Friends in Books

Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby Sister
story and pictures by Martha Alexander (Dial).

Oliver didn’t want his baby sister! He began to ask people if they would take her, but he found it wasn’t easy to find a new home for Bonnie. Just when Oliver thought he had a home for the baby, he changed his mind!

Twelve Years, Twelve Animals
a Japanese folktale adapted by Yoshiko Samuel; illustrated by Margo Locke (Abingdon).

Long ago, King invited all the animals to a party. Cat forgot when it was and asked his neighbor, Mouse, who wasn’t feeling well, just when the party was to be held. Mouse accidentally gave Cat the wrong date.

All the animals except Cat went to the party, and King decided to name the years after his twelve animal friends who were there. Since Cat was left out, he was very angry, and that is “why Cat and Mouse do not get along well to this day.”

Hurry Home, Candy
by Meindert DeJong; pictures by Maurice Sendak (Harper & Row).

The dog was nameless and alone. For over a year the stray had lived in constant fear and hunger. People and animals crossed the brown and white dog’s path many times before it finally found a name and a home.

Me and the Eggman
by Eleanor Clymer; illustrated by David K. Stone (E. P. Dutton).

John, the older brother, had come home in bad humor from the army. Aunt Lizzie descended on the family with cleanliness and order. Donald would have to tend the children every day, and this summer, more than anything, Donald wanted to go away and live on a farm. He found it easy to get to the farm, but it wasn’t what he’d expected. Donald did find something at the farm, though—something very unexpected!

Secret Codes and Ciphers
by Bernice Kohn; illustrated by Frank Aloise (Prentice-Hall).

Men have always sent secret messages to one another. This book tells how they have done so. It also tells how you can make your own secret codes and messages.

The Fairy Tale Treasury
selected by Virginia Haviland; illustrated by Raymond Briggs (Coward, McCann & Geoghegan).

“Yonder stands an old tree; cut it down, and at its roots you will find something,” the little man told the Simpleton, and so it was that the Simpleton found the golden goose!

“The Breman Town Musicians,” “The Gingerbread Boy,” “Rumplestiltskin,” and other loved tales make up this collection of thirty-two exciting stories.

From Nobody Asked Me If I Wanted a Baby Sister

From Hurry Home, Candy

From Me and the Eggman

From The Fairy Tale Treasury