Category Archives: Anthology

323I: Anthology for girls featuring Jane Austen and others

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I am trying to trace an anthology that was in UK libraries in the 60’s/early 70’s, but may have been American in origin. I can’t remember the title or editor but it was aimed I think at girls and was well illustrated. One of the early stories in it was an extract from Northanger Abbey – the scene where Catherine and Isabella talk about gothic novels they are reading; a later extract has the Riding in Trains section from Laura Ingalls Wilder’s On the Shores of Silver Lake. Don’t think it was part of a set and don’t think it was a Clifton Fadiman or Louis Untermeyer anthology, as I have others of theirs, but I may be wrong. It was my first introduction to Austen and hence was significant to me. Wish there was a directory one could consult that would cross reference anthologized extracts so one could look up the Austen for instance and find all the collections in which it appears..
Hope you can help.

323C: Fun Jokes For Kids

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Looking for a collection of children’s jokes from the 80’s or earlier that featured the joke and an illustration on each page, including these 3 that I recall (not verbatim):
1. What do you get when you put ducks in a box? A box of quackers.
2. Whats the longest word? “Smiles” because there’s a mile in between each “S”.
3. What happens to a rock if you throw it in the Red Sea?  It will get wet.
My sister and I loved this as kids! Thank you for your help!

322Z: Boy Flies Away In Bubble, Slides Down On Icicle

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I remember a storybook collection with one story in particular that stood out, which I have been unable to find mention of here or elsewhere.  The story was of a boy who blew a bubble and stepped into it.  The bubble floated up and up and up.  Eventually he came down sliding on an icicle.  The anthology also contained a wonderfully illustrated rendition of The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  Unfortunately, I cannot recall the other stories in the collection.

I was born in the early 80s and my sister the late 70s so I suspect this collection was published around then or earlier

322W: Delightful Arabian Folktales

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Looking for a children’s book with a yellow cloth cover and a drawing of a red tree on the front. It had stories about djinns in it and a story about a tree with three different colored branches, and a story about a dress woven from spider webs and so fine it fit into a walnut shell, and a story about a prince who disguised himself with tripe on his head to pretend to be a beggar.

My friend thought the book was Arabian folktales. She saw this book when she was a child, about 20 years ago.

Thanks!!

322T: Hardback Children’s Classic Horror Anthology

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The book I’m seeking would have been published no later than the summer of 1981, which is when I read it. Most likely it was published in the mid- to late seventies. It was a large hardback anthology of horror stories for children. It contained a number of tales by Poe as well as an abridged and rewritten version of Stoker’s “Dracula,” which took up a big chunk of the entire volume. (The Poe stories may have been rewritten too; I don’t recall.) It was illustrated with black and white art throughout, and my memory tells me that the monochrome art was accented with at least one spot color: green or purple. It may even have been both green *and* purple. Anyone remember this book?

322I: Peter Rabbit, candy in the sky and other stories

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I am looking for a children’s anthology that likely contained a Peter Rabbit story and one about a boat sailing on a chocolate or candy bay. I remember vivid images of candy hanging in the sky. I believe it was the last story in the collection. I was born in 1986, and the book was hand-bound with thick ivory thread.

I submitted my original request back in 2011, but the Peter Rabbit information is new based on the illustrations in a book that I just found. F397 and B763 were the previous inquiries.

322H: “Peter, Please, It’s Pancakes”

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I enjoyed this book beginning in about 1955 but had two older sisters (the oldest born in 1946) so it could have been purchased as early as that.  It was a hard-covered book and had stories for children of different ages.  Each story had, under its title, a number of asterisks (I think one through six) equal to the age of the child it was appropriate for.  For example, ******  was a story for a six year old.  The only title I remember from the book is “Peter, Please, It’s Pancakes”.  I would love it if you could identify this book!

321A: Halloween Tales For Kids

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I had this book when I was a kid, so around 15 years ago, and it might have been a few years old by then. I can’t remember the title, but here’s what I do remember. It was large. Not just thick, but tall and wide. (I was a kid though, so it might be smaller than I’m remembering.) The one I had was hardcover. The cover might have been dark blue/purple/green, but I don’t remember what was actually on it. It had full-page illustrations, I think through most or all of the book. It had several stories about Halloween characters for kids: – King Neptune was lonely, so he became friends with the ghost of a whale or dolphin. – The ghost of a castle was rambunctious and scared people off from his treasure. – Two witches lived near each other and didn’t get along. – A vampire wanted to act in his school play, and his vampire parents attended in the end. Please help! I love this book, and I would really like to have it for my kids someday! Thank you!

320W: Children’s anthology: Billy Goats Gruff and others

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This was a hardcover anthology of stories for children. I believe it measured about 6” wide by 8” long, but I could be wrong about that.
The book contained a number of stories, but I can only remember two of them: one was the classic Three Billy Goats Gruff. In fact, I think that was the very first story in the book. I remember it had very stark illustrations; thinking about it now, they kind of remind me of Picasso’s “Guernica.”
 The other was a story about making pies, and I remember it very clearly because it was the first time I’d ever heard of a mince pie.