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S27 is Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart.  Not really a children's book, though I read it as a child.  I believe it's currently in print as a mass market paperback.
This is EARTH ABIDES by George R. Stewart.  It is one of the most famous post-apocalypse science fiction novels, and you should have no trouble finding it:  it's still in print as a mass-market paperback from Fawcett.
The ISBN is 0-44-921301-3.
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Sci-Fi - man survives world-wide virus because he was recovering from a snake bite at the time. Uses telephone book to locate other survivors and organizes a group to start civilization again. First women he finds becomes his wife & eventually dies of cancer.  70's?

#C163--civilization organizes again after virus:  This is Earth Abides, by George R. Stewart, one of the first post-apocalyptic novels of the atomic age and a classic.
George R. Stewart, Earth Abides,  1959.  This is "Earth Abides" by George Stewart.  "A disease of unparalleled destructive force has sprung up almost simultaneously in every corner of the globe, all but destroying the human race. One survivor, strangely immune to the effects of the epidemic, ventures forward to experience a world without man. What he ultimately discovers will prove far more astonishing than anything he'd either dreaded or hoped for."  Oh yeah, and he survives because of snakebite and marries the first woman he meets... :)

I recognise the description but can't recall the title. I think there were three species, those who could fly, tose who lived in tunnels and those who lived on the surface. They all belived the others to be 'animals' rather than sentients. I think they were all originally the same species and the licking/modelling was a part of the reproctive cycle.  I think the story is by either Ursula Le Guin or Orsan Scott Card, if that helps.
Snyder, Zilpah keatley, Below the root.  this is a long shot - but it is about two races one who live in the branches of the trees - and who glide- and the others who live in the roots on the ground.  Is the first in a trilogy
Orson Scott Card, Earthborn.  I agree with the previous answer: probably Earthborn, one of The Homecoming series by Orson Scott Card.
ORSON SCOTT CARD, EARTHFALL. 1990s.  Since posting my previosu solution I've been trying to track down the correct book - I'm pretty sure it's Earthfall (part 4 of the Homecoming series)
Orson Scott Card, Homecoming series,1992-1995.This is definitely from the "Homecoming" series. The creatures are mentioned in dreams in the first book as angels as demons, later come to be known as angels/skymeat (flying batlike creatures) and diggers/devils (underground large rat creatures). The angels sculpt clay on the riverbank and the diggers steal the sculptures, licking them as a form of worship. The humans from planet Harmony return to Earth to discover this new culture and try to figure out why the angels and diggers are so linked. Great series. Starts with The Memory of Earth, then The Call of Earth, The Ships of Earth, Earthfall, and finally Earthborn. Diggers and angels are mainly in "Earthfall", and their descendents in "Earthborn". Series is mostly about Nafai (youngest son of Volemak the Wetchik) and the Oversoul of Harmony (a computer trying to keep mankind from destroying itself)

This sounds like a Robert Heinlein teen SF novel from the 1950s/1960s.
I don't think it's a Heinlein novel, I checked the summaries of all his books. One of them is similar, but not the one I was looking for.
Pamela Sargent, Earthseed, 1987.
mystery solved, thanks so much :)

Have you looked on the Anthology Finder to see if any look familiar?  Of course, you might not recognize your father's memory...
I found a few collections that have the story "How The Sea Became Salt".  Once Upon A Time Tales by Wallace Wadsworth, illus. by Margaret Evans Price, c. 1944, was reissued in 1995 by Barnes & Noble.  Contents: The cock, the mouse and the little red hen -- The seven wonderful cats -- Puss in Boots -- Bob-White and the farmer man -- Bluebeard -- Tom Thumb -- The three little pigs -- The goose girl -- Henny Penny -- The three bears -- Jack and the beanstalk -- How the Sea became salt -- Peter Rabbit -- The gingerbread man -- The little red hen -- The Pied Piper -- Mr. and Mrs. Vinegar.
The Real Story Book (c1927, 1939, 1947) is also by Wadsworth and contains these same stories, so it may have been the original book.  Do any of the other stories sound familiar to your dad?
Olive Beaupre Miller, editor, My Book House, volume 5 - Over the Hills,  1920-1971.  These books have been in print long enough to be included among your father's childhood favorites.  Volume 5 features a story entitled "Why the Sea is Salt."
Why the Sea is Salt is an old story that has been included in many fairy tale books. The "coffee grinder" in the story is often called a quern.
Why the sea is salty is the subject of many cultures' folk tales and mythologies. The one your father is remembering has a Scandinavian basis of which many versions have been told. A poor man receives the boon of a mill that grinds requested food with magical directions. Another man, usually rich and greedy, steals the mill, but only learns how to start it. When at sea he decides to have the mill make salt to sell to the fishermen, he cannot stop it. Hence, boats sinks and the mill is still under the sea "grinding away still." Published in a number of older anthologies for children.
P214 I wonder if it really was in a poetry collection. I put "Why sea salt" into Google and found this from The Blue Fairy Book by Andrew Lang
THANKS to all who helped me solve this mystery!  "Why The Sea is Salt" is DEFINITELY the poem my father remembered!  I am going to try to find a couple different collections that have it and surprise him with one and keep one for myself - such nostalgia! Have a wonderful day and happy searching!
You just put up my stumper today and someone wrote to see if I checked the anthologies - maybe it was you - anyway, check this out!  Look at the last listing!!  Do you have this book????  Could it be the poem?????   East o' the Sun and West o' the Moon by Peter Christen Asbjornsen translated by Gudrun Thorne-Thomsen Gudrun  NY, Harper & Row, 1946
I think things are getting confused here because of the original comment that the story may have appeared in a "poetry collection." "Why the Sea is Salt" is (in any version I've heard it) a story, not a poem. East of the Sun and West of the Moon, which has been translated by different people, is a book of Norwegian folk tales, and it does include that story.  But not in poem form.
Under the heading east of the sun, west of the moon, there is a question about "Why the Sea is Salt."  This is an old Norwegian folk tale, originally published in 1844 by the greats Asbjørnsen & Moe.  It was translated under that English title by George Webbe Dasent, and can be currently found in the Dover publication Popular Tales from Norse Mythology.

Adrienne Adams, The Easter Egg Artists, 1976.  I've solved my own stumper before it was even posted!
Since you cleverly solved this yourself, I'll add a bit more to it. There are two more wonderful books by Adrienne Adams about the Easter Egg Artists family. One is The Great Valentine's Day Balloon Race and The Christmas Party.

Dover books might have it or something similar.
Ed Emberley, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals.  This sounds like Ed Emberley. He has a number of great how-to drawing books. Most are in that long horizontal format.
Emberley, Ed, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals, 1970.  It starts out with ant, ants, worm, snake,.....mouse, bird, pelican.... fox, wolf... horse, shark, whale... and ends with giraffe, alligator, and dragon.   He also adds variations for some of the animals such as turtel sleeping, turtle dancing, and turtle skating in the rain.
Ed Emberley, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals, 1970.  I'm sitting here looking at my copy that I ordered from a Scholastic book order in school in the 70s, which my son now uses and loves.
Ed Emberley had a series of these oblong drawing books. This one sounds like ED EMBERLEY'S DRAWING BOOK OF ANIMALS, 1970 and republished since~from a librarian
Ed Emberley's big orange drawing book, 1980.  Ed Emberley's drawing book of animals, 1970. Ed Emberley's picture pie; a circle drawing book, 1984.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Emberley, Ed, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Animals, Little Brown, 1970, 4th printing.  Ex-library with some marks, but overall VG/VG.  $8

This could be one of the Ed Emberley drawing books. There are so many, it's hard to say which one. Maybe Ed Emberley's Drawing Book: Make a World.
Ed Emberley, Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Faces. Sounds like one of Ed Emberley's books.  From your description, I'm guessing it's his Faces book. This may be one of Ed Emberley's books  perhaps "Ed Emberley's Drawing Book of Faces."
Emberley Ed, Sounds like one of Ed Emberley's drawing books. There were lots!~from a librarian
Ed Emberley, Drawing book series. Emberley has a number of these - they'\''ve been reprinted, so I don'\''t have the original publication dates, but I know my brothers had them in the early 70s.
Ed Emberley, Ed Emberleys Drawing Book of Faces. Ed Emberley has a huge series of these drawing book, but your description made me think of this one. You can see a cover image and some sample pages here.

that's it! solved. thank you!

I collect the Eddie books by Carolyn Haywood.  They are   Little Eddie '47,  Eddie and the Fire Engine '49, Eddie and Gardenia '51,  Eddie's Paydirt '53,  Eddie and His Big Deals '55,  Eddie Makes Music '57,  Eddie and Louella '59,  Annie Pat and Eddie '60,  Eddie's Green Thumb '64,  Eddie the Dog Holder '66,  Ever-Ready Eddie '68, Eddie's Happenings '71,  Eddie's Valuable Property '75,  Eddie's Menagerie '78, Merry X-mas From Eddie '86.  They are still fairly available, with varying prices, not too steep compared to some other series books.
Eddie and Gardenia / written and illustrated by Carolyn Haywood. New York: Morrow, c1951. Also Eddie and His Big Deals, 1955, Eddie and Louella 1959, Eddie and the Fire Engine, 1949, Eddie Makes Music, 1957, Eddie's Friend Boodles, Eddie's Green Thumb, Eddie's Happenings, Eddie's Menagerie, Eddie's Pay Dirt, Eddie's Valuable Property, Ever-Ready Eddie.... don't know how many, but they go on for years, so how many this person remembers may depend on how many had been written at that point!
Yes, this is the series.
I too was looking for the Eddie collection by Carolyn Haywood for my son.  I was able to find the entire collection of books on E-Bay.  My 9 year old has read all of them and enjoyed them as much as I did.

Hurrah! I have the answer to one of your stumpers.  S2: The title is AN EDGE OF THE FOREST by Agnes Smith illustrated by Roberta Moynihan Published 1959. The description of the story is the same. Lamb, leopardess, shepherd. Lovely.

B41 is definitely THE EDGE OF TIME  by Loula Grace Erdman, Dodd, Mead and Co. 1950  I have the book in front of me.
B41 Bethany and Wade from a contemporary review: Erdman, Loula Grace The Edge of Time Dodd, 1950, 275 pages "A novel of the Texas Panhandle in 1885 and of a brave young couple who started their married life as homesteaders in that lonely country" "Bethany and Wade are such nice people - you'll like them."
B41 bethany and wade: the suggested title Edge of Time seems likely, with the characters' names Bethany and Wade and the homesteading setting. The original dustjacket shows young homesteaders in a covered wagon.

There is a book my sister has written in the 60's or 70's called TERRIBLE,  HORRIBLE EDIE.  The author is E.C. Spykman.  She has other siblings and is always getting into trouble.  Hope this is the one.
No, this doesn't sound like the one because the girl I'm thinking about was an only child, and I don't remember anything about her getting into trouble.  Thanks for the help!
Hello!  I had this book as a child, and still do!  It's called Edie changes her mind by Johanna Johnston, Illustrated by Paul Galdone.  G. P. Putnam's Sons, New York, 1964.  No ISBN, but Library of Congress Catalog Card Number 64-10419.
More on the suggested book - apparently it's hard to find: Johnston, Johanna Edie Changes her Mind NY Putnam 1964 blue and orange pictorial hardcover, 8x10 "Lively, whimsical illustrations by Paul Galdone.
Every time Edie has to go to bed, she lets out a terrible yell!. Find out why Edie decides she wants her bed back after all!"
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book about a little girl named Edie who hates going to bed. Her parents decide she never has to go to bed again  and they take her bed apart and remove it from her room. After staying up half the night and finding it is not fun Edie wants her bed back and gladly goes to sleep.

Johanna Johnston, Edie Changes Her Mind, 1964.  See the Solved Mysteries page.
Probably (from the Solved List) Edie Changes Her Mind, by Johanna Johnston, illustrated by Paul Galdone, published New York, Putnam 1964. "A charming story about a little girl who every night refuses to go to bed...until her parents come up with the perfect plan. Every time Edie has to go to bed, she lets out a terrible yell!. Find out why Edie decides she wants her bed back after all!"

Dare Wright. Not sure which title, but this sounds like one of the bear books by Dare Wright -- maybe Edith and Big Bad Bill or The Little One.
Dare Wright, Edith and Big Bad Bill, 1968. Thanks so much!  This is absolutely the one I remember!

Must be The Education of Little Tree by Forrest Carter.  It's the kind of book that would have been read in English classes in the 80's, before the scandal of disovering that Carter was not Native American...

This is a very long shot, but these MIGHT be the Educator Classic Library, a series of children's classic literature published mostly in the late '60's.   The titles included 20, 000 Leagues Under the Sea, Swiss Family
Robinson, Treasure Island etc. They are large-format books (about the size of a legal pad...9" x 12"?), and they are *annotated*, with definitions of unusual words, small b & w  drawing of various items, etc, in the (wide)
margins of almost every page.
I have to say, the Educator Classic Library sounds like a very close match in content, format and date - not a long shot at all!

Could you have been reading a biography of The Duke of Windsor?  When he was Prince of Wales and King Edward VIII he gave those exact orders to his staff at Fort Belvedere, his hideaway near Windsor Castle.
Frances Donaldson, Edward VIII, 1978. Thank you for solving this. I misremembered a few details, but your answer led me back to the book (and "soap" was in the index, so I didn't have to reread the book to find this story).

Elizabeth Enright, The Four-Story Mistake,  Then There Were Five, 1942 and 1944. Sounds like the 2nd and 3rd books of the much-loved Melendy series.  In The Four-Story Mistake, the 4 Melendy kids move from Manhattan to a huge old house in the country.  The setting is forest-like.  The kids are Mona, Rush, Miranda and Oliver.  Then There Were Five introduces the orphan Mark who the family later adopts.
Hi. Thank you for the suggestion, but I can confidently assert that the book is not one of the Melendy series as they were childhood favourites of mine. I can see why you would have thought that, though.
Borchard, Ruth, Children of the Old House. This is a long shot but you might try looking at the description of this book in the Solved Stumpers section.  It involves five children but their names aren't all M names- apparently they are Ruth, Michael, Peter, Inga, and the baby.  They move to a new house and have many adventures.
Your description is making me think of Miracles on Maple Hill by Virginia Sorensen. Marly- 10 years old- and her family move to a farm near grandparents. The area is very rural and wooded.
Children of the Old House: I have read the description in the Solved section and also hunted it down on the wider web, but none of the descritions chimes any memory-bells I''m afraid. I am wondering if this stumper may simply be too obscure...
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Miracles on Maple Hill. I am certain this is not the book. Its setting is too American, and the plot rings no bells. I think the book I am remembering was for younger readers than this. (I suspect that Abbey View Library in Dunfermline, Fife, Scotland, may have had the only copy in existence!) Thank you all very much for your suggestions though. Please keep trying, this i like an itch I can't scratch...

Anne-Cath. Vestly, Eight Children in Winter, 1975, copyright. By a series of coincidences too long to relate, I finally stumbled upon this by myself. I wasn't absolutely sure until I ordered a copy and on the first page the children's names were listed: Mary, Martin, Martha, Mark, Mona, Milly, Maggie and Little Matt. They live with Mother, Father and Grandma in a house in the wood a little way outside the big town. The book was translated from Norwegian by Patricia Crompton and is the third in a series which starts with the family living in a cramped flat in the town, then follows their move to the woods. I'm so relieved to have tracked this book down, that itch has finally been scratched and wonderful it is!

#A41:   Louisa May Alcott's house is a museum.  Not a National Park Service Site, but it's in Concord, Massachusetts, its name is Orchard House, and you should be able to find out at least a snail mail and maybe an e-mail address from an online search.  Someone there knows all about Louisa May Alcott or they'll know who will.  (Don't forget an SASE!  As they're not NHS they won't have free government postage!)
This one sounds like a book published under two names depending on the edition.  Aunt Hill or Eight Cousins
is about a girl named Rose who is orphaned and sent to live with her Uncle.
I'm pretty sure this Alcott book is An Old Fashioned Girl.  The heroine is a country girl sent to live with her rich cousins in the city.  She has a snobbish girl cousin and a nicer boy cousin and many trials learning to live in their more sophisticated home.
I looked for this trans. in some library databases, but no luck. French translations of Alcott's work seem to work in Docteur March to the title whenever possible (or not) and this does not seem to match any of the actual March family stories. Old Fashioned Girl sounds closer than Eight Cousins. Old Fashioned Girl is about Polly, who visits her friend Fanny Shaw for several months. Polly Milton is from a poor and simple family (like the Marches) and the Shaws are well-off and fashionable. The children are Fanny, her brother Tom, and spoiled little sister Maude. There is conflict between virtue and homely values as represented by Polly and old grandmother Shaw, and vanity and worldliness as represented by the selfish invalid Mrs. Shaw and Fanny's snobbish friend Trix. Eight Cousins is about orphan Rose, who comes to live with her uncle, six aunts and seven boy cousins. The focus of the book is on her education, which is debated by the aunts and settled by the uncle, whose scheme is very close to Bronson Alcott's ideas. Later - there's a French trans of Aunt Hill, and it's called Rose et ses sept cousins.
The main characters in An old Fashioned Girl are Polly, Tom and Fanny. It wasn't Lizabeth.
I checked a book report on it that I did which had a few more clues: The main girl`s name is Lizbeth, she visits a family in the city where the sister and brother are called Fanny and Tom, respectively.  Eventually, this rich family goes bankrupt.
I just checked the solutions to the stumpers that I had submitted.  They sound like the correct solutions to me! Thank you so much for helping me solve these mysteries that have been with me since I was a child.
The answer to Alcott story about a goddaughter says OLD FASHIONED GIRL, but actually it's EIGHT COUSINS. Rose is orphaned and her godfather is her uncle. The sequel to the book is ROSE IN BLOOM. OLD FASHIONED GIRL is about country girl Polly, who frequently visits her city friend Fanny, until she grows up and moves to the same city.
Alcott, An Old Fashioned Girl.If this is about a goddaughter, are you sure the book is not Eight Cousins?

Perhaps Selina and the Bear Paw Quilt, by Barbara Smucker?
I'm watching your website once a week, hoping someone recognizes the book about quilts.  It was probably a paperback, published around 1992.  My intuition is telling me maybe the title included "four Hands" somewhere.  I associate counting and hands with the title.  Hopefully these adidtional hints will trigger somebody's memory.  Thanks so much for this wonderful effort at answering our need to identify books from memory so that we can enjoy those books in hand, not just mind, again.
Ann W. Paul, Eight Hands Round:  A Patchwork Alphabet.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Paul, Ann Whitford.   Eight Hands Round: A Patchwork Alphabet. Illustrated by Jeanette Winter.  HarperCollins, 1991, 4th printing.  F/F  $18

E20 Not sure this is the right book, but there is a book entitled EIGHTEEN COUSINS by Carol G. Hogan, illustrated by Beverly Komode. It's 36 pages long, and was published in 1968 by Parents Magazine Press
E20 eighteen cousins: more on the suggested Eighteen Cousins, by Carol G. Hogan, illustrated by Beverly Komoda, published Parents' Magazine 1968. "A story in verse form about a city child who visits the country for the first time. Ages 4-8, grades K-3." (HB Jun/68 p.361 pub ad) So it looks like a good match.
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C8: This web site is just what I have been looking for. The book I am searching for is about a brother and sister who go to visit a relative in the country. They play in a stream, see a frog and a bird house. It is a color picture book for the 4-8 year old range. I was born in 1975, so I'm assuming it was published sometime between 1970 and 1985. That's just a guess. Unfortunately, that's all I remember. Any help would be appreciated.

a couple of possibles, the first sounds good but likely too long: Hope, Laura Lee,  Bunny Brown and his Sister Sue on Grandpa's Farm NY Grosset & Dunlap, 1916, 246 pages, octavo. Illustrated with drawings by Florence England Nosworthy. Light green cloth with pictorial cover label, without dust jacket. Blegvad, Lenore..  Moon-watch Summer Illustrated by Erik Blegvad. NY Harcourt 1972, 63 pgs, cloth. "Line drawings of children & cats complement this brief story of a brother's & sister's summer visit to their grandmother living in the country."
C8 country visit: it's two boys, not girl and boy, but perhaps Summer is Fun, by Lavinia R. Davis, illustrated by Hildegarde Woodward, published Doubleday 1952, 48 pages. "This is a beautiful book to look at, with a
story in which the twins, Gil and Tippy, really come to life as sturdy, highly individual small boys, spending a summer on Grandpa's farm. A lost Indian trace, a housewarming party and a present for their lame friend Kenny, provide lively interest both in the text and in the fine three-color pictures." (HB Feb/52 p.26)
Carol G. Hogan, Eighteen Cousins, 1968.  Your description reminds me of a book my family loved, called Eighteen Cousins. It only involves one boy who visits his cousins in the country. It is done in rhyme, and mentions seeing a brook and a frog. Sample verse: "I nibbled a carrot, I nibbled a pea, I nibbled a green leaf...but what did I see?  EIGHTEEN COUSINS a-nibbling like me!"  Illustrated by Beverly Komoda
Eighteen Cousins is a baby boomer favorite published by Parents Magazine Press in 1968.  The dates certainly match.

Elfrida Vipont, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, 1969.  "One day, an elephant offers a bad baby a ride through the town, and so begins an adventure and a chase. But when the elephant realizes that the bad baby has forgotten his manners, the chase ends with a bump and tea for everyone."  I had forgotten all about this book till you described it and am going to look for a copy for myself now!
Elfrida Vipont, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, circa 1965.  I'm making a guess at the book's publication year, but I'm 100% sure this is the solution.
Vipont, Elfrida, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, 1969.  Just used this classic in a storytime last month!  "...and they went rumpeta, rumpeta, rumpeta all down the road."
Elfrida Vipont, The Elephant and the Bad Baby
Elfrida Vipont.  illustrated by Raymond Briggs, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, 1969.  This is definitely the book.  The elephant offers the ride to the baby and after the baby takes everything from the various merchants without saying please, they are chased "rumpeta rumpeta rumpeta" all through the town.  This was one of the favourite "on the mat" stories from my early school days. There are various covers around as it has been reprinted many times.
Elfrida Vipont, The Elephans and the Bad Baby, 1986, approximate
Elfrida Vipont & Raymond Briggs, Elephant and the Bad Baby, c.1969.  It had a glowing mention in a _Horn Book_ article on books for the under-3 crowd, which also quoted part of the refrain ("And they went rumpeta rumpeta rumpeta, all down the road, with the ______ running after")
Elfrida Vipont, illustrated by Raymond Briggs, The Elephant and the Bad Baby, 1971.
The Elephant and the Bad Baby by Elfrida Vipont, illustrated by Raymond Briggs, 1969. I loved it as a kid - though one amateur reviewer pointed out recently that it's silly - if not downright annoying - that the baby gets labelled bad just for not saying please, while the elephant shoplifts but doesn't get called bad for that. Or maybe the idea is that even human children know stealing is wrong and animals don't.
Vipont, Elfrida, illustrated by Raymond Briggs, The Elephant and the Bad Baby. London, Hamilton 1969.  This one is in print again. "One day an elephant met a bad baby and asked him if he would like a ride on his back. They went on a wild and glorious chase through the town until the elephant decided that the bad baby had forgotten his manners."
Elfrida Vipont, illustrated by Raymond Briggs, The Elephant and the Bad Baby.  My children (8 and 6) still enjoy this story, which was a favourite at their pre-school.  Still in print in the UK at least, published by Puffin
Well, I love learning something new from this site; I didn't know this book before! Reprinted in paperback in 1971 and 1981 in the UK, but not here.  Not hard to find, but not cheap, either.
B313 and B314.  Both the gizmo and elephant books (rumpeta rumpeta!) are spot on. Thanks Harriet, and everyone!
Really neat book!  One of Cattermole's 100 Best Books of the 20th Century!

It is so nice to see that someone else remembers and loves this book also!! I have two children who also love the book, Plus I have 19 nieces and Nephews and one great niece. I have found this book used many times for most of the younger ones and they all love it too!! I think they can all relate to the story.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Vipont, Elfrida.  The Elephant and the Bad Baby.  Illustrated by Raymond Briggs.  London: Penguin Books, 1969, 1971 paperback.  F.  $20

this sounds rather like one that came up on the Alibris list, so let's try - Elephant for Rent, by Lucille Chaplan,
illustrated by Don Sibley, published Little, Brown, 1959, 164 pages, ages 8-12 'Rex, a baby elephant, was Jimmy McLean's birthday present, sent to him from Africa by his father. Jimmy discovers that the Mudges, in whose care his father left him, plan to aid a cruel animal trainer to steal Rex. He and the elephant run away.' (BRD 1959)

Jean Stafford, Elephi, the Cat with the High IQ.  I think this is the book you're looking for.  The volkswagen beettle is left outside in a snowstorm.  The cat manages to get it brought inside his New York apartment building via the freight elevator.
Jean Stafford, Elephi the Cat with the High IQ, 1962.  So bizarre! I just read this book! I have a trade Dell yearling copy, don't know if there is a hardback edition. Yes, the cat does save a car, it's a little Fiat named Whitey.
C303 Stafford, Jean.   Elephi, the cat with the high IQ.   illus by Eric Blegvad.  Dell Yearling c 1962.   cat saves Whitey, a Fiat car, from snow

Base, Graeme, The Eleventh Hour:  A curious mystery,1988. Most definitely the book -Someone has eaten the feast that was prepared for elephant's 11th birthday.  One of the guests is the culprit and the reader must solve the clues hidden in the pictures to find out who.
Graeme Base, The Eleventh Hour. Sounds like it could be The Eleventh Hour. Horace the Elephant has a party for his eleventh birthday, but which of his guests ate the feast? The clues are hidden in the pictures and the borders to the pictures.
Kit Williams, Masquerade,1979. It seems from the description that this could be Masquerade by Kit Wiliams.  It was quite a bif phenomenon in England in the late 70s/early 80s! It was a picture book puzzle to find a golden hare that was buried somewhere in the English countryside. Each page was a full colour pucture with letters around the edge, finding the correct letters would give you clues to where the treasure was.This wiki page will tell you more here:
Graeme Base, The Eleventh Hour. This is absolutely the book you are looking for: good news, it' easy to find cheap used copies online!
Base, Graeme, The Eleventh Hour, A Curious Mystery, 1988. Summary from the Lib of Congress Cataloging Data: An elephant's eleventh birthday party is marked by eleven games preceding the banquet to be eaten at the eleventh hour, but when the time to eat arrives, the birthday feast has disappeared.  The reader is invited to guess the thief.
Paul Adshead, Puzzle Island. The book you describe does definitely sound like The Eleventh Hour, but I thought I'd throw this one out there as well--Puzzle Island has full page illustrations and a mystery to be solved with an alphabet with letters missing around each illustration, which describe animals hidden in the picture--the names of all those animals are your key to unlocking the cipher at the end to solve the mystery.

Is this possibly Elizabeth by Liesel Moak Skorpen?
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This is the story of a little girl who gets a doll for Christmas, names her Elizabeth, has a rotten cousin who gets a fancier doll but doesn't really love it....Elizabeth is "lost" and eventually found. The book was small, and we got it from the library several times but never found it in a bookstore.  It would make a lovely graduation gift for my Elizabeth, who loved it!

The answer to the ELIZABETH stumper might be Elizabeth by Liesel Skorpen, ill. by Martha Alexander, 1970. It is 32 pages long, and 18 cm.
E5 elizabeth doll: more on the suggested title Elizabeth, by Liesel Moak Skorpen, illustrated by Martha Alexander, published Harper 1970, 32 pages, 5x7" approx. "Kate wanted a doll for Christmas - a golden-haired walking, talking doll. But under the tree she found instead a 'soft cloth doll with warm brown eyes and thick brown braids' like hers. 'What does it do?' asked Kate. 'Everything a doll's supposed to do.' her mother said. Kate was bitterly disappointed, especially when her priggish cousin Agnes came with her stiffly curled, dressy new doll. After the holiday, Kate gave her nameless doll to James the collie to chew; then smitten with remorse she quickly retrieved her and in a flash of sudden love named her Elizabeth. Now the doll became her silent, perfect companion - understanding, patient, faithful. 'Elizabeth could do everything.'" (HB Dec/70 p.605)
Thanks for the comments, folks. I have been trying to remember about this book for decades, having read it in a library as a child and having never seen it since. Seems to be the collector's item now.

Reminds me of the plot of ELIZABETH, ELIZABETH by Eileen Dunlop, 1975, 1977. The aunt is doing research at an old Scottish castle, and the niece time travels to become another person. And in case the title doesn't ring a bell, it was originally published as ROBINSHEUGH in England.~from a librarian
Robinsheugh, or Elizabeth, Elizabeth, is the book I have been looking for. I have been finding books I loved as a kid for my children to read so now I can share this one. Many thanks!

Jenkins, Elizabeth, Elizabeth the Great.  1964, Time Inc.  book xv in the Time Reading Program  Special Edition series.   Introduction by A.L. Rowse.

P28 - could be Elizabite - a picture book about a man who grows a carnivorous plant - can't remember the author - 1960s or 70s I think
H.A. Rey.  Elizabite: Adventures of a Carnivorous Plant.  Harper & Row, 1942.  A wonderful story introducing young children to carnivorous plants. The text is amusing and young children will giggle in delight ..."She's caught me-Ouch!" cries Doctor White, "I did not know this plant could bite!"

Carmela and Steven D'Amico, Ella the Elegant Elephant (series).

Frieda Friedman, Ellen and the Gang, 1963. Twelve-year old Ellen is disappointed about not going away to camp and having to stay in the city for the summer.  While her friends are away, she falls in with two teenage boys and a girl who use her as a decoy when they shoplift from the neighborhood stores.  I think this was the last of the author's wonderfully evocative books written in the Forties through Sixties about New York City kids.
The solution posted is indeed the right book! Thanks so much for whoever solved this for me--I've been trying to remember this title and author forever!

