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Q8 Jessamyn West wrote a lot of books about Quakers.
I am  not sure but could this be one of Marguerite de Angeli's books: Thee Hannah? Skippack School? or maybe Yonie Wondernose?
Brinton Turkle, Thy Friend, Obadiah. (1982)  This may not be the right book, but Turkle wrote several picture books about Obadiah this is the only one still in print.  The stumper is not looking for a Marguerite d'Angeli book, though, unless it's Thee, Hannah, because her other books are about Amish children, not Quakers (Yonie Wondernose, etc.).

Kurt Mitchell, Esther: Selected Verses from the Book of Esther, 1983, copyright.  Description from Worldcat: "Contains selected verses from the Book of Esther illustrated with animal figures."

Lynn Wheeling, A Quiet Place, 1969. This story was published in 1969 by Whitman, a Tiny-Tot Tale. 

I was told that Queen Anne gathered those black dots ..which, when you rub them in your palm, become deep red, wanted millions of those collected to dye her dress that deep color and, hence, that is how it got the name..MY parents used to work in the Catskill Mountains and my dad would take the guests of the Fallsview Hotel  (where I was married 33years ago) for a "nature walk"  around the golf course and mountains.  SInce we grew up in NYC/the Bronx, he did research to give info on these walks. THat is how I got that info.  Coincidentally, my dad is 89 now, and last weekend, I went up to the Catskills to  take care of him a bit and he doesn't remember telling that story.  I tell it to everyone and I cannot believe it was in your online newsletter. Nothing is a coincidence!!! Whew.. Thanks so much for another story ......I thought I was the only one in the world who was thinking so much about Queen Annes Lace these last few weeks.

Josephine Scribner Gates' 1901 book, The Book of Live Dolls, illustrated by Virginia Keep, which comes in three parts. See Solved Mysteries.
I believe the illustrations for The Book of Live Dolls were also done by Mabel Rogers - in the Better Homes and Gardens Storybook, anyway.

Chase, Joan, During the Reign of the King of Persia, 1983, copyright.  This is a long shot, but the grandmother matriarch fits.

this is the best I've found so far, and it's vague. Hamlin, John H. Beloved Acres published by Century, 1925 "A capable young girl manages a California ranch, and through hard work and good judgment is able to keep it out of the hands of a designing ranch owner who tries to force her to give it up."
Another possible, a little closer - Shooting Star Farm, by Anne Molloy, illustrated by Barbara Cooney, published Houghton 1946, 231 pages. "It's having people and someone to do things with that counts," says Sabra when new neighbors appeared and Grandma rejoiced over lights in the old house. The newcomers were ready to open a riding school, a venture which affected Sabra's future in several ways. She loved horses as much as she did companionship and girls with similar tastes may follow her doings with enjoyment." (Horn Book Sep/46 p.353)
Dorothy Lyons.  The plot and characters sound like a Dorothy Lyons book, although I don't remember these exact details.  Her books are delightful and well-worth reading.

R21- Teddy's Surprise (Tell-A-Tale)?
I checked into this, and "Teddy's Surprise" isn't the book I had as a child.
I just checked my copy of a book by Hegarty called The rope's end. It is NOT your book.  [It's abt a boy on a whaling ship]
Marjory Schwalje, Guess What I Have. It's a Whitman Tell-a-Tale book.  Cover is exactly as you describe with a dark haired boy pulling at a rope.

This couldn't be Robb White's Sailor in the Sun again, could it? If not, it could be another of his younger titles.
R25 rag bottom: a book about the rebuilding of a boat is The Rainbow, by Edna S. Weiss, illustrated by Don Lambo, published Nelson 1960, 143 pages. "A Massachusetts seacoast town is the background for this realistic story of a boat-builder's family and, especially, of the younger son whose love for sailing matches his father's. The rebuilding of the wrecked sloop Rainbow was undertaken as a labor of love by 10-year-old Joel's parent, but its completion was not assured until the Boy Seafarers were organized ..." (HB Aug/60 p.297) "The Rainbow, a storm-wrecked keel sloop, provides the Hubbard family with trouble, problems, and new hopes. Boys and girls 8 to 12."

Bang, Molly, The Grey Lady and the Strawberry Snatcher, Four Winds 1983.  Not a complete match, but worth mentioning "The Grey Lady loves strawberries. But so does the Strawberry Snatcher, and unfortunately for the Grey Lady he is not far away and getting closer all the time. Past flower shops and bakeries he stalks her, silently, steadily, biding his time. He pursues her by foot along haunting red-brick paths, and then by skateboard into the mysterious depths of a swamp both beautiful and terrifying. Closer and closer he gets, and yet the Grey Lady escapes him, in fantastic and marvelously improbable ways, until, in the heart of the forest the Strawberry Snatcher discovers instead -- blackberries!"  Probably too recent is Oliver's Strawberry Patch, by Anton Kroon, Hyperion 1992. "Oliver tries to catch thief stealing strawberries from garden."
Wondriska, William, The Tomato Patch.  NY Holt 1964.  Another possible is this one, though it's tomatos and not strawberries. The story has two kingdoms, Krullerberg and Appletania. There are no gardens, and all food comes out of cans. A wise little girl cultivates a tomato patch in the forest, and a prince comes into it somewhere.
Helen Chetin, The Lady of the Strawberries, 1978.
Geoffrey Palmer and Noel Lloyd, Moonshine and Magic, 1967.  This book includes a story called "The Strawberry Thief".
Walter Kreye, illus. David McKee, The Poor Farmer and the Robber Knights.(Late 70s, approximate)  YES!! I have been trying to find a book I remembered about Robber Knights for ages.Your query reminded me about the strawberries, and that detail helped me find the title (still haven't got the book though). So even if this isn't your book, you helped me find mine!It was a Picture Puffin. I think it'\''s translated from german, and the pictures by David McKee (who did Mr Benn and Elmer) are very interesting and go round the page so they're partly upside down.The poor farmer grows strawberries but the robber knights come and eat them, trampling around and being gross. Then they fall asleep (why? can't remember! ) and the farmer does something to their armour (water? rust?) so they can't move. They wake up and lie there pulling faces. I think he frees them in the end ( with a screwdriver? oil can?) and they become good knights. Hope this is your book !

