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My mother, born in 1938, remembers a chapter book she read to herself about a family of small people who lived outdoors and crafted needed things from what they found. she remember plates out of acorn caps washing away in a 'big rain.' small line drawings at the beg. of each chapter.

John Petersen, The Littles. I think this is one of The Littles books. I don't know which one, although there is one called The Littles and the Big Storm, which may be a possiblity, since the poster is remembering a "big rain."
Thanks for the idea. However, as my mom was born in 1938 and read it to herself as a older child, this is not the book she remembers. The Littles was published in 1967. The book my mom remembers is about a family of tiny people who live in the woods fending for themselves crafting their needed items out of whatever they find( sort of McGuyver like my mom says)The chapter about the big rain my mom specifically remembers because of the line drawing at the head of the chapter. It was an acorn cap dinner plate washing away. Thanks again and please keep looking.
William Donahey, Alice and the Teenie Weenies, 1927. Any chance this is it? Little people making their own stuff out of discards and natural materials. They used to be a comic in the Sunday paper, and there were other books, but this seems to be the only one that was a chapter book. Mostly, they'd have a story and a big picture.

A478: Animal counting book
I THINK this children's animal counting book is from around 1980. It MIGHT be a Hallmark book and has an orange cover. I remember a few lines: three sleepy skunks get into their bunks, four giraffes enjoy some laughs, five crocodiles wear great big smiles. Would appreciate any help.

Dean Walley, Animal Antics: a first counting book, ~1977? There are other books with Animal Antics as the title, so just be aware. But when I did a Google image search on the keywords "Hallmark book animals counting" [a] book fitting the description came up!

A479: 1960s or 1970s Children's Color Illustrated Encyclopedias with Glossy Covers
A set of children's color illustrated encyclopedias from the 60s or 70s with colorful, glossy covers. Had pictures on the front- think 1 was a planet? Pages were approx 8/12 x 11. Each volume was about 1" thick or so. The page on "UFOs" or "flying saucers" scared me as a child, & stuck in my memory!

Golden Press, The Golden Book Encyclopedia, 1946 to 1988. This sounds like it might be some edition of the Golden Book Encyclopedia. They fit the format you describe and were published in various editions between 1948 and 1988
Childcraft Encyclopedias. You may be looking for the Childcraft series. Each volume contains short stories, factual articles and poetry about a topic. Some of the topics are things like About Me and The World Around Us...although I think the titles might change with each new revision. There is a Space book though, which might be what you're looking for. Childcraft has been around since the 40s or 50s, and are revised every eight years or so. They publish new supplements every year.

A480: Afterlife adventure with caveman
Circa mid-80s to early 90s. Possibly a Scholastic catalog book. Protagonist a boy who had been in a car (?) accident. While in a coma, he awakens in a sort of afterlife/limbo. He teams up with a dead teen girl and a caveman and tries to get back to his life.

Susan Cooper, Seaward, 1980, approximate. I know I've read this book...I think it may be Seaward, by Susan Cooper. Two teens are traveling through a fantastic world, working together to get back to their real lives. I know there's some kind of helpful character they meet along the way who helps them, but I'm not sure if he's a caveman. He might be though!

A481: Adventure with evil wolfhound antagonist
I read in the early 90's. Young man sucked into an adventure with an evil wolfhound playing a dominant role. Athena's owl comes in as a foil for food and evil occasionally. Young man originally in academic (?) setting.

A482: Australia; Four orphaned siblings
Probably British, pre- 1960. Four orphaned British siblings with the youngest two being Betty and Sigismund (the eldest might be Alice or Rose) travel to Australia to join an unknown great-uncle. Due to a mix-up they are dropped off at a shack at the edge of a vast outback property. There they discover an elderly invalid whom they assume is their uncle so start to take care of him. A wealthy grazier and his teenage grandson, Gene, take an interest in them as do a crew of ????? (anthropologists? geologists?) After many adventures they earn the admiration of the grazier.

Margaret Ross, Greentree Downs, This was one of the early Puffin Story Books. It's a long time since I've read it, but it sounds as though it might be the one.

A483: Astral projection, teenaged siblings
A book about teenaged siblings (brother and sister) who are split up through an adoption agency and use astral projection and other techniques to keep in touch, protect themselves, and eventually reunite. The book also described the steps the siblings follow to project, beginning with grounding.

Barthe DeClements, Double Trouble, 1995. Pretty sure Double Trouble is the book you're looking for. One twin has ESP, the other can astral project. The girl lives with an aunt who in very strict and doesn't like boys, the boy ends up with an extremely religious family who, as it turns out, have some bad plans for him. (I think they're going to sacrifice him or something.) They can still talk though, and work together to save each other.

A484: Anthology of children's tales
Anthology of children's tales - Rushcape was in it, as well as a story in the form of a play about knights (why do I feel like one of them was a firefighter? or had to put out a fire?), plus a tale about frogs, illustrated really nicely.

B832: Brown dog costume, girl, onion sandwiches

SOLVED: E. L. Konigsburg, Jennifer, Hecate, Macbeth, William McKinley, and me, Elizabeth

B833: Bird in a Cage - Dead
I read this picture book in the late 1970s. Beautiful pen & watercolor illustrations, I think. Oversize book. At one point, a girl gets a present of a pen. At another point, her bird in a fancy cage is dead. I can't remember the story or anything else. Thanks for any help.

B834: Boy or boys chased through forest
The book I'm looking for:
- I read in grade school, in the 80s.
- the book was likely written in the 60s, 70s or early 80s
- I believe this to be a children or juvenile book
- rough plot: a boy or two boys (possibly teen boys; maybe brothers?) are being chased or followed through the forest...down to the water. Not sure, but they may have witnessed a crime? possibly a murder? They end up going down a river..via canoe. It's a fiction; adventure or mystery. Hopefully this is enough to go on. thanks for your help.

Margaret Goff Clark, Danger at the Heels, 1975, approximate. I'm pretty sure this is the book you're looking for. I haven't read it for awhile, but there are two brothers (or maybe stepbrothers) who set out on a river trip. Somehow, they end up chased by crooks, trying to retrieve a package they have. The boys know that the money (?) is stolen, and plan to return it. A later title with a similar plot is River Danger, by Thomas Dygard. And Will Hobbs' Downriver also has some similarities. But both are more recent.
SOLVED: Margaret Goff Clark, Death at their heels. Hi, looks like I've got a winner! Death at their heels by Margaret Goff Clark is the name and author. thanks for your help!

B835: Black cat saves the day
The book is about a black cat who is seen as bad luck in a town. A witch comes into town and the cat saves the day. On the cover was cat with the town and tower in background. It's from, or rather we read it, in around 1998 or 1999.

Barbara Sleigh, Carbonel, The King of the Cats, 1955. I'm not sure from the description of the book, but the description of the cover fits Carbonel, The King of the Cats. A witch decides to go out of business and sells her cat and her broom to a girl named Rosemary. The cat can be heard talking if you are holding the broom. The cat wants to be freed from the witch and that is the plot of the book - the search for the spell and items needed to finally free the cat from the witch.
Barbara Sleigh, The Kingdom of Carbonel, 1961. The description of the book does fit the sequel written to Carbonel, The King of the Cats. That is titled The Kingdom of Carbonel and has a similar plot - the girl, Rosemary, and her friend trying to stop the evil, supposedly former witch, from her plot to kidnap the royal heir and cause chaos and mayhem in the Kingdom of Carbonel.

B836: Boyfriend drowns in lake
I read a book about 10 years ago that started with a teenage couple who went swimming in a lake. The boyfriend drowned in the lake that night and the girlfriend learns to move on after his death. She goes to college and then the boyfriend comes back as a ghost and interacts with her in humorous ways.

B837: Boston, Revolutionary War, girl seamstress
I read a children's novel in the 60's about a girl sent to Boston during the Revolutionary War as an indentured servant. She was also an excellent seamstress an a lot of the book was about the sewing she did for the ladies in town. Even though I read it many times, I can't remember the title!

Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.
Thank you for the suggestion! I have read Calico Captive, but this is a different book. The girl wasn't captured by Indians, she was a servant girl who might have been sent from England. Her sewing was a big part of the story.
Gwen Bristow, Celia Garth, 1966, republished since then. I tried doing all kinds of searches, and I kept thinking about Phoebe the Spy, but I knew that wasn't the right book. But it made me think of the climate right before the war was declared, so I did a search on pre-revolutionary war and seamstress and came up with CELIA GARTH by Gwen Bristow. And the good news it's been republished! Hope this is the right one.
Gwen Bristow, Celia Garth, 1966. Never read it, but a search turned up CELIA GARTH by Gwen Bristow and it seems to match.

B838: Book about raccoon who has a party
Title is 'the 324th guest,' or some similar number. a raccoon (?) is lonesome eating cold mashed potatoes with ketchup, decides to have a party, invites 323 other animals, all have a great time. then when he's cleaning up he realizes he is the 324th guest and he likes his own company just fine.

Marjorie Weinman Sharmat, The 329th Friend, 1979. When will authors learn that putting a number in the title is a terrible idea? The book is THE 329th FRIEND by Marjorie Weinman Sharmat. You can see the review of the book when it was first published https://www.kirkusreviews.com/book-reviews/marjorie-weinman-sharmat-10/the-329th-friend/#review

B839: Boy and his mammoth
Read in 1970's in UK. Set in cave man times. Boy may have been called Pete. Hope you can help!!! Best wishes

John Grant, Littlenose the Hero. And several sequels. These are books, published in the UK, about a cave-boy and his mammoth, Two-Eyes but no one is called Pete so far as I remember. Otherwise, they fit your description.

B840: Billy's Red Car
Hard cover picture book. Loaned from local library 1986 - 1987. Story about a little boy who was a little naughty - pedal car crashing into a clothes line. Book may have pictured the car on the cover. May have a trike somewhere in the story.

B841: Boy and teddy bear get ready for bed
Childrens book purchased in 1996-1998, 10-16 illustrated (very well done) about a boy and his friend teddy bear getting ready for bed, reflecting on thier day or looking forward. a circus, fighting pirates. there is an envelope in the back with a note teling the reader to draw what they want to dream.

Buchholz, Quint, Sleep Well, Little Bear, 1994, copyright. This is definitely the book they're looking for. A little bear can't sleep so he reflects on what he did that day, including pretending to be pirates and putting on a circus. There's a letter in the back cover of the book for you to draw on.

B842: Boy, princess, tower, fireworks
Boy and Princess sneak into the Kings tower, accidentally ignite his powders/fireworks. As the flames reach them on top of the tower, with the King looking on helplessly from below, the boy grabs a huge length of cloth, catches the wind, and they are both carried out to sea". possible adult book.