Ellen Tebbits
I'm looking for a children's book about a young girl whose grandmother knit her a sweater out of itchy wool.  She hated it and even cut a hole out of the center of it so she wouldn't have to wear it.  But that's all I remember.  I read it in the 1960s.  I know that's not much to go on, but I appreciate anything you can do.  Thank you.

S48 sounds like one of the Beverly Cleary books like Ramona, Otis Spofford, or Ellen Tebbetts.  I remember reading a book when I was young about an itchy sweater, and I think it was in one of the Beverly Cleary books.
#S48--Sweater made of itchy wool:  I know of two "itchy wool" episodes.  In Ellen Tebbits, by Beverly Cleary, her mother makes her wear a union suit.  She is furious when found out by another girl (Audrey?) but then finds Audrey was hiding in the same bathroom/cloakroom/broom closet because her mother made her wear a union suit, so they become best friends.  In Roller Skates, by Ruth Sawyer, Lucinda promises to wear a similar undergarment all winter, but simply can't coordinate it with her stockings, etc.  Reasoning that she didn't promise in what condition she'd wear it, she decided to follow the little woman in the song and "cut it round about." She cut the legs off and just wore the shorts part of it.  The sequel to Roller Skates is Year of Jubilo.  It took me fifteen years to find a paperback of Year of Jubilo and I never have seen it in hardcover.
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Someone will surely recognize this since I think it was some kind of series. The main girl is American (cant remember her name though) and she goes to this ballet class with a new girl from France who is very snobby. All the French girl can talk about is "gay, gay Paree" and how awful America is after Paris. Of course she is simply homesick and the American girl finally realizes this and makes friends with her. Our American girl is a klutz and has to keep clutching her long underwear under her ballet costume. Her mother made her wear it and she is mortified. Jump and clutch, jump and clutch...is all she can do till the teacher scolds her for being so jerky. I wish I could remember more but that's it.  Anyone know this?

Perhaps this person is mis-remembering the detail about France. In the book ELLEN TEBBITS by Beverly Cleary, 1951, Austine Allen has just moved from California and talks about it constantly. She is in ballet class with Ellen Tebbits and Ellen's woolen underwear keeps slipping, making her "leap clutch". Ellen and Austine become friends by pairing up against Otis Spofford, and Ellen discovers that Austine's mom makes her wear woolen underwear too. ~from a librarian
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  Pretty sure about this one---not really a series, but of course Cleary wrote many books in the same vein including the Ramona series.
The long underwear, jump and clutch scene is definitely from Ellen Tebbits, but the homesick French girl part is from one of Lee Wyndham's Susie books.  I think it may be from On Your Toes, Susie.
Yes, I figured that I might have mixed up two stories as one in my head. I think I'd better go back and read all the Beverly Cleary books again! I'll check out the Lynn Wyndham books, too, because I distinctly remember the "gay Paree" part.  Thanks to everyone, and sorry that it was a relatively simple stumper!
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I am looking for the name of a book which had a chapter entitled "The Perennial Beet" (I distinctly remember asking my mother to define 'perennial'). I checked this book out of the school library when I was in the third grade, so 1963-64. The story centered on the friendship of two little girls (perhaps one new to the neighborhood and of lesser means?). The mother of one of the girls sewed them matching outfits from fabric (yellow?) printed with monkeys. There were simple illustrations at the beginning of each chapter. I realize this is precious little information to go by, but maybe there is someone my age who remembers this book. Thank you for any ideas.

Ellen Tebbits, Beverly Cleary.  1955, approximate. It was a biennial beet, but everything else in this story matches
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. 1951. This is definitely Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary.  Both the enormous beet and the monkey-fabric dresses are there.
Cleary, Beverly, Ellen Tebbitts. 1951. The making of the monkey print dresses is a major part of the story line of Ellen Tebbitts.  It practically ruins the two girls' friendship.  Also, if I remember correctly, it was a turnip plant that had a flower on it, not a beet, that Ellen pulls out of the ground.
This is the one you're looking for, Ellen's class is talking about perennials and she remembers that there's a huge beet growing nearby her school so she goes out to pull it and bring it in to show her class. And she and her best friend have identical dresses made with monkey fabric.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951. More than enough info to identify this classic.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. Definitely the one--both the beet and the dresses.
This book is Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary.
Beverly Clearly, Ellen Tebbits. How many millions of people will send in solutions to this one!?'
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. 1951. 'I love it when I know these without a doubt! I''m sure I'm not the only to come up with solution for this clue--classic Beverly Cleary.'
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits'. 1951. Chapter Two of this lesser known Beverly Cleary book is entitled "The Biennial Beet."  Ellen'\''s third grade class is dicussing different types of plants, including perennials and biennials, and her teacher mentions that it is rare to see a biennial plant in flower because they are usually harvested too soon.  Ellen finds a large (biennial) beet plant in a vacant lot and wants to take it to her teacher.  She is late to school and gets very muddy because she has such trouble pulling it up. Austine Allen is her kind new friend who helps her.  Chapter Five is called, "The Twins" and describes the matching dresses Ellen and Austine have made out of red and white fabric with monkeys and palm trees.  Ellen'\''s dress turns out much better than Austine'\''s because Ellen'\''s mother is an expert seamstress and Austine'\''s is not.  I am sure this is your book.  I hope you get to read it again.  It is such a great picture of all the social struggles of grade school!'
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951.Definitely the one you're looking for, only the chapter is titled "The Biennial Beet." Ellen's class is learning about annual, perennial, and biennial plants. In an effort to impress her teacher, Ellen pulls a huge beet plant that has gone to seed in a vacant lot, getting herself thoroughly rain-soaked, muddy, stained with beet juice, and tearing her dress in the process.  The matching dresses in the monkey-print fabric are in the chapter called "The Twins." The girls (Ellen and Austine) want matching dresses, and pick out the pattern and fabric together, but Ellen's mother is an excellent seamstress, while Austine's mother is not. The dresses don'\''t quite match (Austine'\''s looks sloppy and has no sash, while Ellen's is very attractive), which precipitates a fight between the two girls.
Cleary, Beveryly, Ellen Tebbits. Pretty sure this is an Ellen Tebbits chapter title.  As I recall, Ellen's class is learning about plants and plant life-cycles in class.  Ellen sees a huge beet in an empty lot on her way to school, and decides to bring it in as an example for the teacher, whom she is very fond of, and wants to impress.  She pulls the beet out, falling over and muddying herself in the process.  Only now that I think about it, I'm almost positive she wanted to bring he beet in as an example of a BIENNIAL plant, since those are more unusual than annuals and perennials.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951. I believe the book you remember is "Ellen Tebbits", which is still in print.  Ellen makes a friend in a new girl named Maxine at the start of the book, because they are both wearing wool underwear at ballet class.  I remember a search for a beet at some point.  Also, she and Maxine pick out fabric with monkeys for matching dresses.  The only thing is that instead of one mother making both dresses, each girl's mother makes a dress.  Ellen's mother is a good sewer but Maxine's isnt, so the dresses are not at all alike and the girls end up quarreling.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951. This is definitely Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary.  It's the story of third-grade best friends Ellen and Austine, who is new to the neighborhood at the beginning of the book.  Chapter 2 is called "The Biennial Beet," not "The Perennial Beet." There is a scene where the girls go fabric shopping for matching new dresses, and they choose a material with "red palm trees...printed on a white background. From each tree a small red monkey hung by its tail."'
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. 'I read this when I was a kid, and remember Ellen and her friend wearing dresses made out of material with monkeys on it.  Unfortunately, the friend's mother couldn't sew very well and the dress didn't look nearly as nice as Ellen's.
Cleary, Beverly, Ellen Tebbits, 1951. This is definitely Ellen Tebbits, one of my favorite books while growing up!  Ellen lives in Oregon and befriends Austine Allen, who has just moved there from California.  The two become best friends, and at one point, they ask their mothers to sew them identical dresses from material printed with monkeys.  Austine''s mother isn't much of a seamstress, and the unfortunate results lead the friends to quarrel...Ellen also pulls a flowering beet from a vacant lot to bring to school for show and tell---her class is studying annuals and perennials.  (Thanks to Austine, Ellen also learns that geraniums, which are annuals in Oregon, are perennials in California.)  A great book!  Followed by a sequel, Otis Spofford (1953), also highly recommended, as it is very funny and Ellen and Austine play a prominent role.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. I'm sure you'll get this answer over and over again, but this one is definitely Ellen Tebbits by Beverly Cleary, one of my favorite books as a child.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. The chapter you are thinking of is called "The Biennial Beet," and in a later chapter Ellen's mother and her best friend's mother make them matching dresses out of yellow fabric with monkeys on them, only the dresses don't quite match...An all-time classic!'
That was fast! I guess I'm the only person in the world who didn't know the title/author of this book. haha! Thanks everyone!
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I think this is a book from the 40's or 50's, about two little girls who are good friends with each other.  At some point they decide to dress like twins so each asks her mother to make her a dress out of the same material - a print of monkeys swinging from palm trees - but while one mother is a good seamstress, the other one isn't and her dress looks terrible.  The girls get into a fight and the one with the terrible dress rips the pocket of the one with the good dress.  They make up later.

Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  details match exactly.
Cleary, Beverly, Ellen Tebbits, 1955, approximate.  This is it without a doubt.  I'm sure you'll get a lot of comments on this one.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, Morrow, 1951, copyright.  This is definitely the book you're looking for. Ellen lives in Portland, Oregon, the only child of a single mom who is a Donna Reed, 50s tv-mom type, everything perfect. She has no close friends until Austine Allen moves to Portland from California. The girls become very close and want to do everything together, including start the fourth grade looking like (fraternal) twins, and that's what leads to the episode you remember. Austine's mother can't sew and Ellen's mom of course makes a picture-perfect dress so Austine gets jealous. There is another book solely about Otis, the Dennis-the-Menace / Penrod-like boy who teases the girls.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951, copyright.  Lots of details about this book can be found in the "solved pages", including this part about the matching dresses of Ellen and her best friend Austine. This book is a classic and you will have lots of responses, I'm sure.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951, copyright.  Definitely the book.  The monkey-patterned dresses seems to be a very strong memory for readers of this book.  Look in Solved Stumpers.
Cleary, Beverly, Ellen Tebbits, 1951, copyright.  This is from Ellen Tebbits - Ellen and Austine want to wear the same dress for the first day of school, but Austine's mum can't sew as well as Ellen's.  Austine and Ellen fall out because Austine keeps tugging at the sash on Ellen's dress.  The ripping incident doesn't happen until a later moment in the book -when Ellen rips Austine's sash when they are dusting erasers together.  The incident leads to them restoring their friendship.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  You'll get a lot of responses to this one - everyone remembers those monkey dresses! See solved mysteries for more descriptions.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  This is definitely the book.  It's in Solved Mysteries, too.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  I remember this scene so well because I longed to have a mom who sewed, but sympathized more with the girl whose mother couldn't sew her dress properly! The book includes illustrations of the print the girls used for their dresses, complete with monkeys swinging from palm trees.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951, copyright.  Definitely this one! Look under Solved Mysteries for additional details.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951, approximate.  I'm sure this one is Ellen Tebbits--my favorite Cleary book. The friend is Austine Allen and they meet over the shared dilemma of long underwear at dance class. I still own my paperback copy from 35 years ago. Thank goodness for the Scholastic Book Club!
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Author guess: Neta Frazier? 1940-1960, juvenile.  Story of the new girl in school. She makes friends with another girl, one of their mothers makes them matching dresses. The new girl is teased (because she is from Canada?), the other kids call her Pea soup & johnny cake , and Canuk(sp). There is a falling out with her friend, but they make up in the end.

The part about the new girl and matching dresses sounds like Beverly Cleary's Ellen Tebbits; but the new girl in that story is from California, not Canada.
Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits.  Thanks so much! I bought this book to see if you were right & IT IS the one I was thinking of. I loved it so much as a girl...and loved reading it again. Now I have to figure out what book has "pea soup & johnny cake" in it! Book stumper is a GREAT idea...keep up the good work.
Unless that's you, stumper G489 is looking for the same book. "Kid Sister" is in solved-K if you want to check & see if it sounds right -- she had a rat named Rosemary.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Cleary, Beverly.  Ellen Tebbits.  Illustrated by Louis Darling.  Dell Yearling, 1951, 1979.  Used paperback.  G.  $4.

Eleanor Farjeon, Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field.  This book contains the story , "Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep", which may be the story you're looking for.
Eleanor Farjeon, Elsie Piddock Skips in her Sleep.  This is only one story by Eleanor Farjeon.  One of the books it was printed in was Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field  we have it in Eleanor Farjeon's Book:  Stories, Verses, Plays.
Eleanor Farjeon, Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep, c.1937.  This sounds very like the Elsie Piddock story - which first appeared as one of the 'Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field' stories in 1937 but was also/later published separately. Elsie Piddock is a little girl in Sussex, England, who has skipping lessons in her sleep/dreams from the fairies' own skipping master Andy-Spandy (Farjeon took his name from a skipping rhyme 'Andy Spandy Sugardy Candy, French Almond Rock! Breadandbutterforyoursupper'sallyoumother'sGOT!') and got a special skipping rope from the fairies with candy handles. (Which she let her friends suck). At the end of the story she is a little old lady who has shrunk to the size she can use the fairy skipping ropes again and saves an area of open land from development.
Eleanor Farjeon, Elsie Piddock Skips in Her Sleep, 1937.  I was the one who originally asked about this, so you can now know the stumper has been solved!  I found Martin Pippin in the Daisy Field at the local library, and it is not the book I read.  It still might be the story collection mentioned here, but the library didn't have that one.  Since I only wanted the one story I remembered, I am totally satisfied.
Your reader found the story but not the collection. Might it have been The Little Bookroom by Eleanor Farjeon? I think it had some black- and-white illustrations. Another of the stories was called West-something, about a prince who seeks his bride in lands named for the four directions. The northerners were too cold, the southerners too slothful, the easterns too brisk. He had been forbidden to go into WestWOOD (aha!) but he did anyway, and there he found his true love, who had been his maid all along. There might have been another tale, too, about a princess who is bored with the color of her room. She commands her fairy godmother to give her a pink room and is instructed to lie on her bed and kick her toes at the ceiling--voila! pink walls, pink bed, pink floor. Soon she's bored again and commands another color change. This happens several more times until finally, she wants a black room. After lying on her bed and kicking her toes at the ceiling, the walls fall away, the roof comes off, and she gets her wish for a black room. I don't remember the dust jacket, but the book was smallish and had a light russet woven cloth cover I vaguely remember. 

Sometimes other book requests help solve the stumpers I already have.  Here’s one:
 author=
 title=Elson Grammer School Reader
 publisher=
 date=1930
 comments=Has Baby Ray as the main character.

The only thing I remember about this book from my childhood in the '50s is a little rooster who cried, "Cockadoodle-doo, I want my mommy!" My dad thinks it may have been in a reading primer with stories about Little Ray??? Little Ray had one puppy, two kittens, three ducks and four chickens??? My memory is old and his is older so this is the best we can come up with.
could the reference to "Little Ray" match B6 - the Elson Grammar School Reader featuring Baby Ray?
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this story is about the big dipper or the little dipper it seems to me more about the big dipper. it is about a sick mother who sent her daughter out one night to get some water.she had a cup for the water. she got the water and on her way back home she encountered  some people wo wanted some water.she gave each on e a drink. she encountered a dog and also gave it a drink. he barked twice for thank you. when she got home with the water the cup went out of her hands to the sky and it made the big dipper or the little dipper. i was read this story by my mother when i was a child. it was either in a book with other stories or it was by it self.this was either late 1940's or early 1950's. now i am 59yrs old and my mother has long since passed away.  thanks ,i hope this will help find the book.

This story is in one of the old childrens' readers I collect. I found it in The Elson Reader Book Two, copyright 1920, 1927, published by Scott, Foreman and Company. Inside the front cover is stamped "Tulsa City Schools." The story is tittled "The Star Dipper" and the origin is listed as "old tale." The girl and her mother live near a big woods. One night her mother was sick and very thirsty. The daughter took an old tin dipper and went to the well but discovered it was dry. Since she didn't want to return without water for mother she summoned her courage to go into the dark woods and find a spring. After filling the dipper with water, she first encountered the thirsty dog, and then a thirsty old man. After giving both water the dipper turned to gold like the shining sun. At last she reached home with plenty of water to spare for her mother, who called her "my good little girl," and told her she felt better. Then the golden dipper turned to sparkling diamonds and went up into the sky, becoming seven bright stars. The story ends with "That was a long, long time ago, but the star dipper is still in the sky. It shows how brave a kind-hearted little girl can be."

Ah... the infamous Golden Books Treasury of Elves and Fairies  by Jane Werner and illustrated by Garth Williams.  See more on the Most Requested Page.
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I am wanting to find a book that my step-mother gave to me when I was little (1970ish).  It was not new then, but I don't know how old it was. It was oversized (18"?) and beutiful!  It was a collection of stories and poems about fairies and wee folk.  There was a story about a fisherman finding a mermaid baby and taking it home to his wife while the mermaids try to find their baby, a story about a boy who finds fairies while picking berries with his grandmother, a poem called "When There's a Ring around the Moon", a story about a boy who kidnaps a fairy-type creature (it has a picture of him on a horse with the creature wrapped up in a blanket), a story about a fairy bear who gets a job in a fish cannery, a story about a brother & sister (?) who find a fairy town under a tree, and a long poem illustrated with wee folk climbing rocks and eating by a stream with a woman sleeping/dead underwater.  I loved this book!  My step-mother finally made me get rid of it when I went into high school.  I would love to get a copy of it, but I don't even know the name!

jane werner garth williams illust., elves and fairies
well, in that case, check out the Most Requested Books page!
This may not help much, but I remember the fairy bear in the cannery story from an anthology series, The Children's Hour.  I don't have any volumes available but, all the books were in red covers with full-color endpapers illustrated with story charactes. Each volume was dedicated to a different theme, eg Sports  SO, MAYBE, the volume with that story was dedicated to fairy stories? Good luck.
I just checked my copy of Elves and Fairies.  Absolutely.

This is David Palmer's Emergence.  A detail that might ring a bell -- the protagonist, Candy, keeps referring to her parrot as "retarded baby brother", and it takes a while to realize that it's a parrot. Definitely worth finding and re-reading!  It's SF, which might be why it's been hard to find.  There's a review here.

Yes!
Smith, Emma. Emily. Illus. Katherine Wigglesworth. McDowell, Obolensky, c. 1959. Ex-library copy, removed pocket, some smudging, one of the eight color plates missing. Overall, G/G with dust jacket. <SOLD>

A great big YEA! I'll put a check in the mail. My sister came up for a visit last month - though we talk all the time we hadn't seen one another in a year - to find Emily's Voyage [the first book I found for this customer] propped on her guestroom pillow. She was dumbstruck and then teary-eyed, saying the book brings back cozy memories of the days of Grandma and molasses cookies. I can't believe you actually found the original. We used to joke that if one of us ever located a copy the world as we know it would probably come to an end. Guess it's time to stock up on batteries and potable water. Thankyouthankyouthankyou!!!
Greetings. My gal is looking for a book. The title as she remembers it is Emily's Journey. Much searching of the Internet has failed to turn up any book by this title published ever. However, it is looking like Emily or Emily the travelling Guinea Pig by Emma Smith may be the book she's thinking of. The book she remembers is about a small furry animal, she thought it was a hedgehog, named Emily, who must travel through parts of England on some kind of journey. Can you help?

Interpreting Condition Grades

Smith, Emma.   Emily, the Traveling Guinea Pig.  Illustrated by Katherine Wigglesworth. NY: McDowell, An Astor Book, 1959.  8 color plates and lots of black and white illustrations.  Red cloth, edgeworn, small tear to cloth at bottom of spine.  Pages clean and bright, charming.  G.  $24

Lucy Maud Montgomery, Emily of New Moon,1923. It's actually the mother of one of Emily's friends who was assumed to have run off and is found at the bottom of the well (Emily's mother died when she was born, and Emily was sent to live with her aunts after her father's death), but the other details are correct.
L. M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. This sounds like the lesser known Emily series by the author of Anne of Green Gables.
L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. It is Emily's friend Ilse's mother who had disappeared. Emily dreams of the mother falling down an old well and that's where her body is found.
Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. the story sounds like a mixed-up version of Emily of New Moon.  Emily lives with her two aunts - one strict one kindly.  The mother in the well story is actually about her best friend Ilsa.  But Emily dreams the solution while she has a fever.  She tells the family to search the well, but she is only comforted when Aunt Elizabeth (the strict one) agrees to search the well - because she knows the Aunt Elizabeth will keep her word.
Lucy Maud Montgomery, Emily of New Moon, 1923. Emily Starr is the girl who is raised by two aunts (Aunt Elizabeth-strict and Aunt Laura-sweet), falls into a fever and dreams of her best friend Ilse's mother, who has long been assumed to have deserted Ilse as a baby. Emily dreams that the mother fell into a well and died. This is discovered to be the case, and Ilse's father, formerly a gruff, bitter man, falls to his knees beside the (now recovered) Emily's bed in gratitude. Brilliant series that includes Emily Climbs and Emily's Quest.
L. M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon,1923. Remember lonely little Emily keeping a daily journel in her jimmy-book?  It's a little blank notebook given to her by her child-like Uncle Jimmy and she keeps it hidden from her mean Aunt Elizabeth and sweet Aunt Laura.  But both aunts are good, really.  It is the mother of Emily's best friend Ilse who has disappeared.  Emily is sick and has a feverish dream that, her friend's long-lost mother is in an old well - and she is.  I loved this book - there are 2 more in the series - Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest.  L.M. Montgomery also wrote the Anne of Green Gables books.
L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. I think this sounds like the Emily of New Moon trilogy.  Emily is sent to live with her two aunts and cousin Jimmy, I believe.  One is stricter than the other.  I know there is a mother who was believed to have run off, but had actually fallen in the well - but I can't remember if it was Emily's mother or a friend's mother.  Emily wants to be a writer, and her cousin Jimmy encourages her and gives her notebooks that she calls Jimmy Books.  The books are Emily of New Moon, Emily Climbs, and Emily's Quest.
LM Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. 'It is Emily's friend, Ilse, whose mother is believed to have run away and whose father, the doctor, turns bitter and neglectful of his daughter.  Emily gets a virulent case of the measles and the doctor tells Emily's aunts to humor her whims since she seems to be in great distress.  Emily has a vision of Ilse's mother falling in the well and her aunt promises to have the well checked.  Emily is relieved since she knows her Aunt Elizabeth is hard but never lies.  Ilse's mother is found and the doctor's faith is restored.
You've probably already received a ton of answers for this one -- sounds like Emily of New Moon, by L.M. Montgomery. Emily is orphaned and goes to live with her Aunt Laura and Aunt Elizabeth at New Moon. The dream about the woman in the well relates to her best friend's mother, who had disappeared some years before in mysterious circumstances.
L.M. Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. This is almost certainly the Emily series. The girl whose mother fell down the well is Emily's best friend, Ilse, but Emily is an orphan who must live with her strict aunts after the death of her father, and she does have a dream that locates Ilse's mother while she is feverish.
LM Montgomery, Emily of New Moon. This is definitely the book - thanks to all who wrote in!

Beverly Cleary, A girl from Yamhill. I'm almost certain that this is Beverly Cleary's autobiography.
Beverly Cleary, The Girl from Yamhill.  Just a wild guess. I've never read this book but I know it is an autobiographical look at her girlhood by Beverly Cleary.  From all accounts she had a somewhat lonely childhood.  Suggested it only because of "Yamhill" but it might be worth a look.
Cleary, Beverly, A girl from Yamhill: a memoir. (1988) This is definitely the book.  It is the story of Cleary's early years (a second book, 'My Own Two Feet' continues the story through her early work as a librarian and the publishing of her first book).  You remember the detail about the bathtub correctly - "the first fine house in Yamhill, with the second bathtub in Yamhill County"
Beverly Cleary, Emily's Runaway Imagination. (1960)  'I believe this is the book you are looking for.
Beverly Cleary, A Girl From Yamhill County. (1988)  Definitely this autobiography from the beloved children's book writer.
Beverly Cleary, Emily's Runaway Imagination.  This book definitely has several of the episodes you've remembered and several other humorous scrapes Emily gets into because of her wandering mind, including: forgetting to lock the pigpen so the pigs get into the rotten apples and get drunk, the not-so-dressed up party, baking a pie with the crust upside down, bleaching a horse white to impress her city cousin, and scaring herself at a sleepover party. (Beverly Cleary was a native of Yamhill County - she also wrote a memoire that might have some similar stories...The Girl From Yamhill County)
According to Google, this is Beverly ClearyEmily's runaway  imagination
Beverly Cleary, Emily's Runaway Imagination. (1961)  Absolutely the book you're looking for.
Although the bathtub detail may be the same, this is not "A Girl From Yamhill", but rather "Emily's Runaway Imagination", which contains every one of the details listed, as well as the bathtub one.  It seems that Beverly Cleary used a lot of details in this book that were from her own life.
Beverly Cleary, Emily's Runaway Imagination.  This is it.  I actually had thought it might be a Cleary book that I was looking for, but when I went to a Cleary website, I saw "Girl From Yamhill" and read a description, and knew that was NOT it, so I assumed the "Yamhill" think was just a confusing coincidence.  I think I also mixed up "Emily's Runaway Imagination" with the "Ellen Tebbits" series - when I saw the "Emily" book listed under Cleary, I thought it was the stories I remembered from Ellen Tebbits, and I never bothered to investigate the "Emily" book further.  I finally realize that if I had just read the summary of the "Emily" book, I would have recognized it as the one I was thinking of!

Madye Lee Chastain, Emmy Keeps a Promise
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The books I am looking for are part of a series.  The first book was about a Girl and her Older Sister.  Their parents weren't living.  The sisters lived with their wealthy grandfather in New York around 1830-1850.  The grandfather owned a shipping line.  The Older Sister  was being courted by the young Captain of one of her grandfather's ships. In the second book the Ship Captain and the Older Sister married and took the Girl with them for an adventure on the seas in his ship.  The third book was a little different.  It was about a poor cartographer (map maker) and his sister, a poor seamstress.  Eventually the cartographer got a job with the wealthy grandfather and the seamstress sewed dresses for the girl and her older sister of the first books saving the brother and sister from destitute poverty.  An incident from the first book is when the seamstress came to sew new clothes for the girl.  The seamstress had a history of trying to give the girl the opposite of whatever she wanted.  If the girl wanted a certain style of dress, the seamstress would convince the adult present that another style was much more suitable.  The girl noticed the seamstress held pins in her mouth while she was pinning fabrics.  The girl thought the seamstress had probably swallowed too many pins and that was why the seamstress was so mean.  The girl tricked the seamstress into giving her a dress that buttoned up the front by telling the seamstress she wanted the buttons down the back.  The seamstress turned to the adult in charge and assured her that buttons in the back were totally out of style and the latest style was buttons in the front.  The girl held back a smile so the seamstress wouldn't know she was giving the girl the exact style of dress that she really wanted. The third book with the cartographer and his seamstress sister used some unusual expressions.  The sister would say something was "too dear" when she meant "too expensive".  I have often thought of this series....

Madye Lee Chastain, Emmy Keeps a Promise, 1956.  The first book this poster describes sounds like it may be Emmy Keeps a Promise by Madye Lee Chastain.  I don't remember it well enough to know if the details with the seamstress fit, but the historical setting and the older sister's romance sound right.  I'm not aware if this book had a sequel, so can't help with the second book mentioned, but the third one does sound like it might be Plippen's Palace, by the same author.
Chaplain, Madye Lee, Emmy Keeps a Promise, Plippen's Palace.  I have looked for these books for years without being able to recall the title or author. Thank you! It is so exciting to now know both!  You have ended a thirty year search!
Chastain, Madye Lee, Dark Treasure, 1954. Thanks to your help I was able to find the third book in this same series! Dark Treasure also by Madye Lee Chastain, had the incident with the seamstress. Thank you so much, I never thought I would have the pleasure of re-reading these books!

Not much information, but maybe - Windwagon Smith by Ennis Rees, illustrated by Peter P. Plasencia, published by Prentice-Hall 1966 "The lyrical legend of Windwagon Smith, who used a sail and rudder to steer his prairie schooner into the midst of rollicking adventure. Ages 6-10." (Horn Book Apr/66 p.146 pub ad)
Possibly - High Wind for Kansas, by Mary Calhoun, illustrated by W.T. Mars, published New York, Morrow 1965 "Based on an authentic frontier incident, this colorful story tells of a man who invented a windwagon and of its subsequent fate. Ages 4-8" "An actual pioneer incident inspired this lusty tale of how Windwagon Jones (the author calls it a fictional name) turned a prairie schooner into a land-sailing craft. The details here of the launching and trial voyage make a tale excellent for telling. The line-and-wash pictures have the proper gusto for the story's boisterous action." (Horn Book Jun/65 p.272, 121)
S25 sailboat on wheels: possibly How Space Rockets Began, written and illustrated by LeGrand (author of the Augustus books), published by Abingdon 1960. "Windwagon Smith was a sailor looking for a home. This is the story of what happened as he looked for a place to live in Europe, Australia and in the Great West. A rollicking tall tale. Ages 7-11." (HB Feb/60 p.92 pub ad) No apparent connection with the Windwagon Smith of the Rees book.
Robert Nathan, The Enchanted Voyage. I read this quite a while ago but it fits the description.
Nathan, Robert, The Enchanted Voyage.NY Knopf 1936.  More on this suggested solution, and it seems to be correct.
Mr. Hector Pecket is a carpenter who lives in the Bronx, and has built himself a sailboat, called the Sarah Pecket after his wife. It sits in his yard, and he putters with it. He is not very succesful as a carpenter, and his wife wants him to sell the boat to the butcher, Mr. Schultz, "for use as a hamburger, coffee, and frankfurter stand." But it is Mrs. Pecket who puts wagon wheels on the boat, so that it can be moved to the Schultz's. Mr. Pecket decides to sleep on the ship for its last night. While he is dreaming of the great ships of the past, a storm comes up and the Sarah starts to keel over, and then is pushed away by the wind. Mr. Pecket steers with the wagon-tongue (added when the wheels were put on) and heads off down the street, on the way to the Caribbean. Soon he meets Mary Kelly, a waitress, and she decides to go with him as far as Florida. They knock down a young man with a pushcart, who grinds knives and fills teeth, and because his pushcart wheel is broken, he joins them as well. It does not appear to be the beginning of a series, because at the end Pecket runs the Sarah into an actual river and it sinks. However it is quite episodic.

