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Jean Fritz, The Cabin Faced West
Jean Fritz, The Cabin Faced West, 1958. This book is The Cabin Faced West by Jean Fritz.  Ann Hamilton, living on Hamilton Hill in the western counties of Pennsylvania, is joined by her mother one afternoon for a tea party when she expected to be scolded for taking the dishes.  She later meets George Washington and his party, and they join the Hamiltons for a meal.
Joan G. Robinson, When Marnie Was There, 1969. I loved this book, too, and just recently purchased it. Good luck! So glad I could help!

K4 sounds like Caddie Woodlawn to me.
Brink, Carol Ryrie.  Caddie Woodlawn. Caddie is a Wisconsin tomboy of 1864, based on the real life adventures of Brink's grandmother. It won the Newberry Medal of 1936. A classic.
I hope this might help you.  I noticed that Magical Melons has been retitled Caddie Woodlawn's Family.  I hope you can get it in case others want this sequel which has the same feel as the original.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Brink, Carol Ryrie.  Caddie Woodlawn: A Frontier Story.  Macmillan, 1935, 1965 printing.  VG/VG.   <SOLD>

A24: Not much help, maybe, but I definitely remember Big Bird singing a song called "Everybody makes mistakes" on Sesame Street in the 1970s. It could well be part of an album.
I don't know but the Let Your Daddy Sleep on Sunday Morning sounds very Shel Silverstein.
Free to be you and me. Your comments reminded me of this anthology that had a tape as well as a video-very likely a book to go along.  It featured celebrities doing songs and dialogue.  Hope this helps.
A24 all about: there's a series from the '50s called Allabout Books, with titles such as All About the Insect World, by Ferdinand C. Lane; All About the Stars, by Anne Terry White; All About Whales, by Roy Chapman Andrews; All About the Wonders of Chemistry, by Ira M. Freeman, All About the Jungle, by Armstrong Sperry; All About Prehistoric Cave Men, by Sam and Beryl Epstein; All About the Ice Age, by Patricia Lauber; All About Archaeology, by Anne Terry White, published by Random House, for ages 10-14. (HB Oct/59 p.430) Nothing is mentioned about a record though, and the series seems to be strictly factual, so this probably isn't it, but this way no one will go off on a false trail.
not much help, but there is a Wonder Book Easy Reader called Let Papa Sleep, written and illustrated by Emily Reed published Wonder 1963.
I used to listen to a record album with a calendar on the front jacket that told stories meant to teach values, morals, etc. One of the songs was "Let Your Daddy Sleep on Sunday Morning", another was "Your Mouth Is a House Where Your Teeth All Live".  Another segment told the story of the Tortoise and the Hare.  I do not remember a Book along with it, but I listened to the album every day of my life from 1966-1968 or so.  I would love to find a copy of this album for my own children!
Sorry, don't have the title of the book, but I can help the person looking for the album.  It's called A Calendar Of Happy Thoughts: one-a-day for 30 days by Selma Rich Brody (either Tinderbell Records 3314 or Peter Pan 8229).  Contents:  Special expression song -- The milkmaid & her pail -- The honest lumberjack -- The pet song -- When Mother calls -- Your mouth is a house -- Let your daddy sleep on Sunday morning -- The greedy dog -- Be neat -- When you've had a bath -- The bathroom -- You can do most anything -- Kindness & consideration  Do things right -- The donkey salt story -- Your house is a wonderful place -- Yor mother & father are people too -- Your borthers & sisters -- Actions speak louder than words -- Make each meal as happy as a party -- Don't put off tomorrow what you should do today -- Listening shows very good manners -- The mouse & the crow -- When your friends visit you -- The tortoise & the hare -- Do things right.  Maybe you can use this info to find it on Ebay, etc.  Hope this helps!
?Selma Rich Brody, A Calendar of Happy Thoughts.  This LP was a favorite of mine as a child.  I still have the original jacket and the LP...minus a large chunk from the side of the LP!  ARGHH!  What I wouldn't give for a copy!  Selma Rich Brody supplied vocals, Fred Mendolsohn provided musical arrangements.  Tinkerbell Records is listed on the back of the jacket, as well as Ambassador Record Corp at 145 Komorn St. Newark, NJ.  The Reverse Lookup Directory did not confirm this as a valid address.  In fact I found no information on either of these companies.   Ebay searches have proved futile, as well as searches for Selma and Fred themselves.  The original Ambassador Record Corp is defunct and I assume Tinkerbell Records is defunct also, since I cannot find any information on them whatsoever.   After reading the information on your site, I searched for Peter Pan Records as well, with the same results, unfortunately.  Any ideas how to contact either Ms. Blair or Mr. Mendelsohn directly or even indirectly??  It looks like there are quite a few of us who would love to have that LP again.  Maybe one of them could help.  And wouldn't a CD be fantastic!??  Thanks very much.
Peter Pan Records, Ambassador Records still exist!  I don't know if we will be able to bring back the Selma Rich Brody book/album combination "A Calender of Happy Thoughts" but we are looking to bring back a number of these old classics that many people have requested.  For the record, Peter Pan Records, Ambassador Records and Tinkerbell Records all became Peter Pan Industries for the last 35 years or so.  All the music of "growing up with Peter Pan" is going to be released under Peter Pan Music Publishing - a Division of the Inspired Corporation.  You may find some of the tracks you are looking for at our new site, www.inspiredcorp.com and look under the Site Map.

Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive.  I'm certain this is Calico Captive by Elizabeth George Speare. It's still in print and available everywhere
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  This is Calico Captive by the two time Newbury Award winning Elizabeth George Speare...here's the publishers plot description: "In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War. It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister's baby, Captive, born on the trail. Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history."
This book is definitely Calico Captive by Speare.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  One of my favorites!
Elizabeth George Spear, Calico Captive.  I knew this book the second I read the description, definately one of my favorites. Here is the product description:   In the year 1754, the stillness of Charlestown, New Hampshire, is shattered by the terrifying cries of an Indian raid. Young Miriam Willard, on a day that had promised new happiness, finds herself instead a captive on a forest trail, caught up in the ebb and flow of the French and Indian War.
It is a harrowing march north. Miriam can only force herself to the next stopping place, the next small portion of food, the next icy stream to be crossed. At the end of the trail waits a life of hard work and, perhaps, even a life of slavery. Mingled with her thoughts of Phineas Whitney, her sweetheart on his way to Harvard, is the crying of her sister"s baby, Captive, born on the trail.Miriam and her companions finally reach Montreal, a city of shifting loyalties filled with the intrigue of war, and here, by a sudden twist of fortune, Miriam meets the prominent Du Quesne family, who introduce her to a life she has never imagined. Based on an actual narrative diary published in 1807, Calico Captive skillfully reenacts an absorbing facet of history.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  This is still in print!  Here's the Foreword: "In August, 11754, on the brink of the French and Indian War, James Johnson, his wife Susanna, and their children were captured in an Indian raid on Charlestown, New Hampshire.  They were taken from their home, forced to march through the wilderness to the north, and sold to the French in Montreal, where they were held for ransom.  Years later, when she was nearly seventy years old, Susanna Johnson wrote an account of this journey, and it is from her narrative that the main events of this story are taken.  Captured with Susanna and her family was a younger sister, Miriam Willard.  Her imagined adventures, as they might have happened, are recounted here."  Susanna's three children are Sylvanus (a boy, age six, also known as Vanus), Susanna (age four) and Polly (age two).  After the Indian raid, Susanna gives birth to a fourth child, a girl, and names her Captive.  The three older children are taken from Susanna, but Polly runs away and is permitted to return.  According to the Epilogue, "...Sylvanus [became] a wild young savage who could brandish a tomahawk and bend a bow but could not understand a word of English" and little Susanna became "a fine-mannered and fashionable young lady who could speak nothing but French and could never forget her deep affection for the two kindly women" who adopted her.
Elizabeth Speare, Calico Captive, 1957.  Great book! I love all Speare's  historical fiction, especially Witch of Blackbird Pond.
Elizabeth George Speare, Calico Captive.  It's been a long time since I read this but I think it is Calico Captive.  The seamstress is Miriam and her sister is Susanna and their family gets captured by Indians and sold in Canada.  They are eventually reunited after many hardships.

