Category Archives: Anthology
340N: Fairy Tale Anthology, Blue Cloth Cover, 12 Dancing Princesses
I had a collection of fairytales in 1990-1995, though it may have been published prior to that (c. 1980-90). It had a royal/dark blue cloth cover with a small, embossed-gold pegasus in the center of the cover (possibly with children riding the pegasus).
The collection was rather thick (perhaps a half inch) and contained at least 20 stories. Each story was illustrated with at least one color illustration on each page (some small alongside the text and some full page). There were different illustrators throughout. The text was regular-sized font.
I specifically remember these stories, though there were more (I’ve listed the more rare first):
- The Twelve Dancing Princesses (I specifically remember the exquisite illustrations of the prince breaking off a branch of the silver tree)
- The Snow Queen (illustrations of Kay and Gerta with the penny on the window, the snow queen in her carriage driving away, the garden of flowers Gerta visits, and her red shoes)
- The Water Babies
- The Little Match Girl
- Cinderella
- Rapunzel (an incredible full-page illustration of the witch’s garden)
- The Sleeping Beauty (illustrations of thickets of thorns, sleeping kitchen maids)
- Rumpelstiltskin
- The Frog Prince
- Hansel and Gretel
- Jack and the Beanstalk
- There may have been some Aesop’s fables as well, but there my memory gets hazy.
340C: Old Children’s Storybook: Hot Water Williams, Over-Fishing Fishermen, and More
When I was a child we had this big storybook with a red cover that must have been published sometime between 1960-1990. I haven’t been able to find it anywhere on the Internet by searching details that I remember and I can’t remember the title. The first story I remember was about an old grumpy man whose bathtub begins to overflow because the bathtub knob gets stuck and he needs the help of the whole community to turn the knob. Everyone comes together to help him even though he is so grumpy and mean. I believe this story was called Hot Water Williams, but again this search phrase pulls up nothing for me on Google. The other story I remember is about a boat of fishermen who overfish and their boat starts to sink. The illustrations were very 70s-style. There were several stories but these are the only two I remember. If anyone can help me find it I would be so happy because it was one of my favorite books ever. I’ve been trying to find it for years.
339W: Woman Discovers Husband’s Ship’s Mast In The Eye Of A Hurricane
339S: The Story of How the Easter Bunny Delivers Eggs
I don’t know the title, but it is a collection of children’s stories and fairy tales which my twin and I read in the mid 50s.
Key Words: Easter Bunny, how eggs were painted and delivered.
My twin and I remember a children’s book with beautiful illustrations. This included the
story of how the Easter bunny would deliver eggs. The illustration had a standing rabbit
with a large basket attached like a big backpack.
Thanks for any help!
339Q: My House is Cozy – Bedtime Poem (Solved)
339O: Children’s Book of Short Stories Published in the 1960s or early 1970s
Hello. When I was around 5 or 6 years old (1972 to 1973) I loved a book of short stories. I think it contained around a dozen or so stories.
One of the stories was about a lost cat (or kitten). The cat is lonely, cold, and hungry. The cat wandered around and found a pond with a fish in it. The cat tries to grab the fish, but is pulled into the water. (I think there may have been a fishing pole, and the cat got tangled in it.) When the owner of the house heard the ruckus outside, he went out to retrieve the fish and cat. The cat then lives happily thereafter with the owner, and the owner cooks the fish for the cat.
Another story was about some people who went for a short boat ride on a lake in a rowboat. To make sure everyone person was accounted for, the organizer of the voyage had everyone wear a similar hat. Her plan was to count the number of hats before the journey, and then afterwards. If the number matched, then everyone was accounted for. I recall the voyage had some problems. I think the boat started to sink because someone forgot to install the drain plug. But it wasn’t dangerous because the lake was very shallow. At any rate, at the end of the voyage the organizer was worried & upset because the number of hats she counted afterwards was one less than the onset of the voyage. But someone pointed out that she forgot to count the hat on her head, and everyone laughed.
Thank you
338T: Non-Traditional Stories of Kings (Solved!)
I was born in 1984, and I’m guessing I had this book when I was 6-8 years old. It’s a book of collected tales, but most of them were non-traditional stories. The only traditional stories I remember inside is The Emperor and the Nightingale, and Sing a Song of Sixpence. One story was about a king who got tired of living in his castle and decided to search for another place to live, but eventually ends up back at his castle. Another story was about a king whose soldiers were an untidy and lazy lot, always waking up late and showing up dirty and messy. The princess makes bacon and eggs and tells them they can only have breakfast if they clean up.
338E: “I like Men and I like Dogs”
338B: “If Pigs Could Fly”