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Could these be historical novels by Ann Rinaldi?
H17:  The author this person is looking for is Patricia Beatty. The one about the girls needing red material is O THE RED ROSE TREE (not only does the book description match, but I read it as a kid) This is also the answer to the R33 stumper.  I can't put a title to the second one, but if the person looks at the titles by Patricia Beatty (or by John and Patricia Beatty) the title or description might ring a bell. Interestingly, the California Library association established the John and Patricia Beatty Award.
The first one of these sounds kind of like Oh, the Red Rose Quilt.  I believe that's the title, but I can't remember the author.  I'd like to find that book myself.  Two or more little girls are working on a special quilt for the fair, and all the roses have to be a different shade of red. They travel all over looking for just the right red material for their quilt.
Thank you very much! That is the right book. The second one (also W45) is called By Crumbs, It's Mine!  I was way off on that title and apparently, after doing some checking, on the plot, too. This is a humbling experience--I always thought I had such a great memory for the books I've read. Much appreciated!
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The second book is about a group of four or five girls who help an old woman in their town find pieces of red material for a quilt. The old woman is very particular about the shades of red and the quality of the dyes in the material. One of the pieces of fabric was rescued from a shipwreck. One of the girls was named Madge, Midge, Maggie, or something similar. She gets to keep the quilt after the old woman dies. Again, I believe that the words "red" (and maybe "red red") and "quilt" are in the title, but I don't know for sure.  Thanks for your help! This is a wonderful site.
O The Red Rose Tree, by Patricia Beatty, illustrated by Liz Dauber, published Morrow 1972, 223 pages. "Set in 1893, in the Peninsula area of Oregon, the story is nostalgically humorous. 13-year old Amanda tells the story of how she and three playmates befriend arthritic old Mrs. Hankinson, an artist-quiltmaker from Kentucky. The girls connive to furnish her with seven kinds of nonbleeding red cloth to make a long-planned quilt with a new design - O the Red Rose Tree. The quilt enters the fair, but because the girls themselves had to finish it, it wins only Second Prize. The activity of the story is stepped up when Portland 'society' is visited (in opera and flood season) by Amanda's whole family ... based on the author's family records and on her research in Oregon history." (HB Aug/72 p.367)

Peppe, Rodney, Odd One Out, 1974.  Maybe this one?  The cover I saw online shows a little boy at a zoo.  "The reader may look for the "odd" thing in each picture, as he follows a little boy's activities during one day."
You've solved it!  This is exactly the book she had.  Thanks so much for the great detective work!

Koontz, Dean, Oddkins, 1988.  Koontz's rarest book, rather scarce and expensive. I'm positive this is the book you want: "On the death of the old toymaker, and before the new one - Colleen Shannon - can take over  some evil toys lead by Rex the Marionette attempt an insurrection." "Living in the shop of Mr Isaac Bodkins, the old toy maker, are the Oddkins - soft, cuddly toys made for very special children, those who must face something difficult in life and need a true friend. But the Oddkins have to face a danger that threatens not only their magic, but the magic in us all."  "A beautifully illustrated tale of horror, the 'Oddkins' are soft toys that are given life by Mr Isaac Bodkins, the manufacturer and owner of the toyshop. There are good toys and there are bad toys, and the bad toys are very, very bad - like Rex the evil marionette."  Christmas is involved in the plot, but since I've only read it once, I can't give you many more details.  However, I'm positive this is what you want!  :)

Dean Koontz, Oddkins: A fable for all ages, 1988.  I suggest this one, as seen on the solved O pages. "When the death of their creator leaves them without protection, a band of magic living toys must attempt a dangerous journey across the city to another toyshop, while under attack from evil toys serving the Dark One." Illustrated by Park.
I was so glad that B500, "battle of the toys!" was solved so quickly!

C147 I tried putting  cowboy poetry in Google and lots came up- sites specializing in it.Customer might browse a little or just email some of the first ones to see if they can answer the question. WAIT -I just added words: ode friend. No presidential name but got this webpage.  900 other items came up too
This is a wild guess because I haven't actually read any of his books, but Will James wrote a lot of cowboy stuff and we had several presidents whose FIRST names were "James"...
John Dalliston, "Ode to a Friend", 1996.  not the name of a president, but fits otherwise:
Abilene Reporter-News Archives,   Sunday, July 7, 1996
Legendary Watt Matthews given tribute at Stamford Cowboy Reunion  By JOHN STARBUCK, Staff Writer
STAMFORD - Those attending the 7th Annual Cowboy Poetry Gathering Saturday at the Texas Cowboy Reunion got a special treat in the form of Watt Reynolds Matthews. Despite a blistering temperature in the low 100s, the legendary rancher, who will turn 98 next February, came from his home near Albany to attend a tribute in his honor. Using a cane and with some assistance, Matthews took his place at a table in The Pavilion in front of a capacity crowd to hear several poets, including Dr. Lawrence Clayton of Hardin-Simmons University and local resident John Dalliston, illustrate some cowboy heritage in words. Dalliston, a longtime friend of Matthews, initiated a standing ovation for the well-known Shackelford County resident after he read a poem, "Ode to a Friend," he had penned for Matthews. "He's the only man I call Mister with his first name," said Dalliston. "That is why I ended it with Mr. Watt. I'm old enough I don't have to call people Mister."  A transplanted Australian cowboy, Dalliston has found he can create poetry better with his eyes closed.  "I write poems in my sleep, I write poems day and night," he said. "Generally, I do it one night in bed and then get up the next morning and try to remember it and write it down." Matthews, dressed in a multi-colored shirt, red bandana, tan- colored pants and zippered boots, acknowledged the warm reception by raising his cowboy hat. Also showing his appreciation to Matthews was Jody Nix, who enlivened the crowd with fiddle music. 

Sounds a little like this but I think this was more of a mischief job with the kids using bright colors all over the outside of the house before  the parents saw it.     Spier, Peter.  Oh, were they ever happy!
Peter Spier, Oh, Were They Ever Happy!, 1978.  I'm not sure about the ending, but this book is about 3 children who painted the house one Saturday.  They weren't "allowed" to paint the house, but instead had overheard their parents saying it needed repainting, and then when the babysitter didn't show up....  From what I remember they just used all the paint they found in the garage and kind of spattered it on.  Used copies are surprisingly expensive, so you might want to check at your local library first.
Spier, Peter, Oh, were they ever happy!, 1978.  "One Saturday morning while their parents are away, the three Noonan children decide to paint the house."  I haven't read this in awhile, but it might be what you're looking for.
This sounds right, now if I could only find a picture of the cover just to be sure! Otherwise I'll have to wait a while before I can visit the library (hopefully they'll have a copy.)