Colfer, Eoin. Airman, 2008. Conor Broekhart saves childhood love Isabella in this escape scene, before becoming entangled with the evil Hugo Bonvilain later in life over the Little Saltee island principality.

B843: Bedtime stories from the late 1980s or early 1990s
I was looking for a large, thin book of about 5 or 6 kids bedtime stories from probably the late '80s, early '90s. There was a story about a little boy playing baseball, one about fairies, one with a little girl named Penelope and her cat, and one with a toucan who dyed her beak so she could be beautiful like the other tropical birds.

SOLVED: McConnell, Nancy P. More Five-Minute Bedtime Stories, 1986. My dad found it in the basement! This is definitely it.

B844: Barefoot little girl lost in woods
Wordless beautifully illustrated picture book about a little girl lost in the woods. She was barefoot and it seems like the colors were all neutrals and pastels. Several angels hidden in the art throughout. Hardback, printed before 1995. Offwhite/beige cover w/ black filigree, if my memory serves me.

Sendak, Maurice. Dear Mili, 1988. It isn't wordless, but the detail about the angels makes me think of Maurice Sendak's illustrations for Dear Mili.

B845: Bird friends take a boat ride
Two friends are birds, one tall the other stout. they meet each day on the shore to take a boat ride. one has an umbrella they use for shade. one day it is missing they track it by finding bits of the red fringe in the bushes. someone else was using it for shade, they all get on the boat together.

B846: Birthday girl upset because friends can't play
1970-80s about a girl who goes to all her friends & asks them to play. Their parents all say they can't play. She gets very upset and feels bad cause they won't play with her and it is her birthday. At one point she says "alone!" She gets home and there is a surprise party with all her friends!

B847: Boy cursed with arm of gold
I read this book around 1995 - A boy's arm is turned into gold, and the only cure is dragon's blood. He sets out on an adventure, eventually slaying(?) a dragon, but the blood does not work. He returns home to find the dragon's blood he needs is actually a plant that grows near his doorstep.

C774: Collection of Children's Stories
Green cloth covered book about 8x11 possibly in the 1950s and possibly by whitman publishing. Contains a collection of childrens stories, The Old Woman and Her Pig, Yonie Wondernose, The Velveteen Rabbit, and more It had black and white illustrations,and I dont remember pictures or lettering on the cover.

Anne Neigoff, Parade of Stories, 1974. This contains both stories, although possibly it's too late for your book.

C775: "Calpi" the horse
I am looking for a children's book, published 1965 or (most likely) before, about a horse named "Calpi," or some derivation thereof. He remembers it as a green or blue book, with "Calpi" in calligraphy arcing across the top. The closest I can find is "Calico, the Wonder Horse."

Anita Feagles, Casey the Utterly Impossible Horse, 1960. Casey is a talking horse that wears striped pajamas, a hat and sunglasses. The cover is green and "Casey" is written in script at the top. It may or may not be the book you are looking for, as there wasn't much of a description to go on.
Ursula Moray Williams, Kelpie the Gipsies' Pony, 1946, reprint. Found this one which looks like a good possibility. Description: A homeless boy living with gypsies tames a wild pony and invents various schemes to be near his pet. It's a hardback book with a green cover.

C776: Coote, Children's picture book
Date: 1950's. Mother Coote (a Coote bird) dressed with an apron & head scarf, duster under her wing & has children that get into mischief

Isobel St. Vincent, Helen Haywood (illus), Clarrie Coot, 1947. Published by Hutchinson's Books for Young People, London. Illustrated with five color plates and black & white drawing throughout the book. From an online listing: "A charming story of life on a river bank, featuring Clarrie Coot the kind hearted little duck, who, no matter how hard she tried she could never be tidy." Illustration on first page shows Clarrie wearing old-fashioned shoes, an apron, and a scarf tied around her head, holding a broom with her wings and sweeping. One color picture shows Clarrie (wearing a red scarf w/ white polka dots tied around her head and what appears to be a pearl necklace) peeping in through a window. Inside, gathered around a small table, are what appears to be a muskrat in a top hat and black coat w/ fur trim, a badger wearing a red neckerchief, and a rat in red pants.

C777: Children's dreams
I read the book when I was in grade school, early-mid 80’s, and I just loved it. It was about a brother and sister sent to live with an aging “aunt” whose own 2 children had disappeared when they were of a similar age. The siblings soon discovered a secret stairwell into the attic where there was an old playroom, small beds and all. They were discovered and sternly told to stay away from the attic, which of course they didn’t do. Whenever they slept in the attic, they had dreams that started benign, and seemed that they were chasing after 2 other children who were always a step ahead. They had dreams that placed them in the toy block house, a chambered nautilus, and other places that were represented in the playroom. Finally, the last dream had them trapped in bubbles that they had to work very hard to break. This was where the other 2 children had disappeared. The new siblings were able to break the bubbles, which seemed to be globes on the front porch, and the next day, the now adult missing kids came home. It was a fascinating story and I wish so badly that I could remember the name and/or author. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Jane Langton, The Diamond in the Window, 1973. This is absolutely your book, a wonderful dreamy mystery. You can find a very detailed summary here: http://bellaonbooks.wordpress.com/2010/05/05/old-favorites-the-diamond-in-the-window/
Jane Langton, The Diamond in the Window. This is definitely The Diamond in the Window. A marvelous book. Has a number of sequels - The Swing in the Summerhouse, The Astonishing Stereoscope, The Fledgling, The Fragile Flag, The Time Bike, The Mysterious Circus, The Dragon Tree. I like the first three best. Fledgling was a Newbery Honor Book.
Jane Langton, The Diamond in the Window, 1962. This is almost certainly The Diamond in the Window. There are several sequels in The Hall Family Chronicles, so if you really liked the first book, you can keep going!
Langton, Jane, Diamond in the window.
Jane Langton, The diamond in the Window, 1969. "Eleanor and Eddy discover a hidden staircase that leads to a secret room at the top of their house. The room has toys and books, an elaborate castle built of blocks, and two small beds. They learn from Aunt Lily that the room belonged to their aunt and uncle, Ned and Nora, who disappeared when they were children."
Langton, Jane, Diamond in the Window. Although some of the details don't match exactly, this sounds a lot like Diamond in the Window.
SOLVED: Langton, Jane, Diamond in the Window. I am so thankful to have found the name of this book I remember so well! I've thought of it so often through the years, and now to be able to buy it and read it again makes me giddy! I am also pleased to learn this is the beginning of a series, so my enjoyment can continue! Thank you so much for you help!

C778: Contrived environment, two teenagers, secret messages hidden in letters, future, space travel
I read a book back in my sophomore year of high school (1994). The book in question focuses on two teenagers and takes place in the future. Near the beginning of the book they somehow meet and start communicating through letters. They later determine they are being held captive. Captive, in the sense, that they are in a contrived non-futuristic environment designed to fool them into believing it is their home. They know the letters they write are being read by their captives, so they devise a way to encrypt messages within their text. My memory goes fuzzy after that. I know they eventually meet up and escape. During the escape, their actual futuristic environment is revealed to them. I can't remember the author's name, however, I do remember my 10th grade English teacher had reservations about allowing me to read works from this particular author due to his adult themed writing style. Also pretty sure, there was a sequel to this book, which I read as well, and may be confusing plot points with the first book. Any help would be great. Thanks.

Nicholas Fisk, A Rag, a Bone, and a Hank of Hair, 1980. Could this be it? In a dystopian future, the government has cloned a family from the 1940s who live in a closed environment completely unaware that WWII is long over. A boy is sent by the government to live with the family and monitor the experiment, but gradually grows attached to them as he uncovers the government's plot.
Anthony, Piers, Race against time, 1973. I think this is your book!
SOLVED: Piers Anthony, Race Against Time. Best $2 I ever spent. Thanks so much for finding my book, been bugging me for years!

C779: Children's book possibly late 50s
We have some lines from a book Mom remembers reading could you help me find it? My ball is big and red and round. My little car is blue. My train goes choo choo choo. My chairs for sitting down. My telephones for calling up. My ponys for my clown. I would appreciate any help! Thanks.

Lillian B. Garfield, See My Toys, 1947.

C780: Children's fairy/folk tale anthology with MANGOES
Large hardcover children's book, beautiful full page colour illustrations. Includes original version of Beauty & the Beast (ship merchant father vows to bring back a rose for his youngest daughter), and Indian??folk tale of mango seller ("Mangoes, fresh mangoes! Who'll buy my lovely fresh mangoes?").

C781: Clown adventures
Book published in 1940s? very early 1950s? Clown who has many adventures, including being rolled up in a carpet. Artistically illustrated with flowing lines.

C782: Children's story / poem collection
This children's book has stories and maybe poems. The cover was red cloth with an illus. panel (I think). It was a larger-sized book. There was a story about Neverland (not Peter Pan) and another about dolls having a party at night (and being sticky the next day). Illus. from 20s? 30s? 40s? Pixies.

The story about dolls being sticky the next day sounds like a chapter from Raggedy Ann Stories, by Johnny Gruelle (Raggedy Ann Learns a Lesson). But I don't know what other collection it's in.

C783: Cat, tree, birthday cake
This was my favorite children's book around the mid-90's (I was born in 1990 if that helps). It was about a cat who lived in a tree whose mother was sick and died. The cat broke into a house and ate birthday cake and got sick. A little boy helped him. The cover was of a tree in black and white.

C784: Cape Cod, girl, aunt, dentures
Girl who summers in Cape Cod with family in the summer was a youth book. I read this is the early '80 but it was probably from the '50s or '60's and I believe it was a series. Her aunt looks her dentures and the girl finds them in an apron pocket.

Catherine Woolley, Ginny and the Mystery Doll, 1960.

C785: Computer "Teacher" short story
A short story where children used a computer as a Teacher (capitalized), as a substitute for reading, or somehow reading was augmented or controlled. Perhaps a child was preparing for a test? Something fundamental had changed about the nature of teaching. Maybe an elementary anthology book? Updated: I found the short story that I was thinking of - Isaac Asimov's The Fun They Had. A brother and sister find an actual book - physical paper and all - and marvel at the novelty of words that don't automatically move across a screen. http://users.aber.ac.uk/dgc/funtheyhad.html I'd still be interested in knowing what elementary-school anthology contained it, because there were many stories in that book that influenced me as a child.

Isaac Asimov, The Fun They Had, 1951. There's an article about this on Wikipedia that lists some of the books it has been reprinted in. "It first appeared in a children's newspaper in 1951 and was reprinted in the February 1954 issue of The Magazine of Fantasy and Science Fiction, as well as the collections Earth Is Room Enough (1957), 50 Short Science Fiction Tales (1960), and The Best of Isaac Asimov (1973). It has been modified in a Finnish English book called KEY English 8-9... It is the most anthologised of all Asimov's stories and has appeared in many publications outside of the science fiction genre."

