Collection of Stories for Girls, maybe American Girl? Stories of inspiration in tough times. When parents die, being overweight, not being pretty, hardcover, book (not the dust jacket) may have been green, story about a girl making window decorations for her father’s hardware store, story about a girl eating celery and skim milk to lose weight, story about a girl’s dress that was sky blue tulle with butterfly’s on it.
Stump the Bookseller
New format, same book stumper solving.
I don’t know this book, but I can recommend If This is Love, I’ll Take Spaghetti by Ellen Conford. She has a couple other short story anthologies that I liked as a teenager.
I’m sure this is STORIES TO LIVE BY. It’s a collection of stories from “American Girl” magazine (not the present one that’s published based on the dolls and books, but the magazine that used to be published by the Girl Scouts). When you take the dust jacket off, the spine is green. It has the stories you mention: the girl who decorates the windows of her dad’s hardware store, a dress with butterflies on it (but it’s pink, not blue), a girl who diets to fit into a dress by eating almost nothing (including skim milk) and finally passes out. There’s also another story about an overweight girl who goes on a healthy diet and exercise. One girl has lost a parent, and the story is about her accepting a stepmother. It’s an older hardback book; mine still has the store receipt in it and it was only $3 at the time of purchase!