Category Archives: 1960s

199H: Girl enters magical kingdom, fights off goblins, rides dragon (Solved!)

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I read this book somewhere between 1963 and 1966 when it was new. It was sold through an elementary school book fair. A girl wanders off and finds herself in a magical kingdom. There she is a princess. There’s a fight in a castle. Goblins enter the castle by turning themselves into doorknobs. At some point in the magical kingdom, she wanders up a hill and finds a dragon cave. The dragon turns out to be peaceful, although misunderstood, and she has tea with him and they become friends. He flies her around the kingdom and alights on the roof of the castle with her.

The book was paperback with a light blue cover.

195H: Mouse picking up shiny things

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I am looking for a children’s book about a mouse (rat?) who would see something pretty or shiny and pick it up. He would get distracted by the next shiny thing and put down what was in his hands and pick up the next thing. My husband thinks it’s called “Pick it, Put it” or the other way around. It was his favorite book in the early 60’s. Can you help? Thank you for trying!

194F: 1960’s book about accepting disabilities (Solved)

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Looking for a Children’s novel. I probably read it around 1963 or beyond. It was a library book. It was about a young girl helping her friend (possibly named Sarah?) who had a disability (possibly Cerebral Palsy?). I remember the girl helping the disabled girl/Sarah and helped her in school and at play and to generally feel accepted by others.

194E: adventures of the toy soldiers that Emily, Charlotte, and Bramwell Bronte

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In 1968 when I was teaching 4th grade in Ann Arbor, Michigan, a read a book to my students that I think had been recently published and they loved it. I do not remember the title. It was a book about the adventures of the toy soldiers that Emily, Charlotte, and Bramwell Bronte had and wrote about in the imaginary country of Angria. The author took their stories and compiled them into a larger book. I thought maybe the author’s last name was Clark but I cannot find any thing under that name. Finding good books for good students aged 10-12, particularly boys, at that time was difficult and this book they loved.
Thank you for any help you can give me.

193C: Littlest Hippo

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The book I am looking for was a children’s book from the 1960′s. I don’t know who the author was. I blieve it was called “The Littlest Hippo” the story was about a herd of hippos whom lived together and the smallest hippo either became separated, or was they might have all been looking for something that they couldn’t find. the little hippo looked behind things, under things around things, etc. it wasn’ until he figured out to look “UP” that he found what he was looking for (which may have been the rest of the herd of hippos).

182A: “No School Tomorrow”? (solved)

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This is a children’s book that I believe was written in the 1920’s or 1930’s. It is a chapter book about a little girl and her summer vacation. She would play in her backyard and make little houses out of twigs and leaves for fairies, and cook out in the backyard. Her father calls her by the nickname of “Louella Pouella”. She is having her bedroom redecorated, and her father asks her if she would like to have her bedroom painted “sky blue pink”. I believe the book was titled “No School Tomorrow” or “There is No School Tomorrow”, but I have no idea who the author was. I purchased this book in 1966 at my grade school book fair. Any help would be appreciated.

178E: brother and sister, Benji and Betsy? – who were sent to work in a mill after their parents died.

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I am searching for an old children’s book that was read to our 6th grade class back in the mid 60’s.

I am not certain of the title of the book, but I thought it had the word “Incredible” in it.

Other details, not certain about them:

I seem to think the author’s name was S.E. Stevenson. I can picture the book on the shelf in the school library, and it was near the end of the fiction section. The cover was red, white and blue, with simple graphics. I think there were birds flying along the ocean shore.

The story was about a brother and sister, Benji and Betsy? – who were sent to work in a mill after their parents died.

The story took place in either England or New England, I remember British terms used.

There was a mean foreman at the mill, who was very harsh with the workers, but was semi-friendly to Betsy

I thought the book won either a Caldicott or Newberry award, but I checked the lists and didn’t seem to see it.

171I: illustrated children’s non-fiction book

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I’m looking for an illustrated children’s non-fiction book from the early 1960s, a collection of several stories. The only two I remember clearly are 1) an account of the killing of Blackbeard the pirate, and 2) a theoretical account of the first moon landing—wrong as it turned out, since it posited a re-entry vehicle with wings and landing gear. Thanks for any help!