Category Archives: Picture Book

286F: Girls go to wrong house on Halloween, meet strange girl in spider costume (Solved)

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This was a kids’ picture book from the late 70s or early 80s (probably 4/5th grade reading level, 32ish page length, not just a simple picture book but not chapter or young adult) level. The premise is that two friends (I think they were two girls, might have been just one) show up at a house for a Halloween party, They think it’s the right house, but upon getting inside, are met with another girl who I *think* was wearing some kind of a spider costume – she might even have been named “spider”. They proceed to go to the basement (which I don’t remember being a scary development). At some point they swap costumes (possibly against the will of the girl who showed up to the house).  The girl who came to the house doesn’t want to be there, and eventually finds a way to escape/leave. Important to underscore that even though it sounds a bit this way,the tone of the book isn’t scary or sinister – more just a vibe of “strange” and “oddball”. A fun little Halloween story that I vaguely remember and am desperate for help locating!

286E: Picture-only book with words next to items in several scenes

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This book was a children’s early reader book from 70s/80s with scenes from a park (which had a pond in it, I think, and possibly a duck in the pond), classroom, hospital room, etc. In the picture of the classroom, for instance, it said “paint” next to where the paints were, and “chair” next to the chair in the picture.  No plot, just labels for items in the pictures. It is *not* a Richard Scarry book (which sometime label individual items as well).

286D: Friendly purple creature has magic yellow umbrella (Solved)

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I’m thinking this book would have come out in the 70s or early 80s. The general plot, as I recall, was a friendly purple creature was friends with a young boy, and the creature had a seemingly magic yellow umbrella. The umbrella was used in a variety of helpful ways, culminating in the umbrella being used as a big swimming pool for all of the neighborhood children. Those are the primary details I remember; any help much appreciated!

285D: Boy and cat are best friends

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I am looking for a children’s book from around 1980.

I do not recall the title or author, and the book may have been published before 1980.  Let’s say anywhere between 1970 and 1982 or so.  This was a favorite book of mine when I was a kid, and I used to take it out of my local branch of the St. Louis Public Library pretty regularly.

The one thing I DO remember were the fantastic illustrations.  It was done in black and white, and the drawings looked as though they may have been pen and ink, or etchings, and they were very realistic.

Thematically, I remember a couple things about the story:  A boy and his cat used to sit on a hill under their (or maybe the cat’s) favorite tree.  At night, the cat would go have adventures on his own with his cat friends.  Toward the end of the story, the cat died, and the boy and his mom decided to bury him atop the hill under the beloved tree.  Then the boy would go there to remember the cat.

Specifically, I recall one page in the book that illustrated night time, when the cat would go with his cat friends.  There is a house (presumably the cat’s) in the background, as though he has just been let out for the evening.  In the foreground, you see the cat joining up with many, many neighborhood cats as they set off to roam around–a virtual cat army.

Thank you, and I look forward to seeing what you all come up with.

284F: Children with dimpled knees and very round faces

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I am looking for picture books (with words).  I read as a child and checked it out from our local library in Seymour, IN. I believe there was more than one book by the author. I think they were square shaped hard back books. The children in them were cute with dimpled knees and very round faces (not Campbell Soup kid related or Dick and Jane). I recall a girl being sort of the main character in these books about their small adventures. This would have been the early to mid 1980s when I was reading these. The pictures were very simple. I think I recall a story about a mud puddle in one of the books and the girl’s name may have been Mary but I’m not sure.

284C: A girl in an animal swim tube

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This is a small children’s book, most likely written in the 60’s.  It was a small, orange book. It is out of print, possibly in the late 80s, since at one time I somehow was able to research it.

The story follows around a little girl, with a ponytail or pigtails who wears an animal swim tube around her.  She is found in the pictures behind others or in groups, and stands out, due to her wearing this tube.  Though I don’t remember, I’m guessing the story would have taken place in summer.

I’m sorry I remember so little about this book.  My mom and I both remember reading it countless times in the library when I was young (probably early to mid 70’s)

283F: Faint memories of a bad day

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I’m looking for the title of a children’s picture book suitable for maybe grades 1-2 from late 1970’s or early-mid1980’s.  I can’t remember barely anything except an illustration of a checkerboard floor and spilled peas, another page with a character with black hair and red shoes.  I think the theme was how to cope with a very bad day or getting along with your sibling.  I remember it as big, like 12″x 8″, maybe 15 pages.  It’s absurd to ask given so little information but i can’t stop thinking about it!

283E: Martian or Moon dweller, visits earth

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I’m looking for a vaguely remembered children’s book. It’s a picture book. I can’t reconstruct the whole plot but it had the following elements:

– EITHER a martian, extra-terrestrial or man-in-the-moon visiting earth, OR a boy that wants to fly to space. The former is more likely.

– This protagonist is reminded of his planet or the moon or the sun by seeing a balloon, and maybe also other round objects throughout the book.

– There is definitely a scene, towards the end of the book, where the protagonist walks back to his space vessel in the evening sun or moon.

– I remember the book had a melancholic feel. Maybe the protagonist is homesick or something. It was NOT a spectacular book on space travel. The martian is not scary, but cute and a little sad.

– It must predate 1983, possibly a book from much earlier (60s?) that my mother purchased at a library that got rid of old books.

283C: Elves going to a costume party

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I’ve been searching for this picture book for a few years with no luck. It was a favorite of my childhood, and so well loved that the book literally fell apart. My dad had it memorized for a few years, but has since forgotten it.

The book was about elves (possibly gnomes) going to a costume party. It was a counting book, and it rhymed.

I know on the second page it described elves coming in twos, “they came dressed as a pair of shoes.” The following pages had rhymed costumes for fours, sixes, etc.