This series of books was in my intermediate school library, which I attended in 1984-86. The main characters were sisters, maybe twins or just close in age. I believe there were only two or three books in the series and the girls kind of came of age during the series. One plot in the first book involved a mentally ill aunt. When the girls visit her, she tells one of them that her shoes are “shit brown,” and the librarian or administration at my school had very noticeably blacked out the word “shit”. I think in one of the books a death in the family is also dealt with. There were occasional black and white illustrations in the books. They were probably each less than 100 pages. I have a sense that they may have taken place in Germany or Austria. If not, then maybe the characters were immigrants to the USA from one of those countries. I’m picturing a purple or light blue cover/binding. Thanks for any leads!
The author you want is Ilse Margret Vogel. One of the titles is probably Goodbe Aunt Isabell.
That should say “Goodbye.”
Oops, sorry again–Farewell, not Goodbye.
The other book is My Twin Sister Erika.
Wow- so helpful. This is exactly what I was looking for. Once I looked up the author, I saw that Farewell, Summer Brother was the third title I had read. Thanks again!