D'Aulaire's perhaps?
Margaret Evans Price, Enchantment Tales for Children, 1926.  I have a Rand McNally edition, a 1927 reprint, of a
collection of Greek myths "retold and pictured by" Margaret Evans Price. The binding is navy blue and there is a large color plate on the front cover of Phrixus and Helle riding on a flying ram.  The book contains 14 color plates in addition to other illustrations.  I never wondered about the children on the ram, but I was terrified by the picture of Medusa...and loved the picture of a beautiful Nausicaa standing her ground as her handmaidens fled in fear of Ulysses.

Could this be This Place Has No Atmosphere by Paula Danziger?
Nope.  Actually, I just found out that the book I was thinking of is Enchantress from the Stars by Sylvia Louise Engdahl. I hadn't realized that it was a very popular award winner.  Thanks, though.
I see you have my book ENCHANTRESS FROM THE STARS listed on your "Solved Mysteries" page.  Since it has been out of print for a long time, you might like to add that a new hardcover edition is being published in April by Walker & Co.  Full information about it is at my website,  www.sylviaengdahl.com.  Sylvia Engdahl
I was reading through your site and noticed this entry.  I know this is going to be hard to believe, but I'm sure that the poster who said that this was the book she was thinking of was incorrect.  The reason is that I have read the book, and there is no scene where Elana (the heroine) is "in a space capsule type thing doing psychic training".  However, Ms. Engdahl wrote a sequel, "The Far Side of Evil", in which Elana does exactly this.  She was captured by bad guys and locked into a sensory deprivation tank as a form of torture to break her will and make her confess.  She used the sensory deprivation effect to concentrate on her psychic abilities and boost them enough to call for help.  One of the chapter heading pictures is of Elana, wearing a wetsuit and suspended in the tank, which may be why the poster remembers it so clearly.  It's possible that the poster read both books and condensed the memories together. You might email the poster and tell them about the sequel so they can check it out.

Leonard Wibberly, Encounter Near Venus, 1967.  A favorite of mine as well. Seems to be long out of print. The glowing balls of lights were called "lumens."

R17--This sounds sort of like Through the Hidden Door by Rosemary Wells (the door of the title is in the middle of a cave wall) but it's copyright date is in the early '80s.
Thank you to the person who responded to my request for the title of the book about the re-discovered
underground Roman city. Unfortunately, Through the Hidden Door by Rosemary Wells is not the one!
I have been looking for the same book -- I'm sure of it.  I can supply further plot details.  When the children entered the cave, they soon came upon a pile of old coins, which told them that they were at the bottom of the local wishing well.  They went further and found a subterranean river, which led them to an underground city that still maintained ancient Roman culture.  The city was celebrating Saturnalia at the time.  They had various adventures and eventually escaped from the city on a boat.  One of the boys set his luminous wristwatch to midnight, because they didn't know what time it was and wanted to determine how far it took to get from the city back to the mouth of the cave.  Can't remember how it all came out.  This has been driving me crazy for some time now.
In response to Question R17, I do know of a book called The Green Bronze Mirror  by Lynne Ellison which is set in Britain and was published in 1966.  Some children  find a green bronze mirror on the beach and are transported back to Roman times.  I've been looking out for this book for a long time but haven't actually read it myself so not at all sure if this could be the one but sending it anyway.
This one I am almost certain of, from Junior Bookshelf July 1959 p.139: Capon, Paul The Cave of Cornelius, illustrated by G. Whittam, 208 pages, published by Heinemann, 1959 "Four children searching for a lost treasure of the Romans which they believe to lie somewhere in a cave near their home, stumble upon and into a secret world beneath the earth which is inhabited by descendants of the very Romans whose treasure they have been seeking. These people, with their debased Latin and their partly archaic and partly modern appurtenances, guard their secret and their habitat rigorously from the upper earth. Fortunately the children make contact with a contemporary who has long been a prisoner and who has the aid of a "native" girl. All escape by a complicated water and cave route which brings them out eventually in Paris - via the catacombs - with treasure and fame, leaving the secret of Sutteranea behind for good."
THE CAVE OF CORNELIUS is indeed the book. That was its original British title, and copies of it are scarce indeed. WorldCat lists only the Library of Congress as a holder in the US.  It was reissued in 1969 by Bobbs Merrill in the United States, and retitled THE END OF THE TUNNEL, which is the title under which I remember reading it.  You should put this into the "solved mysteries" category.  THE CAVE OF CORNELIUS
is indeed the book.  WorldCat lists 25 US libraries as holding this one.

Sounds like THE ENDLESS PAVEMENT by Jacqueline Jackson and William Perlmutter, 1973. Everyone moves around in "rollabouts" ~from a librarian
Jackson, Jacqueline, The Endless Pavement, 1973.  "It's the future, the whole world is paved, everything is on wheels and people are under the rule of the Great Computermobile, until Josette with an apple take things into her own hands."  "Living in a time when people are the servants of automobiles and ruled by the master auto of the planet, Josette longs to leave her rollabout and try her legs."
Glasgow, The Endless Pavement, 1973.  "It's the future, the whole world is paved, everything is on wheels and people are under the rule of the Great Computermobile, until Josette with an apple take things into her own hands."  "Living in a time when people are the servants of automobiles and ruled by the master auto of the planet, Josette longs to leave her rollabout and try her legs."

Probably Enemy Brothers by Constance Savery, published London Longmans 1943, 313 pages "tells movingly f the reeducation of a Nazi trained boy as he learns the values of England's democratic way of life." "brings into a large and vivacious family a young boy who has been brought up in Nazi Germany, a member of the Hitler Youth. Max believes himself to be wholly German and goes through a bitter struggle to remain so. Little by little, helped by the family, especially by a wise older brother, an airman, he grows conscious of the higher plane of principle of a free people."

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Savery, Constance.  Enemy Brothers: A Story of World War II.   Bethlehem Books, (1943), 2001.  Re-issue trade paperback.  New.  $14

You're close, although proper spelling may not help you pronounce it any better: Epaminondas.  As far as I know, there is no relation to the Helen Bannerman's India-inspired Little Black Sambo, although it receives similar criticism for its racist  stereotypes and illustrations. Epaminondas is a Southern folk tale with many versions and variations, particularly in the oral tradition.  There are several printed versions, including authors Sara Cone Bryant, Constance Egan, Eve Merriam, Mary Claire Pinckney and Cathy East Dubowski dating from 1906, and often told in rebus or Gullah. I believe the original published version is Sara Cone Bryant's Epaminondas and His Auntie,1926, illustrated by Inez Hogan.   I've got a paperback reissue from Buccaneer Books from 1976.
Sara Cone Bryant, Epaminondas and his Auntie.  The Sara Cone Bryant version is online.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bryant, Sara Cone.  Epaminondas and His Auntie. Buccaneer Books, 1976.  As new, paperback reissue.  $15

Jan de Hartog, The Little Ark.  This is a Dutch story about a flood, and I do remember children being up in the belfry of a church.
Rumer Godden, An Episode of Sparrows, 1955.  It could be this book. "In post-war London, two street-tough children attempt to build a hidden garden, an act that awakens hidden courage in the children and profoundly disrupts the neighborhood." There's something about a bombed-out church in it. I think that the copy I had, a paperback published by Penguin around 1989, may have had a cover similar to what you described. The cover of the most recent edition isn't similar.
Rumer Godden, An Episode of Sparrows, 1955.  I received the copy of the book I ordered from you. The submitter was correct.  This is the book I have been looking for. I would still like a copy with the illustrations as mentioned by the other submitter.  Thank you - your website is the greatest.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Godden, Rumer.  An Episode of Sparrows.   Viking, 1955, 1st printing.  Blue and tan cloth, touches of soil; pages very good; no dj.  G+ [WQ30345]  <SOLD>

More information - I now think that this book may be called Eric's Girls and it is by Gladys Malvern.  Anyone recognize it or know where I could find it?

New Stumper: This book is set in New Amsterdam under Gov. Peter Stuyvesant, just before the British take over.  Its the story of two English sisters, age 17 & 16, and their father.  I forget how they end up there but they start a bakery and sell crumpets.  The older sister falls in love with a British captain, while the younger one falls for the son of their Dutch landlady.  At the end of the story, the British invade/lay siege and the colony becomes New York.  I can't remember the names of any characters or the title.  I thought it was written by Gladys Malvern but I can't find it in any list of her books.  It had black and white illustrations.  Thanks for your help!

N55 If it is Malvern it is prob Jonica's Island. Another  New Amsterdam onethat doesn't sound right is:  Leetch, Dorothy Lyman [Mrs. Langford Wheaton Smith] Anneje and her family; the story of a little girl of New Amsterdam    illus by L J Bridgman, Lothrop 1926.   Dutch family in New Amsterdam, New York - juvenile fiction
Thanks for the comments!  I don't think it Jonica's Island, as I believe that is about the founding of New Amsterdam.  Also Jonica is Dutch and the main characters in the book I'm thinking of are definitely British and teen-agers.  Any other suggestions for possible authors, who wrote juvenile historical fiction like Malvern?

W70 ww2 pig: Well, it's not The Peppermint Pig, by Nina Bawden. It might be worth looking at Ernestine, the Pig in the Potting Shed, by Pauline Innis, illustrated by Tim Evans, published Washington, Luce 1963, 121 pages. "True story of a remarkable pig in Great Britain during WWII. While still a piglet, Ernestine was taken into the bosom of an all-female household." "Story of heroic British pig raised as part of the WW II war effort."

Ian Serrallier, Escape from Warsaw, 1966.  Three Polish children whose parents have been taken by the Nazis meet a boy named Jan in bombed-out Warsaw. Together they try to survive and eventually leave the city to search for the parents. Jan keeps everything he owns in a small wooden box, including a sword-shaped paper cutter he somehow acquired from the children's father. I think the original title of the book was The Silver Sword.
P232 Serraillier, Ian    Escape from Warsaw [orig title: The silver sword] illus by Erwin Hoffmann    Scholastic T385
Ian Serrallier, The Silver Sword. This has to be the one.  My copy is from Weekly Reader in the 60's. It has been issued under another title.  When you check this one out, be advised that there are other 'Silver Sword' books, so make sure you check for the author.
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poland wartime 3 siblings (two girls, 1 boy), parents were taken away. Father was teacher. Daughter set up school in basement, boy scavenges. There might be a solder who leaves things for them. was read a young child by person now 40 or so years old. Thank you for your help

Ian S????, Escape from Warsaw. Early 1960s.Perhaps a Scholastic book club book with a primarily red cover? Also known as the Silver Sword?
Ian Serrallier, The Silver Sword (aka Escape From Warsaw). The Silver Sword was the original title of the book, but it is now found under the other name. The three children meet a boy who carries a silver paperweight in the shape of a sword that had belonged to their father. Through it they are able to trace their parents.
Serraillier, Ian, Escape from Warsaw (aka The Silver Sword). I'm sure you're remembering this wonderful book.  Siblings Ruth, Edek and Bronia are left alone in Warsaw as the Nazis fight over the city.  They meet a boy named Jan who has a small silver sword-letter opener from their father.  The children survive in the rubble of Warsaw for a time - while Ruth runs a small school - and then all four head across country for Switzerland hoping to find their parents.  This book has been around forever, but it really stands the test of time.
Ian Serraillier, Escape from Warsaw, 1968. Originally published at The Silver Sword in 1959. This has to be the book being sought. Two sisters and their brother escape when their parents are arrested over the rooftops.  They survive the war and take in a second boy, named Ian.  The brother disappears. The girls and Ian end up in a refuge camp after the war is over, because Ian trusts a soldier who is trying to make friend. At the refuge camp, they manage to find their brother, who was in a concentration camp.  I think they end up finding their father as well.

Household, Geoffrey, Escape Into Daylight, 1976.  I only mention this because of the similarity of the title.  The details are a little different, though. According to one review I saw, there are two children (Mike and Carrie) drugged and kidnapped and are being held in an abandoned abbey.  They escape through an underground labyrinth, and there is something about an underground river.  Hope that helps.
Household, Geoffrey, Escape into Daylight, 1976.  Taking a guess at this one - I did a few online searches. "In danger of losing their lives, two kidnapped youngsters being held in a ruined abbey make several desperate attempts to escape." One reviewer wrote "The tension builds from the first chapter and doesn't let up until the end, with the country lad using his knowledge of nature to help them escape." It's two children, not one, but they are underground and it is a British author. The title was too similar not to at least mention it.
i posted this one, and i am so excited to have a response already! i have ordered a copy of the book "escape into daylight" and am waiting anxiously for it to get here to see if it is indeed the book. you can't even guess at how many different ways i tried doing a search for this book over the years - i have no idea how i never found this book title since i was so close to the right title! maybe when i searched for "light" it wasnt pulling "daylight" - who knows! anyway, thanks for the suggestion, it sounds promising, and i will let you know as soon as i get it! :-)
Geoffrey Household, Escape Into Daylight.  Thank you so very much!! This is the book - I finally received my copy - had to order it all the way to NY from Australia!! I can't thank you all enough - this is a wonderful website. Thank you, thank you!!!!!

Ethel Morton at Rose House
Written probably in 1910-1930 - with 1910-1920-ish probably being the most likely in terms of style, setting, etc. (It was one of my Mom's books (born 1923), but probably was a used book belonging to older family member.) It could be one of those syndicate series girls books of that era where they use some fake female name as author. A group of (teen?) girls - some kind of club, possibly motoring, but they don't motor much in this book - help out the women at a city settlement house. The women they help are immigrants of various ethnicities. Everyone has a bunch o' babies. One of the settlement house immigrant ladies lives in fear of the Black Hand (though whether it's http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Mano_Negra or http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Hand or some other group I don't know). I believe she finds a painted black hand on her door as a warning.The main thing I remember is that the girls made furniture for the house out of waste wood - packing boxes, barrels, what-have-you - and diagrams/drawings of at least a couple were used as illustrations. They *may* be the only illustrations, I don't know. I'd thought this book was a Meadow-brook Girls book - my Mom had a few - but I've since purchased all six of them, and it's not. I next explored online the various motoring girls series, but none of them seem to be it. Don't think it's a camping girls series. I'm stymied.

Blank, Clair, Adventure Girls series, 1920-1930, approximate.This might be an Adventure Girl book.  My mother had one from her girlhood she gave me.  The girls had lots different adventures.
Mabell Shippie Clarke Smith, Ethel Morton at Rose House. The whole book is available on Google Books, so it should be quite easy to check.  Furniture making, Black Hand all fit--not sure about the illustrations though.
Ethel Morton at Rose House. I sent this in previously as an answer to I 157 but don't see it up--just wanted to make sure it didn''t get lost!

Solved: Mabell Shippie Clarke Smith, Ethel Morton at Rose House, 1915. It's definitely "Ethel Morton at Rose House" - thank you *so* much, whoever solved this for me Black Hand, immigrant ladies, settlement house, and United Service Club. It got a little complicated to determine, because the public domain copy they *think* they have at google books is mis-labeled  it's *actually* a copy of "Ethel Morton at Sweetbrier Lodge". (And sadly, they didn't switch them  they just have two copies of "Sweetbrier Lodge." I reported it to them.) I located it at Project Gutenberg (http://www.gutenberg.org/files/15550/15550-h/15550-h.htm), although the copy they have up does *not* have the original & copious furniture-making illustrations of the version I had. However, I can be sure that there *is* such a version out there somewhere - the other Ethel Morton books I found at google do have the exact kindof thing I had in mind. (In the style of many early books, I can't find an illustrator credit.) Nonetheless, though I didn't get the *instant* gratification of seeing the book w/ its many illustrations, I can read it now, and look for a good used copy online. Again, many thanks to The Solver, and the folks at Loganberry. You are ace book sleuths and providers

This sounds like E-TOOKA-SHOO,  THE COLD LITTLE  ESKIMO BOY by Richard Wilt.
More on the suggested title: Wilt, RichardE-Tooka-Shoo, the Cold Little Eskimo Boy NY Julian Messner
1941 unpaginated "Everyone knows that a little Eskimo boy ought not be cold; but E-Tooka-Shoo was cold. This story tells what he did about his problem. A funny, original story with wonderful full-page blue & white illustrations by the author."

Ivarson, Everyday Story Book.  This is the book you're looking for!  There's the "Rainy Day Parade," "Mumpsy Goes to Kindergarten," and the other stories.  The dog hides the little girl's dress-up shoes so she can't go to church, another puppy goes into a vacant house and gets locked in for at least a week, a kitten falls into a pond and gets rescued by the family dog, and so on.  Charming illustrations.
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children's book....50's? Stories of children some with dog, Jiggs, or Jiggsy dog hides shoe to keep little girl home from Sunday School, pictures in soft colors, little girls socks match their dresses (I think)

Ivarson, Everyday Story Book.  This storybook has beautiful, soft-colored illustrations.  All of the stories feature little animals.  In one story, Jiggs the dog hides the little girl's Sunday shoes so she can't go to church.  Her socks matched her dress.
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I had a green book back in the sixties with a bunch of short stories.  One was about a family going on a picnic then it rains, so they hike around the house and end up in the attic.  another was a dog that got locked in a house and when he got out he licked the snow.

Ivarson, Signe, Everyday Story Book, 1948, copyright.  This is the book!  The cover is a lightish-green with images of children and pets and flowers going around in a circle.  The stories mentioned in the Stumper are "The Make-Believe Picnic," and "Jiggers."  Each story is about a child, or children, and a pet kitten or puppy.  The other stories in the book are "Sally's Lost Shoe," "A New Pet," "Teddy's Sailboat," "The Lost Teddy Bear," and "Mumpsy Goes to Kindergarten."
This is the book exactly!  I looked it up on the web and I remember the cover.  Thank you so much for the information.

T11:  This sounds unlikely, but on the off chance: could this be a poem from an anthology called Silver Pennies?  It definitely had the line drawings, and one of the poems goes, "Under a toadstool crept a wee elf, / Out of the rain to shelter himself."  The elf finally pulls up the toadstool and flies off....:  "and that's how umbrellas first were invented".
Might it be Everything Under a Mushroom, by Ruth Krauss?  The illustrations are plain, and mainly sepia and white.  The text is simple: Little one, Little two, Little cow, little moo."  That page shows two little children under a mushroom, one pretending to be a cow.  The rest of the book is about the little children pretending to be all sorts of things, under the mushroom.

#S148:  Sci Fi Short Story question--by neither Bradbury nor Asimov, this is "Examination Day" by Henry Slesar.  This question just appeared on the Ray Bradbury board.  One helpful poster even sent in a link to anthologies containing the story, which can be viewed at "Message Boards" under "Favorite Book/Story" at www.raybradbury.com.  Unfortunately, none of the books containing it seem to be in print.  So many "non-Bradbury" inquiries have come in that I've been threatening to edit an anthology of "Stories Mistakenly Attributed to Ray Bradbury."
With help from someone at a  website, I have located this website listing anthols which have the Slesar story Examination Day:  1.    The Playboy Book of Science Fiction and Fantasy, Anonymous, 1966, Chicago, Illinois: Playboy Press, $0.95, hc, 2. School and Society Through Science Fiction, Joseph D. Olander+Martin H. Greenberg+Patricia S. Warrick, 1974, McNally, tp  3.  Inside Information, Abbe Mowshowitz, 1977, Addison-Wesley, LCC# 76-54429.  4.   100 Great Science Fiction Short Short Stories, Isaac Asimov+Martin H. Greenberg+Joseph D. Olander, 1978, Doubleday, hc

Ben Bova, The Exiles Trilogy. I was going to add more information about the books but the second comment came before I had a chance to. My grade 5 teacher read these books(except the first one) in 1982 so the publication dates and descriptions provided made me think that indeed these were the books but I wasn't 100% sure so I searched these titles for more description but haven't found much more detail. I have been trying to figure out the name of this trilogy for awhile and am thankful to the person who solved my stumper. This is an awesome website!  I am looking forward to reading these books again.

Arthur C. Clarke, "History Lesson", 1953.  This is the story. It has been widely anthologized, and is included in Clarke's
story collection Expedition to Earth. The story was written well before The Love Bug.  I've always thought it was probably a Mickey Mouse cartoon.
Arthur C. Clarke, Expedition To Earth, c. 1954.  "Expedition To Earth" is a short story available in an old Clarke anthology also called Expedition To Earth.  "Millions of times in the ages to come those last few words would flash across the screen, and none could ever guess their meaning: A Walt Disney Production."
Yes, it is History Lesson by Arthur C. Clarke.  Thank you!  That story has haunted me for decades.  Now if we could only figure out what movie it was that they were watching....

#S132--Shrinking boy rides seagull:  This is The Fabulous Flight, written and illustrated by Robert Lawson, who I believe was the ONLY person ever to win both the Newbery and Caldecott awards!
Robert Lawson, The Fabulous Flight, 1949. Well, I don't know how often this happens here, but I actually solved my own mystery -- with a nudge in the right direction from Karen Gold, a respondent on another forum. She suggested that it sounded like a Robert Lawson story - which I initially doubted. However, I went to the Library of Congress online catalog and looked at the entries for him ... and there it was! A quick story about this search. At one point, in desperation I thought,  "Well if I couldn't find it I will have to write one like it for my grandkids." I wondered, "What will I name the boy?" and came up with "Pepper" or "Peter" but thought - "No - too common, been used."  As it turns out the boy in the found book is named Peter Peabody Pepperell. Funny how memory works - even when you don't know it.
Robert Lawson, The Fabulous Flight, 1949.  Thanks to whomever sent the first response - I didn't know that about Lawson but do remember some other classic books & illustrations by him - Rabbit Hill, Ben & Me, Ferdinand (another of my favorites) and Pilgrims Progress.
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a line drawing illustrated book about a boy the size of tom thumb who flies on the back of bird with living quater straped to the back of the bird. The book would have been printed some where in the 1940s and 1950s. The books thickness was about an inch or more. It was hard cover. One of the illustrations show a man who cut his finger on a machine lathe.

Robert Lawson, The Fabulous Flight, 1949.  This description sounds remarkably like The Fabulous Flight a book I first read years ago and just rediscovered in my library recently.

I also remember  One of the inventions the boy finds in the lab is a space flight sumulator helmet.  He puts on the helmet
and it's as if he's rocketing through space.  Also the bikers wore service caps.  I think the story starts out with the boy
proud of his new bicycle which has rear-view mirrors.  The only bicycle in town that is fancier is the icecream cart.
I found two stories involving ice cream carts. The Space Ship In The Park by Louis Slobodkin, 167 pgs., Macmillan, 1972.  "Two boys blast off in a space ship disguised as an ice cream cart to help their friend from the planet Martinea search for a new souce of Secret Power Z."  Also, The Wonderful Ice Cream Cart by Alice Rogers Hager, 149 pgs., Macmillan, 1955 - sorry, no description.
This sounds like it might be a Danny Dunn book--have you checked that series?
Here's a description for The Wonderful Ice Cream Cart:  "Adventure of Jerry and Jean Pierre set in Brussells, Belgium where they try to help their Papa Goncourt who is ill, work his ice cream business from a cart pulled by Bobo, the little horse."
THE SPACE SHIP IN THE PARK would be too new. I Know Danny Dunn and it's not him. The WONDERFUL ICE CREAM CART comes from the right decade.
It cannot be The Wonderful Ice Cream Cart.  I own a copy and there aren't any motorcycle gangs. Also, Papa Goncourt is not an inventor.
Glen Dines, The Fabulous Flying Bicycle  Is this the one where the ice cream man (I remember the scene where the kids notice he's coasting uphill) looks a lot like Lincoln, and has invented a very strong invisible material?  The two boys build a ramp out of it and do a "flying bicycle" act.  There was something about "amazing/fabulous/incredible? flying bicycle" in the title, and a Bibliofind search on this turned up the Dines book.
Glen Dines, The Fabulous Flying Bicycle.   I think you've found it ! Your description brings back memories. 

Elisabeth Ogilvie, Fabulous Year,1958. I believe this is the book you are looking for "It is the sequel to Blueberry Summer, and describes Cass Phillips' senior year in highschool: what happens after her summer of self-discovery and the realization of her potential. The Fabulous Year addresses issues we all dealt with at that age: self-esteem, peer pressure, the desire to be "in with the in crowd", loyalty in friendship and romance (yes, Adam Ross is in this book, too!) and some other, more unusual topics. Cass is neither rebel nor goody-goody, but makes her own decisions by being true to her values: a victory sometimes hard-won."
Elisabeth Ogilvie, The Fabulous Year. 1958. I'm sure that is the one! This is a GREAT website. It is amazing that the books can be located with so little infomration. How Cool! I enjoy reading what others say about the books I loved so much when I was a child.

Hoke, Helen, Factory Kitty, 1949.  This was also anthologized in the Best in Children's Books series,  Volume 23, 1959.

Jonathan Miller and David Pelham, The Facts Of Life, 1984. Six accurately detailed, movable three-dimensional models and dozens of instructive drawings accompany a text that explains the process of human reproduction from the moment of conception through birth.
Thank you so much! This is definitely the book. I recommend it to everyone. It might be weird, but I remember loving to look through the book as a child.

Elizabeth Janet Gray, The Fair Adventure.  Definitely this book.  The character is Serena Page MacNeil.
Elizabeth Janet Gray, The Fair Adventure, 1940s.  Serena Page Macneil is the youngest of the MacNeils. She's always outdone by her older siblings. She graduates the day her sister returns from Panama  she's in a play the day of her sister's marriage.

I found the book on your site last night; it is Fair Bay by Eleanor Frances Lattimore.  I am so thrilled to have found it and I ordered it online last night.  I have been looking for this book for YEARS.  Thank you so much!

Eleanor Frances Lattimore, Fair Bay, 1958.  Shivers down my spine...I'm not *sure* it's the same book, but the description is very similar to a story that haunted my childhood, but which I've never found, except very expensively online.  Here's a brief description from a Google search:  "A little girl goes to visit her great-aunt on the South Carolina coast and one morning, when she goes for an early horseback ride, she discovers that the island, a summer home before a disastrous hurricane, is just as it was sixty years ago."  What I remember is that she (I believe her name is Christine, like her great-aunt who had been on the island during the hurricane) basically goes back in time, and there is some mystery about a lost music box that had belonged to the aunt as a girl (? and was lost in the hurricane, but this girl finds it?). I also seem to remember the houses being "on stilts", i.e., built up one story the way homes are still often built on the Carolina coast, in case of flooding.  Good hunting!
Thank you! Yes! Fair Bay is certainly the book I am looking for--though I didn't say so in my orginal post, I was pretty certain the book had a Southern setting, which increased my affinity for it as a child. Yes, there was something very haunting about Fair Bay  the feeling exists to this day even though it's been 40 years since I read it. This is a fabulous website--thanks for solving my mystery!!!

THE FAIRLY SCARY ADVENTURE BOOK by William Attwood, 1969.  Wonderful fun, short cliffhanger chapters. There's the toothless tiger (lost his teeth trying to eat an iron lawn-ornament deer). The witch is out to get them, at one point they go through a village in which the villagers can only see purple (they have to ditch purple sneakers, the girl has to close her purple eyes, and they are detected when the monkey sticks out his purple tongue!) Very hard to find though.
Wow! That's absolutely the one!  Thank you so much!  Now I guess the trick is actually finding the book itself!
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All I remember is a girl and a boy on an airplane.  They are looking for the bathroom and fall (?) out of the airplane where they end up in a magic forest, meet up with many strange creatures and eventually defeat some wicked witch (?) and go home.  The details I remember most vividly is that they make friends with a tiger without any teeth (they make dentures for him out of shards of broken china) and they encounter a village where the inhabitants can only see the color purple, so everyone is invisible except the girl, who has purple eyes and has to keep her eyes closed.  Any help you can give me on tracking down this book would be GREATLY appreciated!!!

A103: I knew this sounded familiar though I'd never read it - in the Solved Mysteries, it's listed as the Fairly Scary Adventure Book by William Atwood, 1969!
A103 I answered this one for you before and so it's on your solved stumpers page.  It was a title that stumped me
back in 1994, and I had a hard time tracking it down. It's the FAIRLY SCARY ADVENTURE BOOK. At the time when I first posted the answer, it was hard to find (I had a book search service look for it for a year with no luck, and one day I walked into a used bookstore and found a like-new copy. Serendipity!) But it might not be so hard to find a copy on the internet today. ~from a librarian

Hello, I sent in to book stumper the query below and I believe the correct answer is Elizabeth (found it on your site under keywords "Elizabeth" & "doll").  Can you tell me who the author is and if I can purchase it from you?  I'd be so grateful if you can help me out; I've been wanting to read that story again for 30 years now.
aren't you speedy and resourceful? Looks like the Solved Mysteries identifies this as Elizabeth by Liesel Skorpen, ill. by Martha Alexander, 1970.  I'll ask Rebecca to search for a copy for you and see what she can find...
Rumer Godden, The Fairy Doll.  The original description sure sounds exactly like The Fairy Doll- down to the sister named Josie and the multiplication tables.  If Elizabeth doesn't turn out to be the book the poster is looking for I suggest she check out The Fairy Doll.  It was the answer for another recent stumper as well.
Godden, Rumer(author), Adrienne Adams (illustrator), The Fairy Doll, 1956.  I'm afraid that Elizabeth by Liesel Skorpen may not be the book you're searching for.  May I suggest The Fairy Doll by Rumer Godden instead?  Here's an online synopsis: "THE FAIRY DOLL had been with the family for a very long time. It was Great grandmother’s idea to give her to Elizabeth, the youngest child, who was always in trouble for being naughty or clumsy. Elizabeth was always late, always untidy, she couldn't ride a bicycle or remember a shopping list, and the other children teased her and ignored her. But with the Fairy Doll to help, she found that gradually she could do all these things, and more. Could it be magic?"  See Stumper F214 for more information.
Rumer Godden, The Fairy Doll.  You have E84 solved as "Elizabeth", but unless that's an alternative title, it sounds more like The Fairy Doll to me, especially the part about having trouble with multiplication tables.
Wow, you stumper magicians are something else.  I wondered if Elizabeth was correct, but I figured if the requester was so certain, then it must be!  However, closer examination is indeed in order, and I agree with contention that this is The Fairy Doll.  Thanks for your diligence and attention. 

