learns to control it, Nancy's gift of extrasensory perception brings her more trouble than she can handle.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.  'To the oldest girl I give the gift of dance. To the boy I give the gift of music, and to the girl, the one that looks like me, I give the gift of...
Nancy is furious. Her parents just got divorced and she and the rest of her family had to move to Florida, her mother's hometown. She is miserable. Her mother is spending all of her time with Tom Duncan, a boyfriend she used to have, and her only friend, her sister, spends all of her time at the dance studio. Nancy has nothing to do with her time and is a complete loner, until she predicts the answers on the social studies quiz before they were even asked. That's when she finds out she, too, has a special gift. Now, all she needs to find out, is if she will use her powers for good or evil.
Duncan, Lois, A gift of magic, Published by Pocket Books in 1972.   Most of this sounds like Lois Duncan's book, although the younger brother is Brandon, not Michael.  The three siblings are each left a 'gift' by their grandmother and Nancy's is magic. Older sister Kirby's is the gift of dance, and parts of the story revolve around her issues with anorexia. The book starts in their childhood and continues into their adult life.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.  You'll have a dozen responses to this one.  Verrrry popular book of the 70's.
I read this book in 1975.  I think it was called the gift.  The boy received a musical gift from his grandmother, the sister received a dancing gift, while the girl received ESP.  I will try to search it.  I think it has been solved here, too.
This is most likely a Gift of Magic, by Lois Duncan.
Conford, Ellen, And this is Laura, 1977.  This title is obviously later than 1973 - Laura is twelve and discovers she has ESP.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.The brother's name is Brendan, but all other details are accurate.
Willo Davis Roberts, The Girl with Silver Eyes, 1991, reprint.  your description sounds like The Girl with the Silver Eyes -- The protagonist finds out her mother tooks some pills while she was pregnant that give her ESP.
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Book about a teenage girl with ESP who gets in trouble in school because a teacher thinks she is cheating via her older sister who is in an earlier class, and using her ESP she saves her little brother when he goes out to sea in a cardboard boat that he and a friend built when it starts to sink.

Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.  Three kids -- Kirby, Brendon and Nancy -- are bestowed with the gifts of dance, music and ESP, respectively, by their grandmother. Nancy doesn't want Kirby to go to another dance school in another state.  when Kirby falls and hurts her leg, Nancy's afraid she might have psychically willed the accident to happen. But Nancy does eventually find that her ESP can be a blessing as well as a curse.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic.  On the Solved Mysteries page.
This is definitely A Gift of Magic, by Lois Duncan.
This book is Lois Duncan's A Gift of Magic.  Mom, two sisters, and a little brother move back to the house on the sea where the mom grew up, after the parents divorce.  Grandma, now dead, had been some sort of witch, and upon her death, had given each of the 3 grandchildren a special "gift"  - one got ESP, one got extrordinary dance talent (that girl breaks her leg at one point in the story and is devastated), and the little brother got the gift of music, but isn't really into it because he's too wild. The ESP girl saves her brother's life when he and his friend take a rowboat out without permission and get in trouble.  I tracked this book down myself a while back - oddly enough, one of the things I also remembered most clearly was the accusation of cheating due to the ESP.
Lois Duncan, A Gift of Magic. See solved stumpers.

Ruth Stiles Gannett, My Father's Dragon (in Three Tales of My Father's Dragon, 1997, reprint.)  The story of the little boy who gives gum to the tigers is from My Father's Dragon. The other parts of the story are not
Phyllis R. Fenner, Giggle Box, 1950.  I was the one who originally requested this, so you can know that the solution was found!  By looking up the Ruth Stiles Gannett book, and knowing The Mudhen and Homer Price was in it, I found it in my local public library.  Phyllis R. Fenner put out a similar book in 1953 called Fun, Fun, Fun. Now I want to buy My Father's Dragon!

David Sinclair, ACE ASTRO AND THE STAR ROVERS : THE GILEAD BOMB, 1963.  This one was published by Dell, but a dog figures prominently in it.
David Sinclair, The Gilead Bomb, 1963.  From title and date and fact that it's sf, maybe this one (which I haven't read).  It was a Dell Seal pb original, a bit larger than standard pb but smaller than most trade pbs, not Scholastic Books as requestor thought but very similar.  Cover here.
YIPEE!!!  Your wonderful Book Stumpers service worked!!  This has got to be the best $2 I have ever spent.  No question about it!! As soon as I saw it on the link I remembered the cover of the book by David Sinclair, ACE ASTRO AND THE STAR ROVERS : THE GILEAD BOMB just like it was yesterday, though it was 43 years ago.  Thanks SO MUCH for the help.  My 12 year old son and I read together almost every night.  As soon as this book comes in from the bookseller on the provided link, and we finish our latest Brian Jacques book, we will read it with great pleasure.

Thanks! I actually remembered the name of the book a day or so ago (after much brain-probing): Gimme an H! Gimme an E! Gimme an L! Gimme a P! by Frank Bonham.

Gingerbread Shop
This is a bit vague, but here it goes:  this book is about a child (maybe 2 children) who at the begining of the story visit a special shop.  I don't remember what kind of shop, maybe a bakery or sweet shop.  The child saved something that they got in the shop or the wrapping it came in (shiny foil?).  The items were saved in a box and at the end of the story the child took out the box, climbed a ladder and pasted the siny bits into the sky for the stars.  I know it isn't much to go on, but I hope somebody remembers it.  Thanks!

P. L. Travers, One of the Mary Poppins books. I think I remember this scene in one of the Mary Poppins books, though I'm not 100% sure.  I don't remember which one, though.
Oh yeah!  I'll bet it's the Little Golden Book version of the Mary Poppins chapter:  The Gingerbread Shop illustrated by Gertrude Elliott, LGB# 126, 1952.
P110b: Sounds like the Mrs. Corry(?) chapter of Mary Poppins - except it's Mary Poppins who swipes the
kids' gold stars left over from the gingerbread and then she and Mrs. Corry, the shopkeeper, paste them on the sky as the kids watch unseen from their window. Mrs. Corry also has fingers made of candy which she can break off and make grow again - though in Reading For the Love of It, Michele Landsberg gets this fact wrong and uses it as one excuse to hate the MP series in general! For those who know only the movie, be aware that the kids in the book love MP not because she's magical and sweet, but because she's both magical and a no-nonsense tyrant who never gives hugs. The fact that she was an imperfect grown-up while the kids are somewhat more fair-minded made the series a novelty (in the 1930s) in kids' literature.
#P110b--Pasting stars in the sky:  Oddly, this is the one scene from Mary Poppins, by P. L. Travers, that readers seem to remember best, and one that didn't make it into the movie!
Travers, P L, Mary Poppins...Sounds like the chapter in one of the Mary Poppins books where the children visit Mrs. Corry's shop and eat gingerbread with paper stars pasted on it.
This episode is very similar to one that occurs in P.L. Travers' Mary Poppins series. I can't remember the exact book in the series.
Travis, P. L., Mary Poppins.This sounds like the Mrs. Cory chapter from Mary Poppins.  They children collect the stars from the Gingerbread and Mary Poppins sneaks them away and with Mrs. Cory and her two daughter climbs ladders and pastes them into the sky.
Regarding the comments about P110b (Gingerbread Shop).  Someone found it odd that this scene didn"t make it into the movie.  I found that the movie took a lot of liberties with the original and wonderful book.  The charm of the bok was Mary Poppins' outward gruffness and grouchiness (yet she secretly did wonderful things for the children.  Julie Andrews' Mary Poppins was sickeningly icky-sweet.  The time period was changed from the World War II era to about 1910, and Mrs. Banks was a suffragette!  Really bizarre.  And what happened to John, Barbara and Annabel?  I'll bet you can guess that I'm no fan of the Disneyized version of one of the all time greatest children's series.
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Please help me with the title of a picture book I remember my friend's mother reading to us when I was about three or four years old in the mid-50s. A little boy and little girl are walking somewhere and meet an old woman.  She breaks off her fingers and gives her fingers to them!!!  It must have been written in the 40s or early 50s.  Someone HAS to remember this book - please!

P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins.  The "Mary Poppins" series has a character named Mrs Corry who owns a sweet shop. (In the film, she appears towards the beginning as the tiny old lady with the two enormous daughters.)  At one point in one of the books, she breaks off some of her fingers and gives them to Jane and Michael and their younger siblings. The fingers turn into sticks of candy. Mrs Corry appears in the first book, but  the fingers into candy incident might happen in a later book.
Travers, P.L., Mary Poppins, 1935.  Sounds like the Mrs. Corry chapter from the original Mary Poppins.  It could also be the Little Golden Book called The Gingerbread Shop that featured just this story from Mary Poppins.  Finally, I had a book when I was very little that I think was called Mary Poppins from A to Z.  At any rate, it was an alphabet book, and the little story for one of the letters involved Mrs. Corry breaking off her fingers, whch turned into candy sticks, for Jane and Michael.
Travers, P.L., Mary Poppins, 1934.  Mrs. Corry "broke of two of her fingers and gave one each to John and Barbara.  And the odders part of it was that in the space left by the broken-off fingers two new ones grew at once.  Jane and Michael clearly saw in happen"
P.L. Travers, Mary Poppins, 1934.  The woman with the breakaway fingers is Mrs. Corry, who is in the eighth chapter of Mary Poppins.  A slightly altered version of this chapter was also published in 1952 as a Little Golden Book titled The Gingerbread Shop.  Please see the solved mystery pages under "M" and "G" for more information.
P.L. Travers, The Gingerbread Shop: A Story from Mary Poppins, 1952.  This is one of the chapters in "Mary Poppins". The chapter was also published on its own as a picture book under the title "The Gingerbread Shop".  Mary takes the Banks children to the shop of Mrs. Corry, who has peppermint-candy fingers which she breaks off and gives them to eat (she can re-grow them).  You can find this on the Solved Mysteries page.
Mary Poppins.  This sounds like the chapter in Mary Poppins where they buy gingerbread - the old woman breaks off her fingers, which become/are the gingerbread.
Travers, Pamela , Mary Poppins, 1940-1950s.  One of the Mary Poppsins stories is about a visit to the sweet shop run by Mrs. Corry, who breaks off a figer for each child to nibble on and gives them gingerbread.  Later that night she and M.P. hangs the gold starts from the gingerbread up in the sky.  Might be it.
P.L Travers, Mary Poppins.  Could it be "Mrs Corry" from Mary Poppins?  Her fingers are barley-sugar, and she breaks them off and hands them to the babies to suck.
Sounds like one of the Mary Poppins books.  The fingers peppermint sticks?

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Travers, P.L.  The Gingerbread Shop: A Story from Mary Poppins.  Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott.  NY: Simon & Schuster, 1952, first Little Golden Book edition (LGB #126).  Edges worn, rear gutter cracked, otherwise VG.  <SOLD> Travers, P.L.  Mr. Wigg's Birthday Party: A Story from Mary Poppins.  Illustrated by Gertrude Elliott.  NY: Simon & Schuster, 1952, first Little Golden Book edition (LGB #140).  Fine copy. <SOLD>

Could this possibly be one of the Amelia Bedelia Books?
Woolley. Catherine, Ginnie and the Cooking Contest.  Ginnie is about ten years old when she enters a cooking contest, the prize being a trip to Washington D.C.
Wooley, Catherine, Ginnie and the Cooking Contest, 1966.
This sounds like a book from the "Dot" series. At least I think that was her name. The whole series was done in the 1950's (from the illustrations), and in this particular book, the girl enters a baking contest. I remember the hall where the baking contest was very cool and quiet when the contest first starts...and the girl, Dot, is the only one to make something so simple, but wins the contest. I'm sorry I don't have the title, but this might spur someone else to remember it. (She also bakes a fantastic chocolate cake, which set me to baking, too!)
L140 Again, my copy has been sold, but I nominate Woolley, Catherine, Ginnie and the cooking contest. illus by Paul Frame; cover by Jim Woodend. Random,  1966.
Catherine Wooley, Ginnie & the Cooking Contest.  That's it!  The name Jenny kept popping into my head but I knew it wasn't right.  Thank you!

For G2--in the 60's Scholastic Books had a paperback called Ginny and the---it was "and the New People" or "the Mysterious Strangers" or some such and was about a girl named Ginny who met American Indians and ate a soup they made during a blizzard..
Could this be Julie Campbell's Ginny Gordon series?  I think there were 4 or 5 books in the series.  Ginny solved mysteries while setting up business concerns in her town.
I had emailed you a week or two ago about the above stumper. I thought it was the Ginny Gordon series written by Julie Campbell. I checked one of the books at home, and she did live on Maple. Hope this helps.
You have a request for information about the "Ginnie" series on your website.  The Ginnie books, written by Catherine Woolley, were my absolute favorites.  I have been collecting them for my daughters, who are now enjoying the stories as well.  Titles include Ginnie and Geneva, Ginnie Joins In, Ginnie and the New Girl, Ginnie and Her Juniors (later reprinted as Ginnie's Babysitting Business), Ginnie and the Cooking Contest, Ginnie and the Mystery Cat, Ginnie and the Mystery Doll, Ginnie and the Mystery Light.  I am still seeking a copy of Ginnie and the Wedding Bells to add to my collection.
I remember that book too!!! Ran to my bookshelf in the attic and found it. Woolley, Catherine. Ginnie and Geneva. Illus. by Iris Beatty Johnson. New York, W. Morrow, 1948.
Funny you should wonder about the Ginnie books. Two weeks ago I was going through my childhood books and came across Ginny and the Mystery Doll. I am reading a chapter a night to my own 8 year old daughter now and we are both loving it!

There are two books I want desperately, whose titles I cannot remember: Book One--a little girl loses her beautiful doll. The book traces the doll over the next 50+ years until the girl (now an old woman) is reunited with it.
D3  This is just a guess, but the answer might be the ever-popular Magic Elizabeth by Norma Kassirer. After all, even though the old woman isn't the focus of the story, it is her doll that Sally recovers after all those years.
Actually I have recently learned that it is Ginnie and the Mystery Doll by Catherine Woolley.  I think I got a few of the details wrong.  I now have a copy and am so excited.  By the way, just a day or two ago I found a paperback copy of Magic Elizabeth.  Can you believe I never read it as a child, but I keep hearing other people say it was one of their favorites, so I just had to have it.  Will keep looking for a hardback copy. Love your website.  It has solved a couple of mysteries for me and I am most appreciative.  I have more to submit later on, but do not want to be piggy.
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Received the book and was thrilled at the condition.  I was expecting something really dirty and yucky based on your description, so was pleasantly surprised at how nice it was. Began reading it last night with my little girl, who I had to force it on, I think because it looked old and not so beautiful.I thought I remembered this story, but so far it is all fresh to me, although I recognize enough to know it is definitely the right book! Anyway, my little girl is loving it as much as I did as a little girl. So - to the point of this e-mail - can you locate other books in this series
for me?  I recall there are several.

Since no-one answered, I figured I'd take a shot in the dark. The details remind me of two books. One you could try is MAGIC ELIZABETH by Norma Kassirer, published in the 1960s and 1970s and recently republished. I know it does rain in the book, when she arrives, and at least one other time when she goes up to the attic to play. There is a missing doll, though I don't recall a brooch, nor do I remember berry-picking (although  you know how memory can be!)  There may be more details on this site - I think it's on the Most Requested page. You could also try GINNIE AND THE MYSTERY DOLL by Catherine Woolley, published in the 60s and 70s (and perhaps even earlier). Ginnie is visiting Cape Cod. She finds a doll that has been missing for years, and then it disappears again. I can't recall if it rains a lot, but I seem to remember them picking beach plums and making jelly (although I wouldn't swear to it, and it's possible it was in one of the other Ginnie books. I hope this helps a little bit.~from a librarian
S313 I think this matches, from glancing thru it:  Woolley, Catherine.  Ginnie and the mystery doll.  illus by Bob Magnusen.  Scholastic, 1960    mysteries - juvenile; dolls; Cape Cod, Massachusetts
Ginny and the mystery doll is it!  I just looked at a copy,  and this is the book I've been trying to find for years!  Thank you so much to the "librarian" for taking a shot at it!  You've brought back wonderful memories- I can't begin to tell you how happy I am. Thank you!!
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I remember a book about a girl named Ginny who was sent to live with her Aunt and she got involved in a mystery regarding a lost doll that her elderly aunt had lost in her childhood.  I would like to know the title of the book.

Catherine Woolley's Ginnie and the Mystery Doll, 1960.  See more on Solved Mysteries.
Thank you!  That was so quickly done and I guess I should have been able to figure that one out by myself, considering the title was basically the description I sent in.
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This was about two friends who would solve little mysteries around their town.  It may have been set in the Northeast, like Cape Cod or some other ocean town. The characters were probably patterned after Nancy Drew, but I'm pretty sure it was not her.  But the tone and atmosphere was of fresh-scrubbed girls doing wholesome things, like Nancy Drew.  The only other detail I remember was that they wore seersucker outfits at one point, and I had to ask around to find out what that was.

This sounds like the "Ginnie" books.  My sister had one called Ginnie and the Mystery of the Doll, but there were lots of them.  This one had them visiting Cape Cod and going to a clambake.
Catherine Woolley, Ginnie and the Mystery Doll, 1962.  I looked up the author, and there were at least ten "Ginnie" books. Ginnie and Geneva solved a lot of crimes.
Meg of Monhegan Island?
Trixie Belden? Her "sidekick" was Honey something--Wilder or Wheeler, maybe? Crabapple Farm, Sleepyside... sound familiar at all?
Could be the Ginnie and Geneva mysteries by Catherine Woolley, most published in the 1960's. For example, Ginnie and the Mystery Cat, Ginnie and the Mystery doll, Ginnie and the Mystery House, Ginnie and the Mystery Light (her friend Geneva is always along) And if I recall correctly, Ginnie and Geneva live in Cape Cod. ~from a librarian
Catherine Wooley, Ginnie and the Mystery House/Ginnie and the Mystery Doll,  1957/1960, respectively.  The books about friends who solve mysteries on Cape Cod could be part of the "Ginnie and Geneva" series.
Kathryn Kenny , Trixie Belden.  There was a series of books in the 1950's and 60's about a girl sleuth named Trixie Belden and her friends.  There are probably other girl sleuths, but this is the first that came to my mind.
Possibly the Trixie Beldon Series. Authors were Julie Campbell and Kathryn Kenny. Characters both had wholesome morals and good values I read these books as a child about two teenage girls (Trixie Beldon and best friend Honey Wheeler) who solved mysteries around their town somewhere in northeast. Can't remember the exact town, but remember she lived on a crabapple farm or something like that. Trixie was tomboyish and had a
boyfriend named "Jim" and used expressions such as "jeepers". Her friend, Honey, was a rich girl who was rather prissy and sickly (at least in the first episode, which I believe was entitled: Trixie Beldon and the secret of the old house/mansion)
Possibly the Dana Girls Mystery series by Carolyn Keene?  Jean is a 16-year-old  blond, and Louise is a 17-year-old brunette.  Since their parents died, they lived with their maiden aunt, Harriet, and her bachelor  brother, Captain Dana (Uncle Ned). Their favorite dates are Chris Barton and Ken Scott. They seem to go on
vacation a lot, and wherever they go they find a mystery to solve.
This sounds like it could be one of the Meg Mysteries, by Holly Beth Walker. Two friends who live in Virginia solve various mysteries. The seersucker outfits sound vaguely familiar.
The Ginny/ Geneva books were set in the New England area. In Ginny and The Mystery House, the girls ride a bus to NYC for a weekend with friends.  The Trixie Belden books were set in Sleepyside, New York.  I don't recall seersucker suits in any of the Trixie books, though.
Catherine Woolley, Ginnie and the Mystery Doll. (1960)  The searcher is thinking of Woolley's Ginnie and Geneva mystery set on Cape Cod and involving a convertible sportscar (a jaguar)a la Nancy Drew and a mention of a pair of seersucker shorts found at a church rummage sale.  This was the most Nancy Drew-ish of the 4 Ginnie mystery books right down to the illustrations which make the 11-12 year-old heroines look like teenagers.
Catherine Woolley, Ginnie and the Mystery Doll.   This was solved for me here, quite a long time ago!  I just realized I had never written back to say so.  So this stumper can be moved off to the solved page.  Thank you so much!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Woolley, Catherine.  Ginnie and the Mystery Doll.  William Morrow, 1960; Scholastic 1962, 2nd paperback printing 1965.  VG  $8

Catherine Woolley, Ginnie and the Mystery Light, 1973, copyright. This is the last book in Catherine Woolley's popular Ginnie series.  Ginnie gets invited to visit her best friend Geneva who has temporarily moved to Louisiana, near New Orleans?  The girls try to solve the mystery of the flashing lights that appear at night.  A Ouija board is one of the things they use to try to solve the mystery.  The book's dust jacket depicting Ginnie was in somewhat psychedelic blues and greens.
Catherine Woolley, Ginnie and the Mystery Light  I''m pretty sure this is the one. Not the best of the Ginnie and Geneva series, though. A later book when Ginnie goes to visit Geneva in her new home in the south and the girls try to locate the source of the mysterious light in the swamp. 
Woolley, Catherine, Ginnie and the Mystery Light, 1973, copyright.

Solved: Ginnie and the Mystery Light
Yes!!!!  This is the book!!!!  WONDERFUL, I can't thank you all enough....what a fabulous service this is!!!!

this sounds good - Ginny and Custard, by Frances Clarke Sayers, illustrated by Eileen Evans, published New York, Viking 1951. "A charming story of a little New York girl's happy year in Los Angeles with an  understanding father and mother to enjoy exploring with her all sorts of new and exciting things - the famous Farmer's Market; the wonderful fields of wild flowers; Olvera Street where they took Ginny's much-loved cat, Custard, for the Easter Saturday Festival; and many, many more. I enjoyed the story of Ginny; and the book left me with a feeling of really having had a happy time myself in Los Angeles, so well does Mrs. Sayers picture the city." (Horn Book Sept/51 p.331) 

Sydney Taylor, More All-of-a-Kind Family, 1954. Just a suggestion because this book is not about orphans but about a close-knit family of five sisters and a young brother.  One of the chapters involves choosing a Queen of the May for a May party and Mary Stevens's cover illustration is of all the kids in their holiday costumes around a colorful Maypole.
Doris Gates, Blue Willow, 1940. There's a picture of children dancing around a maypole, although they're not orphans.
Irma Wilde, The Giraffe Who Went to School, 1951. I know this is a long shot, but I immediately thought of this book when I read your post.  Two old ladies teach school to four little girls in their big, old-fashioned house.  A giraffe named Alice wants to attend school too, but when she tries, she bumps her head on the ceiling, can't sit on the little chairs, and can't learn her ABCs, so she must return to the zoo.  The next day, May Day, as the girls are begining to dance around their Maypole, a wind comes up and blows the Maypole away. The children are in tears, until Alice comes up with a brilliant idea.  The teachers quickly festoon the giraffe with flowers and ribbons, and the children dance around their unusual new Maypole. This is a Wonder Book, about the size of a Golden Book, illustrated by the author, featuring several cute, colorful pictures of the children with both the old Maypole and the giraffe/Maypole.  While the children are not orphans, there is no mention of their homes or parents in the book, so it might be possible to believe that they were.
This is it!  Many thanks to the person who provided the solution.  The Giraffe was the key.

Mazer, Harry, The Girl of His Dreams, 1987.  The book was actually a sequel to another book The War on Villa Street and the main character was Willis Pierce.  I went to my local library thinking that the main character was the girl that he meets in the book --fortunately I found it by subject in the online catalog at my local library within five minutes.  Not recalling what the title or author was, I was amazed to find that I had a lot of the details correct.  I think I related to the character of Sophie, being a teen, so that's why she stuck out in my mind.  And to think it was that easy after looking for so long on the internet!! I do appreciate the posting, however and I'm thrilled to read my favorite teen romance again, just for kicks.
Harry Mazer, The girl of his dreams, 1987.  I think it's this book.  "Willis thinks he wants to fall in love but when Sophie
comes into his life, and falls in love with him, he's not sure if she really is the girl of his dreams."  It's a sequel to The War on Villa Street: "A teen-age boy tries to come to terms with various aspects of his life, his relationship with his often drunk and abusive father, the menace of a local bully and his gang, and his love of running."