Gyo Fujikawa, Oh, What a Busy Day, 1976.  This sounds like Oh What a Busy Day with the beautiful illustrations by Gyo Fujikawa.  It did start out with the good morning pictures and end with the good night pictures.
C371 I had this book, and it was a Gyo Fujikawa book. I'm pretty sure it was OH, WHAT A BUSY DAY, 1976, 1989, but he also published A CHILD'S BOOK OF POEMS among other books~from a librarian
I believe Gyo is a she!
Thank you so much for solving this! The book that I have been looking for is, in fact, Oh, What a Beautiful Day by Gyo Fujikawa! I am looking forward to sharing this wonderful book with my daughter.
C371 My beat-up [much-loved] copy of Oh what a busy day has children  shouting Good-morning and Good-night from the windows of their homes,  but no foreign languages. Fuzzy wuzzy is in there and the Eskimo with  papoose. 

J48  This is a shot in the dark, but the child on a bear's back made me think of Martha Alexander's Blackboard Bear books. The child is a boy, but his hair is a little on the long side, so perhaps...? Take a look at AND MY MEAN OLD MOTHER WILL BE SORRY, BLACKBOARD BEAR in which he runs away (on the bear's back) into the woods. ~from a librarian
Gyo Fujikawa, Oh What a Busy Day!, 1976.  This description brought to mind a careworn book in my collection, about 12”-15” tall. It does have incredible illustrations and on one page, a small boy is shown saying:  "Turn this page to see a dream come true for some animal lovers."  A full color illustration follows, covering both pages, and shows children playing and cuddling with various animals--gorilla, tiger, bear, lion, leopard, giraffe, zebra and crocodile.  A boy rides on the back of the bear, while the bear hugs a little girl. There is no plot to speak of, or even page numbers.  Every other set of facing pages is in full color and each color page depicts, in the following order, a different adventure that busy and imaginative children might engage in:  children saying good morning (inside front cover) ~ a picnic ~ hide & seek ~ tree house in the rain ~ pretending (indoor play) ~ gardening ~ secret hiding place ~ when I grow up (occupations) ~ helping an old woman (and has a cross section of her house) ~ selling lemonade at the beach ~ “a very, very sad story” ~ an Indian squaw with a papoose in a canyon landscape ~ splashing in a huge mud hole ~ watching a man hang gliding ~ fantasy jungle scene(described above) ~ snowy day ~ “simple words that make things nice” ~ a sunset (as seen from inside a house) ~ good night (inside back cover).  And that’s only half the book  the other half is B/W illustrations.  Do any of those ring a bell?  (Do I win a prize if I'm right?)
East of the Sun, West of the Moon.  This reminded me of a gorgeous illustrated version I had of this Scandanavian fairy
tale, from the correct time frame (late '70s, early '80s) It involves a poor girl riding through the primeaval forest on a bear, many adventures, as well as a princess with a nose three ells long! Could be worth a try.
Oh What a Busy Day is the book!!! THANK YOU!!! Its amazing how my memory, and description differs from the actual book, but it is the one i loved so much as a child. Thanks again for helping me find it, and for now being able to share this with my children.

Jack Finney, About Time.  I believe it's the story "Of Missing Persons." Jack Finney is one of the best time-travel writers out there, in this world or its parallel dimension counterpart. You're sure to find many more memorable favorites in this compendium.
Jack Finney, About Time.  This is the short story "Of Missing Persons", by Jack Finney. It is in a book of Finney's short stories called "About Time".
Jack Finney, Of Missing Persons, 1955.  I'm almost sure this is by Jack Finney and am reasonably sure it's his "Of Missing Persons."  If so, it will be most easily findable in his 1998 collection ABOUT TIME.
Jack Finney, Of Missing Persons, 1957. A classic story from Finney's collection THE THIRD LEVEL (reprinted in 1986 in ABOUT TIME: 12 SHORT STORIES).
Yes,  it is the story Of Missing Persons.  Thank you for telling me the title.  That story has haunted me since grade school!

Ginn Basic Readers, On Cherry Street, 1964.  This might be the book.  It is a basic reader and has a picture of an organ grinder and a monkey on the front cover.
Mabel O'Donnell, Round About.  This might be the one... it's an Alice and Jerry reader published by Row, Peterson, and Company.  It contains a section called "The Organ Man and the Monkey".  The little monkey dances for his breakfast.  There are also some stories about twins, Bobby and Billy and their year Alice, Jerry, and Jack  and Mr. Carl the toy mender.
Hi, I solve it myself, dont know if anyone else did, It is On Cherry Street, ginn reader first grade.

There is a b&w photo childrens book that includes eider down gathering:  Alida Visscher Schinn, Sigurdur in Iceland (David McKay, '42). About 40 pp, 8x10" -- could this be what you're remembering?
Re N1: My favorite library book when I was old enough to check out books (5 years old) showed the life of Sami (Lapp) children, including gathering eiderdown from bird's nests. I think this was Children of the Northlights by Ingri and Edgar d'Aulaire (1935). I'm sure of the authors, but less sure of the title. It has wonderful black and white and color pencil drawings. It believe it does focus on the life of one boy. I remember pictures of him tumbling down a hill on skis, herding reindeer, peering over the cliff at the nests of the eider ducks, etc., wearing the colorful Sami clothes.
Well, I remember the skis!  I didn't remember the eider down, but it's in there too.  It's Ola, by the Caldecott-winning D'Aulaires, 1932.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

D'Aulaire, Ingri and Edgar Parin. Ola.  Doubleday and Company, 1932.  28th printing.  Ex-library copy, dust jacket previously glued down, otherwise VG/VG.  $20

HRL: I'd forgotten that particular insult, but it makes sense for a witch who wears polk-a-dots!  Must be Old Black Witch by the Devlins; see more on the Most Requested page.

