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Not much to go on, but maybe one of Dikken Zwilgmeyer's books, like Four Cousins? He was writing in Norwegian, translated by Emilie Poulsson, and wrote about mischievous children.
Another possible is Afke's Ten by Ninke van Hichtum (real name: Sjouke Troelstra-Bokma de Boer), translated from the Dutch by Marie Pidgeon, illustrated by Hilda van Stockum, published Lippincott 1936, 256 pages. It's the story of 10 children on a Frisian island through a year. "Mother Afke, Father Marten and their ten children. The story begins with the appearance of a new brother and relates the day to day adventures which make up their lives." Apparently as much of a classic in Holland as Little Women is here.
This is apparently quite similar to the Noisy Village stories: The Hill House by Ragnhild Chevalier Williams, illustrated by Kurt Werth, published by McKay 1966, 160 pages "based on the author's childhood in Bergen,
Norway, has frequent changes of scene and introduces new characters from an enormous circle of friends, relatives and servants. The separate, often suspense-filled episodes re-create the fun and mischief of child play, the sharing of handed-down stories, and the anticipated excitement of special family gatherings and national festivals." (Horn Book Feb/66 p.60)
This doesn't really fit, but I keep wanting to suggest it - Kersti and Saint Nicholas, by Hilda Van Stockum, published by Viking 1940 "Kersti is the seventh, last, and naughtiest daughter of the van Disselens, and she has a way with her. Even Saint Nicholas and his faithful helper Pieterbass find themselves leaving gifts for the bad children on the good Saint's birthday - and it's all Kersti's fault." (Horn Book Dec/40 p.382 pub ad) It's European and involves naughty children and Christmas.
C1 Just verified that Lindgren Xmas at Noisy Village is NOT it
1970?  Beleive it or not, this might have been published in Cosmopolitan magazine, when it wasn't so sleazy. I recall that line, about the Impossible, the thing that wasn't supposed to happend to any child, finally coming true. There was also a segment where the children lost money to buy a Christmas tree, and another where a rich relative sends a giant barrel full of mud. It was rather somber in tone, ending with comments about WW2.

Solved: Charlie

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C16: Chinese boats & rice cakes

This might be a book that I think was called Ping, but that involved a duck and his "master."  The duck (whose name is Ping) lived on the Yangtze river in a boat with his master.  One day, as I recall, he goes exploring.  At one point he is lured by a naughty little boy with rice cakes and is trapped under a basket.  I think Ping eventually gets back to his kindly old master.  The book was fairly short and written for first-graders and was in a landscape layout.  I don't remember the colors, but I do remember the boats had exotic looking eyes painted on their bows.
Well now, I did think about Ping, but I'd forgotten that bit about the rice cakes (the good master has no mention of rice cakes!).   But this probably is a match.
Flack, Marjorie.  The Story of Ping.  Illustrated by Kurt Wiese. New paperback available for $6.
Sorry, this is not the book.  I checked out a picture of the cover on Amazon.com.  The illustration style is all wrong.  The book I'm thinking of had very monochromatic drawings, I think just greens and blacks and grays, drawn with thin lines like pen and ink.  Thanks though.  Keep looking.
First, relating to C-16 but not necessarily to be posted (mostly because it wouldn't help any), I remember reading "Ping" as a child. Like all my other favorite childhood books, it got put in the "give-away" box.....  :(
A possible, but no mention of rice cakes: Martin, Patrica Miles The Dog and the Boat Boy color illus. by Earl Thollander, 48 pages, Putnam, 1969 "The adventures of Chung Yong, a boy who lives on a boat in Hong Kong's crowded harbor. Chung Yong wants to keep a dog he has found, but his grandmother wants a cat which will kill the mice on the boat. ... The craggy, almost cartoon-like drawings (in subdued shades of purple, gray, and brown) ... occasional splashes of bright orange ..."
There's also Chinese Ink Stick by Kurt Wiese, Doubleday 1929, which includes a little boy who travels with his father, a tea merchant. It's 199 pages, though, so probably too long. Eleanor Lattimore's Little Pear (Harcourt 1931) falls into the river and is rescued by a man on a boat, but that's 144 pages.
Another written and illustrated by Eleanor Frances Lattimore is Fisherman's Son, published by Morrow, 1959, 128 pages. Small Liang is the oldest of fisherman Liang's children, and the only boy. Horn Book says "their daily life on a river boat in China is told in ten chapters with simplicity and charm. Pleasing, clear type and lively drawings." Size and shape of book not mentioned, but apparently for early readers.
Yet another, but finally short enough - Little Fu, written and illustrated with lithographs by Raymond Creekmore, published Macmillan 1949, unpaginated with map, grades 1-3 "Fu has an eventful trip down the great Min River to Foochow where his father sells his cargo of tea. After an exciting day they go home in a new motor boat with steel sides instead of bamboo leaves. The black and white lithographs are excellent." (Children's Catalog 1956)
C16 chinese boat: well, the shape is right and it's about an Asian boy and boats - Nu Dang and His Kite, written and illustrated by Jacqueline Ayer, published Harcourt 1959, 31 pages, 10x8". "Unusual drawings with splashes of color - orange, cerise, coral and green - give a real sense of the busy life of Bangkok, the river and canals lined with shops and filled with boats: the vendors of lotus and jasmine, curry sauce and chilies; the chick-pea-green-bean boat; the "all kinds of fish" boat. Nu Dang's search for his kite, which the wind had carried away, took him far up the 'long brown river', through the Floating Market, into a small canal, through a herd of lazy gray water buffalo, past shops and a farm house until he finally turned home ..." (HB Apr/59 p.121) There's a sample double-page spread shown, interspersing blocks of text with detailed line-drawings (NOT brush-style) "Out on the big river, he came first to a vendor of sweet cakes and colored water. 'Have you seen my kite?' But the vendor was much too busy to notice a lost kite. Nowhere. Not anywhere. No kite at all."
Meindert deJong, The House of Sixty Fathers,  1955.  This is a novel, not a picture book, so it may not be the right one, but there are enough similarities that it might be worth looking up. There is an Asian boy on a houseboat and a scene with ducks, and the original cover (illustrations are by Maurice Sendak) fits the description you gave somewhat. Look at the library edition cover, not the paperback--both are still in print.
retold by Arlene Mosel, ill. Blair Lent, Tikki Tikki Tembo, 1968.  The illustrations are in black ink with green blue and
goldenrod blocks of color.  It is about 2 brothers, who disobey their parents and enjoy their rice cakes near a dangerous well.  When the younger brother, Chang, falls in, the older brother Tikki Tikki Tembo-No Sa Rembo-Chari Bari Ruchi-Pip Peri Pembo has no trouble finding help to get him out, but the next time they are eating their rice cakes near the well, and the older brother falls in, Chang has a hard time getting anyone to listen to him. There were''t any boats in this one, but there was a river where their mother was washing clothes.  I am basing my guess mainly on the mention of rice cakes and the quality of the pictures.
Marjorie Flack, The Story About Ping. This really is the book you are looking for. It was my favorite as a child and was delighted to see it available for my sons. I, in fact, found another copy at a used book store which is much older and beat up that I read to my youngest every night. Keith Weisse is the illustrator. You might be thinking about what the original looked like. This is Weisse's trademark Crayola look. Quite stunning and the "wise eyed boats" are quite alluring. But you'\''re wrong about the "boat boy" He wasn't naughty at all  it was his job, as "boat boy" to lure the animals to him. It is what makes Ping so charming, the cadance of the "beautiful yellow waters of the Yangze River," and the simple life of Chinese fishermen in the 1930s.

C17 crafts: completely whistling in the dark, but maybe The Bread Dough Craft Book, by Elyse Sommer, illustrated by Giulio Maestro, published Lothrop 1972, 128 pages. "with six slices of bread, six teaspoons of white glue and a half a teaspoon of liquid detergent, a child can learn the basics of a centuries-old folk art ... how to mix, color, and work with the dough ... nearly 60 simple projects that children can create as gifts or decorations." The finished projects are apparently only shown as coloured drawings, though, and don't sound like the complex scenes described.

