Category Archives: 1940s

377U: Boy on the Bayou and Hard Lessons

Leave a reply

This is a book (novel) I read as a boy, so would have been published before 1970. Set in South (probably Louisiana), the boy and his dog paddle through the bayou on a boat (pirogue?) and fish for Gar. The boy has a sister; she is assaulted at one point by a young man from a bad family, but is rescued by a young man from a quiet and good family. The assaulting man is killed and the killing hushed up. Afterwards I think the girl and her rescuer marry. Later the boy goes into town and there is some mention of black superstitious practice involving (if I remember) putting something into a tree, then plugging it up.I tried AI but it was absolutely no help.Perhaps a Harper & Row publication. perhaps 1965.

377O: White Cat Changes Colors

3 Replies

Probably from the 1940’s or 1950’s

It is about a white cat, probably a Persian, who is entered in a show.  The cat gets out of the house and becomes painted with red and blue paint.  The daughter of the owners says let’s take her to the show anyway and the cat wins first prize.

377B: Cory in Northern Europe

Leave a reply

I am looking for a children’s storybook read in 1965 and published 1965 or before.  It was not a picture book per se. The only thing i remembered was that a character was named Cory. I believe the spelling is correct.  It may have been slated for 12 year olds to read. I think but i am not sure it was related to a setting in northern Europe. I took it out of the library back in 1965 and my mom named my sister after the character. I don’t know whether or not ice skating was a part of it.

376O: The Friendly Wolf (Short Story)

Leave a reply

The children’s short story The Dissatisfied Little Lamb by Catherine Jones, perhaps under her maiden name Catherine Hallman, published in a magazine sometime between 1940-80, about a lamb who leaves the farm to go exploring and finds a dog or wolf who is actually friendly and brings him home and he then protects the flock from a predatory wolf or other animal. Probably a magazine published in Georgia or SC.

376G: Old Book

Leave a reply

Probably published in the 1950s or even the late ’40s.  Maybe in Britain or Canada.
Children’s fantasy/detective story

Plot: A single (gasp!) mother (probably a war widow) with 2 kids, a boy and a girl.  She is being courted by the neighbourhood beat cop.  The kids want to buy her something special for her birthday and they have saved their allowance so they have enough to buy her a small second-hand radio.  The kids know she loves music and dancing.  Kids find out later that radio is magic and broadcasts crimes in progress, which they , of course, try to stop/solve, and get their bacon saved by the cop character. I know this is a faint, faint hope. But it was such a change from Dick and Jane, which I refused to read aloud, thus grade one ended with me being labelled as mentally deficient. It was astoundingly different from anything else I ever saw until I was in my teens.Best of Luck to you – and for me!

376B: Book about a Southern family

2 Replies

The book I am searching for may be from late nineteen forties through early sixties. The mother of two (a high-school boy and a married daughter) is the main character. The daughter, named Tilghman, has her first baby near the end of the story. Then the main character, now a grandmother, finds out she is expecting!

375M: Susie the Cow

Leave a reply

I have a vintage children’s book that I have been looking for that my grandmother used to have for us to read.  The main character of the book was a female cow named Susie and I believe the title of the book was Susie.  If I am remembering correctly the cover of the book was pale blue and had black decorative scrollwork on the corners and her name on the front.  Susie walked upright on her two back legs and wore pretty sundresses, high heels and a pearl necklace. There was a male cow in the book as well and was somewhat of a nerd and became cute and popular at the end of the book.  He liked Susie and I believe they ended up together at the end.  

Many have suggested that this book must be Elsie the cow, but Susie was younger and more stylish.  I imagine they were both from the same time era and the book was from around the 1940’s.