Could this be Gene Stratton Porter's A Girl of the Limberlost. Details fit. It's online.  If original poster can remember moths, this is it!
Gene Stratton Porter, Girl of the Limberlost

I can't remember the title or author, and a library search produced hundreds of books about witches.  Still, I'm sure I read this book---the description is familiar, and my age is consistent with the time period!  Does the stumper requester remember how the protagonist becomes convinced that she is not really a witch?  In the book I read, she tells the boy she admires that she suspects she's a witch (possibly tearfully explaining why she's rejecting his romantic advances?---not sure).  He is determined to prove that her odd experiences are purely coincidental.  He explains that witches can't cross running water, then picks the girl up and carries her across a stream to the other side (how romantic!).  Does this sound familiar?
Duncan, Lois, A Gift of Magic, 1971. I don't know if this is right -- some of the ideas match, but she is not a witch, but has several kinds of "ESP".  The rival may be her sister.  This is apparently the only Lois Duncan book that isn't really a suspense book.
Thank you for the suggestions.  It's definitely not Lois Duncan's Gift of Magic.  This was not a dark story at all, more like a feel-good, coming-of-age story from the 60's.  Honestly, I can't remember whether or not the protagonist's boyfriend carried her across running water.  I do vaguely remember that she told him about her suspicions and that he tried to convince her otherwise.  It's also possible that, though her "spells" "worked" at first (e.g., putting her with the boy or causing bad things to happen to her rival), they eventually petered out, and she realized that she actually didn't have power over these events. Thanks so much for the help!
Zilpha Keatly Snyder, The Witches of Worm. This might be it, but I'm not sure. The main character in this thinks that she's posessed by a witch and is causing bad things to happen.
Katharine Newlin Burt, Girl on a Broomstick, 1967.  Someone helped me find this title, and even though it's been a long time since I posted the query at Loganberry, I thought I should come back with the solution.  Thank you to those who very kindly tried to help me.

Paul Goble, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses.  Is this The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses? befriends the stallion, eventually becomes a horse herself.  the stringy, wind-blown manes sounds right.
#I28--Indian and her horse:  The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, by Paul Goble, won the 1979 Caldecott medal.
Goble, Paul, The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, 1978.  Could this be the book you're looking for?  The girl ends up leaving her tribe to live with the wild horse.  Each year she brings a colt back to the tribe, but one year she doesn't return and the tribe believe that the girl turned into a beautiful mare.  Paul Goble won the Caldecott Medal for this book.
Possibly The Girl Who Loved Wild Horses, written and illustrated by Paul Goble, published New York, Macmillan 1978, reprinted several times, 32 pages. "There was a girl in the village who loved horses... She led the horses to drink at the river. She spoke softly and they followed. People noticed that she understood horses in a special way." And so begins the story of a young Native American girl devoted to the care of her tribe's horses. With simple text and brilliant illustrations. Paul Goble tells how she eventually becomes one of them to forever run free." "A young American Indian girl has an unusual rapport with wild horses and during a storm she runs off with
them and joins a herd led by a beautiful spotted stallion."

O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned A City. (1975)  Possibly this one?  I haven't read it, but an online description says, "A killing virus has swept the earth, sparing only children through the age of twelve. There is chaos everywhere, even in formerly prosperous mid-America. Gangs and fierce armies of children begin to form almost immediately. It would be the same for the children on Grand Avenue but for Lisa, a ten-year-old girl who becomes their leader. Because of Lisa, they have food, even toys, in abundance. And now they can protect themselves from the fierce gangs that roam the neighborhoods. But for how long? Then Lisa conceives the idea of a fortress [in an abandoned school], a city in which the children could live safely and happily always, and she intends to lead them there."  Please note that you may be disappointed when you reread this book: many reviewers at [an enormous online corporation] have commented on the huge plot holes they've noticed in adulthood.
Nelson, O.T., The Girl Who Owned a City. (1975) The edition we have in our library is copyright 1995, and it's "an updated edition".  The original Lerner publication was 1975.  The killing age is 12, not 15, but I think it's the right Highly politicized, but young readers probably don't notice.
Nelson, O.T., The Girl Who Owned a City.  Everyone over the age of 12 dies of a virus. Ten year old Lisa tries to organize the run amuk children.
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned a City. (1975)  I'm amazed this isn't in the solved mysteries section yet!
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned A City. (1975)
O.T.  Nelson, The Girl who Owned a City. (1977)  The plague kills everyone over 12, not 15 but it sounds like the same book.
I looked at the book, "The girl who owned a city" and I think that is it.    I have been looking for that book for almost 20 years.  I even called the original library that I read it at, and they thought I was crazy for asking about a book I read so many years ago.  Thank you so much.
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I remember this book from the late 70's/80's. A virus has swept across Earth and killed everyone over 13 years old. A girl and her younger brother band together with other kids to make a community, but the "bad kids" burn it down. The group travels and go into homes and wander until they come across a school and decide to stay there. The book ends with a hopeful tone for the future.

O. T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned a City, 1975.
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned A City. This is certainly The Girl Who Owned A City by OT Nelson. Great book, and not hard to find.
O. T. Nelson,  The Girl Who Owned a City. This is the one.
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned A City,1975. All of the elements described match Nelson's book (also in Solved pages). This has recently been reissued.
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned a City, 1975.
O. T. Nelson, The Girl who owned a city. I think this is what you're looking for.
Nelson, O.T., The Girl Who Owned a City, 1977.You'll probably get a lot for this one, since it's still a well known title. From the publisher: A killing virus has swept the earth, sparing only children through the age of twelve. There is chaos everywhere, even in formely prosperous mid-America. Gangs and fierce armies of children begin to form almost immediately. It would be the same for the children on Grand Avenue but for Lisa, a yen-year-old girl who becomes their leader. Because of Lisa, they have food, even toys, in abundance. And now they can protect themselves from the fierce gangs that roam the neighborhoods. But for how long? Then Lisa conceives the idea of a fortress, a city in which the children could live safely and happily always, and she intends to lead them there.
O.T. Nelson, The Girl Who Owned A City.One of my all time favorite books! The girl and her brother are named Lisa and Todd. All the adults on earth have been wiped out by a mysterious virus. Lisa forms a militia of local children to protect each other from a gang of bullies who stole their food. When this gang burns Lisa's house she moves her militia into the school for shelter. Lisa teaches herself to drive and locates a warehouse full of food, (all the stores have been emptied out by starving kids), and uses this secret resource to convince her neighbors to band together. Unlike such novels as lord of the flies Lisa and her militia face their fears and work together to create a refuge from the chaos that surrounds them where humanity triumphs over hysteria.
Could this be O.T. Nelson's The Girl Who Owned a City (1975)?

Charley by Joan G Robinson, Illustrated by Prudence Seward,  London: Collins, 1969 (NY: Coward-McCann, 1970, later reprinted by Scholastic as The Girl Who Ran Away).  Original endpapers illustrate the map of the neighbourhood where Charley spent her unusual holiday.  The Scholastic paperback stated "Original title: Charley", or perhaps "Formerly: Charley."

Marguerite De Angeli, The Goose Girl, Doubleday 1964.  I am afraid I don't know the old school reader to which you refer but I did come across a reference to The Goose Girl by Marguerite De Angeli. (Doubleday, 1964) Perhaps that was the one included in the reader.It might prove a key to help track down  the reader!
The Little Girl Who Sat In The Ashes...  When I was a child, I had a bunch of discarded school readers and lately I've been thinking often of a story in one of them, and I'd like very much to find it again. The story was a version of Cinderella. The young lady in the story was a gooseherd. Everyday she went through the village and rounded up the geese and took them to pond and pasture and watched over them. One day, she heard that a party was being held for the prince and all eligible young women were invited to go. But she only had one old grey dress. The geese seemed to understand her plight, and at the end of each day, they raised thier wings and flapped thier wings until feathers (down) flew like snow. She gathered up and saved all the small downy feathers. She sat and sewed all the feathers on her old grey dress. There was a color illustration of her standing on a rock, holding her long golden hair piled on top of her head, wearing the white fluffy feathered dress and gazing at her reflection in the pond while the geese watched. She went to the ball and the prince fell in love with her. Her dress of goose feathers rivaled expensive gowns of richer women, her bare feet were as pretty and dainty as the finest slipper, her flowing locks as lovely as elaborately arranged hairstyles, and her face shining with happiness...   This is quite definitely "The Little Girl Who Sat In the Ashes" one of my favorite children's books ever. It's a LOVELY version of the Cinderella story. I had to BEG and make a major donation to a local library to get first dibs on mine...I waited a decade till it was finally knocked off the shelf and into the discard section! LOL 

This isn't a solution, exactly, but it might aid anyone out there trying to help solve this stumper--just a few minor details to add to the original poster's description.  I, too, remember reading this story, probably in junior high, which would have been about 1980-1982, and I can't recall the name of it either!  However, it seems to me that it was a short story, or else it was a book-length novel that was excerpted in our text book, because we read it aloud, in class, and it didn't take more than a couple of days.  I originally thought it was a Ray Bradbury story, but I haven't found it in any of his stuff, and I think I may be associating it with him simply because we read it around the same time that we read "All Summer in a Day."  The poster's description is dead-on, though, and I remember everything that was mentioned, right down to the sunburn and the foxes and rabbits that the girl brought back with her in a box.  The only thing I would add is that I don't remember it as being a "time travel" story.  I thought that the girl was from another planet similar to earth but with no animals, or maybe that she was from a distant city and everyone BELIEVED animals were extinct, but somehow she had wandered into a remote area where a few still existed, but I could be wrong about that.  I'm wondering if this story is a staple of middle school lit classes in the sci-fi genre?  Maybe some 7th or 8th grade teachers out there might know the title.
Hendrich, Paula, The Girl Who Slipped through Time.  FOUND IT!  I'm almost positive this person is looking for "The Girl Who Slipped Through Time" by Paula Hendrich.  Description: "...juvenile science fiction. 12 yr old Para has time-travelled back to rural Kansas in the 1930s, before the animals became extinct, to learn what her robo-teacher never taught her, in this suspenseful tale of past and future time."  I was the second poster for this book (I added some details I remembered to what the original poster sent in).  I'm pretty sure we were both looking for the same book--this is definitely the one I was thinking of.
Paula Hendrich, The Girl Who Slipped Through Time.  Yes, you are absolutely right! This is the book I've been looking for. I have purchased a copy and am reading it to my kids. Hooray for solving my Book Stumper!!
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1975-1988, juvenile.  A young teenage girl is from the future where most species have gone extinct, like frogs and jackrabbits and the environment is in bad shape. She somehow end up back in time and meets her grandfather as a young teenager.  Eventually she makes it back to her own time with a box with a few animals that have gone extinct.  There is also an old woman involved with the story who I think knows who the girl is and helps her.  The book has a strong environmental theme.

This almost sounds like one of the books by Annabel and Edgar Johnson, but not quite.  They usually had a teenager from a future where the earth is in dire straits travel back in time and meet a relative, somehow changing the world for the better in their own time.  None of the specific titles I recall seem to fit though...
Paula Hendrich, The girl who slipped through time, 1978, copyright.  Definitely this book. Paramecia is from the far future and is transported back to 1930s Kansas.
Your website solved this: Paula Hendrich, The Girl who Slipped Through Time, is the correct book for T440.  I am very grateful to your website and it's readers for solving this for me as I've been trying to find it again for 20 years.

Girl with the Silver Eyes
I read this book as a kid. It was about a girl with silver eyes and horn-rimmed glasses. She was one of several little kids whose mothers had taken some kind of pill or medicine that left their kids with a birth defect of sorts: they all had special gifts (I think they were really smart but maybe psychic), and they wore horn-rimmed glasses and they had silver eyes.

This must be Girl with the Silver Eyes by Willo Davis Roberts.
Hey!  I was right and actually had a copy in stock.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Roberts, Willo Davis.  The Girl With the Silver Eyes.  Scholastic, 1980.  Paperback.  G.  $8

I'm not sure, but I know there's a story by Joan Aiken called "Jehane of the Forest" in a book titled Girls' Adventure Stories of Long Ago.
Not a solution, but C97 and W76 appear to be the same book.  [W76?  wrong number...]
Thank you for posting my stumper!  I was so excited to see a response so soon.  I think the contributor is onto something, I think my books WERE called "Girl"'s Adventures...".  Hope now springs very strong!
C97 collection for girls: more on the suggested - Girls' Adventure Stories of Long Ago, published London, Hamlyn 1968, reprinted 1971, 1979 and 1984, illustrated by Will Nickless. Contents: Sign of the Hawk, by Ren�e Frazer; The Wreckers, By Elizabeth Sheppard-Jones; Jehane of the Forest, by Joan Aiken; A Lamp for Elizabeth, by Kathleen O'Farrell; Highland Escape, by Judy Thomas. The cover is either blue cloth or laminated pictured boards, though.
I just wanted to let you know that with the help of the last tip on the stumper, about the illustrator, I was finally able to find a copy of the book to give to my daughter.  I never could have done it without you and am eternally grateful - it was so much fun to read her the story that inspired her name!  Thanks again!   p.s., I'm giving her a book club member ship for Christmas, so expect to hear from us again!

Keo Felker Lazarus, The Gismo/The Gismo From Outer Space, 1970.  It might be this one: "The Gismo that Jerry and Ron have found is no ordinary gadget. It's part of an alien spaceship's radio and what's more, they must return it. But how?"
Lazarus, Keo Felker, The Gismo (from Outer Space).  Chicago: Follett 1970.  Pretty sure this is it - "The gismo that Jerry and Ron have found is no ordinary gadget. It's part of an alien spaceship's radio...and what's more, they must return it. But how? How do you keep a date with a man from outer space?" Original title is The Gismo, retitled The Gismo from Outer Space by Scholastic, and also printed in the Weekly Reader series. The spelling - gismo instead of gizmo - is what catches most people.
B313 and B314.  Both the gizmo and elephant books (rumpeta rumpeta!) are spot on. Thanks Harriet, and everyone!

Lois Lowrey, The Giver. You'll probably get lots of solutions naming this book.  The description is pretty bare-bones, but I can't imagine any other book having the unique combination of color-seeing as abnormal and the boy and baby leaving the colorless society in the snow.  (Actually, they zoomed out of there on a sled!)
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993. You'll probably have a lot of answers to this one! It's The Giver by Lois Lowry.
Lois Lowry, The Giver.
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Story from childhood (1991-1996) about a young boy who lives in a small town that has an old wise man. Everyone in the town can only see in black and white except one day, the young boy starts to see color. He confronts the old wise man, who also sees color, and he tells the boy he must go on a journey. The boy leaves the town and ends up in a world of color.

Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993.  This book fits the story and publication date.  The main character, Jonas, lives in a world where everything is black and white.  When he's a teenager, he starts to see color and he is sent to work with the Giver, who gives him the painful memories he is holding to protect the rest of the people.  At the end, Jonas releases the painful memories so that everyone else has to learn to cope with them and runs away to a place where there is color.
Lois Lowry, The Giver.  Sounds like you're remembering bits of The Giver by Lois Lowry, in which a young boy livning in represive utopian society learns, from the wise old man known as Receiver of Memories, to understand what color, love, music, etc. are.
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993.  A few details are a bit different, but it sounds like this might be the book you're thinking of. Check it out.
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993.  I think this young adult novel must be what you are looking for.  Jonas lives in a futuristic society where everyone is assigned a career when they are 12.  Jonas is chosen to be the Receiver of Memory, and spends every day with the old man who used to be the Receiver, but who has now become the Giver.  Over time, Jonas remembers more about what the past was like - including pain, hunger, and war, but also beauty and color (everyone else sees the world in black and white, but Jonas starts to see colors).  Eventually, he has to choose between staying in society and accepting the burden of memories, or escaping (taking with him a sickly baby who is scheduled to be "released" via euthanasia).  This book now has two companion books, entitled "Gathering Blue" and "The Messenger".
Lowry, Lois, The giver, 1993.  This is definitely the book.  Given his lifetime assignment at the Ceremony of Twelve, Jonas becomes the receiver of memories shared by only one other in his community and discovers the terrible truth about the society in which he lives.
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993.  This is undoubtedly the one!  Story takes place in a "utopian" society that is, of course, anything but.  Jonas receives his assignment for life at age twelve, and becomes a Receiver of Memory.  It's his job to hold the memories of his community - because everyone else has forgotten.  He learns to deal with emotions, especially negative ones, and learns some horrible secrets of his society that no one else remembers.  One of his gifts is the ability to see color, something no one else can do.  He finally escapes with a small baby that is scheduled to be "released" (euthanized) because he is smaller than average.  Truely a memorable book. You will also enjoy "The Messenger" and "Gathering Blue" by Lowry - not sequels, but connected in theme and a few characters.
Lois Lowry, The Giver.  This sounds like it could be "The Giver" a Newbery winner from the early 90's.  Jonas gets called to be the Reciever of Memory for his entire community.  One reason he is called is because he can "See Beyond" and has seen flashes of color in his otherwise colorless world.  Hope this helps.
These are all plot elements in The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993), but there's a lot more to this dystopian tale...
Lois Lowry, The Giver, 1993.  Sounds like this could be it, unless there are multiple books out there with that plot.
Lois Lowry, The Giver.  Jonas lives in a sterile future world. His ability to see color means he is assigned to carry all of the memories that the rest of the community is deemed unable to handle. He is given the memories by the Giver, an old man.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Lowry, Lois.  The Giver.  Random House, 1993. Dell Laurel-Leaf paperback edition, 2002.   Newbery Award.  New paperback, $6.50

The tree story certainly sounds like The Giving Tree by Shel Silverstein (1964).  I have a nice copy with dust jacket for $10.  Can't think of an anthology that contains it, but I'm sure there is one.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Silverstein, Shel.  The Giving Tree.  Harper Collins, 1964.  New hardback, $16.

Gail Carson Levine, Ella, Enchanted.  Could this be Ella Enchanted?
Farjeon, Eleanor, Glass Slipper, 1955.  A long shot, but Eleanor Farjeon's Glass Slipper (which has a dark blue cover) has a fairy godmother who looks like a dumpy old woman, with apron, cape, and cane.  The day after the ball, Ella's stepmother chases Ella around the kitchen and tries to hit her with a broom, then locks her in an alcove  the fairy godmother arrives, frees Ella, and locks the stepmother in.  The accompanying illustration shows a broom prominently over the stepmother, as if it's chasing her into the alcove.  (If it helps, this version also has a talking clock and a court jester called the Zany the two stepsisters are named Araminta and Arethusa.)
Eleanor Farjeon, Glass Slipper  'Thanks for correcting my memory!  I found a copy of the book in an elementary school library, and the cover was the one I'd been looking for -- the white illustration is a cutout silhouette of Cinderella and the fairy godmother.  There are also pink pillows and feathers on the sides.
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Cinderella was a novel in which her two stepsisters were named Arathusa and Araminta.

Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper.  This is definitely The Glass Slipper, one of my favorite Cinderella retellings.  She also did a version of Rumplestiltskin called The Silver Curlew.
Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper, 1955, copyright.  Based on a play of the same name, by Eleanor & Herbert Farjeon, this novelization of the Cinderella story features stepsisters named Araminta and Arethusa. This book has been reprinted many times, and there may even be earlier editions out there - the play was around back in the 1940's.
Farjeon, Eleanor, The Glass Slipper.  One of my absolute favorite books!  Illustrated by Ernest H. Shepard, of Winnie-the-Pooh fame.
Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper.  This is Farjeon's wonderful pantomime-turned-novel 'The Glass Slipper'. The prince in this version of Cinderella is accompanied by his clown, the Zany, and Arethusa and Araminta are read to by their mother from a book of etiquette.
Eleanor  Farjeon, The Glass Slipper, 1955.  I'm pretty sure this is the book you mean. The sisters are called Arathusa and Araminta, and Cinderella is friends with all the things in the kitchen. The grandfather clock, the broom, etc. I hope this helped.
That's The Glass Slipper (1944) by Eleanor Farjeon and illustrated by Ernest Shepard. From elsewhere: "One of the special things about The Glass Slipper is the enchantment that plays a vital part of Ella's daily life. The inanimate things she cares for in her stepmother's basement kitchen come alive for Ella, filling the void her mother's death has left in her heart. The illustrations are done with a wonderfully delicate hand and bring Ella and her world alive for the reader. Also written by Eleanor (and equally wonderful!) are the classic hymn, Morning Has Broken (Cat Stevens sang it), The Little Bookroom and The Silver Curlew (a retelling of the Rumplestiltskin story."  Quote: "The Sisters gathered themselves up, piled Ella�s arms with towels and soap and sponges and perfume and rubber ducks and pushed past her to the bathroom, where she had to scrub their backs for them.  They were much too lazy to do it themselves."  Not to be confused with the funny, offbeat 1955 movie with Leslie Caron!
Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper, 1946.  I think this is what you're looking for.  The step-sisters are Araminta and Arethusa.  It was also produced as a play.
Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper.  How about this? "A well-told story of Ella and her friendly talking animals, who help her to endure the nasty stepsisters Arethusa and Araminta and the wicked stepmother until she finds her happy ending with the Prince, who had searched long for the Princess from Nowhere. At the ball she overstays the deadline but the other women simply think she is a serving girl and pay no attention. The prince likewise ignores her, until he learns to see better."
I think that my book stumper, C528, is solved.  It is Eleanor Farjeon, The Glass Slipper, Copyright 1955.  If your book store has a copy, please let me know, and I will buy it from you.  Thank you so much for your help!  I have been looking for this book for years.

Check out the comments under Blowing Wand on the Solved Mysteries page to see if any of these suggestions are familiar.
Maria Gripe,Glassblower's children. That is the right title, I found it listed in several libraries online. It does look to be hard to find.
Maria Gripe, Glassblower's Children, 1960s?  Originally published in Sweden (?or Denmark) but certainly the title is right and I think I have the correct spelling of the author's name. It's a long time since I read it, but the story sounds right, too. 

Janice May Udry, Glenda.  I have finally found it!

Thompson, Ruth Plumly, Gnome King of Oz.  The colors listed in the description match those in the Oz books  an Oz title that includes a boy named Peter is Gnome King. Peter Brown, a boy from Philadelphia, meets up with Ruggedo, the Gnome King (who plans to conquer Oz) but soon joins the Patchwork Girl and travels through various parts of Oz.
Ruth Plumly Thompson, Gnome King of Oz.  I'm not at all sure  however, it does have Peter and a lot of colors--the red land of the Quadlings, the blue land of the Munchkins, the yellow of the Winkies, etc.

Patricia Scarry, Animal Friends All Year Long, 1969, reprint.  I got this book at a yard sale several years ago and it has become a family favorite.  It does not have the stories about the mother bear or about the hole in the ice but the other two stories described by the seeker sure are in there!  By the way it is Angelo Squirrel who has the vine covered house.  A note on the title page says "Originally published under the title The Golden Storybook of River Bend." Since the cover of my book is also different from what the seeker describes, perhaps she had an earlier edition with more stories.  The pictures are by Tibor Gergely.  An altogether charming book.
Golden Book of River Bend.  That's it!!  Thank you!  As soon as I saw the words River Bend, it brought it all back.