#C24:  Clown, Wardrobe, etc.  If such a book indeed exists, I want it for a friend!  If he likes it, I want it for myself!  After hours of keyword searches in all sorts of places, I may have a resource for you.  A site called "Fantasy Finder" has a message board called "The Board Room."   Hopefully this is one of those places where they "know it, or know who knows it," and will be of interest to anyone whose queries involve fantasy.
#C24--This query was also posted on the message board of the British Fantasy Society in February 2001.  As of June, no answers.
This query was also posted on the Alibris list. A number of suggestions were made, but no cigar as yet.
C24---Been a while since I've read it but the clown thing (esp the illustration) sounds a lot like Diamond in the
Window by Jane Langton.
C24 Has customer checked Langton yet? I can ask a friend who has a copy for sale, but I notice there are plenty on the Net so I wonder if someone hasn't checked already.
C24 clown wardrobe: had a look at Diamond in the Window and there's no real correspondance - no clown figure, no elevator/lift in the wardrobe, no tournament, no puns. It might be worth looking at Erich Kastner's Thirty Fifth of May, published 1934, reprinted 1958 and 1961, 192 pages. "If this date isn't on your calendar, you'll wish it were after reading what happened to Conrad. It began at the magic door of a wardrobe, and led to the Land of Cockayne, where fruit salad grows on trees; the the Mighty Fortress of the Past for a hello with Hannibal, Julius Caesar and Napoleon; and on the Electropolis in Topsy Turvy country, notable for its school or unsatisfactory parents to be trained by children! Ages 9-12." At least it starts with a wardrobe and looks episodic and nonsensical, but I haven't read the book so can't confirm more.
Hey, shall I buzz back to Junior Bookshelf for the late 50s early 60s?  My first thought is Enid Blyton, because the structure is reminiscent of the Faraway Tree series ... but this is almost no help at all because she's so prolific and there don't seem to be any annotated bibliographies. And if it is her work, there won't be anything in Junior Bookshelf about it, for sure.I'm pretty sure it isn't E. Nesbit because I think I've read all of hers, including the short stories - though the one with the little girl shut in her room who discovers that the wardrobe/dresser is a magic train station sounds kind of reminiscent.
Doesn't seem like E. Nesbit to me, and I don't think it's Edward Eager or anyone well-known, as I posted it on a couple of fantasy boards and not even a nibble. The only other author I thought of was Margaret Storey, but
couldn't seem to find anything of hers pblished prior to 1965. I hope it's identified--I'm quite intrigued by it.
I'm sorry to say I can't be any more specific. Whenever I try to remember more detail I think I'm just making it up from people's suggestions! The memory of the Coles Notes size and binding may be a completely separate affair too.  Another memory that springs to mind, though again, it may be another book entirely, is a story wherein the "gateway" is the bottom of a helter-skelter. Did you ever come across a helter-skelter? Very old cheap funfare ride, consisting of a lighthouse shaped tower with a slide corkscrewing around the outside. One climbs up the interior stairs, takes a bristly mat and throws oneself onto the slide. They scared the hell out of me, and having read this story where a little girl (I think) continues at the bottom into the earth and ends up in some spooky place, I never did try it.  Thanks again for your help. I'll be looking at the King of Kurio this weekend.
Well, still plugging away at this, though not confident about this suggestion either: The Thirty-fifth of May, by Erich Kastner, illustrated by Walter Trier, published Franklin Watts 1961, 192 pages. "If this date isn't on your calendar, you'll wish it were after reading what happened to Conrad. It began at the magic door of a wardrobe, and led to the Land of Cockayne, where fruit salad grows on trees; the the Mighty Fortress of the Past for a hello with Hannibal, Julius Caesar and Napoleon; and on the Electropolis in Topsy Turvy country, notable for its school for unsatisfactory parents to be trained by children! Ages 9-12." (Horn Book Aug/61 p.302 pub ad) This is apparently a republication, and of course a translation, so it may have been published with various illustrators and in more than one country.
C24 clown wardrobe: I'm wondering now if this wasn't one of the many British children's annuals or "gift books", and this may have been a single or continuing story in it, perhaps along with the helter-skelter story? That would tie in with the memorable illustrations and punning humour, as well as the difficulty in IDing it, as these books weren't reviewed and there were a lot of them. Still, we got Peter Puffer's Fun Book!
C24 clown wardrobe: Not a solution, but perhaps someone looking for the same book - here's a description: "This is a book of children's fiction that I read in the 1950s. I am not sure when it was written. It concerns some children who go through an odd door in a wall and find themselves in a magical land. Fairly common theme but distinguishing features are that they can go up and down between parts of this land in a lift. The children make friends with a queen and her children who have been dispossessed of their kingdom - it is now in thrall to a set of 3 monsters - one is called I think the Hobbledee-something or other. Amongst the 'goodies' helping the queen and her family is an Elastic Dog who can walk miles but leave his back legs at home. A memorable monster is a squirrel with an eye in its tail - if it looked at you, you went blind. I would be delighted to find this book - I used to have to check under the bed every night to see that squirrel wasn't there, but I loved the book."
Bates, Joan Mary, The Magic Helter-Skelter.  London, Blackie 1959.  This is a suggested answer NOT for the stumper itself, but for the related stumper mentioned with it, about a helter-skelter. This description is from another forum : "It is about Anne who is a selfish type and her punishement involves a spell in Topsy Turvey Land where she has to walk on her hands and is given the freedom to gorge herself on chocolate until she becomes sick of the sight of it. Similar aversion therapy techniques are applied to money, and by the time she is allowed to return home she is transformed beyond recognition."
Sieman, Frank, The Kingdom of Punch. (London, Eyre & Spottiswoode 1957)  Yet another longshot! "Faith and Christopher meet an old tramp in the woods who leaves with them a bag containing the wooden figures of what he says are the real one and only Punch, and Judy, and Dog Toby. Because the children show love to them, these figures become alive with lifelike proportions and take the children back with them to the Kingdom of Punch that Punch might regain his rightfl throne and depose the tyrannical usurper who has taken his place. Here we have the adventures of the children and their friends of the Court of Punch as Scara the imposter is overthrown. ... constant chatter reminiscent of panotomime repartee." However, there are no illustrations.

Could it be The Country Mouse and the City Mouse.  That matches the story in that the city mouse calls and is coming to visit the country mouse.  My sister and I had this on a 45 record that came with a book when we were kids. Good Luck!
I will check this out, I know that I went through the City Mouse and the Country Mouse.  I don't remember it being on a record although it might have been but the local library only had the book.  I use to check it out when I was about 6-7 so that was about 1950 - 51.  I did search the website for the Country Mouse and the City Mouse after I saw the note on the bottom of mine, but I didn't see any that were published that early, so I will have to keep looking.  I even went through the listing of books through the Library of Congress under mouse just to try to find it.  Do you have any idea who would have written this one, maybe knowing the author might help.   Your website is really fantastic, just reading the others and what they were looking for also brought back some memories.  I thank you for the chance to post it and hopefully someday will locate it.  It was such a cute story with a big moral to it, as I said in my posting I can still see the pictures showing her dirty messy house, the cleaning up (her friends helping) and then the picture of her all dressed up in a clean dress and shoes (red), looking around at her nice clean house, waiting for her house guest. Thank you again for all your assistance.
The Country Mouse & the City Mouse is an Aesop tale; there have been so many versions that your best hope is to simply stumble across the one you remember. There is a Wonder Book from 1947 (Phoebe Erickson, ill.) that contains this tale, Peter Rabbit, & Henny Penny. I've seen this one around; check for it -- maybe you'll be lucky.
Well, if the emphasis is on cleaning for the visit rather than on country versus town, maybe: Van Leeuwen, Nans Spring Cleaning with Mrs. Mouse Amsterdam: Mulder & Zoon, n.d. (ca. 1968), decorated boards, "lovely colour illustrations throughout the book, a real charmer"
There's also Mrs. Mouse Cleans House, by Alison Uttley, published Heinemann 1952 "Spring cleaning always means a day of bustle and excitement for the Brown Mice at the Rose and Crown, but the day that scoundrel Rat came to help was the most exciting of all." No mention of a city visitor, but the date is closer.
M108 mouse wears red sounds like C25 country mouse cleans up. The 1950ish date, special occasion/visit, the red dress and shoes, ...
C25 mouse cleans up and M108 mouse wears red: Another possible is Margie Merry Mouse, written & illustrated by Willy Schermele (Blyton illustrator), published Clifford series 1950, reprint Agfa 1986. A mouse in a red dress cleans house with the help of friends. If it's the earlier printing it's not a bad match, though I couldn't find any mention of a visit as the reason for cleanup.
Elizabeth Upham, Little Mouse Dances.  I found this in a basic reader "More Friends and Neighbors" by Scott, Foresman, and Co. 1946.  It's not exactly as you describe but features a mouse who doesn't like to clean and lets the dirt and dust pile up while she sings and dances all day.  Then she buys a new red dress and shoes and they get dusty so she eventually cleans them up then goes ahead and cleans up everything else in her house because she enjoys the way the clean clothes look.  At the end she puts on her red dress, red shoes, and a red flower over her ear and dances in her clean house.  I hope this is what you're looking for.

I have 2 really old craft books.  One is McCall's Giant Golden Make-It Book.   Copyright 1953 by Simon and Schuster, Inc., and Artists and Writers Press, Inc.The other one is newer McCall's Golden Do-It Book.  Copyright 1960 bye the McCall Corporation and Golden Press, Inc.Both of these are crafts made with at home items.  Perhaps one of these is what they are looking for.
A long shot, but maybe Toys You Can MakeChicago: Popular Mechanics Press, 1953, cloth, 160 pages. "Suggestions and diagrams for dozens, perhaps hundreds of toys you can make for your child. Most are wooden, this book being published before plastic took over the toy market. Hence the toys you can make are much more durable than anything you can buy today."
Tangley Oaks Education Center, Junior Instructor (Books 1 & 2), 1916, copyright.  Our copies were reprinted for the 40s.  They are embrossed yellow and red not green.  Lots of fun projects and readings.

Don't know if thisis the series or not, as I don't know when they were first published, but it could be Frank Peretti's Cooper Kids Series.
This just might be the Jack Dawn series by Joseph Coughlin. He wrote a number of titles in the 1940s and one in the 1960s. I have a copy of Jack Dawn and the Vanishing Horses and it is a boys Christian mystery.
C27: Christian Brothers -- Bernard Palmer had a series about Danny & Ron Orliss -- published by Moody Press that was available in the 1950s; that *might* be it
Regarding the Orlis suggestion, I've finally seen one of these and there are some resemblances. The book is very Christian, with more than one conversion and a fair amount of discussion of Christian behaviour, and the Orlis family does live in the boonies, at Angle Inlet, without electricity, television, etc. The title list on the back cover mentions Ron Orlis as well as Danny, but there is no indication in this book whether Ron is an older or younger brother, or adopted, or where he is the rest of the time.
I think this person might be looking for the Danny Orwell series--there was also a radio program that aired on Saturday mornings during the late 1950s featuring these boys.  I hope I'm right about Danny's last name, but the shows (and the books) definitely had a Christian theme.
Could this be the Sugar Creek Gang series by Paul Hutchens? The boys in this series weren't brothers, but the two main characters were a boy named Bill and his best friend, nicknamed Poetry. The other members of the group were Dragonfly, Little Jim, Big Jim and Circus. The other details are similar to what you describe: Christian-oriented mysteries, at least one conversion, etc.
Palmer, Bernard, Danny Orlis and the Rocks That Tal, 1955.  Bernard Palmer was published through Moody Press and wrote other children's series.  The Danny Orlis series featured Danny who lived with his parents in Angle Point, Minnesota together with adopted twin siblings, Ron and Roxie.  The books are back in print and are readily available.  Danny orlis also had an advice column in the Campus Life monthly magazine, as I recall.
Ken Anderson, The Austin Boys, 1943-44. It might be the Austin Boys.  Jim & Tim Austin are twin sons of a missionary couple living on an island in the Coral Sea.  There are only 2 books about them that I am aware of:  "The Austin Boys--Marooned," and "The Austin Boys--Adrift."