R31 a long shot, but how about Leon Garfield'sThe Ghost Downstairs, illustrated by Anthony Maitland, published 1972, where the solicitor's clerk Mr. Fast gives up 7 years of his life to the mysterious Mr. Fishbane,
only to find that he's lost the 7 years of his childhood, causing him to be haunted by the ghost of his young self. The illustrations are detailed b/w line and wash, mostly full-page, with one of p.57 showing Fast and his
child-ghost reflected in a shop window. Inside the window is a scale-model of St. Paul's Cathedral. Fast is a youngish man, but he looks older in this illo. On p.45 there's a picture of the old Mr. Fishbane taking the
child-ghost by the hand, both of them looking at the viewer. The ghost wears a sailor suit and wide-brimmed hat.

?? Dana Burnet, ?? The Pool, 1945.  I'm not at all sure this is the right story, but the description reminds me a bit of one I've read, and maybe it could be by the same author.  The publication data seem to fit.  In a compilation called A Treasury of Beauty and Romance (Marjorie Barrows, Spencer Press, 1955) is a short story called "The Pool" by Dana Burnet, which the acknowledgments say was "published by Alfred A. Knopf, Inc., copyright 1945 by Dana Burnet, copyright 1945 by Curtis  Publishing Company" (who did magazines). Then next to the title of the story, the book editor has put, "This delicate and tender love story is found in many scrapbooks.  People... have reread it at least once a year since it first appeared in magazine form."  So evidently, due to its great popularity as a magazine story, it was published by Knopf in book form?  It would definitely make a reasonable partner for "The White Cliffs of Dover", also a war story.  This one is about Richard and Nancy, who meet during WWII in England and fall in love, discussing their personal "special places" that one must return to, to find oneself (his is a trout pool). It's not reincarnation, but they talk a lot about "coming back" and "forever".  The story shifts several times from present to past and back again, but at the end it's clear that both lovers have died and found one another again.  Good luck!
Made in Heaven? this sounds a lot like the 1987 movie Made in Heaven.  Maybe you could look at that and find out what it was based on?

#R38--Reader with Rabbits:  You're definitely looking for one of the Ginn Basic Readers by Odille Ousley and David H. Russell, which were published under the same titles over the years but in various editions.  The only hint I can give you is don't bother looking at ANYTHING dated 1961 or later.  Some of the inside contents may be the same, but by then they'd switched to the bright, colorful covers so you'd never recognize it.  Stick to the drab 1940s-50s blue and gray covers and eventually you'll come across it.  Looking at Ginn Basic Readers listed on eBay may help, but there are way too many even to begin a good process of elimination unless someone wants to share tables of contents.  There are nice web pages devoted to Dick and Jane and Alice and Jerry, so when someone puts up one for these other series I hope it's posted here so we can all check it for some of our lost textbooks!
I believe you have an odd assortment of readers, not a set from one publisher! The Story Road is by John C. Winston and On Cherry Street is a Ginn Reader. (I have never heard of a Ginn Reader called Story Road.) Around Green Hills- A Betts Basic Reader- has 2 children with 2 rabbits on their laps! Also, Story Road (1940) has an orange cover with 2 rabbits on  it!! After much searching those are the only bunnies found so far!

E. M. Almedingen, Little Katia. Seems like a possible answer to this one, as well as R42. Other books by Almedingen, e.g. "Anna", might also be possibilities. If there were animals as well as children in the book, then it could be Olga Petrovskaia's "Kids and Cubs". If it was set at the time of the Russian Revolution, it could be Stephanie Plowman's "My Kingdom for a Grave" or "Three Lives for the Czar".

Maybe - Fripsey Fun, written and illustrated by Madye Lee Chastain, published by Harcourt 1955, 198 pages. "The big Fripsey family and friend Marcy learn to play recorders for fun and find themselves on television!
Their success may seem extraordinary, but it is not incredible, and may arouse interest in making music among the little girls who like these easily read family stories." (Horn Book Oct/55 p.365) "Learning to play recorders leads the numerous Fripseys and their friends into unexpected adventures. Ages 9-12." (same Aug/55 p.301 pub.ad.)

Grimm, Anderson, Dumas etc., trans. Marie Ponsot, The Snow Queen and other Tales, 1961.  Could this be The Snow Queen and Other Tales, the companion volume to the famous Golden Book of Fairy Tales,  illustrated by Adrienne Segur? Like the Golden Book, Snow Queen is quite large, about 12 by 15 inches, and has stunning coloured illustrations. It contains a variety of Russian and European tales including The Story of a Nutcracker, The Snow Queen, Baba Yaga, The Cat Who Became Lord of the Forest, Jorinda and Joringel, Winter's Promised Bride, etc. My copy was published by Golden Press in 1961.  according to the amazon.com site it's scheduled to come back into print in October 2001.

R53 rat called not-polite: not too likely, but there's Twirlup on the Moon, by Laura Bannon, illustrated by Will Gordon, published Whitman 1964, 63 pages, which features a kangaroo rat and an odd creature called a Twirlup
who go to the moon, but via a rocketship. So not really close enough.
R53 rat not-polite: a real long shot, but there's Beyond The Rainbow, written and illustrated by R.F. Lowis, published Hutchinson c. 1960? "A Charming book about the adventures of a rat." And that's it, that's all the
information I have, couldn't even track down a record with a publication date!
R. F. Lowis, The Runaway Balloon. (1959)  This is not a solution - just something that may help. The R.F.Lowis mentioned was my teacher when I was 7 in Grimsby, England. He wrote "The Runaway Balloon" - a story with animal characters including a rat, in 1959. You may try finding his family in that location and seeing if they can take the solution further.

The only book that sounds somewhat familiar to me is Treasure In The Snow.  I forget the author, but it's a Christian book that I borrowed from my
church's library when I was preteen.  It's set in Switzerland, I believe, and a young boy races down a mountain on a sled through a storm to find a
doctor in the village below to help a boy that has been injured.  The boy on the sled is responsible for the boy's injury.

R70 Do you suppose  this is it?  Winslow, Marjorie. Mud pies and other recipes. illus by Erik Blegvad.Colllier, 1961. recipes from mud and plants to serve to dolls
Silverstein *or*  Prelutsky.  R70  You give no date, but wondering if this couldn't have apperared in a poetry collection? Shel Silverstein illustrated his own, black line drawings, kind of shaky, on white. Jack Prelutsky also specializes in silly, yucky rhymes.

Are we sure this isn't All-of-a-Kind Family again?  That series pops up a lot and most of the chapters are titled and could "stand alone" as a single story.
The sisters in All-of-a-Kind Family are named Gertie, Sarah, Henny (Henrietta), Charlotte, and Ella.
Thanks but no it's definately not "All of a kind" as there were only two girls in the story.
Could it be What the Moon Brought, short stories about Jewish holidays with twin girls named Ruth and Debbie?

