Category Archives: 1950s

354T: War Orphan Adopted by GI

I’m looking for a book I read as a boy in the mid 1970s . It probably was written in the 1950s or 1960s.  My memory says it was titled the journey home or long journey home but having searched for that for years with no luck I’m prepared to believe my memory is incorrect.  It was about a war orphan making his away to America to be adopted or having been adopted by a GI.

354R: Fairies in the Forest

Don’t remember the title but here’s what I recall:

This is a children’s book from the 1960s or even late 1950s with a narrow/slim size. I have attached a photo of a similar book that might even be from the same series.

It has a shiny light blue cover. The content is about signs of fairies in the forest/nature. It’s a series of photos with little text. It shows photos of dew, spider webs, etc. might have an illustration of a fairy on the front of the book.

373U: Vintage Picture Book, Kitten cleans room to find rain gear so he can play in the rain with his friends

Kitten wants to play in the rain with two friends, but he has to clean his room to find his rain gear, which includes, boots, hat, jacket. His friends check in on him and help him clean, they even find a sail boat that they can play with in the puddles. The book is NOT the obvious Three Kittens, Rainy-Day Kitten, etc. . . been searching for years now. I think it was published sometime between 1940s-1990s, And I want to say it had a beige/yellow/tan cover with a spot illustration.

373D: English girl travels to Europe for summer as au pair to her rich, spoiled fraternal-twin cousins

This book came into my hands in 1972, so it’s probably from 1960s (or possibly late 1950’s). The heroine is smart and has been accepted to university, but needs to make money over the summer. She agrees to take care of her fraternal-twin cousins (one of whom is named “Gaylord” and hates the name) as the family travels to the Continent. Definitely some beautiful descriptions of Lake Como. The beautiful elder sister of the cousins is meant to be getting engaged to some solid English prospect but has actually fallen in love with an “unsuitable” yet charming Italian. Our heroine ends up meeting the suitable prospect and sparks fly. His name is Timothy and/or he’s the heir to a tin mine (might have made up one of those because it sounds like the other). The ending is that they’re both going to the same university in the fall and presumably their romance will be continued/completed then. Oh and the twins come around in the end, too. I was most fascinated by the beginning, though, which is an account of her figuring out with her mum how to sew a respectable wardrobe for the summer with very little money.

372S: Short stories including Afro Americans and Johnny Appleseed

I’m after a 1950/60 American children’s book of short stories.   Hard cover with a bit of a religious bent.  Featured Afro American people in some stories.  All heavy on doing the right thing and hugely moralistic. One story was about a gardener potting up plants and another was about Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds across the USA.
Hope you can help.  Thank you.

372P: Petey and Friends

As a child I would periodically visit my grandparents, in the mid 1960’s. They had a children’s book at their house that I still remember (as does my cousin). If I could find the name, I’d love to get us each a copy for the holidays. 

Children’s chapter book, green cover, we think, but aren’t 100% on that.

Published definitely prior to 1970, more likely in the 1950’s.   The story line was pretty didactic, and that would fit the era. Also, while folks had cars, the vegetable man had a cart.

Generally simple plot: family with several kids move to a new location. The youngest child is named Petey, and he is the main character.  Each chapter basically follows one event in Petey’s life. Chapters I can remember:

** Petey makes friends with the vegetable man who comes into town to sell his veggies. Petey and family are invited to go out into the country to visit the veggie man’s family.  There was some cross-cultural awareness, but I can’t remember what. 

**Christmas is approaching and all the townspeople ask Petey what he wants for Christmas. “Oh, just one of those little cars” (referring to Matchbox cars). Everyone is astounded he wants so little. In the end, everyone in town gets him a little car.

** Bad snowstorm keeps Petey and his siblings indoors. After complaint about nothing to do they all sit and start to create a quilt from leftover fabric. They work all day and succeed in creating quilt.

It wasn’t great literature, but it has sentimental value for us. ☺️

Thank you for any help you can provide! I have been searching for this book for over a decade!