I have noticed several posts with this title and I am hoping that someone out there can be of help.

I have been looking for years to find the very first book I ever remember reading on my own.  At one time we had two copies at home but somehow they disappeared during a move. 

The book cover was purple and it was a collection of several short stories. The first story in the book was about a monkey getting chased by a bumble bee and a distinct line was "Oh! Oh!"  It's funny what you remember reading out loud...

Another story in the book was about a boy whose family had to move, which meant that he had to leave all of his friends behind.  At the new house he finds a turtle and the turtle becomes his new friend (or did he leave the turtle at the old house?) Either way, a turtle is involved. 

That's all I remember. Can anyone help with this?

Amy--

If you don't have any luck here, I recommend Loganberry's "Stump the Bookseller", where you can post details of a book, and the booksellers, as well as readers and librarians, do their best to identify it.  I've seen them making some amazing identifications from very scant information.  http://www.logan.com/loganberry/stump.html

Cheers,

Catt

I'd recommend going to goodreads.com and posting in "What's the Name of that Book!?"

http://www.goodreads.com/group/show/185.What_s_The_Name_of_That_Book_

You have to join, but it's free. There's one woman in particular in the "What's the Name of That Book" group who's scarily good at children's books - even really obscure ones.

Good luck~

Was the turtle story: Ira Says Goodbye, Author: Waber, Bernard

Ira is surprised to discover that his best friend Reggie feels happy about having to move to a new town. 

Kirkus Reviews Like its predecessor, Ira Sleeps Over, this is a warmhearted picture of one of childhood's classic dramas: in this case, having a best friend move. Reggie and Ira are such good friends that they even keep their turtles in the same tank; but when Reggie turns out to be pleasantly excited by the prospect of his own departure, Ira is understandably miffed. Still, when Reggie comes to pick up his turtle, Ira gives it to him--and on moving day, it's Reggie who bursts into tears. Waber deftly conveys a true friendship and the mixed, unmatched emotions at parting, with plenty of entertaining, realistic detail. His cheerful, cartoonlike illustrations are pleasantly full of life and humor. The long text makes this appropriate for use as a transitional young reader.
(Kirkus Reviews, August 15, 1988)

April: Thanks for checking into that. I looked up the book (thought you might be onto something) but it wasn't the one.

I submitted a bookstumper request on the Loganberry site. We'll see what happens...

Thanks for the help, everyone!

Amy, If you can think of any more descriptives for the plots of these stories I can keep looking.  I love looking for these books!

I remember that the pictures were very simple.

In the first story (monkey and bumble bee), there was a picture of a large oak-like tree with a bee hive. The monkey would run around the tree. Eventually he was stung. Those were really the only pictures for that first story.

My mom has a box where she keeps a lot of my childhood drawings. One drawing she still has is one that I drew from the turtle story. The picture in the book took up 2 pages. The mom is on the left hand side. She has short, straight hair (reddish brown). She is wearing a blue(?) housedress and apron. She is holding the vacuum with one hand. Her other arm is outstretched across the page to pat her son on the head. He appears to be around 7. He's sitting in a chair and is pouting/sulking/sad about the move.

I think the cover had the tree in the center, and all around the tree were the characters from all the various stories. Of course, I could be completely making that up, but it's what comes to mind.

Otherwise, that's all I've got!