Probably from the 70’s, as I was born in ’79 and this is an early childhood memory. I have been trying to find for years:
Illustrated story about a boy and his father (or father figure). I think the father gives the boy a bag of something edible (blueberries?) to hold as they journey on foot. The boy walks behind the father, and as they go (through at town at one point?) the boy eats all of the contents of the bag. When the father finds out, the boy gets a mild scolding. The boy ends up with the empty bag over his head at one point, and I think fills the bag with air and pops it at the end. The story might start out with the father/son picking the (possibly) blueberries, or buying them…
Could be part of a collection, or rather short standalone book. In my mind, the illustrations remind me of Maurice Sendak.
It has to be Jay Williams’ A Bag Full of Nothing (1974). From Kirkus Reviews: “The illustrations set the tone for Williams’ amiable tale about Tip who finds what he declares is a ‘magic’ paper bag though his father says it’s just a bag full of nothing. As they walk along Tip demonstrates three times that his father is wrong — once when he fills the bag with berries, once when it becomes a ‘bag full of head’ as Tip puts it over his for protection from old Mrs. Goodyear’s friendly pinches, and at last when he blows it up and smacks it, making it ‘a bag full of noise’ to scare off Mr. Huffs fierce, charging dog. Instead of the everyday contemporary setting you might expect, (Tom) O’Sullivan’s faint watercolors suggest a fairy tale world full of ornate 18th century garden sculpture, delicate foliage half hiding various unexplained animals, finely dressed pigs on a carriage, and other mildly playful touches which encourage participation in Tip’s little game of make believe.”
You can Google the illustrations – they’re even better than I remembered!
The last page is amusing in an unexpected way – but in typical clever, quirky Williams style. (Why are so many of his books hard to find these days?)
I am so incredibly grateful @lenona. This is definitely the book. I have no idea why it was so hard to find. But obviously a special book, as it has stuck with me for some 30 years. I had been searching with no luck for so long, I was about to give up. So glad I finally asked at the right place. Again, my thanks!