C48 a long shot maybe Orton, Helen FullerCloverfield Farm Stories NY: Lippincott, 1947 Omnibus of four books: Prince and Rover of Cloverfield Farm, Bobby of Cloverfield Farm, Summer at Cloverfield Farm, and Winter at Cloverfield Farm.

Just wanted to say that this book does exist, though I can't identify it yet - several years ago I saw a description of it, and remember thinking it was a knock-off of the Chinese Brothers story.
Five Chinese Brothers.  This one is already listed in your solved pages.
C49 chinese boy: There are at least two other versions of this folktale, one being Six Chinese Brothers: an Ancient Tale, retold and illustrated by Cheng Hou-Tien, published Holt 1979, 32 pages. The story is essentially the same, illustrated with scissor cuts in bright red and black. More recent is The Seven Chinese Brothers, retold by Margaret Mahy, illustrated by Jean Tseng and Tseng Mou-Sien, published Scholastic 1990. "The seven brothers walk, talk, and look alike, but each has his own special power. When the third brother runs afoul of the emperor and is sentenced to be beheaded, the fourth brother, who has bones of iron, takes his place. The emperor then tries drowning and burning but each time a different brother foils his scheme." The illustrations are colourful watercolours.  So I don't think we have to be too sure that it's the Claire Huchet Bishop version ...
C49 chinese boy: the Mahy version can be ruled out. I saw a copy at a thrift shop and the story does NOT include swallowing large quantities of water. Instead the emperor is afraid of the power(s) of what he believes to be a single man, and tries to execute him in various ways. Six Chinese Brothers, by Cheng Hou-tien, is supposed to have pretty much the same story as Five Chinese Brothers but different illustrations, and is probably worth checking out.
Claire Huchet Bishop, Five Chinese Brothers.  This is DEFINITELY Five Chinese Brothers, not six, not seven.  The first brother can hold a lake in his mouth, but a village child wanders out too far to pick up fish and drowns when the brother releases the water.  The emperor orders him executed by beheading, so he tells the emperor he needs to go home to say goodbye to his family.  The second brother (who just happens to have an iron neck) is sent in his place.  When the executioner breaks his sword on the brother's neck, the emperor orders him burned.  So they swap in the brother who ca''t be burned and so on...    The stories with six or seven brothers are more about the emperor's fear of the brothers' power, and his attempts to prevent them from taking the throne.

not that I've ever seen the cover, but there's Ghost Boat, written and illustrated by Jacqueline Jackson, published Little, Brown 1969, 148 pages. "A mysterious boat provides four children with an adventure while they are vacationing at their summer cottage."
C56 Is this a possibility?   Zapf, Marjorie. The Mystery of the Great Swamp.  Same as E1?
C56 creepy cover: after checking pictures on eBay, I have to say that unfortunately the Zapf cover doesn't match, neither does the cover of Ghost Boat, or The Button Boat.
L.M. Boston, The Children of Green Knowe, 1955, reprint.  Athough there is some discrepancy, THE CHILDREN OF THE GREEN KNOW has a dark green dust jacket with a yellow drawing of a creepy looking house. Rather than 3 children, there is an old man with an oar and a boy in the front of the boat holding up a lit lantern. It's a spooky cover!
Strange Monster of Strawberry Cove, late 1960s.  The cover description sounds to me like a Scholastic Press book I read in elementary school -- these were paperback books peddled in the California school system via a newsletter passed out in class. Can't find any record of this book in Internet searches, though there's a (Disney?) movie from the '80s with the same title and plot: some children try to hunt down a sea monster that only they have seen, and it turns out to be a canvas superstructure disguising a smuggler's boat. The lantern lights the monster's eyes, or something . . . hope that's what you're looking for! BTW the title I supplied is that of the movie. The book title was at least similar but may not be completely identical.
More clues on #C56, Creepy Cover:  It wasn't much like the hardcover illustration for "The Button Boat" and nothing at all like "Mystery of the Great Swamp" or "Children of Green Knowe."  The differences were, in those pictures the children are standing in the boat or getting into or out of it with faces turned away.  The picture I'm looking for had younger/smaller children (4 to 8 rather than 10 to 12) sitting in a small boat facing towards the lantern in the water. It was MUCH more colorful--rather than two-color with black and white, brown and green, or green and yellow, this had a lot of murky blue, swamp green, yellow glow from the lantern.  The feature which struck me most was the particular round, protruding characteristic of the children's eyes, giving them an eerily apprehensive appearance.  The style of the drawing, particularly those bug eyes, is very much like that of the prolific and popular artist Susan Perl.  Whether that provides a clue I couldn't say, as I don't know that the illustrator was Susan Perl, or that there'd be any way to confirm it, such as an official Susan Perl website.  No idea who published such books, but I'm thinking not Weekly Reader or Scholastic but some fly-by-night printer no one will have heard of.  Might I say, I *did* have a book illustrated by Susan Perl which has proven EXTREMELY rare! It was a paperback of Eugene Field's "Wynken, Blynken and Nod and other poems" from Wonder Books.  Normally, once I know the title and author of a favorite childhood book, it's been relatively easy to get copies for my sisters, but in this case my own copy is the ONLY one I have ever SEEN--that includes not only in used bookstores but on eBay or any other online search.  It was a big favorite and will go right in the glass case I've built for rare and hard-to-find titles.
Vera Cleaver, Ellen Grae, 1967.  I keep thinking that this might be Ellen Raskin's original cover for Vera Cleaver's Ellen Grae - the kids have dropped the lantern and are trying to get it back with the fishing pole.  But I can't find a copy of the book or an image on-line to check my memory!
Wylly Folke St. John, Secret of Hidden Creek, 1968, approximate.  I think this might be the book your looking for.  the older version has a cover like the one you described.

Don't know the story, but this person must find a copy of Crusade in Jeans by Thea Beckman. Won awards in the Netherlands, and is a great story of the Children's Crusades.
The Chidren's Crusade (1975?)  Remember reading this one in my local council library (Adelaide, Australia) in the late seventies/ early eighties.  Title was definitely "The Children's Crusade" but I can't remember the author.  Used to get this one when I'd forgotten the title of "Crusade in Jeans" (heartily agree with the earlier recommendation on this one, too)!
Henry Treece (75, approximate) Back again.  Internet suggests the Author may be Henry Treece? This is definitely the book I remember, and involves the boy (and his sister? - memory escapes me) being rescued from slavery by his father's priest at the end, but wouldn't fit with the suicide part.

#C65--Chipmunks dressing as humans:  It's worth having a look at The Little Mailman of Bayberry Lane, by Ian Munn, illustrated by Elizabeth Webbe, Rand McNally Junior Elf Book, 1952.
C65 It doesn't seem to me as if this book quite matches, but here's more info: almost Little Goloden size; chipmunk mailman on yellow cover, putting mail in a mailbox. Inside, he makes deliveries to different animals in human clothes.
Marjorie Torrey, Three Little Chipmunks,1947.We searching forever for this book as well and my sister just recently found it and bought it - We grew up with Chuffy, Chirpy and Cheeky!!!
McElroy and Younge (American Book Company), Toby Chipmunk, 1931, copyright.  I read this book in a Wisconsin one-room schoolhouse in the late forties and then tried to find it for YEARS; I finally found one last year on ebay.  Good luck!
MCELROY, TOBY CHIPMUNK, 1937.  AN EASY READER(1ST OR 2ND GRADE) USED IN MANY RURAL SCHOOLS IN THE 1940S - TWO CHIPMUNKS, TOBY AND HIS SISTER, WHO GO TO LIVE WITH GRANDMOTHER CHIPMUNK IN HER HOME IN THE TRUNK OF A HOLLOW  TREE.  A DARLING BOOK AND HARD TO FIND.

#C67--Civil War era family story:  "He is not gone, he is just away" has been used in a number of variations, most notably in a poem by Walt Whitman, who did write a lot during and about the Civil War era.  Since the poet is
so well-known, you should have no trouble in locating the poem.  Can't say the same about the book.
C67 civil war era: perhaps Nellie's Prayer by George R. Sims, illustrated by J. Willis Grey, published London & New York by Raphael Tuck 1880, unnumbered pages approx 22, with 28 monochrome illos. "The story of a little girl's prayer for her father's safe return from war." The cover shows soldiers marching with a young boy running beside them, a little girl watching and a woman weeping. However, the soldiers are in red with tall bearskins, very English and not at all American Civil War.

Are you sure this is a children''s book?  I read a short story recently on the same theme in The Year's Best Fantasy & Horror (edited by Datlow & Windling  I think it was last year's edition).  It's a crazy story set in a town populated by clowns that does involve a missing nose (one of the main characters is embarrassed by the fact that his nose is ill-fitting).

Big Big Story Book. I have an anthology of childrens stories from the 1960's called Big Big Story Book.  Mine is hardcover wtih a picture of a circus on the front. Your requests sounded like the story PICNIC IN THE PANTRY, although there is no store owner or car backfiring.  This is in rhyming verse with the first verse being:  The peppermint stick and the candy bar / Sat and dreamed in the big glass jar.  We'll see the World, they cried one day.  And hand in hand they ran away.

