There was a children’s picture book that we had in the 1970s which seemed to be generally a Scandinavian based story about a brother and sister (who I believe was Babette) who lived on a farm or large piece of property. There were two sets of birds living on the property, one set were robins or finches or some small birds who lived in a thorn bush or some kind of dense shrub whose eggs were stolen/eaten by the two “thieving” magpies who lived high up in a very big tree on the farm. The boy and the girl were each given gifts and I believe that the girl’s was some sort of shiny red purse or red mittens which were again stolen by the magpies after she had set them down on the bench underneath the mapgpies’ tree. Because the tree was so tall, they couldn’t get the gift back and both the little girl and the small birds were very sad and angry with the magpies. One winter night there was a terrible storm and the large tree fell down and the next day the girl found the missing gift and the magpies were forced to fly away.
Category Archives: Picture Book
283A: Boxed set of illustrated fairy tales (Solved)
I am looking for a boxed set of wonderfully illustrated fairy tales from the 1970s.
This was given to me in 1974 or 1975 by my grandparents.
The books were huge, maybe 11×14, and contained 3-4 stories in each. The set must have had at least 10-12 books. They were covered in a hard cloth-cardboard, thin, no more than a half-inch thick, and in pastel colors of blue, pink, yellow, orange.
There was a distinctive, oblong sun logo or emblem on each book but not sure if that was the publisher’s. They may have been from Reader’s Digest or Random House. I think they were mail order.
The stories I remember were Sleeping Beauty, Thumbelina (this was my favorite because of a sweet picture of Thumbelina nursing the Bird), The Brave Tin Soldier though there were many, many more. I think it was a mix of authors, not just one.
The last time I had the set was in 1992 in Ithaca, NY.
282J: Quiet cozy things to do
Small late 60’s/early 70s children’s book- I ‘think’ it was about quiet cozy things to do, but I especially remember a picture of a snail outside in a light rain by pebbles and I think an upside down pail in one picture. I’m pretty sure it was watercolor illustrations. Sorry so vague I was quite little and my grandmother used to look at the book with me.
282F: Boy and bearskin rug fight Mouse King (Solved)
There is a children’s picture book about a little boy sent to visit his aunt, whom he is told has many wonderful old things. It looks like it will be tedious, but a bearskin rug comes to life as a kind of floppy bear, and then they are attacked by the Mouse King and an army of animate bric-a-brac. Then the aunt comes and says “I suppose the bear is in tatters again,” and they spend the afternoon drinking tea and stitching the bear back together, but the Mouse King has eaten all the cookies. Does anyone know the author or title of this book?
282E: ABC Children’s Book
I am trying to find a children’s alphabet book that was produced in the 19070’s. The book was an A to Z and contained black and white pictures. I believe the photographer was a relatively famous Philadelphia photographer at the time. A – was Airplane and Q – was Quilt. The pictures were all of children – not illustrated. I believe the authors name or photographers name was Ann or Anne. Thank you for your help.
282B: Girl tired of toys
My friend read this storybook during her childhood in the early 1970s. She remembers it was about a little girl who was tired of her toys and ruins them all. She somehow ends up with either a boy or a bear who becomes her new toy. She forces the boy or bear to do what she wants, including playing maid and brushing her hair. The boy or bear eventually gets tired of this and throws the spoiled girl out in the snow.
Thanks so much! If there is anything else I can provide, do please let me know.
281G: Little girl hides her small treasures in a brick of her brownstone
I am trying to remember/find a book about a little girl who doesn’t have much, except her little treasures. I think it was a stick of chewing gum, a jack ball, and a few other small items. She lives in a brownstone and it seems like she hides her treasures behind a brick. She takes them out and looks at them often. The front of the cover had her and another person sitting on concrete steps with a railing. I don’t know if it was a little golden book or not. It seems like it was about 5X5 square, about 10 pages? I would have had it read to me around 1970ish. I can’t remember much else. I have looked everywhere for it, only being able to search by the memory of the cover.
280F: Lost Cat in Rome found in Mouth of Truth Statue
Hi there, hoping you can help find a book. I remember reading it in the late 80s/early 90s. It was about a child in Rome who lost his or her cat. They go all over the city looking for it and eventually find the cat in the “mouth of truth” (La Bocca della Verità) statue. I remember it was a blue cover and fairly larger than a regular sized book. It was in English. Hoping you can help track it down!
280C: Little girl moves from crib to “big bed”
Little girl moves from crib to “big bed” It as a large sized book with colourful illustrations, and just one or two sentences per page. It talked about all the worries the little girl has about the move, and then how much she liked her new bed. I remember she said It was great because now there was room for daddy to sit with her at bedtime and give her “nose-nuzzles”. We used It 18 years ago to ease our daughter’s transition to a bed from her crib.
280B: Foxtails to Trick Fox
I’m looking for a picture book I loved as a preschooler – about 1980 – about a mother bird and her chicks (maybe living on the prairie) who scare a fox by carrying foxtails in their beaks (the fox perhaps thinks they’ve successfully conquered other foxes)? May be a Canadian book (lived in Canada then).