Category Archives: Picture Book

147D: “Going Swimming”

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. I will be amazed if you can find this book as I think it was just published locally in the UK. It was written by a mother who does swimming lessons I think. It is a small book, paperback, pretty sure the title is “Going Swimming”. It is about a boy william and his mother and baby sister Vicky going swimming. William has a swimming lesson. At the end they all have a cup of tea and biscuit. On the back of the book is a black and white photograph of the author with her daughter swimming in a pool. The pictures in the book are very distinct, they are quite lifelike, the children are quite ugly! It is strange because white children in the book have not been “coloured” in and black children in the book have a sort of grey hue to their skin. I think it was very cheaply published, maybe even as an educational book for a local council???

I can decribe the book in much more detail if you want but don’t know the author or illustartor. It is so annoying. It is a childhood book of mine which I have now been reading to my daughter so I remmeber it clearly as we have only just lost it recently (2 weeks ago). Because it is so old and obscure I have not been able to find it on google searches. If you can find it I will be so happy!!

145T: Honeycomb Border

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Children’s picture book circa 1980.Most pages had a honeycomb border with bees, containing the illustrations.Story may have been set in the Middle Ages.My niece was born in 1976,so I’m guessing the book was published before she was 8 or 9.I may be remembering the bees commenting like a greek chorus.

 

145S: Star gets sick, in bed with thermometer

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Illustrated children’s story in which a star grows sick or possibly sad. A child/person notices it through their window. The star grows ashen/grey/possibly greenish as it gets sicker/sadder. The top point of the star is flopped forward. I believe the star is taken in by child/person & nursed to health. There is definitely an image in my mind of a star in bed with a thermometer sticking out of its mouth. The story takes place in wintertime.

 

145L: Finding A Package for Andy (solved)

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I am looking for a Children’s picture book which my daughter loved in 1985, I remember the title as A Package For Andy. It is the story of a boy named Andy, who receives a gift in the mail. When he opens the package, it contains a stuffed bear, Andy is very disappointed. He thinks it is a terrible present and tosses it aside. That night the bear comes into Andy’s bedroom and takes Andy on a great adventure. They fly out of his window into a wonderful fantasy world. Andy can fly with the aid of an umbrella. When Andy awakens loves the bear who becomes his favorite toy.

 

144D: Apprentice Witch summons frog-like helper (solved)

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Checked out of the library in the early 80s.
Hardback, tan cover with a cauldron on the front, green smoke coming out of the caldron and wrapping around the back.
An apprentice witch’s mistress is accused of some crime by other witches and taken away. The apprentice tries to find the real culprit. She is able to summon a frog-like helper who knows what is going on. Froggie at first cannot answer her questions, but hints broadly. She finds the next part of the spell and he is able to answer “yes” or “no”. Then she finds the last part and he can give full answers. (There is a wand or a book involved, I think)? If I’m not getting this confused with a different book, at some point she allies herself with two children from the circus who are trapeze artists.