When I was growing up ( I was born in 1968) my mother had a set of World Book Encyclopedias and on the same set of shelves she had this boxed set of four : grey with red/maroon lettering . I could be wrong but I recall all four of the books having nursery rhymes/poems e.g. Jack Spratt, Old Mother Hubbard, Itsy bitsy spider, there was one about black birds baked in a pie. There was even one about a purple cow and the last line of it was I’d rather see than be one – and on the top of the page was what you could tell was a color picture of a Holstein cow but they had mad it look purple. The quality of the books were the same as the encyclopedias- hard shell, thick feel of the paper. I loved those books. I have a co-worker who also remembers the same set of books but her mother also did not keep them to her dismay and she and I both have been trying to figure out who published them and could you still find a set. There were tons of poems/ rhymes and I loved them all but the purple cow was my all time favorite. Any assistance would be greatly appreciated .
If it could possibly be five volumes, you might look at this set:
Through Golden Windows
Edited by Nora Beust, Phyllis Fenner, Bernice E. Leary, Mary Katherine Reely, and Dora V. Smith.
NY: Lothrop, Lee and Shepard, 1958.
“The New All-Interest Home Library for Children” in five volumes.
Good Times Together: Stories and Rhymes of Fun and Laughter
Mostly Magic: Best-Loved Fairy Tales, Folk Tales and Rhymes
Stories of Early America: From Before the White Man came to Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill and the Winning of the West
Wide Wonderful World: The Wonders of Nature
Wonderful Things Happen: Adventures Everywhere
I will certainly check that out. Thank you so much. It could have possibly been a five book set. I was young but I definitely remember the content. Thank you