A313 is NOT animal parade by Gates and Brown - if that's any help
Animal Story Parade 1951 This may be the one you're thinking of.  Did the cover have a fawn on it?
Enid Blyton, The Fairy Kitten.  You might try looking at Enid Blyton's books.  She has a story called "The Fairy Kitten" about a pussy willow that turns into a little grey kitten. She also has a story called "Pippi the Little Panther," though I'm not sure if that involves the panther being trapped in a house by some boys. I don't know if she has any stories about a Pekingese, but she did write a lot of stories about dogs (and other animals).  There are many collections of her stories available. Hope this helps.
Fairy Kittens by Jack or John Ernest Bechdolt and Decie Merwin, Oxford University Press(1947).  Here's a description from unsolved stumper P11: "Girl buys pussywillows from a man in the park, who tells her they're "fairy kittens." During the night they turn into tiny little kittens that are rather naughty."  Not a common title for sale, so you might try obtaining it through interlibrary loan to ascertain whether this is the story sought.  It may have been printed in an anthology at some point, but I've had no luck searching for one.

#A54--Anthology of Fairy Tales:  The story about the girl with the three dresses sounds like Perrault's Donkey Skin.  It is much rarer and harder to find than the other tales mentioned, and may serve as a good clue to identifying the book.
tr. Marie Ponsot, ill. Adrienne Segur, The Fairy Tale Book, 1958.  I'm almost sure this is the book referred to. You identified it yourself in your answer to A27 - the giveaway is the rich, beatifully detailed illustrations. Story number 3 in the book is Donkey Skin. The three dresses are a sun-coloured dress, a moon-coloured dress, and a weather-coloured dress. Your page is the best thing on the internet -- I feel like I've died and gone to heaven!
I must say I have many requests for this one, and it's very difficult to find.  I do know it's a large Golden Book
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The book I remember was a tall hardcover with beautiful illustrations of fairytales.  I'm not sure of the stories, maybe "Puss in Boots."  There were several different fairytales, but I remember the illustrations the most, there were a lot of pictures of birds in the woods and wearing jewels and crowns the artwork was very richly colored and detailed.  I remember a child's face with birds around him/her in the snow.  This book was probably published before 1960.  I remember it from 1965 to 1970.  Then it got sold in a yard sale.  I know it's not much to go on but if you have suggestions they'd be most welcome.

I think this book may just be called The Fairy Tale Book-my copy is pub. 1966 but is 7th ed. A larger thin hardback with beautiful illustrations by Adrienne Segur. Pub was Golden in New York City. Lots of great fairy tales including Puss in boots.
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This is a fairy tale book I owned as a child (back in the late '50's), and haven't seen in decades.  It include two stories I haven't been able to find anywhere -- "Donkeyskin" and "Green Snake".  Can you tell me the title -- and how about how to find a copy?  Thanks!

At the risk of dragging this book out every time someone mentions fairy tales, could this too be The Fairy Tale Book illustrated by Adrienne Segur? It contains both Donkey Skin and Green Snake. Published by Golden Press, translated by Marie Ponsot.
translated by Marie Ponsot, The Golden Book of fairy tales  illustrated by Adrienne Segur.I also had this book as a child - its recently been re-printed.  List of stories:  The sleeping beauty,  The frog princess, Donkey-skin,  Kuzma and the fox,  Puss in boots, Thumbelina, Green snake,  The tinder box, Cinderella, Kip the enchanted cat, Grace and Derek, Urashima and the turtle, Thumbkin, The wild swans, Hans and the striped cat,  Little Red Riding Hood, The white deer, Beauty and the beast, Silvershod, Queen cat, Cowlick Ricky, The seven crow princes, Bluecrest, The royal ram, Bright Deardeer and Kit, Dawn the golden haired, Finn the keen falcon, Fairies.
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I am looking for a children's book with a purple cover...  it was about 9 inches by 11 inches with a shiny cover.  it is a compilation of fairytales that I received as a gift in the late 1950's-early 1960's. One of the stories was Puss n' Boots.  The illustrations in the book were large page-size, very colorful and beautifully drawn.

I have the correct book, I believe. The title is The Fairy Tale Book: A Selection of Twenty-Eight Traditional Stories from the French, German, Danish, Russian, and Japanese by Hans Christian Anderson, The Brothers Grimm, Madame d'Aulnoy, Madame Leprince de Beaumont, Madame la Comtesse de Segur and Charles Perrault.  Translated by Marie Ponsot. Illustrations by Adrienne Segur.  New York:  Golden Press,  Copyright 1958 by Writers and Artists Press, Inc. and Simon And Schuster, Inc. Printed in the U.S.A. by Western Printing and Lithographing Company.  The book has a purple cover with the illustration from the tale of The Seven Crow Princes on the front. A blond, blue-eyed girl is looking over a root into a tea party of crows wearing crowns with a dwarf and a squirrel. The book is oversize originally with a shiny cover. mine is peeling off. The cover also says A DELUXE GOLDEN BOOK. Puss n' Boots is indeed included with a beautiful illustration.  The best news is that this book was reprinted in the last 10 years and I purchased two copies at Barnes and Noble. They are at school, so I can't give you their copy info yet.  I grew up getting this book out of the public library, whose Bookmobile made a stop at our small school. We would fight over who got to have it next. The illustrations are extraordinary, especially for books of that time. When I look at them, I connect to the child I was reveling in them. First I found a battered garage sale copy from a friend years ago (the one I'm using to give the above info) and then bought those new copies a few years back. I kept badgering Children's Press representatives to keep an eye out for it over the years. One day, I walked into a bookstore and magically there it was! My child self  was delighted!
Yes, it is back in print.  What a relief.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Ponsot, Marie, trans.   The Golden Book of Fairy Tales.  Illustrated by Adrienne Segur.  NY: Golden Books, 1958, 1999.  New hardback edition, $19.99

Just in case this is useful, here are two stories featuring giant turnips:  Morey Sheena. The Old Man and the Turnip. Illustrated by Dorothea Mathieu. John Martin's House, 1948. Parkinson, Kathy. The Enormous Turnip. Albert Whitman &  Co., 1986. First edition. A Russian folktale retold featuring Grandfather Ivan and his enormous turnip that took Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, Olga, puppy, kitten, mouse and beetle to tug out of the ground. There is also a story called "The Turnip" included in Fairy Tales and Fables, Edited by Eve Morel, Illustrated by Gyo Fujikawa, NY: Grosset & Dunlap, 1970.  See the Anthology Finder for an image of this book (could be the one!).
That's not it but thanks for trying to help. :)
This actually has an ORANGE cover and a WHITE spine, but it's worth checking out - THE FAIRY TALE TREASURY
SELECTED BY VIRGINIA HAVILAND, ILLUSTRATED BY RAYMOND BRIGGS. PUBLISHED BY HAMISH HAMILTON, 1972. Puss-in-Boots dominates the cover and I definitely remember the turnip story. There are two or three
stories in it that, chances are, most of us never heard of, such as a (Russian?) story about a boy kidnapped by a fox and a tar-baby story where Brer Fox is an elephant. Other stories (there are 32 in all) are Cinderella, Tom Thumb, Snow White, Jack and the Beanstalk, & Little Red Riding Hood. (Check out Briggs' illustrations of Goldilocks - those who have
accused him of misogyny in his books may be right, but in her case the pictures make sense!)
Ding! Ding! Ding! Bells rang as soon as I read "Raymond Briggs". Found a picture of the cover and that's the one. Thank-you so much!

illus Jessie Wilcox Smith, A Child's Book of Stories, reprinted 1986.  This book has 86 stories and most of the ones you listed are in it.  Some of the more unusual stories that might jog your memory are: Hercules and the wagoner, History of little golden hood, I don't care, Little thumb, Little Totty, Mr. Miacca Nose, Six comrades, Snowdrop, So-so, Story of Mr. Vinegar, Selfish sparrow and the houseless crows, Tired of being a girl, Tom Tit Tat, Unseen giant, White cat, Why?, Why the bear is stumpy-tailed, and Yellow dwarf.
Terry Jones, Fairy Tales, 1981.
Bridget Hadaway (retold), Fairy Tales, 1974/1982/1985/1987.  This is the book!  Memory a little foggy, but this is it and it has aladdin on the cover with his genie coming out of the lamp, it's approx 304pp and has 28 stories.
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I  have an old book of fairy and folk tales that is missing its cover and first few pages. I would like to get a nicer copy but I don’t know the title, editor or illustrators. It is 12 inches tall and 8.5 inches wide, is 304pp long and had beige linen style covers, the back cover has a picture of Dorothy and the Scarecrow (from Oz) in brown.  It has beautiful watercolor (I think) illustrations on every page. Some of the stories include: Jack and the Beanstalk; Little Red Riding Hood; Hansel & Gretel;  Ali Baba; The Magic Kettle, Cinderella, snow White; The Goosegirl; Puss in boots; The Wonderful Tarbaby; The Little mermaid; The Firebird; and many others. (Fifty in all I think.) If anyone can help me figure this out I would greatly appreciate it! Thanks!

I am looking for the SAME book!  I just subnitted in a bookstumper.  The cover was blue/purple with a fairy on it with glitter trail behind her.  My book fell apart too and all I have left are a couple of stories.  The book also had "the red shoes" "the coal the straw and the bean" the fisherman's wife, bluebeard, rumplestiltzskin, the elves and the shoemaker, and the little match girl, the princess and the pea, and probably some more!  I know there was a story about a pig and a pancake.
Bridget Hadaway (retold), Fairy Tales.  1982/1985/1987.  This is DEFINATELY the book we are looking for!  I just found it today, the day I found this request!  funny, huh?  I ordered the book, but the guy described it to me and it's exactly what you are describing.  Your description actually helped me to find it.  They have a bunch with different publication dates, but all the same book.  I got the publication of 1987, although I am pretty sure the 1985 one is the one I had.  Well see when it gets here.  I hope this helps, I know there are a million fairy tale books out there and it's almost impossible to find something without an author or illustrator!  the Cover of this book has aladdin and his lamp with the Genie coming out, with a trail behind him, does that sound familiar?  the book is purple and blue and the back inside cover has the wizard of Oz characters (so the seller told me) which just may be a different edition than the one you have.  I hope this helps!
Hadaway, Fairy Tales.  I am so pleased that someone figured out my stumper! It has been a year since I submitted it and hadn't checked it in months. What a surprise when I couldn't find it on the unsolved pages! I must have the 1974 edition because the back cover that I have is definitely NOT purple :). I can't wait to get a better copy for my daughters. Thank you so much!
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This book is a large hardback collection of fairy tales that I had as a child in the late 1970's. I don't know much about the book other than that it may have been a collection of Hans Christian Andersen tales because it was lavishly illustrated and I remember in particular the illustrations from The Little Mermaid. I seem to recall the paper cover on the text was a purple color and had an illustration of a young girl and old woman on it (reminiscent of Cinderella) although Andersen didn't write that tale, so that is what has me confused. The book was about 1 inch thick or so, and had very detailed color illustrations throughout. I would imagine the copyright was in the 1970's because my mom wouldn't have had the money to buy a book that was out of print at the time she bought it for me. I would appreciate any suggestion anyone can give me to help me find this book!

Hadaway, Bridget, Fairy Tales, 1974.  This sounds a lot like the stumper I submitted a while ago.  My solution turned out to be Fairy Tales by Hadaway. My copy has a dust jacket that has a lot of purple, showing a young girl seated while an older woman with a wand is standing behind her. It is an illustration used for Cinderella later in the book. The poster can check the solved mysteries page (under "Fairy Tales") for more details.
It IS the Bridget Hadaway book!! I confirmed this because someone is selling it on ebay right now and has pictures of the 1974 edition (don't tell anyone; I hope to be the high bidder!)  I just want to thank you so much for your site. What an invaluable service you provide!! I plan to be a regular visitor to the site, and I've already told others about it as well.
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collected edition of fairy tales:  off white cover hard back had several stories the ones that i remember are tar baby, emperor's new clothes and rapunzel.  it was done by the same people that made the childrens bible of that same year. i wish i could tell you more but i have racked my brain! it seems like it had a longer title than the one above.

This might be the 70's version of  The Better Homes and Garden Story Book.
A29:  I am thinking this might be Young Years, Best Loved Stories and Poems for Little Children.  The cover is off white with a lot of fairy tale characters on the front and back.  The book does include the three stories
mentioned.  The reason I bought it is it has the REAL Billy Goats Gruff story where the Big Billy Goat Gruff tells the troll, "I'll poke your eyeballs out your ears!"  And the story ends with "Snip, snap, snout.  This tale's told out."  This book was published by Parents' Magazine Press, Copyright MCMLX. [1960.]
Bridget Hadaway (retold), Fairy Tales, 1982/1985/1987.  This book sounds like what you are looking for, a collection of 50 fairy tales, all color illustrations, wizard of oz characters on back cover, aladdin on the front cover with lamp and genie.  304pp.  editions printed by cathaway publishing (82) crescent publishing (85) and gallery books (87).
published by Parents Magazine Enterprises for Playmore, Inc.  NY NY, Best Loved Fairy Tales, including Mother Goose Selections, 1963.  The title of this one is deceptive as I don’t think there is anything of Mother Goose in it.   My copy is the 1974 edition and it says that it was originally published as Vol. 3 - Young Years Library,  Copyright MCMLXIII.  The cover is red cloth with a color picture on paper glued to it from front to back.  The picture on the cover is overshadowed by a gray-toned swirl which is, I believe, Aladdin’s genie, and the picture appears to be projected from a book held by a boy.  The stories included are:  Aladdin and the Wonderful Lamp ~ Cinderella, or the Glass Slipper ~ Beauty and the Beast ~ Sleeping Beauty ~ Rumpelstiltskin ~ Puss In Boots ~ Whittington and his Cat ~ The Real Princess [a.k.a. Princess and the Pea] ~ The Tinderbox ~ Jack and the Beanstalk ~ The Shoemaker and the Elves ~ The Elves and the Changeling ~ The Servant Maid and the Elves ~ The Wonderful Tar Baby Story ~ The History of Tom Thumb ~ Jack the Giant Killer [a.k.a. The Little Tailor] ~ The Husband Who Was to Mind the House ~ The Emperor’s New Clothes ~ Bremen Town Musicians ~ Hansel and Gretel ~ Snow White ~ Ugly Duckling ~ Steadfast Tin Soldier ~ Rapunzel ~ Why the Sea Is Salt ~ The Alligator and the Jackal ~ How the Raven Helped Men ~ The Frog Prince ~ Pinocchio’s First Adventures ~ A Mad Tea Party [excerpt from Alice In Wonderland] ~ The Little Gnome [a poem] So, I would have to concur with the second contributor except I don't think the Billy Goats Gruff made it into my edition.  The stories do appear to be very real/true to the original version  some are darkly humorous and the book is peppered with a great deal of archaic language. (See also C101)
This could be The Golden Treasury of Children's Literature-71 stories edited and selected by Bryna and Louis Untermeyer. Copyright dates starting in 1947-my copy is 1966. Your three stories are in this large volume.
retold by Bridget Hadaway Illustrated by Jean Atcheson, Fairy Tales.  This book had all the stories you mentioned. The writer/illustrator had a children's bible at the same time.

Bridget Hadaway, Fairy Tales.  This sounds like the Hadaway book, see solved mystery pages for more details. I looked for this one for years too, the illustrations are marvelous.
Bridget Hadaway, Fairy Tales, 1974.  Thankyou so much! It was Bridget Hadaway, I was able to see a copy that had been sold on ebay and it was the same cover I remember as a child. Thankyou! I have ordered a copy and can't wait to get it. What a great service!

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Looking for hardback anthology of bedtime/fairy, late 70s to 80s. I think it had a blue cover, maybe with a princess on the front. It included Rumpelstiltskin, The Red Shoes, The Emperor's New Clothes, Bluebeard, The Tinder Box & Little Match Girl. Beautiful colour illustrations. Help!

Hadaway, Bridget, Fairy Tales. This may be the book. It has all the stories listed and is full of illustrations. There is more information on the solved mystery pages.
Hans Christian Andersen, Andersen's Fairy Tales, 1945. This blue colored book of fairy tales has beautiful illustrations by Arthur Szyk including a cover picture of the Emperor. The first of a set of two books, the other being a red colored book of Grimm's Fairy Tales, illustrated by Fritz Kredel. Hope this is it. A favorite childhood book of mine. 
SOLVED: Bridget Hadaway, Fairy Tales. Yes, it's the Hadaway book! Thank you so much.

Lynne Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel,1985, copyright. Bindi is the girl with blue in her hair, but she's actually the daughter of the main character and isn't born until the second half of the book.  Every year she gets magic birthday presents from a fairy.
Lynne Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel,1988. A fairy disobeys the Queen's rules about contact with humans to help a couple have a baby. The baby girl has a small streak of blue hair due to some confusion on how she should look. Each year the fairy sends the girl a special birthday present, until she is ten years old. Then the fairy Queen finds out and sends a present that gets her into trouble.
Lynne Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel. Definitely what you are looking for- has the fairy, the patch of colored hair, the return on birthdays, and so on.
Lynn Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel,1995."A rebellious fairy named Tiki, already in trouble for breaking the rule against wearing jeans, risks the further wrath of the Fairy Queen by trying to fulfill a human's special request for help." The human child that results from Tiki's friendship has blue hair and a yearly wish...
Lynne Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel. This is what you're looking for.

Kincaid, Kincaids book of Witches, Goblins, Ogres and Fantasy, 1980.  This story is similar to one in this collections of fairy tales that I have. The theme is the same, but the circumstances are a little different. The name of the story as it appears in my book is The Giant Stones, and there are 3 main characters, a poor shepherd boy, a greedy wizard, and a furry eared fairy-child. Perhaps you can do some reasearch based on the title to find the copy you are looking for.
Barbara Ker Wilson, Fairy Tales of France.  The poster who suggested I search "Giant Stones" inadvertently led me to the correct book, which had a story with the word "giant" and a story with the word "stones" in the title!  The "Stones" story is the one I remember.  This one has finally been solved.

F29 - A Fairy to Stay - Irene Mossop - 1930s I think
A Fairy to Stay by Margaret Beatrice Lodge, illustrated by A.H. Watson, Oxford University Press, 1929 8vo, illustrated with one color plate, plus 8 full-page plates in brown line on cream background, and with pictorial
endpapers in the style of Rackham.

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I am looking for a book that I read at my aunt's house in the mid-1950's.  She told me it had been hers when she was a child, and so it  probably dates from the 1920's, if not earlier (I had not then learned to look for edition information).  The story concerned a lonely girl (orphaned? temporarily left?) living with some unsympathetic female relatives (I think, two aunts). The girl is befriended by a fairy that lives in the garden.  The two go on some magical adventures, but the scene I remember most is when the fairy shows the girl that "magic" can also be a point of view.  To illustrate, the fairy points out that a flower is as big to her as a tree is to the girl, and so the girl can do just as the fairy does, in her own, human, world.  The book was a narrative, perhaps 200 pages, with a few color plates.  One of these showed a strikingly beautiful, dark-haired queen or sorceress (my memory tells me she was not nice), clothed in flames.  It was a disturbing, swirling, art-nouveau-ish picture in red and orange.  I realize that this is very little to go on, but I am hopeful that you or some of your readers can help me find a book that has been eluding me for half a century!  By the way, it is neither Joan in Flowerland, nor Alcott's Flower Fables.

Margaret Beatrice Lodge, A Fairy To Stay, 1928 Oxford University Press. I sent in the original query, and finally found the book -- the old-fashioned way, in a used book store!  All is as I remembered (it was two unpleasant aunts), except no color plates.  Illustrations (by A.H. Watson) in sepia only.  Perhaps my memory imported the color illustrations from a different story?

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There is a book titled The Fairy Who Wouldn't Fly by Pixie O'Harris published by Marchant in 1952.  I have no idea if this is the book in question, but the title and time are right.

Faith and Freedom Readers.  These Faith and Freedom Readers were for grades 1 and up with titles like This is Our Town, This is Our Valley, These are Our Neighbors etc.  They start out with David and Ann and family.  The higher level books also feature other stories.
Faith and Freedom Readers, 1950s.  Just based on web research (Catholic homeschool sites) and eBay browsing, I would
suggest looking at the Faith & Freedom Readers series.  In particular, the pre-primer (Here We Come, This is Our Home, Here We Are Again) and primers (This is Our Family  This Are Our Friends).  The Seton Home Study School website has samples (reprints, I believe) online under "Curriculum/Grade 1 Booklist" (although they don't identify them by series
name--look under the individual titles).   The originals (?) seem to turn up pretty frequently on eBay  try searching "Faith and Freedom" and any combination of "Ann" "David" "Catholic" "readers" "primers" etc.  (These works are a different series than the Cathedral Editions of Scott Foresman's classic Dick, Jane, and Sally, in which the characters are John, Jean, and Judy.)
C171 Sister Mary M Marguerite; Sister M Bernarda. This is our family.  Illus by Hazel Hoecker; Catherine Scholz; Ralph Shepherd.  Ginn, 1961. revised edition. Cover picture is family raking leaves.  Faith and Freedom Basic Readers.

Stein, Sara Bonnett, A Family Dollhouse, 1979.  I loved this book too!  It was distinct from most of the other dollhouse books because it focused on plans for a dollhouse that you could really play with - not one with delicate, breakable furniture that was mostly for display.  It includes instructions for making dolls out of chamois, building the house and furniture out of sturdy materials, making textiles, and so on.  For the photos of the "secret" room, the author has posed two toy frogs playing checkers.  My local library still has a copy - I hope yours does, too!
Stein, Sara Bonnett, A Family Dollhouse.  I want to thank you with all my heart whoever solved this for me...I have NO doubt this is the book...that is exactly it- the frogs playing checkers!!! Thank you for letting me know it should still be in libraries and I will be going to check it out- this means so much to me!! Lots of memories...I got tears in my eyes reading your description...thank you for your time!!!!!!  This is a wonderful site!

"Maggie in Boston" vaguely reminded me of a book I'd read, which I learned of during the 20th anniversary year of "The Mickey Mouse Club," when the shows were rerun (over 30 YEARS ago--WOW!).  I read several of the books on which some of the serials were based. Margaret, by Janette Sebring Lowrey, was the basis of the "Annette" serial. I  found a good summary online:  "Even after Margaret was settled in Uncle Archie’s home in Ashford, her thoughts kept taking her back to Nichols Station--to Bonnie, to P. A., and Michael--to the little Texas town in which she was sure she would find again all that she knew and loved.  She realized she was supposed to be happy that she’d finally been discovered by her relatives, after the many years of orphanhood--but it seemed to her that Bonnie and P.A. had been all the ‘folks’ she needed, and although it had been a dull and simple existence, it had been a safe one.  In the lazy little village she had been reasonably sure what to expect of each day.  But here in Ashford, where a complicated pattern of social activities set her dizzy with its busy pace, each day was a new occasion for fear.  For when you are an awkward country girl, your voice and your shyness give you away even if you do have beautiful new clothes and an Uncle Archie who is one of the most highly respected men in the town.  Or so it seemed to Margaret.  This is the story of Margaret’s life in Ashford--of her struggle to gain poise and confidence in herself, even when a jealous person like the pretty flirt, Laura Rogan, tried to make her appear a thief.  The popular Laura was no easy opponent for a quiet country girl, but fear of disappointing her new friends--and especially her Uncle Archie--made Margaret stand by her convictions, helped her to outgrow her feelings of insecurity, and, after bitter lessons learned in the terrifying atmosphere of the sophisticated town, showed her beyond any doubt that her real home was in Ashford."  And the Internet Movie Database listing for the serial:  "Annette stars as a simple orphan coming from a small country farm to the upper-class suburbs so she can live with an aunt and uncle she hasn't seen in years.  At first, she's excited to finally have a solid home.  Her aunt takes her shopping and gives her a new look, while her uncle makes her school plans ready, and the house maid babies her no end.  But it's the other kids in town that at last give Annette something to worry about.  Some are snobs, some are obnoxious, and the ones she does get along with are the sort of people her aunt believes are beneath her.  With a new crush on the popular boy in school, Annette becomes the target of his jealous girlfriend.  Her life may never be simple again."
That doesn't sound quite right. I'm almost positive this book was set somewhere in the Northeast and there definitely was a scene on an ice skating pond.
I just read this one!! A Family for Sarah Ann by Polly Curran. It takes place on Beacon Hill- at one point they ride the swan boats. All your elements are here.Cute story!
A Family for Sarah Ann was a match.

Margaret Trist, Morning in Queensland.  I have not read the book, but I know that the author is Australian, that the book was for young people, that one of the characters was called Tansy, and that there was at least one sequel. So perhaps a possibility.
Anne de Roo, Scrub Fire, etc.  Another possibility that comes to mind. She was an Australian author, whose books tended to be set in the countryside, and one of her books was called Cinnamon and Nutmeg - I am not sure whether these were names of people or animals, but could suggest a 'herbal' naming tendency!
It is not Morning in Queensland, and the only book I could find by Anne De Roo was Scrub Fire, which is not old enough.
I think this is Barbara Ker Wilson A family likeness. The 4 girls are Celandine, Tansy, Sorrell and Vervain. It's not exactly timeslip, but story of a modern girl - Debbie - alternating with the story of her ancestors - the 4 girls, who emigrated from Sunderland, UK to Sydney (with father mother and brother Bertie - name was Pratt). She finds a box of family photos, and their mother sees a family likeness between Debbie and Sorrell, and Jane (Debbie's elder sister) and Celandine. The dust cover of the copy I've just borrowed from the library is mostly pinky- beige with a picture of the Pratt family.
I believe A Family Likeness is correct.  Thank you so much!

maybe it is  The family name by Jan Washbum.  A story about a young girl who wants to live up to her good family name, but an accident in her senior year in high school challenges her to begin to learn to live again.
That is it! In fact, my sister found the book for me, I'm not sure how, and gave it to me as a gift last year.  It's a great story for young girls (and older girls who like to remember being young!).  Thanks for remembering.
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It was a book about a girl who made cheerleader, had three successful sisters who over-shadowed her, had an accident while water-skiing.  I think her name was Ryndy (short for Catherine or Katherine) Drews/or Drews

This sounds like The Family Name by Jan Washburn, Whitman 1971, again (in Solved).
Is this The Family Name, by Jan Washburn, published Whitman 1971? "A story about a young girl who wants to live up to her good family name, but an accident in her senior year in highschool challenges her to begin to learn to live again."
Wow, Im amazed.  I would love to get a copy of it, please let me know if you can find one.  Thank so much

The book I am looking for is about a teenage girl in high school who has three older sisters who are all successful in a particular way and showed that success while in high school.  As the book starts the youngest of the three has just left for college and now the main character feels she can shine on her own out of the shadow of her older sisters.  I remember the sisters names but not the main character's: Oldest, Virginia, called Ginny, the family brain, described as regal (I remember having to ask my dad what that meant); Second was Victoria, called Vicky, the family beauty, and last Valerie, called Val the "personality kid" who was star cheerleader.  The main plot is that the main character (maybe her name starts with a  "V" like the others?) decides, not being able to be a super brain or super beauty like the oldest two, she will follow in Val's footsteps and become a cheerleader.  While that dream is just starting to come true she goes waterskiing with a friend and the boat gets loose and runs over her causing her to break both legs and she ends up in traction for months.  Coming out of traction and hoping to get her strength back in her legs, it is recommended that she take up swimming for rehabilitation.  WhiIe swimming she sees someone diving hit his or her head on the board which no one else sees and even though she has trouble since she still cant walk, she swims super fast to save the person and the coach is so impressed he recommends she go out for the swim team.  Somewhere in the story she meets a boy named Pieter who is in the hospital and depressed and will only talk with her when she uses a puppet.  I read this book in the late 70's, early 80's but it had a feel of being written in the 60's or so.  For some reason I always felt that it was published by the same company that did the "Meg Mysteries" which I believe was Whitman Publishing (this could be because it had the same hard back cover, covered over with paper and I purchased it in the same place,the local Pic'N'Save along with "The Three Matildas" (another mystery book I loved along with the Meg books)) but I have never been able to find it looking under Whitman (although that could be because I couldn't remember the main character's name or the title).
Jan Washburn, The Family Name, 1971. This one is in the Solved Mysteries section - apparently a popular request. "A story about a young girl who wants to live up to her good family name, but an accident in her senior year in high school challenges her to begin to learn to live again."
Solved: The Family Name, 1971. This is definitely the book! Knew it as soon as I saw the title but would never have remembered it, the author's name, and especially the main character's name, Ryndy.  That makes 4 for 4 you and your readers have found for me! Thank you so much!

