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A Little Girl Named Cora
"I remember a picture book from when I was a child in the 1950's and 1960's, about a little girl named Cora. I remember the illustrations didn't have a lot of color; mostly pink and white. Her last name might have been something like Caruthers but I'm not sure."
Solution: The Tale of Corally Crothers, by Romney Gay. Harter Publishing Company, 1932. The book starts with the words, "This is the tale of Corally Crothers. She had no sisters, nor any brothers." Being lonesome, Corally gets dressed and "left the house wihtout more ado, jumped into this book and came to you."
Two other books about the same character were also published: Come Play With Corally Crothers (Grosset & Dunlap, 1943) and Corally Crothers' Birthday (Grosset & Dunlap, 1944).
Aunt Book is unable to confirm that these are the correct books as she has received no reply from the Dear Niece who requested the information, but believes that they are..
Girl With Red Hair and Purple Eyes, Riding Horse
"I started to read it about 12 years ago. It was part of a trilogy, I believe. The main character was described as having red hair and purple eyes. I think I was reading the 2nd or 3rd book. I believe she wore a green dress in one of the first descriptions. I remember she was riding a horse and was shunned by most people because of something to do with her eyes."
Solution: The Song of the Lioness Quartet, by Tamora Pierce. This consists of Alanna: the First Adventure (1983); In the Hand of the Goddess (1984); The Woman Who Rides Like a Man (1986); and Lioness Rampant (1988); all published by Atheneum. They are still in print.
Girl Wakes Up From Coma
"I read a book about a mother and daughter who get shot. The mother dies but the girl survives and is in a coma. She wakes up when she is 17 years old, and doesn't believe that she is 17."
Solution: The Other Side of Dark, by Joan Lowery Nixon. Delacorte, 1986. From the jacket flap: "Stacy wakes up in a hospital room to find she's been in a coma for four years. She's caught inside the body of a beautiful seventeen-year-old while inside she still feels thirteen. The last thing she remembers was a summer day four years ago when a stranger burst out of her house and shot her. Now she learns her mother had been killed by this stranger, and Stacy is the only one who's ever seen his face."
Little Girl Who Grew Radishes
"I can't remember if this was a short story in another book or a stand-alone book. I would have read it as a child in the '70's. The story is about a little girl who refused to take a bath and got very, very dirty. Her parents were at wits' end and finally let this old woman plant seeds all over the little girl. WHen the seeds grew into carrots and radishes because the little girl was so dirty, she threw a fit and wanted a bath."
Solution: Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle, by Betty MacDonald (1947). The chapter is called "The Radish Cure. There are three other Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle books: Hello, Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle (1949), Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Farm (1954), and Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle's Magic (1957).
Man, Mermaid, and Animals
"It isn't necessarily old, but what I remember about the book is that it is about a man who sees a meteor in the begining; but, anyway, he finds a mermaid who lives with him, and there is a bear, a wildcat, and a baby. The title most likely starts with "The Animal..." and there is another word, I think. It is a children's chapter book."
Solution: The Animal Family, by Randall Jarrell; illustrated by Maurice Sendak (1965).