Burton, Virginia Lee, Calico, the Wonder Horse or The Saga of Stewy Stinker, 1969, reprnt.  I'm pretty sure this is the one you want. The drawing of the mustached outlaw falling into the cacti is on p.20.

Stella Pevsner, Call Me Heller, That's My Name.  Certainly it a perfect match.

Carole Bolton, The Callahan Girls, 1961.
Maybe - The Callahan Girls by Carole Bolton, 1961.  Sorry, no description.  The other title I found is That Callahan Spunk, 1961 (later published as That Callahan Blood, 1966), which takes place on the Montana frontier in 1908, so I don't think that's the one you're looking for.

This looks good though I wouldn't mind a better blurb: Wyndham, Lee Camel Bird Ranch NY Dodd, Mead 1955, "story for young adult readers about an ostrich ranch."
Some details from other descriptions of Camel Bird Ranch, perhaps helpful.   About an ostrich farm in California inherited by a New Jersey girl, most of the book about the farm but ends with the shooting of a Hollywood movie.

William R. Grey, Camping Adventure, 1976.  This is part of the Books for Young Explorers series put out by National Geographic, and is illustrated with photos of real people camping, a mother, father, girl & boy, with incidents as described.

Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There By Candlelight?
Doty, Jean Slaughter, Can I Get There By Candlelight.  Gail is riding her horse when she goes back in time. The title is a  line of the poem that the requester mentioned, "How many miles to Babylon."
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There by Candlelight?, 1980.  This is Can I Get There by Candlelight? by Jean Slaughter Doty, author of several juvenile horse books, this is the only one that involves time travel or fantasy. The title comes from a classic children's rhyme: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again. If your feet are nimble and light, you can get there by candlelight." In the book, the girl's pony is named Candlelight, or Candy for short, and she can only time travel while riding him. Sadly out of print, but there are copies around used, both in the paperback you remember, and in hardcover, which was illustrated by Ted Lewin.
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There by Candlelight?  This is certainly the same book. Wonderful read, seems to be out of print though.
Jean Slaughter Doty, Can I Get There By Candlelight?, 1980.  A girl's family rents an old carriage house in the country one summer. She is riding in the woods on her horse Candlelight and is transported back in time where she meets a girl who used to live in the country estate. The book quotes a Mother Goose rhyme: "How many miles to Babylon? Three score miles and ten. Can I get there by candlelight? Yes, and back again."

I think this is Ruth Arthur, Candle in Her Room (Atheneum, '66).
A Candle in Her Room. By Ruth M. Arthur. This scared the snot out of me. I don't like evil doll stories, and Dido, for all she never had a line of dialog or made a visible motion, was as evil as they come.
D20 is definitely by Ruth M. Arthur remember the author but not the title.  She does have a book called  A CANDLE IN HER HAND,   Atheneum, 1966 that may be the one.  All of her books have a dark supernatural
feeling.
Thanks to your assistant detectives again! Yes, the Dido doll story is Ruth Arthur's Candle in Her Room--which I see is hard-to-come-by & quite expensive in the out-of-print circles. I'll keep looking...
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I am so excited about this website!  I have posted about 5 book descriptions, and have now thought of more.  I will be so happy if even a couple of them are found for me! This one is about two sisters who find a doll with the word "DIDO" carved on its back.  It ends up being pretty evil, and makes bad things happen until one sister has the guts to destroy it, in a fire I think.  Also, one of the sisters becomes paralyzed, but heals at some point. I will also keep looking for you all, and hope I will be able to solve one of your book mysteries!
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Story is  set around the Cornish coast of England or in Wales around WWII.  Briony is either Dilys mother or vice versa and Rees is a young man one of them met.  The daughter is an orphan who comes to stay in this house.  She occasionally visits a cove and watches seals and I believe met Rees there.  She is uncovering dark secrets in the house where she's staying, dealing with the past and the story seems to be a dark coming of age type.  I don't know the author or title.  I read the stumper for Candle in Her Room by Ruth M. Arthur and this seems very close, but the stumper didn't mention the character's I remember.  The story was written sometime after 1965, but before 1975.  Any help would be greatful.

Ruth Arthur, A Candle in Her Room.  This has got to be A Candle in Her Room.  Dilys is Judith's daughter, not Briony's (Melissa, Briony and Judith are sisters) and the house is in Wales, on the coast.  Dily's meets and marries a man, but I think his name is Bron or Bran, not Reese.  Dilys has a daughter named Nina, and it is with Nina that the story ends. I hunted this book down using LoganBerry Book's *excellent* "Stump the Bookseller" archives and bought a copy from an eBay seller just 10 weeks ago.  I read it quickly and lent it to my sister.
Ruth Arthur, Candle in her room. I looked at a copy of this book and all three names are in it.  Dilys is one of the narrators, and both Briony and Rees are mentioned in the text.
Arthur, Ruth M., A Candle in Her Room, illustrated by Margery Gill. NY Atheneum 1966
Arthur, Ruth M., A Candle in Her Room, illustrated by Margery Gill. NY Atheneum 1966. I'm sure I'm not the only one to answer this. A Candle in Her Room takes place on the Welsh coast, over a couple of generations. The characters match up. The first part is narrated by Melissa Mansell, whose sisters are Briony and Judith. Their maid is Emmy Lee, and it is Emmy who loves Rees, but Rees loves Melissa. Judith uses the powers of the doll Dido to cripple Melissa and take her fiance Carew away. Part two is narrated by Dilys, the child of Judith and Carew, who learns about some of Judith's plotting. Dilys marries Bronislav, a young Pole, and goes to Poland with him just before WWII begins. Part three is Melissa again, as she recovers her ability to walk so that she can go to Europe and find Dilys' child. Part four is narrated by Nina, Dilys' daughter found in a refugee camp, who finds the doll Dido again and finally deals with her.
This is most definitely A Candle in Her Room.  There are three sisters Melissa, Judith and Briony.  Rees is Meliisa's boyfriend but Judith steals him away and marries him.  Their daughter is Dilys and her daughter is Nina.
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This is what I remember about the book:   It is a horror novel about a lonely child named Bryna who finds a doll, and it becomes her friend.  The doll is evil and as Bryna grows up, the doll somehow takes her over. Bryna was an overwieght child and the doll makes her lose weight and she becomes very attractive, and the doll takes control of Bryna's body and takes her out into the world where she is involved in Tantric sex.  I want to say the doll was possessed by some kind of Hindu goddess (It had something to do with Tantra and Hinduism). By the end of the book the doll has taken her over almost completely and has even committed murder.  I think the doll was trying to kill Bryna so her spirit could live in Bryna's body. I know it sounds kind of wierd, but I read this book around 1992 when I was in high school and would like to read it again.  The book I read was a paperback and (at the time) it had a dark cover ( I think black) with the outline of a child's facial profile.  If you can come up with any suggestions for the title of this book I would greatly appreciate it. Thanks for your help.