Helen Doss, The Family Nobody Wanted, 1975. I'm just sure this is it.  An oldie, but a goodie.
Helen Doss, The Family Nobody Wanted, 1954. This sounds very much like The Family Nobody Wanted.  It is a memoir written by Helen Doss, a Methodist pastor's wife.  They adopted 12 children of various nationalities although none were disabled.  This was available from Scholastic Books in the 1970's and my sister and I read it to pieces.  I found a used copy a few years ago and my daughter and her best friend have also read it many times.
Doss, Helen, The Family Nobody Wanted,1945. Helen Doss and her minister husband adopt twelve children of various ethnic backgrounds. It was originally published in 1945, but was recently reprinted.
Doss, Helen, The Family That Nobody Wanted, 1956. A minister and his wife adopt twelve multi-racial children.
etc.

Pauline Rush Evans (editor), Family Treasury of Children's Stories, 1956.  We've had this three-volume set around for forty years, and I'm pretty sure it's what you're looking for.  The third volume does have excerpts from Kon Tiki and Gulliver's Travels.

Is this Heidi?
It is marvelous to scroll down your pages of solved and unsolved book queries! The description of G21 rung a bell - could it be a boy and not a girl and could it be Frances Burnett? The secret garden? Little Lord Fontleroy (or whatever it is spelled)?
Come to think of it, G21 reminds me of Storey's YA book called The Family Tree. Girl goes to live with
either her grandfather or great-uncle or many-removed cousin, and he is very curt and abrupt with her, making her feel unwanted. He has a dog and commands her to never close the door in any rooms but she accidentally does and the dog scratches long grooves in the door. Then she finds a huge assortment of old photos, and has them spread out on the floor, trying to sort out who is who in the family, and the dog walks all over them and she gets yelled at for making a mess, but then he sees what she was trying to do and they bond by creating the family tree and seeing just how they are related. Good book.
not much to go on, but perhaps Grandpa's Maria, by Hans-Eric Hellberg, translated from the Swedish by Patricia Crampton, illustrated by Joan Sandin, published Morrow 1974 "An award-winning author tells this sensitive, funny story of a seven-year-old girl left in the care of her grandfather." (HB Oct/74 p.204 pub ad)
G21 girl & grouchy grandpa: there's Maid's Ribbon, by Mary Treadgold, published Nelson 1967 "A resourceful and responsible girl finally wins the trust of her suspicious old grandfather." but that's all the plot description I have.
Storey, Margaret, The family tree, c.1973.  When I read this, I recognized the story as being from The family tree by Margaret Storey. I checked in my copy, and found the incident with Kate sorting out pictures in front of the fire is on pages 81-89. Kate is an orphan who has lived with her Aunt Millicent, a reluctant guardian at best. Aunt Millicent decides that its time someone on her father's side of the family takes care of her, but the only reaining relative is elderly cousin Lawrence, who lived in the house where her father had grown up. Its a geat story. Hope this helps. I love the stumpers, by the way and always find them interesting

Famous Fairy Tales
A collection of fairytales printed < 1985 (probably > 1975). I found an anime dvd called "The World's Greatest Fairy Tales" that has the same illustrations, but can't find the book (other than the 44 page book that comes with the dvd).  An example is at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G4bu4553YaQ

Fred Ladd, Famous Fairy Tales, 1978. ISBN 0448147289. I think this is your book.
SOLVED: Fred Ladd, Famous Fairy Tales, 1978. That's it!  That's it!  I'm so excited!  Thank you!

Enid Blyton, Five on a Treasure Island, circa 1942.  First published in 1942. The Famous Five, Julian, Dick, George (Georgina), Anne and Timmy the dog. On Kirrin Island the Famous Five find themselves involved in their first adventure - a desperate treasure hunt concerning an ancient wreck and a ruined castle.  First of the Famous Five series, it is easily available on ebay.

Alice Chase, Famous Paintings: An Introduction to Art for Young People.

Edna Ferber, Fanny Herself, 1917.  The main character starts a special catalog for cheap baby clothes that brings business to the company. One of her co-workers comes on to her (he is married) and she punches him. Her love interest is a writer who teaches her the 'uppercut'.
Ferber, Edna, Fanny Herself    1917 YES!!  That's IT!  I try not to covet instant gratification, but I love it when it happens.  I don't even have to check Interlibrary Loan first.  I KNOW this is the right one.  Thank You, Thank You.  (Now, dear Harriet, can you find me a copy????)

F26 fiona the beautiful: could be Fanona the Beautiful, written and illustrated by Jessica Ross, published Holt, Rinehart 1972,  32 pages. "Fanona learns that being friendly is more important than being beautiful."

Sylvia Engdahl, The Far Side of Evil.  G325 is definitely Engahl's The Far Side of Evil, which is the sequel to her truly wonderful Enchantress from the Stars.  There are recent re-issues of both of these, and the new edition of The Far Side of Evil apparently has some changes to it.  Be aware that it is pretty dark -- Enchantress from the Stars is meant for a younger audience and is much lighter.
Solved: Yes!!! I recognize the titles.  Thank you so much!  I beleive that you are right about the protagonist of G325 being a boy rather than a girl.  Many thanks!

Pamela Hull & Katherine Whitlock, The Far-Distant Oxus, Escape to Persia, Oxus in Summer, 1930's.  The name Maurice brought back the title...I've only read two of the 3 books, but they were great.  Here's a plot summary I found on the Web: "The main characters are three children spending their summer vacation at a farm on the moors, where they each get to choose a pony to use as their own for the summer. Their parents are elsewhere, and they soon meet two local children (also with ponies), and the mysterious boy Maurice. They build a hut, sneak out to ride at night, trek downriver to the seaside, hold horse races, and always wonder who Maurice really is, and where he comes from."
Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock, The Far Distant Oxus. Sounds like the one; there were a couple of sequels, I think.
Oh.  I have a really beautiful edition of this.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Hull, Katherine and Pamela Whitlock,The Far-Distant Oxus.  Abridged edition, with an afterword by Arthur Ransome.  Macmillan, 1938, 1969.  First thus.  279 pages.  F/F  <SOLD>

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I read this book in the early/mid 70s. I recall nothing about the title very little about the actual plot, except that it involved children and was set in England (I think).  What sticks in my memory is that the book was written by two young girls (English, I think), who took turns writing the chapters. When they were done, they sent the manuscript to one of their favorite authors, who was so impressed he managed to arrange to have the book published. The adult author explained all this in a lenghty forward. I specifically remember that he described how, when the girls were told they could have four-color cover, they asked if black and white would count as two of the colors (at the time, I couldn't figure out why the adult author found that funny).  At the time I was so impressed that a book I enjoyed so much was written by girls just like me. I'd love to locate the book and see if it really was as good as I thought was at the time.

Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock, The Far Distant Oxus, 1937.  This sounds like The Far Distant Oxus, written by two schoolgirls, Katherine Hull and Pamela Whitlock. There are two sequels as well, Escape to Persia (1938) and Oxus in Summer (1939).   almost forgot to add, the famous author who the girls sent the book to, who wrote the introduction, is Arthur Ransome.
Hull & Whitlock, The Far- Distant Oxus.  Yes, this is the book I was looking for! What an incredible site -- I can't believe people could so easily identify the book I wanted from my very sketchy memories of the forward (which actually turns out to be the afterword, in fact) and nothing else! Thanks so much!

Jane Flory, The Liberation of Clementine Tipton, 1974.  "Philadelphia's centennial celebration in 1876 and the activities of a growing women's movement bring excitement and some new ideas to the life of young Clementine Tipton." Flory also wrote Peddler's Summer, Mist on the Mountain, and One Hundred and Eight Bells.
Flory, Jane.  Don't know which book it might be but this author wrote Peddler's Summer and a book One Hundred and Eight Bells which might be the others she was talking about. * Peddler's Summer, 1960.    * A Tune for the Towpath, 1962.    * One Hundred and Eight Bells, 1963.    * Clancy's Glorious Fourth, 1964.    * Mist on the Mountain, 1966.    * Faraway Dream, 1968.    * Ramshackle Roost, 1972.    * We'll Have a Friend for Lunch, illustrated by Carolyn Croll, 1974.    * The Liberation of Clementine Tipton, 1974.    * The Golden Venture, 1976.    * The Unexpected Grandchildren, illustrated by Croll, 1977.    * The Lost and Found Princess, 1979.    * It Was a Pretty Good Year, 1979.    * The Bear on the Doorstop, illustrated by Croll, 1980.    * The Great Bamboozlement, Houghton Mifflin (Boston, MA), 1982.
Jane Flory, Faraway dream, 1968.  Boston: Houghton Mifflin Story of Maggie Mulligan an orphan who lived at Seafarer's Safe Harbor, home for seamen's orphans. maggie has a temper.  Taken on as a milliner's apprentice she must learn to control her temper and become a lady.  Other books the poster remembers are One hundred and ten bells (1963)about Setsuko's dream of becoming an artist and how it doesn't fit with what is expected of a good Japanese girl. Peddler's Summer (1960 A story about Amanda Scoville and her seven sisters. Sequel to Peddler's Summer is Mist on the Mountain (1966)When Pa died of fever, the eight Scoville girls stayed on at the farm, despite the difficulties of working it.
I wanted to write and thank you so VERY much. All three of the books I sent in as stumpers have been solved. It was so fun to go to your website and check for results - a little like waiting for Christmas.  Your service is wonderful, and I thank you a hundred times over.  The books you found for me were: O67 - "Orphan girl" which was Faraway Dream  I71 - "Indian boy," which was Komantcia And G236 "German boy," which was The Quest.

Harry Behn, The Faraway Lurs, 1963.  I'm pretty sure this is the one.  "A fascinating love story about a boy and a girl
who lived a very long time ago in the early Bronze Age. Lurs are great bronze trumpets of the Sun People who live near to the Forest People."  This is one that haunted me for a long time too, but luckily, I found my copy!
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When I was in junior high (1982) I read a chapter book with a Romeo and Juliet plotline. Two teenagers in prehistoric times fell in love but their tribes would not let them marry. The girl, I think, killed herself and was embalmed in a tree. Her tribe worshipped trees. Her lover, of the Sun-worshipping tribe, discovered her, and I think died himself.

#E50--Embalming, sun people, tree people: The Faraway Lurs, by Harry Behn, World, 1963, on the Solved Mysteries page.
oops - repeat of E41 entry.  at least it's solved!
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Dead Cavegirl is found in pristine condition and her life is revisited. Read in 1970, Old Book, Novel, Hardback, no Pictures.  The words "green valley" come to mind, I dont think that is part of the title, probably the intro. Wonderful writing of her life. Good nature story. At the end, I believe she is sacrificed. Her body decomposes after her story is revealed. No it is not morbid!!  Good Nature Book!!!  Thanks!!!

This sounds a bit like The Faraway Lurs by Harry Behn, although that one deals with early Bronze Age tribespeople rather than cavedwellers.
Perkins, Lucy Fitch.  The Cave Twins.  I found out that the book is apparently as close to historical accuracy as one can get - that is, in northern Europe, boats were invented in about 8,000 B.C., which is about the same time animals (specifically, rabbits, in the book) began to be domesticated - and the mammoth and saber-toothed tiger were still living, but barely! (Theoretically, since they were living, the story could not take place later than I listed.)
Behn, Harry, The Faraway Lurs, 1963.
Behn, Harry, The Faraway Lurs. (UK title The Distant Lurs).  Cleveland, World 1964.  Could be this one. "A haunting tale of love and adventure set during early Bronze Age Denmark. Story of a prehistoric girl in Denmark whose name was not known but author called her Heather Goodshade because her village lay between low sandy hills covered with heather & a great oak forest deep with shade." "the young heroine of the story, caught between the upper and lower millstones of opposing cultures, consents to be sacrificed for her people. Behn was influenced by the discovery of Tollund Man, who had been ritually strangled in perhaps just such a crisis."
You solved my stumper!!  I am a happy woman!!  I really didn't have much hope of finding this book on my own.  I had searched and searched but did not remember enough information to do an adequate search.  Then I got really lucky and stumbled across your site. I submitted immediately.  I was thrilled to have 4 hits when I checked Monday.  I then searched for the book by Title and Author and found enough information that I remembered to verify that THIS IS THE BOOK I WAS LOOKING FOR!!  I would have never found this on my own.  I am so grateful to you for helping me find a treasure from my childhood!  I will check back often to try and help others, as others helped me. There is no way I can thank them personally, but maybe I can pay them back by helping someone else.   {only a great lover of books will understand the joy I will feel when I have that book in my hands after 35 years of missing it. I have read enough of your listings to know many, many people feel the same way.  You do such good and worthwhile work here and I am so grateful!!  Thank you, thank you!!}
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I read this book in junior high school back in the mid seventies. It was about the body of a young viking(?) girl found buried in I believe a peat bog as a sacrifice. The body was found with a gold necklace. The book then goes way back in time, and tells the story of her life up until that point. She met a young man from a different "tribe" and was beginning to fall in love with him. There was also a girl friend, perhaps a slave that she confided in. I know the description sounds rather depressing, but it really was a very good book!

The Faraway Lurs.  A classic "Romeo-and-Juliet", prehistoric star-crossed lovers from different tribes find love and tragedy.  Wonderful story.  Check Solved Mysteries for particulars.  You'll love it!
Harry Behn, The Faraway Lurs.  A Romeo and Juliet story set in the Bronze Age.  Often asked about in book search forums!
This is another longshot, but it might be worth looking at the books by Madeleine Polland. I can't find any summaries, but from (distant!) memories, Beorn the Proud has a similar storyline, as does Deirdre.  Her books were published in the late 60s/early 70s.
Thank you, thank you, thank you! I think that this may be the book I was looking for....(for thirty years!)

I just finished reading this a couple weeks ago! It's The Farthest Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks.
F40 is the same as M76.
Maybe BONHOMME by Laurent de Brunhoff, translated by Richard Howard, Pantheon Books, 1965. "When little girl Emilie looks at a mountain through a telescopes, spots a funny little man sitting beside a tree & goes traveling up the mountain to find out why he stays up there all alone." "The adventures of a little creature named Bonhomme and his playmate Emilie. Wonderful full page color illustrations by De Brunhoff and a charming fantasy." There's a sequel: Bonhomme and the Huge Beast Pantheon Books, 1974. "Emilie and Bonhomme have some adventures with such unusual acquaintances as a stone horse, a huge frog, and Randolph, the most enormous beast of all." The two books together have several of the features (girl, mountain, quest, gnome, frog) but not quite in the same order. There's also Lynne Reid Banks' The Farthest-Away Mountain Illustrated by Victor Ambrus, New York, Doubleday 1977 "The snow on the peak of the farthest away mountain changed colors - from red to bright blue, to green, or pink, or yellow - but no one ever knew why. No one had ever been there, because no matter how long anyone traveled, it always stayed in the distance. One day the mountain beckons to a girl who lives in the valley at its foot. Dakin finds herself drawn by irresistible forces toward its slopes, and then up to the very top. Along her way, there are terrifying dangers to be overcome - she must bathe in the Lithy Pool and cross the sea of spikes, she must get past the guardian gargoyles on the craggy ledges and escape from the talons of the winged monster, Graw. She must face the snow witch and outwit the ogre Drackamag in his lair beneath the peak before she can release the mountain from the evil magic which has imprisoned it for two hundred years."
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Hi!  I've been looking for a book I read in elementary school for a long time now.  I don't remember much about it, but it's about a girl who climbs up a mountain, and i think the mountain keeps getting farther away as she walks towards it.  As she's climbing the mountain she meets these gargoyles.  One warms her hands with its breath and another warms her toes.  That's really all I remember.  I thought it was called something like The Faraway Mountain, or Up, Up the Mountain, but I've looked under these titles and haven't found it.  Hope you can help!

F40 is the same as M76.
There is a book by Lynne Reid Banks called The Farthest Away Mountain
Lynne Reid Banks, The Farthest-Away Mountain, in print from Avon Camelot.
Hi.  I sent in a stumper--F40--and I think that it just may be The Farthest Away Mountain!  I'll have to look it up, but the description sounds right. Thanks to whoever sent it in!
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A girl goes on a journey with many trials (reminds me of The Snow Queen). At one portion of her journey she must cross an area of razor sharp stones and her feet are bare. She begins to cry as she starts to cross, and as her tears fall on the rocks they become smooth. She is too overwhelmed to notice. She continues until her strenth gives out and she falls, too exhausted to cry more. However, as she falls she has come to the end of the rocks and she lands on grass. I believe she may have had companions. In the begining she is in a meadow and there is pond with a frog in a well or underground catching flies with its tongue. The frog may or may not speak. Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!

This sounds like a variation of East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  As it is a story widely retold and anthologized, some more details about the variation or style of illustration might help to track down the book.
Sounds close to The Farthest-Away Mountain by Lynne Reid Banks, where the girl defeats an evil witch after traveling through an area with stone spikes and one with colored snow. The talking frog turned out to be a schoolteacher and not a prince...
Lynne Reid Banks, The Farthest-Away Mountian,1976.  Definitely, the spike scene matches perfectly.  The frog does talk and there was another character who was a prince.
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I'm looking for a book I read at about 1986, It was about a girl who was either travelling to or running from a witch. She climbs a mountain, meets a gargoyle who if I remember correctly shelters her from a storm as she sleeps. She has one piece of choclate left, this is all she has to eat, but she gives it away. She finds witch's cottage and sees coloured lights or smoke coming from chimney. I'm afraid this is all I can remember. Hoping you can help.

Thankfully however scrolling through your archives I have found the answer to my stumper, a book I've been trying to remember the title of for years. The farthest away mountain, by Lynne Reid Banks.
Lynne Reid Banks, The Farthest Away Mountains.  This could be the one- it certainly has gargoyles and a witch in it.  It also has a talking frog that turns into a man at the end.  A young girl, Dakin, goes on a quest to the Farthest Away Mountains and saves the community (and some gargoyles) from an evil witch.
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In this book a girl has to go on a quest for some reason to these mysterious mountains. I don't remember much but one scene stands out distinctly: She's walking over a path of sharp rocks and its so frustrating that she starts to cry. Her tears fall on the rocks and smooth them out as she walks. So then she has to think about things that make her cry as she goes. There is also a wizard involved somehow. I seem to think the word wizard and/or mountains is in the title.

it turns out I found the title while reading through the other stumpers and solved mysteries. It's The Farthest Away Mountain. I knew it was a good book, several people had already asked about it.  I'm happy though, I wouldn't have found it without your site anyway!

C38 is Fat Cat by Jack Kent.  I love to use this one for storytime. I ate the gruel and the pot and the old woman too,  I ate Skohotentot,Skolinkenlot, five birds in a flock, seven girls dancing, a lady with a pink , a parson with a crooked staff and now I am going to eat YOU.  Then the woodman takes his ax and opens up the cat, everyone walks away and the last pictures is of the cat now shrunk back to size with a bandage on his stomach.
The Fat Cat;a Danish Folktale by Jack Kent, 1971. Parents Press Magazine and Scholatic both published it.
Not only has your book stumper been solved, but I have a copy, and it's in time for Christmas!!
Kent, Jack.  Fat Cat. Scholastic, 1971.  Paperback copy, oblong.  VG.  <SOLD>
Thank you for having such a great site!!!   I wish that I had known that you had a copy of it sooner, because I checked on bibliofind and found one copy out of 20 million books, so I ordered it and ended up spending 30 bucks!  If your copy is in pretty good condition to read to my kids I may go ahead and get it from you.  Thanks for all of your great  work and help, it's greatly appreciated!
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I had this book when I was a child in the 1970s, the characters were Skohootnitoot and Skolininglot. I cannot remember the plot or anything else about the book except for the characters. Maybe they were brothers.

Kent, Jack, Fat Cat. Fat Cat is so hungry that he eats everything in sight.  Including: Old woman and her pot, Skohotintot, Skolinkinlot, eight birds in a flock, seven girls dancing and the parson with the crooked staff. Finally the woodcutter with an axe cuts him open and everyone walks off.  Final scene is the cat with a bandage on stomach.
THAT'S THE BOOK! THANK YOU.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Kent, Jack. The Fat Cat.  Scholastic, 1971.  Ex-library softcover copy with usual library markings and pocket removal marks.  Interior is clean.  VG-. <SOLD>

#F89--fatapoofs and thinifers, and some fairies, I think:  English title is Fattypuffs and Thinifers, author is André Maurois, first published as Patapoufs et Filifers in 1930 in France.
This is the book Fattypuffs and Thinifers by Andre Maurois.  It is out-of-print and difficult to find.
André Maurois, translated by Rosemary Benét , Fatapoufs & Thinifers, 1940.
This has to be Fattypuffs and Thinifers by Andre Maurois.
Andre Maurois, Fattypuffs and Thinifers, 1940.  It's about two brothers (fat & thin) Terry & Edmund who discover a land where the Fattypuffs are at war with the Thinifers and they are expected to take sides against each other. The book has, I now realise, a mild anti war theme and is a "let's value difference and get on together" type tale but is still a brill read and has some of the funniest drawings outside of anything by Quetin Blake. The descriptions are great, "Fattypuffs are as fat as balloons. Thinifers are as thin as string beans", even how they sit and what they eat dictates their heritage "Lazy and amiable, Fattypuffs like overstuffed chairs and large squashy pastries. Thinifers on the other hand, are a lean and energetic bunch who prefer to skip unnecessary meals-like lunch to save as much time as possible."
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Boy falls (crawls?) between two stones or a hole between two stones and comes across a world with very thin or very fat people (i think the groups hate each other) and the thin people eat thin food like spagetti? It feels very Roald Dahl-ish, or Phantom Tollbooth-ish, in my mind but I don't recall whether he was the author (nothing on the list of his titles feels right) and maybe the boy was called george. Or maybe I've mixed about three stories in there...Any suggestions? I would have read it around 20 years ago (I'm 30) but no idea how old it would be.

Andre Maurois,  Fattipuffs & Thinnifers. Could this be it? I no longer have my coy but seem to remember a boy (possibly 2, one ending up on each side) getting caught up in a war between the Fat fattipuffs and the Thin Thiniffers. I think that they may have had battled with food... I'm in my early thirties and remember we had this as a child so it must have been in print around the right time
Maurois, Andre, Fattypuffs and Thinifers 1941, transl. from the French.  I'm sure this is the book you are after.  Two brothers, Edmund (who is fat) and Terry (who is thin) discover an underground world consisting of a country of Fattypuffs - rotund people who enjoy an hourly snack and nap and Thinifers - industrious workers.  The brothers soon find themselves taking sides in a battle between the two groups.  You are totally right about the Dahl type feeling.  An excellent book.
I haven't read either of these, so these are just guesses. Fattypuffs & Thinifers by Andre Maurois, illustrated by Fritz Wegner (1940).  "Edmund was fat and loved food - just like his mother. His brother Terry was thin - just like his father. The boys were amazed when they found themselves on opposite sides in a battle between the warring nations of the Fattypuffs and Thinifers."In the Land of the Thinsies by Dorothy Ann Lovell, illustrated by Nicolas Bentley (1944).  "Two children slip through the crack at the bottom of an escalator, and end up in the "land of the thinsies" - a parallel world in which everyone is thin (though I think there are also fat people in another area of it)
Andre Maurois, Fattypuffs and Thinifers 1930, Two boys from our world rather than one, but otherwise it sounds like you're recalling Andre Maurois' FATTYPUFFS AND THINIFERS See this long description at Wikipedia:
Andre Maurois, Fattypuffs and Thinifers1968, approximate Must be!  Great book.  (And I associate it with the Phantom Tollbooth too, though I'm not sure why.)  There are two brothers, Edmund, who's quite fat, and Terry, who's quite thin.  They find a passage down between two rocks, and it leads them to the world of the Fattypuffs and the Thinifers.  Edmund is sent off to join the Fattypuffs and Terry to join the Thinifers.  The two groups do indeed hate each other, to the extent that they go to war.  All is of course resolved by the end.  There's been a fairly recent reprint in the UK.
André Maurois, Fattypuffs and Thinifers 1930, approximate Originally in French, was translated to english at least 40 years ago when I read it. Still in print.
See the Wikipedia article.
THANK YOU!!!! That's definately it. As soon as I read "fattypuffs...." in the comments I remembered the book. Thanks to you and all who posted comments! It was absolutely killing me trying to remember, now I can buy a copy to put in our growing home library for when our kids are old enough to read our old favourites!!!! Excellent service, worth more than the $2 charge!

Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, "How Ice Cream Came". This is the ice cream story.  Its in Favorite Stories Old and New, selected by Sidonie Matsner Gruenberg, 1942, 1955 Doubleday.  It has one nice line drawing of the boy.  I checked the book for the story about the dolls coming to life, but didn't see anything that fit.
Harriet:  I'm thrilled! Carolyn Sherwin Bailey found my ice cream story in a book that I remember:  Favorite Stories Old and New selected by Sidonie Matsner Gruenberg. Ms. Gruenberg was a patient of my father's in New York and she must have given him copies of her books to take home to his family.  I remember that her name was a real tongue twister for a beginning reader. And I remember even better a book she wrote called The Wonderful Story of How You Were Born.  Please thank Carolyn for me.
I believe Carolyn Sherwin Bailey is actually the author of the story "How Ice Cream Came".  Ms. Gruenberg was the editor of the anthology in which it appeared.  It probably appears in one of Bailey's own compilations, but I don't know which one (see the Most Requested  pages for more on Bailey).  Looks likeFavorite Stories Old and New is the anthology you're looking for, though.
Harriet:  I think I've also found the other story I've been seeking.  Josephine Scribner Gates is the author of The Live Doll Series, a set of a dozen or so stories that began with "The story of live dolls; being an account by Josephine Scribner Gates of how, on a certain June morning, all of the dolls in the village of Cloverdale came alive; with many pictures made at the time by Virginia Keep" (Indianapolis, The Bowen-Merrill Company, 1901); an omnibus version of the series was also published: The book of live dolls, an omnibus for children, by Josephine Scribner Gates (Indianapolis, New York, The Bobbs-Merrill company, 1945). I think that a short version was excerpted in the Better Homes and Gardens Story Book, Selected by Betty O’Connor (Des Moines and New York: Meredith Press, 1950). What a day!  I can now forgive my brother for throwing the books out after I left home!

R.L. Stine, The Fear Street Saga: The Betrayal, The Secret and The Burning, 1993.  The cover has the talisman you talked about. In the story the girl dies not the parents but it does include the family fued between the Fier family and the Goode family. I'm pretty sure this is it especially with the time frame you gave. See book cover here. 

Helen Clare, Merlin's Magic, 1953.  Maybe? It's listed in the Solved Mysteries.
Streatfeild, Noel, The fearless treasure. Are you sure this isn't Noel Streatfeild's The fearless treasure? I have just re-read it and it fits your description completely - six children picked out from various places in England, travel by themselves to London and are driven to the mysterious Mr Fosse's house. They experience ages in history from pre-Roman and Roman Bath to Industrial Revolution and each child takes part in a different age.
Yes!  I think it must be The Fearless Treasure!  Thank you so very much!!  I've been hoping to find this for years.  (It was Streatfeild's The Magic Summer which did not match--I didn't recall The Fearless Treasure, obviously).  I will try requesting the book--hopefully they'll have it.

there were a couple of books I read back in the late 60's, early 70's that sound like the answer to this post.  They were about a family named Callendar.  The father's name was Augustus and the mother's name was January (or something close to that).  They decided to continue the tradition and named the first daughter February, and the first son Friday.  After that they gave the other children unusual names.  The two books were called February's Road and Friday's tunnel.  I don't remember the author's first name, but his last name is Verney.
This is most likely the Callendar family series by John Verney (see Seven Sunflower Seeds in Solved list). Augustus Callendar and his wife are the parents of a somewhat eccentric English family, and started off naming their children Friday and February, then gave up and named the others Gail, Beryl, Chrysophrase, etc. There's usually a thriller element to each plot as well as humour and family adventure. The titles I know of are Friday's Tunnel (new super-metal) 1960, February's Road (new motorway and land speculation) 1961 Ismo (art forgery) 1964 and Seven Sunflower Seeds (mystery around Vita-mix breakfast food) 1968.
Just to confirm the previous solution - author Verney's first name is John.
Hi, I was searching the web for more info on Mr. Verney and came upon your site. What great reading! Thanks for keeping it up.  Under FEBRUARY'S ROAD and SEVEN SUNFLOWER SEEDS you have some information on the Verney books about the Callendar family. If you think folks might be interested in a bit more information about them here it is:  The Callendars live on the South Downs of England (Sussex) near Chichester; their home in three of the five books is a converted farmhouse called Marsh Manor near the town of Querbury (in ismo they are on their way to Italy for a year and in the final book they have moved into town). The father is Augustus Callendar, who is a journalist, works for a paper called the Messenger; mother is a former artist named Jan (short for January). The children are: Friday (eldest), then February--the calendar joke
is dropped for the remainder of the children, who are Gail (Abigail), Berry (Beryllium), Chrys (Chrysogon), Des  Desdemona), and Hildebrand (the only boy; Jan is pregnant with him in the first book, Friday's Tunnel). There are actually five books, which I didn't know about until a few years ago; I found the last book by luck via a web search. The books in order are:  Friday's Tunnel (narrated by February), February's Road (narrated by February), ismo(told in third person although Gail is the protagonist), Seven Sunflower Seeds (narrated by Berry), Samson's Hoard (narrated by Berry)

There are several series about emotions for kids, a just few that came out about this time period.  One is from Child's World (1980, several authors) - What Does It Mean? Glad...Afraid....Angry...I'm Sorry.....Jealous....I'm Sorry...Sharing...etc.  They are illustrated with realistic pencil sketches, some with color and some not.  Another series it the Let's Talk About series by Joy Wilt Berry (Children's Press, starting in 1982 and continuing through the years) and they have titles like Let's Talk About Being Bossy...Being Afraid....Being a Good Friend....Being Careless...Being Helpful. These are illustrated with colored cartoonish illustrations, and each illustration has a balloon caption obove one of the people's heads.
F181  I really think this is a series of books by Roger Hargreaves. They were published in the 1980's (my younger sister loved them, but I was 8 or 9 so they were a little young for me) and they were small and had white covers. The characters were very cartoony - almost like balls with legs and arms. Some of the titles were MR. FUSSY; MR UPPITY, MR. WORRY, etc. And Hargreaves later came out with the Little Miss series. You can find pictures of the covers online, and I think they are still in print, but in paperback. If this is not the series you are thinking of, then maybe try Joy Berry's LET'S TALK ABOUT FEELINGS series.~from a librarian
I just read the responses to my stumper, and can say for sure it's not Roger Hargreave's books I'm thinking of, as I do still have all those. These were mid-size hardcover books.  I'm trying to web-hunt for pictures of the other series suggested in the responses, as I will know for sure once I see the covers!  Hopefully I can find pics of the original editions...  Thanks for the tips so far!  I'll let you know if I can verify whether or not the others are correct!
There are a series of books Raintree Editions (Milwaukee) and distributed by Childrens Press. Publishing dates start about 1973. Each book is about 32 pages and most are illustrated with photos.  Titles include: Feelings between brothers and sisters,  Feelings between friends, Feelings between kids and grownups,  Feelings between kids and parents,  Are we still best friends?,  Being alone, being together,  Doing things together,  I'd rather stay home,  Feelings
sweet pickles series?  I think it might be a series I remember from the late 70's.  These were very thin hardcovers and each one had a story about an animal and a feeling, like "worried William" for example.  I can't remember any real titles.  The illustrations were cartoonish and all the characters lived in the same town and appeared in each others' stories.  I think the inside covers of the books had a map of the town showing where all these animal kids lived. 