You can see a list of sf/f anthologies containing this story, and also see the other contents of each such anthology (up through 1984), via the Homevile sf anthologies site http://www.philsp.com/homeville/isfac/0start.htm For information on anthologies since 1984, use http://www.locusmag.com/index/
Incidentally, the requestor might also enjoy another Asimov story, "The Feeling of Power," which has a premise somewhat comparable to "The Fun They Had" but involving the future of mathematics rather than of reading.

Isaac Asimov, The Fun They Had, 1951. The ISFDB can perhaps help you figure out where you read the story: http://www.isfdb.org/cgi-bin/title.cgi?58943 lists lots of anthologies that it's appeared in, including a few that sound plausible as elementary-school readers.

C786: Classroom (elementary) took place in broom/janitors closet
Juvenile fiction set in 50s/60s about 5th or 6th graders. Main characters: Henry, Susan, Linda (tallest girl in the class). Teacher tall, blonde hair in bun. Classroom was moved to a large janitors closet. Students able to paint the classroom yellow. book cover yellow, title written on chalkboard

Muehl, Lois Baker, Worst Room in the School, 1961. There are many more students in school, and the school district and the public are arguing whether to build a new school or enlarge the old one.
SOLVED: Lois Baker Muehl, Worst Room In The School, 1961. Yep you solved it! Thanks so much have been racking my brain on this for weeks now! Loved this book as a kid and now can't wait to order for my own children! Thank you for all your help!

C787: City surrounded by monsters
Girl is told that the city is surrounded by monsters, but boy turns up one day and she realises they lied. They leave so she can help him save someone, and they travel with a caravan train through the wilderness. Read in about 1996, not as insipid as it sounds!

C788: Coming of age story in working class town
A class book studied in the mid 80's in the UK. It was set in a working class town and followed a group of children. One of them is abused, maybe murdered. Very moving coming of age book. I'd love to find it again. I feel the title was something like 'where we lived' but no joy in searching.

C789: Carnival swing ride on cover
I remember very little about this book but think it's a young adult/older kid sci-fi book. I think it had a picture of a carnival swing ride on the cover. I think the main character was a teenage girl with a difficult personality. Something about the carnival grounds was special or magical.

C790: Catalog with fantastical inventions
1980's childrens book that was like a catalog with fantastical inventions that kids would want, like a baseball bat with bat wings or a doorway to walk though to get clean rather than taking a bath. I think it was paperback with black and white drawings.

C791: Chicago boy witnesses murder; may be named Joshua
Young boy growing up in a (Chicago, I believe) ghetto. He goes through a rough winter living on the streets. I want to say he witness a murder or was involved in a murder. I also remember he had a younger sibling. I read this book in 84-85, but I believe the book was published in the 60's. I read it in my junior high library and it had a back cover that was orange and a front (sticker cover over the orange cover) was white with a kid with what I believe was a winter scene. I want to say the main character was Joshua or a name that started with a J. I always thought the title was Joshua Saved or something like that. The boy goes through a life changing experience which I believe he explored religion and became a Christian.

D346: Dragon saws wood with his tale
I'm looking for a book that I read I think in the mid 70's . I know it was prior to 1980. The book had a dragon and he could cut/saw wood with his tale. That's all I could remember. Thank you.

D347: Doll lost for several years
c. 1970's. This was a story of a girl who goes to visit her aunt, while her parents are traveling. While the aunt is out for the day, she goes into the attic and discovers a young girls diary named Elizabeth (who in the end turns out to be the same aunt she is staying with). Elizabeth has this doll that she loves and the doll is lost and the girl ends up finding the doll with the help of her aunt's cat. The doll was up in the attic stuck in the eaves the all these years. The girl also stays in a guest room while visiting her aunt, which was Elizabeth's bedroom all those years ago.

Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth, 1966. Almost certainly this one. See the solved stumpers.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth, 1966. Sally has to stay with her great-aunt Sarah in a creepy house while her parents are away. She becomes friends with a girl in the neighborhood and with her aunt's cat's help, solves a mystery involving a lost doll named Elizabeth.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth. Definitely this book. The girl is Sally, though, and the aunt is Aunt Sarah it's the doll who is named Elizabeth.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth, 1967, approximate. This has to be Magic Elizabeth, obviously a much-loved book! you'll find it in the Solved stumpers too.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth. Definitely the book.
Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth, 1966. Sounds like Magic Elizabeth, see Solved Mysteries.

D348: Disappearance of two girls, mystery novel
Mystery novel :young cop who is investigating the disappearance of two girls who attend the same gifted school he did growing up. One of the girls was a story teller/hilarious practical joker and dies in the end. Other girl thought dead girl helped her, but couldn't have because she was dead by then.

Carol O'Connell, Judas Child, 1999. The description sounds like Judas Child, which is a psychological murder-mystery for adults, not a children's book.

D349: Dehydrated Girl, Underground Bunker
I'm trying to find a science fiction book for upper elementary grades. It was published by 1986. The general plot is two (or more) children on a seemingly deserted island, and they discover that there are scientists working on some kind of project in underground bunkers. There is possibly a blimp or other aircraft at the end. The one scene I remember distinctly is when the children become severely dehydrated. The girl wakes up in the underground bunker. The scientists put her on a strict rehydration schedule, only allowing her small sips of water. But when they leave the room, she pours herself several glasses of the cool water and drinks them down.

Frank Bonham, The Missing Persons League, 1980, approximate. Could this have been The Missing Person's League? The main character is a boy, but there is a friend who's a girl who gets in trouble. If it's not this one, it could be something by T. Ernesto Bethancourt. I always get these two author's books mixed up.

D350 Dog died poem
A dog that was lost or died...in it, there was a poem about the dog that ended, "I'm speaking of my Bebe, I'm telling it to you". The poem went SOMETHING like:
Searching through the morning mist / I wandered all alone / Searching for the only thing that I can call my own. / Blah, blah, blah and THEN / I'm speaking of my Bebe / I'm telling it to you. This was written by the girl in the book, and this was her dog.

E165: Elephant
Circa: 1950s. It was a large book about a multi-talented elephant who had several careers during a given day. The illustrations were watercolour, realistic, fullpage. I clearly remember two of them: one in which the elephant (as railroad operator) wore pinstriped overalls and a conductor's cap. The other, he was wearing a chef's toque and dancing about with a huge yellow cake on a plate. That cake was topped with a delicious cherry. I don't remember more of the story than that. It's NOT the Saggy Baggy Elephant. This elephant was the hero of his own life: he had dignity! :)

Kathryn and Byron Jackson Feodor Rojankovsky (illus), The Big Elephant, 1949. Reprinted as What's Next, Elephant? "Delightful story of circus elephant who kept falling out of his bed while traveling by train from town to town. He left the circus and decided to build his own home in the town. He helped the people with tasks and became very popular with his music. At Christmas, he received a shiny new horn from Santa and began to play all kinds of songs. He was asked to join the town band and was most happy when he marched along in the Fourth of July parade." The elephant wears a variety of clothes while performing tasks throughout the book, including striped pajamas (when falling out of bed), blue overalls with a red shirt (while watering gardens and carrying coal) a suit (while performing with an orchestra) an apron (while serving cake and ice cream) and a marching band uniform.
SOLVED: The Big Elephant. Well, I can't seem to access the inquiry I submitted on the website, but I'm happy to say that the answer you found was the one I've been seeking. Additional good news: the book is readily available-- and the illustrations even more luscious than I recalled them! I've ordered a copy and am happily awaiting the arrival of my very own nostalgic pachyderm. Thanks!

F415: Flying bear loves salmon
I am looking for a story from the 1950's or 1960's about a flying bear that loved salmon. I can remember pictures of salmon cans and I think there was something wrong with his shoes because I remember illustrations where the shoes were on backward.

Ray St.Clair, The Cannery Bear, 1947, copyright. This sounds like The Cannery Bear, from Jane Warner's "The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies" (1951), which says it originally appeared in the "Story Parade" magazine. The bear loves canned salmon so much that he gets a job at the cannery to try to get more of it. (That's why he's wearing shoes -- albeit on the wrong feet -- also overalls and a tie he has to look like a human.) One night a fairy bear in a dream gives him 1) wings and 2) radar on top of his head. These allow him to fly out to sea and alert the foreman about how soon the fishing boats will land, which helps him manage the work at the factory. He pays the bear in cases of salmon and everyone's happy. There is an illustration at the beginning of the bear taking cans of salmon off someone's pantry shelf in his pre-employment days, and one of him at the factory in his backward shoes, and another of him flying with the shoe soles visible (and still reversed).
The 2008 reprint of The Giant Golden Book of Elves and Fairies is in stock at Loganberry Books. This collection includes The Cannery Bear.

F416: Flying horse lives on roof
A little girl meets a foreign man and later receives a crate containing a flying horse! She stables him on the roof of her high rise building. Once she learns to ride him her parents decide to move the family out west for more room+security. Was told it was already out of print when I read it ~'97.

Elizabeth Vincent Foster, Lyrico, the Only Horse of His Kind, 1970

F417: Farmer puts salve on pumpkin & freezes in winter with icicles in beard
Childrens illustrated book from 1970s. Farmer possibly going through the seasons where events that happen to him are exagerated & funny (puts salve on pumpkin making it grow huge & freezing while doing chores with icicles growing from beard). Book had words & colored pictures. From elementary school library.

Sid Fleischman, McBroom series (McBroom's Ghost, McBroom Tells the Truth). Sounds like some of the tall tales from Fleischman's McBroom series. The icicles are probably from McBroom's Ghost. The pumpkins are probably from McBroom Tells the Truth. There are a number of books in the series. They've been reprinted many times, with different illustrators, so if the pictures don't quite look like the ones you remember, look for a different printing.
James Flora, Grandpa's Farm, 1965, approximate. Though the tall tale elements of the McBroom farm tales are similar, I think the person is looking for GRANDPA'S FARM by James Flora.
Also see James Flora's 1965 book, Grandpa's Farm: Four Tall Tales. I don't remember a pumpkin, but when a house lands on and breaks off a cow's tail, the salve makes the tail grow back - and when put on the other part of the tail, it grows a new cow! Also, there's a big wind that blows a well out of the ground.

SOLVED: James Flora, Grandpa's Farm. I am so grateful to have found this web site. After years of searching for my favorite childhood book, my quest has finally come to an end. Thank you so much for your assistance and to the solver who got it right!

F418: Fantasy Book with creature named either Red-Eye or Pink-Eye
Would have been written prior to 2002. There was a creature (dragon?) named either red-eye or pink-eye. There is a girl who is the apprentice for a woman. The woman switches places with the girl at some point, possibly to save her life. I also remember something about an amulet/talisman. Thanks!

