Category Archives: Anthology

313I: Seven Soviet Sisters

2 Replies

This book was a little over my head when I was around 7 (ironically). It was not a Little Golden Book nor a Disney book!

It was a story book or what seemed to be a collection of related stories. An elementary epic?  May be Scandinavian stories rather than Soviet.

The early 1970s edition I had was bright blue and the cover was at least 8 ½ x 11.

There were seven (or only six) sisters. In the picture book version each sister was wearing an ornate but monochromatic dress. I’m thinking they were different examples of the regional dresses worn, or maybe clan-type styles. But with a hippie-vibe art style.

I think each sister was sent out on some kind of unusual coming-of-age search. Or maybe they were kidnapped by seven (or six) different people and each had a story about how they got home.

I was a natural reader, but either the words were a bit too big for me or I was too interested in what they were wearing to remember much of the plot. (That, and home wasn’t peaceful so I was sleep-deprived…so it was a big, wordy, beautiful blur of a book.)

I’d still have the book, but since I didn’t seem to be reading it, Mom gave it away to charity. I still have books that I was given when I was even younger…

 

309U: Illustrated colour hardcover short stories from around world

2 Replies

I am looking for a children’s book I had as a child. It had short stories (1-2 pages) per story and they were different stories from around the world. There were a lot of different stories – at least 25 plus.

I recall three – one was the leprachaun, another about a boy who had egg nest soup and I think there was one about ananzi

I got the book as a gift – it would have been late 1980’s or early 1990’s. I think it would have been published in South Africa.

309T: Poems, myths, legends, fables, bios and much more

Leave a reply

I am looking for an anthology of children’s literature that I received as a new book in the late 60’s or very early 70’s. It was a single volume and quite thick. It was divided by genre similar to, but not exactly like, THE CHILDREN’S HOUR 16 volume collection. It was also on a similar reading level. There were poems, myths, legends, fables, bios and much more. I remember those categories because they were my favorites. I specifically remember Pandora’s Box, Arachne, The Oak and the Linden. Any tips or information would be greatly appreciated.

308F: Straw Soldier in a Lollipop Field

Leave a reply

Large format anthology children’s book with 1930s or 1940s art deco artwork. The only details I remember about the stories is one involved a joey that ate a lot of lady fingers and sodas in a drugstore before being found by his mother and another story which includes a scene where a child gets chased by a scarecrow-esque straw soldier through (I think) a lollipop field. I was given the book back in 1970 and it was quite old then. The two scenes I described above were illustrated so they stand out as a memory. The pictures were in color but only in that two-color green and orange that was popular back then (the book may even be as old as the 1920s. . . the style of art was certainly in line with that era).

Thanks!

307L: A white mouse hidden in the illustrations

1 Reply

Looking for over sized, illustrated book of fairy tales, likely published in 60s or 70s. It was about the size of an Encyclopedia volume. Green cover with a giant on the spine. Illustrated by many artists, not a singular illustrator. 3 Little Pigs illustrations had a white mouse hidden in the illustrations. The illustrations in Jack the Giant Killer were scary and realistic. The book contained Puss in Boots, Sleeping Beauty, The Tinder Box, Matchstick Girl, The Brave Little Tailor, and many others. Your help is appreciated.

307K: Berries in front of the fire

5 Replies

I had a book as a child that was about 10-12 inches long and about the size of normal tablet paper. It was hard back and rather thin with no more than 50-75 pages but probably much less. The outside cover was a light bluish color leaning toward the teal side of the blue spectrum. It had whimsical pictures with each short story and was about animals such as a Rabbit, Hedgehog/Porcupine and possibly a raccoon. There are a few stories I remember a little of. Most of what I remember are the illustrations and I have been searching near and far for many years. I was born in 77, so it had to have been published before then, right around then and or no later than very early 80's. One story, one of the animals takes his fathers boot and makes a flower pot out of it for his mom. Another story there is a rustic fireplace and a porcupine/hedgehog and another animal are eating berries in front of the fire. Another, there is a sort of party outside and the table was made from a tree with stumps as seats. This is not any of the classics like Peter rabbit, wind in the willows etc. Its very obscure in my opinion. I cannot remember the author or title but I will know instantly if its "the" book if I could just find one of the illustrations but I have been unsuccessful for so many years. I hope very much that you are able to help me.

307J: Children’s anthology with a very big toe

2 Replies

Children’s anthology, the edition I had in the 80s had a red cover, stories were all illustrated and included one about a king who couldn’t find shoes to wear because his Big toe was very long, eventually found a man that made him silk stockings with the toes done in black thread and shoes that had toes that curled up at the end so his long toe would fit. Another story was about a fairy that was sad because she couldn’t go to the fairy party (maybe a midsummer’s eve party) because her clothes were tattered. Her mice friends borrowed silk from the silk worms that they wove into a dress and dyed it blue with berries, then they found cornflowers for her to wear in her hair because her eyes were blue. Another story was about a little girl who lived in Holland and whose father was a tulip farmer. They grew every color tulip. Somehow her father created a bigger tulip bulb for her that grew into a larger tulip that was rainbow colored. There may have also been a story about an emperor and a nightingale, but I didn’t read that one as much as the other stories in the book. Thank you for your help!!