?, Go Tell Aunt Rhodie.  There is a song we used to sing in school as a child. Here's what I remember of it: "Go tell Aunt Rhodie, go tell Aunt Rhodie Go tell Aunt Rhode, the old gray goose is dead.  The one she'd been saving, the one she'd been saving, The one she'd been saving, to make a feather bed.  She died in the mill pond, she died in the mill pond, She died in the mill pond, standing on her head."
Aliki, Go Tell Aunt Rhody, 1974, 1986.  If it's not this particular book, it's gotta be this folk song.
Would this possibly be a version of the old song, "Go Tell Aunt Rhody"?  "Go tell Aunt Rhody, go tell Aunt Rhody, go tell Aunt Rhody, the old grey goose is dead. The one she's been saving (3x) to make a feather bed.  The goslings are crying (3x) because their mother's dead." I believe it's sometimes called "Go Tell Aunt Patsy" also.
"Go Tell Aunt Nancy."  This is a traditional song:  "Go tell Aunt Nancy (repeated twice)/ Her old grey goose is dead.  The one that she'd been saving (x3)/ To make a feather bed.  She died in the duckpond (x3) Standing on her head.  Old gander's weeping (x3) Because his wife is dead.  Goslings are weeping (x3) Because their mother's dead.  Go tell Aunt Nancy (x3) The old grey goose is dead."  There are several versions of this some feature "Aunt Rhody" rather than "Aunt Nancy".
I don't know the title of it, but doesn't this refer to the song "Go tell Aunt Rosie/the Old Gray Goose is dead"?  I know there are many verses to it.  The original poster is a little younger than me and I know we used to sing it all the time.
Well, I did think of this folk song when I posted this, but how wonderful to receive so many different answers!  I'd forgotten about the Aliki book.  Here it is (see below--)
Go Tell Aunt Rhody:  When the Weavers sang this in concert, they had the audience sing the song as each person originally learned it.  When they reached the name they got a mix of Sally, Polly, just about every possible two-syllable female name.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Go Tell Aunt Rhody.   Illustrated by Aliki.  Macmillan, 1974.  First edition thus.  Ex-library edition in well-read shape: pages are worn and several have small tears.  Ready for another read though, and the dust jacket is well preserved.  P/VG-  <SOLD>

spotted one more I can chip in on. I have a little hardback book, packed in a box somewhere so I can't confirm it right away, that I am pretty sure is called The Go-to-Sleep Book.  It's about 5 inches tall, 4 inches wide, with a purplish-bluish cover featuring (I think) a sleepy boy with his favorite blanket.  I THINK it's a "Jr. Elf Book."  Anyway, the illustrations are in a limited palette--mostly a kind of rose color.  The most important clue is the text.  In the book I'm thinking of, it goes through a series of animals, e.g. (I'm paraphrasing here):  "And once there was a sleepy little lamb.  And she yawned and she yawned...and she turned around and around...and laid down and went fast to sleep."  The reason it sticks in my head is that my husband came across it on the shelf and was amazed at its soporific effect!  We used to joke about if we ever became insomniacs, all we'd need is the copy of this book to conk out.  When/if I get my children's book collection unpacked and back onto my shelves, I'll double-check.
B379 I ws just able to check Go-to-sleep book. They don't turn around, but each one ends with "And he fell fast asleep" Before that, most of them also said "How sleepy I am" and yawned and yawned.  Gilbert, Helen Earle. Go-to-sleep book.  illus by Marge Opitz.  Rand McNally, 1949. Junior Elf.
Just wanted to let you know that the nice person who contributed information about this stumper solved it for me!   The book she mentioned is the one!  Thanks so much!

W67 witches cat doesn't fit in: Would suggest Gobbolino the Witches Cat, written and illustrated by Ursula Moray Williams, published 1942, reprinted Puffin 1973 "The trouble with Gobbolino was that he had blue eyes and one white paw, so he didn't want to be a witch's cat. He wanted to be a kitchen cat, and sit by the fire and sing like the kettle on the hob, to keep down the mice and mind the baby, and sit in his mistress's lap. His mother Grimalkin didn't like him because he wasn't wicked, but all the other homes he went to mistrusted him..." 

C37 probably is a Carl Burke book.  There are several copies of  God is Real, Man, listed on bookfinder.com  and the description is quite similar.  128 pages published in 1966.  Ack, I started this a few days ago-- better send it now, before I forget!
I got the book and yes, it certainly seems right - the actual name is God is for Real, Man. The feast is the wedding at Cana. It includes a slang glossary -  it's amusing to remember that in 1966, "long-hairs" used to mean not hippies so much as classical music-lovers!

Hodgell, P.C., Godstalk, Atheneum 1982.  This is the first book in a series. The others are Dark of the Moon and Seeker's Mask. Jame, a partially-amnesiac girl, stumbles into the mazelike city of Tai-tastigon. She is apprenticed to the master thief Penari (and frequently mistaken for a boy) and stays at the Res ab'Tyrr tavern where she performs as a dancer. She rescues an ounce kit from the river where the breeder has thrown it because it is blind.
Murphy, Shirley Rousseau, Cat in the Dark, 1999.  Doubt this is it due to the rather recent publication date, but I'll throw it out here anyway, just in case.  The thief is male, rather than female, but certain other details do fit, most notably the cat detail.  The robber in this book is named Greeley, and is helped by a magical black cat (who can talk, and is highly intelligent) named Azrael.  Although he is not blind (I do think I remember his eyes being unusual, however), Azrael's fur is very dark, which may be where the "opaque" detail comes from.

Rockwell, Anne, Go Go's Car Breaks Down,1978.  "En route to a visit with his mother, a little clown becomes desperate when his car breaks down."
Anne F Rockwell, Gogo's car breaks down, 1978.  "En route to a visit with his mother, a little clown becomes desperate when his car breaks down."

Every time I go by this stumper I think Elizabeth Enright and either Four Story Mistake of Then There Were Five! I have not had time to verify this "feeling" but I thought I would throw out this suggestion.
J49 Skimmed each page of Then there were five while I ate my supper; didn't see anything like that.  Also checked The Saturdays, but it's not that either.
Aileen Fisher, Going Barefoot.  I found this cached on Google - the querent must have asked the library service at washington.edu as well as you folks.  I found the original query, quoting the same line that was quoted here, and then
this answer:  "If your interested, it's a poem in a book of children's poetry, Going Barefoot, by Aileen Fisher.  Our patron had the line wrong, it actually reads: How soon/ how soon/ is a morning in June,/ a sunny morning or afternoon/ in the wonderful month/ of the Barefoot Moon?

Jack London & Robert L. Fish, The Assassination Bureau, Ltd. Odds are very high that this is the right book, involving an ethical murder-for-hire business that only commits "justified" killings -- and accepts a commission to do in the agency's owner.  The collaboration is an odd one -- London had left a partial manuscript among his papers after writing himself into a corner, and detective writer Fish (perhaps best known for his Sherlock Holmes parodies) found and finished the tale many years later.  There's also a loosely adapted movie.
David Westheimer, Going Public.  I finally found the answer, but it was pretty clearly *not* Jack London's The Assassination Bureau.

Anne Emery, Going Steady,1950.O107 is definitely Going Steady by Anne Emery.  It is a Sally Burnaby story.
Anne Emery, Going Steady,1949. This is definitely the Anne Emery book in which Sally Burnaby gets secretly engaged to her high school boyfriend, Scotty.  She is working a summer job on campus, buys the vase, and returns it after she and her boyfriend realize that their parents are right and they aren't ready for marriage.
Yes -- that's it!!  Thank You once again!

Kathryn Jackson, The New Golden Almanac, 1952, copyright.  Could this be the book?  It was illustrated by Richard Scarry and was a Big Golden Book.
Richard Scarry, All Year Long, 1976, copyright.  Published by Golden Press.  A simple introduction to time, the days of the week, months and seasons. Yellow cover with title in white letters on a blue-green triangle at upper left corner.  Cover features pictures of animals doing seasonal things, such as a bear cub building a sand castle, father and son rabbits raking/burning leaves, mother and little cat picking flowers, etc.
Patricia Scarry, The Golden Story Book of River Bend, 1969, copyright.  Reprinted as "Animal Friends All Year Long" and illustrated by Tibor Gergely. Short stories about Kenny Pig, Miss Kitty, Jonathan Mouse, and their neighbors (including a rabbit and some bears) who live in the small village of River Bend, as they share the joys of different seasons and holidays.  The cover shows father and little bear and Kenny Pig sitting on the river bank fishing, Miss Kitty beside them, under a parasol, reading a book, the rabbit lying beside a bicycle on the bank, also reading, and Jonathan Mouse driving a wind-up car.
The first reply sounds right....The Golden Almanac. I can't be sure until I see it. How do I find a copy of it? Do you have it or access to it?
I just found The Golden Almanac on eBay and ordered it.  I will let you know if it's the right book. I'm very excited because I've been trying to figure out and find this book for many years. Your site is great!
THE FIRST PERSON WAS CORRECT AND I FOUND THE BOOK ON EBAY!!!! I'm so happy; I've been looking for this book since 1999!!!!!

Referring to A-36, I am sitting here holding my copy of what I think may be the correct book.  It is called 365 Bedtime Stories, from Whitman Publishing Company, Copyright 1944.  The cover does indeed have mostly blue, and shows two young girls propped up on pillows in a canopy bed, one reading to the other.  However, the book in the cover picture is plain navy blue, no pictures on it, so I am not certain.  Perhaps there was a later edition, but mine seems to be the earliest.  The story for January 6 is called Twelfth Night, and is about Tommy and Billy finding a special "bean" in a cake.  Hope this information will be of some help.
A36- I have a 365 Bedtime Stories by Nan Gilbert that was published by Whitman in 1955 and 1970.  The cover is blue and shows two children in bed being read to by their mother, who is holding a blue book.  The story for january sixth is about 12th day.  A Mrs. Apricot is telling the children about how they used to celebrate 12th day.
I hope this will help A36. I have The Golden Book of 365 Stories, pictures by Richard Scarry, copyright 1955. This book has a blue cover with a little boy and girl reading a book with a picture of a little boy and girl reading a book --they are surrounded by a group of animals. the story on January 6th is about alittle boy that recieves a pitcher from his grandmother in Italy and he doesn't like,but his mother puts it on the table every day and in time he comes to love it.
A36:  I believe you are definitely looking for the 1944 edition of 365 Bedtime Stories which had several different covers from 1944 through the early 1950's.  Some of the stories do have poems, and there are Bead Buddies
stories throughout the book (if that rings a bell).  Each page has a black and white, or a color picture at the top of the page.  If you browse the auctions for this book on EBay you may very well recognize the cover from the book you had.
A36 anthology: from the description of the cover, would suggest The Golden Book of 365 Bedtime Stories: a Story for Every Day of the Year, illustrated by Richard Scarry, published Golden 1955, 235 pages. The blue cover shows 2 children, in 2 beds pushed together, surrounded by animals who are apparently being read to. The children hold a blue book with the same cover.  NOTE! There is another edition? of this same title, the stories credited to Kathryn Jackson, also illustrated by Scarry, possibly a 1983 reprint, which has a very similar cover, but the children in the beds have been replaced by a bear in a chair, holding a book with a cover of a bear in a chair.

Kathryn Jackson (author), Richard Scarry (illustrator), The Polite Little Boy.  This is the story for January 30th on page 26 of The Golden Book of 365 Stories: A Story for Every Day of the Year.  The polite little boy won't taste beans because he thought they looked too beany, or carrots because he thought they looked too carroty, and pudding looks too shaky to taste.  He always says, "No thank you," and eats peanut butter sandwiches instead. One day, he gets invited to a friend's house for lunch and is told to help himself.  Since he cant say, "No thank you," and no peanut butter sandwiches are on the table, he takes a smidgeon of everything on the table, even beans and carrots---and likes everything, even the pudding for dessert!  The text is copyright 1955, and I own a very ragged (and much loved) eleventh printing from my childhood (1965).  The book was reissued in 1998 as Richard Scarry's A Story A Day: 365 Stories and Rhymes.  It's unfortunately out of print again, but used copies are not hard to find.

Kathryn Jackson, The Timid Monkey, (1955).  This book is printed in The Golden Book of 365 Stories: A Story for Every Day of the Year (copyright 1955, reprinted many times) as the entry for January 21st.  The details of the story match your husband's memories exactly, but the cover of the book is blue with a boy and girl reading a book in side by side twin beds surrounded by animals in pajamas and robes. Here is part of the story: "A timid monkey and his easy-going friend were going on a hiking trip. [The timid monkey then packs a huge number of things to bring along "just in case."]  "Then he tried to pick up one big bundle, and his easy-going friend tried to pick up the other.  But those bundles were much too big and clumsy for either one to lift.  "Pshaw!" cried the timid monkey.  "We just can't go then!"  "You can't," grinned his friend, reaching for a gun and one ham sandwich.  "You can't, but I can---because I shall make do with what I find as I go along!"  And away he went, carefree and easy-going as ever, while the timid monkey stayed home, shaking his head sadly and putting everything back where it belonged."
Kathryn Jackson, The Golden Book of 365 Stories A Story for Every Day of the Year, 1955. The story is actually called "The Timid Monkey" and was at one time printed individually.

Elsa Jane Werner, The Golden Book of Nursery Tales. 1948.  This book indeed is illustrated by Tibor Gergely.  I have a copy sitting in front of me and it was published in 1948 by Simon and Schuster.  It has 127 pp in all and you are missing the beggining and the last two stories.
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I am looking for an anthology of fairy tales or "cautionary" tales for young children which has a chapter about a boy who learns, the hard way, not top mistreat animals. In a very scary sequence, each anuimal he has abused or taken for granted visits him during the night and reclaims the product its species gave him. The sheep says "I take back my wool!" The boy's woolen clothing disappears. The goose says "I take back my feathers!" Down pillows and bed linens vanish. Finally the boy finds himself outdoors - -cold, terrified half-naked and alone, but appreciating animals for the first time in his life.

I53 You might want to look into parables, notably Old Testament [Hebrew] 'You reap what you sow' after all!
The story you are describing is called "Silly Will", by Lucy Sprague Mitchell.  This story appears in The Golden Book of Nursery Tales (A Big Golden Book)(c) 1948.  In addition to the sheep taking back his wool, and the goose taking back his feathers, the trees also take back their wood, the cow takes back its hide (leather), etc. Illustrated w/ numerous small b&w pencil or charcoal sketches, plus one full-page color picture of Will standing naked & shivering in front of what is left of his house, at night, w/ the trees & animals in the background, looks sorta like they are laughing at him. I have this book, and can email scanned picture to original poster, to see if this is the one he's looking for or not. Book is 146 pgs long, other stories include 3 Bears, The Magic Pot, 3 Billy Goats Gruff, 3 Little Pigs, Musicians of Bremen, Ugly Duckling, Bobo and the Roast Pig, City Mouse & Country Mouse, & many others, all of which are moralistic or cautionary-type tales.
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Golden Book of Nursery Tales
This 1950s story was in a book with other very short stories (similar to an anthology). A silly boy is sent to the store to buy several things. One item was a pound of butter.  It was a hot day, he was afraid it would melt so he put it on his head.  I think he put a hat or leaves on it to protect it from the sun.  By the time he arrived homw the butter had melted down the sides and front of his face.

Sara Cone Bryant, Epaminondas and His Auntie, 1907.  This story from this book has probably appeared in several anthologies.  Epaminondas' Auntie asked him to bring home several items to his Mammy: cake, a pound of butter, a puppy, a loaf of bread.  Each time he doesn't know how to carry it, so he uses the method his Mammy told him LAST time (the butter was wrapped in leaves and carried on his head).  Finally, exasperated, Mammy tells him to "be careful how you step in those mince pies" with predictable results!
Sara Cone Bryant, Epamanondas and His Auntie.  I'm certain this is the book - Epamanondas is a very literal child.  When his auntie tells him "watch how you step" around some pies she's put on the floor, he is very careful to step right in the center of each one. . .
Epaminondas, Sara Cone Bryant.  Might this be one of the versions of Epaminondas? Check solved stumpers?
B384 The story of the boy and melted butter is an Epaminondas (or alternate spelling Epaminandas) tale. It seems that the author Sara Cone Bryant published several collections containing the tale. STORIES TO TELL TO CHILDREN, 1920, 1924, EPAMINONDAS AND OTHER STORIES FOR LITTLE ONES, 1934, BEST STORIES TO TELL TO CHILDREN, 1912. I'm not sure if one of these is the one you're looking for. There is also an English variant, often called "Lazy Jack" that you'll find in various collections such as CHIMNEY CORNER STORIES;TALES FOR LITTLE CHILDREN  collected and retold by Veronica S. Hutchinson, 1925 and you might also find it in a Joseph Jacob's fairy tale collection. Hope this helps~from a librarian
Mark Twain, Huckleberry Finn.  There's a very similar situation in Chapter 40.  Huck steals some cornbread with butter on it and has to hide it in his hat.  His Aunt catches him and makes him sit in the parlor until the butter melts and runs down his face and head.  Maybe this episode was anthologized?
Elsa Jane Werner (editor), Tibor Gergely (illus), "The Little Boy Who Tried To Obey" from The Golden Book of Nursery Tales,  1948.   This book was published in 1948, but I believe there were some later editions, too - possibly in the 1950s. The boy in the story is given various items to carry home to his mother, but carries each item according to the directions given him for the previous item.  After he brings home a piece of cake (crushed), his mother tells him he should have wrapped it in leaves and carried it under his hat. He tries this w/the butter, which melts (illustration is b&w line drawing of him, w/ leaves poking out from hat, and melting butter dripping down his face & leaving a trail behind him.) His mother tells him the butter should have been put in the brook to cool it. The next thing his aunt gives him is a puppy - which he puts in the brook to cool, and drowns it. (I found this awful for a children's story - probably why I remember it so clearly.) His mother then tells him he should have tied a string around the puppy's neck and pulled it behind him, which he does with the next item his aunt gives him - a loaf of fresh bread. At the end, his mother warns him to "be careful about stepping in" some pies she has just baked and is cooling on the doorstep - so he very carefully steps in the center of each one. This book includes a number of familiar tales (3 Bears, 3 Billy Goats Gruff, 3 Little Pigs, Chicken Little, Musicians of Bremen, City Mouse & Country Mouse, etc.) and some less-common stories, such as The Magic Pot, The Old Woman and Her Pig, The Lion Hearted Kitten, Silly Will, Bobo and the Roast Pig, Pelle's New Suit, and many others.
Childcraft series.  This strongly reminds me of a story in a Childcraft book (pretty sure it was Childcraft).  The little boy visits an aunt and is given a pound of butter to take home, so he puts it under his hat, where it melts all over him.  His mother tells him he should have wrapped the butter in leaves and dunked it in the stream to keep it cool.  So when the boy visits his aunt again, and she gives him a puppy, he wraps it in leaves and dunks it in the stream.  Of course, the poor puppy drowns.  His mother tells him he should have tied a string around the puppy's neck and led it home.  He visits his aunt again, and she gives him a loaf of bread.  He ties a string around it and drags it home through the dirt.
Mark Twain, The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Huck hides butter under his hat while trying to sneak out of the house.  His aunt thinks his brains are melting.
Sara Cone Bryant, Epaminondas and His Auntie, 1911. There is also a book called Epaminondas and His Auntie (1911 -- Sara Cone Bryant) about a little boy carrying butter home under his hat -- I think it has been frequently anthologized or retold.  He is an African-American boy -- the original drawings are very dated stereotypes.
Thank you, thank you, thank you.  It is "The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey". I now will search for the Golden book of Nursery Tales, 1948.
Wow,  "The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey"  is the exact same story line as Epaminondas and His Auntie!    I'd be curious to know who adapted the story, what they renamed the child, and the style of illustrations....
A more recent version of this story is a delightful picture book by Colleen Salley and Janet Stevens entitled Epossumondas.  My elementary school children were delighted when I shared it with them during library storytime.  I was privileged to hear Colleen Salley tell another version of the story a number of years ago at the Tennessee Williams festival in New Orleans and was delighted when she published one I could share with the children.
I don't know who adapted Epaminondas And His Auntie into "The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey". The Golden Book of Nursery Tales does not credit the source for that story.  The little boy was not renamed in the adapted version - no names are mentioned at all.  He is simply "the little boy", and his mother and auntie are referred to only by those titles.  The interesting thing is that they have changed the characters from black to white.  Perhaps this was an early attempt at racial sensitivity?  Or perhaps the editor (Werner), illustrator (Gergely) and/or publisher (Golden Press) felt that white characters would broaden the appeal (and marketability) of the book?  I've attached pictures of the story, if you are still curious about the style of the illustrations.
I don't know who adapted "Epaminondas And His Auntie" into "The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey".  The Golden Book of Nursery Tales does not credit the source for that story.  The little boy was not renamed in the adapted version - no names are mentioned at all.  He is simply "the little boy", and his mother and auntie are referred to only by those titles.  The interesting thing is that they have changed the characters from black to white.  Perhaps this was an early attempt at racial sensitivity?  Or perhaps the editor (Werner), illustrator (Gergely) and/or publisher (Golden Press) felt that white characters would broaden the appeal (and marketability) of the book?  I've attached pictures of the story, if you are still curious about the style of the illustrations.
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Late '40s, a young boy lives in a house in the woods with his mother.  She sends him off on errands, such as to go buy butter somewhere, and he does what she asks, but makes bad choices.  People try and help him by telling him he should wrap the butter between leaves, and on the next errand he would try to wrap the next item between leaves.  In the end, the mother and the house and his clothes are taken away and he is left to shiver naked in the woods.  I don't know WHO takes everything away, and I don't know if it ends like that.  My Mother threw the book away after it gave me nightmares, saying that it gave my older sister nightmares also.  I COULD be merging a memory of a book with the classic fairy tale, but I'd be happy to find out the fairy tale's name in any case...

Elsa Jane Werner (Editor), Tibor Gergely (illus), The Golden Book of Nursery Tales, 1948.  The book you're looking for is probably The Golden Book of Nursery Tales.  The story about the little boy who makes bad choices is "The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey."  This is a version of an older story by Sara Cone Bryant, called "Epaminondas and his Auntie."  I hated this story as a child, because the little boy drowned a puppy his auntie had given him, by wrapping it in leaves and soaking it in a stream to keep it cool.  (These instructions were given him on a previous trip, in which he brought home butter under his cap, and it melted all over him.)  The one with the little boy who has his clothes, house, etc. taken away from him is a different story entirely, called "Silly Will."  In this story, Will doesn't appreciate anything, until one night when the sheep come and take away their wool, the cattle take away their hides, the trees take away their wood, etc. teaching him a badly needed lesson is gratitude. When he wakes up in the morning, everything is back as it was before.  Other stories in this book include The Three Bears, Three Billy Goats Gruff, Three Little Pigs, Chicken Little, Musicians of Bremen, City Mouse & Country Mouse, The Magic Pot, The Old Woman and Her Pig, The Lion Hearted Kitten, Silly Will, Bobo and the Roast Pig, Pelle's New Suit, and many others.
Cone Bryant, Sara, Epaminondas, 1976.  Definitely this or one of the other versions of the Epaminondas tale.  See more details in the solved mysteries
Try the British writer Robert Westall. (website)
Southern Folk Tale, George Washington Rabbit and His Granny,1928/1946.The story about a boy who keeps making bad decisions sounds like the story of George Washington Rabbit and His Granny, which appears in the Book Trails series.  He brings several items home, including butter and a puppy.  After the butter melts all over his head, his Granny tells him he should have wrapped it in leaves and cooled it in the stream.  So, that's the way he brings home the puppy he gets the next day.  The puppy arrives home "all shivery and half-drowned," but an illustration shows it sitting comfortably in the yard the following day.  The story has questionable racist content, but it is humorous, not frightening.  In the amusing ending, Granny puts some pies on the steps to cool, telling George to, "mind about those pies, and watch how you step in them."  Of course, he very carefully steps in each one.  The story in which a boy loses everything doesn't ring any bells for me.
B523
Helen Bannerman, Little Black Sambo,1899. It occurred to me that the story of Little Black Sambo features a little boy who is left shivering naked in the woods after his clothes get stolen by tigers.  That story also appears in the Book Trails series, so is it possible that you'\''ve fused elements of Little Black Sambo and George Washington Rabbit?  Neither story is disturbing, as the boy in Little Black Sambo defeats the tigers and ends up eating pancakes with his mother and father, and the worst that happens to George Washington Rabbit is that his Granny gets exasperated at his comical mistakes.  However, the illustrations may have had a big impact on you if you saw them when you were very little.  One in Little Black Sambo shows a naked boy crying at the foot of a tree, and one in George Washington Rabbit makes it look as though a little boy is drowning a puppy.  Taken at face value, by a toddler, those images could be disturbing.  Hope this helps!
sounds like one of the stories in Zlateh the Goat by Isaac Bashevis Singer
You might be blending the Epimonondas story with another one about a naughty boy who teased animals and plants. The Epi story does have rather "racist" pictures, but the emphasis is more on how the little boy simply did EXACTLY what he'd been told, to the constarnation of his mammy.  the version I saw didn't say the puppy completely drowned. I do recall the other story, can't recall where. It may have been his mother who warned the boy, don't recall her. The boy lost first everything made from animals, wool blankets, milk, meat, fur jacket, and later everything from plants, cornmeal, wooden furniture, cotton shirts, etc. leaving him naked and frightened. It turned out to be a dream.
Quite awhile back I sent in a query (B523: Boy makes bad decision).  At the time I couldn't find the books suggested, but have now found and read all of them.  The book I was searching for was "The Golden Book of Nursery Tales" edited by Elsa Jane Werner.  I was so pleased to find the book - and I HAD superimposed 2 stories together (luckily from the same book!)  What a wonderful service you provide!  Thank you so much!  Thanks so much for providing this service and for all the wonderful readers who share their knowledge.
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early 1960's, childrens.  This is a story in a book that contained other stories as well.   It was about dolls living in a dollhouse.  A little girl came into the store and wanted to buy some of them (I think).  There was a Penny Doll that would not come out.  I seem to remember the phrase,"Penny Doll, Penny Doll come out and play".  Another story in this book was about an old woman and her pig that would not jump over the sty so she could get home.  I was read this story as a child about 45 years ago.  Whenever I ask someone in my age group about this story, they have never heard of it.  I have searched off and on for years with no success.  Your help would be greatly appreciated.

