Category Archives: 1940s

346X: Fairy Tale Collection From Pre-1950’s Era

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I currently have part of the book, but the first 30 pages are missing. Also the binding is worn away and the final pages are missing. The book is a collection of folk tales, fairy tales, nursery rhymes, etc. I always called it the Wolf Book, but I’m sure that is not the title. It was published around 1950 at the latest , but could have been considerably older.
Some of the stories in it are: The Three Little Pigs, Chicken Little, The Lion Hearted Kitten, The Hole in the Ground, The Gingerbread Boy, The Three Sillies, The Tortoise and the Hare, Little Red Riding Hood, The Cap that Mother Made, The Boasting Bamboo, The Musicians of Bremen, Silly Will, Hans in Luck, The Ugly Duckling, and many more.

 

345Y: American Girl “Self Improvement”

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I am looking for the title of a book given to me by my father around mid-late 1960’s.
It was about a pre-teen girl growing up, trying to improve, organize and schedule her day to day life. More like a Nancy Drew “good girl” type, unruly hair, awkward.
I think it must have been written earlier, 1940’s or 50’s.
The book was written in the first person, humorous and light.
I remember a strict but kind father, older sister and school friends/enemies.
Possibly a first dance. Lots of list and schedule making to improve herself, waking, school work, etc., minute by minute.
That’s all I’ve got. Maybe this will ring a bell with someone.
Thank you.

345J: Young Girl Decries Dangers of Reading When Chased by a Bull

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Read this book when I was around 8, which puts it at 1960.  I am sure it was not new at that time.

Written by someone like Thurber or Ogden Nash, it was a collection of children’s short stories.  The only one that I can remember clearly was about a little girl who couldn’t read. At the end, when she is being chased by a bull, she comes to the conclusion that reading (words?) are dangerous.  The sign she couldn’t read said something  like, ‘beware of  bull.’

Hoping you can help me.

344K: Love Stories Around the World

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Daughter of the Sun (I thought) was the title.

The book was given by my great grandmother to my mother. My mother is now 60 for reference.
The book was bound in a green fabric with gold accents.
The book was three separate love stories in one book .
Story 1
The first story was Daughter of a Sun. Main characters name is Charlie (Charlotte).  Charlie’s father disappears in the mountains and she ends up backpacking with a former student of her fathers through the mountains to solve the mysterious disappearance of her father. They end up finding her father who lives with a lost civilization. Takes place in South America.
 
Story 2  
 
Woman is an antiques appraiser and falls in love with an engaged client and helps the family find the missing will – that I believe was hidden in a door stop. Takes place in Europe.
 
Story 3
 
Gill has arranged marriage with one brother (I think his name starts with an F) and falls in love with the other brother. She fell asleep in the wrong limo and ended up at a castle-like estate. The man she loves did a business merger with her grandfather. Lover calls her mouse. There is a problem with a landslide. Additionally, he is a race car driver. Takes place in Italy
 
This is the most important book I ever read because it came from my great grandmother. I have no idea who wrote it or if it is even possible to find. I would be humbled by any help.

343Z: Minda the Little Indian Girl

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I’m searching for an old child’s book about a little Indian girl named Minda. My father bought it used in the 1950s. It was a child’s reader and I remember very colorful. We lived in Ohio and my father had a store where he sold things, like thrift stores today. He was so excited to find it for me. My fathers mother passed away when he was 9 in 1928 her name was Minda. I was named after her. I was always told she was Indian. I think Cherokee. My mother passed away when I was 17 in 1969. I never knew what happened to my book. I’ve searched many years now. Of course both parents are gone. I don’t know the name of the book. I never knew anyone else named Minda but I know there are. I’m hoping you can help me. Thank you.

343B: Shrunk Boy Rides Seagull and Saves World

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The Rough Plot:

A boy inexplicably starts shrinking.  When he is about 6 inches tall he befriends a Seagull, who takes him for a flight.  The boy’s father is an inventor and makes a cockpit that fits on the Seagull’s back.  A mysterious person from the Government comes to visit and asks the boy to ride his Seagull around the world and deposit a bomb-pill down the chimney of an evil person’s factory to destroy the bomb he is making and save the world.  He does it and then is blown far away by the resulting explosion, but the Seagull eventually returns him home to re-unite with his Father.

This book was well illustrated with realistic pen and ink drawings.

It was a Hardcover book.  I probably read it between 1948 and 1954.

342K: White Horse Turns Pink After Eating Strawberries (Solved!)

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As a child in the 1940’s I had a picture book about a white horse who loved strawberries but was allergic to them and turned pink when he ate them.  I do not remember the title or the author, but I do recollect a blue cover with a picture of a white (maybe pink horse).  I’d love to see that book again, or at least learn something about it.