This reminds me of Ann Jonas' books, particularly Round Trip.  It's done in black and white -- a car takes a trip to the city, and when you reach the end of the book, you flip it over and you take the trip back to the country.  The illustrations take on a different perspective when you flip the book upside-down.  But since the two 'stories' don't meet in the middle of the book, I don't think this is what you're looking for.
Tops & Bottoms, '90's?  Can't remember the author but I think this was a Caldecott honor book or winner. However, the book flips up instead of turning pages left-to-right. Involves a lazy bear, I believe.

I wrote this stumper and have more information to provide. My friend said that she thinks this was a golden book or a similar format. It was about rutabagas more so than an actual character she thinks. She can't really remember much more than that. Any help is appreciated!
Is it possible that this might be a Margaret Wise Brown book? There are two books, The Little Farmer, and Two Little Gardeners, which I cannot find summaries for -- does anyone know if either of these books might be about growing rutabagas?
Book was printed in the 1940's early 1950's (in Golden Book format if not an actual Golden Book) telling the story of a family or farmer or children planting rutabagas, growing them, eating them.
Two Little Gardeners doesn't have anything to do with rutabagas.  It simply tells the story of two gardeners as they plant a garden and watch it grow throughout the year.

I am writing only to comment on the name of Red Adair.  Red Adair was a famous fighter of oil well fires in the U.S.
Charles G D Roberts, or Ernest Thompson Seton.  Might be worth checking these authors
Grey Owl.  Another possible author-this is a follow up to my suggestion yesterday re Charles G D Roberts and Ernest Thompson Seton.  The thing is, an awful lot of Canadian fiction at that time dealt with trappers, hunters, frontier life, and animals! 

Michael de Larrabeiti, The Borribiles

This isn't poster's book, but while searching, may want to read Peter Dickinson's Skeleton-in Waiting, a mystery which has a plot about someone who has written just such a book. Second in his books about a fictional British Royal family. (Based on premise that the real Prince Albert Victor does not die, so his fiance Mary marries him as scheduled rather than his brother the future George V.) As all of Dickinson's books, a wonderful read. Forst one is King and Joker.

Elswyth Thane, Dawn's Early Light, 1938.  It's been decades since I read Thane's seven-book Williamsburg series, but maybe this is what you're looking for.
By name only- Jenny Lee, Patriot by Anne Emery-1964.?? Maybe?
Gwen Bristow, Celia Garth, 1959, approximate.  I thought of this old favorite, but it was set in Charleston.

Could this be an Oz book, perhaps Ozma of Oz?  The John R. Neill illustrations were very like the description.

Well, it's NOT Rosamund by Julia Murray (Hale, 1978).  That Regency plot involves twin brother and sister robbing coaches, and Sir Hugh, the man who their father hopes will marry Rosamund - even efter he's one of their robbery victims.  Possibly - Rosamunda by Marjory Hall (Dell, 1974) - couldn't find and description of that one.
Rosemary Rogers, Sweet Savage Love. Perhaps it is by Rosemary Rogers.  She wrote a series of love books about Steve and Ginnie, who are enemies, but fall in love. Other books are Dark Fires, Lost Love, Last Love, and a newer book called Savage Desire.

Jay Williams, Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint, 1964.  This sounds like it could be the Danny Dunn series, about a boy inventor and his friends. Maybe Danny Dunn and the Anti-Gravity Paint, there is a spaceship built in that one.
R122 Total shot in the dark, but could this be THE MARVELOUS INVENTIONS OF ALVIN FERNALD by Clifford Hicks? The book was published in 1960 and republished frequently. There are other books about Alvin, his friend Shoey and Alvin's pesky little sister. However, I can't say if the inventions match. Another possibility is the Mad Scientists Club books (www.madscientistsclub.com)~from a librarian.
William Pene duBois (author and illustrator), The Twenty-One Balloons, 1947.  If you're sure about the rocket ship to the moon, then this can't be the book, but page 109 has an illustration of a brother and sister who design and build adjustable height twin beds that can be raised through skylights on the roof or lowered through their bedroom floor into the bathroom below.
Thanks everyone for your replies, I'll begin to research these suggestions.  Someone locally also suggested that this may be one of Eleanor Cameron's Mushroom Planet books, which are suprisingly hard to find, but I will research that also.   I am not 100% sure about the rocket's destination, but there definitely was space travel involved...thanks again
HRL:  several of the Eleanor Cameron books have been reprinted and are easy to get.  See Most Requested.
Thanks again to all - I would say this is 50% solved - especially for mentioning The Twenty-One Balloons, I do recall reading that as a youngster many years ago.  Perhaps my memory did combine 2 books - I did grow up in the 60's after all...but I still recall a book about children constructing a rocketship - the book had wonderful detailed descriptions of their food supplies, etc.  Thanks again to all.
Robert Heinlein, Rocket Ship Galileo. How about checking the Heinlein juveniles? Rocket Ship Galileo is certainly about 3 whiz kids building their own moon rocket. The barber chair scene is not there, but if you mixed up two books, this could be the other one. Here is a weblink to information about many of his juvenile books here. 

Marjorie Barrows, ed., The Children's Hour, 1953.  The 1953 edition, at least, was red with gold lettering, although the volumes were smaller than the submitter remembers, and my edition has no glossy multi-colored illustrations.  Volume 14 includes "Wild-Horse Roundup" by Gladys Frances Lewis.  My information is from the Vol. 16 Index.  I haven't seen Volume 14.
I think Children's Hour definitely fits the bill! Volume 14 Favorite Animal Stories has a number of horst stories worth checking out!!

I believe I read this book in the early to mid 1970s. I think the boy/man was named Kit and the girl went back in time by going into a closet or mirror or something. I have always wondered the name and author of the book!

Harriet Weaver, Frosty: A Racoon to Remember, 1973.  This sound like it could be "Frosty: A Racoon to Remember."  I don't remember the book to well - just that a forest ranger rescued a racoon, and there were stories about her and the racoon. I think it was non-fiction, and the reading level sounds about right, as does the time frame.  Could this be it?
era zistel, orphan, a raccoon.  even if this is not the book/author you are looking for, it is worth checking out all era zistel's books - including The Good Year  and The Gentle People. She wrote non-fiction and fiction, for adults and children. Setting is in the Catskills, New York.
R125 Looking at a good paperback of Tucker's book, I believe it isn't quite right. It is about healthy raccoon [no other critters] who captivates a female park ranger and all the visitors to the California park.