Mildred Pace, Old Bones, the Wonder Horse.  Might be this one - it's the story of the racehorse Exterminator.
Mildred Mastin Pace, Old Bones: The Wonder Horse, 1960s.  This could be the book. It is about Exterminator, nicknamed Old Bones, who was a racehorse in the 1920s. He was first used as a workhorse for another thoroughbred, but when that horse was scratched from the Kentuckey Derby, Old Bones was entered. It goes on to tell of his racing career, for which he is famous.  It looks like this book has recently been reprinted but with a new title.
Mildred Mastin Pace, Old Bones, The Wonder Horse, 1955.  This could be it.  It's another true story. The horse's real name was Exterminator. Like Seabiscuit, his looks weren't impressive. After winning the Kentucky Derby he had a long losing streak before his amazing success. The story alternates between horse's point of view and human point of view. It mentions the horse is successful in any conditions, including mud.
Walter Farley, Flame, and Black Stallion Series, 1940s forward, series.  It's possible the poster is combining memories of several books in a series, the Black Stallion Series, especially Flame.  The original owner of "the Black" definitely does not appreciate him, but that is only one book, I think "Return of the Black Stallion"? The stallion that the boy Alex calls "the Black" does have a longer more expensive name in that episode.  The Black is rarely if ever slowed by a muddy track.  In Flame, (same author) part of the story is indeed told from the horse's point of view, because there are no humans to witness all parts of the story - the horse races on an uninhabited island.  There is also a bog there, and some mud the horse gets stuck in, but a race track is not involved for Flame until a later book. (Oh, that's a weird one but worth reading how this island horse gets to race the Black).  Anyway, even if these are not the stories being sought, they are worth the poster's review.  I certainly read all I could get my hands on in the 70s, and now keep a copy of all of them.
Henry, Marguerite, Gaudenzia: Pride of the Palio, 1960s.  Not certain if this is the one the person is looking for,  but it fits the description of underappreciated horse with  an unusual name winning a major race (in Siena, Italy).
Constance Frick Irwin, Jonathan d, 1959.  If I remember correctly, Jonathan D is a racehorse with a tendency to get  distracted by rainbows.  He finally wins his race when he glimpses the wreath of multicolored flowers waiting for the winner at the finish line.

Crockett Johnson/Ruth Krauss comes to mind, although the protagonist was a little boy in The Carrot Seed. I'll try to think of one which features animals.
Ok, the hero is a man, but the Dog, Cat, and Mouse help him (along with most of the village) to harvest a gigantic turnip, which he takes to the fair (in a wheelbarrow, of course) and wins a black-spotted cow. I'm sure this is it, and I have two versions!
Morey Sheena. The Old Man and the Turnip. Illustrated by Dorothea Mathieu. John Martin's House, 1948. Tall quarto.
Follett Publishing Company, 1965.
Happy Holidays! First of all let me say that you are amazing to keep up on your request of wanted books.  I'm not quite sure how my turnip story goes but I'm almost positive that there were no humans in the book so I think I'll pass.  Thank you for doing such a good job.
Here's another version of the same story:
Parkinson, Kathy. The Enormous Turnip. Albert Whitman &  Co., 1986. First edition. A Russian folktale retold and illustrated by Parkinson, featuring Grandfather Ivan and his enormous turnip that took Grandfather, Grandmother, Mother, Olga, puppy, kitten, mouse and beetle to tug out of the ground.

I sent a book stumper the other day and I am estatic to tell you I solved it myself...it was for Forest friends.....The series I was trying to remember is Old Mother West Wind.  I just kept going through your wonderful site and saw that Thornton W. Burgess just kept catching my eye and I found the answer on your site...I so want to thank you because I want to read those books to my child.  I also found my other all time favorite The Rats of Nimh...Thank you thank you thank you.

The book query S15 Superstitious Mrs. Miller is a book called Old Mrs. Billups and the Black Cats by Ruth Carroll.  I purchased this book not long ago because the illustrations are so charming, and it is really a very funny
story about everything this poor woman must go through to avoid the black cats.  Then at the end when she winds up in the tree, so do the cats; and she actually falls in love with them when they crawl into her lap and she ends up
taking one home with her.  Hope this helps!
Old Mrs. Billups and the Black Cats, written and illustrated by Ruth Carroll, published Walck 1961. "Old Mrs. Billups was superstitious - particularly about black cats. How she achieved a partial cure makes a funny and appealing story. Ages 4-8." (HB Dec/61 p.510 pub ad) 

Esther Kem Thomas, The Old Rag Dolly,1961.  This is a long poem about a rag doll who is sad when her owner gets a beautiful new doll for Christmas, but at bedtime the little girl wants her old rag dolly because she "slept the best". This poem is found in The Happy Christmas Story Book, published by Ideals.
Wow! What a tremendous site!  I was delighted to see Old Rag Dolly mentioned on your page here. The author, Esther Kem Thomas, was my grandmother. I have a webpage about her life and works here.Old Rag Dolly was first featured in "By the Way,'' Volume III, by Esther Kem Thomas, published by the Old Swimmin' Hole Press, Greenfield, Indiana, copyright 1946. I have have all four of the books she published in the 1940s
online. However, it is best known from its inclusion in Ideals. Our family still reads the poem from an old tattered Ideals every Christmas. By the way, Ideals is still publishing EKT's poems (they have a large backlog she submitted to them) three years after her passing (in 1999).  As far as I can determine, it passed into the public domain in the early 1970s.

Glasgow, Aline, Old Wind and Liu Li-San, 1962, 1966.  (Sorry about that last submission that still had a former solution in it!)  This charming vintage book features dramatic drawings by Bernard Glasgow surrounding an adventure of a young boy and the wind and nature.
Glasgow, Aline, Old Wind and Liu Li-San. Thank you!  This was it!  I ordered it in time for Christmas, and he was so touched.  He read it to me by the fire after we opened our gifts.  Thank you so much for helping to make this great gift possible.

Ida DeLage, The Old Witch and the Snores, 1970. I think it must be this one.  The old witch finds her privacy disturbed when a snoring bear hibernates in her cave. How will she get rid of him?  Maybe with some Magic Brew!  This is part of a series of "Old Witch" books by Ida DeLage.

Hofmann, Ginnie, Who wants an old teddy bear?, 1976, 1978, 2003.  Maybe this one - it doesn't sound exactly like the plot you describe but there are a lot of similarities.  Andy receives a package but is disappointed that it is an old teddy bear. That night he dreamed that he was carried to teddy bear land and given to a small bear, Arthur, who did not want him at first but began to play with him. Andy's dream ended but he learned from his dream that he could really care for an old teddy bear!
Ginnie Hofmann, One teddy bear is enough!, 1991, Random House.  "When Andy receives a second teddy bear, his first teddy bear plots to get rid of the new arrival."
ginnie Hofmann, One Teddy Bear is Enough.  I found the book the day b4 I got any answers, but wanted to order it to make sure it was the right book! Thx everyone

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Hofmann, Ginnie.  Who wants an old teddy bear?   Random House, 1978.  1st paperback printing.  slightly soiled and creased; child’s name on stickers on endpaper; pages good.  G.  [WQ 3926]  $6

Could this be Frances Trego  Montgomery, On a Lark to the Planets ('22)?  (sequel to The Wonderful Eleectric Elephant).