C85 El Cid sounds like I26 stories of heroes
C85 el cid: well, Knights and Champions, by Dorothy Heiderstadt, illustrated by George Fulton, published Nelson 1960, 191 pages, includes stories of "twelve legendary and historical heroes, including St. George, Beowulf, Roland, King Arthur, Richard Lionheart, El Cid of Spain, and Bayard the last knight. Ages 10-14.". I couldn't discover the size or confirm colour illustrations, or any other definite characters beyond Ogier the Dane - nothing certain on Gawain or Horatio.

sounds slightly like one suggested for another stumper - The Green Bronze Mirror, by Lynne Ellison, published London, Blackie 1966, 124 pages. "Karen is 15 years old, and on holiday with her family at an English seaside resort. Everything is ordinarily nice, until she finds an old bronze mirror buried in the sand and looks into it. Hearing the tramp of approaching feet, she turns to face a company of what appears to be Roman soldiers. They ARE Roman soldiers, and Karen finds herself in the Britain of almost 2000 years before her own time. Her
adventures go on from there ... romance pervades the story after Karen meets Kleon, a handsome slave boy." The author was apparently only 14 when she wrote the book.
C100 camping trip time travel: there is a short series by Meta Mayne Reid, including The McNeills at Rathcapple, published Faber 1959 "combines the family story with the magic of adventures into the past"; Sandy and the Hollow Book, published Faber 1961 "An exciting story of two children in Ireland who relive forgotten episodes from past history"; and With Angus in the Forest, published Faber 1963 "The story of a girl who went back into Irish history during the desparate times of the 10th century Danish raids, and found there an answer to her own problems." One of Elinor Lyon's books, The Golden Shore, published Hodder 1957, is about cousins John and Penelope, who jump a stream while on a picnic, and find themselves in ancient Greece, where they live for almost a year. There is also a short time-travel series by M. Pardoe, involving the MacAlister children and their tutor - Argle's Causeway, illustrated by L. Atkinson, published Routledge 1958, 244 pages "Another excursion in time granted to the MacAlister family who break through a 'thin spot' in the region of Lymington and find themselves in Norman England in the 11th century. While it is a little difficult to believe that the children's kilts enable them to pass without a great deal of commment ... the historical background is extremely thorough ..." (JB Jul/58 p.135) and Argle's Oracle, illustrated by Audrey Fawley, published Routledge 1959, 197 pages "The MacAllister children and their young schoolmaster friend Mr. Burke are forced down in the sea on a flight to Athens and almost immediately find a 'thin spot' where they break through the veil of time and begin to live in the Greece of 415 BC."
C100 camping trip: the first book in the Pardoe series is Curtain of Mist, illustrated by Leslie Atkinson, published Funk 1958, 246 pages. "Three modern children and their tutor in the Scottish Highlands step throught the 'curtain of mist' into Celtic Britain. They remember that they belong in the 20th century and realize that they have  somehow got into the wrong era. They are thrilled by their experience but frightened too, and anxious to get back home." (HB Feb/58 p.38)

Possibly The Cave, US title Five Boys in a Cave, by Richard Church, published London 1950, New York, Day 1951, 180 pages. "John Walters was visiting his uncle and aunt when he discovered the entrance to the limestone caves near their home. At once he decided to invite four of his friends to explore with him. The effect that danger and fear have on the characters of the boys - bringing out both good and bad traits - is well depicted. For readers of twelve and over." (HB Jul/51 p.249) Not sure about an underground river, though.
another possibility is The Mystery of Mont Saint-Michel, by Michel Rouze, illustrated by Peter Spier, published NY Holt 1955 "The story of four French boys and one girl who, on a summer camping trip, decide to explore the famous abbey at Mont Saint-Michel. Eluding the guides and the regular tours they go underground by themselves and are soon lost in a network of passages and caves. The author combines vivid and realistic descriptions of the ways in which the children meet danger - how they avoid the rising tide, provide themselves with light, fires, food - with their interest in trying to find proof that there is truth in the legend that here once grew the great Forest of Cokelunde. A well-written, exciting and credible tale, translated from the French by George Libaire." (Horn Book Dec/55 p.459) Though it's not an underground river but underground tides.
C107 Have sold this so can't check inside: Wallace, Bill    Trapped  in Death Cave  cover by Don Clavette    Holiday House, 1984; cover art 1987.    Weekly Reader  Just for Boys series
Joyce Sweeney, Free Fall. 1996.  This is about 4 boys who find a cave and go exploring, but they get lost. They find an opening in the cave ceiling, but when one boy attempts to scale the wall, he falls and breaks his leg.  They finally escape by swimming underwater.  Lots of male bonding, kind of like the movie "Stand By Me" but set in modern times.
C107 cave exploration: more on the Richard Church book - "Five boys explore a Severnside cave-complex and find their way out along a subterranean river, after physical hazards and re-alignments within the group. In the sequel (Down River, 1958) they surprise crooks taking contraband down river to a waiting ship." (Growing Point Jan/75 p.2567) There's also one of the books suggested for C94 catacombs: Escape into Daylight by Geoffrey Household. "Carrie and Mike are kidnapped and imprisoned in a dark, damp dungeon beneath a ruined abbey. The only way out is through twisted passages and an underground river."
Could this be The Mystery of the Piper's Ghost by Zillah Macdonald?? Set in Nova Scotia, the story involves an old gold mine with many lengthy tunnels,- it is here that the children get lost.
By title alone how about The Singing Cave by Ellis Dillon-1960?? There was a book in the Trixie Belden series where the kids were in a cave, and there was an underground river.  Involved some kind of endangered fish called the "ghost fish."  Don't know if that's helpful.  (Trixie Belden was a character sort of like Nancy Drew  she and her brother were middle-class kids, and they had a rich friend, Honey, who lived up the road at the mansion, and Trixie had a cute boyfriend named, I think, Jim.)
Enid Blyton, The Secret of Killimooin.  possibility...
Enid Blyton, The Valley of Adventure, 1950s approximate. This third book of the Adventure series (which also includes Castle of Adventure, Ship of..., Island of..., Sea of...) has all the elements that make it difficult to stop reading in the middle: Fast-paced action, burnt old houses, caves and secret tunnels, treasure, and four children who try to outwit bad guys while trapped in a remote and lonely valley. I'm not positive, but the kids might very well have escaped from the Valley by boat down an underground river. I believe they talked about stalactites quite a bit too. The original Blyton "Adventure" books included terrific drawings by Stuart Tresilian which make the reader feel as if he or she is actually a participant in the story. They are now available as reprints in paperback with entirely different covers.

Taro Yashima, Umbrella.  Could this one possibly be Umbrella?  Momo receives boots and an umbrella for her birthday and then has to wait and wait for it to rain. She does walk through the rain in the story, to nursery school.
Could this be the Alice and Jerry reader Day In and Day Out? It has a maroon cover with a girl in summer shorts and light top and an umbrella in rain splashing around in puddles. Like  most reders it consists of many different stories unrelated to one another. The cover and the Title somewhat matched your description!! (You can often find this reader on auction sites with photographs.)
C123 city lights: perhaps this one is too old, but Paris in the Rain With Jean and Jacqueline, written and illustrated by Thea Bergere, published NY McGraw 1963, features a boy and girl with a big black umbrella in city scenes. "Her full-page illustration, using blue, grey, white and just a little red tone. The effect is really pleasing to the eye and consistent with the Parisian tour mood!"
Ludwig Bemelman, Madeline.  The discription scene is very reminisent of a part in Ludwig Bemelman's MADELINE. The copy I had was reprinted by Puffin Books in 1967. I don't know if this is what you are looking for, there is a part where Madeline is exploring Paris in the rain, or perhaps she was lost from the group. This is the first thing I though of.  I hope it
helped!  Afterthought::  I should have said....It could Be or may have been ONE of the many Madeline stories. The First or Original story was Madeline in the hospital had her appendix out I believe. But I recall one where she was lost or exploring Paris in the rain.
Seignobosc, Francoise, Jeanne-Marie in Gay Paris. NY Scribner 1956.  Again, not an exact match. "Jeanne-Marie in her red kerchief, with umbrella and suitcase to match, sets off by herself to see Paris in the springtime. It is a children's Paris that she sees: the puppet show, the merry-go-round, the gay stalls along the Seine where she can choose presents for her friends Jean-Pierre and Patapon." (Horn Book Jun/56 p.183)
Irma Simonton Black (editor), Uptown Downtown.  Uptown Downtown is the title of one of the Bank Street Unit Readers, which was a basal reader series featuring multiracial kids living in urban areas. It is out of print. Published by MacMillan in
1965. Edited by Irma Simonton Black. Illustrated by Ron Becker, Robert Quackenbush, and others. Unfortunately, I don't remember if there is a story about a girl in a rain storm.

I do not know  if the device of the chain is used in the book but a very popular history of the world was  Henrik van(von)Loon's History of Mankind--the 1922 winner of the Newbery Award.
Not a lot of help, I'm afraid, but this is NOT the Van Loon - I've just checked my copy, nor is it his Ancient Man - I looked at my copy of that, too!
Gregg, Pauline, The Chain of History, 1958.
the book i am looking for is fictional, so it wouldn't be a history by van loon nor *the chain of history* (1958), which i was able to look at. but i do appreciate the suggestions.  my mother is quite old and this is the one book she keeps talking about. she read it around 1941 so it had to have been published earlier than that. i have already checked out (all) the several fictional works at the library of congress that have "chain" in the title. i have also searched OCLC.
This is a selection - probably a short story - in a high school literature anthology.  I remember it very clearly.  Check out some textbook anthologies.
I looked through the high school literature anthologies in the Library of Congress from the 20s and 30s without finding the story. More specific information would help.

Betty O'Connor, editor, Better Homes and Gardens Storybook, 1950.  The story about the little old lady whose pig won't go over the stile can be found in the Better Homes and Gardens Storybook from 1950, although I don't think any of the other stories described in the stumper are included in this anthology.
w/ pictures by Blanche Fisher Wright, The Real Mother Goose, 1992.  The Crooked Sixpence is in this book (very beautifully illustrated).  It goes like this: There was a crooked man, and he walked a crooked mile/ He found a crooked sixpence beside a crooked stile/He bought a crooked cat, which caught a crooked mouse/And they all lived together in a little crooked house.  This is definitely a reprint of The Real Mother Goose, because I had another copy of it nearly 20 years before Barnes & Noble, Inc published this 1992 copy by arrangement with Checkerboard Press, Inc.   Unfortunately, I don't know anything about the other two stories described.
Jessie Willcox Smith, A Child's Book of Stories.  See A116 ~ The contributor who suggested A Child's Book of Stories by Jessie Wilcox Smith seems to have a book similar to mine and their book has "The Old Woman and Her Pig,"  which sounds like it could be the third story described here.
I can identify one of your stories. "Scat, scat! You old street cat!" comes from a story by Lucy Sprague Mitchell called- "How Spot Found a Home". Unfortunately "Crooked Sixpence" is not in my book but this info may further the hunt for your treasured book! Good Luck!
http://www.authorama.com/english-fairy-tales-6.html

James Thurber, Many Moons.  This is a pretty unlikely match, but it does have some things in common. It's about a princess who wants the moon, and everyone the king asks explains why this is impossible, until the the court jester comes up with a solution.
Jan B. Balet, Amos and the Moon, 1948. A wonderful book! Balet's great illustrations show an old New York's different immigrant shopkeepers' windows in colorful detail. It is the Chinese laundryman who gives Amos the birdcagto hold the moon's reflection.