F419: Family of Bears, fly
Looking for a children's book that is about a familiy of Bears --- as they are sitting down to a meal -- the father bear sees a fly and starts to try to kill it. He hits at it and accidently hits each family member until they are all knocked out and the fly exits the door.

Winter, Paula, The bear & the Fly, 1976. Definitely this book. A bear tries to catch a fly with disastrous results.

F420: Family of bears
The book I read to my daughter, born in 1976, was about a large family of bears, around 14, each introduced namewise and as having a different occupation. They each lived in an individual tree.

Might this be The Fourteen Bears, Summer and Winter by Evelyn Scott? See our most requested page, here: http://www.loganberrybooks.com/most-scott.html

F421: Fairy Tale Storybook
I'm looking for a fairytale book I had in the 60's. I only remember Cinderella because that's the one I read the most. The book had beautiful glossy pictures-- I remember Cinderella running down the staircase. The book was a gray hardcover. It might have been one of a series of children's books.

F422: Fairy Tales with orange cover, includes story about a fire man
The book is a collection of fairy tales. I read it as a child (mid-80's). It was hardcover and I believe it had an orange colored cover. A couple of the stories it included are these:
1. One was about the fire man (not a fireman, but a character that represents fire). I don't know the plot, but I remember a couple lines of a poem it contained: "Take care lest you're awaken for tonight you shall be taken...As the Fire Man dances by."
2. One was about a bet between lady luck and a character that represented money (Mr. Money?). They each use their powers on a man to determine which is more powerful, luck or money. I don't remember all the details but I know Lady Luck brings the man bad luck so his wife ends up getting sick.
3. A third story was about a queen. The queen is pregnant and gives birth, but someone switches the baby at birth for a cat. Later she gives birth again, and this time her baby is switched for a dog. Later in the story, she is on some kind of quest where many people have been turned to stone. Anybody who ventures to that place gets turned to stone if they look back. She looks back and gets turned to stone. In the end, some other character has a pitcher of magical water that releases the people who have been turned to stone. That character puts just a drop on each stone figure and they come back to life.
4. Another was about a prince searching for a true friend. He tests everyone he meets by offering part of his apple. He slices the apple so that one half is smaller. If the person takes the bigger half, then he is not a true friend. He finally meets his true friend and that man saves the prince from a bear attack.

The Orange Fairy Book. Don't recall all the stories, but the one about sharing the apple and finding a true friend sounds familiar.
Storm, Theodor Woldsen, The Raintrude. The first story mentioned sounds like The Raintrude by Theodor Storm, a 19th century German author. It is about a couple who couldn'\''t be married until it rained, and there is a little poem about the Fire Man, who is causing the drought:
Vapour is the wave,
Dust is the source,
The woods are silent,
The Fire Man dances across the fields!
Take care!
Before he awakes,
Your mother will fetch you
Into the night!
The story with the characters turning to stone sounds like a story from The Arabian Nights. It has at least five titles, including Princess Parizade, The Story of Two Sisters Who Were Jealous of Their Younger Sister, The Two Sisters Who Envied their Cadette, The Story of the Speaking Bird, and The Talking Bird The Singing Tree and The Golden Water. Parizade is the daughter and third child of the "younger sister" - she has to rescue her two brothers when they get turned to stone. You can read the Andrew Lang's 1898 version here, with H.J. Ford's ink illustrations. http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/lang1k1/tale34.htm In Kate Douglas Wiggin's 1909 version, however, the princess is named Periezade. To read that, see here http://jaimedelacruzblog.blogspot.com/2010/06/arabian-nights-talking-bird-singing.html It includes a color illustration by Maxfield Parrish (1870–1966). The 1893 E. Dixon version can be read here, with ink illustrations. http://www.wollamshram.ca/1001/Dixon/dixon02_17.htm

F423: Family rides to school in train-like vehicle
Children's book about an animal Family with lots of kids. The youngest is a girl who wears a big bow. They sleep in a room with the beds all lined up. They ride to school in a train like vehicle and they all wear helmets.

F424: Female slave discovers how to make heat with magic
Young adult book. Society where slaves mine coal for heat. Female slave with circular brand on her forehead is bought by a rich guy and brought to the city. she discovers how to make heat with magic. Gets drunk and dances naked around a fire at one point. Think the author might be Australian.

G652: Goat Ate Tin Can Hologram (3-D)
1940's or early 50's children's book. Probably elf or little golden book. A goat ate a ragged tin can and you could see it in his tummy which was a hologram or 3-D view.

G653: Girl in elementary school, candies
I am looking for a book about a young girl in elementary school. The girls in her class take turns/get picked to clap out the chalkboard erasers outside, and it is something they all like to do. The teacher in the story giving out little candies that come in a small round tin, like Cavendish&Harvey.

Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits, 1951. Maybe this one? Ellen and her good friend have a falling out, but at the end of the book they make up when their teacher sends them both outside to clap erasers (a special treat).
SOLVED: Beverly Cleary, Ellen Tebbits. This is the book! I didn't see anything about the candies, so I might have been confused. But it is the right setting and story. Thank you so much!

G654: Girl visits aunt(s)? who live above a town and may be witches
Here are my memories: the girl visits/goes to live with her aunts (I think) - the house is on a hill above a town and the town people think the aunts are witches. It is very cold when the girl arrives and the room she stays in is pretty spartan.

Norma Kassirer, Magic Elizabeth. This is a long shot, but when Sally goes to stay with her great-aunt Sarah, she gets there on a dark, rainy night, the house is spooky-looking and hard to find, and she does think her aunt looks like a witch--plus there's a black cat. See D347.
Magic Elizabeth was a good guess but it is not the right book.
Sylvia Cassedy, Behind the Attic Wall. Shot in the dark b/c I'd think you'd remember the dolls, but have you looked at BEHIND THE ATTIC WALL?

G655: Girl from wrong side of the tracks falls pregnant with rich boys baby
he dies teen story, white background, small red & blue logo, girl with long dark hair on front, possibly with a plane (drawing not photo)? He leaves to be a fighter pilot and dies, called Powell? He lived in a house which was 3 stories high and described as looking like a cake. written pre 80's possibly?

G656: Good good good, Bill shouted, today is my birthday!
In the late 1970s, my sister had a book memorized whose first line went like this: Good good good, Bill shouted, today is my birthday! The book had a 1950s art style like a little golden book. . He went throughout the house and yard on a search for his birthday present. He finds a puppy!

Irene Blair, Hazel Hoeeker (illus), Bill's Birthday Surprise, 1954. A Whitman Tell-A-Tale book. Cute pictures of Bill (w/ reddish-brown hair, wearing a red-and-white striped shirt and blue suspender overalls) looking for his surprise. Mother and father suggest that perhaps the surprise is hiding and help him look.

G657: Gunslinger searches for killer
I read a book once with a "gunslinger" like main character who traveled during the day searching for a man who killed at night. In the end of the book the main character ends up at his house and finds a secret room in the back and realizes he is the killer he has been searching for the whole time.

Stephen King, The Dark Tower Series. You might be thinking about this whole series and not just an individual book.

G658: A Ghost Story...
That was the title, I believe. Just "A ghost story" and I believe the book was from the late 1970's. If I can remember correctly, it was a story of a young girl (teen possibly), who was staying in a home along the coast, and it was haunted by a man I believe was a pirate, ship captain... but he was stuck and kept walking the shore, and he thought the girl was his lost love. I think she tried to explain that she wasn't, and somehow, toward the end of the story, it was found that his long lost love was a ghost as well, and they walk away together... I think, for the time, the book was fairly well written, and well, haunting. :) I remember the cover being white, I think, and the writing being in red, but I cannot remember the author. It was a paperback book I bought through the book orders our teachers passed out in class. Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Unknown, The Concrete Captain, 1972, approximate. This is so similar to the plot of "The Concrete Captain" it was a TV episode of a 1970's ghost story series, but perhaps it was based on a book or short story? It was aired as an episode of the TV series "Ghost Story". It was first aired in 1972, but was perhaps rerun again in the late 70's, because that's when I seem to remember seeing it. You had mentioned just remembering the words "ghost story", and that's the name of the TV series. In the Concrete Captain episode, a young woman is staying with her husband at an inn (actually an old house), on the coast. She is haunted/obsessed by the ghost of a sea captain, who was buried 100 years earlier in the rocks on the coast, near the inn. The house/inn was the home of the dead captain and his wife 100 years before. The young wife staying there walks the shore repeatedly, he (ghost of captain), crawls onto the shore calling for her. The ghost of the captain is "stuck" or "trapped" and can't move on. There is also the actual ghost of the dead wife involved also, more toward the end---the ghost of the long lost love/dead captain's wife, finally is able to encourage him that they can finally be together again. If you go to YouTube and search for "concrete captain", someone has posted the entire episode in 3 parts. I know it's not your book but the plot is so similar, and the TV series was called "ghost story", so maybe the idea for the book came from the show, or perhaps the show was based on your book!

G659: Grandmother tells exciting story of girl in the old country, reveals she was that girl
1960s book? beautiful illustrations. grandma tells story of girl in "the old country" (Poland or Russia or Hungary by the dress?), story involves the brother, something about catching a giant fish which then slaps one of them on the face with its tail, then grandmother reveals she was girl in story.

Frank Anders, Grandmother and Machek

G660: Girl, birthday wish, record
I was reading this between 1982 - 88. Could have been published anytime before. About a girl who for her birthday wants & asks everyone for a certain record. When opening presents at party, she received the same gift over and over. Book may have included read along record. Soft cover.

G661: Girl, woods, boy ghost
Girl moves to new home, conflict in house with either sister or parents. Meets boy in woods who turns out to be ghost. He may have been a suicide, or she considers it to join him. Ultimately she senses he means her harm. Read this in high school library in 1978. May be up to 10 years older.

G662: Girl grows weeds
A book about a girl who can't do anything right until she grows weeds. I recall the drawings as black & white, but who knows?

G663: Girl pees in potty
I remember the book in the mid 80's. About a girl named Catherine (unsure of the spelling). There is a part that goes through all the places she shouldn't pee and a part that says something like "the dog pees outside, the cat pees in the box and Catherine goes pee pee in the potty. A board book.

H289: High school boy photographer, rural Pennsylvania, mystery
This is a young adult book from the 1960's. It is set in rural Pennsylvania and the primary protagonist is a high school boy who's hobby is taking wildlife photos with his camera. There is a mystery, a hermit in the woods, girlfriend named Penny, a honey competition at the fair-goldenrod honey wins.