Bauer, Marion Dane, On My Honor, 1986.  This is the book. It is a Newbery Honor book.
Marion Dane Bauer, On my Honor.  This is your book.  One boy reluctantly goes swimming in the river with his more adventuresome friend.  The friend doesn't swim well and goes under.  The boy cannot save him, goes back home and pretends nothing has happened but finally has to come clean.  This was a Newbery Honor book.
Marion Dane Bauer, On My Honor, 1986.  When irresponsible Tony dares his best friend, Joel, to climb the bluffs at Starved Rock State Park, Joel hopes that his father will not permit him to make the trip.  Joel knows the bluffs are dangerous, but won't refuse the dare because he fears Tonys taunts even more than the dangerous climb.  To Joels chagrin, his father allows him to bike to the state park, if he promises "on his honor" to be careful.  Halfway there, the boys have to cross the Vermillion River, and impulsive Tony decides to go in, even though the river is obviously polluted.  Joel, who is angry at Tony, dares him to race to a sandbar and tragedy ensues.  Joel tries to pretend that nothing happens, but his guilty conscience makes him smell the polluted river everywhere he goes.  A Newbery Honor Book and ALA Best Book for Young Adults.

The dog story is an Aesop fable, which goes by many names - Dog and His Bone, Dog and the Shadow, Dog and the Reflection, The Greedy Dog...  I found a book Stories To Remember which has the fable in it, but none of the other stories looked like the triplet mump story.  Can you remember any other stories from your book?
The story of the dog who sees his reflection and loses his bone is from Aesop's Fables.  That might help you track this collection down
On We Go (3rd ed.), c. 1949, 1957, 1963.  Whoo hoo!  Just by chance I was looking in this book and saw the story about the triplets Bob, Bill, & Betty (Home With the Mumps) and saw another story with a dog and a bone - a fairy dog grants him a wish - but no reflection, so I thought it was the wrong book.  But sure enough, at the end of the book is the story about the dog and his reflection(the Dog and His Bone)!  the other stories include:  Noodle, Snipp and His Brothers, Seven White Cats, Hurdy-Gurdy Man, Room Enough, Oswald Makes Magic, Bob's Elephant, Story of a Clown, Queer Apron, and Magic Glasses.  The book is part of Houghton Mifflin's Reading For Meaning series (2 2 is on the top of the spine.)
This book is On We Go, published by Houghton Mifflin. It was my second-grade reader during the 1963-64 school year and I was delighted to acquire a copy about 10 years ago I found in an antique store. It's out there.
S361 McKee.  On we go.
McKee, Paul; et al    On we go.  Houghton,  c1949,1957  mumps; Snipp; hurdy-gurdy; Bob's elephant; dog fairy; 7 white cats; queer apron; others.  the 2 stories which were mentioned are in this version.

Gibbs, Margaret, Once in a blue moon, illustrated by C.L. Doughty.  Hollis & Carter 1948.  I don't have a plot description, but this is listed as a children's book, and the author also wrote The Man who Caught the Wind: stories from the Children's Hour (1936) which sounds like the right sort of author. Maybe the C.L. Doughty style of illustration will ring a bell?
It is definitely Once In A Blue Moon. My mother & her siblings had this in a "wartime rationing" paper. I last saw their copy in the 1970s - I will check round the family. There are about 6 gargoyles and a statue. They get a month free & then have to race up the river to get back to their spouts. I remember one grumpy one who always thought it a bad idea.

Possibly one of the Blue Doors series of books by Pamela Brown - I'd try Golden Pavements or Maddy Alone - I remember in one of them that Maddy gets a role in a film as the teenage lead playing a historical person (I think).
Kassil, Lev, Once in a Lifetime, 1970.  Also: Translated from the Russian by Anne Terry White. I was the original querent on this title, and can confirm the  above title/author is the one sought.  Found it by searching in  the NYPL catalog, using LEO's "Children's (keyword)" index  searching (pretty nifty!).  The abstract reads "After starring  as a heroic serf girl in a movie about Napoleon'\''s invasion of Russia, a typical Moscow girl must readjust to ordinary life."  Sure enough, Russian history.  Aside from that, some similarities to "Maddy Alone," although very, very different in tone (what a difference 25 years makes in children's stories!) Sima and Maddy are very different girls, and an interesting contrast.  Although  not the item originally sought, I do appreciate the pointer to Pamela Brown, as I'd not read any of her works before. 

A60 & A63 There's Fifty Favourite Fairy Tales, selected from the Colour Fairy Books by Kathleen Lines, illustrated by Margery Gill in b/w, 363 pages, stories include Snow White, Snowdrop, and The Ogre. Published by Watts in 1964, Bodley Head in 1973, Schocken 1977, etc. This was followed by More Favourite Fairy Tales in 1967 (etc.), also illustrated by Gill. But the covers vary, so that's not conclusive, and there's no mention of colour illustrations within the books.
Green, Roger Lancelyn (reteller & compiler), My Book of Favourite Fairy Tales, illustrated by Vojtech Kubasta. London, Hamlyn, 1969. I don't have a contents list for this, but I just saw the cover on eBay and it shows a black-haired prince with green cloak and doublet and small gold circlet, carrying a blonde princess in a pink gown before him on a dappled white horse which has red and gold bridle and saddle. The book is 8x11, 125 pages, contains 25 stories.
Retold by Roger Lancelyn Green, Once Long Ago: Folk and Fairy Tales of the World, 1962.  I have this book, and you remembered it well. It contains all the stories you listed  the one about the prince choosing the princess from the stained glass window is 'Long, Stout and Sharpeyes'. The book was first published by Golden Pleasure Books Ltd. (Westbook House, Fulham Broadway, London)  my copy came from Leland Publishing Co. in Toronto. Unfortunately, it's not listed by Amazon and I'm not willing to sell my copy (it has sentimental value), but now that you have the details, I hope you
can find it somewhere. Good luck.
A60 & A63 There's Fifty Favourite Fairy Tales, selected from the Colour Fairy Books by Kathleen Lines, illustrated by Margery Gill in b/w, 363 pages, stories include Snow White, Snowdrop, and The Ogre. Published by Watts in 1964, Bodley Head in 1973, Schocken 1977, etc. This was followed by More Favourite Fairy Tales in 1967 (etc.), also illustrated by Gill. But the covers vary, so that's not conclusive, and there's no mention of colour illustrations within the books.
Roger Lancelyn Green, Once Long Ago, 1966, reprint.  This could be the book you describe.  My copy has lost the dustjacket, but has a red cloth cover with a golden shield on it.  All the stories you describe are included, the story about the prince falling in love with the princess behind the curtain is called Long, Stout & Sharpeyes.  This book has lavish, colour illustrations.  Some of the other, longer stories are The Brown Bull of Norrawa, The Witch in the Stone Boat & The Dragon of the North.
This stumper has already been solved.  See A60---the stumper request is identical!  It looks like the stumper submitted the same information twice.  Different people answered each query, but both sets came up with the same title: Once Long Ago: Folk and Fairy Tales of the World, retold and compiled by Roger Lancelyn Green.
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Would love to find a copy of a book I recall from my childhood -- it was an oversized book of Folk or Fairy Tales featuring the stories "Bones of Djulung" and "Why the Sea is Salt" in the same volume. Seems like the cover of the book was mostly dark orange (though it's not one of the Lang colored fairy tale books) with a beautiful illustration. I don't recall what the illustration was about. I believe the book was called "Once Upon A Time," or something similar. Was probably published in the mid- to late-60s, as it was a Christmas present when I was very young. Would appreciate any help locating this book! I loved it, and would like to have a copy now. Thanks for any help!