Wartski, Maureen Crane, A boat to nowhere, 1980.  Philadelphia: Westminster Press.  Tells the story of a grandfather and his two granchildren Mai and Lok.  Along with runaway Kien, they leave their remote country village and sail on an open boat on the South China Sea.  They are aiming for Thailand but are refused permission to enter when they arrive.  After taking refuge on Outcast Island, they endure more hardship and the grandfather passes away.  They set out to sea again and are eventually rescued by an American freighter.  There is a sequel called A long way from home. 

?Edward Lear.  I'm not sure about this, but from your description it sounds like it could be one of Edward Lear's poems. Hope this helps.
I looked up Lear's work and I don't think it's the right solution. The book I recall was a children's picture book with lots of colors - not the line drawings like Lear produced.

Elizabeth Enright, The Saturdays.  Don't know about the illustrations/pinks, but there is one part of The Saturdays where one of the girls is out by herself, and she watches her reflection in store windows and hopes people are thinking things like "who is that beautiful girl with the mysterious smile"?
I remember this book. The girl had short hair and looked a little like Twiggy. She spent so much time looking at her reflection, she fell down (a manhole?)
and was all bandaged up.
Mary Poppins had such a fetish, but it wasn't the focus of the story.

Fisher, Marjorie, Red Feather, 1950.  illus by Davine.  subject headings: fairies and kings and rulers
the red feather someone "solved" is incorrect.  it was 1940's or 30's and not about kings and rulers. my mom, who is searching for the book, is a librarian and she said there are a few books with the same title but she has been unable to find the correct one. note, she is retired and never used modern searching software.
Fischer, Marjorie, Red Feather, 1937.  This is in the solved file with the following description:   In Fischer's story, mortals are indeed prized for their housekeeping abilities, and so the Queen of Fairyland wants a mortal maid.  The changeling is made, alas, a little too perfect in every detail, and when interrupted in the swap the fairies can not tell for sure which baby is human and which fairy.  Was the human or the fairy whisked away to work in Fairyland? In which world does Rosemary and in which does Lisa belong?   The Queen does, indeed, inspect for cleanliness by running a white-gloved hand over surfaces she is outraged to find gold dust.  I believe this really is the book you are looking for - everything seems to match.
Marjorie Fischer, Red Feather.  This is definitely it. I just read the book last year.

Philip Pullman, The Subtle Knife.  I think when Lyra goes to Cittagazze there are only children left and they have red hair.  I don't have a copy on me to check.  This book was probably published a little later than the poster has indicated.
The mystery of the “Red-haired” gang of boys has not been solved yet, but I appreciate the speedy guess.  The Subtle Knife is too recent of a book and it was not a YA book. Thank you and I look forward to solving the mystery.
Nelson, O.T., Girl Who Owned a City, 1975.  A real long-shot of a guess -- might this be O.T. Nelson's The Girl Who Owned a City? The lack of adults and the presence of gangs definitely fit (the young protagonist, Lisa, is striving to survive & rebuild society in a post-apocalyptic world in which plague has killed all adults, with marauding gangs but one of her challenges) but I don't remember the book well enough to say whether red-hair plays any part whatsover.
Stanley Kiesel, Skinny Malinky Leads the War for Kidness.  (1980, approximate)  Skinny Malinky leads a group of kids to fight Mr. Foreclosure who is trying to put all the kids into a machine that will make them well-behaved and nice (remove all the "kidness").  His only adult helper is Ida, the cafeteria lady.  I think Mr. Foreclosure turns out to be an ant.
Pierre Berton, Secret World of Og, 1996, llustrated by Patsy Berton.   This might be a long shot, but the group of children in this book are all red-headed, though not all boys.  They travel to the land of Og, filled with small people (not "adult" sized), in search of their baby brother Pollywog.  All the children's names start with P.  It was a TV special in the 80s.

There's a fat policeman in the Raggedy Ann and Andy series....
Margaret Wise Brown, The Little Fat Policeman, 1950.  I'm not sure this is right.  It is a Little Golden Book that was illustrated by the Provensens (the same team that did The Color Kittens).  I think the book contains more than one "story."  I never had the original book but had a Golden Book antology that had a couple of them.  I remember one about an elderly woman who drove too fast because she was always singing "Shine little glow worm, glimmer, glimmer" to herself, and another where the fat little policeman saved someone who was swimming.  I don't remember this story, but the description of the policeman is consistent with the Provensen illustrations.
R136: Probably The Great Big Happy Book by Caroline and Judith Horowitz, illustrated by Margery Deckinger, published in 1947. Here's a description from BookSleuth: "Some characters in it included the Roly-poly policeman, and a poem about a little old lady and a little old man. One of the lines was "he combed his hair with the back of a chair and played ping-pong with a polar bear." There was also one about a little lady who kept shrinking. Illustrations show a little woman in a purple dress, sitting in a chair. In each drawing, the woman is smaller and the chair begins to look huge. It may have come from England. It's probably from the 1920's or 30's." 

W. L. Alden (William Livingston Alden), A New Robinson Crusoe, 1888.I think this is your book.  An excerpt from the beginning of the book: "That was the beginning of my acquaintance with the queer passenger.  After that he often used to talk to me when we happened to be on deck together, and was as kind to me as he could be.  He told me his name was James Robinson Crusoe, and that his grandfather was a very celebrated man, who lived for twenty-eight years on an island all by himself, having been cast away. The passenger was forever talking about his grandfather, whose name was Robinson Crusoe, without the James  but I never could see that the old man amounted to very much, though I never read the book of travels that he wrote, and perhaps the passenger did not always tell the truth about him."  You can read the book online here: http://www.archive.org/details/anewrobinsoncru00aldegoog.