Elsa Jane Werner (editor), Tibor Gergely (illus), The Golden Book of Nursery Tales, 1948, copyright.  A little girl with only a penny to spend goes to the toy shop, where she sees a beautiful dolls house. As she can't afford the whole dolls house, she decides to buy the penny doll she sees in the window - but the naughty doll refuses to leave the house. The old lady who keeps the shop orders the dolls house to open its doors so the doll will come out, but it refuses. The mother doll then refuses to open the door, and the daddy doll refuses to ask the mother doll to open the door to make the penny doll come out. Finally, the old woman declares that if none of them will be kind or helpful, she does not want them in her shop, so she asks the broom to sweep them all out - and it swept them right out the door, up the street, into the little girl's house, and right up to the nursery, where they all lived happily ever after. The story of The Old Woman and Her Pig is also here. While cleaning her house, a woman finds a silver coin with which she buys a pig, but on the way home from the market, the pig will not go over the stile. She must then go through a series of uncooperative people, objects, and creatures. She finally gets hay from some haymakers, which she trades to a cow for milk for a cat, who begins to eat the mouse, who gnaws the rope, which begins to hang the butcher, who begins to kill the ox, which begins to drink the water, which begins to quench the fire, which begins to burn the stick, with begins to beat the dog, which begins to bite the pig, which finally jumps over the stile. The entire chain of events from cat through jumping pig can be seen in one full-page color picture at the end of the story. Other stories in the book include both traditional favorites (such as The Three Bears, Three Little Pigs, Three Billy Goats Gruff, Chicken Little, Little Red Riding Hood, The Gingerbread Boy, The Tortoise and the Hare, The Ugly Duckling, and The Bremen Town Musicians) and harder-to-find stories (like The Boasting Bamboo, Bobo and the Roast Pig, Silly Will, The Little Boy Who Tried to Obey, The Huckabuck Family, The Cap That Mother Made, Pelle's New Suit, The Little Scarecrow Boy, and The Hollow Tree Store).
I can't thank you enough for solving my stumper (P422) about the Penny Doll!!!   As I read through the posted summary of the story, I felt as though I were that little girl again sitting in my grandmother's lap while she read to me.   After all those years of searching, it all came down to  a simple click of the mouse.  Thank you for offering such a wonderful service!  I feel as though I have come to the end of a VERY long journey.

I stink at anthologies.  But I know the goblin line is from James Whitcomb Rilley's Orphant Annie.  Do you remember the illustrations?
Jane Werner (ed.), The Golden Book of Poetry, c1947, 1949, reprint 1971. Subtitled "85 Childhood Favorites," this book contains all the poems mentioned, including "Little Orphant Annie." Charmingly illustrated by Gertrude Elliot. I had a copy as a child in the 50s.

Jane Werner Watson, Golden Book of the Mysterious, 1976, copyright.  Wow, I hadn'\''t thought about this one in years!  Now I want to buy myself another copy too - it was a childhood favorite. I'm pretty sure this is the one you're looking for, and I do think there was a sea monster on the cover.  The book is divided into 5 sections: Creatures of Mystery (Bigfoot, Loch Ness Monster, etc.), Mysterious Powers of Mind and Spirit (ghosts, psychic phenomena), Mysteries Science Can't Explain (UFOs, spontaneous combustion), Witchcraft, Sorcery and the Occult, and Mysterious Disappearances (Roanoke, Bermuda Triangle, etc.).
Yes that is it! I knew it was a Golden book, but I couldn't find it anywhere! Thanks a million!

Jane Werner (editor), The Golden Books Treasury of Elves and Fairies, 1951,1999.  This is definitely Elves and Fairies, edited by Jane Werner, and beautifully illustrated by Garth Williams.  The style of his illustrations does indeed look European.  The poem mentioned, "When a Ring's Around the Moon" by Mary Jane Carr, is the very first selection in the book. The story about the fisherman and the mermaid is "The Lost Merbaby" by Margaret and Mary Baker.  The book was originally printed in 1951, and was reprinted in 1999.  Unfortunately, even the 1999 copies seem to be both hard to find and expensive.  Good luck!
See more on the Most Requested page. 

Ritchie, Rita, The Golden Hawks of Genghis Khan, illustrated by Lorence Bjorklund. NY Dutton 1958.  The first one could be this, here's a plot description: "Jalair has been told from infancy that Mongols slew his father Darien, the greatest hawker in the Empire, and stole the Golden Hawks-a spectacular breed of hunting bird Darien had perfected. Since then, the Mongols have searched relentlessly for the son of the slain hawker." Can't ID any of the others yet, but The Year of the Horse, same author & illus, Dutton 1957, is "about the nomads of Mongolia".
We are thrilled and amazed. Yes, we're pretty sure this is the book! We are horrified at the going price for this book on ebay and the online book resellers but now we're on a mission to find it at a reasonable price!! Armed with the actual AUTHOR's name and the TITLE we're sure to succeed! This is just so GREAT. We gave you an obscure shot in the dark, and you came back with what we consider a small miracle. In barely two weeks !! LOL Thanks so much. Well worth the $2 !!!
F69 falconry genghis khan: Golden Hawks of Genghis Khan, by Rita Ritchie, NY Dutton 1958. More on the other titles wanted - some possibles: The Year of the Horse, by Ritchie, NY Dutton 1957, "Story of a Mongol boy in the year 1211 - The Year of the Horse. Botokai's father had been an honoured officer in the army of Genghis Khan, until his conviction as a traitor. Although his father had died in disgrace, the young boy was
determined to prove his father's innocence and restore his family honour." "Botokai's restoring of a weak colt provides him with a swift, half-Mongol half-Persian horse to help in his search for clues to right that wrong." Secret Beyond the Mountains, by Ritchie, NY Dutton 1960, 240 pages, "story of the days of Genghis Khan ... description of the great Mongol hunt. Because Taikal had violated the law by slaying a mysterious  black-and-white monster to save the life of his superior officer, he lost his command. Taikal and his friend Yarkut journeyed to Lhasa, and in discovering the secret of the beast they also uncovered a plot to overthrow the empire of Genghis Khan." 

Jennie Lindquist , The Golden Name Day.This is a really long shot, but the cover does have the main character Nancy standing in her frilly dress with fireflies around her. Nancy has come to live with her Swedish grandparents because her mother is ill. She learns about many Swedish customs, including name days. Since her name isn't Swedish, she doesn't have a name day and feels left out. She meets a Polish girl and learns Polish-Americans celebrate name-days and that there is a day for her middle name--Wanda. There is also a quite a bit on how she and her cousins decorate their rooms. Nancy chooses yellow rose wallpaper--some editions of this book have a pattern of yellow roses on the endpapers.
Jennie Dorothea Lindquist, The Golden Name Day, 1955.
Wow, now I remember the Name Day stuff that everyone is talking about, but I wouldn't have made the connection with this book!  This is so great!  I didn't think this one would be solved so quickly.  I looove this web site!

Just a guess - it's the only title I could find with 'goldenhair'.  The golden phoenix, and other French-Canadian fairy tales, Marius Barbeau,  Michael Hornyansky   Art Price / 1958 / Fiction : Juvenile audience 144 p. illus./New York, H.Z. Walck "Eight European fairy tales brought from France that have become part of French-Canadian folklore." Contents: The golden phoenix -- The princess of Tomboso -- The fairy quite contrary -- Scurvyhead -- Sir Goldenhair -- The fountain of youth -- Jacques the woodcutter -- The sly thief of Valenciennes -- About the stories.
Roland Gant, French Fairy Tales.  Other possibilities include the "French Fairy Tales" anthologies of Kara May, and of Jan Vladislav  or possibly a translation of Charles Perrault.
Marius Barbeau,  Michael Hornyansky, The golden phoenix and other French-Canadian fairy tales, 1958.  I feel sure that this is the book.  I am still a little confused by the multiple entries in the table of contents -- "Scurvyhead" and "Sir Goldenhair" -- because I think these are two parts of the same story.  The boy called himself "Scurvyhead" to explain why he wore a mop, and only later became known as "Sir Goldenhair".  I think I need to get a copy of this book!  Many thanks to the Internet friend who found it, and to Harriet for having this great web site!
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The book was a collection of short stories, probably published between 1970 and 1988. The title was something like �The enchanted phoenix and other stories�. Several of the stories had the same theme of a young man seeking his fortune�in one story, the boy/young man was forced to be a servant to a witch of some sort in a castle�there was one room he was forbidden to enter that had a stream or fountain that would turn anything dipped in it into gold. He dips some items in it and tries to hid it, but his hair is also wet, so the witch finds out and chases him out of the castle�some point earlier he had been given some items and instructions from a horse that could talk�he throws a comb over his shoulder and says the magic words, and a giant hill of combs springs up, impeding the progress of the witch. He does this with other items. Eventually they escape and end up at some other castle with a mean sultan and several daughters. The boy hides his gold hair and eventually tries to marry one of the princesses�the horse turns out to be a cursed knight, who he frees�there are the usual contests, and everything works out.  Another story involves a phoenix captured in a gold cage, and another boy seeking his fortune. He wants to marry a princess, but the ruling sultan of the land wants to play hide and seek�if the boy can find him three times, he will win the hand of the daughter and the phoenix. He manages, mostly by luck, to spot the shape changing sultan and makes off with the princess. The sultan finds out that the princess was dropping hints for the boy and gets upset�he rallies his armies and chases the boy and his new bride out of his lands.

You know, never mind! As I was writing this down and remembering the story, I just googled �goldenhair� and phoenix. What do you know, the first result was the book. �The Golden Phoenix� Oxford University Press, 1958, Scholastic 1973.
 So, I can verify that the story described does belong in the book listed in the answer in green (The golden phoenix, and other French-Canadian fairy tales, Marius Barbeau,  Michael Hornyansky   Art Price / 1958 / Fiction : Juvenile audience 144 p. illus./New York, H.Z. Walck "Eight European fairy tales brought from France that have become part of French-Canadian folklore." Contents: The golden phoenix -- The princess of Tomboso -- The fairy quite contrary -- Scurvyhead -- Sir Goldenhair -- The fountain of youth -- Jacques the woodcutter -- The sly thief of Valenciennes -- About the stories.).  Thank you so much for your service, and thank you for helping me find the book I had been searching for. 

The book is probably The Golden Pinecone, by Catherine Clarke. I think it was published by Clarke Irwin, but if you need the details let me know as I have a copy at home.
The Golden Pine Cone, by Catharine Anthony Clark, illustrated by Clare Bice, published Toronto, Macmillan 1950, 182 pages. Bren and Lucy live with their parents in a log cabin in the woods. After Lucy finds a gold pine cone on its broken chain, and the wise dog Ooshka comes to live with them, they learn that they have entered Tekontha's kingdom, and can see the Spirit People and understand the speech of animals. Nasookin the giant hunter is after the pine cone, because it holds some of Tekontha's magic, and the children have to flee. To get the Pine Cone Earring back to Tekontha and to free Ooshka from the Spirit People, the children go underwater and fight the Lake Snake, fly with the Canada geese (who carry them in a net), are captured by Nasookin and escape, meet old Bill Buffer who made the gold pine cones, ride with the reindeer, and escape from the Ice Witch on mammoth-back.

This sounds like Rutherford Montgomery's Golden Stallion series

See what I have for sale on the Horse Catalog Page.

Walter Brooks, Freddie the Pig. Isn't this Fredddie the Pig?
Scarry, Patricia, The Golden Story Book of River Bend, 1969.  Just sold this book on Ebay!  It's defiently right.  There is a Kenny Pig, and he does run a general store, and he and the other residents of River Bend have all sorts of adventures, including Trick-or-Treating.  Is rare and commands a hefty price, however.
Patricia Scarry, Animal Friends All Year Long.The Golden Story Book of River Bend was republished with the title Animal Friends All Year Long.  Copies under that title are much, much more affordable

Harbhajan Singh Khalsa, Yogiji and Pawha Kaur Khalsa, The Golden Temple Vegetarian Cookbook, 1978. Hawthorn Books, 224 pgs., 21 cm, ISBN 0801530679.

Louis and Bryna Untermeyer (eds), Golden Treasury of Childrens Literature, 1966.  I think this *might* be the one.
It seems The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature ed- Bryna and Louis Untermeyer is a very good match. The end papers are as you describe. Barrie's The Little White Bird is here- which is quite unusual- among my anthologies, at least! Copyright dates start in 1947 and there are many editions. My 1966 version matches your cover- cream/ pale yellow! Please check it out!!
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This was a children's story collection that contained this story by JBS Haldane "A Day in the Life of a Magician" from the children's book My Friend Mr Leakey. (Background)  Now I think the collection might have been a Louis Untermeyer collection (Children's Treasury) with an extract from the first chapter of "The Hobbit" but maybe I'm combining two books in my head. The book with the Haldane story was a large (quarto) format hardback, maybe with a silvery cover.

JBS Haldane, Mr Leakey, 1944.  I don't know if the searcher is looking for the anthology or the story, but if it's the latter this might help.  I recently bought a 1944 Puffin copy of My Friend Mr.Leakey by JBS Haldane
which contains 6 stories including the one mentioned:  Rats;  The snake with the golden teeth;  A meal with a magician; A day in the life of a magician;  Mr Leakey's party; and My magic collar stud.  The book was first published in 1937 and then was published in 1944 as one of the earliest 'Puffin' books.
Untermeyer, Bryna & Louis, Golden treasury of Children's Literature: Volume 6: Unfamiliar Marvels. 1962, copyright. I posted the stumper originally. I found a copy of the anthology with the Leakey extract. It didn't have any Tolkein, so I guess I was thinking of another book for that. The book store also had 2 copies of the Puffin edition of the entire Leakey book, although I already had a much earlier edition.
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When I was a young child, in the mid 70's my parents bought me an anthology of children's stories at the Mother Earth News store, wherever that was- I'm sure the book was not sold there exclusively. The book was large, hardcover, and contained some memorable stories including Switch On The Night by Ray Bradbury, Poo- Poo and the Dragons by C.S Forester, Snow White and Rose Red, and Aesops Fables- these are the ones I remember best, though I know there were a lot more. I remember the illustrations were gorgeous. I cannot remember the name of the book, and I am desperate to have a copy if there is one to be had!

Bryna and Louis Untermeyer, The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature.  My copy is from 1966 and contains exerpts from Poo-poo and the Dragons, Snow-White and Rose-Red, Switch on the Night, and many Aesop's fables as well as dozens of other stories (it's over 500 pages long!)  I think this could be the one.
can't help identify the book, but the Mother Earth News is a magazine (sort of a how-to for hippies, or at least it was when last I looked at it).  The 'store' was a mail order section in the back.  It might be possible to look through their archives to see if you can find ads for the book, or get in contact with the magazine and see if they can help you.
Thank You all for your help!! I am so happy to have found this book again, and just in time for my son's 2nd birthday! Thisis an amzing resource, thank you Harriett!
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Children's stories compiled into multiple volumes - ten or so. Published 1940-60s? Earlier? Each volume was themed: "Fairy Tales" or "Animal Kingdom." Some excerpts/stories I remember: Princess and the Goblin, Moomintroll, Jungle Book, some Kipling stories... Maybe called a treasury? Maybe not.

SOLVED: Bryna and Louis Untermeyer (Ed), The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature - Ten Volumes, 1962-1963, approximate. Yay! The ten volumes are: Big & Little Creatures, Beloved Tales, Fun & Fancy, Old Friends & Lasting Favorites, Wonder Lands, Unfamiliar Marvels, Creatures Wild & Tame, Adventurers All, Legendary Animals and Tall Tales. 

Morris Schreiber, Stories of Gods and Heroes, 1960.  This is a large format book (13 inches high).  There are somewhat modern illustrations (by Art Seiden) on every page. The first two thirds of the book are versions of Greek legends, and the last third has some legends of other countries, including "Beowulf and the Dragon" and "The Horn of Roland"
Ann Terry White, The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends, 1959. Wow! I actually found this while skimming through the Anthology section. I immediately recognized the distinctive art of the Provensens on the book cover. I am just delighted to be reacquainted with a childhood favorite. Thank you so much! This website is quite a boon to baby boomers like me...
Morris Schreiber, Stories of Gods and Heroes, 1960.  It is 13 inches high and each page has illustrations by Art Seiden.  About two thirds of it is about Greek myths and the last third contains stories from other cultures, including Beowulf and the Dragon, and The Horn of Roland
M354 White, Anne Terry, adapter The Golden Treasury of myths and  legends adapted from the world�s great classics    illus by Alice  Provensen; Martin Provensen    Golden Press c1959, edition printed and  distributed by Scott, Foresman 

This may be Joanna Cole, Golly Gump Swallowed a Fly. Parent's Magazine Press, '82.
Could this be Shel Silverstein, Uncle Shelby's Zoo:  Don't Bump the Glump and other Fantasies?  It has drawings and poems of creatures like the "Glub-Toothed Sline" and the "One-Legged Zantz" ("consider his feelings, don't ask him to dance").  1964.  Out of print.
Real long shot here - Romper the Rabbit 1948, illustrated picture book by Ann Falconer. "This picture book has both the story and the music. Romper is a little bunny who lives with his family in a hollow tree. He hops through the pages with his sisters and brother. But while the other family members all go hoppity-hop, Romper goes ga-lump, ga-lump! During Romper's busy day he meets Fannie Field Mouse, Dickie Duck, Pookey Pig, and Uncle Puff and tries to find someone else who goes ga-lump, ga-lump!" 

This is Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. There's a sequel called Return to Gone Away. The children don't travel back in time--they go to stay with relatives in the country and while exploring discover a community of old, deserted summer homes. An elderly brother and sister live in two of the old homes and wear the old clothes they've found there. The children become friends with the old people, who tell them stories of their childhood, when they would spend their summers in the now-deserted summer community.
I just have to tell you that I stumbled on your website completely by accident. I had been thinking about a book I read as a child. All I could remember was that it was about a girl on summer vacation and she came across a lake with old houses, and elderly people lived there still. I believe they had been forgotten. So I decided to go on my search engine and punch in the words 'childrens book girl summer lake elderly'. Much to my surprise up came your website. Someone else had been looking for Gone Away Lake too! I was thrilled to find the name! I just wanted to tell you that you made someone's day without even knowing it! Thank you very much.
this book is readily available. It is one of the choices on the Accelerated Reading Program on the middle school level and can be found in any school library or any bookstore which stocks books for required reading in schools.
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children's mystery which I read around 1959. I think it was a new book and possibley an award winner. It concerns two children who meet two elderly people in a victorian house deep in a forest. The plot somehow involves the search for ginseng roots also referred to as "sang" in the book.

Elizabeth  Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  Almost certainly this book. Cousins Portia and Julian discover an elderly brother and sister living in old abandoned houses on the shore of a dried-up lake. I don't remember ginseng but "Aunt Minnehaha" had a garden in the swamp.  They both dressed in old Victorian era clothing and "Uncle Pin" drove an ancient automobile. In the sequel, Return to Gone-Away (1961), Portia's family buys a house at Gone-Away Lake and moves there.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone Away Lake. 1957.  This was, indeed, a Newbery Award winner.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone Away Lake.  Brother and sister on vacation in country find elderly brother and sister living in a set of abandoned summer homes by the edge of what was a lake at the turn of the century and is now a marsh. The elderly gentleman collects and sells botanicals including ginseng.
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The Lost Lake????? 1960/61  When I was in the sixth grade, living in Philadelphia, I checked  a book out of the school library (it was a brand new book).  It was about two children (brother & sister?) who spend the summer with relatives ( Grandparents?) at a lakeside home.  Only the lake has disappeared, it has dried up or is drying up.  All of these beautiful old victorian mansions lining a disappearing lake and the children try to solve the mystery of where the water has gone.

Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  Newbery Honor Book.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-away Lake.  Same as C194
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake
Gone-Away Lake.  This one sure shows up a lot!
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I remember a book about childhood friends in the summer who have adventurers on an island, lagoon or cove. There was a girl and possibly a couple other children. They possibly traveled back and forth from their home to the lagoon.   I read it in the 1950's.

Ransome, Arthur, Swallows and Amazons. Could this possibly be Swallows and Amazons? In these books a family of children (the Swallows) camp on a "desert island" (somewhere in the English Lakes District, but this is no tourist guide) and have wonderful adventures with their friends, two sisters who call themselves the Amazons. These books were originally published in the '30's but have been reissued in paperback. Great adventures!
Enid Blyton, Island of Adventures. could be, maybe?
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-away Lake, 1957.  This one is on the Solved Mysteries page. I'm reasonably sure the poster is thinking of this book or its sequel--Return to Gone-Away.
K50 There are probably other book that fit this description. How about THE SECRET ISLAND by Enid Blyton? ~from a librarian
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This was a book I read in the late 70s about 2 kids, a brother and a sister, that move to an area and while exploring the nearby forest, happen upon a street of houses that are empty.  The houses are old and still most of their furnishings in them.  While exploring the neighborhood, they come across one old couple who live there.  The couple tell them about all the people who used to live in the old houses, one of which was a lady killed in the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.  They play dress up in her attic and have picnics as well.  I seem to remember them fixing up some of the houses and having to stay away from some due to dangerous conditions.  I vaguely remember their parents find out and the houses are all brought back to their original splendor and people move back in.  I loved this story as a kid and hope you can help me find it to read to my kids!

Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, c.1957.  This book sounds like it must be Gone-Away Lake. Gone-Away Lake is a delightful, beautifully written story, just this side of fantasy and filled with interesting, likable characters. A brother and sister from the city take the train to visit their country cousin. The children discover an old, mostly abandoned summer colony of houses near a swamp that used to be a lake. There they meet the most charming people in the book, an elderly sister and brother, Minnehaha Cheever and Pindar Payton, who are living happily in the place where they spent summers as children. The pair wear old-fashioned clothes stored away many years ago by their family, cultivate a variety of gardens, and have chickens, goats, a duck, and a cat named Fatly. Once a month, Pindar cranks up the antique Franklin car and drives into town for supplies. The children are adventuresome and imaginative, and have no need of TV to keep themselves amused."
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone-Away Lake.  This has got to be it!
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-away Lake.  Again!
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone Away Lake.  Most of this query matches the plot of Gone Away Lake and its sequel, Return to Gone-Away.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone Away Lake.  See Solved Mysteries.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone Away Lake, 1957.  This is the wonderful Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. There is also an equally superb sequel, called Return to Gone Away Lake, both still in print.
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone-Away Lake.  Portia and Foster discover a derelict community that dried up when the lake dried up, leaving only one elderly couple still living there.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake. My 13yo suggests this, although a few of the details you describe are slightly different.  Portia and her little brother Foster go for a holiday to stay with cousin Julian.  Portia and Julian go exploring and find a lake surrounded with ancient houses, and there is an old couple staying in one of them.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957. Gone-Away Lake and Return to Gone-Away (1961) are about the adventures of children who discover an elderly and eccentric couple, the Cheevers, living in a row of abandoned summer houses on a lake that had been reduced to marsh.
Elizabeth Enright (author ), Beth and Joe Krush (illustrators), Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  Sounds like this one!  Portia Blake and her cousin Julian Jarman discover an abandoned summer community next to dried up Tarrigo Lake.  The elderly inhabitants are Minnehaha Cheever and her brother Pindar Payton.  Mrs. Brace-Gideon, who owned the large and stately Villa Caprice, perished in the San Francisco earthquake.  Followed by a sequel, Return to Gone-Away (1961).
Elizabeth Enright, Goneaway Lake, Return to Goneaway Lake.  These are the books in question.  They are still in print and widely available.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  Cousins Portia and Julian discover a row of old abandoned houses on the edge of a swamp that used to be a lake. An elderly brother and sister still live in two of the houses, wear the old-fashioned clothes that were left in the houses, and drive a vintage car from one of the houses. They tell the kids stories about when they were children and the houses were part of a lively summer community.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake. A great classic.  The most imposing house is owned by the woman who was killed in the San Francisco earthquake.  There is also a sequel, Return to Gone-Away.
Enright, Elizabeth, Gone-Away Lake. Surely this is "Gone-Away Lake", Portia and her brother are staying with their uncle and aunt, Portia and Julian explore the area and discover Minnehaha Cheever and her brother Pindar living in a deserted group of houses by a bog, where a lake had been. A great book.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake. Sounds like this is probably Gone-Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright. There's also a sequel, Return to Gone-Away. Both these books are fabulous and still in print.
Enright Elizabeth, Gone away lake. THis has to be it.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake. I'm sure this has been answered by others already, but anyway, it's Gone-Away Lake.  The sequel, Return To Gone-Away, is also very enjoyable.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  I'm pretty sure this is the one you're looking for, along with its sequel, Return to Gone-Away.  I wasn't sure about the earthquake detail, but I read through my copy, and sure enough.
Elizabeth Enright, Gone-Away Lake, 1957.  This sounds like Gone Away Lake and its sequel Return to Gone Away Lake by Elizabeth Enright.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Enright, Elizabeth. Gone-Away Lake.  Scholastic, Inc., 1957, 1985.  Trade paperback, new cover art, but original black & white drawings by Beth and Joe Kruch inside.  F.  $8

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

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

Interpreting Condition  Grades

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

(GREAT SERVICE!! One of my favorite bookmarks!)  I believe the story you are talking about is in an early 60's Childcraft volume of folk tales. The name of the story in this collection is Gone is Gone. The husband puts the cow on the roof to eat and tries to make soup. He ends up with a disastrous mess.   I John 2:4 Look it up : )
Hi, I was searching for information on another book on the Children's Picture Book Database at Miami University website, and came across this book title and description. I think it might be what you're looking for. The title is Gone is Gone; or, The story of a man who wanted to do housework.  The description reads: "A man wishes to trade a day's work with his wife who does 'nothing' all day. He soon learns he was wrong." Retold and illustrated by Wanda G�g New York, Coward-McCann, inc. [c1935]
Oh, Wanda Gag (of Millions of Cats fame)!  Of course!
What a wonderful site! I am looking for a story about a husband and wife who swap places for the day. The husband stays at home and has to do all the household chores etc.. I don't remember the title, but it was in a collection of stories. I used to make my father read it to me every night before bed. One thing I remember most is that the husband ties the cow to the roof of the house to graze. Any thoughts??
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Olaf was a Norwegian farmer who was tired of working in the fields. He thought his wife had a much easier time staying at home cooking, cleaning and looking after the children. He complained so much that one day his wife said "Alright Olaf, I'll go out into the field. You stay home and look after the chidlren." Olaf readily agreed. However, by the end of the first day full of disasters, including the cow on the roof, Olaf was totally exhausted and wanted nothing but to return to the fields the next day.