F148 is NOT an orange volume of Childcraft. It's odd he happens to mention it is not an Andrew Lang, because Google has gobs of  entries for it in Lilac one. In fact the story itself is printed many times on the Net. I know the query includes other stories, though.
Haven't gotten any good leads on this search. Any other suggestions as to how I might find this book, and find out if it is, in fact, titled as I had thought? I know there were wonderful illustrations in the book, especially the story "Why the Sea is Salt." I remember little black devil creatures grinding salt -- it was either on the cover or inside the book itself. Thanks for any help you might be able to give!
Roger Lancelyn Green, Once Long Ago: Folk and Fairy Tales of the World, 1966. After diligent but sporadic searching, found this book! Am so excited! Have ordered it and can't wait to have it in my hands!

Tarrant, Margaret, Joan in Flowerland.  Warne 1935.  Could it be Joan in Flowerland, with Margaret Tarrant's gorgeous full-page illustrations? I don't know whether Joan falls asleep, but she is welcomed into Flowerland by an elf named Tinkle (or similar) and swims with water-lily fairies and so on. It does have chapters. I have some jpgs of pages, which I could send if that would help. More obscure is Christine's Fairy Friends, by Joan E. Evans, in the Early Reader Series by Hampster Books (n.d.) I haven't seen this and don't know about the illustrations, but it does have chapters - The Garden Fairies, Heath Fairies, Cornfield Fairies, The Fairies in the Rose Garden, etc.
Don't know the correct title - my mother called it Pamela's Birthday -  I have been trying to find it without any luck - it sounds very much like the description of G183.  At the end of the book she wakes up and her present is a beautiful dress with wings on the back like the fairies in her dream.  Does this help anyone to name the book.  It had beautiful illustrations. We had the book in the 1950's and 1960's.
Groom Arthur, Once upon a birthday.
The original stumper requester would love to see scans of Joan in Flowerland to confirm the solution....
ARTHUR GROOM, ONCE UPON A BIRTHDAY, 1950.  Also illustrated by Groom, published by Birn Brothers
A copy of Once Upon a Birthdayis up for auction on eBay right now. The listing includes scans from the book. This may help the submitter determine if it is the book they are looking for.
Groome, Arthur, Once Upon a Birthday, London, Birn 1950.  After talking with someone on ABE who has a copy of this
book, it sounds more likely than Joan in Flowerland. "It is about a girl named Pamela who fall asleep and wakes up in a garden where the fairies are small and dressed like flowers I think and at the end of the book when she wakes up, her father has brought her a dress that has a tulip looking bottom and wings on the back like in her dream." "It's called Once Upon a Birthday and was written and illustrated by Arthur Groom. The copy I have is dated 1951. My mother bought it for me because the little girl, Pamela, is sad because her daddy was away on her birthday and my father was away in the forces and didn't share my birthday till I was five, so I identified with it. She goes to Fairyland and the pictures are all of fairies in flower dresses - real little girl material! Probably today children would be very scornful of such fantasy - but it's good to see some of us still remember with happy nostalgia! Hope you manage to find a copy somewhere! Cheers, Nell."

Margaret Mahy, The Pirates' Mixed Up Voyage.  Illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain. Other possibilities include The Man Whose Mother Was a Pirate (illustrated by Margaret Chamberlain) and 0 (illustrated by Quentin Blake). Some of Mahy's books were in fact illustrated by Steven Kellogg, though I don't think any of her pirate ones were.
Thanks for the attempt, I checked these titles out and I don't think  they are what I'm looking for.  The search continues.....
Just a comment. I just noticed that  #P156  seems to resemble my stumper which I just submitted [P227]. Does that help?
Mircea Vasiliu, Once Upon a Pirate Ship, 1974.  I got it!!!! I've been seaching for the name of this great book for years.  Just last week I submitted a stumper for it.  The name just came to me, out of nowhere, in the middle of the night! I'm so excited to track it down! So this this the solution for at least two stumpers!!!
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I am in search of a childrens book that I had as a child. Probally published in the seventies. Large size. Aqua color on cover. What I loved most about it was the unusual text format. Every illustrated character had their own comments around their head (somthing like a comic)  and the illustrations were incredibly detailed so there was so much to take in on every page. I recall that there was no standard typed texed storyline. This is what I remember:  Some young, spirited, kids in a seaside village pack a picnic hop into a rowboat and take off for a day of adventure.  They row through a  ocean cave and on the other side they discovery a pirate ship.  They are welcomed on board by friendly pirates.  Two of them however, wish to do the kids harm or at least throw them off the ship.  I recall the names of two pirates. One was "smiley"  (he wore a yellow smile face tee shirt) and another was "Sneaky" who wore sneakers. I also recall a cook pirate.  They show the kids a great time but eventually are exhausted by the curiuos, precocious, bold nature of them.  I remember that even the mermaid figure head of the pirate ship would speak.  The details of the illustrations was such that you could see all of the events happening in the ship. It may have been a cross sectioned view of the ship.  Eventually, the kids get back into their own rowboat and say their farwell to the pirates. Its the end of the day. They row back to the village dock where their mothers are waiting for them. They might now have pirate treasure, jewels, hats etc.  Again, happy tone, detailed illustrations, fun adeventure theme. A delightful book.

Just a comment. I just noticed that  #P156  seems to resemble my stumper which I just submitted. Does that help?
Mircea Vasiliu, Once Upon a Pirate Ship, 1974.  I got it!!!! I've been seaching for the name of this great book for years.  Just last week I submitted a stumper for it.  The name just came to me, out of nowhere, in the middle of the night! I'm so excited to track it down! So this this the solution for at least two stumpers!!!

