Category Archives: 1960s

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.

356Q: The House Made of Plants Blends Inside with Outside

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Looking for picture book about a house that was made of plants. The outside world merges surrealy with the inside room (resembles art of Jacek Yerka but it's not him). Book was mostly visual and the color of the art was very green. The story takes place at night. There is an old man with white hair in the house. Likely an older book from the 60s or 70s, or at least has the 60s/70s hippie/spiritual vibe. If you find this with just this info you are unto a god, thank you.

356E: Best Cartoons of the World

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Trying to find a book related to Cartoons of the World (I know it was not Abroad).
Cover was I think 10×12 or larger. Perhaps 100+ pages. 
 
“Best Cartoons of the World” might be its name, help please. I might be way off.. 
 
When I was quite young I remember a book of cartoons or illustrations from around the world. I believe that was part of the title. They were in black and white. Book published in late 50’s, maybe early 60’s. I remember a few cartoons in the book. Simply drawn but interesting to me. The book had a cartoon of a man holding a sledgehammer in an attempt to launch a huge rocket by hitting a board with a fulcrum under it. There was another cartoon of a man trying to hang himself but he had to cut a rope which was attached to a number of pullies and other mechanisms. Rube Goldberg like. That’s the best I can do. Thank you for any help.

356D: Two Young Brothers in Texas Gas Explosion

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I believe I read it in 1969. That doesn’t mean that was the year it came out. It was a Reader's Digest Condensed Book. It was about 2 young boys in a large gas explosion in Texas. The older brother chronicles the aftermath with his brother having 3rd degree burns. He makes it so far then asks for a candy bar and it lowers his immune system and he dies. That’s all I can remember.

356C: Five Arabian mares and their boys (Solved!)

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This was a slim hardcover in my elementary school library, so it was likely published in the early 60s. It is a retelling of the Arabian breed origin story, Al Khamsa, which has five friends set out to capture and tame five wild mares. They become the five foundation lines of Arabians when they are the only mares to heed the battle trumpets. The story focuses on the boy who tames the chestnut mare, even though he desperately wanted the white mare. The chestnut ends up having a white foal.

355Z: 1940s or 50s U.S. Chapter Mystery – Kids, Summer, a ‘Chateau’, a Diamond Necklace?

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When I was in about 3rd to 6th grade in the early 1970s, my favorite book in my NJ public school library was a hardcover chapter book about kids on summer vacation, possibly in upstate New York, who get involved in some kind of mystery involving a neighboring house they call the Chateau.  I think a diamond necklace came into it, and I’m pretty sure the children of one family joined forces with a boy from another family (maybe living in the Chateau?) to solve the mystery.  Either Chateau or Diamond Necklace might have been in the title, but I’ve had no luck Googling for it.  It was an old-fashioned story at the time, probably could have been written any time from the late 1930s to the mid 60s.  There were illustrations, but a limited number, and I think they might have been listed by caption after the table of contents. I think it was the first time I had heard of a “Porte cochere”, which I had to look up. I think the binding was red, and may have had an imprint illustration of a country house on the cover — but I could be making that up!

I loved it and probably read it four or five times, but these scraps are all I can remember!  I’d dearly love to find a copy.

355U: Metiek Survives Holocaust (Solved!)

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I don’t even remember how old I was when I read it. I’m thinking in the late 60’s or early 70’s. It was a paperback. A young boy nicknamed Metiek (I think) gets separated from his family during the Holocaust. I think, not completely sure, it was Warsaw Poland. He gets captured and thrown on a train to one of the concentration camps. He escapes the train and ends up back in Warsaw (?) on the streets and becomes very street wise. Later he is able to make it to New York City where some relatives are located, and ends up working in the garment district. He becomes successful, marries, she is an actress. They build a nice home, she goes on a vegetarian diet in order to get pregnant, is successful and they have several kids. They (wife and kids) die in a house fire. Metiek (don’t remember his real name) is alone. True Story, his biography. It had pictures in it.

355S: Children’s Book, 60s, Green cover?

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I’m looking for a book that I had in the early sixties.
It showed a mom on the cover who was sitting on a sofa in a living room reading from a book.

On the cover of the mom’s book – there was also a picture of a mom reading from a book.

I can’t recall if the children were on the couch with her or were on the floor in front of her as she read.
I think the book had rhymes or poems or stories.  I thought it was green.
Thank you so much for trying to remember this book for me!

355L: YA nautical adventure

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My uncle remembers reading a novel in about 1950-1960 (not sure when it was written) about a sailor who traveled all over the world on a large ship, having adventures. He was not the captain and was not married. He would periodically return home with a sack of exotic gifts for his nieces and nephews. My uncle does not remember much else, but the novel influenced him greatly and he always brought me gifts from his travels. I would love to find this book for his 80th birthday. Thank you for your help

355K: King Grouper

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I’m looking for a children’s book (I think it was published in the 1960‘s) about a king who wanted everything in his castle arranged in groups – all the tables in one room, all the chairs in another, etc. Of course the results were disastrous – and funny. I don’t think King Grouper was the name of the book, but it may have been the King’s name. (Google search led me to books about fish!)