Isaac  Asimov, "The Feeling of Power."  short story.
Asimov, Isaac, "The feeling of power." It sounds like this is the story mentioned. I don't know which anthologies have it. The plot is where doing maths with a paper and pencil is so unheard of (computer do all calculations) that the military are mightily impressed by this ability
Asimov, Isaac, "The Feeling of Power."  Short story.  Mystery Solved.  Found in Nine Tomorrows.  Also found in The complete stories vol.1, Asimov, 1990, pp.297-308 (ISBN 0006476473).
M305 Asimov, Isaac.  The complete short stories.  2 vols    dust jackets by Barclay Shaw.  Doubleday vol 1 c1990; vol 2 c1994.

Lattimore, Eleanor, Felicia, 1964.  The one about the girl and the cat (one of whom is named Felicia) is most likely "Felicia" by Eleanor Lattimore.  Here is a synopsis: Charlotte wishes for a cat, but because her brother is allergic, she can't have one. Then she has a visit from Felicia, a cat who turns into a little girl, joins the family, has curious behavior & has to leave in a most unusual manner. There is also a mouse in the story.
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A book about a girl who has a cat, who turns into a real girl and is her best friend.  At the end the girl turns back into the cat.  I would have read this in the mid 1970's.

Anne Huston, The Girl Across the Way, 1970, copyright.  Also published as "The Cat Across the Way."  "Ten-year-old Lacey is unhappy in her dark city apartment, after moving from the country and leaving her beloved horse behind, until she sees a yellow cat on a neighboring rooftop." I have not actually read this, but came across it while searching online, so I don't know if the cat turns into a girl, or if Lacey befriends a little girl whom she meets because of the cat (possibly the cat's owner?) Anyway, I thought it was at least worth throwing out there as a possibility. Front cover shows Lacey (blonde girl with blonde hair, wearing a green jumper, white blouse, knee socks, and loafers) sitting on a wooden crate, with her chin on her hands. There is a chain-link fence in the background, and the yellow cat is approaching her.
Eleanor Frances Lattimore, Felicia.  It's in the "Solved" section with a description, and it sounds like this book.
Eleanor Frances Lattimore, Felicia, 1964, copyright.  Charlotte is a lonely little girl who wants a cat and can't have one because her brother is allergic. Another girl mysteriously appears and stays with her for a while. She hasn't any shoes, so Charlotte's mom buys her a pair of sneakers. Felicia is not really a girl but a cat from the general store. Charlotte knows this and has to keep other people from finding out. At the end Felicia turns back into a cat and all that is left are the sneakers sitting on top of the pickle barrel. Lattimore illustrated all her own books. She was best known for her stories about Chinese children -- the Little Pear stories, Peach Blossom, The Chinese Daughter, Journey of Ching Lai. I think I've seen this in Solved Mysteries E-F.
Hi and many thanks all, Felicia is definitely the book!

#P139, Poor Family Eats Bread, is the same as #R69, Rich Family and Poor Family.
Balet, Jan B., The Fence: a Mexican Tale, Delacorte Press, 1969.  "With the sound of his money the poor man repays the rich neighbor for the smell of his food."
Jan B. Balet, The Fence: a Mexican Tale, 1969.  "With the sound of his money the poor man repays the rich neighbor for the smell of his food."
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In this story, a rich family and a poor family live next door to each other. The poorer family was very happy and the rich family was not. When the poor family would eat, they would stand by the fence dividing the two houses and smell and enjoy the rich family's meals. This angered the rich family. The father of the rich family took the other family to court, saying the judge must have the poor family pay up for their enjoyment. The judge ruled that the poor father go outside and shake a bag of coins, so the rich father could enjoy the sound of the poor man's money, as much as the poor family had enjoyed the smell of the rich family's food. I believe that the origin of the book was Spain or perhaps Mexico, though my version was written in English.

R69: I'm sure there's more than one version of this story, but the one I know is from the Japan-based book Ooka the Wise, aka Case of the Marble Monster.
#P139, Poor Family Eats Bread, is the same as #R69, Rich Family and Poor Family.
Jan B. Balet, The Fence: a Mexican Tale, 1969.  "With the sound of his money the poor man repays the rich neighbor for the smell of his food."

Ferdinand by Munro Leaf, illustrated by the great Robert Lawson, 1936.  A classic.  New hardcover:  $16

N22: Is this The Fields of Home (1953) by Ralph Moody? If so, it's the third book or so in the Little Britches series. He moves from Colorado to Massachusetts, then gets sent to Maine. It takes place in 1912.
You were exactly correct. Thanks so much for your help. Now if we can track down U5.
The Fields of Home, by Ralph Moody, illustrated by Edward Shenton, published Norton 1953. "Little Britches was 15 when he was sent to visit his Grandfather Gould and helped to reclaim the family's rundown Maine farm. His story is a rare compound of tears and laughter, of cantankerousness and love." (HB Oct/53 p.317 pub ad) The other two novels are Little Britches and Man of the Family.

This sounds like a Beverly Cleary young adult novel.  The girl sees the popular girl wearing cashmere sweaters, while her best friend wears plaid skirts she made herself.  The plaid is sewn crooked, hence embarassing the protagonist.  Is it called Tomboy?
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen and the Luckiest Girl, later 1950s.  This sounds like a combination of two Cleary books. In Fifteen, the protagonist, her date (his name's Stanley), and two other couples go into San Francisco's Chinatown for dinner. The girl does not want to eat any of the odd food and gratefully identifies a water chestnut in her meal. Afterward the six split into couples to walk around and her date buys her a regular American hamburger. I don't recall the cashmere sweater, but she does long to be more sophisticated, in behavior and food and perhaps with cashmere as well.  In the Luckiest Girl, Shelley's mother wants her to have the best of everything that she, the mother, couldn't afford. She buys her a fancy raincoat instead of the yellow slicker all the popular girls wear.
Beverly Cleary? Possibly Fifteen, or Jean and Johnny?
Almost certainly Fifteen by Beverly Cleary. The "flied lice" jogged my memory from 25 years back - interestingly, though she wrote it in 1956, she had the conscience to write that scene as a joke made by a white boy, aimed at Jane, and in the same scene, Jane's date Stan, I think, points out what the other boy is really saying and adds that he's never heard Chinese-Americans talk like that, IIRC. Jane first meets Stan when he delivers dog food (horse meat) to the house where she's babysitting the brat from hell, and he uses a trick done in pig Latin to get the brat to stop just before pouring ink on the rug. (I'd never heard of pig Latin, so that annoyed me as a kid.) She goes through all sorts of awkwardness in trying to seem mature around him, such as pretending to like coffee just because some other girls do. Her father quotes from Carl Sandburg and she gets a back-scratcher as a present at one point. Rather sweet, as I remember.
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen, 1956.  There are other books that this might be, but try this one first, especially if you remember the book as being very funny.  The girl's name is Jane Purdy, her (eventual) boyfriend is Stan Crandall -- it's not him who laughs, it's another boy named Buzz -- and there are six friends eating out in Chinatown. Jane does a lot of babysitting in the story, and has "typical teenage" problems with her parents. Her best friend is named Julie.  Hope this helps.
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen.  Yes!  I remember the heroine going on a double date and the other guy teasing her about fried "lice" (she wasn't very familiar with Chinese food).
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen, 1956.  Cashmere sweater notation is on page three! What a great memory.  I read
your notes and recognized the story but not the title and author until I went to the Library.  I loved this book too, I took it out to re-read.  The humor of going on a date in Chinatown and the unknown handling of chopsticks is classic.  My favorite part was when the date showed up not in a car to pick her up but in the van from work labelled "Doggie Diner"!  Thanks for making me remember it!
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen. This is definitely Beverly Cleary's Fifteen. I also remember the cashmere sweater aspect of this best, although I remember it as the nice girl feeling sad because she only has one cashmere sweater while the mean rich girl has one for every day of the year! The most handsome boy in town asks nice girl on a date, despite her sweater deficiency. I remember loving this in the 1970s, even though it already seemed dated then.
How about Fifteen by Beverly Cleary? There is definitely a Chinese restaurant scene where Jane is teased about "flied lice".
This is definitely Fifteen by Beverly Cleary.  I double-checked and the Flied Lice scene is there.
I remember reading Fifteen, but I don't know if it the same Beverly Cleary book that had the cashmere sweater.
C136 is most definitely Fifteen by Beverly Cleary. Jane Purdy's big date was to San Francisco's Chinatown with Stan in the Doggie Diner Truck, and one of the boys in the crowd ridiculed her for thinking that the Chinese eat flied lice.
C136 FIFTEEN by Beverly Cleary. Has both references to cashmere sweaters and "flied lice" ~from a librarian
The "flied lice" scene is definitely in Fifteen, which is about fifteen-year-old Jane Purdy.  Other details: her date's name is Stan  they're at the restaurant with another couple Stan buys her a Chinese backscratcher afterwards.I think cashmere sweaters enter into it somewhere, but I'm not so sure about that bit.
I am pretty sure that this occured in one of the Tobey Heyden series of books by Rosamond DuJardin.
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Teenage girl living in San Francisco area going on dinner date to Chinatown.  Also, babysitting for kids whose mother would say "hi there" to the babysitter, making her (babysitter) feel sort of childish

A138: Fifteen by Beverly Cleary, 1950s?
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen. This has to be "Fifteen." The girl is Jane Purdy, and the guy she falls for is Stan. She meets him while she's babysitting. Stan takes her on a double date to a Chinese restaurant in San Francisco. She feels awkward all evening and worries that he won't like her anymore. But in the end, Stan asks her to go steady, and give her his ID bracelet to wear.
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen.  Just a guess.
Beverly Cleary, Fifteen.

#O13--Oliver Greenwood:  Well, Enid Blyton wrote The Twins at St. Clare's and Fifth-Formers at St. Clare's, but as those are about girls' schools, unless it was Olivia Greenwood that doesn't do you much good.
This sounds like the sort of school story Talbot Baines Reed churned out, but I can't say for sure. Stories set in boys boarding schools are frighteningly common in England, over at least a 50 year period.
Talbot Baines Reed, Fifth Form at St Dominic's, c. 1887.
Fifth Form at St Dominic's, by Talbot Baines Read, published Boys Own Paper 1900, reprinted many times, about 315 pages. I pulled out our library's copy and had a look. Some of the characters are Oliver Greenfield and his friend Horace Wraysford, Oliver's young brother Stephen, the clever lame boy Tony Pembury who starts up a Fifth Form newspaper, the bully Braddy, Loman who is a monitor in the Sixth Form, and the dishonest publican Cripps. Greenfield, Wraysford and Loman are competing for the Nightingale scholarship, but Loman spoils his chances drinking at the Cockchafer pub and laying bets with Cripps. Greenfield wins, but is suspected of having stolen a paper (it turns out to have been Loman). The Head has the three write a second  exam, with different questions, and Greenfield comes first again. Other plot elements include a strike by the younger boys who 'fag' (do chores and run errands) for the older boys, Stephen getting in debt to Cripps, almost drowning on the river, and any number of cricket games.

Sounds like FIFTH GRADE MAGIC by beatrice Gormley~from a librarian
Not a solution, but I remember this book too.  I think I got it from Scholastic in the eighties, and the magic elemnt was some sort of frumpy fairy godmother who used a magic calculator.  The cover showed a chubby godmother wearing a baseball cap.  I particularly remember how upset the unpopular girl was with the other girl's breakfast cereal (some sort of natural muesli, as opposed to sugary cereal).
Beatrice Gormley, Fifth Grade Magic, 1982.  I believe this is the book you're speaking of, as I own it and re-read it not long ago.  The girls in the story are Gretchen and Amy (Amy's the blond one).  All details match up.
Gormley, Beatrice, Fifth Grade Magic.  Gretchen is jealous of Amy, and she gets her fairy godmother, Errora to help her.
Beatrice Gormley, Fifth Grade Magic, 1984, reprint.  This is absolutely Fifth Grade Magic by Beatrice Gormley. I clearly remember the plot of the book and your description matches it exactly.
Thank you so much! Im surprised anyone managed to untangle that plot synopsis. great website!

I just remembered that the story I mentioned about the boy who was meant to go in the car, but didn't, is called "His Loving Sister" ...I just saw it by Phillipa Pearce. She is not the author of the book however, it's just one of the stories.
John Canning (editor), Fifty Great Ghost Stories.  Possibly this book? I know it has been published in several different editions in the 70s and 80s, I remember it as a dark-colored hardback with a blue dust jacket, each story had a small line drawing with the title. "The Brown Lady" story scared me half to death as a kid!
Aidan Chambers (editor), Ghost After Ghost, 1982.  The one anthology I can find containing the Pearce story cited is this (I'm not sure if the 1982 hc contained any stories dropped from the 1987 pb reprint or not). Data from Puffin 1987 pb edition:  7 • Foreword • Aidan Chambers • fw 9 • If She Bends, She Breaks • John Gordon • ss * 28 • Absalom, Absalom • Jan Mark • ss * 48 • Such a Sweet Little Girl • Lance Salway • ss * 64 • Sam and the Sea • George Mackay Brown • ss * 82 • Christmas in the Rectory • Catherine Storr • ss * 97 • His Loving Sister • Philippa Pearce • ss * 108 • Dead Ghost • R. Chetwynd-Hayes • ss * 126 • Old Fillikin • Joan Aiken • ss Ghostly Encounters, 1981 139 • The Haunting of Chas McGill • Robert Westall • nv *   This is a U.K. publication, and the date looks like a fit.
I'm the original author of this stumper, and after reading people's comments, it definately isn't the second book (in brown) but may well be the first one. I don't know this for sure yet because I've ordered the book but it hasn't arrived yet!  Thanks very much for your ongoing support!
Adrienne Adams, The Halloween Party,1974.Is there any chance at all the main character was a little boy named Faraday (kind of an androgynous name)?  Your description made me think of The Halloween Party, and A Woggle of Witches, both by Adrienne Adams.  The cover shows a witch on a broomstick, flying across the moon with gremlin children behind her.

This sounds like Ellen Raskin's Figgs and Phantoms.  I remember it only sketchily but it's about a girl whose last name is Figg, who has a lot of eccentric relatives including an uncle who assists her in stealing a book  I believe the uncle does eventually die, and a lot of the book is her fantasy about a paradise called Capri, or possibly Capricos.
Thank you thank you thank you! I'm going to recommend your store/site to every book fan I know. What a wonderful service! I'm going to check this book out from the library to make sure it's the right one, but it sure sounds correct.
Figgs and Phantoms, written and illustrated by Ellen Raskin, published Dutton 1974, 154 pages."Mona Lisa Newton, an unattractive, self-centered, sullen adolescent, is related through her tap-dancing mother, Sissie Figg Newton, to an astounding family of vaudeville performers, the 'Fabulous Figgs.' No longer itinerant players, the clannish, eccentric Figgs - to Mona's constant shame - live and work in the town of Pineapple: her Uncle Truman, the Human Pretzel, who is a sign-painter who cannot spell; her twin uncles, Romulus and Remus; and her Uncle Kadota, the dog trainer, with his dog-catcher wife and their son Fido. Rejecting her parents, Mona loves only her Uncle Florence, the gentle, sad-faced near-midget, a former child dancing star, now a respected dealer in rare books. But Florence is gravely ill; and Mona - misery adding to moodiness - is terrified that he is about to die and go away to 'Capri,' the Figg family's private heavenly kingdom. When Florence does die, Mona wants only to follow him, and frantically seeks a clue to her uncle's vision - his Capri - in his beloved books. Inconsolable and sick, Mona enters a long dream sequence - a surrealist phantasmagoria - full of her incarnate dreams and wishes, and of cryptic references to Velazquez, Gauguin, Schubert, Gilbert and Sullivan, Milton, Conrad and Blake; and emerges peacefully at last, knowing that "'We live as we dream - alone.'" (HB Oct/74 p.138)

I'm thinking T132 is not A Tree for Peter because it's about a girl.  Part of the mental glitch I'm having is that I keep thinking of the part in The Secret Garden where they hide picnic fixings (potatoes, etc) in the tree.  I'm also harking back to To Kill a Mockingbird, where Scout finds lots of goodies in a knothole in the tree.
Eleanor Frances Lattimore, The Fig Tree.  I vaguely remember this book where a girl finds a key and teacup (I think) in a fig tree.  It was written in the early 1950's.  Could this be it?
I wanted to thank you for this solution.  I had taken your advice and looked up Fig Tree in the Library of  Congress, and knew immediately when I saw the author's name that this  was it! I have, in the meantime, goptten the book on inter-library loan, and re-read it.  This was a pleasure.

James Branch Cabell, Figures of Earth, 1927.  This is one of about twenty books in Cabell's series "The Biography of Manuel," though it's the only one involving Manuel himself (and many of the twenty are only loosely connected to a series to casual eyes). Cabell's best-known book, Jurgen, is also part of the series, as is The Silver Stallion (about the fate of Manuel's followers) and others.

Robert W Drury, The Finches Fabulous Furnace.  I'm pretty sure this is the one you are looking for, people in the town become very suspicious and think they have invented a special furnace.
Roger W. Drury, The Finches Fabulous Furnace.
You're right.  I couldn't remember the name of this book to save my life!  Thanks so much for your help!  I can't wait to get my hands on this book to read it again...and to prove to my mother that my over-active imagination wasn't quite as over-active as she thought!
V16 Sounds like it could be THE FINCHES' FABULOUS FURNACE by Roger W. Drury, 1971. The heating system in their house is really a volcano in the basement. ~from a librarian

Averill, Esther Holden, The Fire Cat, 1960.  I'm almost certain this is the right book. "Pickles is a young cat with big paws and big plans. But all he can find to do is chase other cats, until he is adopted by the local firehouse. Knowing that this is his chance to do big things, Pickles works hard to be a good fire cat. He learns to jump on a fire truck. He learns to help put out a fire, and he even helps out in a rescue!"
Esther Averill, The Fire Cat, 1961.  Reprinted many times, this is the story of Pickles, a yellow cat with big paws and big ideas, who isn't satisfied doing what other cats do. He is finally adopted by the firefighters at the fire station, and determines to be the best fire cat ever.
Esther Averill , The Fire Cat / Cat Club books, 1960s.  Maybe you're thinking of The Fire Cat, part of the "Jenny and the Cat Club" series? Illustrated "beginning reader" books. The description online of "The Fire Cat" is, "Pickles is a young cat with big paws and big plans. But all he can find to do is chase other cats, until he is adopted by the local firehouse. Knowing that this is his chance to do big things, Pickles works hard to be a good fire cat. He learns to jump on a fire truck. He learns to help put out a fire, and he even helps out in a rescue!"  There are other "Cat Club" books in which Pickes is not the main character.
Esther Averill, The Fire Cat, 1961.  I recognized this as "The Fire Cat", an old favorite that has been reprinted many times. It is very easy to find.
Averill, Esther, The Fire Cat, 1960.  This might be the one. It's a classic.

Let's try - Fire Dog, by Lee Julian, illustrated by Charles Clement, published  Golden Tell A Tale, 1951 "Story of Dally the Dalmatian dog who lives in the fire house with the 3 firemen Joe Brewer, McKeever and Bill Brown. One day on a fire call, the dog is left behind but finds Joe's boot and carries it to him at the fire scene. Thereafter he gets to ride on the firetruck."

Jim Kjelgaard, Fire Hunter.  I'm sure about this one - it contains all the details mentioned.  The two main characters are Hawk and Willow if I recall correctly.
Jim Kjelgaard, Firehunter. Not sure of the date written.  After reading a description this has to be it.
C210 yes, this seems to be it. Kjelgaard, Jim, Fire-hunter.   ill by Ralph Ray. Holiday House, 1951.  sabertooth tigers; cavemen - juv fiction; cave men

Interpreting Condition Grades

Kjelgaard, Jim.  Fire-Hunter.  Illustrated by Ralph Ray.  Scholastic, 1951, 6th printing, 1969.  Mass paperback, cover shows some wear.  G.  <SOLD>

Nancy Willard, Firebrat, 1988.  I believe that this is the book in question.  It was very beautifully illustrated by David Weisner  it's those pictures that really make it stick out in my mind.
It appears my stumper has been solved!  My mystery book is indeed Firebrat by Nancy Willard.

Susan Jeschke, Firerose, 1974.  Zora, the fortune teller, doesn't know what to do when she finds a fire-breathing baby with a curly green tail on the doorstep.

Greene, Carla, I Want to Be a Space Pilot, 1961.   Could it be I Want to Be a Space Pilot from Carla Greene's "I Want to Be" series? Formatted like a picture book, with a blend of story and information.
Mae and Ira Freeman, You Will Go to the Moon, 1962.  I haven't read this since my own childhood  but it looks like a possibility
Robert Heinlein, Have Space Suit Will Travel, 1958.  Kip Russell enters a contest to win a trip to the Moon. It's fiction and adventure, not a non-fiction book, but maybe???
I remember You Will Go to the Moon, with its pictures of moon buggies and so on, but I don't think there was anything in it about touching helmets together or pieces of metal to talk.
Jeanne Bendick, The First Book of Space Travel, 1953.  I have this book right in front of me, and on page 45 it reads "The only way you can hear another spaceman without the radio is when you are both touching the same thing, or when you put your helmets together." This is a very cool book, very well-written from a scientific viewpoint, and full of great information. If only we were living and working in space now, as the author thought we'd be at this point! Pub by Franklin Watts Inc Lib of Congress number 53-6143.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bendick, Jeanne. The first book of space travel. illus by Jeanne Bendick. Watts, 1953,  5th  printing.  exlibrary; no dust jacket; original cloth binding, edgeworn, some doodling; pages very good <SOLD>

I have found one of the two books. The ‘tan’ book is First Fairy Tales, “retold” by Mildred L. Kerr and Frances Ross with illustrations by Mary Sherwood Jones and Ray Evans, Jr. Published by Charles E. Merrill Books, it has a copyright of 1946 (Wesleyan University) and is a 1954 printing. I would be interested in purchasing (2-3) copies if available and am still very interested in finding the other book—the one with the lime green cover. It is almost certainly the same publisher and format and most likely same authors, illustrators, and copyright date.

Fish Out of Water

G26  is Fish Out of Water, by Helen Palmer Beginner Books, Random House 1961 Feed him so much and no more, never more than a spot or something may happen you never know what!
A FISH OUT OF WATER by Helen Palmer, illustrated by P.D. Eastman
A Fish Out of Water by Helen Palmer and illus. by P. D. Eastman.
#G26--Goldfish, portly, is definitely A Fish Out of Water.  The author is Helen Palmer, who just happens to be Dr. Seuss's wife.  I didn't rediscover this one myself until just a few years ago when I spotted it at the house of a friend who had wisely saved their childhood favorites to pass on to their own children.  The copy I had as a child either belonged to a friend or didn't survive our move.
I am looking for the title of a children's book that has a goldfish named Otto who grows too big for his bowl
Have any ideas?
I can remember a book that I had as a child but what I can't remember is the name. It was my favorite and I actually wouldn't mind being able to buy it again. I have done some online searching and I think that I may have found a match, but the site that I found it on doesn't have a picture. I think it is a book called "I Got a Goldfish" published in 82 by Curriculum Press. It is a story about a boy that bought a goldfish and was told to only feed it a certain amount of food, he decides to feed it more and the fish grows and grows. It grows to the point that it's bigger than the house and the whole city needs to join in to help keep the thing in water. I think he gets it small again but I can't remember how. Anyway this is the book I am looking for, again not sure if "I Got a Goldfish" is not the right title, but any help from anyone would be great. Thank you!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Palmer, Helen.  A Fish Out of Water.  Illustrated by P.D. Eastman. Random House Beginner Book, 1961.  New copy.  $8

Oh, but I know that one immediately!  It's The Five Chinese Brothers, written by Claire Bishop and illustrated by Kurt Wiese.  It's hard to find old copies of it, but fortunately, it's back in print.  I can send you a new copy for about $15.  :-)
Thank you very much for your lightning fast response. About the new edition of  The Five Chinese Brothers, is it just like the original? I'd like to find a nice copy of the original if I could. (I know, maybe that's weird or picky, but that's me.) However, if the new edition is an exact reprint of the one I had, that would be great. Maybe this all sounds a little dumb to you, but I really know nothing about books as far as "out of print" vs. "back in print."  If I haven't totally annoyed you by now, please let me know. And THANK YOU.
Well, of course, old copies are best: they look like the original copy you remember reading with that aged paper and all.  But a reprint is an exact facsimile, same words, same pictures, and since Five Chinese Brothers is basically a black and white book, the illustration reproduction is fine.  You can wait for an old copy, but it might be awhile, and it might be expensive.  Or I can send you a new one today.  Your choice.
Hi, sorry I didn't get back to you sooner, but I didn't get your e-mail for a couple of days. I've been having trouble sending and receiving e-mail from time to time. Anyway, I picked up a copy of Chinese Brothers last weekend at Barnes & Noble. It's just like I remember it. Sorry I bought the other book from a different source, I just had to have it the next day. Hope you understand. Thanks and take care.
Did you ask the B&N clerk for the book about an "Oriental guy taking a large amount of water into his mouth"?

Book about 5 chinese brothers each having a special talent- one could hold his breath, one could swallow the sea, one could withstand fire etc.  I can't remember too much more but if someone knows please help!! Thanks
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I remember there were five chinese brothers who had braided hair and caps and mandarin collars who where sent out on adventures and each one had a way of surviving peril:  ones neck stretched when he was thrown into the ocean so he wouldn't drown, anothers neck was steel and therefore couldn't be chopped.

A classic.
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The book I remember from when I was a child was a story of a little oriental boy ( I believe he was Chinese). It was a thin book with pictures. The story was fictional and involved one part I remember well which the little boy swallowed the whole sea and his head became very large. I can't remember what the rest of the story was about. it was basically an allegorical tale.

Rebecca believes it is Bishop, Claire Huchet and Kurt Wiese, The Five Chinese Brothers.
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This children's story revolves around a young man's ambition to marry the emperor/king's daughter. He has to pass a series of tests, each of which one of his brothers has the ability to do. One of which is surviving being baked in a pie!
I'm a bit hazy on the others but one may have been sitting at the bottom of the sea. This was one of the first books read to me at school so would have been published around or before 1960.

Margaret Mahy, seven chinese brothers.  There have been many versions of this book printed this is one of the most recent. an alternate title is the Five Chinese Brothers.
Claire Huchet Bishop, The Five Chinese Brothers.
I have bought both the Five and Seven Brother versions and while neither seemed to be exactly the same as what I remember, they were both delightful to read and sufficiently different in their storyline to be worth keeping to read to my grandchildren.The Five Brother story is certainly the older of the two ((c) 1938) but the illustrations I recall seem to belong to the Seven Brother book but this is dated 1990. I wonder if there might have been an earlier variation as I was told this story in my first year of school, 1960.
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It was a story about several identical asian brothers (sextuplets or septuplets, perhaps), each of which had an outstanding ability (to withstand fire, to survive being stabbed with sharp things).  So one of the brothers' talent was the ability to take the entire ocean into his mouth for as long as he could hold his breath.  One of the noble families in their village requested that he perform this trick so their children could collect some shells from the ocean floor and he happily agrees. However, when he began to run out of breath, despite his motioning to the children, he is unable to wait for them to crawl out of the  ocean basin and he releases the water back into the ocean, killing the children.  Naturally, he is condemned to death but this is where his brothers come in.  First he is to be burned to death (but flame-resistant brother takes his place and thus survives), next he is thrown in with unfriendly alligators  (and there is a picture of non-punctureable brother with an alligator gnawing unsuccesfully on his arm), and so on.... any ideas?

Bishop, Claire Huchet, Five Chinese Brothers. "Five identical brothers have remarkable talents: one can swallow the sea, one has an iron neck, one can stretch and stretch his legs, one cannot be burned, and one can hold his breath indefinitely. The first one`s talent gets him in serious trouble, but the other four step up to receive his punishment, one after the other, and their remarkable attributes come in very handy indeed."
Claire Huchet Bishop (Author), Kurt Wiese (Illustrator), The Five Chinese Brothers

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Bishop, Claire Huchet and Kurt Wiese.  The Five Chinese Brothers. Coward McCann, 1938.  New Hardback copy, $15.  New paperback copy, $6.