John Saul?  I don't remember any tantric sex in Saul books, but I do recall a Saul story in which a child's doll gets her to commit murders or something along those lines. The cover for the book The Unwanted sounds like the cover you describe.
It is not the John Saul book - I have all of his books and have read them all.  It's a smaller book, probably written in the 80's. Thanks for trying though!
A Candle in Her Room.  Same as B154.

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Arthur, Ruth M.  A Candle in Her Room.   Illustrated by Margery Gill.  Atheneum, 1966.  Third printing, 1966.  Ex-library copy with usual markings, library bound in green buckram.  Hard to find!  G+.  <SOLD>

Friermood, Elisabeth Hamilton, Candle in the Sun, 1955.  I don't have a description, but Friermood usually writes young adult historical fiction with a bit of romance thrown in.
Elisabeth Hamilton Friermood, Candle in the Sun, 1955.  I have this book! You are right on the title  it's Candle in the Sun. Katie Baker moves to the New Mexico desert w/her father, Clem, to care for him when his health fails. Elisabeth Friermood is a wonderful author & I have most of her books (except the two that are over $100 in price!). 

This is a book with a collection of stories or poems, probably written in the 1940's or earlier.  The 'candy man ' story went on to describe the many kinds of candy and goodies he carried on his candy wagon.  It was illustrated.  My sister & I loved this story as kids and would really I would really like to find the book again to surprise her.
various authors, The Candy Man and Other Verses, 1946.  The verse about the Candy Man was written by May Carleton Lord.  The other verses in this booklet are: "Peppermints", by Winifred Catherine Marshall,  "A New Friend", by Alice Craig Redhead,  "Little Shadytail", by Evien G. Beaudry,  "Why Shouldn't They?" by Virginia Woods,  "First Choice", by Lucretia Penny,  "Going To School", by Alice Craig Redhead,   "The Corner Grocery Store", by Helen L. Pardee,  "One Way", by Lucy Penn,  "Voice Magic", by Eunice Cassidy Hendryx,  and "My Apple Pie", by Alma L. Gray.  The illustrations are by Kathaarine R. Wireman.  I'm so happy to have found the book after all these years.

A Cap for Mary Ellis.  I only know the one book in the series--it's about Mary Ellis Stebbins beginning her nursing training.
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  "This is an unusual, absorbing story of the problems Mary Ellis Stebbins, a young black woman, encounters when she begins her nurse's training at a formerly all-white nursing school." Followed by Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958).
Hope Newell, Mary Ellis series.  This could be it, although the name is different than the person remembers.  "Mary Ellis Stebbins is a reluctant pioneer when she becomes one of two black women who attend a previously all-white nursing school. "  There are two books in the series- A Cap for Mary Ellis 1953, and Mary Ellis, Student Nurse 1958.  Hope this is it!
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  Mary Ellis has a brother whose stage name is Steppin' Stebbins, so this may be a possibility.  There's also a sequel, Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958).
Hope Newell, A Cap for Mary Ellis, 1953.  This stumper is definitely the Mary Ellis books by Hope Newell.  There are two--A Cap for Mary Ellis (1953)and Mary Ellis, Student Nurse (1958) Mary Ellis' full name is Mary Ellis Stebbins.  Her nickname in nursing school is Tater.

I first came across this story as Coat of Rushes in an anthology called My Book of Favourite Fairy Tales retold by Roger Lancelyn Green (which I was given on my 7th birthday).  It probably appears in various other fairy tale books too.  In some versions the girl makes a coat of rushes or donkeyskin to wear and this acts as a disguise from her father.  There is a version of the story called Deerskin, by Robin McKinley.  This version is aimed much more at adults, as the main character is sexually abused by her father the king before she leaves home,  but the basic story is the same.
Jaffe, Nina, The Way Meat Loves Salt, A Cinderella Tale From the Jewish Tradition, 1998.  This might not be the same exact one that the requester posted since that was in the 70's and in an anthology, but the story is the same.
Zavrel, Stepan, Salt Is Better Than Gold,  Abelard-Schuman, 1968.  "An old king asks each of his daughters how much they love him and angrily sends the youngest away when she claims to love him more than salt."
This is an old German story.  Perhaps you may find it in an anthology of German Fairytales.
There are several fairy tales from different countries that have this theme as a story line. Here is a link  where you can read some of the versions and hopefully find the one you're looking for. It would most likely be in an anthology of folk and fairy tales from around the world...Hope this helps!
This sounds like an old children's story that I THINK was called Tattercloak.  An updated version of this was releaced 20-30 years ago, called Mossgown set in a Louisiana Biou.   Both versions were the same story.  A man has 3 daughters. He askes them how much they love him.  The two oldest name precious things (gold etc) the youngest daughter told her father she loved him 'more than meat loves salt'! He didn't understand, he drove her away.  Much later, when his poor servant serves him a meal without seasoning (esp without salt) he realizes what she meant, how much she loved him, and how much she meant to him.  She is the servant. She throws off her disguise and reviels herself to him. They are happily reunited.
Taylor, Sydney, A Papa Like Everyone Else, 1966.  A character in this children's novel, set in early twentieth-century Hungary, tells a version of this fairy tale.
This is probably some variation on the fairy tale Cap O'Rushes.  Here's a website with versions of the story, including references to King Lear.
A version of this well-known tale (search for "love like salt" in any search engine and you'll see how many versions there are!) appears as "The Dirty Shepherdess" in the Green Fairy Book. It's a wonderful tale!
Although I can't say what textbook the person had in school, the folk tale is "Love Like Salt" or "The Princess Who Loved Her Father Like Salt" and was also published as the individual books SALT IS BETTER THAN GOLD written and illustrated by Stepan Zavrel, 1968 and SALT IS SWEETER THAN GOLD: a Czech folk tale by Andrew Peters ; illustrations by Zdenka Kabatova-Taborska, 1994. I saw it listed mostly as a Czechoslovakian tale, but also saw it listed as a tale from Greece.~from a librarian
E. Ellis, Like Meat Loves Salt. As you mentioned, this is an old folktale, one I've seen as "Like Meat Loves Salt" and "As Meat Loves Salt". There are a few versions out there, I've just given the author of one.
Ignaz and Joseph Zingerle, The Necessity of Salt.  An English translation of this German/Austrian folktale can be found online.
Sounds like Cap O'Rushes, which you might call the missing link between Cinderella and King Lear. It's Scottish(?) and it appears in many collections. Joseph Jacobs' version is here.   Also, you can see an analysis of some Cinderella variants here (Rushen Coatie not included).  I liked Jacobs' version for its smoothness of language, not to mention Cap O'Rushes' cleverness and independence and the fact that the women's general kindness to her doesn't hurt the story at all. Of course, maybe it came before the Perrault and Grimm versions anyway, so to speak! I was very annoyed when I.G. Edmonds took the riddle away from the female character and gave it to a man in Trickster Tales. Or so it seemed.
I remember this story, too. Could it be one of the stories from the Arabian Nights?
This is a classic story told in many cultures, and is one that has always stuck with me.  Many of the different versions of this story (and the books from which they are taken) are available here.
"I love you like salt" -- this is a very old story appearing in many folktales and also alluded to in King Lear.  There are many versions, some of which can be found here. Perhaps if you find the origin version of the folktale (Russian, German, etc.), it will make it easier for you to find the children's book made from it.
I also read this story in a school book.  It's a more obscure fairy tale called Cap O'Rushes.  The daughter tells the king that she loves him as much as fresh meat needs salt.  There are several copies of the story on line.  Hope this helps.