C138 I checked google for Caresse... and got nothing. When I tried Marie Laveu, there were tons.  Perhaps this is of possible interst to customer:  D'Argent, Jacques.  Voodoo.   Sherbourne Press, c1970.
Stern, Steven L., Hex. NY Simon & Schuster 1989.  This may be too late, but the blurb says "In the blackest night the voodoo queen strikes with magic, terror and death!" Which sounds promising. 

Might be worth checking some of Leonard Wibberly's (Mouse That Roared) historical fiction- like his Treegate series.
Jerry West (pseudonym), The Happy Hollisters and the Old Clipper Ship.  This came to mind because the Happy Hollisters books are mysteries (in the same sense that the Bobbsey Twins books are mysteries!) and it's only time I've ever seen "clipper ship" in a book's title.
Before 1950, approximate.  So glad to see this request -- I have been looking for this same book for ages!  I read it in 1956, and it was not new then.  The girl in the book is quite sickly, and she worships her big brother, the captain of the clipper ship.  The title might be the name of the ship . . .  but I remain stumped!  Good luck!
Chastain, Madye Lee, Dark Treasure(1954)  Found it!  I too have been looking for this book forever! It's New York, not Boston, and Cousin Andy, not Lissa's brother -- but he definitely brings her the mini-croquet set, and it is a mystery.  How lovely to finally own this favorite book of my childhood!

C164  Ruth Plumly Thompson, Kabumpo in Oz, 1922.  A longshot, but there is an incident in this book in which the Nome
King grows to a tremendous size and makes off with Ozma's palace on his head.  The illustrations are by John R. Neill.
Jane Langton, The Swing in the Summerhouse,  1967.  Again, a bit of a longshot, but in "The Swing in the Summerhouse" there is a chapter called "The Man Castle" where Eddy finds himself inside his body as if inside a castle and must go up toward his head and awaken his senses.
David Weisner, Free Fall, 1988.  Was it a wordless picture book? Boy falls asleep reading and dreams of flying, almost
MCEscher-esque bizarre juxtapositions and connections. Brilliant illustrator also won Caldecott not too many years back for TUESDAY (also wordless) Anyway, the castle part tugs at me...

Leila Berg, Fire Engine by Mistake.  I think it might be this, or Berg's other book, The Little Car.
The Little Car (Puffin, 1974):  "Eleven brief episodes record the adventures of the Little Car and the Driver who understands every noise it makes."

Kornei Chukovsky, Crocodile

I can't tell you what edition to look for, or even precisely which fairy tale to look for (there are a number which employ the three dresses, among them being "Donkeyskin" or the Grimm version of "Allerleirauh (the Many Furred Creature)" but I can tell you you're not going to figure it out looking under Cinderella.  I'd widen your base to look at some fairy tale anthologies if I were you.
This book does not match in all particulars BUT.. Princess Furball by Charlotte Huck, matches the other details so well! The three balls, the three gorgeous gowns (superior illustrations with unusual textures by Anita Lobel) Great version of Cinderella!! I just had  to toss that out there.
The description of the three gowns of Cinderella sounds like The Fairy Tale Book by Adrienne Segur (1958) under the Solved items.  [Actually, that's illustrated by Segur; adapted and compiled by Marie Ponsot.  See also the Back in Print page.]
I am thinking of a series of book I had as a child. there were about 15 of them and every book had 2 fairy tales in them, I
remember they were tall and did not fit in my lap. The pictures were wonderful and I remember that Cinderella had 3 dresses because that was the only time I had seen that version of it.One as bright as the moon, one as golden as the sun and I believe the first one was red.They were from Mc Calls. I believe the one with Cinderella had a pink cover. The other stories were just as wonderful. Bluebeard, 5 Peas in a Pod,Rapuzel,Hansel and Gretel etc.

Be sure you look at the books on the Most Requested Antholgies page to see if any look familiar.
#C178--Children's Poetry Book:  Could be one of the poetry volumes of Childcraft, 1954 edition with orange and blue cover, reprinted 1961 with red and white cover.
Jane Werner (ed.), The Big Golden Book of  Poetry, 1965.  If "New Shoes" is actually "Choosing Shoes" ( About buying new shoes) then this book fits in all particulars except Paul Klee artwork-but then again I am not exactly sure what Paul Klee bugs look like! Check out this book at this site!

Chris Crutcher, Stotan!, '90's.  This is a YA novel about a swim team. Don't remember anything about the word game...
This has to be much older than the 90s.  I remember reading this story in either elementary school or junior high and I graduated from high school over (Gasp!) 30 years ago.  For some reason, I associate the story with the author of Follow My Leader.  Did he write for textbooks or school readers?
HRL: Probably just means the book was available through Scholastic Book Services, as I know Follow My Leader was.
Eric Berger (editor), For Boys Only, Scholastic 1964.  Any chance this was a short story and not a novel? This Scholastic anthology is from the right time and includes a story called High Diver, by John Ashworth. Stories include - The Adventure at the Toll Bridge by Howard Pease, A Good Clean-Cut American Boy by Harlan Ware, First Command by Eugene Burdick, The Slip-Over Sweater by Jesse Stuart, Caesar's Wife's Ear by Phyllis Bottome, Sally by Isaac Asimov, Open Sesame by Ray Harris, The Torn Invititation by Norman Katkov, High Diver by John Ashworth, As the Eagle Kills by Hal G. Evarts, Alone in Shark Waters by John Kruse, and the Rookie Pitcher by John McClellen.
Franklin M. Reck, The Diving Fool  RECK, FRANKLIN M.  The Diving Fool, (Short Story) (in) The American Boy Anthology, ed. Franklin M. Reck, Thomas Y. New York: Crowell Company 1951  Also found in:  The Arrow Book of Sports Stories and in several reading/literature textbooks of the 60's and 70's
Franklin Reck, The Diving Fool. Just to confirm that yes, this has got to be the short story ?The Diving Fool?! The new diving team member who?s absolutely a natural (and has great technique too) lets nerves derail his performance when the pressure?s on. The first-person narrator, a generous-spirited old team member who recruited him (i.e., doesn?t mind if this new guy is better, if it helps the team ? in fact is simply happy to watch such a brilliant performer) jollies him along and gets him ?in the zone?, as we?d say nowadays, in a crucial swim meet (the fate of the powers-that-be granting the money for a new pool, etc. etc... the pressure was indeed on). The new guy had bombed somewhat in his first meet a few weeks earlier. The nice old team member (whom the coach keeps saying is good, but not performing up to his full potential) does indeed psych his new fellow team member up (again, terminology not used back then!) by playing the ?iggle? game they?d goofed around with in practices, as described by the OP. (It was decades later that I realized they were modifying the word ?eagle?!) Anyway, what worked for the scared new kid worked for the other! By gosh if the old kid wasn?t the one who came in first, and the new kid second, so they won handily. I even remember exactly the closing dialogue: The old kid says bewilderedly, stunned at his own success: ?I... I did what you wanted, Coach. I... I talked him into it...?  The coach interrupted him: ?You talked yourself into it, you diving fool!? (Wish all of us ever experiencing stage fright always had such a compatriot to talk us into the right frame of mind! In fact... hmmm... really getting too long-winded here -- feel free to edit!! -- I was reminded once again of this story yesterday when someone was kind enough to call me a "singing fool". My sight-reading abilities, for instance, are really, really good. Sometimes I let nerves get in the way of the production of beautiful vocal tone, however! If I get "in the zone" though, I'\''m all right. I want a companion on hand at all times like the old team member in this story!)

I couldn't find Snip the Tailor as part of an anthology, but I did find it as an individual book.  It's by Miriam Blanton Huber (Nisbet, 1952).  And I found Snip the Tailor: a play for boys by Vincent Bedford (S. French, Ltd. 1930).  Sorry, don't think this is what you're looking for.
I found a reference to Snip the Tailor in Index To Fairy Tales, Myths, and Legends - 2nd Supplement, but I don't think it's the book you're looking for since it appears to be a school reader.  You can find the story in After The Sun Sets (Miriam Blanton Huber, F.S. Salisbury, & Mabel O'Donnell = ed. and comp., c1938, Row, Peterson & Co.)  Note: Wonder-story books reading foundation series.
Saw "Snip the Tailor" in a children's reader today- After the Sun Sets- ( A Wonder Story Book) I believe these books were supplementary readers to go along with The Alice and Jerry Readers. A good number of other tales were included in the reader.

Byrd Baylor, The Chinese Bug, 1968.  Could this be it?  "Using a broken hoe and an old kitchen spoon, a little boy who lives in the city is determined to dig his way to China in the small dirt plot behind the neighborhood grocery store. He decided he might even learn to speak Chinese, at least a few useful words like CHOCOLATE MILK and PEANUT BUTTER AND JELLY. -- in the very center of the hole was a small glistening bug -- fluttering and bright.". Illustrated by Beatrice Darwin.
C196 Could this be the same as D114 Lifton's Taka-Chan, the dog that digs thru?
Wilbur, Richard, Digging for China, 1970.  This picture book poem has illustrations by William Pene du Bois.  Doubleday, 1970.  I also vaguely remember a very small picture book about digging to China with illustrations (and possibly the writing as well) by Joan Walsh Anglund.  Hope this helps. 