I remember many more of the illustrations for this fairy tale book.  The Rapunzel story has a picture with Rapunzel, her long blonde hair unbraided walking with outstretched arms towards her prince.  The Diamonds & Toads story shows one picture with the dark-haired good sister, hand resting on her neck, spouting small jewels and roses from her lips.  The other "bad" sister is shown running away while lizards and toads leap sideways.  The Snow White and Rose Red story has an illustration showing the 2 sisters clutching the dwarf in mid-air while an eagle tries to carry him away.  As I described earlier, the illustrations are very vivid and made quite an impression on me as a child.  I believe Cinderella was shown in 2 or 3 elaborate, french ball gowns (one gold/white another in blue with white fur trim).  I hope someone remembers the title and author.
Five Fairy Tales, 1962.  Maybe this one illustrated by Gordon Laite and published by Golden Press?  It's a Big Golden Book with the stories Rapunzel, Beauty and the Beast, Toads and Diamonds, Snow White and Rose Red, and Cinderella.  "48 pages of beautiful color illustrations."
Thank you so much for solving my bookstumper question “F192”.  The book I remembered was Five Fairy Tales illustrated by Gordon Laite, published in 1962.  I did an online search and found a few copies for sale.  You folks are doing a great job with your website and I am so impressed by the looks of your store in Shaker Heights that I hope to visit it sometime soon.  Again, thank you for your help finding my favorite old book.

This sounds like one of Enid Blyton's "Five..." stories. Five Fall into Adventure, maybe?
Arthur Ransome.  Could be one of the Swallowdale series. Or one of Enid Blyton's books.
Yes!!!! It is Enid Blyton -- as soon as I read that name, I recalled it. Thank you so very much!!  What a wonderful site this is!!

Margaret Sidney, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew, 1881.  This was the first of 12 books about Ben, Polly, Joel, Davie, and Phronsie Pepper and their widowed mother. The circus episode may be from a later book in the series.
Five Little Peppers and How They Grew by Margaret Sidney.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Sidney, Margaret. Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.  A Dell Yearling Classic, original copyright 1881, paperback 1985 edition with an afterword by Betsy Byars, 1990 paperback printing.  F.  $6

Buchanan, Gladys, The Five Litttle Raccoons. Rand McNally, 1936, illus. Clarence Biers.
Gladys Buchanan, The Five Little Raccoons, 1936.  Maybe?
Margaret Sidney, Five Little Peppers and How They Grew.  Probably not the book (no raccoons in this one) but the title is so similar I thought one should check.

Five Were Missing
see Ransom

You've got it.  It's called Fix it Please, written by Lucy Sprague Mitchell and illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.  Published in 1947 as LGB #32.  It's one of the harder LGB's to find, but I'll keep an eye out.

I think those are called "Slottie books"!  They were a series of books published by Rand McNally in the 40s and 50s with Jan B. Balet as most common illustrator.  The "slotties" were paper doll-like pieces in the back of the book that could be inserted into slots in the illustrations to complete, or change, the picture.  They weren't all about dolls with missing heads, but what a great match of story and technique!  There are several fairy tales, as well as The Theatre Cat, Bean Blossom Hill, Papa Pompino, and Rosalinda.  Haven't found the one that matches your stumper yet.
Your stumper about the book with dolls/toys and separated heads is FIX THE TOYS, I think the author is Dorothy King.  A fun book, and hard to find with all of the pieces still in the 'toybox'. Great website by the way.
Hooray – I now have ordered a book I have been looking for in every used bookstore and flea market for years.  The original I had carried such sentimental value and I am so glad to find a replacement. Thanks for your great service!

B139 bear: sounds to me like The Flaming Bear, by Harold McCracken, published Lippincott 1951, 222 pages. "Full of Arctic quiet and loneliness, of beliefs from Aleutian legend, and the persistent courage of a young hunter, this beautifully told story about the giant Alaskan brown bear is new and different. Tan, a chief's son, is the real hero, whose successful journey through waters and volcanic terrain solved the mystery of Flaming Bear's glowing appearances." (HB Feb/52 p.37)

I don't remember the title, but maybe I can add some details -- my sister and I loved a book, mid 1960's, where the flattened boy hides in a picture frame (dressed as a shepherdess, I think) and catches an art thief, and then his little (brother or sister) figures out that the way to make him round again is to blow him up with a bicycle pump.
The person who responded to the steamroller stumper is actually thinking of Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown. Stanley is flat, and does catch an art thief, but he is flattened by the bulletin board that falls onto his bed. Flat Stanley is a fun book.
Sure sounds like Flat Stanley (1964) by Jeff Brown and illustrated by Toni Ungerer(?) I read it in school
in 2nd grade or so. Stanley Lambchop is flattened by a bulletin board and finds his condition to be very useful. There's a sequel - something like A Lamb for Lambchop.
Sequel to Flat Stanley, A Lamp for the Lambchops 1983.
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I am looking for a children's book about a little boy that is flattened by a steamroller.  He then wants to visit his grandmother, so his mom folds him up and mails him to his grandma in an envelope. 1960s.

Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley.  If it could be a bulletin board that flattened the boy, and a friend that he was mailed to, I think it's probably Flat Stanley.  I see it's in Solved Mysteries, too.
Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley.  A possibility, even though Stanley is flattened by a bulletin board,not a steamroller.
Brown, Jeff, Flat Stanley, 1964.  Stanly is flattened by a bulletin board that falls on him in his sleep. He has all sorts of adventures, including being folded up and mailed to friends and family, though I don't remember if his grandmother is specifically mentioned.
Jeff Brown (author), Tomi Ungerer (illustrator), Flat Stanley, 1964.  Could the stumper requester have confused some of the details?  Stanley is flattened by a falling bulletin board, not a steamroller, and is mailed to a school friend who has moved to California, not his grandmother.  Followed by A Lamp for the Lambchops (retitled Stanley and the Magic Lamp)  Invisible Stanley; Stanley, Flat Again; Stanley in Space; and Stanley's Christmas Adventure.  Please see the "F" Solved Mysteries page for more information---more than one stumper requester thought a steamroller caused Stanley's accident!
Are you sure it was a steamroller?  This sounds like Flat Stanley by Jeff Brown (Harper & Row, 1964), but it was a bulletin board that flattened Stanley.  School teachers often use this story to teach several lessons - the kids make a 'Flat Stanley' and he gets mailed all over the world.  When he arrives/gets mailed back to the school, they often have a big party and read his journal and look at the pictures that people took of his various visits.
L129  Possibly  Brown, Jeff Flat Stanley    illus by Tomi Ungerer    Harper    1964  Copy 2 is Bk Cl        copy 1)no dust jacket; white publisher¹s library binding shows soil; corners & spine ends some wear; shaken; ink doodles on endpaper; hole in fly from pocket removal; page good Copy 2) glossy boards soiled; corners  & spine ends worn; name on endpaper; pages very good except light crayon streak on 1        2.00;1.00    1382
Lofting, Hugh, The Crazy Story of Dizzy Lizzie,  1953?? This is the second stumper to remind me of "Dizzy Lizzie" (the other being L98), although in both cases there are differences as well as similarities.  The story appears in Volume 4 of the Spencer Press CHILDREN'S HOUR collection (reprinted, says the indicia, from CHILD LIFE magazine).  Lizzie is indeed flattened by a steamroller and then mailed elsewhere, but she goes to Persia rather than to her grandmother, and she's a girl, not a boy -- though Lofting's illustrations could suggest otherwise. "Dizzy Lizzie" may well not be the story the requester is thinking of -- but one wonders if the author of the requester's story had read the Lofting tale.
Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley,1968.  This was a favourite of mine and I still have it.  My copy was printed in the U.K..  It's all about Stanley Lambchop who gets accidentally flattened and then has a number of adventures, including getting mailed to his Grandma.  This is a great site.  I've been searching for the Great Alphabet Race for years, and by a stroke of luck found it in a random search that ended up at your Monthly Stumpers.  To further extend the good karma, I saw this mystery was still unsolved.   Thanks again.
L121  FLAT STANLEY by Jeff Brown, 1964 (and there are other adventures with Stanley)~from a librarian
Jeff Brown, Flat Stanley, 1964.  Sounds like the classic Flat Stanley, although Stanley was actually flattened when a bulletin board fell on him as he slept, not by a steamroller.  But he is mailed to visit relatives in a big envelope.  This book became popular again in the 1990s, when teachers and librarians around the country started mailing cardboard "Flat Stanleys" to other schools as a sort of "pen pal" project.  This led to several sequels being published.

Vernon Grant, Flibbity Jibbit, 1943.  'Childrens' story of a duck - created for the advertisement of "Junket" Brand Rennet
Powder and Tablets."  There was at least one sequel.

Dicka!  Maj Lindman wrote these series books in the 40's featuring (and titled)  Flicka,Ricka, Dicka and Snipp, Snapp, Snurr.  I have paperback reprints available for $6.95  See list on the Back in Print page.
Thank you very much..... is hard to stump the bookseller... LOL

Macken, Walter, Flight of the Doves. This is it, no question
Walter Macken, Flight of the Doves, 1968. Why do the Dove Children run away? Because their parents are dead and life with Uncle Toby is a series of unbearable cruelties." Twelve year old Finn and seven year old Derval run away to find their loving grandmother who lives somewhere across the Irish Sea.
Macken, Walter, Flight of the Doves. A twelve-year-old English boy Finn and his seven-year-old sister Dervil run away from their abusive stepfather and set out to reach their grandmother in western Ireland, despite the publicity about their flight and a police search for them.
Walter Macken, Flight of the Doves, 1968
Walter Macken, Flight of the Doves. Wow!! That was fast.  Thank you so much everyone - I have been trying to remember this for years... now I have a copy and will be able to share this with my own children.

Capon, Paul, Flight of Time.  London: Heinemann, 1960. "Jill sat on the sand facing the sea and closed her eyes. She started to count up to a hundred, to give the others plenty of time to hide. She opened her eyes and was just about to jump up when - whoosh - it happened. At one moment there was nothing in front of her, and at the next there was a great shining object looking like a huge silver dishcover." If I recall from reading the review in Junior Bookshelf, the object is a time machine, and the children travel in it. No idea about a cat, though.

Stan and Jan Berenstain, Flipsville/Squaresville

Floating Island

#D37:  Doll family shipwrecked on island, sounds like Floating Island, by Anne Parrish, a 1931 Newbery Honor Award book published by Harper.
Hello! I have the answer for D37's question. The book is called Floating Island by Anne Parrish, copyright 1930, Harper & Bros, Publishers. The pictures are by Mr. Doll! The Doll family's dollhouse is shipwrecked on an island (Mr. and Mrs. Doll, and their children Annabel and William, the maid Dinah, and their fake food Lobby, Finny, and Pudding try to become reunited on the island. I found this old favorite of mine at a library booksale. I love your site!
D37: Just a warning...if the book you're looking for IS the 1931 book Floating Island, be aware that there's some very painful racism in it (when the dolls get to leave the island, the black cook doll feels compelled to stay on the island with the monkeys). I read one parent on the Net who said she kept it out of her kids' hands until they were old enough to listen to and fully understand her explanation of why this is so appalling. If it weren't for that character, this would be a pretty good book.

I am looking for a children's fiction book that I read in the 4th or 5th grade (1974 -75).  The book was about a family of dolls stranded on an island.  The dolls were alive and explored the lsland.  The doll family had a maid/nanny dressed in clothing that reminds me of Aunt Jemima on the syrup bottle.  As they explored the island, they encounter a crab and make it the family pet (named Crabby?).  The book is illustrated throughout and contains lots of hand drawn maps and figures and has an over abundance of asterisked references to the bottom of the page.  The book must have had between 100 - 250 pages.  I can neither remember the title or the author, or even much more about the book.
***And yet another...
This would be a children's book from the 50's.  It involved a doll family and their doll house being shipped by sea to the states from England.  They crash on an island and the story involves their being separated and then trying to find each other.  It involved Mr. and Mrs. Doll, their son (William I think) their daughter and their cook who is helped by monkeys.
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Sorry, I didn't read the explanation thoroughly.  The book I am looking for was my favorite back in the early seventies, and was about a dollhouse family which comes alive and leaves their dollhouse for an adventure.  I remember that there was also a talking fish on a plate, with a lemon slice, and I'm pretty sure that the dollhouse family ends up on a desert island.  It was quite a long book, not a 15 page kids' book.  I have looked all through the descriptions of talking dollhouse family books on this website and none of them look familiar.  Help!

Actually, now that I've wandered around on your wonderful website some more, I've discovered that the book I requested you to identify is apparently "Floating Island" by Anne Parrish.  The stumper request I sent in is one referring to a dollhouse family and a talking plate of fish.
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A chapter book, pre-1963; my 2nd grade teacher read us a chapter daily. A doll family is shipwrecked on a desert island. My only distinct memory is the father and another male family member dragging a starfish into their make-shift dwelling to use as a rug and the mother's horrified reaction, whereupon she makes them remove it. Don't think it's from The Borrower's series, though that's the scale of their adventures. Seemed British...

Sounds like it could be FLOATING ISLAND by Anne Parrish, 1930~from a librarian

Floethe, Louise Lee, Floating Market, 1969.  New York : Farrar, Straus & Giroux.  A Thai sister and brother sail to the market hoping to sell their fruits, vegetables, and dumplings so they can buy their younger sister a present.
Wow, I'm sure that's it! Thank you so much!

Sounds like Cicely Mary Barker to me. She wrote and illustrated many books about fairies, including a series of four through the seasons: Flower Fairies of the Spring, Summer, Autumn and Winter. These are rather small, in verse, and with her delicate drawings. None has the quote you mentioned, but one of her other books might. They were originally published in London in the 1920's and the originals can be quite pricey. However, they are back in print for only $5.95 each.

I am looking for 2 books that I remember reading when I was a child.  I don't have much information except the following:they were cloth covered - one in yellow and one in a brownish color (could've been red originally) I believe the illustrations in both were by Cicely Mary Barker.  One book was about Flower Fairies and in particular there was a page that featured "Hollyhock" with a corresponding poem.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

please check current availability... Barker, Cicely Mary.  Flower Fairies of the Spring.  Frederick Warne, 1923, 1990.  New copy.  $6 Barker, Cicely Mary.  Flower Fairies of the Summer.  Frederick Warne, 1925, 1990.  New copy.  $6 Barker, Cicely Mary.  Flower Fairies of the Autumn.  Frederick Warne, 1926, 1990.  New copy.  $6 Barker, Cicely Mary.  Flower Fairies of the Winter. Frederick Warne, 1923, 1990.  New copy.  $6 Barker, Cicely Mary.  A Treasury of Flower Fairies.   Frederick Warne, 1992.  New copy.  $20 Laing, Jane.  Cicely Mary Barker and Her Art.  Frederick Warne, 1995.  New copy.  $35

Maybe - Flowers for Filbert by cecile Lamb, Whitman Pub. Co., 1951.  "Filbert the donkey learns the difference between real and artificial flowers."
I am sitting here holding Flowers for Filbert amid a flood of memories. I cannot begin to express my gratitude. I feel so fortunate to have been listening to NPR that Saturday morning. Thanks very much. Ps. I've already submitted my second book stumper request.

And--I can't believe this--I FOUND my book about the little lost lamb!  It's Fluffy Little Lamb, a Wonder Book by Gilbert Delahaye, pictured on page 408 of Santi's "Collecting Little Golden Books," Fourth Edition.  This guidebook was expensive, but, it seems, worth it!  It's actually a lot more entertaining reading after seeing everyone's stumpers.  Now I gotta find this book!

The Flying Hockey Stick
I remember reading a book when I was a kid in the 1970's about a boy who flies around the world (I believe). He is doing it on a vacuum cleaner until he reaches the end of the length of the cord. I think this was before I could actually read but for some reason I thought his name was Barnaby.

Jolly Roger Bradfield, The Flying Hockey Stick. Purple House Press republished this book. Barnaby Jones invents a flying machine.
Jolly Roger Bradfield, The Flying Hockey Stick, 1966. I just want to thank the person who solved my question. Looks like the original was in 1966 and there is a reprint in 2007.

Frank Walton, Flying Machine Boys series, 1913 on.  These look likely.  I can find five titles, but no descriptions:  The Flying Machine Boys on Secret Service or, The Capture in the Air; The Flying Machine Boys on Duty or, The Clue Above the Clouds; The Flying Machine Boys in the Wilds; The Flying Machine Boys in Deadly Peril;  The Flying Machine Boys in the Frozen North or, the Trail in the Snow.

The Flying Trunk is a fairy tale by Hans Christian Anderson.  You're probably thinking of the Kubasta pop-up version printed in 1960.  Kubasta was a master of paper engineering, and his books are very collectible... 

T-60 is one of my other all time favorite books.  I don't recall the author's first name (she is famous, though) and her last is Friermood.  The title of the book is Focus the Bright Land and I just checked it out of the library again..first time this year, though!  Thanks for letting us help out, this is fun!!
I just fininshed reading it again and am ready to take it back to the library..the author's full name is Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood.
Focus the Bright Land, by Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood, published Doubleday 1967, 240 pages. "Vicky's father, founder of the Bodkin Photographic Studio, had gone to Washington at the special request of President Garfield to photograph his inauguration. Two of her brothers, also expert photographers, were preparing for a summer of traveling in their caravan studio. Vicky, practiced in the art of getting her own way, finally succeeded in winning permission to accompany her brothers, provided she made herself useful. She had the imagination to see and the skill to catch remarkable artistic effects in landscapes ... and she proved her ability with the double lens for stereoscopic views." (HB Dec/67 p.757)

Sauer, Julia L., Fog Magic, 1943 and reprinted again and again.  The kitten's name is "Wisp," the girl's is "Greta," and it takes place in Nova Scotia, Canada.
This one is definitely Fog Magic by Julia Sauer. The protagonist is a girl who can walk back in time through the fog until her 11th birthday--then she is too old. On her birthday she discovers her father did the same.
Quite sure that the answer to F49 is Fog Magic by Julia Sauer.  I think it's still in print.
I'm certain this is Fog Magic, however it is set in Novia Scotia, Canada.
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also see A Sound of Crying
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A short novel from maybe the late 70's early 80's (possibly). It's a story about a young girl who walks through fog and ends up in a different time (maybe the time of the Pilgrims?) And that's all I can remember!

Margaret Jean Anderson, In the Keep of Time.  Don't know if this is it--but a little girl goes back in time while exploring a tower somewhere in the U.K. (I thought it was Wales, but someone on Amazon says it is Scotland). Her siblings (at least one brother and one sister, and maybe one cousin) go to find her and bring her back. As I recall, they go through fog to find her. The creepy thing that has stuck with me all this time is that they find a little girl who looks just like the sister, but who belongs to that previous age. Since they can't find their sister, or they think this is their sister under some kind of magic, they bring the little girl home and try to pass her off as their sister to their parents (she does not even speak their language and screams when they do things like run the vacuum!). As I recall, it works (!) and so none of the adults are ever the wiser--but the reader is left wondering, WAS this their little sister?  If not, WHERE is she and WHAT is happening to her???  It always haunted me to think of the modern girl being abandoned by her siblings, who seemed to assume one look-alike girl was as good as the next.  It looks like it is part of a trilogy, and another of the titles in the trilogy is The Mists of Time.  But it sounds like all the stories take place in Scotland.
I think the story about only a girl (if I remember correctly) takes place in the United States and I think she meets early settlers in New England. Thanks though!
Julia Sauer, Fog Magic, 1943.  This is Fog Magic by Julia Sauer...a perennial favorite of many generations, as well as a Newbery Honor book. Originally published in 1943, its been in print more or less continuously since then, (including a Scholastic printing in the 1969, which is the edition many remember) from different publishers, with different art, but same text....its even out in hardcover right now!!
Sauer, Julia L., Fog Magic.  This is very likely your book.  A girl is able to walk into a town from the past when the fog comes in.
The Girl Who Slipped Through Time, 1980, approximately.  I'm not sure this is the book you're looking for.  I read this book in the early 1980s.  The main character's name was Paramecia, and her father was a scientist.  I have a vague memory of her walking through some sort of fog and being transported to another time.
Julia Sauer, Fog Magic, 1943. This is probably Fog Magic(see solved mysteries)
Sauer, Julia, Fog Magic, 1960s.  A little girl discovers a magic world in the thick fog which occurs regularly along the coast of Nova Scotia
Sauer, Julia, Fog Magic, 1943.  Probably this book, which was reprinted numerous times.  Greta can walk backwards through time to an old-fashioned village.
Julia Sauer, Fog Magic
Maybe Fog Magic by Julia Sauer??
Julia Sauer, Fog Magic. This one is also a possibility, depending on what you remember.  It's about a girl named Greta, and there's a description on the Solved page.

The names sound German, but I'm reasonably sure they aren't in Grimm. It could be either another collector, or some of the 'literary fairy tales' written in Germany during the Romantic period, like Brentano's long story of Gockel, Hinkel and Gockelia. A couple of possibles: Matthiessen, Wilhelm Folk Tales NY Grove Press, 1968, 8vo, 208 pages, color illustrations by Ruth Bartlett. Fairy Tales of Ludwig Bechstein translated by Anthea Bell NY Abelard Schuman 1967, illustrated in color by Irene Schreiber. "Bechstein was a 19th century poet and scholar and a collector of folklore. This volume has a selection most likely to appeal to children"
Folk Tales by Wilhelm Matthiessen - that's IT!! No wonder I had such trouble finding it - even in the Boston area, most libraries don't carry WM and the few copies in abebooks.com list none of the tales' titles at all! The 13th tale is "Golden Acres". The translator is Kathleen Shaw. I knew the edition had to be from the last 40 years simply because in older books of "mainstream" fairy tales, you just don't read about girls named Maureen or kings that smoke "big fat cigars", or a kingdom which "you can walk around in a quarter of an hour - I tried it only recently". Shaw translated another of Matthiessen's books called The Potato King and other Folk Tales as well. WM died in 1965. Thank you, I've helped solve 40 stumpers, I've posted 25 or so, and this was one of the ones I cared about most!

C219 These sound like 'porquoi' tales [why?] There are many of them in just about every culture. Anansi stories from Africa, Iktomi tales from native american tribes, by way of who knows where? Hope this info helps you narrow your search.
This may not be what either is looking for, but let me try to hit 2 stumpers with 1 stone: C 219: Children's book of how stories and W 120: Winds, Stories About could both be Old Mother West Wind, by Thornton W. Burgess, 1910. Put that title, in quotes, into Google, and you'll even find entire online versions of it; for example, chapter 2, Why Grandfather Frog Has No Tail.
Thanks for the last suggestion to go to Google but this was not the book I was looking for. There were specific stories in my book but we're getting closer!
Rudyard Kipling, Just So Stories.This is another possibility.  I don't remember any of the stories you mentioned, but it does contain things like "How the elephant got his trunk" and "How the leopard got his spots" and "How the whale got his throat."  Might want to look into it.
Thanks again but Kipling's book is not it either I've checked into that one. The book I'm searching for has stories in it such as how the Christmas tree got its needles, The little turtle who couldn't stop talking and other "how" stories.
I recently submitted an entry under "Cautionary Tales" and you and I are looking for the same marvelous book.  I have had no luck yet.
Watty Piper, Folk Tales Children Love, 1934.  I have been looking for exactly the same  book you seem to be looking for.  I found my solution in the solved mysteries section of this website under children's tales.  I then went online to confirm it by getting a look at the cover.  I think you may be seeking the same book.  That story of the turtle was so wonderful and I've looked for the book for YEARS.  I hope I've helped to make you as happy as I am.

I think you might be mixing two books here.  I'm not sure about the Irish Setter book, but the German Shepard guide book may be Follow My Leader by James Garfield.  The boy was blinded as a youngster playing with fireworks.  I'm not sure what the other book might be.
Dorothy Clewes, Guide Dog, 1965.  This might also be it.  This one is set in England, the boy was nearly an adult when he was blinded by an exploding package.  It was a Weekly Reader Book Club Selection.
Thank you, Ms. Logan. You and your readers are excellent book detectives. Those three titles are the books I remember.
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My third grade teacher read a book to the class (circa 1965) about a boy that was shooting fireworks and became blind. The story goes through the changes in the boy's life as he adjusts to his blindness. I remember he gets a guide dog and the orginal name of the dog was for a star, but I think the boy called the dog by another name. I also remember the boy cooking one day (maybe oatmeal or mashed potatoes) and using powdered detergent instead of the food product. The book also talks about how he learned to tell a cup was full, and something about  feeling the air pressure at a wall before walking into it. It would make my day...no year if someone could tell me the title of this book.

HRL:  I remember this one from elementary school, too.  It's Follow My Leader, by James Garfield.

#T157--tree asked for glass leaves:  appears to have been solved in #T137 with The Foolish Fir Tree, by Henry van Dyke.
Henry Van Dyke, The Foolish Fir Tree, 1911.  This poem has a number of variants I've seen online.  "A Presbyterian Minister, Henry Van Dyke is perhaps best known for The Story of the Other Wise Man and for the Hymn of Joy ("Joyful, joyful, we adore Thee, ..."). He was also a prolific poet, and the above poem can be found in: Van Dyke, Henry. The Poems of Henry Van Dyke. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1911."
I found this one on the Solved pages: Children's Stories selected by the Child Study Association.

you helped, a few yrs ago, with a successful booksearch. now, i am searching for a poetry book may sister & i enjoyed as children. the cover is red, i think. poems, include:  clang,cling, the cowbells ring;
smells ("my daddy smells like tobacco  &   books; mommy, like lavender& listerine");  the first thanksgivng ("peace & mercy & jonathan,& patience, very small"); I'm hiding ("i'm hiding, i'm hiding &  no one knows where, for all they can see are my toes & my hair ").  we enjoyed this book during the 50's & 60's. unfortunately, i cannot recall the title. can you help?

I don't know the book, unfortunately, but the Thanksgiving poem quoted here  is "The First Thanksgiving of All" by Nancy Byrd Turner.  That poem, at  least, is fairly easy to find -- it's still being used in patriotic and  holiday collections!
re: "I'm hiding, I'm higing, and no one knows where..."- a poem written from the perspective of a very young child who is hiding from his parents. They are playing along.  It was in the Childcraft Encyclopedia which, by the time my four older siblings had done with it, was quite dog-eared and worn before it got to me.  There were many other treasures in it as well.
Zounds! Antiquing today and suddenly -BAM! An old book has Smells by Christopher Morley,-then I see First Thanksgiving of All by Nancy Byrd Turner,and-YES!!- Cow Song by Aline Kilmer (Klang! Kling! the cowbells ring) Yippee!!  FOR A CHILD great poems old and new- collected by Wilma McFarland,1947. illustrated by NINON,1947. A fabulous book: wonderful collection of poems, enchanting illustrations- a treasure! I think this may solve some other stumpers!

Christine Pullein Thompson, Phantom Horse.  Phantom Horse is about an English girl called Jean who moves to America and tames a wild palamino. Could this be it?
Unfortunately that isn't the book (Phantom Horse).  Thinking about it, I am pretty sure the girl's name was Samantha, and that she moved from the city into the Virginia countryside.  She attended a one room school with her siblings and rode a pony to school.
Patricia Leitch, For Love of a Horse, 1976.  I have a copy of The Phantom Horse and it does not fit the description given. It could be  For Love of a Horse by Patricia Leitch where the family move from the town of "Stopton" to the west coast of Scotland. The heroine is called "Jinny" and the horse is called "Shantih". The punishment incident by the headmaster in the small school takes place in Chapter 6 but it is not directly connected to the horse.  For Love of a Horse is the first in the "Jinny" series of stories and is followed by A Devil to Ride, The Summer Riders and 8 others. Hope this information helps.
For Love Of A Horse by Patricia Leitch matches this request perfectly. Jinny is the girl, Shantih is the wild horse that she wants. It's been a long time since I've read this book, but I distinctly remember the scene with the headmaster using a ruler to hit Jinny's hand as punishment for some minor transgression.   I recently found out this was the first book in a series.
For Love of a Horse.  That's it!  Thank you thank you thank you!!!!!  Funny that I thought it took place in Virginia when the girl's name is Jinny.  Thank you!

LJ Smith, The Forbidden Game  (I: The Hunter, II: The Chase, III: The Kill). (1994)  LJ Smith wrote a trilogy of books about a guy with white-blonde hair (Julian) who tricks the main character (Jenny) and her friends into various games in an attempt to get Jenny, who he has been watching for years.  He has magic powers and could well be a demon or something, and his initial appearance is as the cashier in a mysterious game store where Jenny goes to buy a game to play at her boyfriend's birthday party.  I haven't read these since they first came out, but I own copies, so can provide many more details upon request.
Smith, L. J., The Forbidden Game,1994.I agree with the first poster. this is very clearly the Smith trilogy, first published in 1994 (I believe there's since been an omnibus edition).  The plot and character details are a close match.

Mandy Bingham and Francoise Seignobosc both wrote children's storoes named Minou. The problem is minou just means "Kitty" in French.
This is definitely NOT Minou by Mindy Bingham.  That book is about a cat whose owner dies and wanders through Paris looking for a new home.
This looks like a retelling of the French fairy tale Blondine by The Comtesse de Ségur.  I found these possibilities, but couldn't determine whether "Fair Minou" was part of them.  Forest of Lilacs illus. by Nicole Claveloux, NY: Harlin Quist, 1969.  Abstract: "Powers of good and evil struggle in the enchanted forest to decide the fate of Princess Blondine."
The Enchanted Forest by Beatrice Schenk de Regniers, illus. with old prints by Gustave Doré, NY: Atheneum, 1974.  Abstract: "Lured into the Enchanted Forest through the wiles of her wicked stepmother, Princess Goldenhair is found by Bonnie Cat and Gentle Doe and kept in their castle with the assurance that one day she will return home."
Countess de Segur, Forest of Lilacs.  The book that I was looking for is called Forest of Lilacs, as provided by someone who responded to my stumper question.  I received an original copy of it yesterday from a bookseller in Brooklyn, NY and it is indeed the book I had been searching for!  Thank you so much for your help and thank you to the person who solved my stumper!

