Category Archives: 1960s

373K: Supernatural spinning top

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I am trying to locate a favorite childhood book, probably published sometime in the mid sixties. I do not recall the title of the book, but it is in the “supernatural” category, geared for pre-teen or early teenage years. The main character is called Dorcas and she has a spinning top that allows her to access her supernatural power. I believe she is an orphan. There is also a young man that is her advocate. She acquires damaging information through her “gift” that implicates stalwart pillars of the community; they come after her as the book comes to a climax, with her being trapped in a cave by one of these perpetrators. She is rescued at the end of the book by her young protagonist who, at one point, had given her a red scarf. I always thought this book was called “The Spinning Top”, but any and all efforts to locate it by that title have been completely futile! I have been searching for this book for nearly 50 years and hope that, with your help, it can be found.

373D: English girl travels to Europe for summer as au pair to her rich, spoiled fraternal-twin cousins

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This book came into my hands in 1972, so it’s probably from 1960s (or possibly late 1950’s). The heroine is smart and has been accepted to university, but needs to make money over the summer. She agrees to take care of her fraternal-twin cousins (one of whom is named “Gaylord” and hates the name) as the family travels to the Continent. Definitely some beautiful descriptions of Lake Como. The beautiful elder sister of the cousins is meant to be getting engaged to some solid English prospect but has actually fallen in love with an “unsuitable” yet charming Italian. Our heroine ends up meeting the suitable prospect and sparks fly. His name is Timothy and/or he’s the heir to a tin mine (might have made up one of those because it sounds like the other). The ending is that they’re both going to the same university in the fall and presumably their romance will be continued/completed then. Oh and the twins come around in the end, too. I was most fascinated by the beginning, though, which is an account of her figuring out with her mum how to sew a respectable wardrobe for the summer with very little money.

373C: The Protagonist Named Paige

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I was born in 1963. Some time prior, probably 1960-63, my Mom read a book with a protagonist named Paige. She can’t remember the title or author and she thinks the protagonist may have been male. She named me Paige because of that book. 
If you can find the book, I’d like to get a copy. My Mom read constantly, her entire life, so it was probably a book published in that time period. 
Thank you!

372Z: Patapon the lost baby duck

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Trying to find a picture book about that my mother read as a child in the 1960s. A lost baby duck called Patapon. Patapon’s family go to search and at the end of each picture page the mother duck says, “Patapon is lost and we’re lost too. ” Patapon is found after escaping from a corn field that machinery was harvesting.

372Y: Early/mid 20th century children’s picture book; space fantasy setting; no text

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When I was a child in the 80s, there was an old picture book at the public library. It had no text, but it took place in a kind of fairy tale castle on some other planet. If I remember correctly, each scene followed two children as they explored the castle. They may have been following a piece of yarn that eventually led them to where their mother sat knitting in one of the castle rooms or towers. There may have been a sort of robotic-looking cat playing with the yarn at some point. I remember the artwork as being full color paintings like you find with 1960s scifi book covers or movie posters.

372S: Short stories including Afro Americans and Johnny Appleseed

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I’m after a 1950/60 American children’s book of short stories.   Hard cover with a bit of a religious bent.  Featured Afro American people in some stories.  All heavy on doing the right thing and hugely moralistic. One story was about a gardener potting up plants and another was about Johnny Appleseed spreading apple seeds across the USA.
Hope you can help.  Thank you.