H290: Haunted Blood Mansion
Mid-late 80s book that was about a haunted mansion and was fully illustrated. I seem to remember something about blood manor and blood mansion the overall colour scheme of the book was red and grey it had pictures of booby traps and eyes behind hanging portraits?

H291: High school girl plays piano; new girl is rival
HS girl plays piano really well. New music teacher at school likes a new girl better and gives the new girl the solo, but everyone is wowed by the first girl who plays for other friends who sing. Book about rivalry and friendship. Probably a scholastic book fair book late 80's or early 90's.

I170: Islands / Atlantis-like
Two nearby islands. One quite industrial, one not so. I recall the industrial one sinks or meets a bad end. It was a hardback, big, landscape book (about a foot wide). I think it was fully illustrated. Dates from pre 1990. I think it was aimed at young teens.

I171: Indian tribe adopts girl and names her Sunflower
Indians kill settler & wife, 2 daughters survive, taken by tribe & walk for days. Adopted by tribe, older girl witnessed killing, hates Indians, younger girl assimilates, receives Indian name Sunflower, marries brave and single arrow kills them both while riding horseback, read in 1960's.

Benjamin Capp or Capps, A Woman of the People

I172: "it will Beano good," mouse kidnappers
All I can remember is it was a children's book that I read to my family in the 80s. There were mice who had kidnapped someone and all they had to compose a ransom note was labels off cans. I only remember the phrase "it will Beano good" . . . I laughed so hard. I want to get the book again for my grandkids. Hope you can help.

Jean Van Leeuwen, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. I think this is the right book though it's been years since I read it. There are two other books about the same mice, The Great Cheese Conspiracy and The Great Summer Camp Catastrophe. The mice are Merciless Marvin the Magnificent, Raymond, and Fats.
Jean Van Leewen, The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. Sorry, I missed the "mouse" part of the stumper! This has to be The Great Christmas Kidnapping Caper. The note is even on the cover of the paperback edition!
Graham Oakley, The Church Mouse (series). The good news is that I'm certain one of this series is your book. I've even found a reproduction of the ransom note you remember: http://weereads.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-mouse-books-by-graham-oakley.html The bad news is, I'm not sure which book in the series has Samson, the often put-upon ginger church cat, kidnapped by the scheming church mice. It doesn't matter though, all the books are excellent, hilarious, and beautifully illustrated.
Graham Oakley, Could this possibly be one of Graham Oakley's Church Mice series? We have several of the books, and it's not one of the ones we have, but it does sound very typical of the humor in that series.
Graham Oakley, The Church Mice in Action. I sent this solution in earlier but it may have gone astray.
Graham Oakley, The Church Mice in Action. I was right--it's The Church Mice in Action. You can see a photo of the ransom note here: http://weereads.blogspot.com/2009/02/church-mouse-books-by-graham-oakley.html
SOLVED: That's the Book!!!!!!!!!!!! The Church Mice in Action! Mystery solved and I'm laughing. Thank you so much!

I173: Illiana (?) Teenage Girl Detective
A trilogy? Might have been yellow or white. I think the girl's name was Illiana, a teenage detective? Anthropology Mysteries? I remember she visits Greece or Italy, gets lost or locked in an ancient underground ruin, might be searching for (or finds) a piece to a chess set that is a clue. JuvFiction.

Lloyd Alexander, The Illyrian Adventure, 1986. The main character in this series is actually named Vesper Holly, I think you may be getting the Iliana from the "Illyria'' of the title. Vesper Holly, the orphaned daughter of a wealthy archeologist, solves mysteries and has adventures despite the ''help'' of her bumbling guardian, Uncle Brinnie. There are a total of six books in the series: The Illyrian Adventure, the El Dorado Adventure, the Drackenburg Adventure, The Jedera Adventure, The Philadelphia Adventure and the Xanadu Adventure.

I174: Identical Monsters
Looking for a children's book about two identical monsters that are standing on the opposite sides of a chasm. They start sending thought presents across the chasm to each other. Eventually they combine their thoughts to think of a bridge that lets them cross to each other. Read it in early 1980s.

Lucretia Fisher, Thomas Jardine (illus), Two Monsters - A Fable, 1976. Two lonely monsters on different sides of a wide and bottomless chasm become dear friends and continually search for ways to bridge the gorge.
SOLVED: Lucretia Fisher, Thomas Jardine (illus), Two Monsters - A Fable, 1976. Solved! That is the book. Thank you so much. 4/20I175: Itching powder keeps giant's slippers warm
I vaguely recall a picture book from my childhood (1980's). There was heat or itching powder or dust on some slippers. One picture had the dust being blown off the slippers. The end had the giant (i think), his feet up and a big smile on his face, the last of the dust keeping his feet warm.

J105: Janie, Hugo, Maine, shoes
Young adult book from 1940s-1950s? A girl named Janie lives in Maine (or island off the coast of Maine?) with parents and brother Hugo. She has no shoes because her family is poor. Her teacher Miss Henshaw (Crenshaw?) scolds her for coming to school barefoot. Janie gets shoes like Miss Henshaw's.

Dorothy Simpson, A Matter of Pride, 1959.
Simpson, Dorothy, The Honest Dollar, 1957. There are 3 or 4 books about Janie Marshall and her family -- sorry I can't recall more of the plots (after 40 yrs.), but I'm pretty sure the shoes issue was in the first one, "The Honest Dollar". Didn't Janie have to earn the money for them herself? The other Simpson titles that sound familiar are "A Lesson for Janie" (1958) and "A Matter of Pride" (1959), and possibly "New Horizons" (1961). I loved the ones we had in the public library -- thanks for recalling them!
Dorothy Simpson, The Honest Dollar. There are several books in this series about Janie who lives on a Maine island, and whose family has little money. ''The Honest Dollar'' is the first book sequels include ''A Matter of Pride'', ''A Lesson for Janie" and ''New Horizons''. I am sure the requested book is from this series, but I'm not quite sure whether it's the first book or one of the later ones.
SOLVED: Thank you so much for finding the book I'd been looking for, "A matter of pride". I've ordered it online, as well as the other books in the series.

L323 Little Girl, Mirror, When I grow up
My mom read this book as a child and I really want to find it for her. It is about a little girl who is looking in a mirror and imagining and seeing in the mirror all of the things that she can be when she grows up. My mom was born in 1964, so that gives you a time frame to work with.

Jean Bethell, Ruth Wood (illus), When I Grow Up (Easy Reader), 1964. Cover is yellow and shows a red-haired little girl from the back, wearing a red and green plaid jumper, white blouse, black tights, and red shoes. The girl is facing a large oval mirror in which she sees reflections of her older self as a ballerina, a nurse, a stewardess, and a cowgirl.

L324: Little princess frightened of thunderstorm and runs away
Anthology story of little princess in enclosed glass garden flees during thunderstorm looses memory and grows up with another family eventually prince comes. Color pictures in text. Remember picture little girl in blue dress tangled in thornbush. Also, picture of her grown in peasant dress working.

L325: Little Engine
Story about a little engine that can magically lay down track in front of itself. Probably 1950s.

L326: Little matchbox girl, 1970's, dark, storybook
It may have been an adaptation of Hans C Andersen's "The Little Match Girl"-- full color, hardback, storybook, in the late 1970's/early 1980's -set in either WW1 or WW2 because references to bombed out buildings, in France or Germany, gas masks work by soldiers -very bleak, dark, vivid artwork.

M670: Mother, daughter, carved pencil box, cafe
I'm looking for a book that I read in the early to mid 70's. It was paperback, and the illustrations were very nicely drawn in black and white I believe. The only clear memories I have are: the young girl in the story had a mother who worried about money (probably divorced/widowed and a single parent), but gave her daughter a much coveted carved wooden pencil box for school. The girl had short, straight hair, parted on the side and I think held back with a little barrette. I think they may have lived in a city or even a foreign city in a Scandanavian country like Denmark or Sweden. One thing that stands out is the mother took her daughter out for dessert and tea or coffee at a cafe and it was such a treat to them because of lack of money (maybe it was during WWII?). Thinking back now, their clothes do seemed to have been a style of the 1940's. Also, at home her mother would run her hand worriedly over the "oilcloth" tablecloth (I never heard of oilcloth so it sticks in my mind). I know I read the book over and over and I would love to see it again. It gave me alot of comfort. Thank you. I would be so grateful for any help in identifying this book.

Gunilla Norris, Lillan, 1968. Somehow this reminds me of Lillan, but it's been ages since I read it. Do you remember the girl in the story stealing a small (I think glass?) elephant figurine to give to her mother? Lillan's mother is divorced, so money is tight. Also, Lillan is having a hard time adjusting to the idea of her mother dating again.
SOLVED: Lillan by Gunilla Norris. My request was solved - such an awesome website this is! I would like to order the book so I will be doing that in the next day or so. Thanks to everyone.

M671: Moth in toothpaste?
Children's chapter book from 24ish years ago. The moth's in the book were mean & in the book the character once used toothpaste and in the paste were moths. I think there was a moth king in it. The child may have been on the side of fairies or butterflies. Something about the dust when killing moths.

Lynne Reid Banks, The Fairy Rebel, 1985. A fairy defies the queen to help a human couple have a baby girl. Years later, the evil queen takes revenge, using wasps to harass them. Wasps appear in the girl's cereal box and in her toothpaste. In the book, fairies turn to dust when they die.

M672: Man finds skeleton in green dress
Ghost anthology. Story of a man staying in a mansion or hotel all is not what it seems. He awakes to find the building decaying. He finds the skeleton of a woman in a green velvet dress.

Bernhardt J. Hurwood, Chilling Ghost Stories, 1973. Contains ''The Woman in Green Velvet''. Lucy is en route to Provincetown for Thanksgiving poor weather forces her to shelter at ''Old Graystone Inn'' sees specter of woman in moldy green velvet in the morning finds skeleton in velvet inn abandoned, only her own footprints, etc.

M673: Medieval romance "troll" & wife meet main character at court?
I read a medieval romance and I can remember very little of it, but there was a scene where the hero takes his (bride? betrothed?) to court. She chats with a beautiful woman, and there is a brief description that to the rest of the room they make a striking picture, as they are both very beautiful but they are almost opposites in coloring. As they chat, the stranger asks our heroine to guess which man is her husband, and after a little while she gleefully points out her husband. Our heroine is surprised that this beautiful woman is married to a not-very-handsome man. The stranger laughs and says something like "I know, he's a troll" but she is happy and looking at him lovingly when she says it.

Penman, Sharon Kay. Here Be Dragons, 1985. I remember the scene you described perfectly. I think it's from the book Here Be Dragons.

M674: Merlin trapped in a tree, adventures with two kids
A brother/sister are in a park when lightning strikes a tree and frees a Merlin character. They take him home, hide him and have several adventures. They have a real pirate adventure in the wading pool when some of Merlin's magic dust (?) gets in it. He has a long beard and likes peanut butter.

