A British import that I read about 15 years ago, similar to WATERSHIP DOWN, except that it was peopled (ok, bad choice of words) and narrated by birds, and one specific bird on a quest that involved a long distance flight. This wasn’t by any means a children’s book.
A little bunny is sitting in the house sitting at the table in the same place every day and looking out the window at the same tree every day; and thinks things never change (are somewhat boring) because he looks out the window at the same tree every day.
Then, one day the bunny sits at the opposite end of the table while eating his lunch and looking out the window and sees the same tree outside of the window looks but it looks different. Ultimately, the book delivers the message of things may appear different from another angle/ point of view.
I read this children’s book to my children in the 1980s; and I am searching for it for my soon-to-be grandchild.
This search is important to me because I want to give the book to my daughter at her baby shower because instead of gifts guests are being asked to gift a book.
The book I’m looking for is a children’s story and it’s about a family trying to escape the Nazi’s and the family can only take one item each, as not to raise suspicions. They take cookies that have gold coins in them to pay off the guards along the way. At the end of their journey, they realize that they have not given the correct cookies to the guards and still have some of their wealth.
I’m not even sure if I remember if it was a chapter book or a picture book, based on the fact that I was in sixth grade at the time I’m really hoping it’s a chapter book.
I’m trying to locate the title and copy of a book from my childhood. I purchased it at a book fair at my elementary school in Chicago when I was between the ages of 8-10. 1988-1990. Maybe a scholastic title since they sponsored our books fairs and sales?
The book was about a family that lived above a converted red barn, kept livestock and were apple/orchard farmers (not the red barn book)! Beautiful pictures, almost like watercolors, that depicted the family in winter/ maybe fall. Father mother daughter, maybe more kids, based in New England or upper Midwest area. I’ve been searching for several years.
Thanks for your time
Hello, I remember a set of books (we had 2 but there may have more to the set) they where hard back and about 2in thick. Plain cover with no illustrations, short stories with just a title on the cover. Each story was about 10-15 pages long and had a illustration at the beginning of the story. I remember one illustration with a car that was 1950’s looking. One story was about a kid leaving his toys (toy cars maybe) in the driveway and dad came home and ran them over. I really don’t remember any other stories from the books. I think the covers where dark blue or grey. The stories where life lessons and not really fantasy, no talking birds or stuff like that, as far as I remember.
I will try to give you all the details I can remember. The story is about two apes. I want to say the female’s name is Sylvie or Silvia (not sure), anyway the two apes like each other but are too self conscious to talk to one another. One line in the book refers to him having “a shape that’s gone all wrong”. She thinks she is too small and he thinks he’s too big. They finally see each other out and he has tried to make himself smaller and she tries to make herself taller. In the end they find they are prefect for one another just as they are. I bought it with a stack of about nine other paperback books with the same publisher, I think from a Scholastic order from my daughter’s school for a very reasonable amount. I kept that one for myself because it’s an inside joke between myself and significant other and lost it moving. I would really like to find it. If you can find this one, I will have you look for another for me.
Children’s picture book, British, pre-1969 (probably 50’s), about a group of animals, possibly a family of hedge hogs, who convert an old double-decker bus into a home in the forest – I think they are searching for a house.
The book is about a girl who went to many foster homes, but was finally adopted by her teacher. I thought the title was A Happy Family, but that doesn’t seem to be it.
I was sure was the book was titled “Just Plain Nancy”, as my name is Nancy. It’s about a girl who has a sister, I think named Marjorie. Marjorie was named after her mother’s friend, but “Nancy” was just plain “Nancy”. It was set in the time when “Nancy” could ride along on an ice wagon.
I am looking for a small hilariously funny book in which the author goes and analyses or re-tells several famous fairy tales using common sense and pointing out the truly ridiculous bits.
I remember in the pulling apart of “Little Red Riding Hood” he ponders why in the world everyone would name a kid after an article of clothing and wonders what if she had been “Little Dirty Tee Shirt” instead.
In “Snow White” he points out that the mirror is essentially creating the whole problem by maliciously or cluelessly making the queen wildly jealous. He also thinks that “Snow White living in the glen, with the seven little men” rather suggests they are getting up to something and is further evidence of the mirror’s troublemaking.
In Rapunzel he comments upon the whole idea of naming your child after a root vegetable and the wisdom of robbing witches.
In Rumpelstiltskin he thinks everyone is rather hard on the poor guy, and wonders why when she knows what his name is, and her baby is on the line, the queen decides it is funny to play around and wind him up by giving the wrong names at first.
The book was (I think) a half-sized hard back (half height but same length as a hardback book? Size of say an Edward Gorey single story like The Doubtful Guest.) I think it had a black and white drawn illustration on the cover.
I know I gave my copy to a friend around 1983-1985 so it was in print before then. I am thinking it was probably published after 1972 as I think I would have been over 13 when I first received it. My vague memory is that my mother bought several copies as gifts and it was being sold fairly prominently one Christmas season in NYC possibly at Barnes and Noble.
I have tried searching for it but only ever get Fractured Fairy Tales back and that is not it.
I would really enjoy finding this book again!