Sounds like Wanda Gag's (of Millions of Cats fame) classic Gone is Gone, first published in 1935.

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Looking for a small 5x5 hardcover children's book possibly from the '40s, possibly entitled, What's Done is Done. A boy would do different tasks for a farmer or woodsman, but would do it wrong or wreck everthing and the man would simply reply, What's done is done. Woodblock type illustrations.


SOLVED: Wanda Gag, Gone is Gone, 1935. YAY! I solved my own mystery after doing some more online research! My memory was a bit off: The book is actually entitled "Gone is Gone" by Wanda Gag, copyright 1935! But, as I remembered, it is a small hardcover book with black and white pen and ink illustrations. It's a Bohemian folk tale about a farmer husband who trades places with his wife because he thinks her job keeping house is easier. He proceeds to make a mess and have one disaster after another while his wife works his job in the field without a problem. Reading a cherished book after so many years is just wonderful, so keep searching for yours!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Gag, Wanda.  Gone is Gone, or, The Story of a Man Who Wanted to Do Housework. Coward McCann, 1935.  Library bound and worn.  Scarce.  G.  <SOLD>

#P83--Peanut family:  is this the same as #G27, Goober family?  God, I hope so!  There are enough weird books out there now, without TWO peanut family books running loose!
G27 goober family and P83 peanut family -- This is the closest I've seen so far - The Lively Adventures of Johnny Ping Wing, by Ethel Calvert Phillips, published Houghton 192?. "A little peanut Chinaman presented in an unusually attractive book." It can't be right, though.
G27 goober family and P83 peanut family: could this have been a story in an anthology? There's Bedtime Stories about Cabbages and Peanuts, by Harriet Boyd, illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat, published Akron, Saalfield 1929, includes a story about Sally and Sammy Peanut - no plot description, but this is the closest so far.
G27 goober family: I saw some pages from the Bedtime Stories book on EBay, and one showed the little peanut boy and girl working in the garden, with a caption about them working hard, so it's a possible. The illustrations were line drawings with a lot of yellow, and the peanut kids were wearing regular clothes, a plaid shirt and jeans? for the boy.
Gelett Burgess, The Goops, 1900.  This is the story of the goops who lick their fingers and do all sorts of rude things, they look sort of like peanuts in my book, The Better Homes & Gardens Storybook.
Well, The Goops are certainly moralistic, but rather than a story of a family, they are little rhyming poems about reckless boys and girls.
madge a. bigham, Goober Village.  I loved this book as a child. I am also looking for this book, with no luck. But I have acquired other books by the same author.
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I am looking for a book(s) about some peanut children, probably published before 1960.  Not sure if the name of the family was Peanut or if the kids were actually peanuts.  There are prisms and rainbows involved somehow.  Any help would be appreciated.

#P83--Peanut family:  is this the same as #G27, Goober family?  God, I hope so!  There are enough weird books out there now, without TWO peanut family books running loose!
Jean Bethel, Petey the Peanut Man, 1966.  This book was listed in a lot of children's books being offered on
E-Bay so the poster might want to check it out.
I'm pretty sure that Petey The Peanut Man is actually about a man who sells peanuts at a circus or carnival, not an actual "peanut-man." I know I have a copy of this somewhere, I think it's a Weekly Reader or other book club book.
G27 goober family and P83 peanut family -- This is the closest I've seen so far - The Lively Adventures of Johnny Ping Wing, by Ethel Calvert Phillips, published Houghton 192?. "A little peanut Chinaman presented in an unusually attractive book." It can't be right, though.
G27 goober family and P83 peanut family: could this have been a story in an anthology? There's Bedtime Stories about Cabbages and Peanuts, by Harriet Boyd, illustrated by Fern Bisel Peat, published Akron, Saalfield 1929, includes a story about Sally and Sammy Peanut - no plot description, but this is the closest so far.
The story mentioned in P83 Peanut family is, indeed, one of the stories from the didactic collection of tales about peanut families in the book, GOOBER VILLAGE (see Goober Family solution).  This book was given to my father when he was a boy in the 1940s.  My siblings and I read and reread the book in the 50's and 60's, and I read it to my children in the 90's, but unfortunately, it has been lost in a recent move.  We, too, are trying to find a replacement copy... more for nostalgia's sake than for great literature.

W15:  The Good American Witch by Peggy Bacon.
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I read this a long, long time ago. A boy (older maybe teenaged) who lives on a farm and doesn't have anyone to play with. He hears stories about a mysterious woman who can appear as anyone and grant a wish. You know it's the woman because you'll see odd and unusual things and she'll offer you something strange but delicious to eat. Boy goes to a neighbor's house and sees a collection of bird's eggs under glass including an Ostrich egg I think. Has something strange but good to eat, then realizes this is the woman. He asks her for a companion because he's so lonely. She grants his wish but with a twist: he goes home and finds that his dog can now speak to him in fluent French--a subject he's not very good at in school. So he really starts to hit the books so he can converse with his dog. A really good and funny book. Would love to find it again. Have no clue as to title or author.

Note: This may have been in a collection of short stories. I don't think it was long enough to be a whole book.
The Good American Witch.  I may have read this story in a book called Witches, Witches, Witches or else some other anthology.
Peggy Bacon, The Good American Witch, 1957.  It's definitely The Good American Witch. The Good American Witch can do anything. Her name is Mrs. Manage, a very pleasant person indeed, but hard to find. Which direction should you start? Just ask her for one wish, like Rufus wished his French poodle could talk, ( he did, too...French) and Susan wanted her black hair changed to gold and she got her wish, too.
Just wanted to confirm the other poster's answer. I checked my copy of WITCHES, WITCHES, WITCHES (selected by Helen Hoke, illustrated by W.R. Lohse, 1958) and the selection "About the Good American Witch" by Peggy Bacon (which the acknowledgments state is an excerpt from THE GOOD AMERICAN WITCH, 1957) does match the description of the dog speaking French.~from a librarian

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bacon, Peggy.  The Good American Witch.  Franklin Watts, 1957.  First edition.  Corners bumped, otherwise VG.  <SOLD>

Cicely Mary Barker, Flower Fairy Books. I bet you're thinking of the Flower Fairies, by Cecil Mary Barker. The books I had separated them by season--Spring Fairies, Summer Fairies, Winter Fairies and Autumn Fairies--but I think there were other books published.
Very likely it's The Good and Bad Berries (1936) by Austria's Ida Bohatta Morpurgo. Translated by June Head. The cover shows the bilberry and the similar but inedible trillium. (Unfortunately, while there are two drawings of both of those inside the book, the B&W drawing has them mislabeled!) BTW, when searching for the author's other books, it's often best to search under just "Bohatta." Other great ones she wrote and illustrated were The Gnome's Almanack and The Flower Book. Many of her other books have somewhat dull writing, however.

Carol Beach York, Good Charlotte, 1994. I am sure this is the book you are looking for. It's a great book.

This is probably the reading series known as The Good-Companion Books, by Arthur I. Gates, Franklin T. Baker and Celeste Peardon; illustrated by Florence McAnelly.  New York: Macmillan, 1930's.  There were at least four volumes: Nick and Dick, Fun with Nick and Dick, The story book of Nick and Dick, and The Caravan of Nick and Dick.  Probably just as hard to find as Dick and Jane! 

no plot, but maybe this one? Though '63 seems late for blocks of ice: Rutherford, Bonnie and Bill. A Good, Good Morning (A Tip Top Tales Book) Racine: Whitman 1963, illustrated boards, gorgeous color illustrations,  This title is closer, but it's a boy character: Polgreen, John and Cathleen. Good Morning Mr Sun (A Little Owl Book) NY Holt, Rinehart and Winston 1963, illustrated boards, "story about sun, shadows and a little boy"
#G11--Good Morning, Sun:  I thought of A Good, Good Morning too.  It does indeed feature a little blond girl, but looking through my copy I see it takes place in summer--so no school books and certainly no ice trucks!
Thanks.  This book IS called A Good, Good Morning.  I have been looking for it for years.  Thank you for your contributions!

This book may have been "Grimms Fairy Tales." Check it out, and compare the stories in it to the ones you remember. I know "Puss and Boots" and "The Frog Prince" are in the copy I have from the 1960's, although my copy is a green hardback, not a gray one. Good luck!
A16 is NOT Child's World gray series.
Well, if I knew when the seeker was young (70s? 80s?) it would help. However, it has to be an anthology not limited to Grimm or Andersen, so possible are: Opie, Iona and Peter A NURSERY COMPANION Oxford University Press, 1980. Gray Cloth, Folio 400 color illustrations, a collection of the old fairy tales and children's stories  beautifully illustrated. THE ARTHUR RACKHAM FAIRY BOOK A Book Of Old Favourites With New Illustrations  Philadelphia, Lippincott c.1950 8vo 286 pp. Gray cloth, maroon stamping, 8 full-color plates and over 50 black & white illustrations by Arthur Rackham.
The Good Housekeeping Best Book of Bedtime Stories, edited by Pauline Rush Evans (1957) has a gray  cover.  It is a thick volume with 384 pages. It is not lavishly illustrated, rather there is one black and white picture per story. The tales you  mentioned are here as well as a smattering of many other stories: Androcles and the Lion, The Brownie  of Blednock, Winnie the Pooh, The Lost Merbaby, Sudden Mary: many stories are excerpted from larger stories. There are some poems as well.
Sounds like it could be the same book as A15. Dean's Gift Book of Fairy Tales.

A Good Knight for Dragons
I'm looking for a children's book from the late 60's.  Something about a dragon and a prince and the dragon didn't really want to burn people and/or the prince didn't really feel compelled to rescue damsels?  I remember there were few colors used in the illustrations:  pink, chartuese, and black?

Kenneth Grahame, E.H. Shepard (illus), The Reluctant Dragon, 1938, copyright.  A shepherd discovers a dragon living in a cave. His son knows from his reading of natural history and fairy tales that some dragons are reasonable and nonthreatening. He approaches the creature, who proves to be a gentle, noncombative sort. The villagers, however, see him as a menace, and St. George is sent for. The boy goes to visit St. George (who turns out to be not quite the fearless dragon slayer he is reputed to be) and is able to convince him that this is a good dragon. The three of them devise a plan that will give everyone a fine show, by faking a fight in which George "defeats" and "tames" the dragon, allowing the dragon to stay on in the village, writing poetry and singing. The story was first published in 1898, as part of Grahame's short story collection "Dream Days." Shepard, the beloved illustrator of the Winnie The Pooh stories, provided the ink drawings for the 1938 edition, which has since been reprinted many times. The cover of at least one edition is a hot pink, except for a white block featuring one of Shepard's ink drawings of the boy talking to the dragon. While the rest of this illustration is b&w, the dragon has been colored blue-green.
dePaola, Tomie, The Knight and the Dragon.  Could it be "The Knight and the Dragon"?  Most of the book (if not all) is wordless, but it shows a knight preparing to battle a dragon, while a dragon practices defeating a knight. Neither is too happy when the inevitable confrontation comes...until the castle librarian pulls a cart of books in--teaching the knight how to build a barbeque and the dragon how to roast food.  It's a great book!
Grahame, Kenneth, The Reluctant Dragon.  Could this classic be what you are looking for?  I seem to remember a Scholastic paperback edition with the colors mentioned.
SOLVED: Jolly Roger Bradfield, A Good Knight for Dragons. THANK YOU!  I found the answer to my stumper request quite accidentally.  I was looking under "most requested books" and found a picture of the book I was looking for.  While I'm not sure that I remembered the plot correctly when I sent in my stumper, I did remember the colors quite precisely and recognized the cover of the book immediately.  I'm purchasing a copy for sale on Ebay today!  I've been looking for this book for the past 20 years.  Thank you!

You are right in thinking that this is a Little Golden Book.  It was written in 1951 by Esther Wilkin and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.

As a child (1970's)I remember reading a book about a good little girl and a bad little girl.  I think it was a Golden Book, but it may not have been.  At the end of the book the two girls turn out to be the same little girl.  I remember a couple of illustrations where the girl is having a tea party outdoors, and one where she is standing on a fence.  I do not know the actual title or the author.  Any ideas? 

G41 could possibly by , What the Moon Sees What the Sun Sees by Nancy Tafuri.  It was published within the last several years.
this book is a flip flop book i think thats what it is called.  any help in locating this one or even the title would sure be a great help
[related message] Around 1913, Rand McNally published The Goody-Naughty Book by Sarah Cory Rippey, illustrated by Branchel Fisher Wright.  On one side are the goody stories -- featuring Rose-Red, Polly, Teddy & Betty -- on the other side the naughty stories -- with Willie, Molly, Jean & P'rapsy.  It was reprinted several times through 1935.  Originally published in tan, there are also (at least) green and light blue covers.  They also published by the same author The Sunny-Sulky Book.  Rand McNally also published another book called The Goody Naughty Book.   It was a tip-top elf book, published 1956 by Mabel Watts, illustrated by Helen Prickett.  It also has a "Goody Side" and a "Naughty Side".  The "Goody" cover shown in Santi's collectors' guide has a broadly smiling boy and a demonically smirking -- er, smiling little girl in pigtails.
thanks though that is not the book it's an up-side down book about a girl and boy i remember how the girl gets to take a bubbly bath and the boy has a plain bath. one side was all yellow andthe other was blue with stars and the title thanks again.  this book would have come out beofre 1970 since im 30 now thanks
On the Good Morning, Good Night book, there is a Little Golden Book of that title by Jane Werner, illustrated by Eloise Wilkin, 1948.  Not a flipover book, but seems to fit the description in other ways.
This sounds possible: Luther, Frank, Good Morning and Good Night: a Two-in-One Wonder Book Wonder Books 1952, illustrated by Beatrice Derwinski "Read a story then turn upside down for another story. Tells about two children, what they do when they wake up and what they do when they go to bed." color illustratrions.
thanks so much that is the book and i was able to find it and now a have a copy of it again!!!!! thank you for all your help this is a great site and i hope to use it again!!!!!

Betty Ren Wright, Good Morning Farm, c. 1965.  Published by Golden Press.
Betty Ren Wright, Good Morning, Farm, 1964.  Illustrated by Fred Weinman.  Seems a likely candidate, mixing drawings and photos. May be a few different printings: 1964 Whitman giant tell-a-tale book.  1971, 1974 Golden
S220 Wright, Betty Ren. Good morning, farm.  illus by Fred Weinman, Whitman c1964.  collie? sheltie? dog goes around the farm saying "Good morning" to all the animals. photos mixed with colored art.  11 1/2 x 14; glossy boards, Giant Tell-a-Tale.

R27 -  I have the vaguest memory of having read this, too.  I don't remember the name of it, but are you sure it was a separate book?  I almost think it was one of the stories in a larger collection.
R27 ratty and mousie: this seems very likely - Good Neighbors, written and illustrated in color by Diane Redfield Massie, published McGraw Hill Weekly Readers 1972, 32 pages. "An enchanting exploration of neighborliness,  and how two friends, Mouse and Ratty, learn its true meaning and application. Ages 4-8." (HB Oct/72 p.504 pub ad) "Story of a pocket mouse that lives in the desert in a nice cozy little home underground. Then a packrat moves in next door & imposes himself."
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A childs book I read to my children in 1985 - 1990 about a mouse that had a nice neat front door and its nieghbor, Ratty, who had a messy front door. The mouse realizes why when a badger reaches into the mouses house and the rat saves the mouse. The messy front door was so badgers would not see it. I think the title was something like "Good Nieghbors"

Massie, Diane Redfield, Good Neighbors, 1972.  "A hungry badger helps Ratty and Mouse come to terms about what a good neighbor should be."
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I'm looking for a children's book about two mice - one is neat and tidy and the other is a mess.  They are neighbors and the messy one decides they should be friends.  I seem to remember him borrowing stuff without returning it and eating the neat one's food.  Then one day the messy mouse digs a tunnel to the neat mouse's house so that they can visit more often.  The new tunnel gets dirt all over the neat mouse's couch so he throws a fit and sends the messy mouse home (and hurts the messy mouse's feelings I think).  The neat mouse hides the entrance to the tunnel with a painting on his wall.  One night a badger tries to claw its way into the neat mouse's house scaring him badly and the messy mouse crawls through the tunnel and rescues him.  Together they escape to the messy mouse's house in a cactus patch where the Badger can't follow and the neat mouse decides he really likes the messy mouse.

Thanks so much for your service!  I have been trying to come up with the name of this book for months and have searched Google, Amazon and Yahoo without any luck.  The good news is I solved the mystery over lunch today - sitting down and writing out the details of the story for the first time as I was entering the Paypal form allowed me to remember a lot more of the story than I had previously, and the name of the book occured to me a couple of hours later:  Good Neighbors by Diane Redfield Massie.  That's the best $2 I've spent in a long time.  That doesn't leave you with much challenge, but its great for me.  Thanks again!
Diane Redfield Massie, Good Neighbors, 1972.  Mouse is the neat and tidy one  his neighbor is Ratty, a packrat.  This book was a Weekly Reader Children's Book Club selection.
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Hardcover, large-format, illustrated children's book from the 1970s or early 1980s about two animal friends (a pack rat and a mouse or vole?) who eat cactus fruit and build their homes. They run from a badger (?) at the end, and I believe the pack rat's home is destroyed.

Diane Redfern Massie, Good Neighbors, 1972, copyright. Wanted to add that this book had beautiful drawn and colored illustrations of the desert setting. There were detailed drawings of the pack rat's "house" interior in a tunnel in the ground.
Byrd Baylor, The Desert is Theirs, 1975, copyright.Talk to the Papago Indians. They're Desert People. They know desert secrets no one else knows"--how the spider people "sewed earth and sky together. . . Buzzard made mountains with his wings. . . and Gopher burrowed a path to lead people out of the underworld and up/ up/ up/into the fierce white sunlight." So--beginning with the Papago myths and going on to praise the Saguaro and Yucca, the Kangaroo Rat and the "doves dipping down for the juicy red fruit that grows high on a cactus"--Baylor's spare lyricism recreates the intimate relationship between Desert People and their land. The message is kinship with the environment and all living things ("Papagos try not to anger their animal brothers. . . They say, "We share. . . we only share"), and Parnall's delicate line drawings, layered like sand paintings with brigh color, reverberate with peace and harmony. Ready and waiting for that special, receptive moment. (Kirkus Reviews, September 1, 1975).
Diane Redfield Massie, Good Neighbors. The animals in question are a pocket mouse and a pack rat.  (Sent this in before, but I don't see it, so I'm re-sending).
Demarest, Christ L., Benedict Finds a Home, 1982, copyright.Thank you SO much for the service!  Do you think you could find a copy for me?

Diane Redfield Massie, Good Neighbors, 1972, copyright. Thanks! Good Neighbors is the book I was looking for. I am so happy to see copies of it on ebay. I LOVE this book!!!

G255 How about Margaret Wise Brown's Goodnight moon? [Maybe not]
Could it be the classic Goodnight Moon? It's still easily found in almost any bookstore. Margaret Wise Brown and Clement Hurd are the authors.
Lynn and Mandy Wells, The Goodnight Book, 1974.  I have the book in front of me.  We read it to our daughter every night for years.  You remember the words very well. It is "A Whitman Book," Western Publishing co, Inc, Racine, Wisconsin. Published as "A Tell-A-Tale Book" 1974.  Illustrated by Pat and Paul Karch. Tell-A-Tale is copyrighted by Walt Disney Productions.

Y29 This is GOOD NIGHT, RICHARD RABBIT by Robert Kraus, illustrated by N.M. Bodecker. The version I have is small, no more than 6 inches tall, and when you flip the book, it has the book GOOD NIGHT, LITTLE ABC (goes through the alphabet with animal parent(s) tucking their children into bed). However, it seems that they were published separately at one point.~from a librarian
Hoban, Russell, Bedtime for Frances.  Frances is a badger, not a rabbit, but the other details fit.
Kraus Robert, Good night, Richard Rabbit, 1972.  This is the one.  Richard Rabbit can find any excuse to avoid going to bed.

Christopher Rawson, The Good Spy Guide, Disguise and Make-Up,1978.  I suspect the series you're thinking of is the "The Good Spy Guide" series, which has books in it called Tracking and Trailing and Secret Messages.  They were published by Usborne, and not all by the same author, from what I can tell.  This particular one I happen to own, and does indeed have cartoon pictures and discuss good disguises.  It was one of my favourites as a child.

Good Times on Our Street
Several stories in '40s  reader, red cover with a child riding on a merry-go-round. Favorite: old lady gets cold in the winter but has one old red blanket. She cuts the holes out of the blanket, uses her goose feathers to make herself a featherbed, & makes her geese red jackets from the old blanket.

The Little Old Woman Who Used Her Head, Sounds like it, I do remember that the old woman first used the  feathers to make a quilt for herself, then worried about her geese getting cold so she used her old red blanket to make them warm jackets. The old woman always sat down to think about how to solve problems, with the line, "She used her head and used her head and used her head," until she had an idea. There were two books based on the little old woman  hope this helps.
The story about the geese is How She Kept Her Geese Warm, or The Little Old Woman and How She Kept Her Geese Warm, by Hope Newell.  The search for the actual reader is listed in the archives, but was never definitely solved.
Gates, Huber, Peardon, Salisbury, Good Times on Our Street, 1950, reprint. SUCCESS! I could not have found this primer if it hadn't been for your Stumper. I am so thrilled and have been able to purchase a copy... I have tried to find this book for ten years, and now my quest is over. Thank you, thank you.