Chew, Ruth, Hidden Cave. 'When lightning splits an old oak tree, a brother and sister discover Merlin who has been sleeping inside the tree for many centuries.'
Chew, Ruth, The Hidden Cave, 1973. First published in 1973 as The Hidden Cave and reprinted in 1978 and subsequently as The Magic Cave. When lightning splits an old oak tree, a brother and sister discover Merlin who has been sleeping inside the tree for many centuries.
Ruth Chew, The Magic Cave.
SOLVED: Ruth Chew, The Magic Cave. That's it! I've been looking for this book for 20 years. Thank You!!

M675: Mother tells story to young son, son tells story to aging mother
30 year old Marine looking for book read to him by mother- Story of mother who reads/tells story to young son, includes sentence "FROM MY WINDOW TO THE FARTHEST STAR". At end of story the boy is in same room by window telling his old mother the same tale she told to him as a young boy.

Robert N. Munsch, Love You Forever, 1986. A young woman holds her newborn son And looks at him lovingly. Softly she sings to him:
"I'll love you forever/I'll like you for always/As long as I'm living/My baby you'll be." She still sings the same song when her baby has turned into a fractious 2-year-old, a slovenly 9-year-old, and then a raucous teen. So far so ordinary--but this is one persistent lady. When her son grows up and leaves home, she takes to driving across town with a ladder on the car roof, climbing through her grown son's window, and rocking the sleeping man in the same way. Then, inevitably, the day comes when she's too old and sick to hold him, and the roles are at last reversed.
Robert Munsch, Love You Forever, 1986. This one sounds very similar.
SOLVED: I did check our local library, check out the suggested book, show it to the Marine, and he does remember that book, does think that the window/star and mother/son stories could be getting intertwined, but that the story he is looking for specifically mentions the line “from my window to the farthest star.” I don’t know how to post this information in the stumper, and I don’t know how to search for another book with just information of one line- and an old memory- but thank you for you service so far anyway!

M676: Medieval knight leaves little girls in castle
Picture book before 1980. A knight with a templar shield on his horse and a LOT of little girls dressed in matching chain mail outfits left behind waiting in a castle. I remember each has a name like Clothilde, Mathilda, or Brunhilde? They line up and one always falls behind the other, I think?

Virginia Kahl, This would be one of Virginia Kahl's series about the Duke, the Duchess, and their daughters. Titles include The Duchess Bakes a Cake, The Baron's Booty, and Plum Pudding for Christmas.
Virginia Kahl, Plum Pudding for Christmas, 1956. Either this one (has the knight with the red Templar cross on the cover) or its companion volume, The Duchess Bakes a Cake. Both feature the duke, the duchess and their Gunhilde and her twelve sister.
Virginia Kahl, The Duchess Bakes a Cake, et al.Virginia Kahl wrote a number of books about the Duchess, the Duke, and their family of daughters: Madeleine, Gwendolyn, Jane and Clothilde, Caroline, Genevieve, Maud and Mathilde, Willibald, Guinevere, Joan and Brunhilde, and the youngest of all was the baby, Gunhilde. Duchess Bakes a Cake, Plum Pudding for Christmas, The Baron's Booty, How Many Dragons Are Behind the Door, Gunhilde's Christmas Booke, Gunhilde and the Halloween Spell, The Habits of Rabbits.
Virginia Kahl, one of the Duke & Duchess books by Virginia Kahl. There were several books printed about the Duke and his family: THE DUCHESS BAKES A CAKE was republished by Purple House Press GUNHILDE AND THE HALLOWEEN SPELL, GUNHILDE'S CHRISTMAS SPELL, THE HABIT OF RABBITS, HOW MANY DRAGONS ARE BEHIND THE DOOR?, PLUM PUDDING FOR CHRISTMAS, THE BARON'S BOOTY. There may be more that's what I found.
SOLVED: Dahl, Virginia, The Baron's Booty. Thanks so much for solving my stumper! The description definitely fits and after looking up the cover ... I'm positive that this is the series I'm looking for. Wonderful to see these books again and be able to get them for my little boys 30 years after having them read to me (wow--can't believe that!)

M677: Male fox and friends
Bk mid 1960's story bout male fox and his friends and their antics in the woods. friend mole had a stone for a compass for use underground It changed color or temperature to indicate direction.later in the story, the friends discover a vixen trapped by gypsies they rescued her. 2 fox heads on cover.

M678: Mystery, Killer gives Clues, Football Card, N(Au)sea, Gold Urn
Book published before 1999. It was a book about a killer who invites a bunch of people to dinner. The people are given clues, all of which are about blackmail. One person gets a baseball or football card. Another gets something with the word nausea where Au = gold. Might be an urn/gold vase on cover.

M679: Myths and Legends
Myths and legends hardcover from (I guess!) the late 70s to early 80s with fantastic illustrations, probably paintings -- a collection of stories which included Theseus and the Minotaur, Beowulf and Grendel, Perseus and the Gorgons, and Bellerophon and Pegasus. I'm thinking it also had the stories of Daedalus and Icarus, the Cyclops, and the Trojan Horse. what was most noteworthy about the book was its illustrations -- the paintings were vivid and wonderful. I particularly remember the painting of the Minotaur (I think the Minotaur story was the first one in the book).it was a big hardcover, say 9x12".

White, Anne, Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends Adapted from the World's Great Classics, 1959, approximate. It's older than the 1970s, but The Golden Treasury of Myths and Legends, illustrated by the Provensens, has memorable illustrations and includes the stories mentioned.

M680: Mouse and Hedgehog want fresh milk
Children's book around in mid-70s. A mouse and hedgehog decide they want fresh milk. Go to farm and get pail of fresh milk. Cow spots them and shouts "a mouse, a mouse"!

N142: Nuclear Survival Boy/Girl
This was read to my 6th grade class in 1988-89. A normal boy (middle or high school aged) takes a standardized test at school that was given by the government to identify intelligent children who could do some government special mission. He fell asleep during the test and woke up with just enough time to fill n the bubbles, without reading the questions) and turn it in. He answered all the questions correctly and was selected to be part of the government-chosen group. The same boy (I think) was walking home when a nuclear bomb hit. He had just enough time to find a very deep basement room, in a hotel I believe, and stock the basement room with food and soda from a reception of some sort. He and a girl made it to the basement just before the bomb hit. They suffered severe vomiting that was described as mild radiation sickness. When they finally emerged they met some rough men and disfugured women, with one man describing the girl who survived in the basement as not damaged by radiation as many of the other women were. I believe this was all part of the same plot. We never finished the book so I am not sure of the ending.

Updated: Siegel and Siegel, Firebrats. I have found that this description is really the plot for 2 different books. The second book is Firebrats by Siegel and Siegel. The first part of the description is from a book that I am still looking for.
Donald Wismer, Starluck. The first part about the test-taking sounds a lot like Starluck...Paul takes a test and basically fills out the circles in patterns--which gives him the highest score of all the test takers. It's science fiction, so no nuclear bombs. The government turns out to be evil though, and they send someone to kill him. He escapes and joins some rebels. He learns to fight so the group he's with can change things.

O168: Old lady, cat or cats
Circa 1960, over-sized thin hard cover. 3 main colors, black, white & a bright pink/purple-ish. Highly illustrated, with curly-ques effects, cover was the pink color, and every page had some pink. Story of a sophisticated type 'old' lady who lived w/ cats, (a widow?) Meets a gentleman in the end.

Virginia Cunningham, Veronica Reed (illus), Those Cats!, 1947. Miss Simpson, a dressmaker, is a lonely old spinster. The postman, Mr. Tooks, brings her two mischievous kittens, Marmalade and Pinafore, to keep her company. They make terrible messes and get into all sorts of trouble - but manage to win her over. A few days later, Mr. Tooks brings her two boys from the Children's Home(Tim and Bud) to look after. Finally, he suggests that she needs one more thing - a husband! There is a lot of pink in the illustrations - flowers, ribbons, curtains, cushions, rugs, wallpaper, Mrs. Simpson's dresses, and the filling of a jelly roll Mrs. Simpson bakes for the boys.

O169: Orphaned girl
Date: pre 1970. I am looking for a chapter book about a young orphaned (?) girl sent to live with (relatives?) family on farm. Family may have only boys and she gets bowl haircuts, the boys might poke fun at her. In one part she tells of working hard to fix breakfast, clean up afterwards and then it is time to "red up" (prepare) the kitchen for the next meal.

Kathryn Worth, They Loved to Laugh, 1950. "He surveyed Martitia with the bowl on her head. He spoke amusedly: ''Are you ready for the shearing, Martitia?'' ''I'm no sheep, Barzillai. Stop talking like that."
Kate Douglas Wiggin, Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, 1903.Your description made me think of Rebecca of Sunnybrook farm, which I read in 1972, so my memory is a bit fuzzy. I only recently passed it on to the library's book sale, so I don't have it to check details. But, Wikipedia had a detailed description.

P500: Pioneer Stagecoach Family
SOLVED:Mabel O'Donnell, Singing Wheels - The Alice And Jerry Books.

P501: Prisoners sent to colonize other planets
Read a book 12 or 13 years ago in jr high. started out with a Scottish boy being woken up by the computer because there was a problem and their pod wouldnt break off the main ship. they crashed it, only a few prisoners escaped, him, a girl with esp, and a crazy military guy, maybe others. multiple books

Hill, Douglas, Exiles of ColSec, 1986. I love this trilogy, too! In the future, Earth is ruled by a repressive government. Criminals and dissidents are exiled from Earth to distant planets to form colonies, gathering resources that can be exploited by Earth's government. One such group crashes on the planet they are supposed to colonize, killing about half the group. The surviving dissident teenagers, led by a young Highlander, Cord MaKiy, struggle to survive. They learn that by putting aside their differences and working together, they can not only survive but thrive without help from the government. They join with a group of colonists from other planets who have a plan to gain their independence from Earth. The other books in the series are The Caves of Klydor and ColSec Rebellion.
SOLVED: Douglas Hill, Exiles of Colsec.Thats the one, thank you so much!!!

P502: Pear and baby growth compared
This is an elementary picture book comparing a pear that grows in a bottle after the pear blossom is placed in the bottle to a baby growing in a mom.

P503: Police Family Drama
Police family drama involving veteran southern California policeman being investigated due to a shooting incident. He lives with his wife, teen-age son and daughter and family dog on or near a beach. A raft moored just offshore plays a prominent role in story. Primarily a coming of age novel. Published in 1990s (I believe, but certainly prior to 2007). Perhaps a paperback only. Do not remember anything about author or title except at the time I read it, I looked for other books by same author and it appeared to be only book author had written. 5/9/12P504: Pitter Pat, Pitter Pat
I read the book when I was little in the mid to late 70s. There was a character walking in the woods that thought he was being followed because when he walked he heard "pitter pat, pitter pat." (That's the only thing I remember clearly from the book.) But it wasn't a person. Maybe magic shoes??

