50’s children’s book about a “Trojan” style elephant, I think named “Packy” for pachyderm, carries kids through a forest on an adventure.
I have looked for this book for years. Was read to my class in third or fourth grade in mid-50’s in Fort Lauderdale.
Thanks for helping.
I’m looking for a children’s poem book published probably in the 1950s (it was read to me in the late 1950s-early 1960s) that included a poem with the line, “Elephang, Pelephant, walla walla welephant,” or something like that.
A large (10” x 12”?) hardback book of fairy poems. I received this book as a a gift in the late 1950s. There is a poem, “Ring Around the Moon” inside, and a large illustration either on the cover or inside of a tree with fairies. It is illustrated throughout with fairies in magical landscapes.
I checked this book out of the library numerous times between 1964 and 1966. I don’t think it was new at that time. A little girl and her family relocate to a home that used to belong to her grandmother/great-grandmother. While remodeling the house, a door that had been covered over was discovered. The hidden room had apparently been used as a hiding place during Indian raids. There is also a large, hollow tree in this story. I cannot recall if a leather trunk with the grandmother’s initials in nail heads, was found in the hidden room or the tree, but inside is a beautiful doll with beautiful clothes. One outfit was definitely an elegant riding habit. It is possible that the little girl was named after the grandmother so had the same initials as those on the trunk.
I hope this rings a bell with someone. I have tried, unsuccessfully, in the past to discover this long lost, well-loved treasure from my youth.
Thanks to the Sunday NY Times, I now know who to ask the question that has been nagging at me for years: what O what was the book for teens (they didn’t call them YA novels yet) that I read in the 1960s (might’ve been published then, but also could’ve been published in the late 1950s) in which a daydreamy teenage girl envisioned painting her room gold, then painted it, then was bitterly disappointed that the walls were in fact “mustard yellow.” I remember nothing else about the girl, the story (or the walls) but the book must have had some kind of profound effect on me, because I’m over 60 now, a novelist and an English professor, and have read many, many novels since–and I’ve never forgotten it.
I read this novel in 1963 or 1964. A little girl is left to live with a childless couple in an apartment building, because her father goes away for work. The other children in the building talk about her among themselves, thinking she is like a snooty princess. But no, she is a very lonely little girl, and has only one possession, a doll. There is a broken wagon, and the children become friends with the girl when they all work together to repair the wagon. The wagon is a bed for the doll and it is given to the girl to take with her when her father returns.
The book I am searching for is an anthology of stories that include fairy tales and legends such as Tales of Robin Hood which covers his death, The Waterbabies, East of the Sun and West of the Moon, and Longshanks, Girth and Keen, I think even Aladdin, to name a few. It was at least 8×12 red and probably from the late 50’s or before, it had fallen apart by the 60’s. The collection was eclectic to be sure but it obsesses me. Any help would be greatly appreciated!
We’re trying to find a story in the 1950s series “Through Golden Windows” about a boy who can fly. My husband recollects a story about this in this series but we can’t find what volume.
I am trying to locate a title of a book
The book is from the 1950s or 1960s. It is a children’s book about a little boy and his pony. Him, his dad and grandpa are searching for a baby calf.
It is a hardcover book – blue in color but black and white pages.
My dad is trying to remember the name to hopefully track down the book to buy for my little girl.
I remember my mother reading aloud to us a chapter book (in the early 1960s) about a group of children called Ragamuffins (maybe just four children). They meet a talking cat named Pouffon (that is how she pronounced the name; I don’t know how it is spelled). Each time the cat speaks though, it loses one of it’s special whiskers, or it’s whiskers changes back to a normal color. It was very sad when the cat spoke for the last time, to help the children, since the cat only had one special whisker left. I think the book is probably a literary award winning book, since my mother made sure we read all of the Newberry and Caldecott Award winning books. I hope it is still in print. I think the book had a navy blue cover, (hardback), and maybe a line drawing at the start of each chapter. It may have been published much earlier than the 60s. It was probably a library book, and was pretty well-worn then.
Thank you so much for your help!