Gabriele Eichenauer Naomi Lewis, Once Upon a Rainbow, 1981. Anna and her teddy bear magically visit the seven lands that are found in the seven colors of the rainbow.
This book stumper has actually been solved for me - horay. I think that the book stumper that I posted is the same as the book stumper R78 so please could you make sure that they have the solution too?  thank you enourmously for all your help and your patience.
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I got this book from the library when I was little, the early or mid-eighties.  It's a picture book about a child who takes a journey over or through the rainbow, and comes to a land colored each of the colors of the rainbow.  The illustrations were beautiful, and I can't remember whether there were even any words or just the pictures to tell the story.  I think possibly the child goes home in the end with some sort of gift.

I'm not sure this is right, but it came to mind:  If You're Afraid of the Dark, Remember the Night Rainbow, by Cooper Edens,  Green Tiger Press, 1979.  Advice about making the best of life with charming full-page color pictures.
Gabriele Eichenauer Naomi Lewis, Once Upon a Rainbow, 1981. Anna and her teddy bear magically visit the seven lands that are found in the seven colors of the rainbow.

Edward Fenton, Once Upon a Saturday, 1958. Solved.

Jonathan Littman, Once upon a time in ComputerLand : the amazing, billion-dollar tale of Bill Millard, 1987. 

Rose Selarose, Once Upon A Time In The Meadow, 1982.  This is actually my own bookstumper! After having my bookstumper on your site for a few months, I finally found this book I was searching for in a local used bookstore. It is a Golden Storytime Book but was originally published in Italy as Chiara E Le Sue Amiche. I'm so glad to have found it! Thanks for your help!
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Children's book about a group of little girls that live alone on the prairie.  They are preparing for an outdoor picnic and each girl has certain responsibilities in preparation of the event.  I remember the pictures being in color and with a lot of detail.  I read this book in the mid-80's.  It was paperback, more advanced than a Little Golden Book.

Selarose, Rose, Once Upon a Time in the Meadow, 1982.  Six little girls who live alone get ready for a picnic and pageant.
I saw the post on the website and YES!!  That has to be it!!  You are the most wonderful person in the world!  This was well worth $2.00! 

There's a very similar story by Pearl Buck, about herself and her two daughters in a park in Japan, and the elderly man who keeps the little girls amused. Not on a boat, and no purse missing, though.
The Pearl Buck story is "One Bright Day", collected in the book of the same title, Methuen 1952, 136 pages. The story is described "two little girls and their mother returning to America from Shanghai, and of a wonderful day they had with a Japanese gentleman when the ship docked at Kobi." The other stories are "Yu Lan, Flying Boy of China", "The Water Buffalo Children", "The Chinese Children Next Door", and "The Dragon Fish".
If it is the Pearl Buck story, this was published in a French translation: Un jour de bonheur / par Pearl Buck, traduit d'anglais par Andre Bay et Marcelle Verite, image par Marcel Marlier, published Tournai, Casterman
1960, 58 pages, with colour illustrations, in the series 'Plaisir des contes'. The LC description says "On the way home from China by sea, an American mother and her two daughters spend a very pleasant day in Japan sightseeing with an elderly Japanese gentleman. Text in French." 

Dyer, Turkey Trott, 1942.  I had to locate wht may be the same story for a library patron just this week. What an interesting coincidence, finding it on Loganberry's stumpers! The following website has 5 full-color illustrations that might help the requester:  www.tias.com. Put "Turkey Trott" in search box.
I believe that the answer to stumper B290 is One Christmas Eve by Langston Hughes.  I cannot answer the publication information as the story is in a compilation I have.  The book I own with this story is called Norman Rockwell's Christmas Book, an oversized coffee table type book of stories, poems, and Christmas Carols illustrated with Norman Rockwell paintings.  The story is about a black maid who takes her son shopping with her on Christmas Eve.  She and her son are separated as he decides to go into the "white" theater to see Santa Claus.  He is scarred by the Santa, and her mother tells him that the Santa he saw is for "white folks" and only a man in a suit.  The story ends here, but it does not appear to be the end.  Perhaps the story was published fully on its own? Sorry for the longwinded explanation.  Thanks!
Kate Gambold Dyer, Turky Trott and the Black Santa, 1942.  I have this book and have not been able to find out anything about the author or the book.

F15: sounds to me like One Fine Day by Nonny Hogrogian (1971) 

Jane Flory, One Hundred and Eight Bells, 1963, copyright.
I can't believe that someone found this out so quickly!  It has been driving me crazy for so many years.  Everyone I asked (I am in library school and work in a library) had no idea.  Thanks so much.

I know this book, and I'm drawing a blank.  I believe it's a Little Golden Book, and I'm sure it's a boy.  I'll keep thinking.
Adelaide. Holl, One Kitten for Kim.  This was a Weekly Reader club book--I have a hardcover from my childhood in the early 1970's--I'm not sure when the book was originally published.  The main character is a boy named Kim, whose cat has kittens.  His parents tell him that he may keep the mother and ONE kitten, but the rest need homes.  So he takes off with them in his wagon, going around the neighborhood.  He "trades" them for other animals--a puppy, a parrot, goldfish, etc.  He thinks his parents will be soooo happy when he comes home with no kittens.    Cute little book--my 4 year old daughter just loves it.
The answer to your K65 stumper is One Kitten for Kim by Adelaide Holl.
Incredible - my request was posted Monday and solved Tuesday!  Count me among the fans of your Stumper Service.  I will be sure to tell my friends about your website.  I can't wait to get my hands on One Kitten for Kim and read it to Julianne ... do you have it?

M96 It could be ONE MONSTER AFTER ANOTHER by Mercer Mayer, 1974. But the story is about Sally Ann sending a letter to Lucy Jane (not a grandmother), and monsters keep getting hold of the letter. ~from a
librarian
My guess would be One Monster After Another, by Mercer Mayer (whose art style is quite similar to Maurice Sendak's), published by Golden, 1974. In it, Sally Ann sends a letter to her friend Lucy Jane. The letter is promptly stolen by a Stamp-Collecting Trollusk, who loses it to a Letter-Eating Bombanat. The Bombanat flies over the Blue Ocean of Bubbley Goo where he is caught by a Bombanat-Munching Grumley which is itself
caught by a fishing boat. The boat is struck by a Furious Floating Ice-Ferg and sucked up by a Wild-n-Windy Typhoonigator ... and so on. Lucy Jane eventually gets the letter, which invites her for a visit because "Nothing exciting ever happens around here".
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This is a childrens picture/story book from the mid to late 1970s.  It starts with someone writing a letter to a friend and then mailing it.  The rest of the story is about the perils and hazards the letter must endure to get to its destination.  These take the form of various monsters (for example, one of the monsters wants to eat the stamp).  Another one of the monsters is a huge storm cloud that sucks an ocean dry and leaves a fishing trawler stranded.  At the end of the book the letter reaches its destination.  My memory is hazy but it seems the illustrations were pen and ink.