Frees, Harry Whittier, Four Little Puppies, 1935.  another of Frees photo books originally published by Rand Mcnally in 1935, republished by Shackman in 1983.
Anon  Four little puppies.  Wags, Tags, Rags, and Obadiah, puppies photographed in clothes raking the lawn, reading books and newspapers, etc. - presumably by Harry Frees.   Merrimack Publishing Corp [reprint of antique edition] c1983
Thank you for the info, however the book I am seeking is ILLUSTRATED, and not a photo book.
Ruth Dixon, Four Little Puppies, 1957.  Have you looked at the Rand McNalley Elf Book, Four Little Puppies by Ruth Dixon?  Yes, this book does used photographs of the puppies, but they are COLOR photographs, and in my opinion, really look more like illustrations than photos. I've seen two different covers on this book - the first is yellow, with pictures of just the four dog's heads against a yellow background, wearing hats. (A blue cap, like an engineer, a straw farmer's hat, a green top hat w/ red hatband, and a red hat w/ a green band.) These are four separate pictures, one of each dog, not one picture of all four dogs together. Honestly, if I just saw the cover, I'd swear that the pictures were drawn/painted, and not photographed.  I've seen this one listed online as a Famous Elf Book, Elf Book #8335, and Tip-Top Elf Book #8597.  There is also at least one other cover. This one is pink, and shows a single picture of the four puppies standing side by side on a grey floor. (One puppy is in a blue pointed cap, purple shirt, and green pants. Another is in a green/red top hat, red jacket, red & yellow striped shirt, and blue pants. One is in a yellow pointed cap, yellow striped shirt, green pants, and red suspenders, and the last is in a red cap, blue shirt, and red pants.) Again, the puppies on the cover look more like illustrations than photos. Harry Frees is credited as being the photographer in these books, but these are NOT black and white pictures, so maybe his b&w photos were hand colored and/or retouched for these editions? That might explain why you remember the book as being illustrated, instead of photographic?  It's at least worth a look - maybe one of those covers will look familar to you.

More Friends and Neighbors.  This doesn't fit the description exactly but may be worth looking into- More Friends and Neighbors is a school reader published by Scott, Foresman, and Company.  My copy is from 1946-47.  Among many other stories it includes 'The Surprise Valentines' by Ethel M. Legg.  In this story Betty's paper valentines are ruined when snow blows in the window the night before Valentine's day.  Her mother helps her make valentine heart cookies for her class and she brings them in after lunch.  She wants to put her friends names on them but her mother says it doesn't matter and there's one for everyone in the room.  Her friends love the cookies and say they are the 'best valentines of all'.  The book does also include some stories about children riding an old farm horse called 'Sleepy Sam'.  Some other memorable stories include 'The First Woodpecker' about a woman turning into a woodpecker, 'Mrs. Goose Forgets' by Miriam Potter, 'The Rabbit who wanted Wings' by Carolyn Bailey.  I hope this is your book.
Mildred Lawrence, Valentines for America, Anya is a immigrant to the united states and does not find out about Valentines Day until it is too late to buy fancy paper. Wanting very badly to fit in she makes Valentines out of cookies and writes each childs name in white icing. Her classmates, of course, enjoy the yummy "valentines". And the teacher asks Anya to tell her parents "...how glad we are to have such fine new Americans in our country" To which the girl replies, "Oh thank you, please.", after which Anya is afraid the class will laugh, but everyone is just too busy eating their valentines to notice the misuse of Enlgish that she had been teased for prior.
 I haven't heard of the other tale. Good luck finding your reader.

Jean Craighead George, My Side of the Mountain, 2001, reprint.  Could My Side of the Mountain be the book? Here is a review: "Every kid thinks about running away at one point or another  few get farther than the end of the block. Young Sam Gribley gets to the end of the block and keeps going--all the way to the Catskill Mountains of upstate New York. There he sets up house in a huge hollowed-out tree, with a falcon and a weasel for companions and his wits as his tool for survival. In a spellbinding, touching, funny account, Sam learns to live off the land, and grows up a little in the process. Blizzards, hunters, loneliness, and fear all battle to drive Sam back to city life. But his desire for freedom, independence, and adventure is stronger. No reader will be immune to the compulsion to go right out and start whittling fishhooks and befriending raccoons."
R144: Andrew Henry's Meadow? See Solved Mysteries.

Dan Simmons, The River Styx Runs Upstream, 1982.  I googled the keywords and came up with this, don't know whether it's right or not, but the synopsis was something like, "A young boy's mother dies and the father decided to ressurect her" Look it up and see what you think!
Definitely not Dan Simmons. The River Styx Runs Upstream : a boy tells of his mother's resurrection, and the aftermath.
I don't know the book sought, but I do know the Dan Simmons story suggested and can verify that the Simmons story is not that book.

Ernst, Kathryn, Mr. Tamarin's Trees, 1976.  Mr. Tamarin comes to regret his vengeance on the trees for shedding their leaves all over his beautiful lawn.

I think the book you're talking about may just be called Colors.  I don't think it had any words.  I used to "read" it to my kids in the 80s, but it was old then...

Howard Pyle, Otto of the Silver Hand.  Could this be your book?  It is a very old story (originally 1888, I think) and it has many of the elements you describe.  There is a searchable full-text copy of it online if you Google it.
Thank you for your input but it's not the same story. This was definitely an English boy in medieval England. Also, the writing style was not as old fashioned....it seems to me to be somewhere from the '20s through 50's. But I do thank you for your time in trying to solve this.
Geoffrey Trease.  Just a possibility -- maybe one of Trease's historical novels?  They were written in the right time period.
Barbara Willard, A Sprig of Broom. (1971)  This is a longshot, but I read the beginning of this novel a few years ago and recall the protaganist being a boy (named Richard?) who is being transported from the place he grew up to a castle, and it's clear from the narrative voice that something unpleasant is going on -- I think he turns out to be an illegitimate relative of the royal family and he is being used in a plot against them.  Since I didn't read very far into the book I can't be sure if any other details match, but thought I'd suggest it.
Joan Aiken, Black Hearts in Battersea. (1964)  This kind of sounds like a blend of the plots in the books from Joan Aiken's "Wolves Chronicles." "Black Hearts in Battersea" is where the foundling Simon goes to London to attend art school and ends up discovering and foiling a plot to overthrow King James and get rid of the Duke and Duchess of Battersea.
I'm sorry. I can't help you with the title or author - but assuming that you know the school, have you thought of e-mailing the Administration?  They DO keep records - and sometimes for incredible periods of time.  May be worth a try.  Lots of luck.
Norton, Andre, The Prince Commands. This is a close match to your plot, although the boy starts out in an isolated house, not a farm.  A threatening insurgent leader is named Black Stefan, which may account for your recollection of "Black."'