P504: Paul Bunyan stories from 1950s
Paul Bunyan and Other Tales (something like that), 700 pages or so, about 20 stories... all the typical tall tales but a couple of tales I can't remember the names of, a boy pulled into the lake (illustration here, very creepy) and a man doomed to ride the train forever. From 1950's, hardbound.

P505: Pegasus and Bellerophon
I'm looking for an illustrated book about Pegasus and Bellerophon from the late 60s or possibly early 70s. It was a hardcover and beautifully illustrated. I don't think it's the Turska book; the cover on the Turska book is a different style of illustration.

R260: Rainbow Dress
Small child's book (4x6?) about a poor girl who gets invited to a birthday party but doesn't have anything nice enough to wear, she ends up creating a "rainbow dress" out of little pieces from other dresses and goes to the party. Soft pastel (watercolor?) illustrations. A library book I read at 6-8y

Vogel, Ilse Margaret, The rainbow dress and other Tollush tales, 1975. Poor Tollush, sweet, blond and aproned, has nothing to wear to her friend's birthday party in the castle, until her widowed mother makes her a beautiful ""rainbow"" outfit from her old patched and outgrown dresses.

R261: Renaissance mouse with rapier or sword fights in castle to rescue mouse princess
Beautifully illustrated children's book (probably European) about mouse dressed up in renaissance clothing and sporting a rapier, crosses a moat into a castle to rescue mouse princess with a cone on her head. Book probably in landscape and author had other books about mice (at beach, etc.). The mouse crosses over a moat at one point, I believe. The final page, I'm pretty certain, are the mouse and mouse princess sitting in a chair with a fire in between, sipping on some chocolate/tea. There is a banner above saying something along the lines of "home, sweet home". I *think* the book was from Belgium/France but I could be very wrong. The book was most probably in landscape format. I was born in 1981, so my parents must have bought me the books around 1985 give or take a few years. I grew up in Greece and most of the books I read were probably more from the UK, France and Belgium and less from the US.

John Goodall, Creepy Castle, 1975. Probably this one. Cover shows Mouse in green renaissance outfit with sword and mouse princess in pink pointy hat. Format is landscape. Goodall wrote many wordless books about mice and other animals.
SOLVED: I just checked the page, and someone has solved one of my questions!! I am extremely happy - thank you so much!! It's a wonderful website you have. :) The solved one is R261: Renaissance Mouse - John Goodall, Creepy Castle, 1975. is the correct book.

R262: Rainy day, bored girl, circus
Searching for a children's book from 1960-70's.about a little girl who is bored because it is rainy out and she has nobody to play with, but then at end the weather clears and the circus comes to town. It ends with something about the "clear pale sky". It had beautiful watercolor paintings.

S741: Science fiction, transport booth, cloning, ridge on lower back
Young adult scifi from 1980s. People travel long distances by entering booths and having copies their consciousness made into tapes or cassettes...which are then inserted (w/a telltale bump in the small of the back) into copies of the person at their target destination....boy discovers he is a copy. 3/26S742: Seasons book
In 1998 a girl read a book to my 4th grade class about the four seasons. It had no characters/plot, but it talked about each season starting with Winter, then Spring, etc. I think the pages were mostly white with text, but I know it had illustrations on each page.

Alice Provensen, The Year at Maple Hill Farm, 1978. This is the first title that comes to mind. It describes the natural changes that occur on a farm and in the surrounding countryside from January through December.
I don't think it was The Year at Maple Hill. It was like that, but instead of going through the months, it went through each season itself (winter, spring, summer, fall - in that order). And I don't remember it being specifically about the farm either, but it said things like "Spring can be warm, and spring can be wet."

S743: Shipwrecked, 'The Invisible Island???'
Read in the early 1950s'. A family moves to a new town where all the children are quarantined. Since there is no one to play with, the family's children go exploring and discover an invisible island just behind their new home. Their parents agree to let them be "shipwrecked" on the island. No adults allowed.The book tells of their adventures establishing a place to live on the island and solving mysterious happenings which start near the end of their summer fun on the island. I read this book when I was about 10-13 and have never forgotten it. I would like to share it with my grandchildren. I am 72 years old and read this book in the late 1940's or early 1950's.

Dean Marshall, The Invisible Island, 1948. This is The Invisible Island by Dean Marshall, published in 1948. The four Guthrie children arrive at their new home, in a small town where all the children are quarantined. They find and invisible island surrounded by trees etc., in a field. They have many adventures on the island.
Dean Marshall, The Invisible Island, 1950, approximate. Although I don't remember the quarantine part, I'm sure this is the book. The kids figure out that the land near their house makes an ''island'' that is divided off by creeks and a river. They set up camp and live mainly ''adult free'' for much of the summer. It's a great book I own an old copy and still re-read it occasionally and I'm 66!
Dean Marshall, The Invisible Island. I'd like to add that her book "Dig for a Treasure" is ''kind of'' a sequel to The Invisible Island, with some of the same characters.
Dean Marshall, The Invisible Island, 1950. I'm sure this is the book you are looking for. The island is ''invisible'' because it is a portion of land with creeks and a river surrounding it. The kids have a great time being mostly independent of adults, setting up a camp on the '''island'' It's one of my favorite reads too. I'm lucky to have an old copy, as well as the semi-sequel, Dig for a Treasure. (Has some of the same characters.
Invisible Island by Dean Marshall perhaps. "The four Guthrie children, Edith (Dit), Alan, David and Winnifred (Winkie), live in a cramped city apartment with an irritable landlord who dislikes noise. When one of the children's uproarious games goes awry, a downstairs visitor agrees to help their parents locate a more suitable home. A little over one month later, the family arrives at their new home in a remote village in the middle of a measles epidemic. Since all of the local children are ill or in quarantine, the four siblings decide to amuse themselves by exploring the surrounding countryside. The children are surprised and delighted to find an invisible island in the middle of a field---a large piece of land completely surrounded by brooks and a pond. The children, who enjoy reading stories about shipwrecks and deserted islands, decide to play castaways for a week. They establish a campsite and arrange for the regular delivery of "rations" from the "wreck"---the house inhabited by their mother, father, and family cook, Hester."
Dean Marshall, The Invisible Island, 1948. I'm not sure about the plot but there is a book by this title. It was reprinted in 1949 and published by Dutton and the Junior Literary Guild. It's been a while since I've read the book but it does sound similar to it, as far as the children pretending to be shipwrecked, etc. I don't remember anything about the quarantine part but the rest is remarkably accurate.

S744: Scot kidnaps wrong bride from wedding
I read this book around 1992 - 1994, it was a paperback book with a bright (red?) binding on it. I saw it on the bookmobile shelf and the bright color caught my eye so I picked it up and looked at it. It was the first romance novel I ever read and I read it over and over again...but I can't remember the important things like the author or title or even character names! Here's the plot as best I can remember it: A woman is getting married. She is at her wedding getting ready to say her vows to a man she does not love but family honor demands that she marry him as she has been told to. A Scotsman on a horse rides in and grabs her and kidnaps her. He tells her that he's taking her to her love. She tells him she doesn't have a "love" and she is furious that she has been kidnapped even though she didn't want to marry her husband-to-be. They get to some campsite and meet a man. The man tells the Scotsman that he stole the wrong bride and he doesn't know this girl. The man leaves and the Scotsman is left with the girl. The Scotsman doesn't know what to do with the girl, so he keeps her. (I don't remember the reasoning or if she wanted to go home or go with him or something else.) He takes her back to his people. He was stealing someone else's bride, so I have to think his family was poor. I'm just guessing on that, though. I thought the book was called Captive Bride, but I've read every Captive Bride book I could find and none of them are the right book.

S745: Short story narrated by ghost
A man hangs himself at home. His ghost or soul narrates the story. He watches his wife and others discover his body. The story ends with the ghost watching a replay of himself entering the room and hanging himself. Implying the ghost is trapped in an ever repeating purgatory.

T554: Teddy bear falls out of car window
Description: A soft cover book from the 1950's about a teddy bear who falls out of a car window on an outing. He runs into several adventures trying to find his way back home but finally does. Remember a cute picture of him trying to climb up huge front steps. The cover is black & white with a picture of the bear.

SOLVED: Lebeck, Oskar, Teddy B.B. This is kind of funny but I solved my own bookstumper! I thought the book was lost but was going through some old boxes & actually came across it. It is called Teddy B.B. & was a Surprise Dell Book published in 1950 by Western Printing & Lithographing Co. An original story by Oskar Lebeck. Illustrated by Dan Noonan. It cost 10 cents! I would be curious to know if there are any reprints available as a couple of the pages are half torn out. I'm guessing not, but you never know. Just wanted to let you know this is solved. That's all I needed to do to find the book was to list it as a bookstumper! Thanks for all your help. You have a great service.

T555: Two tribes of tiny human like creatures
I used to read this book in my local library as a child around 1993. It was a fantasy fiction with these great illustrations that were so detailed and full of activity. The image I remember is of these two tribes of tiny human like creatures in a forest setting, one tribe in red the other in blue..

Peter Dallas-Smith, (Peter Cross, illustrator), Trouble for Trumpets, 1984. Perhaps you are thinking of this book, lavishly and beautifully illustrated by Peter Cross. The good Trumpets (mostly wearing red) are at war with the evil, wintry Grumpets, (who wear dark-green uniforms). You can see a reproduction of some of the illustrations here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/16735390@N00/3920391949/
SOLVED: Peter Dallas-Smith, (Peter Cross, illustrator), Trouble for Trumpets You solved it - you're amazing! Thank you so much :)

T556: Timbuktu wild romp
I have a recollection of a story book from my childhood (1970's). It was set in Africa and involved an explorer (perhaps soldier) on his way to Timbuktu. The book was a wild romp, illustrated with adventures involving riding ostriches, witchdoctors, being boiled in cauldrons ...may have also involved adventures in the markets of Zanzibar, and is likely to be politically incorrect by today's standards. Any idea?

U67: Unicorn, lost black kitten, witch that wants to be an actress again, bad wizard in castle next door, forgetful pony, alicorn
The book is a large hardbound glossy print book. The pictures are very beautiful, colorful, and many details. I would most likely compare the artwork to Susan Dawe, specifically the print of the long haired black and white cat sitting on a wall with its back to the viewer touching the nose of a unicorn with it's paw. I think the story was set in England as the buildings in the story are a stone castle and a thatch cottage with a fairy garden and pony paddock. I remember reading this book in the late 1980's/early 1990's.

