I am looking for a book of short stories I was very fond of as a child. Unfortunately, I do not have a title. The book was published before 1974 because I remember reading it before starting kindergarden. It was a slightly large book with burnt orange cloth boards. It was probably British. The book contained several short stories all related, most of them circled around a young boy named Charles. He would visit his Grandmother by the sea or play in the garden. Sometimes he was with other children exploring by the sea picking up sea glass and pebbles. One story was told by the point of view of a small toad and his little house in the garden and living under mushrooms. The most memorable story for me was a sad tale about a set of Russian nesting dolls that a child left standing up on a sea wall and the waves swept them off the wall one by one. The book contained pencil sketches depicting scenes from each chapter. My mother believes she bought the book at the Creative Playthings factory outlet in Princeton, NJ, but that might not be the case.
This is Ruth Ainsworth, but I am not quite sure which book. She wrote ‘Charles Stories and Others’ and ‘More About Charles, and Other Stories’. Also a bit later (and probably more readily available in the early 70s, so perhaps more likely to be your book): ‘Lucky Dip’ and ‘Another Lucky Dip’. All of these include tales of Charles visiting ‘Granny by the Sea’ and ‘Granny in the Country’, as well as other stories. I am not sure which of these books contained the other tales that you mention, but at any rate I’m pretty sure of the author.
Yes! Ruth Ainsworth is the author. The book I was looking for is The Ruth Ainsworth Book, published in 1970. I bought a copy and received it today. Thank you for your help!