I have been trying to find this book since my first child was born 15 years ago. It was my favorite when I was about 8 or 9, I think, but I never owned it; I would just choose it over and over again from its spot on the shelf in our local library, never committing the title or author to memory.
The protagonist is a young girl who has a wacky family—perhaps they’d be described as “dysfunctional” nowadays but that was not a term at the time. The story is full of mishaps and made me laugh out loud each time I read it. There are line drawings in the book and one I can recall is of the girl (or maybe her father) heading out of the house for a beach trip loaded down with supplies. The dad is kind of grumpy, as I recall. I was reading it in the late 70s so I assume it was published earlier that decade. It was of that era and the copy I read was hardcover.
This is not a lot to go on, I realize. But perhaps someone out there will recognize my brief recollections. I hope!

The book I’d like to find is religious, written for a child preparing for First Communion (Roman Catholic). In the story the child lives in a garden and welcomes a visitor to the garden. I believe that the book is hardback, wine-colored cover, about 10″ – 12″ tall. It may have been published in Cincinnati, but this is just a guess. I read it between 1952 and 1954. This is a tough one, but I’d love to find it. BTW do you know anyone who identifies music from just a few notes?