Frank O'Leary, Cappy Cardinal. 1960. Cute story about a little gray cardinal named Cappy.  After he rescues a dove's babies, Mother Nature rewards him by enveloping him in the red stripe of a rainbow.  When the rainbow vanishes, he is left with a brilliant red coat, as a mark of his courage.
It took several weeks for me to recieve a copy of Cappy Cardinal through an inter-library loan from another county. But, now that I have it, I know that the Frank O'Leary tale is absolutely the book I was looking for, the one my grandmother bought secondhand. I had no idea it was published two decades before I read it. Thank you so much for your help! I wish I would have known to post it long before I did and saved myself all the fruitless searching!

S32--The book is called Captain Ghost.  Unfortunately, I can't remember the author's name.
There is a Captain Blood by Thelma Harrington Bell, not sure if it's the same one.  Published by Viking, 1959, and reprinted at least four or five times up through the sixties.
We got a copy by interlibrary loan, so Captain Ghost  is the one!  If you have or find a copy, we'd be interested. Thank you.
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I read a very old book many years ago. It was about some children who  build a ship in a fallen tree and in the process befriend an old man in the neighborhood who is supposed to be very mean. He used to be a sea captain and has all manner of ship things. Then at the end, something happens and the neighborhood try to make the chilidren tear down their 'ship'.  There were several children involved. I'm thinking that the book may be from the forties or fifties; it may or may not have had a red cover.

This is Captain Ghost again, isn't it?
by Thelma Bell, illustrated by Corydon Bell, published New York, Viking 1959 "Ginger and her two friends Gary and Mike decide that a fallen tree will make a perfect make-believe ship and enthusiastically start to transform it. But they are constantly aware of being watched from the strange Victorian house where an old recluse lives. Soon they meet "Captain Ghost" who teaches them how to build and man a ship. How they share and finally solve a mystery that surrounded their new friend makes exciting reading." Ad for Viking Books, Horn Book Apr/59 p.171
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In the seventies I read a book featuring two children ( a brother and  sister, I believe) who befriend their  neighbor who used to be a  ship's captain.  I'm guessing the book was written in the 50's or  60's. The book was set somewhere landlocked (the prairie?), and their  neighbor was building a ship in the field behind his home.  The  children offer to help him.  I have a strong memory of sun shining through jewel-like colored  glass in one window of his house; and in another scene, after leading  the children through many passages of his house, he quizzes them on  the way back to the front door. I believe the captain also had a pet  of some kind.  I think it was something slightly unusual like a  parrot or a monkey but will probably turn out to be a perfectly  ordinary dog.  Any help linking up this snippet of memory with an actual book will  be much appreciated.  Thanks!

Is it possible that this is Mary Poppins?  There is no meadow in Mary Poppins, but a lot of the rest seems to fit.
Captain Ghost, mid-60s.  I remember this book as well!  I've also been looking for it for ages.  I think the title was Captain Ghost, and the author's last name may have started with a C.  The Captain wasn't a ghost, but at first he wouldn't come out to see the kids, so they thought he was.  Eventually, they join him to help build his boat.  I think there was a mystery, and the captain's hankerchief figured into it somehow. Actually, it's on the Solved Mysteries page.  Captain Ghost  :)
Thelma Harrington Bell, Captain Ghost, 1959.  I remembered reading this book myself, sometime in the early 60's, but I couldn't remember many of the details,but I'm sure it's the same book. Here is a description I found:  Gary and Mike, eleven and eight, were boys of course, and Ginger, ten, was a tomboy. Sharing plans and secrets, the three friends were inseparable. How they came to meet the owner of a Victorian house (they called him Captain Ghost among themselves), learned how to build and man a ship, met a sinister stranger, and finally solved an old mystery makes for exciting reading.

#N25--Nautical Book:  Has to be Captain Kitty, by Godfrey Lynn.  Word of caution to the wise:  be sure to get the library bound or Junior Elf hardcover version and not the paperback, Tiny Elf version!  When the Rand McNally Junior Elf books were reissued in paperback as Tiny Elf books, some were the same stories with the same pictures, while others used the original pictures with a different title and author!  The "Captain Kitty" pictures were done over in this way, so if you find a Tiny Elf book where the pictures seem very familiar and the story doesn't really, that's why.  The Junior Elf version was also reprinted and is easy to find.
Could you possibly be looking for Captain Kitty?  It's a tiny book with a black cat standing at the helm wearing nautical garb.

L15 - I am pretty sure that this person is remembering Barbara Sleigh's Carbonel books. Carbonel King of the Cats is one and the other is The Kingdom of Carbonel.  They are pretty hard to find.  I loved them as a kid and had forgotten all about the apothecary jars until I read this description.
This sounds like the first Carbonel book by Barbara Sleigh.  I can't remember the exact title but there are two or three books with the same characters. Carbonel is the cat.
I am a bit of a Barbara Sleigh fan too from my childhood.  Good answer on the apothecary jar, but that is actually the second book in the series - The Kingdom of Carbonel. The first book in the series is Carbonel, King of Cats.  In this story, Rosemary and John communicate with Carbonel by holding onto the witch's broom - but
which is destroyed accidently toward the end of the first book - hence the need for the special liquid in the second book. The third book, Carbonel and Calidor, is by far the hardest to find.  I have yet to read it but have finally tracked down a paperback copy in England at an outlandish price, but which should now be enroute to me. The first book can be obtained as a new paperback from several UK children's bookstores online.  Amazon UK and childrensbookcentre.co.uk both typically have it in stock at prices between 4 and 5 pounds sterling. Both ship internationally.  To bad the other two books are not avaliable as paperback reprints.

Theodore Sturgeon, Yesterday Was Monday.  Okay, this is a long shot, but Theodore Sturgeon wrote a short story that sounds similar to the description.  Most recently, the story was included in Microcosmic God- Volume 2: The Complete Stories of Theodore Sturgeon.
This sounds similar to a book my mother bought in the early 1990s, called something like The Secret Club.  The members of the "secret club" do the kinds of things you describe (for me, the most memorable one was making sure that people don't step in dog poop!), and the book ends with the line, "Are _you_ a member of the Secret Club?"  The illustrations are more strange than cute (they reminded me of a New Yorker cartoon), and some of them had word balloons apart from the main text. After an internet search, I think it's Shh: It's the Secret Club by John Watson.
Cooper Edens, Caretakers of Wonder, 1980.  I think it's Caretakers of Wonder, which exhorts you to open your eyes. "For even at this yawning hour, so many of your friend are working to keep the world magical".  This is illustrated with imagination, the sky and the horizon safety-pinned together, the "ones who light and keep the stars burning" floating off in a hot air balloon full of giant matches, the starry sky folded up like a quilt.
I am sure this is the Caretakers of Wonder by Cooper Edens published in 1980 by Green Tiger Press.  The imaginative illustrations show "the sky and the horizon" safety-pinned together, the stars being lit by a man in a hot-heart balloon full of giant matches, the sun hoisted up by a pulley, the starry sky folded up like a bolt of cloth on a worker's back, "the ones weaving the meadows and telling the trees where to stand" and more.