Around 1913, Rand McNally published The Goody-Naughty Book by Sarah Cory Rippey, illustrated by Branchel Fisher Wright.  On one side are the goody stories -- featuring Rose-Red, Polly, Teddy & Betty -- on the other side the naughty stories -- with Willie, Molly, Jean & P'rapsy.  It was reprinted several times through 1935.  Originally published in tan, there are also (at least) green and light blue covers.  They also published by the same author The Sunny-Sulky Book.  Rand McNally also published another book called The Goody Naughty Book.   It was a tip-top elf book, published 1956 by Mabel Watts, illustrated by Helen Prickett.  It also has a "Goody Side" and a "Naughty Side".  The "Goody" cover shown in Santi's collectors' guide has a broadly smiling boy and a demonically smirking -- er, smiling little girl in pigtails.
One possibility is: Millicent At the Shopping Mall. I don't know the author. It is not in a grocery store, but she is shopping with her mother. The first half she begs and misbehaves. The second half she minds her manners. This is a Christian book with a little prayer at the end to (1) ask forgiveness for misbehaving, and then (2) thanks God for helping her behave.
Rand McNally, Goody Naughty Book.  This is the Goody Naughty Book by Rand McNally that you are looking for.  I have a copy in my hands right now - the one with the light greenish blue cover.  One side is "goody" and you flip it over to the 'naughty' side for the other story. The girl you remember in the store is 'Patty Potts' who went shopping with her mother.

I think I remember seeing this in two storybooks - at any rate, you can also read it in Goops and How to Be
Them  (1900, Gelett Burgess). They were Better Homes and Gardens Storybook, Vol 1 (1950s) and The
Illustrated Treasury of Children's Literature (1970s?). The second one, when you removed the dust jacket, had a pale blue cover with tiny reproductions of the drawings of Alice, Humpty Dumpty, Toad and maybe another famous character, all repeated constantly over the cover.
G36: Goops  Try GHASTLIES, GOOPS & PINCUSHIONS; NONSENSE VERSE by X.J. Kennedy
G36 - I'm sure you'll get numerous answers for this one.  Has to be one of the Goops books by Gelett Burgess (e.g.,The Goops and How To Be Them).
This is an old traditional book that is still in print in paperback & audio cassette.  The title is (yes, all of this if you want to include the subtitle): Goops and How to Be Them: A Manual of Manners for Polite Children Inculcating Many Juvenile Virtues Both By Precept and Example. To add to all of that, there was also a sequel that's also in print & with a similarly long title: More Goops and How Not to Be Them: A Manual of Manners for Impolite Infants, Depicting the Characteristics of Many Naughty and Thoughtless Children.  Note that the 1st title says HOW TO BE THEM while the sequel says HOW NOT TO BE THEM.  Both are by Gelett Burgess.
The Goops is a poem about a messy family.... I remember this, as does my fiance, and we're pretty sure that it was an entire book, not just a single poem. It had as its goal demonstrating to youngsters how gross and rude it was to do nasty things like pick one's nose or burp. My fiance's in his late thirties, I'm in my early thirties, so it has to at least be a 1950 or 1960 publication. I seem to remember it as something that might have been read to my father, as I recall reading it at my grandmother's house. Hope this helps. If I can find it, I'll send more info.
The Goops give some good book advice too:  I have a notion / The Books on the shelves / Are just as much persons / As we are, Ourselves. // When you are older, / You'll find this is true; / You'd better be careful / To make Books like you!

This is one of the grimmer Grimm tales called "The Goosegirl."  Not exactly an intuitive title, as everyone who reads the story remembers Falada's head nailed to the wall.  The deliciously nasty beginning involves the princess and her maid traveling to a new household, and during the trip, the princess's maid assumes the princess's identity.  **Want a copy?  We have a number of cool Grimm's collections.  Just e-mail!
Thank you for your help in solving the mystery! I re-read it and it was therapeutic -- for some reason, I was horrified at the thought of passing a dead horse's head (not to mention having it speak to me) when I was little.

There are at least three!  Patty Cake by Elizabeth Moody, 80 pp., published 1974. Gorilla Baby: the Story of Patty Cake by Pearl Wolf, 32 pp., published 1974. Gentle Gorilla: the Story of Patty Cake by Susan Kohn Green, 303 pp., published 1978.  The book by Wolf says it is illustrated with black and white photographs. 

Lilian Garis, Outdoor Girls, 1910. There's an incident in this series when the girls are on a hike and a passerby yells out asking if they're suffragettes.
Lilian Garis (Laura Lee Hope), The Outdoor Girls, 1913-1920.  Thanks for this suggestion of The Outdoor Girls series, but I'm not sure about it. I've checked on this series (which I did encounter as a child) but thus far haven't found the elements of the school story that I recall. I realize increasingly that I may have two series conflated in my mind, although I now also know that Beverly Gray isn't one of them.
One detail I remember clearly is that the mean teacher was identified as part of an unpleasant prank (at Hallowe'en?) by a scrap of yellow-green cloth from her scarf or blouse, tied on to a little effigy or doll that was supposed to be frightening. She was in cahoots with one or more students. There is a counterpart for the hostile students in The Outdoor Girls of Deepdale, but not a counterpart of the nasty teacher.
Apparently The Motor Girls series also involves the girls being mistaken for suffragettes, but I haven't been able to check those texts.
Jessie Graham Flower, Grace Harlowe series, 1910+  I now think that the school part of the series I am looking for is almost certainly the Grace Harlowe series (or rather, the first part of the four Grace Harlowe series--the books that have the characters in high school.) I'm still not at all certain about the journey where the girls are mistaken for suffragettes--that may indeed be the Outdoor Girls, as was suggested, or another series from the same time. I haven't been able to locate it specifically in any series I've been able to check, but then I haven't been able to look at actual texts of many of the possible books.

The British Library has a record for Elfin Cobbler, and other stories of  Connaught, retold by Monica Cosens, illustrated by Elsie Ann Wood, published by Thomas Nelson & Sons, London [1914].  It says "Grandfather Stories #4", but I don't find a series listing for any other items.
Retold by F. E. Melton, Dick Whittington and Other Stories of London, c.1909.  This is shown as "Grandfather Stories #3", illustrated by Malcolm Patterson, Innes Fripp & Skinner.  Same publisher as #4.

Buckley, Helen Elizabeth, Grandmother and I, 1961.  "A child considers how Grandmother's lap is just right for those times when lightning is coming in the window or the cat is missing."
Buckley, Helen Elizabeth, Grandmother and I, 1961.  Wow-that was easy! Thank you so, so much! When I first looked up that title, the image of the book had different illustrations, and it didn't occur to me that there might be a modernized version.Now I can look for an old copy with the pictures I remember.

Grandmother and Machek
Manachek prob. misspelled. About 1900. The grandmother is telling her 3 grandchildren how she met their grandfather.  As a child she is left alone and threatened by a tiger? The brave village boy tries to save her. She wedges a wooden spoon in it's mouth. "And the boy grew up to be your Grandfather"

Phyllis Green, Grandmother Orphan.  This was also released at "It's me, Christy" I'm certain this is it. Here's the description: "Christy's "adopted blues" are cured by her truck-driving grandmother's surprising revelations"

Could be The Golden Egg Book by Margaret Wise Brown, illus by Leonard Weisgard. A Big Golden Book, 1947.
No, it's not The Golden Egg Book - that one is about a little bunny who was all alone, and found an egg.  He wondered what was inside the egg.  Then it cracked, and out popped a baby chick.  And they lived happily ever after.
Grandpa Bunny (Walt Disney Golden Book), 1951.
I must be getting confused in my old age (or with all these stumpers!):  yes, it's definately Grandpa Bunny Bunny.  There's both a Little Golden Book and a Big Golden Book version of it.  Check out the Most Requested Page.
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My "Stumper" is a children's book (I think it was a Golden Book) about bunny rabbits who were Easter Bunnies.  One of the characters was Grandpa Bunny Bunny.  It had pictures of the bunnies coloring beautiful easter eggs. Then one of the bunnies, a girl bunny, delivered the eggs. Can you help me? It was a book I read to my little brother and then to my kids in the 60's.  I would like to read the story to my grandchildren but I lost the book.

I think you're confusing two books, actually.  Your keyword, Easter Bunny magic shoes, refers to Dubois Heywood's The Country Bunny and The Little Gold Shoes.  But the description you write is definately for Grandpa Bunny Bunny.  Both have more info on other Loganberry pages, follow the links for each.
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Grandfather Bunny teaches his grandbunnies to paint, first it is the spring flowers, then the Easter eggs, then the colors of fall and the shadows of winter.  When he dies, there is a beautiful sunset, and everyone knows that Grandfather Bunny has now been teaching the angels to paint.  This is a children's picture book, with beautiful illustrations.  I read it for my children in the 70's but my sister remembers it from her childhood in the 50's. Have no idea about the title or author, any help would be most appreciated, because I want my grandchildren to share this wonderful story.

Just in time for Easter:  Jane Werner's Grandpa Bunny Bunny, published as both a Little Golden Book and as a Big Golden Book.  See more on the Most Requested Books page.
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it's about a children's book about bunnies and how they paint the skies the painted the sky for Easter sunrise. I don't know the name or anything, but I loved this -- and read it in the 50's -- it might have been a golden book, not sure.

Sounds like Grampa Bunny Bunny...  see both the Solved Mysteries and Most Requested page for Jane Werner.

C91 The book is GRANDPA'S FARM written and illustrated by James Flora, 1965. Grandpa tells tall tales about his farm. One of them is "The Terrible Winter '36". There is indeed a picture of a man, his gun, his bullet and a bear all being frozen in mid-air.  ~from a librarian
There are several 'tall tales' about cold days in the mountains, including the frozen bullet and frozen shout stories. I believe I've seen a children's book similar to the one described, but I'm not sure if it was a single story or collection of tall tales. It might be this one - McBroom's Ghost, by Sid Fleischman, illustrated by Robert Frankenberg, published New York, Grosset & Dunlap, 1971 Weekly Reader, unpaginated, "The ghost comes
a-haunting when an "uncommon cold winter" sets in, though it is "not so cold that an honest man would tell fibs about it." That being said, farmer Josh McBroom does have a tendency to stretch the truth quite a bit. He, his
wife and eleven children are amusing characters."
Grandpa's Farm, written and illustrated by James Flora, published Harcourt 1965, 32 pages. "Grandpa, the farmer, is almost as tall as a tree, but not quite so tall as the wildly preposterous tales he spins for little boys. He tells of the great wind of '34 that blew him a fine blue barn; of Grandma's cow salve that could make anything grow, from cows' tails to cornstalks; of the miraculous productions of Little Hatchy Hen; and of the terrible winter when conversation froze in the air and remained unheard until summer." (Horn Book Oct/65 p.498)
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My mohter used to read me a book, published before 1972.  I remember character named Cowboy Bob, I think he had a paint horse.  He told a lot of tall tales, this story involved a big wind storm. He lost the door from his house, but when he fed his chicken a doorknob, she laid a new door.  The last lines are something about another tall tale (possibly a snowstorm?) and it ends: "But that's another story."  The illustrations are cartoonish.  Appreciate any assistance.

Reminds me of Glen Rounds, but I can't think of a title that fits.
C154. I don't suppose it could be any of the bks abt Pecos Bill. This is the only one I have:  Blassingame, Wyatt. Pecos Bill rides a tornado.   Schroeder, Ted Reader's Digest Services,  1973.
Yeah, I was thinking this sounded an awful lot like Pecos Bill myself (there are a _lot_ of versions of stories about him available, and he's also supposed to have told a great many tall tales).  In one story he's supposed to have tamed and ridden a cyclone (big windstorm?).  You might try hunting under that name and see what you turn up.
C154  I hope the person who wants this book can take a leap of faith. I am almost 100% sure that the book is GRANDPA'S FARM by James Flora. It contains 4 tall tales: "The Big Wind of '34" "Grandma's Cow Salve" "Terrible Winter of '36" and "Little Hatchy Hen". The leap is that there isn't a Cowboy Bob (I will double check my copy, but I don't remember a cowboy). But the wind storm matches, the hen hatching a door from a doorknob, and even the "that's another story". The illustrations are very distinctive. And you might also be interested in GRANDPA'S GHOST STORIES and the hen gets a book of her own in LITTLE HATCHY HEN. ~from a librarian
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Childrens illustrated book from 1970s. Farmer possibly going through the seasons where events that happen to him are exagerated & funny (puts salve on pumpkin making it grow huge & freezing while doing chores with icicles growing from beard). Book had words & colored pictures. From elementary school library.

Sid Fleischman, McBroom series (McBroom's Ghost,  McBroom Tells the Truth). Sounds like some of the tall tales from Fleischman's McBroom series. The icicles are probably from McBroom's Ghost. The pumpkins are probably from McBroom Tells the Truth. There are a number of books in the series. They've been reprinted many times, with different illustrators, so if the pictures don't quite look like the ones you remember, look for a different printing.
James Flora, Grandpa's Farm, 1965, approximate. Though the tall tale elements of the McBroom farm tales are similar, I think the person is looking for GRANDPA'S FARM by James Flora.
Also see James Flora's 1965 book, Grandpa's Farm: Four Tall Tales. I don't remember a pumpkin, but when a house lands on and breaks off a cow's tail, the salve makes the tail grow back - and when put on the other part of the tail, it grows a new cow! Also, there's a big wind that blows a well out of the ground.

SOLVED: James Flora, Grandpa's Farm. I am so grateful to have found this web site.  After years of searching for my favorite childhood book, my quest has finally come to an end.  Thank you so much for your assistance and to the solver who got it right!

Childrens almanac called something like grandfather groundhog's almanac, tho I have had no luck with that title. Illustrated versions of seasons, weights & measures. Story about lucky bugs (water skating bugs) Endpapers in front have variousous animals doing summer activities, back endpapers have same with winter activities. C. 1960. I would love to find this  it sparked a life-long fascination with the rhythyms of nature.

V29 GRANDPA'S GHOST STORIES by James Flora, 1978~from a librarian
Thanks! that was a quick problem solved!
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This is a book I used to borrow from my school library when I was about 6-8 (1981-1983).  It was a small school, with a closet for a library, so most of the books were old.  It was most likely written in the 70's (maybe the 60's).  It was a slightly diturbing book about a boy who runs away and ends up in the house with a monster in it.  The book is fully illustrated, but the only colors used are black, white, and blue.  There is a storm outside (I remember rain and lightning), and in one scene there is a room (maybe in a shed/garage) filled with bones.  I think the author's or illustrator's last name might be James.  That's all I can remember.  Thank you.

This definitely GRANDPA'S GHOST STORIES by James Flora, 1978. The illustrations are black, white and blue. The grandfather is telling his grandson what happened to him when he was a kid, including getting trapped in a witch's cave full of spiders, being kidnapped to a ghost's home, and
finding a haunted bag of bones.~from a librarian
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I am trying to locate a book from my past, unfortunately I don't know the title or the author.  The story starts out on a rainy night, a boy staying at his grandparent's house is scared by the lightning.  The grandfather decides to calm the boy down by telling him the story of how he met the grandmother.  The grandfather's story begins with him as a young boy walking through the woods on his way home from a day of ice skating.  He gets chased by some monsters (I think � memory's a bit fuzzy) and runs into the house of a witch (I remember the house was on legs).  Inside the house, there is an owl who used to be a girl.  The witch comes out and (I believe) turns the boy into an animal.  The boy and the owl somehow escape and turn back to normal.  The girl turns out to be the grandmother, although the grandmother denies the story in the end.  The illustrations for this book were incredible.  I remember they were not only creepy, but there was always a lot going on in the picture (there was always something to see in the background).  I have been searching every library for the last twenty years with no luck.

Not a solution, but the house on legs suggests Baba Yega.  Perhaps a search among the many Baba Yega stories will turn up the one you seek.
This isn't a solution, I just have a question regarding one of the comments left.  Someone mentioned I should check Baba Yega - is he the author?  The illustrator?  Does anyone know any titles by him that might push me in the right direction?  I also remembered that the witch turns the boy into a pig.  Any small bits of information brings me that much closer to the book.  Thanks!
Baba Yega was an Russian witch character in many many folk tales.  She lived in a house on chicken legs!
James Flora, Grandpa's Ghost Stories.  Not sure if the details match, but this one does have the Grandpa telling ghost stories, the thunderstorm and the detailed illustrations.  The boy gets turned into a spider (but it kind of looks like a pig, with pointy ears and a snub nose) and escapes from the Warty Witch.
Joan Aitken, A necklace of raindrops.  Not sure if this is any help, but I remember a house that layed an egg in this collection of stories with lovely illustrations.
Baba Yaga is the name of a witch who appears in many stories, she lives in a house on legs.
Not a solution at all, but a suggestion. The Baba Yaga (at least, that's how I spell it) is a witch from Russian folklore.  She lives in a house that stands up on chicken legs, and flies around in a mortar and pestle.  There are LOTS of stories about Baba Yaga, but at least it may be a starting point for your search.
James Flora, Grandpa's Ghost Stories, 1978, copyright.  Thank you for solving this mystery!!!  I have been searching for the title of this book for the past ten years!!!  I can't thank you enough for all of your help!  Thank you!  Thank you!  Thank you!!!
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I read this book about 15 years ago.  I can't remember the title, but the stylized illustrations were in black, white and blue.  A little boy experiences the scary stories he hears - he gets stuck in a cave with huge spiders, and sees a witch in her home watching a commercial for elbow grease.

L243 This is definitely GRANDPA'S GHOST STORIES by James Flora. I think S611 may be thinking of the same book~from a librarian
James Flora, Grandpa's Ghost Stories.  Thank you!!!  This is definitely it.  I found an image of the cover online and memories just rushed back.  I remember now that the illustrations reminded me a little of Maurice Sendak.
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I don't have a title. The book was from 1983/84 - I was 7. It had to do with a little boy who gets out of bed and encounters creepy monsters.  I remember the boy was eaten by a monster and there was a picture from inside the stomach showing the boy. somehow he escapes and makes it back to bed.

S611 I think this person may be thinking of the same book as L243: GRANDPA'S GHOST STORIES by James Flora. Grandpa tells his grandson some scary stories that supposedly happened to him when he was a kid. There's a bag full of bones that becomes a hungry skeleton, a warty witch in a cave full of spiders (the spiders were once children) and a ghost with a werewolf as a pet. The werewolf swallows the boy, and there's a picture of the boy in the stomach with the rest of the stomach contents, and a diagram of other body "parts" like hiccups, etc. Memorable illustrations with lots of creepy detail.~from a librarian
Nightmare in My Closet.  Sounds close to Nightmare in My Closet, where a small boy wakes up, noticing a big hideous monster hiding in the aforesaid closet. The boy is not very happy about this and goes after the monster with a popgun, I don't remember him being eaten, instead he subdues the monster who is really just a big crybaby. In the end the boy lets the poor monster sleep in the bed with him, the last page has several other monsters peering out of the closet and grinning. Hope this helps.
Book Stumper # S611 is solved, the answer is 'Grandpa's ghost stories' .  Thank You so much for offering this wonderful service.

Philip Turner, The Grange at High Force  Colonel Sheperton's Clock.  Philip Turner wrote these and possibly others, published by Oxford University Press. I think they may be the ones
You might try CHORISTER'S CAKE and A SWARM IN MAY by William Mayne. I haven't read them for a long time, but they definitely take place in a choristers' school.
Philip Turner, Colonel Sheperton's Clock, The Grange at High Force, Sea Peril, War on the Darnel, Skull Island. The series referred to is definitely by Philip Turner. It is called Darnley Mills. Details can be found on the web by using a search engine and typing in "Philip Turner Darnley Mills". There are 9 books in all
I sent in the query about choirboys and their adventures.  As soon as I saw the note that they were The Grange at High Force and Colonel Sheperton's Clock by Philip Turner I knew that was the answer (somebody has suggested another alternative as well).   Thanks again, it's a great idea and service!  And my colleague tells me you will be featured on NPR tomorrow morning,  so I hope it goes well and you enjoy the experience. 

V9: Easy as pie. It's The Story of Fairyfoot by Frances Browne from her book Granny's Wonderful Chair (1857). You can read the whole book online, and the Fairyfoot story. Prince Fairyfoot is made an outcast because of his small feet, he falls in with the fairies and discovers a princess from another land who is burdened with magically overgrown feet. They both discover the magic as to how to change back and forth according to which country they're in.    I know it well because I have the My Book House Series (ed. Olive Beaupre Miller) and the story is in vol. 2 or 3 - at least in that particular edition. They kept changing. Very beautifully designed books, though not with a lot of color in the illustrations - they didn't need it that much.
Finaly, V9 - This story is actually by Frances Hodgson Burnett, not Frances Browne and is available in The Racketty-Packetty House and Other Stories.
Re the last entry - I didn't read Racketty-Packetty House, but Frances Hodgson Burnett was born in 1849
and the above link will tell you that Granny's Wonderful Chair was written in 1857, and My Book House also claims the Fairyfoot story comes from GWC. (Frances Browne died in 1879.) What this says about RPH, I don't know - maybe Burnett wrote some of it and helped pick the rest of the stories?
V9: Mystery solved. In the preface to RPH, it says: "Fairyfoot came from a story Mrs. Burnett read and
loved as a child, in a book called Granny's Wonderful Chair, written by a blind Irishwoman, Frances Browne, in 1856. Being unable to find a copy she rewrote it from memory, adding many delightful touches of her own". So far, I've only skimmed the Burnett - but I think the original is better, IMHO.
Thank you, very much!  It has been such a relief to put a name to that story.

This may be it: Ruth Reuther, Gray C Circus Horse (Houghton Mifflin, 1970)
I finally got a copy of Gray C: Circus Horse by Ruth Reuther off the web (question C61) and you nailed it on the head!  Thanks so much!  I've been trying to remember that one and get a copy for years!  Thank again!

Helen Griffiths, The Greyhound, 1968, copyright. I remember this Scholastic book very well! It was post-WWII London, though, not Warsaw. A beautiful story.

Hi there.  I sent in a stumper regarding an injured greyhound in WWII taken care of by a boy, and the answer by Helen Griffiths (who may be the author????  WOW!!!)  is correct, I just saw the cover of the book, practically made me cry.  DECADES of looking, you'd think I'd find a book entitled "The Greyhound," huh, ha ha!  Thank you so much!!!!!!!!!!!  FANTASTIC service!!!  Worth every penny and more.  Every child should read this book.  Because of the influence of this book, I rescued over five thousand animals for a non-kill shelter over 25 years, so the author should not wonder why all those animals are greeting her in heaven when she goes!

I'd forgotten all about this book until I read the query, but this sounds like one I read when I was younger.  It was
probably Scholastic Book Service, and it had three friends or siblings.  They turned into animals, and their quests
made them face their worst fears.  One of the girls turned into a cat, and I remember she found a magic ring and had to carry it in her mouth because she had no hands.  I think it was called STONE MAGIC.  Aha!  It was Gray Magic by Andre Norton (and on the cover it said, original title Steel Magic).  And here I never knew I had read Andre Norton! 

Here are a few possibilities:  The Gray Wolf and Other Stories by George Macdonald ( but the stories listed don't sound like Indian tales.)  Or more probably: Gray Wolf Stories  Indian mystery tales of Coyote, animals and men by Bernard Sexton/Peter Gray Wolf, illus. by Gwenyth Waugh, published by Macmillan in 1921, 1923, 1927 and by Caxton (Caldwell, Idaho) in 1941 & 1946.
Lurline Bowles Mayol, The Talking Totem Pole, 1930, 1943.  There's no reference to "Gray Wolf", but the reference to
a yellow-covered book of Indian legends from the West Coast might posibly be to this one.  The stories are children's retellings, with a framing story, of Northwest and Northwest Coast myths and legends, and quite engaging.  There have been several editions of the book -- mine is a 1943 printing from Binfords & Mort (Portland, OR), but the copyright page indicates a prior edition (1930, Saalfield Publishing Co.).  Most I have seen feature the same full-color cover, a predominantly yellow background with an illustration of a wooden cabin flanked by several totem poles, and an evergreen forest behind it. Even if this is not the right book, it's worth a look.
Peter Gray Wolf (ps of Bernard Sexton), Gray Wolf Stories: Mystery legends of grey wolf, coyote and other Idaho Indian folk heros, 1941, approximately.  I have not read the book, but I just want to note that I saw a 1943 second edition of this book on eBay,  and it has a bright yellow cover, with black and red printing and artwork. I'd say we're getting warm...
Peter Graywolf, Gray Wolf Stories, Indian Mystery Tales,1948.I have a copy, yellow as you say. 1948 published by Wells Gardner, Darton & Co, Redhill, Surrey. Various tales from several tribes. Illustrated by Gwenyth Waugh. Coverplate illustration red/black/white, rest are black/white ink drawings.

Campbell, Janet, The Great Alphabet Race.  Golden, 1972.  "Each event in the great animal race is described using words that stress a different letter of the alphabet."
The answer given in blue is definitely the book I remember.  I wonder why it never came up in my previous searches on animals, races and alphabet books.  Thanks so much.