V87: Vintage Reader
Circa 1930- 1957. I am looking for a school reader or primer (like a Websters reader). It had an orangish cover and I think it had "East of the Sun" written on the cover. The stories included in the book were: Princess on the glass hill, Rose White and Rose Red, East of the sun and west of the moon, a story about a farmer and his wife who change places and several others. There were many illustrations in black & white and also many in color. It was probably a 4th to 6th grade reader. It was not called a fairy tale book.

W346:Winter Windigo Scare
Looking for a book from highschool library. I don't think the book was too old really. It had a main character of a boy that was new in town (moved with his mother, and bought possibly a bed and breakfast or old fishing shed?) Where he moves is up North (Americas) and very cold/snowy. More: Boy moving to a snowy cold region. Suspense/horror novel for teens? He starts to realize something is stalking him as he walks home in the dark winter evenings. Its animalistic if I remember, and white/grey, terrifying and huge. He outruns it and makes it inside, I think it cant face light or come inside? He and a few friends (one was a love interest girl that looses her family member and wants to hunt it to save them I think?) The track it to a cave and try to kill it. I remember them being by a huge lake and the thick ice cracking and causing issues at one point. Almost reminds me of a wendigo (windigo) but I don't know if he ever says that its what the monster is?

Paul Annixter, Windigo, 1963. Windigo might be the book you're looking for. I remember checking it out a few times from my library, and never being able to get through the scary scenes. And if you were searching for a "wendigo", this one probably wouldn't have come up...

W347: Wealthy man on quest to get a woman
Looking for a children's book about a wealthy man who was on a quest to get to a woman. He met a man with a long beard sitting at the base of a tree who could somehow help him change into part animal (i.e. a fish at the end of the book) or have really long, reaching legs to move faster.

W348: Wynken, Blynken and Nod
Author: Eugene Field, early 1960's? There seem to be many editions of Field's work from the early 1960's but I have not been able to find the particular edition I am looking for. This book was taller and narrower than most children's books and had brightly colored illustrations. I seem to remember a predominance of light blue on the cover. It was a hard cover book without a dust jacket. It contained several of Eugene Field's stories, including Wynken, Blynken and Nod, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, and The Dinky Bird.

Jane Werner (Editor), Garth Williams (illus), The Tall Book of Make-Believe, 1950. Your description of taller/narrower than other books immediately puts me in mind of the "Tall Book of..." series. The cover is predominantly green, with little elves, fairies, bugs, and a teddy bear among grass and flowers. It did have a dust jacket - but many times, those were lost. The end papers inside the covers are blue (night sky, stars, elves/fairies riding on drifting leaves). The Dinky Bird is not in this book, but The Sugar-Plum Tree, Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, and The Duel (about the Gingham Dog and Calico Cat) are in there. Other stories/poems include Susan's Bears, Bad Mousie, The Everlasting Lollipop, The Land of Counterpane, When I Was a Bird, Mr. Nobody, The Little Elf, The Mermaid, and many others.
Eugene Field, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat: A Read-Aloud Book, 1956. This book contains only The Gingham Dog and The Calico Cat and The Dinkey-Bird, but it is 11 1/2h x 5 1/4w, and the cover is light blue. A possibility?
Eugene Field, Helen Page (illus), Wynken, Blynken, and Nod, 1945. A "Tall Twin Book" published by Wilcox and Follett. Cover is blue with a charming color illustration of Wynken, Blynken, and Nod (as golden-haired cherubic toddlers in white nightshirts) sailing in the wooden shoe against a field of stars and trying to catch a pair of golden fish. The book contains four stories: Wynken, Blynken and Nod, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat, The Dinkey Bird, and The Sugarplum Tree. The book is about 12 inches high by 5 inches wide. An online search shows two versions of this "Tall Twin" book. One appears to have a standard binding while the other has a red plastic spiral binding. I can't find a picture of the back of the book with the standard binding, but the spiral-bound version has a second cover on the back for The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat. The back cover is a lighter blue with the Calico Cat (white with a pink floral print and a red bow around his neck) perched above the title peering down at the Gingham Dog. The dog (who is also mostly white, with a stripe of red-and-white gingham down his back) is below the title and is looking up at the cat. Inside the book, the WBN cover appears to be duplicated as the "back" to that story, followed immediately by the GD&CC cover as the "front" of that story, so that by flipping the pages around to the back of the spiral binding, The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat would become the front cover and Wynken Blynken and Nod would become the back cover. This book is rare and expensive, but copies are available. Good luck!
SOLVED: Eugene Field, Helen Page (illus), Wynken, Blynken, and Nod. Dear Friends, Thank you so much to the helpful person who solved my book stumper query, #W348, about a specific version of Eugene Field’s ‘Wynken, Blynken and Nod’ story book. The Wilcox and Follett version with Helen Page’s sweet illustrations was indeed the book I was looking for, beautifully described in the answer. I’ve been trying to identify this book for decades – I found other versions that were lovely, but not the one I remember from my childhood. My original book was lost in a Midwest tornado in the 1960’s that destroyed our house and carried away many beloved books. It will satisfy a deep place in me to be able to share this book with my grandchildren. I was able to find a nice copy online – a bit expensive, but treasures often are. Thanks so much for providing this service to book lovers – I’ve enjoyed scrolling through the archives, bumping into old friends, and will be back often.

W349: Wolf gets lost and cold
Grey (?) wolf (wolf-like dog?) is lost (?), and cold. It snows (?) and the wolf finds and wears a trench coat at one point, and is trying to find way back home (?). There is a mountain road (?) and a car at one point . I believe there was a happy ending. Book probably not in landscape mode. I was born in 1981, so my parents must have bought me the books around 1985 give or take a few years. I grew up in Greece and most of the books I read were probably more from the UK, France and Belgium and less from the US.

W350: Warlocks in the snow
Warlocks in the snow - this is how it starts - ? several Another children's book, the teacher started to read to the class in the 1970's/very early 80's in the UK. Think this will be too difficult to get from the limited information I have given. Sounded a great book, really wished I'd gotten title.

John Bellairs, The Face in the Frost, 1969. This is a long shot, of course, but the words warlocks and snow made this book pop into my head. Set in a sort-of alternate Britain, two wizards, Prospero (not THAT Prospero) and Roger Bacon set out to prevent an evil wizard from destroying the world with an evil book. you can see a picture of the cover and read a summary on the author's website, here: http://www.bellairsia.com/the_work/facef/index.html
Pamela Service, Winter of Magic's Return, 1985. It's been winter for 500 years after a nuclear war. Britain is coming out of the cold though, and magic is coming back. The kids in the story are the reincarnations of Arthur and Merlin, and their frosty sorcerer enemy is Morgan LeFay. The first chapter is all winter and sorcery, and the Arthurian bits don't come into play until at least half way through the story. It might be the book you're looking for!

W351: Woman falls down a well
I'm looking for a children's book. From what I recall it is about a woman (Asian?) who falls down a well and discovers a fabulous underground world. Please help!

Arlene Mosel, The Funny Little Woman, 1993. Might be this Caldecott award winning book about a little Japanese woman who falls through a crack in the floor and enters a magical underground world on a road lined with statues of gods (Oni). She giggles at everything, gets captured by the Oni, and must outwit them to escape.
Mosel, Arlene, funny little woman, 1972. Possibly this story of a woman to falls down a crack in the floor while chasing a dumpling. The Funny Little Woman is a traditional Japanese tale. The woman in this story likes to laugh and make rice dumplings, one day when she was making the rice dumplings, one of her dumplings started to roll! She and her dumpling ended up on a strange place lined with Jizo (guardian statues). The Jizo warns her not to go after the dumpling, but she does anyway. She is caught by the Wicked Oni, (a demon) who takes her back to his house to have her cook for him and the rest of the oni. The Funny Little Woman gets a magic paddle to make rice dumplings faster. One day she escaped, across a wide river back to her home. She made rice dumplings for a living, and when she sold them, soon became the richest woman in all Japan. She likes to laugh, so she laughs like this, "Tehehehe"!
Arlene Mosel, author, Blair Lent, Illustrator, The Funny Little Woman, 1972. A traditional Japanese folktale about a funny little woman (who laughs, tee hee!) who follows a rolling rice dumpling down a crack in the floor and slips into an underground world inhabited by the terrible Oni. She is put to work cooking their rice, but manages to make her escape after stealing their magic rice paddle, gets back home and uses it to get rich selling rice dumplings, tee hee! The beautiful illustrations show a split view of her house above ground falling into disrepair as the seasons change while she lives with the Oni below. You can see he cover and several illustrations here: http://booksforbreakfast2.blogspot.com/2011/11/funny-little-woman.html
Mosel, Arlene, The Funny Little Woman. This sounds about right, the Funny Little Woman lives in Japan and makes rice dumplings: one rolls down her well and she chases after it. Along the way she meets kind jizo statues and big oni demons, who then catch her and teach her to cook for them. Of course in the end she does escape and all ends well. It's light-hearted and clever, with lovely pictures, including what's under the little old woman's well, hope this helps.
Funny Little Woman, Mosel, Arlene, 1973, approximate. Could this be the Caldecott winner, Funny Little Woman, illustrated by Blair Lent? (There's an entry on Wikipedia showing the cover illustration.)
It sounds a bit like the Mother Holle story from Germany. There are different versions of it, but it's usually like a Cinderella story with a girl who is abused by her stepmother and stepsister. One day, the stepmother forces the girl to retrieve something that fell down the well, and she finds herself in a magical land with a strange lady called Mother Holle. Mother Holle is kind to her and rewards the girl for helping her with her chores. Later, the stepsister tries to go down the well and get the same reward, but she is punished instead because she refuses to help with the chores.
Peter Lum, Fairy Tales of China, 1959.

Y95: Young girl who travels to Utah with Mormons
c. 1960s. The plot of this book was of a young woman who was promised in an arranged marriage to a young man, I think named Ethan, and travelled to Utah in covered wagon with his family. There was an older lady who was ill and might have died during the journey.

Annabel and Edgar Johnson, Wilderness Bride, 2002, reprint.

Y96: Yacht club, pirates
Looking for title/author of a short story from a high school/college lit mag pre-1959, about a married couple who had moved into an exclusive neighborhood near an ocean, and were anxious to join the yacht club; and, when finally accepted, discover that the yacht club members are modern-day pirates.

Y97: Young blond woman and young man
The book was for 9 -14 yr. old girls in the early sixties, possibly written earlier. A young woman and young man, Irish I believe, were facing each other, holding hands. The girl was blonde, hair partially tied back. Wearing high collared white blouse with long sleeves. Possibly also a movie.