This is probably Troy Nesbit, The Forest Fire Mystery ('62).
F17 I read this one too, but don't recall it being part of a series. I do remember the boy hero answering the phone "Dewdrop Inn!" and realising that it sounded like "Do drop in!". I think the inn belongs to his aunt and he's
helping out for the summer. Sorry I don't remember anything useful.
F17 forest fires: finally got hold of a copy of The Forest Fire Mystery, by Troy Nesbit, illustrated by Shannon Stirweis, published Whitman 1962, 284 pages, and can confirm that this is it. The story is set in the Colorado
Rockies, in the small town of Belmont. Art Mills and his family have recently moved there, and Art's father is the new owner of the Dew Drop Inn. On page 253 Art and his friend Joe discover "a soda pop bottle! What
was a pop bottle doing here in the middle of a tangled, remote forest? But stranger still, the bottle was held a little way above the ground by two forked sticks." When the boys open the corked bottle, inside is not water, but "'Gasoline!' Art cried. 'This is Homer's time bomb!'"

The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia McKillip, maybe?
Patricia McKillip, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.  I wonder if N21 might be The Forgotten Beasts of Eld.  The "pets" Sybel keeps aren't all dragons, but the copy I have does show a dragon beside her on the cover.  And the book is certainly very concerned with the power of naming. I believe this is the only book of McKillip wrote as a children's book.
N21 was the correct book!  Thanks for the help.  I bought the book and am enjoying it for a second time.  Thanks for solving my book stumper!
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I can't remember much about this book now. It was a fantasy type book. I can remember a large black wild cat, I believe it was a panther, named Moria (not sure which spelling of Moria was used). The panther could speak to the girl, who was the main character of the book. I think that the girl was on some type of mission, journey, adventure, and from what I remember, other wild jungle type animals. It seems like there was even some mystery involved, as well. It was a chapter book, and I was about 11 to 13 or 14 years of age when I read it. At the time, it looked to be a new library book. The black panther, Moria, was on the cover. I remember very hypnotic, piercing eyes, and I think the girl was on the cover as well. Can't remember if any other animals were also on the cover. I've searched for this book for many years. I'm a 6th grade reading teacher, and have read much children's literature - both then and now. Yet, this book haunts me, as I'd  just love to have it and read it again to see if it was really as wonderful as I remember. Thanks so much in advance for any help you can be in finding this.

Patricia McKillip, The Forgotten Beasts of Eld, 1974. I think your book may be this one, a beautiful, complex story about Sybel, descended from wizards and living alone on a mountain in the kingdom of Eldwold.  She has inherited a collection of animals including "the huge black Cat Moriah", the Lyon Gules, the Dragon Gyld, the Falcon Ter, and a Black Swan, all of whom were "called" (kind of a combination of telepathy and hypnotism) she herself attempts to call a great white bird, the Liralen.  Meanwhile, a baby boy is left with her one night -- an orphaned relative named Tamlorn, who turns out to be a prince, and eventually must choose whether to stay with Sybel or go down to the world of politics and warfare that awaits him.  Coren, the man who brought him to Sybel, falls in love with her and together they, with their different but equally emotionally impoverished backgrounds, struggle to learn how to love. There are various covers but I can't find a photo of the one I remember (it may have been the first), where the cat was black and had the eyes you describe.  Good luck!
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A young adult book, about a young woman living alone on top of a mountain, who can 'call' all these mystical creatures to her. She calls a man to her, moves down off the mountain to live with him; he's a prince? I think she returns to the mountain with her creatures at the end, but don't remember.  I read the book as a kid in the 1970s, if that helps any.

This sounds like The Forgotten Beasts of Eld by Patricia A. McKillip.  I read this as a teenager in my "Magic Carpet Books" phase.
Hi, I just looked at the site, and someone already 'found' my book. The Forgotten Beasts of Eld. As soon as I saw the word Eld, it rang a bell. Thank you for this service you provide!

R14 might be The Forgotten Daughter by Caroline Dale Snedeker.  It's a Newberry Honor book that was published in 1933 and reissued in 1966. The Roman slave in this book is a girl named Chloe whose father was a
patrician Roman and her mother a Greek woman taken prisoner in a mlitary raid.  I read it many years ago and remember that Chloe had an older slave woman as a companion, who I think was also Greek, but I don't
specifically remember the tapestry weaving.

Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965.  Perhaps it's this one or another by the same author, who often wrote about gentle displaced alien children.
B176: Alexander Key, Illustrated by Dom Lupo. The Forgotten Door, 1965. "Who is the strange boy who can talk to animals and read people's minds? Where does  he come from? The boy, Jon, has lost his memory and does not know. He only knows that he has fallen through the forgotten door to the strange planet, Earth, and that he is in great danger."  He can't heal others, but when injured himself, he recovers quickly. He does prevent a deer from being killed by a lowlife character.
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anonymous boy (from future?) found in cave in forest. The book I'm trying to find is one that my 3rd grade teacher read aloud to us (the same year we heard Where the Red Fern Grows, etc.), so that would have been in about 1983-84. As best as I can remember, it was about siblings (I think) who found an anonymous boy in a cave/grotto/secret place in the forest near their home (which may have been a farm/ somewhere else rural, but also might not have been). He may have been naked/mute when they found him. I *believe* they eventually discovered that he'd come from the future somehow -- that the cave/grotto was a portal of some kind. I don't remember how it ended up, but I've always wanted to track down the book and re-read it. The words "green door" have stuck in my head regarding it, but no amount of title searching on those words has turned up anything that seems right.
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. Little Jon falls through a door into our world, where he is found by a family. He is telepathic and doesn't speak at first as he learns the language. Later he is persecuted for his telepathy, but after speaking up for environmentalism and world peace, he returns to his home.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door. I don't remember what year this was published, but I'm sure that this is Alexander Key's The Forgotten Door.  His people had once had some sort of gateways into other worlds, but these had been long abandoned.  He happened to be standing over one of those forgotten gates when the earth covering it caved in under him.   Because he fell through into an underground chamber (the one that housed the gate mechanisms) he'd struck his head somewhere along the line and when he arrived in our world he had developed amnesia.  The rest of the story was about the family who found him and tried to figure out who he was and where he'd come from.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965. I read this a long time ago but this title came to mind when reading your description.
Could this be The Forgotten Doorby Alexander Key???
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door, 1965. Could this be the one?
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. The boy has fallen through a portal/door from another planet and lands on earth.  He is able to communicate with animals and heals quickly. I believe it is also in Solved Mysteries.
Alexander Key, Forgotten Door, 1965. I think you're looking for The Forgotten Door.  It seems to stick in the minds of a lot of readers!
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. Try this one - I'm sure it's the right one.  (You may have gotten "green door" from the fact that your book was green - mine is!)
WOW! I never expected a solution so quickly -- from the description posted on the site, The Forgotten Door is the book I've been trying to remember forever; I just ordered a copy, so we'll see for sure soon! Thanks so much.
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anonymous boy (from future?) found in cave in forest. The book I'm trying to find is one that my 3rd grade teacher read aloud to us (the same year we heard Where the Red Fern Grows, etc.), so that would have been in about 1983-84. As best as I can remember, it was about siblings (I think) who found an anonymous boy in a cave/grotto/secret place in the forest near their home (which may have been a farm/ somewhere else rural, but also might not have been). He may have been naked/mute when they found him. I *believe* they eventually discovered that he'd come from the future somehow -- that the cave/grotto was a portal of some kind. I don't remember how it ended up, but I've always wanted to track down the book and re-read it. The words "green door" have stuck in my head regarding it, but no amount of title searching on those words has turned up anything that seems right.
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. Little Jon falls through a door into our world, where he is found by a family. He is telepathic and doesn't speak at first as he learns the language. Later he is persecuted for his telepathy, but after speaking up for environmentalism and world peace, he returns to his home.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door. I don't remember what year this was published, but I'm sure that this is Alexander Key's The Forgotten Door.  His people had once had some sort of gateways into other worlds, but these had been long abandoned.  He happened to be standing over one of those forgotten gates when the earth covering it caved in under him.   Because he fell through into an underground chamber (the one that housed the gate mechanisms) he'd struck his head somewhere along the line and when he arrived in our world he had developed amnesia.  The rest of the story was about the family who found him and tried to figure out who he was and where he'd come from.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965. I read this a long time ago but this title came to mind when reading your description.
Could this be The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key???
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door, 1965. Could this be the one?
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. The boy has fallen through a portal/door from another planet and lands on earth.  He is able to communicate with animals and heals quickly. I believe it is also in Solved Mysteries.
Alexander Key, Forgotten Door, 1965. I think you're looking for The Forgotten Door.  It seems to stick in the minds of a lot of readers!
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door. Try this one - I'm sure it's the right one.  (You may have gotten "green door" from the fact that your book was green - mine is!)
WOW! I never expected a solution so quickly -- from the description posted on the site, The Forgotten Door is the book I've been trying to remember forever; I just ordered a copy, so we'll see for sure soon! Thanks so much.
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The stumper I was interested in was a story about a couple of kids (boy and girl) living in the Smoky Mountain area. They were exploring a cave and came upon a boy that had somehow traveled from another dimension where his world was in trouble. He had to do something here and get back to them. This book would have been at least back in the mid-sixties and would have probably been a Scholastic Pub.

The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key. See Solved Mysteries. A real treasure. There was a British 1966 TV version of it.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door. This, I believe indeed, is the book I wanted. I remember the name of the main character Jon and the fact that he read minds.
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I remember reading a book in the late 80's/early 90s, as a kid. A boy arrives through some sort of space or time door, and gets adopted into this family. He's got strange clothes (some unusual fabric). He tries to figure out how to get home, but is also really attached to the family, who helps him.

Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965, copyright.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door.  Could this be the right book?  "Jon, a boy from another world, accidentally falls through a forgotten door to Earth, losing his memory, but retaining his ability to communicate with animals and hear people s thoughts. He is warned of danger by a deer, and narrowly escapes peril throughout his adventure. He happens upon the farm of kindly Mary and Thomas Bean. Jon's supernatural abilities are almost immediately apparent to Mary, and she suspects he is otherworldly. Thomas is skeptical, at first. Word travels fast about a genius boy staying with the Beans. Mary and Thomas realize there is precious little time to take Jon elsewhere before everyone from threatening neighbors to the CIA tries to get their hands on him. The military and the press are closing in on the house when Jon hears his father s voice calling him from their world. Jon realizes the door is open again, and without a moment to lose, the three of them steal away through the woods on a moonless night, guided by the voice of Jon's father to seek the forgotten door."
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door.  The strange fabric part of this makes me think of The Forgotten Door. It's in the solved mysteries!
Key, Alexander, Forgotten Door.  "Jon, a boy from another world, accidentally falls through a forgotten door to Earth, losing his memory, but retaining his ability to communicate with animals and hear people s thoughts. He is warned of danger by a deer, and narrowly escapes peril throughout his adventure. He happens upon the farm of kindly Mary and Thomas Bean. Jon s supernatural abilities are almost immediately apparent to Mary, and she suspects he is otherworldly. Thomas is skeptical, at first. Word travels fast about a genius boy staying with the Beans. Mary and Thomas realize there is precious little time to take Jon elsewhere before everyone from threatening neighbors to the CIA tries to get their hands on him. The military and the press are closing in on the house when Jon hears his father s voice calling him from their world. Jon realizes the door is open again, and without a moment to lose, the three of them steal away through the woods on a moonless night, guided by the voice of Jon s father to seek the forgotten door."
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door.  I'm sure you'll get many answers on this one!  Many people have fond memories of it and it comes up frequently on book search sites.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965.
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door.  Could this be the book? Jon, a boy from another world, accidentally falls through a forgotten door to Earth, losing his memory, but retaining his ability to communicate with animals and hear people s thoughts. He is warned of danger by a deer, and narrowly escapes peril throughout his adventure. He happens upon the farm of kindly Mary and Thomas Bean. Jon s supernatural abilities are almost immediately apparent to Mary, and she suspects he is otherworldly. Thomas is skeptical, at first. Word travels fast about a genius boy staying with the Beans. Mary and Thomas realize there is precious little time to take Jon elsewhere before everyone from threatening neighbors to the CIA tries to get their hands on him. The military and the press are closing in on the house when Jon hears his father s voice calling him from their world. Jon realizes the door is open again, and without a moment to lose, the three of them steal away through the woods on a moonless night, guided by the voice of Jon s father to seek the forgotten door. - I think it was published in the early 80's but I don't recall any particular "alien" clothing mentioned but great book anyway!
This sounds a lot like The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key.
Key, Alexander, The Forgotten Door, 1968, copyright.  This is definitely The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965, copyright.  In this book, a boy from another world falls through a door and ends up in our world.
Margaret Mahy, Aliens in the Family, 1986, copyright.  Perhaps this one?  A bit of a long shot, sorry.  It's set in New Zealand.  The boy from the future is called Bond, and he wears strange clothing: a suit of many pockets.  The children who help him are Dora, Lewis and Jake.  Lewis and Dora are brother and sister  Jake is their stepfather's daughter, staying with them for a holiday.  I don't think the parents have much to do with Bond, though, and I don't think he's adopted by the family in a literal way - though it's been a long time since I read it.
Most likely The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key. See Solved Mysteries.
Alexander Keyes, The Forgotten Door.  A boy comes through a forgotten door from his own peaceable, vegetarian society and arrives here. The unusual fiber of his clothing and shoes is plant, since they do not use leather.
Paul Samuel Jacobs, Born Into Light, 1988, copyright.  I have read this book a couple of times, but several years ago. It sounds like what I remember, but I can't fully remember about the special cloth.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1968, approximate.  This is The Forgotten Door; Little Jon is the boy who ended up on Earth and yes, his clothes are made of a fabric the mother of the family who takes him in has never seen before.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door, 1965, copyright.  This is the beloved classic, The Forgotten Door by Alexander Key. Currently in print, as it has been almost continuously since its publication.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door.  The boy's name is Jon.  He falls through a door from another world and lands on earth, a local family helps him.
Alexander Key, The Forgotten Door.   Thank you so much, everyone! I'm so glad someone in the world remembered this book!

Interpreting Condition Grades

Key, Alexander.  The Forgotten Door.  Illustrated by Dom Lupo.  Scholastic, 1965, 1968.  Trade paperback, VG.  $10

Fortunately by Remy Charlip has been re-issued in a good-quality paperback.  See the Most Requested page for more on Remy Charlip.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Charlip, Remy. Fortunately.  Simon & Schuster, 1964, 1993.  New paperback, $6.99

Jordan, Hope Dahle, The Fortune Cake. This was one of my favorites!  Jenny is the daughter of a Judge.  The escaped convict kidnapped her at Horseshoe Park, her family's vacation home.  She tutored a niece who was mentally challenged.  She baked tokens into the cake that would tell your fortune, and the mustard to get attention of a rescuer.  This was later published by Scholastic under a different name.  It was something like Summer of Fear, but I am not sure about that.
THE FORTUNE CAKE is the book I remembered.  Thanks so much!

Hello! The May 1997 request about a book with photos of kittens dressed up in doll clothes sounds a lot like a treasured book I own. I'm not willing to part with the book, but maybe this information will help you, and I'll keep my eyes open as well for another copy. My book's main characters are rabbits (although there are kittens as well; I believe they were neighbors of the rabbits). If I remember right (the book is in storage) the rabbits names are Muff, Fluff, Puff, and Algernon. They wave goodbye to their mother and set out for an adverturous day which includes babysitting for a pair of tiny bunnies, freeing White Rabbit, who had been tied to a tree by some naughty boys, and finally helping the Easter Bunny decorate eggs with frosting and chocolate. At the end of the day, the Easter Bunny gives them the eggs that they had helped to decorate, which they fly home to their mother in a blimp! The name of the book is Four Little Bunnies by Harry Whittier Frees. It was published in 1936, and is about 6" tall by 8" wide. I don't recall any information being listed about a publisher.
This is probably the companion volume to the kitten story, but thanks for information on the author's name!
Frees, Harry Whittier. Four Little Kittens. Rand McNally 1935. Children's picture book which features photos of kittens dressed in doll-clothes, posed with various objects to look like children with simple accompanying text. Very Good. <SOLD>

What a remarkable website you have.  As a child I had two books (wider than tall) that had colored photos of actual puppies in one book and kittens in the other.  These little animals were dressed up and posed to illustrate the simple stories.  One photo was of a puppie wearing in a dress and bonnet, standing on its hind legs with its front legs resting on the handle of a two wheeled stroller with a smaller kitten tucked in under a blanket also wearing a bonnet.  A photo of a puppy wearing pants and a shirt standingon its hind legs pulling a wagon with two puppies dressed in baby dresses. (or as I remember)  Another was of kittens dressed in snow atire but they are telling the mother cat wearing a dress that their mittens were lost.  I spent hours trying to visualize how those little animals were posed and I have looked everywhere for reprints and of course sounded like a fool trying to describe them.  Can you help me find them?  I've got my fingers crossed.
I'm looking for a book form my childhood in the 1950's. It featured a family  of kittens, one of whom was named Agememnon. I recall that the kittens spent  time under a cookstove in the kitchen and were frightened of the two feet of  the cook (who might have been named Goody Two Shoes). Can you help?
I have this book, it is called Four Little Puppies.  The puppies are Wags, Rags, Tags and Obadiah.  The author is Ruth Dixon, the photographer was Harry Whittier Frees.  The copyright date is 1957, published by Rand McNally.
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I am looking for another book that my sister had when we were children.  I am assuming that it was published by Whitman but am not sure, it could have been a Little Golden, but it was that type of book.  It was a book about 4 little puppies and their names were:  Wags, Tags, Rags and Obediah.  In fact
that may have even been the name of the book.  Whenever we get a new pet we go through this routine,  "What shall we name it?" and I say "How about Wags, Tags, Rags or Obediah?"  of course my kids (7 of them) just look at me kind of strange.  I would love to share this book with them so they can see why I love those 4 name so much.

P85- I think the book is Three Puppies.  It also is a Rand McNally Elf book from the 1950's.
An amplification on these titles, which I remember encountering as well-loved volumes in my grandmother's closet when I
was very small: some months ago I was in a bookstore in Long Beach, Washington and discovered that someone has issued new facsimile editions in paperback, very modestly priced.  My mother immediately bought copies for her grandchildren -- my niece and nephew -- but I don't now have access to those books and can't recall who the new publisher is!
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I'm looking for a book that I remember as "Agamemnon", not sure of the spelling. Don't remember the story but it was full of pictures of cats dressed up in people clothes. I owned it in the sixties. Thanks for any help you can give me.

Frees, Harry Whittier, Four Little Kittens, 1935.  This is in Solved Mysteries with a picture of the cover.  One of the four little kittens was named Agamemnon (the other three were Buzz, Fuzz, and Suzz).  Mother's name Samantha.  Great photos of them dressed up in dolls' clothes.
Harry Whittier Frees.  I'm not sure which book this is, but it's one of Frees' kitten photo books (the kittens were Buzz, Fuzz, Suzz, and Agamemnon, I think).

check out the listings under Four Little Kittens on the Solved Mysteries page.  I don't remember the Frees books ever being issued in paperback, however.
It was Four Little Puppies as was on your site on the solved page!  Thanks a lot!!  Now If I could just find a copy.

Four Puppies

This site is so fun -- here's the 6th book I've solved for your Stump the Bookseller page! I was looking through some children's books at a thrift shop and came across a little book I recognized instantly as one described on your site.  It's Four Puppies, a Little Golden Book written by Anne Heathers and illustrated by Lilian Obligado.

C52 is Definitely the series about the Melendy family by Elizabeth Enright. The first book The Saturdaysis about the 4 Melendy children and all the adventures they have together. The second book is Four Story Mistake about them moving to a large house in the country. The 3rd book Then We Were Five is about them meeting and adopting a fifth Melendy child. The 4th book Spiderweb For Two is about the two youngest who are left behind when the 3 oldest go off to boarding school.
Sounds the books about the Melendy family (could be why the person's recalling the name Miranda - similiar sound). They move into a new house, complete with secret door in THE FOUR-STORY MISTAKEand they adopt a boy in THEN THERE WERE FIVE. The first book was THE SATURDAYS. All by Elizabeth Enright. Published in the 1940's, although reprinted since then.
C52--The Four-Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright
C52 is The Four Story Mistake by Elizabeth Enright.  Four children, Mona, Rush, Randy (Miranda), and Oliver Melendy move to a house in the country.  On a rainy day, Randy finds the secret room in the attic with the portrait of  a beautiful young girl.  Later they meet an old couple who live near by who knew the girl in the portrait when they were children.  Great book, second in the four book Melendy series, the first being The Saturdays.
C52 is another of Elizabeth Enright's books, called The Four-Story Mistake.  It involved siblings Mona, Rush, Randy (Miranda) and Oliver, who find the secret room when they move from New York City to a house in
the country.  They keep it a secret from their father for a while, but eventually let him in on it.  Lots of other fun things in this fabulous book, which is a sequel to The Saturdays:  they put on a fair and a show for the war effort; Randy finds a diamond in the creek; they build a dam in the same creek; they meet a woman who keeps a crocodile in the bathtub...There's a third book too, called Then There Were Five, in which they befriend a country boy named Mark, who lives with (and is neglected by, if not actually abused) his mean cousin Oren.  These books are great and sure do stand the test of time.
I'm almost certain this is Four-Story Mistakeby Elizabeth Enright.  The Melendy children are Mona, Rush, Miranda (Randy) and Oliver.  They discover a secret room in their new house in the country.  In a later book (I think called Then There Were Five) they adopt a brother, Mark, into the family. The first book about the Melendys is The Saturdays, about their life in the city.  My favorite book of the Melendy series is Spiderweb for Two, which focuses on Randy and Oliver after the older kids have gone away to school.
#C52, "Children in the Country," sounds an awful lot like Elizabeth Enright's Melendy family series, The Four-Story Mistake, The Saturdays, Then There Were Five, and Spiderweb for Two:  A Melendy Maze.  The oldest girl is named Mona, not Miranda, and they do adopt a child in the last book.  These can be found in new editions from Children's Book-of-the-Month Club.  They are set before, during, and after WWII, with
many references to the times.
I think that C52 is Four Storey Mistake by Elizabeth Enright.
C52 - These are the Elizabeth Enright books about the Melendy's - Mona, Rush, Miranda (Randy) and Oliver.  Two of the books are Four-Story Mistake, and Spiderweb for Two.
C52- This sounds an awful lot like the Melendy Family books written by Elizabeth Enright.  There is a daughter named Miranda; there is an adventure with a lady they know who is old that turns out to be a little girl in a picture in a museum; the family is large in number, lives in the country and in a later book adopts a boy.

I'd love to locate a book I read and enjoyed as a child.  The title was something like "The ?th Window" or "The Hidden Room".  This family moves into an old house.  I think there was no mother, and the housekeeper's name is possibly Mrs. Oliphant (unless I'm mixing her in from another book)  Anyway, after living in the house for a while, one of the kids realizes there are more windows on the outside of the house than there are rooms inside.  So they investigate and discover this room that has been boarded up for years.  Inside, they find all kinds of old newspaper clippings, and there was some kind of mystery involved.  Ring any bells anyone?

Elizabeth Enright, The Four-Story Mistake, 1942.  This is the 2nd book in the series about the Melendy children. They move to the country and notice that the wall to their "office" (playroom) which is covered with clippings appears to have a hinge and find the room. The only thing in the secret room is a picture of a young girl titled: Clarinda, 1869.  Mrs. Oliphant is a family friend  the housekeeper is Cuffy.
It could be GO TO THE ROOM OF THE EYES by Betty K. Erwin. A family with 6 children move into an old house, and a clue that falls out of a rolled-up window shade leads them on a treasure hunt that ends in a secret rooms full of toys. I can't remember whether there's a housekeeper or not. But I'm not 100% sure, so try to borrow a copy through the library before purchasing.
This sure sounds like Elizabeth Enright's Four Story Mistake, which is on your Solved Page.  The four Melendy children have no mother, a housekeeper named Cuffy, and an older friend of the family named Mrs Oliphant. They move into an old house in the country and find a secret room, complete with newpaper clippings (I think behind the wallpaper, but now my memory may be failing!).
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This book is about a group of children who must go live at a relative's house, and they end up solving a mystery about a secret room in the house. What tips them off is that from the outside in the back they count a certain number of windows, but from the inside, the number is one less.  They find the secret room, and it ended up being a priest-hole, I think.  Thanks.

Elizabeth Enright?, The Four Story Mistake.  I'm sure about the title, not sure about the author.
H42 Sound like it could be GO TO THE ROOM OF THE EYES by Betty K. Irwin, 1969. When they move into an old house, the first clue the children find was in a rolled up window shade. The treasure they find is a secret room full of toys.  ~from a librarian
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A fictional account of a family with 4 or 5 children living in the US during WWII  how they coped with rations and blackouts and the adventures they had. There may be more than 1 book, am fuzzy on that. One of the girls was named Miranda, Randy for short. I have some recollection of the children discovering something in an attic, also of paper lanterns during a party. Remotely akin to Molly of the American Girl doll series or Willliam Saroyan's Human Comedy.

I'm not sure if this is a match or not, but there's definately a Miranda/Randy in Elizabeth Enright's Four Story Mistake (and other books in the Melendy family series).  Check out the other memories posted on the Solved Mysteries Page under the title Four Story Mistake, and let me know if this is a match.
Thank you so much--the Elizabeth Enright books are the ones I've been looking for. Do you have them?

Interpreting Condition Grades

Enright, Elizabeth. Then There Were Five.  Rinehart & Company, Inc., 1944.  Ex-library copy with usual markings.  Slightly cocked spine.  Reading copy only.  G-.  $25

Lots of bears, ice skating included, in The Fourteen Bears Winter and Summer by Evelyn Scott.  See the Most Requested tribute page.
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Looking for my sister's favorite book from childhood.  All she can remember is that a family of bears goes out for ice cream.   She would have read this book in the late 60's or early 70's but doesn't  remember if the book seemed current or older.

Sounds like a Frank Ash book...
The Thirteen (or Fourteen?) Bears in Summer and Winter.  This sounds like it could be a book I read to my daughter. The 13 or 14 bears go out for a summertime stroll in the first half of the book and end up with ice cream.  The second half finds them waking up from hibernation to a snow-covered landscape, and walking around for a while, eventually decorating their trees (each family member has his or her own tree) for Christmas before returning to sleep at the end.
Oh, well of course it could be that!  It's Fourteen.  See more on the Most Requested Pages.
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The book I am looking for was one my mother got us from the library back in the 1970's - probably early to middle. We only had it once so the details are a little sketchy now. I remember it was about bunnies or bears, possibly siblings, and the homes each one lived in. I think it also had a theme of the seasons, holidays or months of the year. It was in the juvenile section and I can remember there were pictures to go along with the story. I have no clue of the name or title. Thanks for your help.

I vaguely remember that the "homes" were cute...not "regular" homes. They were decorated depending on the animals likes.
Sounds like this could be FOURTEEN BEARS: SUMMER & WINTER by Evelyn Scott which you have posted on the Back in Print page because they are going to republish it in May 2005 ~from a librarian
That sure sounds like what I'm looking for. So glad it's soon to be back in print. Thanks so much!!

golden book, The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter.  It seems like this might be The Fourteen Bears in Summer and Winter. In it, the whole bear family wakes up in the middle of winter, and they explore outside. The illustrations are wonderful and at one point they do go snow shoeing. This was a golden book but much larger than the standard golden books.
Scot, Evelyn, The Fourteen Bears in Summer  and Winter, 1973.  This book is made up of two distinct stories. Although you only mentioned one little bear, this book has some similarities you might want to check out.  One of the bears sleeps in the type of bed you described.  In fact, each bear's home has a unique style, with a special kitchen, living room and bedroom. Each of the bear children (Veronica, Virginia, Johanna, Ramona, Emma, Anna, Gloria, Hannah, Henrietta, Flora and Dora) lives in her own tree, except for the baby bear, Theodore, who sleeps at the foot of his parents' bed.  In the winter story, Little Theodore wakes up and wants to see what winter is like.  Everyone gets dressed and explores the frozen pond, the forest, and a neighboring farm where they try different winter activities.  At the end, they return home and  decorate their trees for Christmas before going to sleep again.  The next morning, there is a message that birds have made in the snow with their footprints.  It says, "Sleep tight good neighbors. See you in the spring."  This Golden Book is oversized (maybe 14 by 11) and very expensive, but it has been recently reprinted in a smaller size, at a much more affordable price.
Scott, Evelyn, The Fourteen Bears. I think this might be what you are looking for. At one point in the story, the baby bear wakes up while his family is hibernating and the whole family decides to go outside and play in the snow. The book also has lots of illustrations of all the bears' rooms which was always my favorite part of the book! The book is large and hardcover, as you described.
Well, shame on me, but I didn't recognize this one from the description.  If Fourteen Bears is correct, then it's a favorite around Loganberry, and readily available.  See Most Requested for more nostalgia.
'I checked out the book Fourteen Bears:Summer and Winter at my local library and I believe this is the correct story. I was a bit dissapointed as my memory of the story is a bit different. While the illustrations were good, I remembered them much more elaborately. Maybe to a small child the original larger edition seemed more so. Hopefully my own duaghter will find them as I remember, since that was my reason for seeking this book out.