Margaret Lovett, The Great and Terrible Quest, 1967.  This is a wonderful story that I've kept since my childhood.  The jacket blurb starts: "Silver hidden in the gold, young man hidden in the old, laughing lord with weeping eyes"--a few lines of this mysterious verse and a golden ring are the only cludes the boy and the old man have as they set out on the great and terrible quest in a moving and suspenseful tale representing the finest tradition of fantasy.  There are various copies for sale online, and to my surprise they are mostly very expensive!  Others must treasure this book too!  Enjoy.  Now I'll read my copy through for the umpteenth time. <g>
LOVETT Margaret, Great and terrible quest.  Complete rhyme is - Silver hidden in the gold/ Young man hidden in the old/ Laughing lord with weeping eyes/ Bring king and ring before sunrise.
S131 silver hidden in gold: could this be The Great and Terrible Quest, by Margaret Lovett? (See R36 for details) It is set in a medievaloid world and features a lost heir and a mysterious verse that provides clues.
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I can't remember the title, author, etc.  I used to borrow it from the library and I know the alphabetical section I got it from meant the author was between G and L in the alphabet...  It was about a boy who went on some kind of journey to find a ring which had to be matched with another ring, the whereabouts of which he didn't know, but in the end turned out to be hidden in the inlay of the musical instrument (lute?) which he carried with him.  I seem to remember some of the decoration on the lute (?) was an ivory rose.  The setting was kind of mediaeval, I think.  The book must have been written before the mid-70s, was hardback and I have the vague remembrance of the cover being pale in colour, with a dustjacket, and a musical instrument as its illustration, just a line drawing, maybe.

Not 100% sure because I'm just going with the book summary, but maybe the title or details will ring a bell. THE GREAT & TERRIBLE QUEST by Margaret Lovett, 1967, 107 pages. Summary reads that a young boy mistreated by his grandfather goes off on a quest with a man who has lost his memory. All they have as clues to help them are a ring and a verse.
A slightly different summary of the Lovett book: "Set in the middle ages, a quick-witted orphan, abused by his grandfather, risks his life to care for a wounded knight who is on a quest but can't remember what he is searching
for."
I saw the cover of Great and Terrible Quest on Ebay, and it is a sketchy drawing of a lute, in white, on a brown background, which does seem to match the description.
More info on the suggested title The Great and Terrible Quest, by Margaret Lovett, published Faber 1967, 170 pages. "A boy of ten, abusively treated by a robber-baronish grandfather and his band of hired killers, manages to escape with a dog and an injured knight, and all make their way to the City. The reader gradually realises, long before young Trad, that the boy is the true heir to the throne which must be claimed by entering the City gates between sunset and sunrise within a week of the old king's death. He is a nice child and his adventures should hold young readers, being a sort of endurance test of gruelling marches, climbs, struggles to keep the wounded man going and ending with a grand fight near the close. Lighter moments are provided by the fearful juggler the pair pick up while disguised as a minstrel and his granddaughter. The ingredients are familiar: wicked Lords Regent, a kind Wise Woman, an unfinished verse which provides a clue to those seeking the heir, a lost
ring - but they are well handled." (JB Apr/67 p.125)
Margaret Lovett, The Great and Terrible Quest.  I concur with the other "answerers." This book is a favorite of mine, which I have read and re-read.  The boy is named Trad,  and early on he finds the ring and fits it into the inlay in an old lute he's found and repaired.  The significance of both ring and lute become apparent toward the end of the story.
I put a request in regarding this book ages ago and had wondered if anyone had found out what it was - all I could remember were bare details about the plot and the appearance of the book - indeed I had forgotten which website I had left the question on!  However, I see that your "sleuths" have been busy and solved the mystery!  This book and "The House called Hadlows" by Victoria Walker are two which really stood out from my childhood - and now I see that they are both eminently collectible, which confirms what good books they both are!  Thank you so much - I shall keep the details safe, incase I stumble upon the book in a junk shop!

Traditional (Illustrator Wallace Tripp), A great Big Ugly Man Came Up and Tied his Horse to Me, 1974. The wonderful illustrator Wallace Tripp complied two volumes of lesser-known traditional nursery rhymes and populated them with animal characters. The second volume is Granfa Grigg had a pig. One of these two is absolutely your book!You can find a cover image here:
http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51vKa0t-f9L._SL500_AA240_.jpg I was standing in the street, as quiet as could be, when a great big ugly man came up and tied his horse to me!

Yes .. this is it .... Thanks for providing the forum!!!

A similar theme to Mr. Pine's Purple House, except in that book it's house painting, not town painting.  Still, the era is right, so check the Most Requested Page for Leonard Kessler, just in case.
Lobel, Arnold, The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments, Harper & Row, 1968.  Is this the one you're looking for?  At the beginning of the book, there was no color in the world and they called it The Great Greyness.  Then a wizard invented the color blue and gave some to his neighbors who painted everything blue - that was The Great Blueness - but it was too depressing.  So he invented yellow and they painted everything yellow - but it was too bright and blinding and everyone got headaches.  The Great Redness made everyone angry.  But then the pots of color overflowed and the colors mixed together. The people were excited by all the new colors, and "after a short time they found good places for each one.....At last the world was too beautiful ever to be changed again."
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I am 35 and read this children's book in the late 70s early 80s.  It tells the story of a boy or a man who lives in a town with no colour ie the town is black and white.  I think he is a painter and decides to paint the town but can't decide which colour to use so he starts with red but this colour makes the people in the town too angry so then he decides to paint the town blue but this makes the town's people very sad and on he goes, trying green, yellow and so forth and he can't seem to get it right because people experience different moods depending on the colour he chooses.  One day as he is carrying his paints or pallet, he takes a tumble and all his paint mixes together and then he realizes he has found the perfect colour combination comprising of blue, green, red etc, so he paints the grass green, the sky blue and so forth.  I am on the hunt for two other childhood books. I am an avid children's book collector and finding the three elusive books would mean so much to me!

Arnold Lobel, The Great Blueness.  This is a favorite of mine too! A Wizard invents blue, which makes people sad, then red, making people angry, then yellow, which gives everyone a headache. He tries to invent other colors, but just keeps coming up with those three until his pots overflow and mix together, creating all the colors. People then paint the world with all different colors and everyone is happy!
Arnold Lobel, The Great Blueness and other Predicaments, 1968, copyright.  One of my favorite read-a-louds, children love seeing the town come alive with color, even though the wizard has trouble getting the colors just right.
Lobel, Arnold, The Great Blueness and other Predicaments, 1968.  When a wizard discovered that each color he invented for the colorless world had a different emotional effect on people, he luckily had an accident which resulted in red apples, green leaves, and yellow bananas.
Arnold Lobel, The Great Blueness and Other Predicaments.  Is it Arnold Lobel's book The Great Blueness?  A wizard lives in a gray world.  He makes blue paint and the villagers use it to paint EVERYTHING blue, but that makes people sad.  It goes through the spectrum of colors and no color by itself works until the wizard accidentally mixes the paints and then the villagers paint the world in all different colors.
Arnold Lobel, The Great Blueness.  Incredible! I never dreamed that I would find this book.  It's equivalent to winning the lottery.  I am going to hunt down a first edition.  Thank you so much, I can't even begin to explain how happy and grateful I am.

John D. Fitzgerald, Great Brain at the Academy.  A possibility. Boarding school, candy store and elementary reading level might be from the Great Brain series.  See the solved mysteries page G for more info.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  Could be this one if candy was not allowed.
This might possibly be The Great Brain at the Academy, by Fitzgerald, which is in the Solved section.
I just wanted to let you know that you solved my mystery of a beloved book from my childhood Great Brain at the Academy. I loved this book as a child and I credit this book for fostering my love of books.  I am now the mother of a 5-month-old little boy, Jacob Ryan, and I was desperately trying to remember the name of this book so I could share it with my son when I read to him at night. I hoped this book would be something I could pass on to him and with your website, I was able to do just this. Thank you so much for having this amazing resource! I have let everyone I know in on your site. Again, many thanks for enabling me to remember the name of the book.

#F55--Frontier brothers' adventures:  I would suggest a look at Magical Melons, the sequel to Caddie Woodlawn, by Carol Ryrie Brink.  Set in Wisconsin in the 1860s, some of the adventures do concentrate on Caddie's two brothers, Warren and Tom, and it's a wonderful book written at the same time as the Little House series and very much in that vein.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain, Me and My Little Brain, etc.  1967 - 1974, reprinted early 1980's as Dell paperbacks.  Could the poster be thinking of the "Great Brain" series?  They were set in frontier Utah in the 1890's, and although there were actually 3 brothers in the family (plus one adopted), the main characters were the narrator, John or "J.D." and his brother Tom. (Their older brother was away at school.) They had a lot of adventurous episodes in each book.  I think some public libraries still have these around.
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1950-1960?  I remember a mischievious boy who was in an orphanage or boarding school.  He carved keys out of wood to try to get out of school.  Soap may have somehow been involved.  He used candy to trade for things.  He might have hid something by the stairs.  His name may be Tom or Thomas.

Aldridge's Story of a Bad Boy?
John D Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy
JD Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  This is undoubtedly the book! Great Mercer Mayer illustrations. Also recommended: Me and My Little Brain, from the same series - they have been reissued recently.
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It was a series I read in early 80's about a boy telling stories of his big brother's ( I think) shenanigans.  He would say that his brother's mind "was going like 60mph"  i.e. as fast as the trains.  I seem to remember that all the stories involved them trying to make money.   One of the stories involved the brothers building a wooden rollercoaster from the barn and then charging all the kids in the neighborhood for a ride.

John D Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy
I was looking at your website and my answer is B341  !!!!!!!!!!   I have been trying to locate these books for YEARS!  THank you so much!
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I didn't look to see if its one of your stumpers or not, I paid first, before I figured out how to add a stumper..but the book was The Great Brain.  All I remembered was there were three brothers, one of them got the chicken pox/measles on purpose so he'd be the first one over something for once, and his punishment was the silent treatment.  Also, I knew I associated the words "Great" and Fitzgerald (I thought Fitzgerald was in the title..) Anyway, it was a favorite book of mine as an upper elementary student, but then I lost it, and could never remember the title to look for it again.  Thanks for jigging my memory with your great service.
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I read a book back in the 70's about a boy attending boarding school.  The only vivid memory I can recall is the boy made a model of a key.  Then he carved the key out of wood.  He kept the key hidden in his room.  I can't remember why he needed the key.  It may have been a mystery book?  This book has been on my mind for several years.  Please help!

John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy
J.D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  I seem to remember that in this book the boy makes an impression of a key with soap and then makes a wooden one based on the impression.
John D. Fitzgerald (author), Mercer Mayer (illustrator), The Great Brain at the Academy, 1972.  This is the fourth book in the eight book Great Brain series: The Great Brain, More Adventures of the Great Brain, Me and My Little Brain, The Great Brain at the Academy, The Great Brain Reforms, The Return of the Great Brain, The Great Brain Does it Again, and The Great Brain is Back.  From the publisher: "Everyone knew that Tom Fitzgerald, alias The Great Brain, would get into trouble when he went off to school at the strict Catholic Academy for Boys in Salt Lake City. But no one--including Tom--knew just how much. His tongue got him into fifteen demerits worth of difficulty the very first day, but his great brain refused to be defeated as Tom set out to outwit the eighth grade, the superintendent, and finally the bishop of the state of Utah. Whether it's running an illegal candy store or earning a reputation as the fastest potato peeler in the world or introducing the newfangled sport of basketball at the academy, Tom's great brain never falters. And his money-making schemes rise to new heights--or depths--faced with the challenge of rigorous boarding-school life."  For more information, see The Great Brain Series on the Solved Mysteries "G" page.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy, 1970's.  This sounds like the Great Brain series. In one of them (at the Academy) the Great Brain figures out a way to get into town to buy candy. He makes a wooden key by first pressing the key into soap, and then carving a key out of wood in that likeness. Could this be it? It's not a mystery, more of an adventure story.
John D Fitzgerald, The Great Brain At The Academy.  It's possible this could be The Great Brain At The Academy, one in the series by Fitzgerald, about a kid named Tom, aka the "Great Brain" who was very smart, and his siblings.  I don't remember it too well, but I think there was a storyline in the Academy book, when Tom is off at a Catholic boarding school, in which Tom manufactures a duplicate key to out of wood.  I think maybe he made a duplicate key to the kitchen, so that he could swipe food on the nights they served liver, because he hated liver and was always hungry on the nights they served it.  The books were set in either the late 1800s or early 1900s, as best I can recall.
J.D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  Sounds like The Great Brain again. The 'Great Brain', Tom, carves a key out of wood to help him sneak in and out of school.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  Tom, known as The Great Brain, joins his older brother at a Jesuit boarding school.  Tom operates an illegal candy store at the academy.  I think he does this by making a model of a key -- pressing it into soap, then using the soap to make a wooden model -- and keeping his candy behind the locked door.  Also in this book, Tom gets fifteen demerits on his first day and spends the rest of the semester trying not to get caught for any of his swindles (20 demerits would get him kicked out), and Tom pretends to have gotten a letter from the Pope approving a basketball tournament at the school.
This might be The Great Brain At The Academy, one of the Great Brain series by John D. Fitzgerald.  The narrator's brother, Tom (a/k/a The Great Brain), attends a Catholic boarding school for boys in Provo, Utah and gets into his usual mischief.  At one point he steals a key, makes an impression of it in soap, and uses the soap impression to carve a duplicate key out of wood.  I think the key lets him into an unused storage room so that he can lower himself down the academy wall from the storage room window to go buy candy in the town (which he then sells to the boys back at the academy at a huge profit).  Hope this helps!
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy.  I think there's a scene with Tom making a key in The Great Brain at the Academy. It's been a while, but I think he was either trying to use it to open the kitchen (because he hated the food they served) or to get out of the building to run his candy store.
B372: Almost certainly The Great Brain at the Academy.  See Solved Mysteries.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain at the Academy, 1972.  That is it! The mystery has been solved.  This website is terrific!  Thank you!
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Hi, Back in the very early 80's I think, I read a series of books set in the late 1800's (I think.)  They were mostly about 2 brothers, the older one (Seth?) always getting into trouble.  The younger brother narrated the story (?) Some scenes I remember:  Some one builds a wooden chute-the chute roller coaster thingy in the town, a watch on a chain is in one story, and someone is usually getting "swindled".  No titles, author in my memory at all!!! Help.

B409: Certainly the Great Brain series (illustrated by Mercer Mayer) by John D. Fitzgerald, also the author of the 1950s book Papa Married a Mormon - a must-read, since it's revealed, among other things, that Tom actually became a Mormon and later, a missionary to the Far East! There are eight books in the series. See Solved Mysteries. Oh, and they didn't live as long ago as the books say - John was born either in 1906 or 1907. I'd love to know why he changed the time frame.
Fitzgerald, John D., The Great Brain, 1967.  I suspect that this is the series you are thinking of. They are narrated by the younger brother and take place in the time period you remember. The older brother is always using his "great brain" to figure out ways to make a buck, usually with disasterous results.
Fitzgerald, John D. This is probably one of the Great Brain books. It's not the first one, but other than that, I'm not sure which it is.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain Does It Again (+ others in series), 1975.  This has to be the Great Brain book series, by John D. Fitzgerald, illustrated by Mercer Mayer.  These books are set in Utah, in the late 1800's - early 1900's, and follow the adventures of three Mormon brothers, Sweyn (the oldest), Tom (aka The Great Brain), and JD (the youngest, who also serves as narrator). The boys do have a friend named Seth. Tom is typically the main character of the stories, and is often swindling someone, embarking on some money making scheme, or just getting into trouble.  The Great Brain Does it Again contains the story in which Tom builds a chute-the-chute (from the barn roof to the ground). He charges other kids to ride on it, until one kid breaks his leg and Tom's father makes him tear it down.  Other titles in the series include The Great Brain, The Return of the Great Brain, The Great Brain Reforms, The Great Brain at the Academy, More Adventures of the Great Brain, and Me and My Little Brain.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain.  This is the Great Brain series. There are three brothers, and the exploits of middle brother Tom, a juvenile con-man, are narrated by his younger brother J.D.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain Does It Again.  You must be thinking of The Great Brain Does It Again?  I think that is the book in The Great Brain Series that has the "shoot the chute" episode...???
John D. Fitzgerald,  The Great Brain series.  This sounds like The Great Brain series, which begins with The Great Brain and has several other books about the same characters. Set in Utah, the stories have three brothers, Seth, T.D., and J.D. T.D. is The Great Brain and drags his brothers, especially J.D. into all kinds of schemes, including various ways of swindling neighbor kids out of their belongings.
These might be the Soup and Me series by Robert Newton Peck. Two boys and their Tom Sawyerish adventures in a small town in Vermont.
John Fitzgerald, The Great Brain.  This sounds very much like the "Great Brain" series.  It's a series of 7 or 8 books about a family.  Tom is the "swindler" brother that is always thinking up schemes-  J.D. is the younger brother who is the narrator.
John D. Fitzgerald.  This is the Great Brain series!  I used to love these books as a kid!  Largely autobiographical, told from the younger brother's perspective, all about his swindling older brother ...  who does build a rollercoaster in their yard and charge people for rides in one of the books, but I don't recall which one.
John Fitzgerald, The Great Brain Does It Again.  I know that someone was named Seth, but not one of the main characters.  The Great Brain was about a younger brother describing the adventures of his scheming older brother, Tom.  Tom liked swindling people for money or candy.
B409 Sounds like the GREAT BRAIN books by John Dennis Fitzgerald~from a librarian
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Childrens books I read in early 1970's about young boy and his adventures in late 1800's in western U.S. (maybe Utah) He was always scheming ways to trick people and make money. Kind of like Tom Sawyer. I remember a camping trip into the hills.

John Fitzgerald, The Great Brain.  I would guess the "Great Brain" series.  They were all published between 1967 and 1976 and take place in Utah in the late 1800s.  The concept sounds the same.
John D. Fitzgerald, The Great Brain.  Fitzgerald wrote seven semi-autographical fiction books about Tom, the Great Brain, whose adventures (centered on making money) are narrated by his brother J.D.  An eighth book in the series was compiled from completed chapters found after his death.
Fitzgerald, John, The Great Brain (series).  This is definitely the series you are looking for - I don't know which book in particular you remember.
U40: The Great Brain series. See Solved Mysteries. The author John D. Fitzgerald's 100th anniversary is, reportedly, in 2007.
John D. Fitzgerald , The Great Brain Series, 1967-??.  J.D. narrates the tales of his older brother's great amazing brain.  Among other adventures, the boys are sent to a Catholic boarding school, have the first toilet in town, teach a Greek boy to fit in, and catch fish using phosphoresence.
Fitzgerald, John, The Great Brain, 1967.  This has to be The Great Brain series.  "The exploits of the Great Brain of Adenville, Utah are described by his younger brother, frequently the victim of the Great Brain's schemes for gaining prestige or money."  Some of the other titles are Me and My Little Brain, The Great Brain Does it Again, The Great Brain is Back, The Great Brain Reforms, and The Great Brain Robbery.  An excellent series!
The Great Brain by Fitzgerald is correct! Thank you so much for helping me find this series after so many years. Your website and readers are awesome.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Fitzgerald, John D. Me and My Little Brain. illus by Mercer Mayer. Dell Yearling, 1971.  Fourth Paperback printing, 1976.  VG.  $5

Stan McMurtry, Great Bungee Venture, 1977. 100% sure

No chance this is L. Frank Baum's A Kidnapped Santa Claus (1904), is there? I never actually read it, so I
can't compare the storylines.
I don't think I've read A Kidnapped Santa Claus either but I don't think that's it because I remember the book I'm looking for being reasonably modern - cars, escalators, etc etc.  Thanks anyway!
Jean Van Leeuwen,The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper, 1975.  I don't believe I've read this since circa the time it was first published, but it's still on my shelf next to its precursor, The Great Cheese Conspiracy, and still prominent enough in my psyche for me to instantaneously know exactly to what the inquiry was referring! Here's the blurb for The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper (my edition, incidentally, spells it Kidnaping, which is apparently a valid variant): "Settled in a toy department dollhouse for the winter, Marvin the Magnificent and his gang of mice, Fats and Raymond, make friends with the store's Santa Claus. The months ahead promise to be cozy and plentiful for the three mice--until one morning Santa disappears. Marvin suspects foul play, and he's right! In the rollicking tale that follows, he and his gang undertake the dangerous mission of solving the great Christmas kidnapping. Whether they're collecting clues, setting booby traps or embarking on zany rescue missions, Marvin, Fats and Raymond are a hilarious trio."  Now I'm going to have to reread this!  Fantastic website, by the way! I'm not being hyperbolic in saying it's an invaluable service to humankind. These books helped form us, and finding them again is to rediscover a long-lost part of ourselves.
Fabulous - that definitely sounds like it!  I found one copy for $150 (Australian) so if you can find something cheaper that would be nice!  Thanks a lot.
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mouse lives in department store, weekly reader book club, early 70's.  I DONT REMEMBER MUCH BUT YOURE SO GOOD AT THIS! THERE WAS A MOUSE WHO LIVED IN A DEPARTMENT STORE-MACY'S? DOLLHOUSE. IT MIGHT HAVE TAKEN PLACE AT CHRISTMAS TIME. ANY IDEAS?

How about Charley the Mouse Finds Christmas by Wayne Carley (c1972, Garrard Pub. Co.). "On Christmas Eve a mouse is lonesome in his empty department store home."  Another mouse/store book isThe Great Diamond Robbery by Leon Harris (c1985, Antheneum) but it's much later that the one you described.
Russell Hoban, The Mouse and His Child.  This one is about a set of windup mice, a father and son, who  begin their lives living in a shop window in a dollhouse. They  are sold at Christmastime, quickly broken and discarded. The two of them begin to live the life of tramps, eventually battling some real rats who live in the dump.
Van Leeuwen, Jean, The Great Christmas Kidnaping Caper, 1975.  I loved this one too! Santa Claus has been kidnaped! It's one of a series of books about the mice who live at Macy's.
thanks so much! I'm going to check the library now. the carly book sounds familiar but i defititely remember gimbels and a rival santa so my guess is the van leeuwen book will be it. thanks again.

The book I'm looking for (there may have been more than one with the same author and characters) was one I read when I was little in Cambridge, Mass. in the mid- to late 70s. I remember it being a somewhat smaller-size book (maybe 6" x 8", for example, rather than a full-size picture book). This book is about a boy, accompanied by his dog, who is enticed into a very appealing bakery / pastry shop full of cream puffs and cakes. The owner of the shop is a guy with a big white beard and glasses who is some kind of evil magician. Once they get inside, they become trapped, I think. In the illustrations, the shapes and people have sort of round edges with a lot of contour, and at least the way I'm remembering them now, were a little like R. Crumb's drawings (without the black lines or edges, and I think with softer colors.) I especially remember that the illustrations made the clothes the characters wore look slightly puffy and soft (I think the boy wore bell-bottom jeans, and the evil magician / baker might have worn a robe with stars on it at one point). The characters' eyes and faces were very expressive, and the cakes and pastries looked extremely tempting and fascinating. The appeal of the confections / cakes were the focus at the beginning. I can almost remember the boy's name; I know it was something very common and probably had 2 syllables (like 'Andy' or something). Anyway, I hope there's someone else that remembers these books!
This is THE GREAT CUSTARD PIE PANIC by Scott Corbett, 1974. You might also be interested there are two more books about Nick, his dog, and the evil Dr. Merlin. There's DR. MERLIN'S MAGIC SHOP, 1973 and THE FOOLISH DINOSAUR FIASCO, 1978.~from a librarian.
Corbett, Scott, The Great Custard Pie Panic, 1974.  "On a walk through the fog, Nick and his dog discover a wonderful bakery but the owner turns out to be the magician, Dr. Merlin."

