Category Archives: 1950s

288E: Ragamuffins and a talking cat (Solved)

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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!

288C: Family of mice take a beach vacation

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I’m looking for a children’s book from the 50’s or 60’s.  I can’t remember the title.  The book is about a family of mice that ride a train to the beach for vacation.  They are dressed up like people (in clothes) for the train ride and I can see (in my mind) their little tails coming out of their clothes.  They love the sand, the beach and the creatures on the beach.

The illustrations are color but I’d say that they are pretty minimal – that is to say  – great illustrations but not a lot of extra stuff in them.

 

I sure hope you can locate this book.

285A: Squeaker at the Zoo

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In 1962, my kindergarten class performed a play for children called Squeaker at the Zoo. The plot concerned a dog (Squeaker) who became lost at a zoo.  The little girl who owns Squeaker goes around to the various animals at the zoo and asks them if they have seen her dog.  Each group of animals answers, in turn, “No, no, no–we have not seen your dog.”  Finally Squeaker turns up.

According to a newspaper article, “Squeaker at the Zoo” is described as an “operetta” or “song story” that is taken from a Reading Readiness Program workbook entitled “Here We Come.”  The play seems to have been performed by many kindergarten classes across the country in 1963 and in the years after.

Can you find the play for children entitled, Squeaker at the Zoo?

279H: Houses that gossip amongst themselves at night

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This is the children’s picture book I am looking for:

Circa 1940s +/- a decade

Pictures are, I think, in water color

Colors are dark and muted as it is night time

Story has to do with houses that – at night – gossip among themselves

Pictures show mouths and eyes and expressions on the fronts of the houses

Some of the houses are very proud and snooty to other houses

That’s all I remember.

277B: Little Girl Wakes Up on the Wrong Side of the bed (Solved!)

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I am searching for a children’s picture book that I had read to me as a child. I can’t recall the name of the book and after much Googling, I am still no closer to finding any results. I am 30 years old, from Australia. I have checked all databases recommend by Loganberry Books.

The storyline went as follows – A little girl woke up on ‘the wrong side of the bed’. She went about her day to day tasks only to find that everything went wrong and she felt generally irritable. Toward the end of the book she goes back to bed and literally gets out of the other side of the bed and is in a better mood. I distinctly remember that the main character was a little girl, there was a scene where she was in brushing her teeth and I think she may have worn striped PJs. This book was an older book, my best guess is 1960s based on the illustrations.

Anyway, I can tell you that the book is definitely NOT ‘Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day’ and from memory the book illustrations were blue and orange (illustrations were sort of done using a painted effect for lack of better description) only which tells me the book was most likely released published anywhere from the 1950s – early 1980s. It was not a Golden Book. I have searched on world cat and other such sites and it is NONE of the books that come up in the results. PLEASE HELP! None of the books ‘The Wrong Side of the Bed’ that I have found have been the right book. Please help me!

 

276E: A Pekingese puppy and a mystery (Solved)

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The book that I’m looking for was written sometime between the 1940’s and 1960’s (or so).  It was about a young woman who moved to live with her glamorous aunt in London.  Her aunt gave her a Pekingese puppy that she named “Peke Ah Boo”.  There was some kind of mystery having to do with the house next door and possibly a young man who turned out to be a spy?  It may have been a YA book – the copy that I had was hardcover in robin’s blue but there may have been a dust jacket at some point since I don’t remember any identifying marks on the cover.

Any help would be appreciated greatly, it’s driving me crazy!

273C: Four Corners Young Adult Mystery

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It’s a young adult mystery set in Four Corners area (Colorado, New Mexico, Utah and Arizona).  A family moves to the Four Corner Area and the teen aged kids get involved with a museum.  The mystery involves oil and artifacts from the area.  The name of the book include the words “Black Gold,” but I’m not sure.  I read the paperback in the later 50s or early 60s.