Possibly the Jessie Bear series by Nancy Carlstrom?  Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear? (Jesse Bear, what will you wear, what will you wear in the morning?  I'll wear my pants, my pants that dance, pants that dance in the morning)  Also:  Better not get wet, Jesse Bear / How do you say it today, Jesse Bear?  /  What a scare, Jesse Bear! / It's about time, Jesse Bear, and other rhymes / Let's count it out, Jesse Bear / Guess who's coming, Jesse Bear / Where is Christmas, Jesse Bear? / Happy birthday, Jesse Bear! / Climb the family tree, Jesse Bear!
Could these be the Jesse Bear books by Nancy White Carlstrom? As far as I remember they are all written in rhyme. Titles include - Guess Who's Coming, Jesse Bear and Jesse Bear, What Will You Wear?
Upham, Elizabeth, Little Brown Bear series. (1950's, approximate)  I have a copy of "Little Brown Bear Goes to School," which is dark red and about the size the requester is searching for.  There are cheerful short stories about Little Brown Bear, who often (but not always) speaks in rhyme, although the stories themselves are not in rhyme.  "A riddle and a rhyme, I'm just in time," is an example of his rhyming speech.  I'm not sure how many books are in the series.

Bryher (?).  Many of her books are set during the time of the Roman Empire.

R155 the subject headings I have on a book that I have sold make me  think it could possibly be Hill, Marjorie Yourd. The secret of Avalon
Maxine Shore, Captive princess.  Told from the perspective of Caractacus's daughter Gladys who takes the name Claudia.
Bryher (?).  Many of her books are set during the time of the Roman Empire.

It's Mystery Back of the Mountain by Mary Childs Jane, 1960. In one chapter, a sandwich is made out of mustard and marshmallow.

Florence Hightower, Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly. (1958)  You are getting two books confused.  Another Scholastic mystery(I can't remember the title.) has the children find the dead pirate in the basement.  The one you're remembering has the son still be alive and living in the woods, although he does sneak up to the basement at times.
Florence Hightower, The Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly.  We just finished this book in one of my reading groups, so I'm pretty sure of the identification.
Betty Ren Wright, The Dollhouse Murders. (1983) Is it possible you might have read the book a little bit later, like maybe the early 1980's?  Because if not for the date, this one sounds like it could be the one you're looking for. Twelve-year-old Amy finds an unusual dollhouse in the attic of her grandparents' house. Not only is the dollhouse an exact reproduction of her grandparents' home, but it is also filled with dolls who seem to represent her extended family--dolls that seem to have the ability to move about at will. Amy is soon convinced that the dolls are trying to tell her something and before too long she has uncovered a long-held family secret--that her grandparents were murdered and that her Aunt Claire's then-fiancee was considered a prime suspect in the crime. With the help of her younger sister, who although brain-damaged is very capable, Amy sets out to solve the mystery.
Ghost of Follonsbee's Folly by Florence Hightower, published in 1958.
THanks, but neither of these two proposals is correct. The son was NOT a pirate, nor were there any woods involved. The son's name was Joe. I read this book dozens of times, I'm very sure of the story facts. It was def. NOT in the 1980's. I was in elementary school from 1965-1971.

Harry Coe Verr, Rainbow Brite and the Color Thieves, 1984, approximately.  Your description reminds me of the Rainbow Brite cartoon, where the world is gray and living things are turned to stone. Rainbow Brite rescues the Color Kids and restores color to the world. This book is similar to that cartoon.
Rainbow Brite was suggested but it definately wasn't a rainbow brite book : (  thanks for the suggestion though

Serle, Emma, In Rabbitville, 1930.  Also - What They Say In Rabbitville (1935).  These are longer books, over 100 pgs., so if your book was a picture book, these aren't the ones you're looking for.

Here's a total longshot: could this be The Lion's Paw, by Robb White?  The boy and the girl at the beginning are brother and sister, but they're in an orphanage that divides the boys and the girls, so they have a whole system worked out to meet and plot to run away.  I haven't read it for years, but I vaguely recall a color code involved.  If it is The Lion's Paw, the brother and sister (Nick and Penny) do run away. They stow on board a sailboat owned by another boy (Ben) who is also running away from an evil uncle who wants to sell the boat. The three become friends and sail down the coast to look for a rare seashell called a 'lion's paw' because the boy who owns the boat is sure that if he finds it, his father--who's MIA during the Korean War--will return.  Good Luck!
Not "The Lion's Paw."  The book I read was more contemporary.  It would have been written in the late 60s at the earliest, but most likely mid to late 70s. Today it would be classified as a YA book, not a children's book.  It was the kind of relatively short paperback you'd get on cheap paper from the book-order in junior high.   I can't come up with any more details but I'm sure the boy and girl weren't related.

Josephine Lawrence, Josephine Lawrence Stories for Girls, 1939. I just noticed the original stumper mentioned a trilogy.  The other two Rosemary titles are Rainbow Hill from 1924 and Rosemary and the Princess from 1927.  They were published together in one volume, Josephine Lawrence Stories for Girls, in 1939.
Lawrence, Josephine, Rosemary, 1922.  This book was also published separately (earlier, apparantly), in 1922. (I have a copy of it in front of me as I type.)

A long shot, but is it Caddie Woodlawn? See Solved Mysteries. The author is Caddie's granddaughter. She's friends with the Indians, but the "princess" element isn't there - unless you mean near he end, when the family has to choose whether to accept an aristocratic title and go to England, which only the father has ever seen. Also, Caddie's allowed by her father to have outdoor adventures because she and her baby sister were sickly and her sister had died in infancy, but as a critic pointed out, "(in the 19th century, ultimately) she had to grow up to be a 'proper lady'; there was no other way."
Dorothy Marie Johnson, "The Lost Sister,"1968. Could it be one of D M Johnson's short stories, such as the "Lost Sister"?  I vaguely remember one about two sisters who were kidnapped by native Americans.  The younger one was treated very well and nicknamed something like Blue Jay.  The older one found it harder to fit in, but eventually married one of the young men.
Lois Lenski,Indian Captive: The Story of Mary Jemison, 1941.This could be the one you're looking for--set in 1758, a girl is captured by Indians and slowly grows to love them for their kindness towards her, treating her as one of their own.
Alice Marriott, Indian Annie: Kiowa Captive, 1965. 'It might be this book. Annie has red hair and is kidnapped by a Kiowa man whose daughter died of smallpox. He and his wife treat her like their daughter and she grows up and is reunited with her birth family, but decides to stay with the Kiowa and marry a Kiowa.