A little earlier than the 1930's, but...The Little Carpenter by ?? (Samuel Raynor, 1849).  Series: New and true books for the young, no. 4.  Also anthologized in New And True Stories For Children: with 100 pictures.

Here is a link for Chinese Folk Tales.
I checked the links suggested for Chinese Fairy tales/folktales.  None of the books listed were the book I am looking for.  I may have purchased it through a school book fair??  I'm just not sure.  Please keep looking, thank you.
Not a solution, but could it be an anthology of Japanese fairy tales, rather than Chinese?  The first story described sounds like the Japanese story The Crane Maiden, about an old woman who takes in a crane during a winter storm, the bird turns into a beautiful girl, and the woman raises her as her daughter.
This is definitely an anthology of Japanese folk tales that you are looking for, not Chinese. The first story is The Crane Maiden, by Miyoko Mitsutani.  The second story is the basis for The Terrible Eek, retold by Patricia Compton. (On a rainy night, a man tells his  son that the things he most fears are a thief, a wolf, and a "terrible leak." He is overheard by both a thief who happens to be on the roof and a nearby wolf. The thief falls onto the wolf and each believes the other to be the "terrible eek." Terrified, they bolt and frighten several other animals with their misheard story about the "terrible eek," leaving the family safe in their home.) The date for Compton's retelling (1991) is too late for the anthology that you are looking for, but it sounds like basically the same story.

William Pène Du Bois, The forbidden forest, 1978.  A lot of the details are different than the book described, but it's the only thing that came up in my database search of kangaroos and wars!  "There were three heroes on the British cruiser Barkham when it docked in Syndey, Australia. They were known throughout the world as the "Stoppers of the Great War". They are Buckingham bulldog dog, Spider Max (a man), and the mysterious Lady Adelaide Kangaroo.  Lady Adelaide, a boxing kangaroo, helps to defeat the German army, thus becoming a heroine of the Great War."

Alfred P. Morgan, Boys' Book of Science and Construction. Another possibility is N.B. Stout: Boys' Book of Mechanical Models, 1921.
H.H. Windsor, editor, The Boy Mechanic Book 3, 1919.  This is a series of books (I have 1, 2, & 3 - may be more printed) published by Popular Mechanics Press (Chicago).  They consist of articles with diagrams for building all kinds of things.  Book 3 is subtitled "800 Things For Boys To Do" and has instructions for an aerial cableway, miniature tank, motor car, parcel delivery bicycle, etc. Hope this helps - just discovered your wonderful site tonight!

Tomie de Paola, Bill and Pete. A possibility. Picture books about a crocodile and his bird friend who claims to be his
'toothbrush'.
C214 I thought it might be this, but when I look at it, it doesn't seem to have the geometrical artwork that I think I have seen on a smaller book around here. This is picture-book size, with bold illustrations throughout. Kissin, Rita.  Zic-Zac, the crocodile bird; a good neighbor story from the Nile.  Messner, 1942, Junior Literary Guild.  Another title I find on the Net is: Pickford, Susan B.  Zic-Zac and the Crocodile

Griffith, Helen, Alex and the Cat, 1982.  Just a possibility - but Alex (the dog) thinks that being a cat is preferable to being a dog.  The life of a cat does not require as much as that which is expected of a dog.

Meader, Stephen, Bulldozer, 1951.  I think this is it. I remember the part where the hero(es?) got hold of the bulldozer attachment for the tractor.
Meader, Stephen, Bulldozer, 1951, copyright.  It is definitely Meader's Bulldozer. I am a librarian in New Jersey and we have a collection of Meader books.

Merritt Parmalee Allen, Mudhen.  It is a long shot, but it is the only book of boy stories featuring one character that I know.  The Mudhen played a lot of tricks, too.
Robert Newton Peck, Soup series.  Just a possibility - I can't identify the episode, but I've only read one or two of the books.
Could this be an episode in one of Robert Newton Peck's Soup books?  I know there's a chapter in Soup where he ties people up with rope, including his Aunt Carrie, which earns him a thrashing.  The episode described sounds like something Soup would do.
Jamie Gilson, 13 Ways to Sink a Sub. I seem to remember the incident with string occurring in this book, where 4th-grader Hobie Hanson and his friends try to make their substitute teacher cry.  Gilson wrote several books about Hobie and his school friends.

C229 It's not Stockton The griffin and the minor canon
gerald durrell, the talking parcel
Gerald Durrell, The Talking Parcel, 1974.  I too am almost sure this book is Gerald Durrell's The Talking Parcel.  Although it was published in 1974.  There are fire breathing Cockatrices and a Gryphon.  Three cousins called Peter Penelope and Simon journey to the land of Mythologia where flowers never die and there are four sunsets a day.

I think you have the title correct.  Try this: Henry Schindall. LET THE SPRING COME. Appleton-Century-Crofts, 1953. Dramatic Novel of Virginia and Kentucky in Revolutionary Days-   poignant love story, fast-moving story of adventure, intrigue and a fearful battle against odds, and an inspiring story of hope and courage- story of human beings in time of turmoil and stress- .  It's hard to find; but I did find a nice first edition copy available for $80.  Let me know if you want it...
You answered my query (C231) , but I think you chose the wrong book.  The book by Henry Schindall takes place in the Revolutionary War, and the book I am interested in takes place in the American Civil War.  I contacted a bookseller who has the book for sale and he said it definitely takes place during the Revolutionary war.  I specifically remember that the period is the 1860's because the guy never tells the girl what side he is fighting on.  The book takes place over the 4 years of the Civil War.  The Revolutionary War lasted 8 years.
John Lawson, The Spring Rider. This sounds like a wonderful out of print book from Harper & Row, in which the
mysterious soldier may or may not be Abraham Lincoln. There's a young girl and, I believe, her brother.

I am the original stumper requester- the book has an elf that they call a brownie (apparantly brownies and elves are the same thing) and one is grandpa and he falls asleep on a shelf, another loses his glasses, Mrs. Claus bakes cookies for the elves, they feed the reindeer and on brownie spill red paint.  this book is so important to me and my mother.  neither of us can remember the name, but it wonderfully and colorfully illustrated.  thanks!

Sparkie with George Hinke illus., Jolly Old Santa Claus, 1961.  This sound an awful lot like Jolly Old Santa Claus published  by Ideal in the early 1960's. There are a couple of things that don't match.  No Brownie.  Gran'pa Elf just won't wear his glasses.  Everything else matches.  The illustrations are vibrant busy oil paintings by Geo. Hinke.  At the end Santa returns to find that their cat has had kittens.
Sparkie , Jolly Old Santa Claus, 1961.  I wrote in that I believed this to be Jolly Old Santa Claus, but that one thing I could not find was an elf named Brownie.  When I said that I was going by the 1990's reprint, which said it had the original story and all the original illustrations! Still I had a sneaking suspicion that it was revised because I vaguely remembered some things such as the spilled paint and the elves going to bed which were not there!  Well,  I found my brother's 1961 copy and lo and behold it has been much revised.  Nearly all the elves have been renamed, except Grampa.  And in the original the elves are all called brownie  there is Brownie Jingle who spills the paint, Brownie Grampa who is always forgetting his glasses, Lazy brownine who hides high on top of a shelf so as not to have to work and there is and section where the brownies help Mrs. Claus in the kitchen with making cookies and when the work is all done she serves them cookies. What I can not find is anyone sleeping  on a shelf, but like I said Lazy Brownie is on a shelf and looks like he is snoozing!  If this is the book beware of the reprint!  It is not the same (but still very charming). There are sections missing and some new ones added.
Mauri Kunnas, Santa Claus and His Elves,1981.This sounds quite a bit like a book that I just recently refound for my son who was born in 1981, so the right time frame. There is a lot going on in the pictures including pretty much every thing you mentioned.   I think it was originally written in Finnish.

The genre is defintielty not in the children's section! It's definitely adult fiction I am starting to think it's probably in an anthology of short stories.
This has some similarities to the short story "The Unknown Masterpiece" by Honore de Balzac, but I don't think anyone paints cats.  In Balzac's story, a young painter persuades his beautiful girlfriend to pose for an older man, a painter who has gone mad over a masterpiece he has been working on.  It's a great story and the poster would probably enjoy it.

Here are some more details: The trap that the people designed was a large hemisphere suspended from a pulley. I think the people wore pointy hats and rode horses. 

Could this be Color Kittens, the Little Golden book?
Margaret Wise Brown, The Color Kittens
Margaret Wise Brown, The Color Kittens, ca. 1950.  This does sound like The Color Kittens, except that there were only two of them (Hush and Brush), and I don't recall the colors as being pastels, necessarily.  (As I recall the story, Brush and Hush were trying to create green paint, and came up with pink and orange before they finally got the recipe right.  They then fell asleep and had dreams about some other colors before waking up, getting pouncy, and spilling over all of their buckets, thus creating all the colors in the world.)  The original illustrations were by the Provensens  I've seen a more recent edition with redone pictures, but if the contributor is thinking of a book published 45 years ago (and assuming that The Color Kittens is the correct book), then the memory the contributor has must be of the Provensens' illustrations.

Myers, Dragon Takes A Wife.  There was an early edition of this book that might be what you are looking for.
I totally remember that quote, also had the book in question. There was more than one in the series but the character (boy dragon) was called dennis the dragon and at least one of the books was named dennis the dragon. I think the first one was about him going off to school. they had brilliant illustrations!

Henry Van Dyke, Foolish Fir Tree.  This sounds like the story of the foolish fir tree who wished for leaves of gold, glass
and lettuce. See this website.
Thanks for taking the time to send in this suggestion.  The gist of the tree story is the same, but the book we're trying to find was prose. Any other thoughts would be appreciated.
Bailey Carolyn, short story in collection - little fir tree?  I have  clipping from an old book.  I tell my own version of this story.  The tree is not a Christmas tree, however, just a fir tree in the forest.  It wants to have pretty leaves instead of ugly needles.  Then when given a chance to wish, it tries for something even better than the broadleaf trees.  It gets crystals and the wind destroys them, gold leaves and a man picks them.  Then the tree decides to go with the original idea of green broad leaves, but a goat eats them.  Finally the tree realizes that it is best to be happy with one's self.

