A children’s book about a mouse who is taught to speak by a human family and ends with the mouse declaring that he is off to see “the whole wide world” in a balloon.
258C: A mouse learns to speak
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258B: A little girl and her boarders (Solved)
I so enjoyed reading this book in grade school (mid to late 1960’s). It was about a young girl whose mother or grandmother had a large boardinghouse with many renters. The story’s timeline may have been in the 1940’s or 1950’s (it could have been during WWII). I don’t think it was based on a true story.
There was either an elderly gentleman or an elderly woman who the little girl was fond of. Naturally, she interacted with many of the boarders. I remember thinking that this house was quite large with many rooms and as a child, I wished my house was that big. I believed she had a friend that she walked to school with. Her mother may have been a WWII widow, as I don’t recall her having a father.
I don’t know what it was that drew me into this story as much as it did, if it was the story-line or the many characters or if it was the girl herself, I’m not sure. What I do know is that fifty years have passed and even now, at age 57, I still think about this little girl and her boarders. It must have been a wonderful tale for me to still think about it after all these years and more importantly, to ask for help – to help me solve this mystery, as it is.
Thank you in advance!
258A: How to Cook a Coot
I am looking for a paperback book of humorous anecdotes published in the late 1960s; the book was possibly intended for a young teen or young adult audience. One of the stories was “How to Cook a Coot.” I read it as a Boy Scout about 1969 or 1970.
257F: A girl befriends an otter
My mom is looking for a book from her early childhood that was destroyed in a fire. She was born in 1952 in Ohio. So this book was probably from the 50s. She cannot remember the name of the book. It was probably an early/easy reader (and not a baby book or chapter book).
The story is about a young girl who befriends an otter. That’s all I know.
257E: Magical Gifts
This is a fairly recent book, having had my hands on it sometime between 1996-1998. It was definitely a picture book. I can’t remember if the classroom copy was paperback or hardcover, but I don’t think the book was published any time before 1985 and it was more likely to have been put out after 1992.
My clearest memory is of a page showing a slim girl with cropped black hair who, as a thief, had a magical belt or girdle that made her invisible. The belt may have been silver. The story took place in an imaginary land or in the past; I think she was dressed in a very sort of medieval page way.
I am certain there were other girls with other specific talents and magical objects in the book, but I am unsure as to how many. Judging from trends in children’s literature it was probably 3 or 7.
Thank you so much!
257D: Adventure at sea (Solved)
Read this book in the late 1970s, but think it was written maybe in the 50s. It was set after WWII, about an ex Navy LTJG who was salvage diving, came across a young stowaway and put the boy to work for him on his boat. It was an adventure story, with a run-in with an octopus, storms and bad guys, but in the end they found the treasure. Ring any bells?
Many thanks!
257C: The adventures of Dot (Solved)
This was a children’s story about Dot, a little girl, around 7 years old, and her day-to-day life and small adventures with her friends. I believe the book was the first in a series, for example, the next book might have been titled, “Dot Goes to the Beach”. The books themselves were hardcover – I don’t believe they were ever released in paperback – and the stories were written for 7 year old girls. I can only guess that they were written in the 1950s or 1960s.
One story had Dot and her friends going on a field trip. Dot’s mother had given her a box that advertised salt water taffy. When the children arrived at their destination, the box of taffy everyone now eagerly anticipated, turned out to be a box that had *once* held taffy, but now had Dot’s lunch (or something else mundane).
257B: Children’s bedtime story about a man called Harum Scarum
The book was either published in the 1970-1980’s I believe, since late 1970’s was when I read it. It was a children’s story about Harum Scarum, an old man that was known by the children to be mean. Harum Scarum became nice and gave the children his candy. It was a beautiful short story about how the man was a good person, but just because the kids thought he was mean, they didn’t interact with him. They found out he was a nice person when he gifted them candy. If I’m not mistaken, the setting was a farm or the outskirts of town. The story was in a book that had several bedtime stories in it. I can’t find the title of the book or the name of the story. Any help will be greatly appreciated. Thanks!
257A: Biographies of Heroes
I am looking for a children’s book that is a collection of biographies of heroes, both female and male, that was published before 1955. I believe it had a gold cover. Biographies included such people as Harriet Tubman, Father Damien, and many others, each about 4-6 or more pages long.
256H: When she wakes up springtime comes back
I’m looking for a picture book where a boy’s sister/friend is missing. It’s been winter for a long time and spring isn’t coming. He goes on a quest to find her. When he does, she’s asleep. When she wakes up, springtime comes back.
Thanks!