HRL:  I think this one is One Monster After Another, by Mercer Mayer, Golden Press, 1974.
Yup!  You pegged it!  Thanks so much! 

I50 I no longer have this book, but could it be Hall, Marjory. One perfect rose.  Funk and Wagnalls, 1964
I think this is it.  I'm 90% sure, will be 100% sure when I've managed to re-read it.  Thanks!
This is definitely it: Many thanks!

Darby, Ray, Oomah, 1945.  John Phillips, illus. / Winnipeg, Contemporary Publishers / 39 pgs. "in verse" / Subjects: Canadian poetry, children's poetry

Roz Abisch, Open Your Eyes, 1964.  This has to be the book you're looking for.  Two boys play an inside game with the
colors red, blue, and yellow.  At the end of the story, the yellow sun is shining, so they can play outside with the rings hanging from the tree.
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Here's my stumper: I believe this was a set of 3 or 4 small books from the late 1960's or early 1970's. The books were about colors. I thought they were called "A Book of Red", "A Book of Blue", etc. but I can't find anything with those titles anywhere. They had black and white line drawings, but in the "blue" book the pictures were colored blue, in the "red" book the pictures were colored red, etc.  I think in the red book there was a kid named Ned or Ted. I'm pretty sure the text rhymed, like "This is Ned. His bed is red", or something like that. Everything in the red book was red, the blue book was blue and I think there was a yellow book as well. This is not a Dr. Suess book. It was most likely ordered through a book club in the early 1970's because most of the books we had were from Parent's Magazine Press or Scholastic book clubs. I have been searching for these books for years so any clues would be appreciated!

Roz Abisch, Open Your Eyes, 1964.  I think the book is called Open Your Eyes. It is just one book about two boys Tim
Small and his brother Ed.  They can't go outside on a rainyday and don't know what to play. Tim says let's play red.  What is red?  asks Ed. "That's the game.  Just what you said. It's all the things we know are red."  It then goes on to list in rhyme and pictures all red things.  Then the boys play blue and finally they play yellow.  The book ends with "Look, the Yellow sun is shining.  We can go out and play!" It was published by Parents Magazine Press like you mentioned.
Abisch, Roz, Open Your Eyes.  I am the original stumper requester for C238. This one is SOLVED. Thank you to the person that recognized this book from my vague description. I would have never remembered the title, but I checked into this and this is definitely the book. Thanks!

Is this the Lonely Doll series by Dare Wright?
Maybe one of the Shoe Shop Bears books by Margaret J. Baker? In one of them the bears are put into window displays.
T55 teddy bear tea party sounds like T94 teddy bear tea party. The described size is similar and the mention of a picnic or tea party (Teddy Bear's Picnic?)
Dare Wright, The Little One, 1959.  This is by the author of the Lonely Doll books, but the doll in this one
is not Edith. Her name starts with "P" but I can't remember what it is. She is in an old abandoned house, and there's a picture/photo of her sitting in the window. Some turtles find her there and rescue her from being alone. At some point she meets some bears and has tea with them.
Might these be the Little Bear books? By E.Minarik
Michele Durkson Clise, Ophelia books. Clise wrote several books which were illustrated by photographs of her own vintage bears dressed up and posed in various scenes.  The main character was Ophelia Bear who ran a shop in Paris.  Titles included: Ophelia's World: Or the Memoirs of a Parisian Shop Girl, Ophelia's Voyage to Japan: Or the Mystery of the Doll Solved, Ophelia's English Adventure or: The Haunting of Bruinyes House.

O4: Oregon Trail.  This is probably Seven Alone, which was made into a movie by (I think) Disney in the early 1970s, but was originally a book.
O4  book she is talking about sounds like On to Oregon by Honore Morrow.  Based on a true story about the Sagar family whose parents died on the trail leaving behind seven children including a baby.  Was also made into a Disney movie called Seven Alone..
Is this On To Oregon by Honore Morrow (1954) ?
And O-4 -- This is The Children on the Oregon Trail by A. Rutgers van der Loeff. The baby that the children keep alive through the book is named Indepencia, I believe. I read it as a kid in a Puffin paperback edition. Great story.
The book which was guessed as being On to Oregon! (movie paperback title Seven Alone) by Honore Willsie Morrow, then correctly identified as Children on the Oregon Trail (British title, which I do have.  American title, which I don't have, is Oregon at Last!) by A. Rutgers van der Loeff.  Yes, they are both inaccurate versions of the same true story.  Rutgers van der Loeff may have been the better writer, but Morrow merely twisted and perverted the facts (to which she did have access) while Rutgers van der Loeff completely fabricated them.  Another false version of the same story is For Ma and Pa:  on the Oregon Trail, 1844, by Wilma Pitchford Hays, which I don't have and would very much like.  I know more about this subject than YOU WOULD POSSIBLY WANT TO KNOW, SO DON'T ASK.  I'll simply send you a copy of the book I wrote, which speaks for itself and saves pointless gnashing of teeth.
Sorry, I can't see where the book stumper # is (what am I missing?) ... but one of the "solutions" listed has another answer. Listed as solved is "Oregon at Last" but I'm not so sure.  The person looking for the book about children whose parents die on the way to Oregon, and the stumper said it was "Oregon at Last." I think from the description it may be "Bound for Oregon" which is the fictionalized, but true story of the Todd family (relatives of Mary Todd Lincoln) travelling by covered wagon to Oregon. This is a great book illustrating the hardships of traveling this way and it has been recently reprinted.