This may be Harold Goodwin, Top Secret: Alligators (NY:Bradbury Press, 1975). My favorite appearance of this urban legend is in Pynchon's V.
I was wrong in guessing that this is Top Secret: Alligators; it's probably Peter Lipman's The Great Escape or the Sewer Story (NY: Golden, '73), which is notably tall (12-15"). But I still say Pynchon's V has the best NYC alligators. (And I'm a NYC native.)
Wonderful!  Thank you for your help.  I did a quick web search on the titles that you suggested and found a site with a picture of the cover.  The book is Peter Lipman's The Great Escape or the Sewer Story (NY: Golden, '73).  Next logical question, do you have one or know where I can get one and at what cost?
Top Secret: Alligators! written and illustrated by Harold Goodwin, published Bradury Press 1974. "A comic escape story with the most unlikely heroes and heroines - the fabled alligators that live in the city sewers! Beneath the warm humor is a lightly handled plea for all wild creaturs in these polluted times. Black and white illustrations. Ages 7-10." (HB Oct/74 p.17 pub ad)
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1973.  I came upon this book in the Western Michigan University Library as an undergraduate.The book was about oppressed alligators who had been discarded by pet owners who purchased them when they were small and could no longer accomodate them as they grew larger. Supporting the urban myth of alligators in the sewer systems of New York, these unsuspecting creatures were flushed down toilets where they grew to be an adult oppressed minority. The savvy adult alligators, who, by the way, educated, clothed and fed themselves from human throw-aways, decided to organize in union fashion, in order to make their way out of the sewers. This book is a left wing organizer's dream. I'm looking for it, not only for myself, but for a friend's upcoming 50th birthday. (She is a union negotiator). It would be great to find this book. It was really entertaining and very well written.

I had not submitted the $2 payment yet when, after going through about 400 books on Amazon's website, I came accross a book from the right time period which may be it. The book is named Top Secret Alligators. I sent for it hoping that this is the one. I am sending out my $2 payment, however, just because I think what you are doing is a truly great  service and I want to support your work.  So, if you choose to hold back on the posting of "ANYS", feel free to do so. I will let you know if I found it once the book arrives.  Thank you.
HRL:  Actually, I think it's the Giant Golden Book by Peter Lipman called The Great Escape or the Sewer Story, 1973.  Let me know.

H35 humphrey the horrible: there is a character of this name in The Great Ghost Rescue, by Eva Ibbotson, illustrated by Giulio Maestro, published Walck 1975, 135 pages. "The stately haunted homes of England are being transformed by real estate developers into holiday camps and skating rinks, and the unhappy, dispossessed ghosts are desperately in need of new haunting grounds. A young ghost, Humphrey the Horrible (he is called the Horrible to encourage him, since unfortunately his ectoplasm is pink and fluffy and he has difficulty disappearing completely), seeks help and finds it in Rick, a sympathetic schoolboy. Rick and Humphrey lead a gaggle of ghosts - including Humphrey's mother, a Hag whose specialty is horrible smells; his father, a Gliding Kilt; his brother George, a Screaming Skull; and his sister, Wailing Winifred - to the Prime Minister to ask for sanctuary. A nasty nobleman attempts to have them exorcised, but they are rescued by Humphrey, now the Heroic." (HB Dec/75 p.593)
Ibbotson, Eve., The Great Ghost Rescue. Macmillan 1975.  Could be this one - the date is right. "When your father is
the legless ghost of a fierce Scottish soldier and your mother is a malodorous hag, you would surely be the most horrible specter to haunt a ruin. But sadly, the only thing horrible about Humphrey the Horrible is his name. Humphrey has a great destiny, involving all the ghosts of Britain."

Samuel & Zoa Swayne, Great-Grandfather in the Honey Tree, 1949. A tall tale of how Great-Grandfather went out to net some geese, and came home with a barrel of honey, a bear, a fish, a partridge, a deer, seven wild turkeys, as well as the net of geese.
Yes! That's it. I'd forgotten 90% and had half the other 10% wrong but you nailed it. I found a copy and there's no doubt. Thanks for helping to scratch an old man's nostalgic itch.

This poster is describing Great Swedish Fairy Tales illustrated by John Bauer. The book was translated by Holger Lundbergh and the tales were compiled by Elsa Olenius. It was published in 1973 by Delacorte Press/Seymour Lawrence.
Ha, the trolls should have tipped me off. (Not to mention the gloomy mood of the stories.) Maybe the moose (actually an elk) misguided me since I read it in Maine and thought maybe it had been written there! I see I was way off from the original dates - John Bauer died in 1918! 

A6 - I guess it's always hard to find a specific anthology, but not so hard to find individual stories.  The writer is looking for Leiningen Versus the Ants, a thriller that I remember anthologized in a high school collection.   My local library has it in a  collection called Great Tales of Terror and the Supernatural, ed by H.A Wise and Phyllis Fraser.  The author is listed as Carol Stephenson.  Thank you for a delightful website.

S53 Shark headed boy
This sounds like it could be THE GREAT WHITE MAN-EATING SHARK: A CAUTIONARY TALE by Margaret Mahy, 1990 The boy wants the cove to himself so he pretends to be a shark, but then a female shark comes along...
Thank you for thinking of me! I'm not certain this is the book, as I recall the boy didn't want to be a
shark, but his head was shaped like a shark.  I'm going to try to interlibrary loan it to see if it is the one.  Thank you so much for giving me this title.
The Great White Man Eating Shark: a Cautionary Tale by Margaret Mahy, published Scholastic, "Norvin is a boy who looks like a shark. When he straps a homemade dorsal fin to his back, all the other swimmers run for the beach. He loves having the water to himself - until a real man eating shark comes along!"

hoover, helen, great wolf and the good woodsman.Could this be it? The words to the story are available on the web. The cover illustration that comes up when you do an internet search is of a recent reprint - the original cover was much different. I just can't remember if the trees in the original illustrations are birch or not. But anything by Helen Hoover is worth reading anyway.
I submitted this one a couple of weeks ago and forgot about it. Someone answered it, and it is CORRECT, thank you so much for your help

Jill Paton Walsh, The Green Book, 1982. I am positive this is the book you are looking for. It is one of my favorites.
Jill Paton Walsh, The Green Book. Absolutely the book you're looking for-  a young girl travels with her father and siblings to a new planet, humanity's last hope.  The colonists work together to build houses and try to grow food on this strange planet, but the wheat comes up brittle like glass.  She keeps a diary of what happens.
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Children's or Middle Grade Sci-Fi/Fantasy novel about humans colonizing or fleeing to a new world. The new world's grass was not really grass; it was like glass, and cut the feet of the first people (children, I think) off of the ship because they were wearing thin paper ship-shoes.

Jill Paton Walsh, The Green Book, 1985, approximate. I believe this is the book you are looking for.  "When a group of Britons leave a dying Earth to live on the planet Shine, the adults find it inhospitable. Through the courage of the children, they are able to survive."
Jill Paton Walsh, The Green Book. This one comes up so often (with the exact same detail recalled) that I know it without ever having seen a copy.
Jill Paton Walsh , The Green Book, 1982, approximate. I found it! The blurb reads: When a group of Britons leave a dying Earth to live on the planet Shine, the adults find it inhospitable. Through the courage of the children, they are able to survive.

it would be too easy for  G7 to be Go Away Big Green Monster by Ed Emberley. A color concept picture book with cut outs and the monster that appears and disappears piece by piece.
Thanks for your response...I might not have been too specific with my request.  Green-eyed Monster is about a young girl working at a fish cannery for a summer (assuming Pacific Northwest) and some of her adventures.  I also seem to remember she is helping care for some younger children, and they come down with diptheria, and how she nurses them back to health! (This part I'm not to sure of, could be confusing it with another story!)  I loved this story...I'm sure when I got it, as most of my favorite
books from my youth, the book fair from Weekly Reader!  (also where I found Magic Elizabeth, The Velvet Room, and On Your Toes Suzy!)  And you can still by reprints in paperback of Magic Elizabeth.   Once again, your website is a real treasure!  I thank you for trying to help me restore memories of a very happy childhood, made complete by these wonderful stories!  There is a special place in heaven's library for you!
This has to be Green Eyes by Jean Nielsen.  It is about a high school senior in the Pacific Northwest who wants to be a journalist.  She works for the town paper, babysits for kids, and nurses one through diphtheria.  There wasn't a fish cannery in the story, but her dad did work at a logging camp.  The green eyes in the title did refer to jealousy.  It is a good book and did come out in a Scholastic paperback or one of those other paperback series.
That sounds like the story...any ideas where I can find it?
If the poster is looking for the other book she might have confused with Green Eyes, it could be A Girl Called Chris by Marg Nelson, in which Chris spends her summer working at a fish cannery.  This was a book-fair paperback of the same era.

Change the green egg to a green ring, and this sounds very much like The Magician's Nephew by CS Lewis.
R8 is definetely The Magician's Nephew. This book isn't remotely like The Magician's Nephew.
Green Egg may be The Green Futures of Tycho by William Sleator, E.P.  Dutton, 1981.  In this book, Tycho Tithonus finds a silver egg in his garden that transports him through time, where he meets his frightening future self.
I just wanted to write to you and tell you how much I appreciate your site of Solved Mysteries. Normally, I don't send emails to webmasters unless I have problems with their page, but I am just so ecstatic about finding the
title and author of a book I have been searching the internet for hours trying to locate. Apparently I have been searching for the book the Green Futures of Tycho by William Sleator. I have spent roughly 5 hours each week for the last two weeks looking for this book I was really getting frustrated and depressed about not finding a book I knew I had read in grade school. I finally happened to type in the right phrase on NorthernLight.com and up popped your website (I tried the same phrase on Yahoo later and it didn't come up there, so I am glad I was on NL.com). Also, I have done a little research and discovered I have read 3 or 4 more of his books and remember enjoying them greatly too.  Thanks so much for the help! Very soon I'll be off to the bookstore to see if I can buy these books.
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I am looking for an older child book featuring a character named Tycko. He was named after a famous scientist and has several siblings named Ludwig and other famous names.  Does this sound familiar?

This is William Sleator's Green Futures of Tycho (NY:Dutton,1981). Sleator's son, Tycho, grew up to be a physicist.

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Green Sky Trilogy, 1971, 1976, 1977.  It's just a _different_ fine children's author. :)  Below the Root:  "When thirteen-year-old Raamo is surprisingly chosen to join the priestly class of Ol-zhaan rulers, he uses his telepathic abilities to discover some dangerous secrets about the governing body to the land of Green-sky"  And All Between: "When her father asks her to give up her pet laban for food, Terra, one of the Erdlings who live underground, flees, falling into the hands of the Ol'zhaan, who take her to the world above ground"   Until the Celebration: "Resistant to their forced union, the Kindar of Green-sky and the Erdlings are shocked when their disappointment and misery is capped off by the disappearance of the Holy Children, Pomma and Teera."
Sounds like Below the Root by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.  The people lived in a magic land underground and were able to fly from tree to tree.  Very beautiful and surreal. I believe there may be more than one in the series.
#F106--Flying people living in trees:  Below the Root, by Zilpha Keatley Snyder.  Sequels are And All Between and Until the Celebration.
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1970's-early 80's.  It was fantasy series of three books for young adults or juveniles - I think - there were little people who lived in trees and had forgotten how to fly and needed to remember in order to save their society...there were some genetics involved and a lot of discussion about the culture

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Green Sky Trilogy.  Sounds likely I think that this may be in 'Solved Stumpers'. 1.Below the Root
2.And All Between 3.Until the Celebration.
Terry Pratchett, The Bromeliad Trilogy: Truckers, Diggers, and Wings, c.1990. The Bromeliad Trilogy of Truckers, Diggers and Wings comes to mind, although the copyright date is early 90s, not 80s. The Bromeliads are little people, some of whom live in the wild, although not in trees. There are extensive references to bromeliad trees, though, and they do have to figure out how to fly to Cape Canaveral (I think) to hijack a rocket ship. It's hard to summarize three books, but that was what it made me think of.
Madeline L'Engle, A Wind in the Door. Could this be it?  Part of this story is about Meg going inside the mirco-world of her brother's cells, and finding out the reason he is so sick.  The mitochondria in his cells (tree-like creatures) have forgotten how to dance.  She teaches them how to dance again and his health is restored.  This has both micro and macro effect on the universe.  Good luck!
Pretty positive this is NOT the Green Sky trilogy.  The Kindar (tree-dwellers) in Green Sky glide due to low gravity, which has nothing to do with the breakdown (and salvation) of their society.
Zylpha Keatley Snyder, Green Sky Trilogy, 1970s.  I think this *is* the Green Sky Trilogy.  The tree-dwellers have various paranormal abilities (such as levitating objects) which they are gradually losing.  The solution to the loss of their powers turns out to be reuniting with the dispossessed people who've been living in exile underground.
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I am looking for a young adult fantasy series (3 books?) that I believe is from the early or mid 1900s (as my older neighbor had also read the same series as a child). The story is about two groups of people (one lives above the earth in the trees and one lives underground and they are enemies - no one lives on the ground). One girl ventures below the earth and meets another girl and they share some sort of magic or telepathic powers. The only other striking feature I remember is that the tree people eat somesort of intoxicating/hallucinogentic berries. Help please! I've been trying to find out the name of this series/author for years - what a great site! Thank you!

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Green Sky Trilogy, 1971, 1976, 1977.   Below the Root:  "When thirteen-year-old Raamo is surprisingly chosen to join the priestly class of Ol-zhaan rulers, he uses his telepathic abilities to discover some dangerous secrets about the governing body to the land of Green-sky"  And All Between: "When her father asks her to give up her pet laban for food, Terra, one of the Erdlings who live underground, flees, falling into the hands of the Ol'zhaan, who take her to the world above ground"   Until the Celebration: "Resistant to their forced union, the Kindar of Green-sky and the Erdlings are shocked when their disappointment and misery is capped off by the disappearance of the Holy Children, Pomma and Teera."

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Snyder, Zilpha Keatley.  Below the Root.  cover by James E. Christensen. Tor, 1975, 1985.  paperback, very minor wear; some yellowing.  Green-Sky series #1  VG  $10

G35 is definitely The Green Ginger Jar by Clara Ingram Judson.
Clara Ingram Judson wrote The Green Ginger Jar, a mystery set in Chicago's Chinatown concerning the contents of a ginger jar.  I haven't read it, but if you can't find a copy I do have one and can look to see if it's anything like the story described.
There is a book The Green Ginger Jar, A Chinatown Mystery by Clara Judson, Houghton Mifflin, 1949.   I was thinking of a Phylis Whitney, but this might be the one.
How about The Green Ginger Jar by Clara Ingram Judson, illustrated by Paul Brown, published Houghton Mifflin, 1949, 210 pages. "A story of modern Chinatown in Chicago. Ai-Mei and her brother, Lu Chen, feel themselves to be Americans first and Chinese second. In their conflicts with the older members of the family (particularly their grandmother), the reader gets a good picture of the traditional Chinese way of living ..." (cited in Good Books for Children, 1946-61 Eakins, 1962)

I know this is on Solved Mysteries somewhere...
Zilpha Keatley Synder, Below the Root.  Your comment on thinking it was already solved inspired me to be more diligent in searching.  Thanks!  I am sure to send you more.
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Green Sky Trilogy:  Below the Root, And All Between, Until the Celebration
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I read this book sometime between 79-81.  I think there is an illustration of the top of a tree on the front.  Its about a community that lives in the tops of the trees.  The main character is a boy that has an adventure or goes on a quest.  I read it several times but I can't remember the name of it.  Any help would be appreciated.

Zilpha Keatley Snider, And All Between, This might be the Green-Sky trilogy (it has three books, but the one whose title I alway remembered was And All Between).  Some of the characters, the Kindar, live in treetops, while others, the Erdlings, live underground ("below the root").
Zilpha Keatley Snyder, Below the Root, 1975. I think this may be the book you remember. I have a vague memory of a tree on the cover of the mid-80s era hardback I first read, and the plot matches.  The Kindar live in the tree-tops and fear the Pash-shan who live below the roots of the trees, which are withering.  Raamo is chosen for his mental abilities and goes on a quest to cure the root. It's the first in a children's fantasy trilogy.

I have an answer to G8 in your Stump the Bookseller page. The book *is* titled Green Smoke and is by Rosemary Manning. Originally published by Constable in 1957. My paperback is a Puffin published in England in 1967 and reprinted at least 4 times. The flyleaf also mentions "Dragon in Danger" and "The Dragon's Quest" which I assume are part of the series.
Could this be Rosemary Manning's Green Smoke (c1957)?  It's listed in an online library catalogue with the subject headings "Dragons" and "England--Fiction".
I remember this book quite vividly from my childhood. It is indeed called Green Smoke. It was written by Elizabeth Manning, and has a copyright date of 1957.
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G8: Just to confirm this book is definitely Green Smoke by Rosemary Manning, and it's a wonderful book  it's actually set in Cornwall - the dragon lives at Constantine Bay, which is a real place  the other 2 books in the series are Dragon in Danger (1959), which involves the dragon being kidnapped and The Dragon's Quest (1961), where the dragon tells a story about his life at the court of King Arthur.  I have these in Puffin editions (1971/1974), but my copy of Green Smoke is languishing somewhere with an ex-girlfriend.
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The book I�m looking for came out around 1980, it�s about a young girl who goes on holiday to her aunt�s house in Cornwall for the summer. I distinctly remember her playing tennis and eating cream teas. In a cave on the beach she meets a dragon, who was alive during the time of King Arthur, and was a great friend of the King�s. He flies the girl around Cornwall on his back, tells her old tales and also takes her to meet a mermaid. That�s all I remember.

D175 If no answer on this, may be you could email www.cornwallbooks.com
Rosemary Manning, Green Smoke, 1957.  "An eight year old girl meets a friendly dragon while on a beach vacation in England, and he tells her stories about his past as one of the companions of King Arthur."
Rosemary Manning, Green Smoke.  Yes, you are correct. It is Green Smoke! The dragon blows Green Smoke out of his cave. Thanks heaps, I've been looking for this for ages.
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King Arthur's Dragon. This may have been a series from England, I borrowed it from the Brooklyn Public Library in the late sixties, but I don't know how long it had been on the shelves there. A young girl on holiday goes down to the beach where she finds a dragon who tells her about King Arthur and Morgan LeFay. This was the first time I was introduced to the concept of going counterclockwise. There were a few black and white illustrations I think. The girl may have looked like Eloise.

Manning Rosemary, Green Smoke, 1961.  This is definitely it...sequels Dragon in Danger, The Dragon's quest, Dragon in the Harbour.  While on holiday Susan meets a dragon in a cave at Constantine Bay.  He tells her exciting stories about his life with Arthur and even takes her on a couple of adventures.
Rosemary Manning, Green Smoke, 1957.  This one is on the Solved Mysteries "G" page.  Followed by at least two sequels: Dragon in Danger (1959) and The Dragon's Quest (1961).  I've also seen an online listing for Rosemary Manning's Dragon in the Harbour, which is described as "the scarcest of the Dragon books."
Manning, Rosemary, The Dragon's Quest, 1961.  "To compensate for his absence during her summer at the beach, Susan's friend R. Dragon leaves her a special book recalling his life and adventures at the court of King Arthur."
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1960s.  This was a british book, about a girl who makes friends with a dragon, who would not tell her his name.  Said if she knew his name, she would have control over him.  There was a second book also, where i think he told her his name

Rosemary Manning, Green Smoke.  It's on the solved pages so look there for more details.
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King Arthur's Dragon. This may have been a series from England, I borrowed it from the Brooklyn Public Library in the late sixties, but I don't know how long it had been on the shelves there. A young girl on holiday goes down to the beach where she finds a dragon who tells her about King Arthur and Morgan LeFay. This was the first time I was introduced to the concept of going counterclockwise. There were a few black and white illustrations I think. The girl may have looked like Eloise.

Manning Rosemary, Green Smoke, 1961.  This is definitely it...sequels Dragon in Danger, The Dragon's quest, Dragon in the Harbour.  While on holiday Susan meets a dragon in a cave at Constantine Bay.  He tells her exciting stories about his life with Arthur and even takes her on a couple of adventures.
Rosemary Manning, Green Smoke, 1957.  This one is on the Solved Mysteries "G" page.  Followed by at least two sequels: Dragon in Danger (1959) and The Dragon's Quest (1961).  I've also seen an online listing for Rosemary Manning's Dragon in the Harbour, which is described as "the scarcest of the Dragon books."
Manning, Rosemary, The Dragon's Quest, 1961.  "To compensate for his absence during her summer at the beach, Susan's friend R. Dragon leaves her a special book recalling his life and adventures at the court of King Arthur."

A162: Most likely one of Thornton W. Burgess' many books about the Green Woods and the Green Meadows.
Albert Bigelow Paine, The Hollow Tree and Deep Woods Book, ca. 1900.  This may be the book (or at least the author -- there were a number of chapter books written about the same set of animal characters).  The main characters are a 'Coon, a
'Possum, and an Old Black Crow, and they live together in the branches of a Hollow Tree located in the middle of the Deep Woods.  Each chapter is basically a stand-alone story, but with definite connections.  (One of the books I think is called the Hollow Tree Snowed-In Book, and the gist basically is that a number of friends of the Hollow Tree "people" visit for Christmas dinner, end up snowed in, and pass the time telling stories to one another.)  Mr. Rabbit is one of the recurring characters.  I don't recall a fox or a badger, though.  Still, the memory of something to do with woods makes me think this might be the book/series.
I wrote this stumper and it IS the Thornton Burgess book series.  I recently came across one online "Reddy Fox" and this is the right series of books. Thanks for all the help!

Bright, Robert, Gregory, the Noisest and Strongest Boy in Grangers Grove, 1969.  Sounds like it could be this Gregory.  It's the same author and illustrator as the Georgie the little ghost series.
Robert Bright, Gregory.  YES!!! This is it. Thank you, thank you, thank you to whoever posted this.  I have found the book and purhased it right away.

Roald Dahl, The Gremlins, 1943.  Here you go! Read the complete text online here.
Not a solution, but a suggestion for another path to explore.  I distinctly remember Walt Disney short cartoons with little gremlins (cute little critters with short airplane ears) crawling around planes causing mischief.  Perhaps the book you remember came from Disney.
Roald Dahl, The Gremlins, 1943.  How about this for a possiblilty: The Gremlins, A Royal Air Force Story by Flight Lieutenant Roald Dahl for Walt Disney. I haven't read the book myself, so I can't attest to the details.
Roald Dahl.  I don't know the title but I belive that Roald Dahl origianlly came up with the idea and name (Gremlins) to explain the problems encountered by pilots in the war - could it be a short story or magazine artical by him?
Sounds very much like The Gremlins, by Roald Dahl!  Very rare and expensive. The illustrations are by Disney - they planned to film it as a cartoon, but it never went through, partly because it was about the RAF and not the US Air Force. Dahl said he thought his was the first use of the term.
The Gremlins was the book I was thinking about.  Reading it again after all these years brings back lots of old memories.  Thanks all very much....

Susan Cooper, The Grey King.  The fourth book in Susan Cooper's classic Dark is Rising series---"The Grey King"--depicts Will's trip to Wales, where he meets Bran, an albino boy, and his dog Cafall.  Will is one of the Old Ones  there's a strong King Arthur theme mixed with Welsh mythology in this books.  If it isn't this one, more plot description might help--there's lots of Celtic/Gaelic fantasy out there.
You'll probably get this a lot, but maybe this is Susan Cooper's The Dark Is Rising series?
Susan Cooper, The dark is Rising series, 1975.  A series of five books based on Celtic/Arthurian Myth.
Perhaps this is book 4, The Grey King, where the lead character, Will Stanton, stays in a Welsh farmhouse and meets Bran, who teaches him some Welsh prounounciation.
Susan Cooper, The Grey King. The details could fit with this book, which is part of a series, The Dark is Rising.
Sounds like one of the 5 in the Darkness Rising Series.  I can not remember the author but I actually have the set at home.  It was recommended to me for my nephew who loves the Harry Potter books.
Cooper, Susan, The Grey King, 1975.  Possibly "The Grey King" from Susan Cooper's The Dark is Rising series? Its about a boy who falls ill and is sent to a relative's farm in Wales to recover. There is a lot of welsh language used in the book and definitely some magic.
Alan Garner, The Owl Service.  Just a mention, in case it's NOT The Grey King.
I just wanted to say THANK YOU for figuring this out for me.  I tried many times doing a google search to get the title to no avail.  You guys hit the nail right on the head! Thanks again!
This sounds vaguely like The Grey King, by Susan Cooper.  That does involve a boy on a farm in Wales, with Welsh spoken (and magic, of course), and the age seems about right.
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YA fiction, mid-/late '80s, early '90s.  Protag is YA male. At start, town is paralyzed by freak snowstorm, longest in memory; protag senses that something sinister/otherworldly is going on.  I think wolves are involved, and maybe ravens/crows; phrase "grey wolf" sticks in mind.  I suspect, but don't know, that it's part of a series.  Rediscovered it in the library a few years ago, but now I've forgotten again.  Many, many thanks!