Take a look at the Solved Mysteries under L for Little Colonel- there's a part of this book where the heroine reads a story called Marguerite's Wonderball which is just as you describe.
Hmm no that's not it. The one I'm thinking of is a complete book in its self, and it was published much later than 1903. I would think late 50s or early 60s, and at the end of the ball of wool is a doll not pearls. Good try though, it had my hopes up for a few minutes!
I remembered this story/book instantly when I read your post!  I am sure I read it as a child in England in the late '50's, early '60's. However, as much as I've been racking my brain, alas, I cannot come up with a definite title/author. Is it possible it's a book originating from the BBC radio "Listen with mother" series?  I also keep thinking the story may be found in one of Dorothy Edwards' "My naughty little sister" books or Joan G. Robinson's "Mary-Mary" series, but I can't verify that either. Another longshot may be one of Joyce Lankester Brisley's "Bunchy" books (although these were published much earlier).  Bunchy lived with her grandmother.  Wish I could be of more help!
Hmm no it's not any of those either. Thanks for the suggestions though  :)  Ohhh I wish I could solve this!

Not likely, but see the early 1970s Galldora books by Modwena Sedgwick.
I checked out the Galldora books but that's not it.  Thanks, anyway.
Ardizzone, Edward, The Little Girl and the Tiny Doll.  This is a long shot, because there's no park scene in it  but is it possible you might be thinking of this book?  It's come up lately in a couple of other stumpers.  One girl doesn't want the doll and drops her in the grocery store freezer the other girl sees her in the freezer and then comes back several times with little gifts, eventually getting permission to take her home to keep.  The last page of the book shows the doll telling her story to the girl's other dolls, in front of a doll house, is it possible that's what you're remembering?
Baker, Margaret and Baker, Mary, The roaming doll, 1936, copyright.  This book is possibly a little old.  Victoria Josephine is a rather spoiled doll who is rejected and yet finds her way back to a loving home in a rather surprising way.

Mercer Mayer, Little Critter Sleeps Over, 1999. I know Mercer Mayer wrote many books about a porcupine named Little Critter.  In at least one, he wore footy pajamas with a drop drawer.  I think this may be Little Critter Sleeps Over, where he stays with a friend for the first time (I'm almost sure the friend is a bunny).
This is not the answer, the book had to have been in print before 1979.
Patricia Scarry, Little Richard, 1970, approximate.  I was searching for this myself.  I found it at Alibris.

Monica Hughes, The Keeper of the Isis Light, 1980. Probably not, but the mention of the robot caretaker/butler makes me think R184 could be a very garbled memory of this book.  It doesn't have illustrations, but several solved stumpers in the archives remembered it as a short story, so possibly portions of it were published in that format at some point.
I wanted to add to my stumper that I had looked over the website for these keywords, and Keeper of the Isis Light kept coming up, but that's not it (nor were any of the other books that came up in my search on the website).  Also, I read this book in a paperback form, it was for young readers around the ages of 7-9, and it was not really meant to be a heavy read.

Rosemary and Richard Dawson, A Walk in the City.  This cute book documents a young boy's outing as he walks through the city's streets, with his Mother and wagon dressed in their Sunday finest---no jeans, sneakers or sweatshirts.  Along the way they meet an Organ Grinder and his monkey, Grocery Man, friendly dogs, the Ice Man, Coal Man, a band, bus, taxi, park, etc.  The text is in rhyme and quite delightful!  There is a map on the inside front and back covers where the child can follow his path!!
Gladys M. Horn, illustrator Dorcas, Hippety Hop Around the Block, 1953, copyright.  I wonder if this could be it -- my copy is the later version (1973) retitled Baby Goes Around the Block, and with a different illustrator, and the only balloon is in a picture of some children leaving a birthday party.  The story is in rhyme:  "I took Mommy walking, and we saw... A soft gray kitty with one white paw, A boy I know, with a truck that can GO! <...> A fat, round doggy, and one that was thinner, and Daddy, coming home for dinner!"  A picture of the older edition's cover is at
http://www.seriesbooks.com/hippetyhop.htm.

I think I may have found my answer. Not sure.  I came across a book called Down the River Road on the Internet but I only see the cover. It has two children and a donkey on the cover so I thought I'd see if you think this could be the book I'm looking for.
O'Donnell, Mabel, Down the River Road, 1938, copyright.  This is a reader from the Alice and Jerry Books. It features a donkey named Mr. Bones. In the last chapter,Jack and Lucky are trying to earn some money to buy baseball suits, so they decide to sell their apples. Mr. Bones is pulling the cart load of apples when the cart's wheel falls off. Jack and Lucky end up carrying all the apples to town themselves.

Reading for All Learners Programs.Could this be the Reading for All Learners Programs. There's a picture here: http://www.iseesam.com/photos/phonemicbig.jpg.
The Bob Books. I think these were the Bob Books. There were 3 diferent sets-yellow, blue and red. They were small (4 or 5 inches), thin primary readers. We got these from those school book orders (Scholastic?) in 80 or 81. They came in boxed sets and had a lot of rhyming and alliteration.

Loring, Emilie.  I can't help you with a title, but I remember this one, too.  I think it may have been by Emilie Loring.  She wrote many, so that's not much help, but maybe it's a place to start.
Loring, Emilie, A KEY TO MANY DOORS, 1967, copyright.
Emilie Loring, A Key to Many Doors, 1967.  "Bantam Book published by arrangement with Little, Brown and Co." One of my favorites!  All of Emilie Lorings books are worth reading!

 R214: Ruby in the title??, mansion, time travel, pull cord, Beethoveen's nose

Judith Michael, Deceptions, 1982, copyright. This is probably a long shot, since it doesnt match the description exactly. (For one, its published in the early 80s instead of the late 70s.) Sabrina and Stephanie are twins. Sabrina has a jet set lifestyle, while Stephanie is a housewife. Stephanie envies her sister and gets Sabrina to switch places with her for short time. However, Stephanie ends up being killed, while Sabrina has fallen in love with her suburban lifestyle and her sisters husband.
Stanley Cohen, The Diane Game, 1973.This is a possibility. From a book site: Ann and Diane are twins, both beautiful. As children they had often played at switching identities to confuse the grownups. When Diane is killed in a car crash on the way back from the airport, Ann cannot resist the temptation of her sisters exciting life. She decides to play Diane-this time for good. But she is not prepared for the ultimate, chilling consequences of her Diane Game, that by pretending to be her sister, she actually becomes Diane. From my recollection: Ann becomes involved with a man who was either dating Diane or a new friend of hers.