F98: Fuzzies: a Folk Fable? See Solved Mysteries.
Claude Steiner, The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale, 1983.  The description doesn't mention a town, but it's the only story I know of with warm fuzzies.  Here's a excerpt:  "Once upon a time, a long time ago there lived two very happy people called Tim and Maggi with their two children, John and Lucy. To understand how happy they were you have to understand how things were in those days. You see, in those happy days everyone was given, at birth, a small soft Fuzzy Bag. Anytime a person reached into this bag he was able to pull out a Warm Fuzzy."
F98 Steiner, Claude.  The original warm fuzzy tale.  illus by JoAnn Dick.  Sacramento; Jalmar Press,  1977,  1980.  legend about warm fuzzy feelings interrupted by a witch.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Steiner, Claude.  The Original Warm Fuzzy Tale: A Fairy tale. Illustrated by JoAnn Dick.  Jalmar Press, 1977, 3rd printing, 1980.  Paperback, minor wear to corners, Warm Fuzzy Club ad in back.  VG-.  <SOLD>

you're so close....  but James Whitcomb Riley liked to play with spelling in this book, and so Orphan has an extra T on it....  you'll find reprints titled simply Little Orphant Annie, but the original was titled The Gobble-Uns'll Git You Ef You Don't Watch Out!  1890s or so (and reprinted under that title in 1975)
I'm sorry, but I don't think that James Whitcomb Riley is the author of the work being sought.  Little Orphant Annie (also known as The Gobble-uns 'll Git You Ef You Don't Watch Out!) is a poem, not a story.  During the course of the poem, Annie tells brief cautionary tales about two children who came to a bad end: a boy who wouldn't say his prayers, and a girl who mocked others.  There is no story about a magician, old woman, troll and peanut.  You can read the poem here.
Johnny Gruelle, Orphant Annie Story Book, 1989, reprint.  Could this be the book?  It was originally published in 1921 by the author of the Raggedy Ann books who happened to be a neighbor of James Whitcomb Riley who wrote the Little Orphant Annie poem.  It does have a story about a selfish little gnome who ends up being in the middle of a peanut in punishment for being so selfish.  This reprint may still be available from the Guild Press of Indiana our library acquired it in 2003.

Not Charles Kingsley's Water Babies (just in case)?
Ken Jones, Orphans of the Sea, 1970.  "A family sanctuary for seals in distress on the Cornish coast with a description of
their habits and intelligence.  A 'happy' book about these endearing animals. It describes he authors first experience of caring for a washed up seal pup, and the subsequent several hundred that he cared for and returuned to the wild." 

I believe I recognize this one. Everything described fits Orphans of the Sky by Robert A. Heinlein.  A very large, slowly spinning spaceship has been on a voyage for many generations. It had been on it's correct trajectory, when, years before the opening chapter, a mutiny occurred. At that time, some of the mutineers were exposed to radiation so that their offspring began to have strange mutations. This led to some of the passengers later being branded as "Muties," meaning either mutant or mutineer.  Hugh Hoyland climbed above the farmland where he had always lived to explore the upper reaches of his world. This involved moving inward toward the spinning axis of the ship, up where the mutants lived, where weight decreased to practically nothing. On one such journey he encountered Joe-Jim, a mutant man with two heads, each with its own personality.  A friendship formed and soon Joe-Jim opened Hugh's eyes to the real shape of his world. In time the two learn to navigate the ship and escape to a planet around a nearby star.
It think this is Orphans in the Sky by Robert Heinlein. It's about a boy who finds out that his world isn't actually a planet, but a spaceship that they all live inside. He makes his way through tunnels to the top where there is a control room where their navigation went phooey so long ago that people don't remember that they were originally on their way to colonize a new planet because their old one wasn't holding up.
Robert A. Heinlein, Orphans of the Sky,1941.  Hugh Hoyland climbed up (or inward) away from his farmland home to discover the inner reaches of a spaceship, which is populated not only by the farmers he had always known but a menagerie of "muties." These were mutated people, exposed to radiation for many years. They were descended from a band of mutineers who sabotaged the orignal flight plan of what turned out to be a generational spacecraft bound for a nearby star. They were now adrift.  Hugh and Joe-Jim, a two-headed mutant, eventually manged to learn the operation of the ship, and some of the crew made it to the surface of a planet.
Greene, Joseph, The Forgotten Star,late 1950s.  This is almost certainly NOT the book in question, but it has a very similar scenario.  A boy searching for his missing father, along with two friends, stumbles across a civilization that has been living inside an "asteroid"-- really a huge spaceship -- for thousands of years.  This was one of the first sf books I ever read, and I remember it fondly.  I believe it was the  initial book in a series, but I never found any of the sequels.
#S114--Science Fiction:  Check out A Sense of Wonder on the Solved page and see if that could be it.
Harry Harrison, Captive Universe. I'm pretty sure there's a Harry Harrison with this storyline.  I think the book I'm remembering was about an Aztec civilisation that turned out to be inhabiting a spaceship, much to their surprise.  And I'm fairly sure that Captive Universe is the title of the book in question.  However, I haven't
got the book to hand, so I can't check.  Try others by Harrison if Captive Universe isn't about a civilisation aboard a starship.  The book I'm thinking of, I read in 1989 or thereabouts, but it could have been written a long
time before that.
Robert A. Heinlein, Orphans of the Sky.  A short tale of a starship community that has existed for generations and has lost grasp of the fact that it is traveling through space. You can find a thorough synopsis here.
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Sci-Fi book I read in 1978 in a Sci-Fi course in high school.  A whole civilization of people are on a huge spacecraft, but they've been on it for generations, so most of them don't realize they are on a spacecraft.  Someone tries to convince the others that they are moving through space, but the others think he's crazy--the people believe the "rules" they abide by came from the "god"--there are lots of "laws" that have become "religious beliefs".

Robert A. Heinlein, Orphans of the Sky, 1964.  Sounds like this one - Heinlein being such a well-known sci fi author, it could easily have been used in a school class.
Yes, I believe this is the book.  I looked up the synopsis on a Heinlein website and it sounds like the book I remember.

I've finally figured out your wife's book stumper, AND I have two available copies for sale!  Valentine's Day is just around the corner...
Morgan, Henry. O-Sono and the Magician's Nephew and the Elephant. Illustrated by Spanfeller. Vanguard Press, 1964. Copy one:  in great shape with dust jacket, $30 postpaid  Copy two:  in good shape, lacking dust jacket, $18 postpaid

Wow! Thank you so much but I found another copy not long ago and bought it (for more than you are offering, shucks!) and then subsequently my mother-in-law found the original. Thanks again for continuing to look and I'm sorry I did not let you know i had found a copy but I looked so many places I just couldn't remember them all! 

Syd Hoff, Sammy The Seal, 1959. Try this I Can Read book - it has colorful illustrations.
Irma Wilde, Mr. Wishing Went Fishing, 1952.  Just a guess, because I can't remember the story either (it mostly takes place at sea in a rowboat), but we had this book and there may have been a seal in it  I know the pictures were very colorful.  You can find this online to see if the cover looks familiar.
M430 Could it be this?  Palazzo, Tony The great Othello, the story of a seal  illus by Tony Palazzo Viking 1952
Mabel Neikirk, various, 1940's.  Could it be one of the Oscar the Seal books by Mabel Neikirk?  Mr. Zabriski, the owner of Oscar the trained seal, definitely has a bald head with a fringe of black hair (also a rather large nose).