The children’s book I’m looking for was read to me in the late 60’s early 70s. It was about a dalmatian who wanted to be a fire dog but had no spots. Thanks.
262A: A dalmatian with no spots
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Category Archives: 1970s
261E: A young girl cuts “her glory”
A young, shy, and lonely girl visits her (aunt, grandmother, ?) for the summer. She cuts her long hair, referred to as “her glory,” that her mother refused to let her cut. After she cuts her hair, she experiences a “freeing” self confidence boost. I read this probably in the late 60s to 70s.
261C: Children build a mechanical horse (Solved)
I first read it when I was somewhere between first and third grade, in the early ‘70’s, and, unfortunately, don’t know what its cover or illustrations looked like, since I read it in braille. I have only the vaguest description, but hope this helps me find its title so I can now read it through adult eyes. It involved several kids who built, I think, a mechanical horse that time-traveled (maybe). Their workshop was someone’s basement—I remember they had to move some “lead weights” periodically, and I remember this only because, at the time, having never encountered the word as pronounced “led”, it took me a while to catch on that they weren’t “leed weights,” but were, indeed, “led weights”. I’m guessing it may have been 150-200 pages in print.
260G: An East Indian (Mid Century Illustrated) Children’s Book: Parrot and a Princess (Solved)
This book is one of a series of books by a female illustrator (and for some reason I think she has an Asian name). They are all different stories from different cultures. The one I am searching for (and found years ago on a site from Australia when I still remembered the actual name but neglected to write it down) is a story about an East Indian Prince who listens to a parrot’s advice about a Princess. The Princess has many sisters and an overbearing father. The Prince is cast out into the wild, I think he’s beaten up by other Princes, and the parrot is there with him to give him advice. I can’t remember if the parrot is more of a trickster parrot who gets the Prince into trouble, or a helpful parrot. I think they end up together (Prince & Princess) and I don’t know what happens to the parrot. Regardless, the illustrations are simply beautiful and with crisp and clear colours belonging to the mid-century era of illustration. I believe it’s oriented landscape, about 8”x11” (or smaller, but not by much), and it’s paperback. My Mum bought it in the early 1970s Victoria, BC, Canada, but I’m not sure if she bought it used or new.
260F: Girl raised by witches is really a fairy (Solved)
There was a book that I always took out of my elementary school library between 1975 and 1978. Although I do not have the title, what I recall is as follows:
The book is about witches and fairies. The little witch in the story never felt right with the other witches, they were mean. I think she used to see the fairies and wish she was one of them. The middle gets fuzzy but towards the end she discovers that when she was a baby she was caught in the witches web and that’s how she came to be with them. But she was really a fairy and was returned to them.
I know this is not much but at 47 years old I cannot put this story out of my mind. I have always been an avid reader and hope to find this book. It will haunt me otherwise.
260C: Older Teen Romance Book
I want to say this book was set in the 1950s – I read it as a child in the 1970s – part of the collection of young adult books at the Jonesboro Library in Jonesboro, AR.
It was about a young teen girl who was plump and had some skin problems. She had an older sister who was slender. I remember one specific scene – the younger girl was eating a tuna salad sandwich for lunch and her sister told her she shouldn’t eat that because it was bad for her skin. She was going to do her usual sneering retort, but instead she asked her sister what she should eat instead – what she was having? The younger sister started paying more attention to her appearance. She met a boy who was new in town – her parents invited his parents over for dinner (I think they worked together). She put on too much of her sister’s makeup and borrowed heels and made a grand entrance to the dinner. Her parents were horrified and sent her back upstairs to change, so she was humiliated. The boy actually did like her already, but she didn’t have any self-confidence. Over the summer she started eating better and slimmed up. She eventually ended up with the boy who said he’d liked her all along.
260B: A robot, Robin Hood and time travel? (Solved)
Hey guys … I’m looking for a book that I always checked out in elementary school, which was about 1980-1986. All I have to go on is what was on the cover, which was a robot, a knight (maybe) and either a huntsman, woodsman or Robin Hood. It might have been about time travel? Thanks!
259F: Girl Plants Magic Trees (Solved)
A picture book that I checked out repeatedly from my elementary school library. No idea of title. I was checking it out 1986-1988ish, and I remember it being newer, so I’d guess printing would be late ’70s-early ’80s. The girl plants different things on one page, and then when you flip the page, the tree has grown from those “seeds.” I specifically remember her planting diamonds/gems and getting a tree covered in necklaces (I remember that tree as a shimmery blue-white). I feel like there was also a hat tree that grew. There were definitely several different ones. I also feel like there was an old man/grandfather character. I think the ending was some moral about planting love and getting a family, but I’m least certain about that.
Would love to get this book for my daughters. Many thanks for your help!
259B: Blind girl and a horse
I am looking for the title of a book I read over and over when I was in primary school. I am 50 this year so around 40 years ago. I got the book from the school library and borrowed it over and over again. The book is about a Blind girl who befriends a wild horse, I don’t remember many other details but the girl has a operation to restore her site, the horse goes wild while she is away and I feel the horse was shot just before she returned, not the happiest story line but this book had a huge impact on me when I was young. Any help would be appreciated.
258F: The Servant’s Quarters
I’m looking for a book that I read about 15 years ago that was already well aged at the time I read it, probably from the 70s or 80s. It was on a classroom bookshelf in my elementary school. It’s about a girl who I think moves… from the city to the country with her mother for sure, possibly her father has died. She isn’t too pleased about the move but eventually while exploring their new large country house she discovers the servants passage and a room where it appears an old lady used to live, I think. She also likes to play in the apple cellar, befriends someone at school, and there is a not well-liked older fellow who lives in a dark small house who I think may have lived in their house at one point? I may totally wrong on some of these things because I was young when I read it, but I think I’m right.
Thanks!