Category Archives: 1970s

334W: Boy Learns the Importance of Sharing

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I used to have a children’s book in the 1970’s about a boy who gets a wooden box with a trick to open it and candy inside. He walks home with it and refuses to share the candy with another child, a dog and a person (Rule of three). He gets home and has forgotten how to open the box. He has to walk back to where he got the box, and this time he shares the candy on his way home and knows how to open the box to get the last piece himself when he gets home.

334V: Mystery series probably published 1940-1970 (Solved!)

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I do not know the name of any of the books in the series, but I can describe at least one of the covers. Our library had 4 books but there may have been more. All of the books had a deep purple cover. One had a mansion or haunted house on top of a hill or cliff. For some reason murder mansion, Whispering Hill, sticks in my head. I believe there were 2 or 3 kids and one had an odd name. Definitely not the more prolific series, Three Investigators, Hardy Boys, etc. The books were hardcover and not very thick, 70-80 pages and meant for grades 3-6. I hope you can find the series I am looking for.

334U: Children’s Story About the First Apple Pie

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I recall a children’s story (I don’t think it was a book but rather a story in a children’s storybook) that I read in the early to mid 1970's.  It was set in the times of kings and villages. The king (maybe it was a prince or even the town mayor) had a contest for the best pie.  Apparently only savory pies existed at the time, no fruit pies. The story’s heroine, having no meat at hand, made a pie with apples and tried to serve it to the king/prince/mayor.  I think she was prevented by the king’s flunkies who were aghast at the thought of a pie with fruit but eventually she got to the king, served her pie with a piece of cheddar and won the day.  Voila, fruit pies. No clue about the author or the title.  


Thanks!

334Q: A lizard uses a mushroom for shelter and becomes a turtle

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The book I’m looking for is a picture book from my childhood. It’s about a small green creature, probably a lizard, who is looking for a home. He might also be trying to get out of the rain. He winds up finding a mushroom to hide under. The mushroom top falls off the stem and lands on his back, making him a turtle. The style of the book is very 1970s, though I’m not sure when it was published. The mushrooms in the book are tall and red with white spots. I also remember a yellow mushroom in the book with the same style.
I have included a bad drawing of how I remember the turtle looking by the end of the story. The mushroom might have been larger than in this drawing.

334B: Teen romance, wheelchair, wheelchair basketball (Solved!)

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Read this the summer of '72 in Santa Maria, California. It was a library book. A girl in a wheelchair and her older sister are shopping and the chair gets 2 flat tires. A young guy (ex-Army, I think) with a prosthetic leg helps them get home. He and the older sister date, but he steps on her foot as they dance. He plays wheelchair basketball, his chair tips and he's standing upright for a second, then face-plants and everyone laughs. I know this isn't much to go on, but it's all I've got.

334A: High school romance, heirloom chickens (Solved!)

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I read it sometime in the early 70's. All I remember is that a girl is in science class and the teacher is talking about how certain breeds of chickens are gone because they've been cross-bred out of existence. The next day, a male student brings in cages filled with the birds that the teacher said were extinct. The girl is impressed by the boy and asks to see more.

333B: Tiny Magic Cat

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I am.looking for a book I read between 1975-1980. It was a middle school aged book.  The.main character was a 10 to 12 year old girl. I can’t remember how, but she finds a cat who turns super small – like tiny enough to sit behind her ear. He talks to her and helps her through the trials of her life.
That’s all I can remember.  Thanks so much!

332W: Wise King Shows We See That Which Is Sought

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I am looking for a Children’s book, from the 70’s or 80’s. It does have pictures. It may be a Golden book, but that is just a stretch of my memory.

The book is about a Kingdom in strife. Lords and Ladies are backstabbers and no one is happy. The King is fed up with it

The King comes up with a plan: He summons a page. He tells the page he is concerned about the state of the kingdom. He instructs the page to go out (on his horse) into the kingdom and find all that wrong. Find that which has sharp thorns, plants that are poisonous and so forth.  Collect as much as he can (for show & tell) and bring it back in a week.

When the 1st page has left the castle grounds he summons a 2nd page. He tells the page he is concerned about the state of the kingdom.  He instructs the page to ride forth into the kingdom and find all that is beautiful. Collect as much as he can (for show & tell) and bring it back in a week.

The first page comes back. He is cut by thorns and has rashes from the poisonous plants. The King asks: “What is the state of the Kingdom?” The page replies that the kingdom is in terrible shape. It is covered with ugliness and poison plants everywhere he searched.

Shortly thereafter the second page returns. The King asks: “What is the state of the Kingdom?” The second page replies that “the Kingdom is covered with nothing but beauty”. He has the flowers with him to show it.

The King somehow make the point to those in the court that we see that which we seek; not only in nature but in each other. Of course that changed everything and from then on (as I recall) the Lords and Ladies interacted respectfully with each other, seeking to see the best in those around them. Great story. Applicable to today. Hope you can help.