Rose Dobbs, Once Upon a Time Story Book, 1958 Random House, copyright.The story in the collection is entitled The Pine Tree and is the same referred to by Caroline Bailey. This version is not a Christmas tree by a pine tree in the forest that wishes for gold leaves, then glass, then green leaves and is finally happy with the original green needles.

Ursula K LeGuin, Catwings series ???
Boegehold, In the Castle of Cats?

Jean Paul Clebert, The Blockhouse, 1958  in English, 1955 in French.  What must be the same book was asked about a few years ago on another of my lists;  it eventually drew this response (note that a movie was also made from the book):  "The Blockhouse" (1973), directed by Clive Rees, starring Peter
Sellers, Charles Aznavour, Jeremy Kemp, Peter Vaughan, Nicholas Jones, et al. Maltin summary:  "Dismal, downbeat story of laborers trapped in underground  bunker when the Allies land at Normandy on D-Day."  And OCLC yields this:  1955 novel by Jean Paul Clebert, "Le Blockhaus" -- English edition 1958. 

I'm pretty sure this is one of the Cosgrove "Serendipity" books - not sure which one, but sounds very, very familiar.
C260 is not Cosgrove's The dream tree which is about a caterpillar wishing it knew what it would be like to be a butterfly -  no friends in danger. It is not the Chubby Board Book The Caterpillar who turned into a butterfly.
Beverly Nichols, The Mountain of Magic. This is the third book of the series,preceded by '\''The tree that Sat Down'\'' and '\''The Stream that Stood Still'\'' A wicked witch gets all the animals in a cave, and prepares to break open a dam and drown them all. A caterpilar that was scared of becoming a butterfly hatches out, and flies furiously to warn them. I think he dies of exhaustion.

i guess i should add...the illustrations were of the paintings the kids did on the walls of the apartment building, super rich colors of animals and landscapes....
i'm the poster of c267 and i had a question... i've been reading through your pages of books to see if anything sounds familliar to jog my memory for the name of the book i'm looking for, and I ran across the book No Children, No Pets... do you happen to know if this was an illustrated book or not? I told my sister the name and she said that sounded familliar, but we may be confusing our information?? We both really only remember the pictures in this book, so we have little other reference to go by...  Thank you so much for your help.
As far as I can tell, it's a juvenile novel with some b&w drawings.  Here's another description:  New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1957. Hard Cover. Weekly Reader. Nice black and white illustrations.  A classic kid's story of a family who inherits an apartment house in Palm Glade, Florida and the strange tenants and hurricanes that they have to deal with.
o.k. thanks...its not the book i'm looking for if its just black and white illustrations...But again many thank yous for any attempt at finding this book for me!
o.k. talked to my dad, he says that it had to be new around 1969-1975, it was larger scale, hard-backed, but not alot of pages...he seems to think the title was something like "Mrs. Hopkins Apartment" or something of that nature...but he also said that he could easily be wrong...does this ring a bell with anyone out there?? peace...
I wonder if M248 & C267 refer to the same book?
yes, i'm pretty sure the other post is by another curious family member...the quest continues!!
hi i'm the poster of C267...but was wondering if possibly C261 was looking for the same book? I'm still in search of this colorful thing and actually have found pictures of a wall painted with the same illustrations in the book i'm trying to find,,,but still no title.... anyone...anyone??? thanks again for your help..
C261 was just solved as Leonard Shortall's The Curious Clubhouse, 1967. I don't think yours is the same...
i'm the original poster of C267...and i am still on the prowl for this book i had as a kid...after asking more family about it...some seem to recall it being called something like "mrs. (something or others) boarding house" or "mrs. something or others apartment building"...and only around 30 pages...if this helps or rings a bell with anyone, i would love to know!! updated: but now i have an image that may ring someones bell! i'm the poster of C267 and when we were kids and had this elusive book, my dad took one of the illustrations from it and painted it on my wall...well i found a picture of that wall painting and was hoping maybe someone would recognize it! crossing fingers~~

Blount, Iva M., Poems of Texas, 1936.  Was your aunt from San Antonio?  If so, this may be the book you're looking for:
Published in San Antonio by The Board of Education.  "Reproduced from type-written copy./ "This is a collection chosen and selected by pupils in the Edgar Allen Poe Junior School under the guidance ... of Mrs. Iva M. Blount ..." Foreword."  There is a copy in the Univ. of Texas at Austin library - check your local library to see if you can get it through interlibrary loan.
I did check with UT Austin library research. They say my aunt's poem is not listed in this book so I guess it isn't the book I'm looking for. But thank you for your trouble. I appreciate it.
Some more long shot possibilities, found in the WorldCat database:  But for a light  original verse /  Poetry Club (Thomas Jefferson High School, San Antonio, Tex.)  The Sigmund Press, 1935.  If crickets hear : original verse / Poetry Club (Thomas Jefferson High School, San Antonio, Tex.)  1936 Patriotic moments, a second book of verse by the Bellerophon quill club of the Booker T. Washington high school, Dallas, Texas.  by Brewer, John Mason, 1896-1975.  Booker T. Washington High School (Dallas, Tex.). Bellerophon Quill Club. 1936 Youth in verse : an anthology of poems by high school students.  North Texas State Teachers College, Denton, Tex.  1938 Youth in verse : an anthology of poems by high school students, volume II /  North Texas State Teachers College.  Denton, Tex. 1939
Bound typescript complilation of poems by students of the Demonstration School of the North Texas State Teachers College./ Foreword by Lillian Walker. edited by Georgia Rae Glover.

Check the Solved Mysteries pages for BIG Story Book (Malvina C. Vogel, 1978) and Giants & Witches, and a Dragon or Two (Phyllis R Fenner,  1943).
Govindan, Santhini, The ice-cream dragon and other stories.  Harper Collins 1993.  This may be too late a date, but I'm sending it because of the title. "Have you ever met .. a real Fire Breathing Little Dragon with a weakness for ice-cream? And Balban the Lion who hiccups .. and the Tooth Fairy who .. If not, you can meet them now as they inhabit the magical world of this book."
The first story doesn't ring any bells, but the second sound exactly like one of the stories in E. Nesbit's 'The Last of the Dragons and some others'

Smith, Dorothy Hall (ed.), Tall Book of Christmas, NY Harper 1954.  It may be this one (on the solved list), if the story of The First Christmas Tree is a bit garbled - in that one the woodcutter father gets lost in the snow, and is guided home by Christmas lights on trees. It has colour illos and a peach(?) background to the cover illo. However, it could also be The Santa Claus Book, if the recollection is of the story Susie's Christmas Star, with the little girl following her own footsteps in the snow along a street. That one is Golden Books, 1952, and also on the Solved list.
Christmas Ideals.  This book sounds very much like one of the Christmas Ideals. I was a child in the 50s, and read my grandmother's. She bought them every year. They are now softcover magazine format, but they used to be hard cover. Some booksellers specialize in them They would have color as we well as line and monochrome illustartions, stories and poems. They repeat a lot, so the individual story could be repeated later.

Mr. Pine's Mixed-Up Signs features a similar idea: Mr. Pine makes new signs for the town, but he can't find his glasses, so he puts them up randomly all over the city, to comic effect.  Now back in print.  See the Leonard Kessler page.
You suggested that the solution to my query might be Mr. Pine's Mixed-up Signs, but Kessler's illustrations didn't look familiar at all. The book format, as I remember, was bigger than an easy reader with full-page spreads and much brighter, less sketchy illustrations than were pictured in the "Purple House" book. So, unless the illustrations were very different in the "Signs" book, this isn't it. But, thanks anyway!
Eastman, P.D. (Philip D.), Sam and the Firefly, 1958.  Could this be it?  I hesitate to mention this book because it is an easy reader (so it isn't "bigger than an easy reader") and the illustrations are in four colors (turquoise, yellow, black and white) and may therefore not be "colorful" enough.  The plot: Sam the owl befriends Gus the firefly, who can make shapes in the air by keeping his light on and flying about rapidly.  Sam teaches Gus to make words that look like neon signs.  After a short period of innocent fun, the mischievous firefly uses his newfound talent to crash cars, confuse airplanes, and cause a stampede towards the local movie theater (he writes the words "COME IN!  FREE SHOW" over the marquee) and away from a local restaurant (he writes the word "COLD" over an ad for hot dogs).  The angry cook catches Gus in a jar and begins to drive the firefly out of town.  His truck stalls on a railroad track just as a train approaches.  Sam the owl smashes the jar and liberates Gus, who prevents a collision by writing "STOP" in front of the oncoming train.  All is forgiven and the two friends depart.
Arnold, Tedd, The Signmaker's Assistant, 1992.  If you're absolutely sure that the book is from the 1960s, this can't be it, but it meets all the other criteria.  This book is larger than an easy reader and full of big, colorful street scenes.  Norman, a young boy who cleans brushes at the signmaker's shop, decides to make a few signs of his own when the signmaker isn't around to supervise.  Norman has a great deal of fun at the townspeople's expense, but realizes he has erred when they become angry and tear down every sign in the town, old as well as new.  Chaos ensues and the townspeople chase the signmaker into the woods.  Norman apologizes and peace and order are restored.  Even if this isn't the book you're looking for, it's a worthwhile read, so check it out!
No, it's definitely not SAM AND THE FIREFLY. Actually a particular sign I remember is more like a big billboard and something on it - a picture or phrase- is defaced (in a humorous way). Possibly traffic signs are changed as well. Very colorful pics, busy and funny - sorry I can't remember more. I remember the cover was salmon-colored, but I think that was just a library binding - now why can I remember that detail, but not more important ones? Frustrating. Thanks for the guess.
Lipkind, William, illustrated by Nicolas Mordvinoff, Perry the Imp.  NY Harcourt 1956. Kind of a longshot, but the date is right. "The comic adventures of Perry the imp who came up from the sea, full of mischief, shouting "Landfolk, look out!" Turning the city of Dopple into another Venice made him a celebrity  taking care of the Dopplers' clocks had a different result. It is all fantastic nonsense, carried out with perfect harmony in the good read-aloud text and the details and atmosphere of striking color illustrations. The double-spread scene showing the Dopplers enjoying their new canals will occupy a small child a long time." (Horn Book Oct/56 p.346)
James Flora, Great Green Turkey Creek Monster, 1965. In this story the whole town is turned topsy-turvy great green hooligan vine town, a really fun book

