I have been searching for a book for a few years now without much success. I read it between the ages of 7-10 (I am 43), it was a chapter book in a diary format, the cover was black and white (maybe speckled?) and each diary entry had some sort of drawing — I want to say a geometric pattern to describe the mood of the entry. That is all i remember, besides the fact that I loved the book and continually checked it out from the 79th street public library in NYC.
“Gertrude Kloppenberg (Private)” by Ruth Hooker. Gertrude is lonely and tells her speckled diary that she wishes for a friend. She marks each day with a star (good), circle (medium), or square (bad). One day Gertrude peeks through a knot in a fence, discovers a private garden, and makes friends with the gardener Mrs. Blonski.
Yes! That’s it! I don’t remember a thing about the story, but that cover brings it all back (and the star, circle and square too. many thanks! Nina