Marjories Vetter, Journey for Jennifer, 1954. This sounds like it could be the same as C344.  This is a guess - here's the only description I could find: Jennifer could feel her face stiffen as she watched Steve say good-by to the others. Didn't their dates on board the ship to Havana mean anything to him? Wasn't he going to miss her at all when she was in the hill country?
Marjorie Vetter, Cargo for Jennifer/Journey for Jennifer, 1954/196. My Bookstumper A346 was solved by readers input directing me to Marjorie Vetter's 1954 hardcover book Cargo for Jennifer.  This book was reprinted in 1964 as the paperback Journey for Jennifer.  C344 had similar information and helped me find this book.  Thanks everyone!'

Caroline and Her Friends

Could be the elusive and much sought-after Golden Treasury of Caroline and Her  Friends, Golden Press, 1961.  Check out the Most Requested page.
Probst, Caroline's Grand Tour  You did it again, Harriett!  Thanks for your help, now I begin the search to find a copy of it.

Santi's Collecting Little Golden Books lists an LGB called Cars and Trucks illustrated by Richard Scarry.  It was originally published in 1976 as LGB# 210-42, and reissued several times. 

C88 carter is a painter's cap: Okay, I KNEW there was a typo there somewhere, and my vote is for Carter Is a Painter's Cat, by Carolyn Sloan, illustrated by Fritz Wegner, published Longman 1971, 30 pages. "Carter is a painter's cat. Every day his master paints him in a different guise. It must be very tiring, not to mention confusing, especially when he hasn't enough legs or too many tails. But whether emaciated or after Picasso, Carter is beautifully feline and very funny, and so are his more stable friends. At last Carter has his revenge. He paints Mr. Blob himself, in a variety of improbable poses, finally painting him in the bath and leaving him there. He then painted himself in his holiday gear and was off. This is an original story, not over-written, and the pictures are hilarious, packed full of ridiculous jokes." (JB Oct/71 p.302)

T124 Could this be the John Peterson series?  The secret hide-out. Scholastic, 1965, 1988  and Enemies of the secret hide-out
#T124--Treehouse Mysteries:  This is probably the Secret Seven series by Enid Blyton.
I have researched the two suggestions, and would like to thank you very much for your help.  In fact, I am now sure there was also a dog.  It seems to me that Enid Blyton's plots are very similar to the books which I am referring, except the characters' clubhouse was definitely a treehouse.  It also seems to me that the style of writing is similar to John Peterson.  Could there be a series written a bit later based on these same ideas and style?  Please, please, keep the suggestions coming...I know we are getting closer!  Thank you!
I came across your site while trying to find a reasonably-priced copy of Mary Ann's Mud Day.  I read with interest your "Stump the Bookseller" section, and think that the solution to #T124 may be a short series of books about a group of kids called The Three Investigators.  They didn't have a treehouse, but a really cool hideout in a junkyard that required all manner of maneuvering to access.  William Arden is the author of that series from the late '60's, and I think an annoying tagalong sibling is among the characters.
I'm not positive, but it sounds like The Magic Treehouse series by Mary Pope Osborne.  There are over 20 in the series.  The main characters are Jack and Annie, and they have a dog named Fluffy.  The stories involve traveling back in time to solve problems and have adventures.  My son reads them now and is addicted...If I'm wrong (the time travel aspect is a biggie) , sorry!
I know these books!  They were "easy reader" mysteries, written by Crosby Bonsall.  The characters, Wizard, Tubby, Skinny and Snitch, were members of the Private Eyes Club, and had a treehouse clubhouse. One of them was always eating peanut butter sandwiches (I believe it was Tubby).  As the original stumper noted, there were several books in the series.  Three titles that I remember reading are The Case of the Cat's Meow, The Case of the Scaredy Cats and The Case of the Dumb Bells.   When I did a search to see what other titles I could remember, I discovered that the books have been reissued/reprinted (yay!).  There are a few other titles that I didn't read as a child, but also appear to be part of the series (The Case of the Hungry Stranger and The Case of the Double Cross).
Bonsall, Crosby Newell, The Case of the Hungry Stranger, 1963.  I too am convinced the poster is referfing to Crosby
Bonsall's books and this one in particular.  The hungry stranger centres on the stealing of a blueberry pie from Mrs Meech's (??) windowsill.  It fascinated me, as blueberries weren't available here in NZ, and thought of any food that could turn your teeth blue was utterly fantastic.  The Wizard Private eye club investigate and Snitch - Wizard's snaggle toothed little brother tries to tag along, and I think ultimately solves the mystery.  They have a clubhouse (no girls allowed!) - though I think Tubby eats cookies in this book not peanut butter sandwiches.  After asking everyone from the mailman to Mrs Meech herself to smile (to see if they have blue teeth and thus would have stolen the pie) they discover that the old english sheepdog is the culprit(I think).  This is another of my lost books - and though I'm happy to see it reprinted, the thought of a full colour version isn't quite the same as my beloved black and white Scholastic copy.
govan, and west, the lookout club series, 1960's.  possibly the "lookout club" series?? usually prefaced by the heading "mystery at the _______"

Clive King, Me and My Million
E-52, English kids foiling a robbery scheme, possibly one of Nina Bawden's books? Maybe A Handful of Thieves?  She wrote lots of wonderful books involving English children getting into (and out of!) impossible situations.  Try this link to see descriptions of her books.
Terrance Dicks, The Baker Street Irregulars in the case of the missing masterpiece, 1978.  When an early painting by Constable is stolen from a private collector, four English children decide to solve the crime.
Desmond Skirrow, The  case of the silver egg.  An amusing story of a gang of British boys foiling thieves who have stolen a top secret energy source, the silver egg, from the gang leader's father's laboratory by applying popular science experiments like how to develop your own photos, suspend an egg in water, put out a candle, etc.
Desmond Skirrow, The case of the silver egg.  Further to my previous posting on this, I've now reread my copy of The Case of the Silver Egg and it is definitely the one.  The scene happens as described except that the boy is locked in with his
father and the explosive is liquid gelignite.  The boy mixes baking powder with vinegar to create carbon dioxide which he pours down the shelf liner tube to put out the candle.

B202 Could this be ESCAPE FROM WITCH MOUNTAIN or RETURN TO WITCH MOUNTAIN by Alexander Key? ~from a librarian
B202  Alexander Key, The Case of the Vanishing Boy.  Jan is running away from bad people but he doesn't know why because he has amnesia.  He meets Ginny on the bus.  Ginny is blind but she can see in a different way. She takes Jan to her
home where he meets her aunt and uncle and little brother who have special ESP powers.  Jan and Ginny are kidnapped by
the bad guys (an evil doctor who has a brainwashing machine named Matilda) because they want to control Jan who has the unique ability to teleport. They eventually escape and Ginny's family find out that Jan is the missing family member they have been searching for.

Regarding your solved title, The Case Of The Vanishing Boy, I just wanted to add that this was Alexander Key's last book.  He died in 1978 and the book was published posthumously by his wife, Alice Towle Key.  It'\''s out of print and can be difficult to find.  It was only published in paperback - there's NO hardcover edition.

This is probably Norman Dale, the Casket & the Sword (Harper& Row, '56).
Casket and the Sword by Norman Dale, illustrated by Biro, published Barrie 1956, 207 pages "Clive and his sister Sally, coming back from abroad to find the family mansion in the hands of unfriendly strangers, determine to restore the fortunes of the house by endeavouring to break in and find the casket and the sword, hidden there by a piratical ancestor in the 17th century. They enlist the help of young Jeremy, staying nearby, and the poetical  odd-job man Mickey Few, and at last, after a nerve-wracking night and day spent being chased around the estate by keepers and bloodhounds, letting off fireworks to distract their enemies, and encountering boars and other unusual animals let loose in the grounds, they achieve their object. A curious book, with the author bursting into verse (quite good verse) on occasion ... begins very well with mysterious trumpet-calls in dark and messages tied to arrows ..."
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The Casket and the Sword (maybe??)  1950-1957.  I think this book was set in England and may have involved a boy (?) who was sent to the country. There he solved some kind of mystery or found something of great value that was hidden in a dark place--maybe a crypt(???). I read this book in 5th or 6th grade and have thought of it hundreds of times since then. I was completely lost in the story.

