I have been searching for this book for 20 or 30 years, to no avail. I was born in 1936, and my mother named me after the main character in a book – Corelei. Unfortunately, I have no other information on this book. If anybody has any ideas on what book this might be, it would be greatly appreciated!
Category Archives: 1930s or earlier
326R: Photos of a Girl Named Nancy
I’m looking for a book that was given to my mother and that I also loved as a child. Mom was born in 1928, so I think the book was from the early 30’s. I think the title was just Nancy. It may have had a subtitle–I can’t remember. It was hard-covered with blue patterned paper; I remember it as being square, or nearly so, roughly 10 x 10. Each page had a black and white photo of a girl of about five engaging in various everyday activities. The one I remember best showed her with a sudsy rag washing the big glass window in the front door of her house. I have fuzzier memories of photos showing her riding a trike and eating from a dish. She reminded me of Shirley Temple–similar clothes and hairstyle. There was a small amount of text with each photo. My sister and I would love to have this book again!
326L: Beautiful Dresses From Night Sky
I live in the UK and I am looking for a Children’s anthology of stories (I think), which I had as a child in the 1950s (it may have been older). It included a story about three poor princesses called Cordelia, Sylvia and Arabella who were invited to a ball but had to make their dresses from old curtains. The animals and birds helped to make them beautiful dresses from the night sky, sashes of rainbows, ice crowns and stars for their hair and fluffy cloud cloaks. It was a lovely story, illustrated with black and white drawings. I have been searching for it for years with no luck. Maybe someone might recognize it and be able to tell me more.
326H: 1800’s Children On Father’s Whaling Ship
I am in search of a book about two children, Jason and Miranda, who sail aboard their father’s whaling ship, possibly out of New Bedford or Nantucket in the 1800s. Black and white line drawings, probably published in the 1950’s or before.
325L: Ringmaster is a balloon who inflates himself! (Solved!)
This children’s picture book was always hanging around our vacation home, and in the mid-fifties it looked old, so I guess it was from the late thirties or forties. Definitely not after mid-fifties. It was a book about a balloon ringmaster who blew on his toe and inflated himself and then I believe he inflated the rest of the circus. It had some color in the pictures, I think, not many pages, hardbound. The ringmaster was round body, round head as you can imagine. Any ideas?
321B: Two boys go to Switzerland.
A family takes their two boys to Switzerland, and they have many adventures. My aunt can’t recall whether it was a fiction or non-fiction book or whether it was written for children or adults. She read it as a child, and it belonged to her grandparents who lived on a ranch in Southern California. My aunt thinks it may have been written in the 1800’s (she was a child in the 40’s).
Anything you can do to help will be much appreciated!!
319A: Aeronautical Adventures
1930s or 1940s adventure books (of short stories) for boys featuring airplanes. I remember a story that featured a crew of men attempting a record breaking non-stop (transcontinental? Transatlantic?) flight, in a 3 engine plane that could be refueled midair. I remember a scene where one engine was shut down for in flight maintenance.
One story featured two pilots flying an old biplane in a barnstorming content that was won because the co-pilot dumped itching powder down his partner's back. Another featured WWII aircrew captured by Germans and they manage to escape and steal a German plane equipped with skis for the snow. These books had belonged to my father, and were probably given to him by his uncle, who was a pilot.
318X: Child’s Introduction to Holland
I am looking for a children’s book I memorized at age 3 in 1945. I believe the title is: The Land of the Dutch, Dutch, Dutch. I do not know the author or illustrator. It is a child’s introduction to Holland. As a child, I recited the book to any guests in our home. As a teenager, I was an exchange student in Holland.
318V: Caribbean Caravan
The book I have been trying to remember was likely published in the 1930s. What i recall is that two children and their Mom or Dad were on vacation in the Caribbean. I think the title was Caribbean Caravan. The Caravan they traveled in was one of the old silver ones.
317C: Three children fall under the spell of fairies in early 20th century illustrated book
I grew up in Pennsylvania but we moved back to Europe in my early teens and the boxes containing all our children's books got lost in the move. There is one that I have been pining for ever since! It was given to me by an old lady who was the grandmother of some people my parents befriended in the States. She lived in a big house and had an amazing library and I used to love looking at all her old books. She really sweetly gave this one to me as she could see how much I loved it. It was a big thick children's book with black and white illustrations and wonderful colour plates and it must have been written somewhere around the early 20th century - I think. It was about three siblings who are sent to the country to live with I think their grandmother, in a big house. There are lots of stories about fairies around, and it is clear that the grandmother and the staff have seen them. The fairies are not always benign. Their grandmother starts calling the children fairy names like Puck and Robin. Eventually the children see the fairies too. There is some disquiet that the youngest child, a little boy, is falling too far under the fairies' spell; for example he falls asleep in the middle of a circle trampled in the grass by the fairies, which apparently means they 'own' him. It is a very beautiful and sweet book, and I am hoping it might ring bells. I can't tell you how much I miss it - it has been 40 years since I last saw it.