Category Archives: 1960s

358Q: Strawberry Soda is a Success at Girl’s Party (Solved!)

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The book I’m looking for was probably written in the 50’s or 60’s. It’s about a girl who is just encountering feelings for boys. The biggest thing I can remember is she decides to have a party and her parents get strawberry pop and she is afraid it’s going to be the wrong thing and instead, everyone loves it! No clue why I remember this, but there you go. She seems sort of sheltered, but in the end her party is a success and she gets a boyfriend, I think. I wish I could remember more! Hopefully someone else will remember strawberry soda/pop!

357Q: Sci-fi book including “Men of Harlech”

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Some 60 years ago, I was reading a science-fiction book in which an adult was with two children, ca. 12 years old, on a trip of some sort.  While they are out walking, he sang “Men of Harlech” to them; the words for a verse or two appear in the book:

“Men of Harlech in the hollow, do ye hear like rushing billow …”, &f.
I recalled nothing else of the book until a few days ago when I suddenly recalled that a planet named “Lepton” figured in the book somehow; I thought this additional detail might be enough to find the book.

The reason for such vagueness, beyond the 60-year time lapse, is that I never finished the book. I was perhaps 9 or 10 years old, but this wasn’t a children’s’ book; the librarian jerked the book from my hands, telling me to “stop pretending to read that book” and go pick a book from the children’s’ section instead.  I could read the newspaper before I started 1st grade, so I was by no means pretending, and I wasn’t interested in children’s’ books.

My mother had a somewhat heated talk with the librarian sometime later, and the librarian never bothered me again on subsequent visits.  But I was unable to locate the book again.

357P: Schizophrenic Lady M.D.

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Book written in 1950’s, 60’s I think. But remotely possible published as late as 70’s, 80’s.  Autobiography (?) by woman (maybe named “Diane”, not sure…?) who suffered schizophrenia (I think, or some sort of mental illness) and became an M.D. despite this.

Probably a U.S. book, but not sure.  English language, anyway.

357I: A 1960’s book about a lost lamb

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Looking for a fiction YA (perhaps adult) book from the early to mid 60’s that I read in junior high. I was given the book as a present. It’s about a lamb that gets lost in a forest/jungle. I remember that it had a jaguar, panther or puma that befriended the lamb and helped keep it safe. There were no illustrations that I recall; strictly text. It was a fairly long novel, about the length of the Harry Potter novels. The book had a green hardcover with the lamb and trees on it. I want to say that the lamb on the cover was black, but can’t be sure. Does anyone remember this book? I know it sounds vaguely like The Jungle Book, but that really isn’t it.

357D: Adventures with a small bald alien

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I think that I started reading this book in 1961 or 1962. A boy stumbles across a small alien individual ... male and bald ... and they have adventures. I remember that I liked it and re-read it several times.

I know, it sounds like the plot to ET.

I believe that a woman was the author of the book.

Thanks and good luck.

356W: 1960/70 children’s book with four dolls on cover

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When I was in grade school late 60’s or early 70’s, I used to adore this pink book.  It was hard cover and had 4 girl names on it and a drawn picture of dolls.  Not illustrated, just a sketch.  It had 4 names of the dolls and I think one was like Rosemary.  The title only had those 4 names as much as I can recall.  Don’t remember the story even.  I just remember the hard cover was a bright pink with the 4 names of the dolls.

356T: Book of Children’s Stories from 50’s or 60’s

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I am looking for an old children’s book of stories. I guess it would be from between the 1950s or 60s. It contained the story of the woman who became a woodpecker who baked pies as well as a story of a man who had to cut a hole in his roof to fit the top of his tall Christmas tree through.

Thank you for any help you might be able to give!!!!

356S: Unicorn in Tapestry Comes to Life

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I’m looking to find a book from my childhood, and have now been through hundreds of internet pages. Hoping you might have a lead! All I remember really is:

- illustrated color paperback picture book, probably c. Late ‘60s- late ‘90s

- story about a group of siblings moving into or visiting a castle? Maybe just an old house with a tower

- a unicorn from a tapestry comes to life, and he is white with a beard. The children bring him down out of the tapestry.

Things I’m not sure of but seem familiar:

-something about a yellow bedroom

- maybe an illustration with one of the children looking behind the tapestry

Thank you! The Magic Tree house has a story with some similar elements, but that’s not quite it.

356R: Picture book with a castle maze inside the front and back covers

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This book was a discarded library book my grandmother got from a teacher friend. I read it in the early 90s and I think the art looked like something from the 50s or 60s. Not many colors, lots of red, black, white, and grey.

Someone, a knight or a king, got trapped in a castle maze and was there a long time. So long that he grew lots of hair. There was something else in the castle maze too, I think it was the bad guy who trapped him.

I don’t remember many details of the story, just that I felt bad for the person being trapped in there for so long.

The one thing I do remember is the castle maze. It was printed from a birds eye view looking down. The maze took up two pages and showed various stages of a chase taking place through out it. This maze was printed on the inside cover and first page (before the title page) of the book, and in the center of the book, and on the last page and back cover.