Zilpha Keatley Snyder, The Changeling.  I could be wrong, but I know I read this book back in the 70's.  I don't, however, remember the plot.
Snyder, Zilpha Keatley, The Changeling, illustrated by Anton Raible.  NY Atheneum 1970.  This does sound like part of the answer (but only part) - the main characters are two young girls, Martha Abbott and Ivy Carson, but Ivy's young sister does play a part, and there is a memorable picture of a dark-haired girl crouched under a bush. The Carson home is large and dilapidated - the girls also explore the ruins of a burnt-out house. However I don't recall anyone called Luci or fleeing from a danger. The other book that comes to mind is The Other One, by Josephine Lee (alt. title Joy is Not Herself), published Knight 1974. In that one a very ordinary English family has one different daughter, called Melusine, who seems to have witchy powers and can ill-wish people. At one point the children hide behind a hedge while a girl who let Melusine's guinea pig die is bucked off her horse. The house they live in in the country is rather old and dilapidated. At the end of the book they seek the vicar's help in driving the evil spirit from Melusine through a night of prayer, and after that she is called by her middle name, which is Joy.
Boston (last name), The Children of Green Knowe, 1960s.  I think this may be the book you are looking for. The first in the series of the Green Knowe books.
Greaves, Margaret, The Dagger and the Bird, HarperCollins 1975, copyright.  I wonder if this could be The Dagger and the Bird? Two children, Luke and Bridget (shortened to Biddie) search for their younger brother who's been stolen by fairies. If the poster has reversed the names in memory, but remembered that one name was shortened, it could fit.

Red Boots for Christmas / The Cobbler's Gift.  If it's a Christmas story, it's one that has been told in many versions.  The Lutheran church put out a book and video called Red Boots for Christmas.  It's also been called The Cobbler's Gift.  The cobbler in these stories doesn't always show kindness, though, until the end in Red Boots for Christmas, he is a bitter, selfish man.  He is visited by an angel who says that God will be visiting him he goes around cleaning up, making a special meal and trying to find a gift for God in the meantime, assorted poor people come to his door and are either helped or not helped, depending on the version.  In the end, he is upset because God didn't come then God or the angel speaks to him and says that the needy people coming to the door represented God, and that was the point.
Additional Story details:  The story is of a child/angel who arrives in a small town and asks a wealthy shopkeeper and his wife for some food and they send him away.  He then asks a poor shoemaker/cobbler and he asks the child/angel to join him for dinner and shares his humble dinner with him.  He then offers the "child" a place to sleep (a straw mat) and then a breakfast.  The "child" thanks him for his kindness and tells the cobbler that whatever he does that day he will be successful at and do all day long.  When the cobbler arrives at his shop he begins to repair the shoes and proceeds to do so all day long, making a lot of money.  The greedy shopkeepers see this and ask him how this has come to be, so the cobbler tells them of the "childs" "wish".  The wife tells the husband to find the "child" so that they can benefit the same way.  The husband finds the "child" and takes him in for the evening providing him with a wonderful dinner, a feather bed to sleep in and a wonderful breakfast.  As the "child" leaves he tells them the same as the cobbler.  So the shopkeepers rush to their store and clean out cabinets and drawers to hold all the money tey're going to make. Instead, all they do is empty boxes all day and they make no money. I saw this story in a small book, like a Golden Book in the early seventies, but I don't know who the author was or the name of the story.  I have looked for it for quite some time.

I actually have three suggestions for this one.  The first is the 1928 book Candy Land, which was a part of the Little Color Classics series and had a number of color plates of illustrations.  No author was listed for it, but the illustrator was Hildegard.  It was about a little girl named Betty and her friend Brunny (who was a bear, not a boy) and how they visited a land made of candy.  The second suggestion is Candy Country by Louisa May Alcott (who, of course, wrote "Little Women").  It was published in 1900 and has a similar story (a girl named Lily visits a fantasy land of candy), but I do not know if it was ever published with color illustrations.  Finally, there is In Wink-a-Way Land by Eugene Field, published in 1930 - it definitely had color illustrations and a picture of children picking candy from a field on the cover, but I do not really know the story.  Hope one of these is what you are looking for.
Baum, Frank, Magical Monarch of Mo.  Sounds like it could be a chapter out of the Magical Monarch of Mo, written before 1930s.  In one chapter one of the princes is banished to an island made entirely of candy.
I have a few suggestions for you since they were offered to me as solutions to my stumper.
1.  A trip to Lazibonia, by HM Denneborg aka Heinrich-Maria Denneborg, translanted by Anne Rogers, illustrated by Horst Lemke, published in London by Kaye and Ward Ltd, 1971
2.  Adventures of Calico Cotton, Helen Lawrence Backman, drawings by Joyce Langelier
published by Rolton House, Inc., 1967
3.  How about Hansel & Gretel, Dot & Tot from the Oz Books, or the Nutcracker and the Mouse King?' 

Except for the dates, plot sound similar to those in Eugene Burdicks The 480 and Ninth Wave. (He also wrote Fail-Safe and The Ugly American.)
Not sure, but I think that might be today's newspaper (Nov 3rd, 2004)
Probably Sinclair Lewis' IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE (1936)?  If not--  Two long shots, both obscure: PRESIDENT RANDOLPH AS I KNEW HIM by John Francis Goldsmith (1935) and PRESIDENT JOHN SMITH by Frederick Upham Adams (1897, but reprinted a few times since then).  I think President Smith turns out to be a good president (the book is sometimes cited in bibliographies of utopian fiction), though.  I don't know anything about the Goldsmith book beyond the title and fact that it's set some twenty years in what in 1935 was the future.

Have you looked through the Anthology Finder to see if anything looks familiar?  Check out the Big Golden Book of Poetry....
Puffin poem:  I don't know which collection you had, but you can find the puffin poem here (scroll down a ways).
I had a book of poems by Eugene Field (I think) that included Winken, Blinken and Nod and the Gingham Dog and the Calico cat.  I remember the dog and cat got in a fight and there were bits of fabric all around when they finished fighting. This might be it..
If the collection included The Owl and the Pussycat, it would not have been a book of poems by Field, since that one is by Edward Lear.  The Gingham Dog and the Calico Cat is properly called The Duel, and it has been included in many collections of childrens' poetry.

Here are some possibilities - who knew there were so many Christmas horror books out there??  And I'm thinking the first books may all be the same book with different titles. -Mysterious Christmas tales : horror stories for the festive season. (Scholastic, 1999, 1993) "Includes stories by Gillian Cross, Susan Price and Robert Swindells". -Chilling Christmas tales (Scholastic, 1993, 1992) -Haunting Christmas tales : horror stories for the festive season / Joan Aiken / Nine stories of Chritmas past and present, mysterious, scary things have a way of happening, whether the people in them have been naughty or nice. "Jingle bells / Tessa Krailing -- The woodman's enigma / Garry Kilworth -- The weeping maid / Robert Swindells -- The investigators / David Belbin -- The cracked smile / Anthony Masters -- The other room / Jill Bennett -- The chime child / Ian Strachan -- Crespian and Clairan / Joan Aiken -- Across the fields / Susan Price."  These look like adult titles: -Chillers for Christmas / Richard Dalby   -Shivers for Christmas / Richard Dalby  -Mistletoe & mayhem : horrific tales for the holidays / Richard Dalby
Scott Corbett (author), Mircea Vasiliu (illustrator), The Big Joke Game (1972)  I've read this, and it is definitely the book the stumper requester is looking for!  I don't have it in front of me, but here is what I remember.  Ozzie is a fun-loving boy who irritates the adults around him with his incessant jokes, riddles and pranks, and his obsession with board games.  When he gets into serious trouble at school, his parents think about sending him to a military academy, and Ozzie decides to run away.  While climbing down the trellis outside his window, he falls into The Big Joke Game, a life-size board game that he must win in order to return to earth.  With his "guardian devil" Bub at his side, Ozzie has many strange experiences and gains a degree of maturity before the book concludes.  Fun and interesting without being preachy or heavy-handed.  See the Solved Mysteries "B" page for more information.

Could it be any of these? Evers, Alf, The deer-jackers.  illus by Lewis Parker.  Macmillan, 1965. George, Jean Craighead. On the far side of the mountain.  Puffin, c1990.  I did just read more than I should have of this one: A teen  age boy, Sam Gridley, a teenager from NYC spends a yr really really living  on the land. He used a lot of wild plants, but ginseng was not one of them and there wasn't really any mystery cabin in this one, and  not 2 teenagers, tho he did have visitors.  Also by George, Jean Craighead,  The moon of the owls.  Crowell c1967
My book is not any of the Jean Craighead George books, as she is one of my favorite authors (I probably should have mentioned that in the original email).  Its also not The Deer-jackers. I also remember that the money that could be earned from the Ginsing somehow solved a problem-maybe in keeping the land that the cabin was on.
Eda & Richard Crist, The secret of Turkeyfoot Mountain.  I remember it well. I don't own a copy at this moment, so I can't give copyright date.  The story of two boys who seek a the lost cabin of a "Sang Hunter" (wild Ginseng hunter) and the treasure of fine roots he left behind. The book features the lyrics of a mountain ballas about the Sang Hunter's ghost "...in his long black coat/Laughin' through the wilderness."
Irene Hunt, No Promises in the Wind.   I don't know if these will be right, but two books came to mind, although both seem a little advanced for fourth grade. No Promises in the Wind (Irene Hunt) is about 2 brothers from Chicago during the depression, who run away and survive on thier own. Where the Lilies Bloom has several brothers and sisters living and surving on thier own by gathering herbs to sell, particularly Ginseng, they however live in the Appalachians not the Catskills. Don't know if these will help, Good Luck.