Don Freeman, Mop Top. Im SURE this is the book youre looking for! Its actually a little boy...his family calls him "Mop Top" because of his floppy, red hair. He ends up getting a hair cut (after much coaxing and a series of near-disasters) and finds out that hes not the only thing in the world that looks better with a little trimming (passes by someone mowing a lawn and another pruning the branches of a tree). A classic (and should be easy for you to find a copy!).
Don Freeman, Mop Top. It has got to be Mop Top by Don Freeman.

Mabel Esther Allen, The Mills Down Below. Solved before it even got posted!  Looking through unsolved, I found this, although the other person looking for it remembered very different details than I did.

Wow!  This is an incredible site.  I sent in two stumpers earlier this week, and before they can even be posted, I figured them out by looking through the site at others while trying to see if I could solve anyone else’s stumpers. Mine were both young adult books, the first about a girl who has to take care of her family while the parents are away during the Civil War  - Y6 led me to Norma Johnston and my book is Of Time and Seasons.The second one is about a girl in Edwardian England whose wealthy, autocratic father dies, and I recognized it in M107 – The Mills Down Below. I’m so happy to finally be able to find these again. Thanks for having this awesome site.

Paula Tanner Girard, The Brave Little Plant, 1968, copyright. The story of a boy named Carlos who finds and protects a brave little plant growing in a crack in the sidewalk. His teacher supports him by giving him books about flowers, and a neighbor watches over the flower so no one pulls it out. In an area where there isnt much color, he finally gets red flowers. Part of the Macmillan reading program.

Rumer Godden, An Episode of Sparrows, 1956, approximate.To the poster of the R218 stumper:  An Episode of Sparrows by Rumer Godden might be your book.  Plot focuses on the lives of London street children and the adults that interact with them.  Some of the children join together to create a garden in the ruins of a church.  Some adults oppose them, others support them. Wonderful book.
Paula Tanner Girard, The Brave Little Plant, 1968, copyright. The story of a boy named Carlos who finds and protects a brave little plant growing in a crack in the sidewalk. His teacher supports him by giving him books about flowers, and a neighbor watches over the flower so no one pulls it out. In an area where there isn'\''t much color, he finally gets red flowers. Part of the Macmillan reading program

Tomie de Paola, Bill and Pete.Could this be Tomie de Paola's "Bill and Pete?"  Bill is a crocodile, and Pete the bird acts as his toothbrush.  There are two sequels, "Bill and Pete Go Down the Nile" and "Bill and Pete to the Rescue."

Nancy Faulkner, the Sacred Jewel, 1961, copyright.
Rosemary Sutcliff. Could this be one of Rosemary Sutcliff's many wonderful historical novels for children?
Rosemary Sutcliffe, Outcast,1955, copyright.

The Perilous Descent Into a Strange Lost World, by Bruce Carter.  There weren't two authors, but the book has at least two titles and the author may have published under two names.

Could it be The Red Book of Fairy Tales, in a special edition? I do remember the "toads and diamonds" story.
Izawa / Hijikata (illustrators), The Grosset Treasury of Fairy Tales, 1971. Your description of "cushiony" reminds me of this book, illustrated with Izawa and Hijikata's photos of dolls/puppets.  If that rings a bell, here are the stories:  Little Riding Hood, The Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, Goldilocks and the Three Bears, Pinocchio, Cinderella, The Ugly Duckling, Sleeping Beauty, The Elves and The Shoemaker, Tom Thumb, Rumpelstiltskin, The Real Princess

R226: Redtail Hawk
Rufus the Redtail Hawk, 1953. Possible Primer Primer. The book may have been a primer or a children's book.  Not many illustrations.  The hawk's name was Rufous or Rufus (not sure of spelling).  A story of the adventures of a hawk.

Garrett, Helen, Rufous Redtail

R227: Robin Finds a Home
Male Robin arrives in a neighborhood after migrating north and checks out various types of trees, eventually selecting a nest site outside the window of a house. His mate arrives and they raise a family. The title might be Mr. Robin Finds a Home.

Cherry, Lynne, The Great Kapok Tree, 1990. Could this be Lynne Cherry's The Great Kapok Tree?

R241: Racoon orphan gets adopted; hibernating bear mistaken for volcano
I'm quite sure it was something that could be found in the children's room at the local library. It was an illustrated story book, likely a compilation of different stories. One of them had a story about an orphaned raccoon who ended up taking care of himself but was a terrible mess. Most clearly from that story I recall an image of this raccoon eating a bunch of berries and becoming all sticky and covered in blueberry juice. Eventually he gets adopted by a new family (also raccoons, I presume), cleans up, and lives happily every after. Also in this book: During the winter, while the area was covered in snow, one animal spotted a vent of steam coming out from a hole in the snow and presumed it to be a volcano, alerting all the other animals around and sending everyone into a panic. In the end, the vent of steam turned out to be just the warm breath of a hibernating bear.

R242: Return of Merlin, The Necromancer?
Children's book set in modern day England.  One day people wake up and stop using electricity etc. and it has to do with the return of Merlin.   Probably dates from the 1970's.   I thought it was called The Necromancer, but the only book found with that title now is the Nicolas Flamel book...

Peter Dickinson, The Changes Trilogy. This is probably The Changes trilogy by Peter Dickinson.  The individual titles are The Devil's Children, Heartsease, and The Weathermonger.  In the time of the Changes, England has somehow regressed to a society that fears and loathes machines/technology, and yes, Merlin is involved.  A great series!
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger,1969. Merlin, modern-day England, abandonment of technology, and a title like The Necromancer: this has got to be The Weathermonger by Peter Dickinson, part of his trilogy, The Changes.  The other two volumes are The Devil's Children and Heartsease.
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger, 1968. Possibly this one or another in Dickinson's Changes trilogy.  The people of England no longer use machines, and the few who do are labeled witches.  Not sure if Merlin is involved, though.
Dickinson, Peter, Changes Trilogy, 1968-70. Sounds like it might be these.  Definitely contain Merlin waking up and his waking causing all the electricity and other modern stuff to stop working.  Individual titles were  The Changes, The Weathermonger, and Devil's Children.
Peter Dickinson, The Weathermonger, 1968. Not quite Modern Day these days.  The Weathermonger is an iconic book by an iconic author.  Peter Two further books in the series - Heartsease and The Devil's Children, that together form "The Changes Trilogy".  Dickenson is still going strong, and you have plenty of catching up to look forward to.
This was serialised on children's television some years ago. It was a great series and my two children, now adults, really enjoyed it. I'm sorry but I cant remember whether it was on ITV or BBC but it was one or the other.

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