#C162--casket-sword mystery:  The Casket and the Sword.  Dale, Norman,  Illustrated by Irv Docktor.  New York: Harper & Brothers, 1956.
C162: Long shot, but this reminds me of Clyde Robert Bulla's The Sword in the Tree, 1956.
Eleanor Jewett, Hidden Treasure of Glaston. This book features an English boy being sent to a monastery for safekeeping during a war, and helping to discover the graves of King Arthur and Queen Guinevere.  Arthur's sword is with him in his casket.
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Sword and ? or ? and Sword  Author's last name -- between J & W in the alphabet.  1950s.  3 main characters: I'll call them Jim, David, and Sally.  Jim is visiting a distant aunt for the summer.  While messing around in the backyard, he finds some kind of opening or break in a wall, admitting him to the house next door.  The house is a large estate/mansion belonging to a rich, reclusive family.  While there, Jim meets David and Sally, children of the aforesaid family.  They are living in hiding on their own estate.  They are hiding from the family servants, who have done something illegal -- possibly killing David and Sally's parents.  David and Sally are trying to find positive proof of the servants' guilt and wrong-doing.  The servants are trying to find David and Sally and silence them so no one will ever find out what they have done.  David and Sally enlist Jim's help.  The plot revolves around the three characters' escapades, adventures and final success in bringing the servants to justice.  Additional clues: David used an armbrace sling-shot and steel ball bearings in fighting the servants.

Norman Dale, The Casket and the Sword, 1956, copyright.  I'm pretty sure this is the book you're thinking of.  Jeremy is visiting his Aunt Eleanor to fully recover from measles, and finds Clive and Sally Palfrey, the heirs to the neighboring estate, living in the estate grounds, which have become dangerous since the bad guys (groundskeepers in the pay of an old servant who wants the land and a rumored treasure) have let the menagerie out of their cages.  The children have to dodge wild animals, escape the keepers, and find their way into the house to locate the treasure that will save their home.  They have a friend named Mickey Few, and a long-lost uncle also turns up to help.  And yes, Clive uses a metal slingshot in addition to his bow and arrows.  The three children use trumpets and a penny whistle to communicate via a signal tune.
Norman Dale, Casket and the Sword, 1956, copyright.  My brother, Dennis, says this is indeed the book he's been looking for (the solution posted on the website).  He is delighted to find the title after all these years.  Now -- just to find an actual copy of the book that doesn't cost $200+.  Thank you so much.

C57 Calico-covered town -- Just from the title of this one by Nan Roloff Cassie's Magic Flowers: the story of Calico Crossing, illustrated by Nancy Duell. The listing I have shows it as published by Current in 1984, and that may be too recent.
A description for the Roloff book: "Very nice book about a little girl named Cassie who lived in a town that wasn't on any map. First part of book in black and white with the last half in color."

Winterfield, Henry, Castaways in Lilliput,1958.  Australians Peggy, Jim and friend Ralph drift on a rubber raft until they land on an invisible island.  It is populated by Gulliver's lilliputians and the children have several adventures trying to get back home.  Including drinking hundreds of buckets of milk and riding on the top of a train.
I really think this is Castaways in Lilliput by Henry Winterfeld. It's about three children who wash up on an uncharted island that turns out to be Lilliput, and they are the first "giants" to visit there since Gulliver.
Would suggest - Castaways in Lilliput by Henry Winterfeld, translated from the German by Kyrill Schabert, illustrated by William M. Hutchinson, published by Harcourt 1958, Weekly Reader 1961, reprinted in 1990, 188pp."Cast ashore in Lilliput, Peggy, Jim and their friend Ralph are surprised to find Lilliput completely modernized and up-to-date." "After drifting for hours in a rubber raft out of sight of the Australian Coast, Jim and Peggy and their friend Ralph find themselves on a sandy shore. But the only signs of life are miniature farms, a toy-sized village and tiny roads. They have to be very careful not to step on something important!"

It may be ARABELLA & MR CRACK by Dick Gackenback. It's not as old as the person remembers (pub. in 1982), but it's worth a look just in case.
Thanks for the update.  Actually I have found the book I was looking for.  It is The Castle Number Nine by Bemelmens.  Thanks for your help.

Beryl Netherclift, Castle Steep aka The Mystery of Castle Steep. I solved this one myself.  It's by the author of another of my most favorite childhood books - Beryl Netherclift,the author of THE SNOWSTORM.  The book is about a summer adventure in the English countryside, involving a young girl, her best friend Persephone and her unusual family.  There is a island with some abbey ruins, some caves, some mysterious singing, and a flood that imperils a little girl and her nanny in the caves, and a mysterious young boy who helps rescue them.  Tennyson's poem THE LADY OF SHALOTT is featured prominently as a plot analogy.  I've been interested in the poem ever since.

by Else Holmelund Minarik   Illustrated by Fritz Siebel, Cat and Dog. One of the "I Can Read Book" series.

Esther Holden Averill,  The Cat club / or, the life and times of Jenny Linsky, 1944.  This was my favorite series as a child since I'm just crazy about cats.  Esther Averill wrote and illustrated a number of stories about a small black cat named Jenny Linsky. Jenny Linsky lives in New York City with her master, Captain Tinker, who is a kindly retired old sailor. Many of the stories revolve around the Cat Club, of which Jenny is a member. The stories about and involving Jenny Linsky and her Cat Club friends are:  "The Cat Club", "Jenny's First Party", "When Jenny Lost Her Scarf", "Jenny's Adopted Brothers", "How the Brothers Joined the Cat Club", "The School for Cats", "The Fire Cat", "Jenny's Moonlight Adventure", "Jenny's Birthday Book", "Jenny Goes to Sea", "Jenny's Bedside Book", "The Hotel Cat", "Captains of the City Streets", "Jenny and the Cat Club" (containing the first five books).  Pickles was the name of the firecat.  One of her brothers was named Checkers and he had a talent of retrieving balls.  I can't remember the name of the other brother.  There was also a set of twins who were members of the cat club.
Esther Averill, Jenny Linsky series.  If it makes a difference, I'll add a second voice to the suggestion that this is likely to be the "Jenny Linsky" series.  These books are terribly collectible, and remembered fondly by all sorts of people.  They've been reprinted a number of times, but currently aren't in print.
C187 Averill, Esther.  Jenny¹s first party. illus by Esther Averill.  Harper, 1948.  Pickles the cat mascot of a New York City fire dept & friends Jenny Linsky and Florio join a party of dancing cats 

Grabo, Carl Henry, Cat in grandfather's house, 1929.  This may be the book the reader remembered as The Clock in Grandfather's House.  The reader did mention a cat, so it might well have been The Cat in Grandfather's House.  The date is about right.
I have new information. I know it sounds silly, but I didn't want to ask my father the exact name of this book because I wanted to surprise him for his 75th birthday. It all became too much for me, though, and I finally called him. According to him, the name of this book is The Cat in Grandfather's House, and it was published in 1929, the year of his birth. He lives in San Diego near the famous "Prince and the Pauper" children's bookstore, and some time ago they said they had a waiting list for this book. I contacted them today and they are looking into it, but of course, any help on your end would be wonderful.

Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary

I think the request for the ABC book is for a book by Maurice Sendak. Just reading that line, I got a flashback of some illustrations by him. For some strange reason, I think that book had something to do with chicken noodle soup, or am I thinking of something else? So check it out, I hope I'm right!
Well, gee, I have The Nutshell Library sitting right here on my desk. One of the four books (including, of course, Chicken Soup with Rice) is an alphabet book called Alligators All Around. No Aviators here.

Your site is marvelous. My friend posted stumper A1 (the ABC book beginning with AVIATOR ALLIGATORS) for me some time ago, but I wanted to add some more images I remember in hopes that someone will recognize the book. Turns out it's neither Sendak nor Alligators All Around. C is for CHIMPS at CHRISTMAS and one of the many chimps is a baby chimp in a CRADLE labelled "CONNIE." E is a huge blue EGG. G is GIRLS sliding down a GIRAFFE'S neck. I is an INDIAN girl with braids eating an ICECREAM cone and Y is for a YAK standing in a fenced YARD next to a house. Does anyone remember this book? It was probably published in the mid to late 1960s. Please, please help!

I just discovered your wonderful website yesterday and thought I might be able to help you out with the A1 stumper.  I remembered a children's dictionary (not just an ABC book) with whimsical examples like those given by the people writing to you, first published in the mid-1960s when I was very young, and it seemed that it was illustrated by P.D. Eastman.  As recently as the early 1990s I bought a copy of this book new for my nephew.  I wasn't expecting it would still be in print, but I did indeed find the Cat in the Hat Beginner Book Dictionary by P.D. Eastman.  I'll be eager to find out if this is the book the person was looking for!  This was the only stumper I read, so now it's on to the rest to see if I can figure any of  THEM out. This sure is fun!

Interpreting Condition  Grades

Eastman, P.D.  The Cat in the Hat Beginner Dictionary.  Random House Beginner Books, 1964.  A well-loved copy, some water damage and hinges taped.  P.  $10

Stolz, Mary, Cat in the Mirror, NY Harper 1975.  Sounds like this one. "Erin and Irun, one lives in New York City and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago! In many ways, their lives and fears are the same. A cat called Ta-she seems to bind them together.
Mary Stolz, The Cat in the Mirror, ~1970s. This is certainly the Cat in the Mirror. Erin experiences her previous life, 3000 years ago in Egypt, where her name is Irun. There is a boy named Seti both now in New York and then in Egypt.
Pamela F. Service.  I don't remember any of Pam Service's titles, except for Winter of Magic's Return, which is not the one the seeker wants.  But do some paperback research--Loganberry had a few when I left--and she's probably the author of the stumper title.
Y11 is Cat in the Mirror by Mary Stolz. From the front flap: "This is a story of two girls: Erin and Irun. One lives now in New York City, and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. One is fascinated by things of the past, and the other is haunted by a voice from the future. ...There are other things that bind the girls -- the same appearance, their relationships to their parents, and a cat called Ta-she. Perhaps the two girls are in some way the same person after all."
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.  I'm sure it's the one - a very good book!
Stolz, Mary, Cat in the Mirror, 1975, Harper & Row. From the book jacket -- "This is the story of two girls:  Erin and Irun. One lives now in New York City, and one belongs in ancient Egypt 3,000 years ago. One is fascinated by things of the past, and the other haunted by a voice from the future. . .She is a loner until a young Egyptian boy, Seti, transfers to her school and befriends her."  From the CIP -- "An unhappy teenage girl, unable to cope with problems at home and at school, suffers an accidental blow on the head and is transported 3000 years back in time to another existence in ancient Egypt."  Sounds like this is the book.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.It's about a girl who has trouble fitting in at a new school, and she receives a blow to the head and is transported 3000 years back in time to ancient Egypt.
And Y11 - could it be Time Cat by Lloyd Alexander?  It is a boy who travels back in time, but he does go to
Egypt ...
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror.  My copy of the book isn't where I thought it was so I can't check for sure without going through every book in the house to find it--that would take weeks!--but the description on the Boston Public Library site sounds right: "A bump on the head sends Erin Gandy back 3,000 years to ancient Egypt in the days of the pharaohs." Reference.  Here's also a brief summary/review by an 11-year-old reader.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975.  Story about Erin and Irun, one from modern day NYC, and one from ancient Egypt.  There are boys named Seti from both times and cat named Ta-she.
Y11 is Mary Stolz's Cat in the Mirror which features two girls, Erin in New York and Irun in ancient Egypt.
Madeleine L'Engle, The Sphinx at Dawn: Two Stories.  I think this one may have a similar plotline to what you are describing...
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1974.  This instantly rang a bell with me.  It's not actual time-travel I think.  The two girls Erin and Irun are haunting each other across 3,000 years. Enjoy!
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975.  Erin, Erun, friend named Seti, time travel(?) to ancient Egypt. Seems to
match description exactly.
Mary Stolz, Cat in the Mirror, 1975. Description found on the web: "Erin has a few problems but starts off on
the right foot with Seti, the new boy at school who has just moved from Egypt. When he makes it into the "in crowd", he doesn't forget her. The story turns to fantasy when she bumps her head on a museum stone artifact and floats back to the days 3000 years ago when she is Irun and Seti is still her friend. She does recover and Seti seems to know where she's been. This is a good tale of friends that stand the test of time and peer pressure."

Jackson, Kathryn and Byron, The Cat Who Went to Sea, and other cat stories.  Simon & Schuster, 1950.  Golden Story Book 16, 124 pgs., illus Aurelius Battaglia.  contents:  Cat Who Went to Sea, Tiger Play Tiger, Little WHite Kitten, Terrible Tomkit, Too Many Cats.
The Cat Who Went To Sea.  I googled "Terrible Tomkit" and found the following closed (alas!) listing on E-bay for a Little Golden Book. I hope this helps.  THIS BOOK MEASURES 7 1/4"X5"X1/4".  128 PAGES OF ADORABLE PICTURES AND CUTE CAT STORIES.  THERE ARE 5 STORIES IN ALL THE OTHERS ARE, TIGER PLAY TIGER, THE LITTLE WHITE KITTEN, TERRIBLE TOMKIT, AND TOO MANY CATS.  THE INSIDE COVER READ ALL THE MATERIAL IN THIS BOOK IS ORIGINAL .  IT WAS ESPECIALLY PREPARED FOR THE GOLDEN STORY BOOK AND NEVER BEEN PREVIOUSLY PUBLISHED.THE BOOK IS IN VERY GOOD CONDITION, IT WAS PUBLISHED BY SIMON AND SCHUSTER IN 1950.  THE STORIES WERE WRITTEN BY KATHRYN AND BYRON JACKSON.  PICTURES BY AURELIUS BATTAGLIA.  THE INSIDE COVER ALSO READS "THE VOCABULARIES HAVE BEEN CAREFULLY CHECKED AGAINST GRADED READING LIST, AND THE PICTURES ON EVERY PAGE HELP MAKE READING EASY"
Kathryn & Byron Jackson, The Cat Who Went To Sea. (1950)  This is a Golden Story Book, published by Simon and Schuster, and illustrated by Aurelius Battaglia. It contains 128 pages of cat stories and pictures.  Stories include The Cat Who Went to Sea, Tiger Play Tiger, The Little White Kitten, Terrible Tomkit, and Too Many Cats.

