Category Archives: Picture Book

341D: Early Reader Vocabulary Picture Book (Solved!)

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This English vocabulary learning book from the early 1990s (could be older though) featured the daily life of a family in beautiful large center pictures of various scenes, with the outer rims of the pages containing objects from that scene to be found and named.
My most poignant memories are of a night time scene of the children casting shadows with their hands onto the bedroom wall, and a scene with a cross section of a fantastically large tree house with multiple connected rooms.
Any help is appreciated!

341A: Boy Lost In Fog

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I can’t remember much about “BOY LOST IN FOG” (not the actual title), but what I can remember (or what I think/believe I remember) is:
  • it is a children’s picture book, written in English, with black and white illustrations
  • I read, or the book was read to me between 1980 and 1988, no clue as to the publishing date
  • there is something in there about a small boy leaving home, perhaps on his own
  • there might be something about him being on or following the sidewalk
  • there is something about fog, or getting lost in thick fog temporarily – this is the main thing I remember
  • there might be something in there about encountering a stranger in the fog, or someone who helps or scares him
  • there might be something about a lighthouse

340Z: A bully/mean girl and a cupcake/birthday cake

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This is a children’s picture book I read in the 1980’s. The protagonist “despises” (I think she uses that word) a mean girl/bully. In the end I think she discovers that the bully doesn’t have any friends and is sad, and would like to be the protagonist’s friend. There is also a cupcake (it might have a candle on it). I think the bully gives it to the protagonist to try and make friends but the protagonist is suspicious of it and wonders if it’s poisoned. The bully wears a frilly dress. I think at one point she has a lollipop.

340X: Man Befriends Ghost At Haunted House

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I am looking for a picture book that I enjoyed when I was a child in the late 70s. It was hardbound and told the story of a man who had a long-nosed coupe and inherits/comes into a mansion and after a foggy drive there and inhabiting it discovers it is haunted. He discovers a secret tunnel underground (under a lake?) and ultimately makes friends with the ghost and I believe is led to a stash of treasure. I loved this story as I scared easily but was fascinated with ghosts, and in recollecting it reminded me slightly of Edward Gorey’s work. I think he might have been a bit Sherlockesque with a coat, hat and pipe. Had a very 60s/70s style and sensibility in the illustration. Would love to have a copy. Thank you for your sleuthing!

340W: Tiny Girl Flies On Cockroach

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My mom is looking for a book from her childhood.

We do not know the title. She remembers reading it when she was in 4th or 5th grade, so it might be from the late 50’s early 60’s.
It’s a hardback around 20 pages and there were pictures and words on each page (half and half). The story is about a tiny girl (elf size) possibly with black hair; it could be set in Paris, she does remember the Eiffel Tower. The tiny girl is poor and befriends a cockroach. The cockroach gives her rides throughout the area, there is a pin on the cockroach…sort of like the pole on a carousel horse…for the girl to hold onto. She also rides in the sky in a walnut shell attached to a red balloon.
This is NOT Thumbelina.
Good luck!

340N: Fairy Tale Anthology, Blue Cloth Cover, 12 Dancing Princesses

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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.
Thank you for your assistance in finding this book!

339M: OLD book with uncolored illustrations where a girl saves 3 other girls from a dragons belly

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I’m guessing it was from the 70s or 80s, maybe earlier. softcover, fairly thin, and beautiful uncolored illustrations inside. From memory, it was about a girl who lived out of an old single carriage (starts with an illustration of her standing next to it) and traveled, with short stories of her adventures.

The one I remember best is her going to three towns, singing in one and being told singing is banned because a dragon took the towns best singer, dancing in another town and being told the same, and (I believe) telling a story in the third town? Later on, she finds the dragons cave where he has the three stolen girls in his stomach, and from the best of my memory, the three girls in his stomach tell him a story and sing him to sleep, then dance in his stomach until they’re spit up, and the main character saves them? I perfectly remember there’s an illustration at this part with all 4 girls escaping on a horse together, and I used to stare at that page for so long.

Later on in the book, all I can seem to remember is another point where she’s in a forest and meets some kind of shapeshifter / kelpie or similar creature… but that’s all I’ve got. I believe the girl is on the cover, and I seem to remember the cover art being very neutral/earth toned. I re-found this book on amazon years ago, but now I can’t find it again and cannot for the life of me remember the title or author. It was my absolute favorite book and i’d love to be able to find it again.

 

339L: Three Days Turns Into 30 Years

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I’m having trouble locating a children’s book. Here’s everything I remember:
Picture Book
I first read it in the late 90s so definitely published before 2000
A girl ends up in heaven/utopia for 3 days and when she returns to her mom 30 years have actually passed. Her mom has aged significantly.
She might have been fleeing from a war.
That is all I remember and I am completely stumped. Hoping you can help since google was unable to.