Gryski, Camilla, Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes: A Book of String Games, Morrow, 1984.  This book fits your description. The diagrams of the hands and string are black with red arrows showing the direction movement of the string.  Also, special notes are in red boxes. However, the only photo is on the cover - it's a headshot of a girl holding up her hands with a
string design stretched between them.
C306 [I haven't checked for color of illus., but it does definitely have cat's cradle stuff.] Jayne, Caroline Furness. String figures and how to make them; a study of cat's cradle in many lands, w an ethnological intro by Alfred C Haddon.  Dover 1962 [Scribner 1906].  Camilla Gryski, Cat's Cradle, Owl's Eyes.1984.  Could this possibly be the one wanted?  Our copy is hardback, but the illustations are in black and red.  Another possibility is Cat's Cradles and Other String Figures (copyright 1979).  It has actual photographs rather than line drawings so that might not be it.
Klutz Press, Cat's Cradle, 80s. Even if this isn't the one being looked for, it is one of the best on the market.
Camilla Gryski, Super String Games, 1987.  This may be too late to be the one you're looking for, but I have it in front of me and it does have black and red illustrations - the hands and string are black, and the red indicates the movements you do.  One thing that may set this book apart from others is that it gives the history of each design, and presents a story that you can tell as yo''re making them. The designs are for children, but they are quite complex.  I was really into string games in the 1970s but I've never seen most of these.

Johnson, Siddie Joe, Cathy. illustrated by Mary Lee Barker.  NY Longmans 1945.  Pretty certain this is it: The book is set during WWII. Cathy's father is a pilot and her mother is doing war work at the airplane factory. The Mexican housekeeper, Rosita, tells her stories of Spanish treasure and ghosts. She learns that the house she and her mother live in (near Daddy's training station) used to be a farmhouse, and that during the last World War, three children lived there, whose father went away to the army. Cathy climbs into the attic and finds a blue-painted chest with three names on the drawers - Sarah, Gilbert, and Linda. On Valentine's day Cathy opens the desk and finds a bundle of letters and a beginning Feb 14, 1918, in Sarah's drawer.In the diary are old Valentine cards, inspiring Cathy to make a Valentine bouquet for her mother. Gilbert's drawer has a box of marbles and snake rattles, and a school essay on courage, which comfort Cathy when Rosita can't come and she must manage alone in the house. The shopkeeper, Mr. George, takes her to catch crawfish with his sons. Linda's drawer has a doll, a tea-set and a copy of a letter to her father. The letter talks about earning money for thrift stamps by killing "the big green fat worms on the potato vines ... make an awful plop when I smash them ... I think the worms look like green dragons. I am St. George, I guess." Cathy decides to do the same thing, earning war stamps by killing tomato worms for a young mother on her street. With some coaching from Mr. George she learns how to "catch one by the little horn" and pull it off the stem of the plant. She smashes them between two bricks. She begins her own garden and grows radishes, beans and Swiss chard as well as babysitting Rositas grand-daughter and neighbourhood babies. Then she reads in Sarah's diary that the 3 children's father is missing in France and that Sarah is writing a fairy tale to comfort herself, a fairy tale which mysteriously disappears. With the help of Rosita's younger daughters, Cathy searches the old barn and finds a little book with a silver clasp, containing the fairy tale The Silver Princess.  The story and the diary give her courage when her Daddy is reported missing in action. At the end of the book she meets the grown-up Gilbert, just before her own father comes home.
This is definitely the book. All the details seem familiar. Thanks so much!

There have been several Oregon Trail stumpers before.  Check out the comments and suggestions listed under O9: Oregon Trail story and look on the Solved Mysteries pages (by title) for Children of the Covered Wagon by Mary Jane Carr, 1943 and Oregon at Last! by A. Rutgers van der Loeff.
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail, 1954.  This is likely one of the first two books in the "Cathy and Carl" series published by the very Christian-oriented Scripture Press, about two siblings and their adventures going west on the Oregon Trail and afterward.  The second book was also published in 1954 and was titled Cathy and Carl Captured, and included the incident with the Whitmans and the two children being captured by Indians.  Later titles in the series include Cathy and Carl Join the Gold Rush (1955), Cathy and Carl Shipwrecked (1956) and Cathy and Carl and the Sea Horse Mystery (1957).
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail, 1954.  This is likely one of the first two books in the "Cathy and Carl" series published by the very Christian-oriented Scripture Press, about two siblings and their adventures going west on the Oregon Trail and afterward.  The second book was also published in 1954 and was titled Cathy and Carl Captured, and included the incident with the Whitmans and the two children being captured by Indians.  Later titles in the series include Cathy and Carl Join the Gold Rush (1955), Cathy and Carl Shipwrecked (1956) and Cathy and Carl and the Sea Horse Mystery (1957).
This is it! Thank you thank you! I can't believe you found it so quickly. Cal, Carl, well at least I was close!
Dorothy Grunbock Johnston, Cathy and Carl of the Covered Wagon, 1954.  I have this book and the actual title of it is Cathy and Carl of the Covered Wagon, not Cathy and Carl of the Oregon Trail.

Maybe Cathy's Secret Kingdom, by Nancy W. Faber, illustrated by Howard Simon. E.M. Hale and Company, 1963. "A warm story of Cathy & Anne, two completely unlike step-sisters who solve mystery of an old house & develop a wonderful relationship in doing so." Cathy finds a secret "kingdom" where she can spend time away from her problems -- including her handicapped sister... However, she soon finds that her sister is the only one who can help her solve a mystery... Cover shows two girls on bikes, one blonde, one dark.
I am all weepy with happiness as I write to say THANK YOU for your wonderful site, and for being available for me to finally have the title and author to my second favorite book, S111!!!  I would love to let that person know how very very grateful I am!!! (If I could find G54, I will hunt down you and the finder and HUG you both) It is SO great that you have this site, and I saw your comment about charging.  I for one would be delighted to send a fee for the wonderful feeling I had when I realized my search was over for one of my books.

C59 cat care manual: Well, it's not Searle's Cats, because I checked our library's copy and it doesn't match up. Perhaps Eric Gurney's book How To Live With a Calculating Cat? It was published in 1962, reprinted 1976, illustrated by cartoony line drawings. "Provides many facts about the domestic cat in an informal setting with cartoons on most pages." The cover is red, with a drawing of a cat lying back on a cushion with a tin of sardines and bowl of caviar. There's a sequel, The Calculating Cat Returns, published 1978, with text by Nancy Prevo and cartoons by Eric Gurney. "Volume has 130 illustrations accompanied by words which explain in no uncertain terms the basic facts of cat life." The cover of the sequel is yellow, with a drawing of a striped cat carrying one kitten in her mouth while 3 others run past her. Ring any bells? Another possible is The Last Damn Cat Book, by Fred Schwab, published Secaucus, Citadel Press, 1982, 96 pages, illustrated with b/w drawings. "Humorous drawings of the foibles of cats."
Wilfrid S. Bronson, Cats, 1950. I solved my own mystery!  I originally posted the query long ago, and I've found the book I was looking for!  I have an interlibrary loan copy in my hands right now.  I found it by doing a search online in the WorldCat, using the delimiters I could think of... and it brought up a few hundred possible titles.  My heart sank.  But there, the third one down, my little voice told me that was it, and the author's name seemed murkily familiar.  On the chance I was right, I ordered it, and well -- a happy ending!  Now that I have the right information, I can start searching for a copy of my own - as I said long ago - one that doesn't have to go back to the library.  Bronson, Wilfrid S., Cats.  Harcourt Brace and Company: New York 1950