SOLVED. Children's Reader. Older Couple (postman?) travels to different European regions and meets new friends who tell them local stories/fairytales (e.g., Brittany, St. Ives). Read in 1980's. [s]

[Carla]

I had a children's reader in which an older couple beloved in their town who had worked hard finally had time to travel. The husband may have been the town postman. They travel to different cities and regions in Europe, meeting a variety of new friends who tell them different stories/fairytales from their region. I know they travel to Brittany. I remember they visit one family where the children sleep in drawers, which seems to be a Finland thing. It includes the St. Ives nursery rhyme or a variation of it, "As I was going to St. Ives I met a man with seven wives, Each wife had seven sacks, each sack had seven cats, Each cat had seven kits: kits, cats, sacks and wives, How many were going to St. Ives?" It may have had an excerpt from Hans Brinker, or The Silver Skates.

[Rainbowheart]

When did you read it?

I know The Saucepan Journey has kids sleeping in drawers, but it's not an older couple on their own.

[Carla]

I orginally had it as a child in the 80's, it may have been one of my mom's elementary readers, from the 50's or 60's.

[Kris]

Carla, I added a few details to the header/topic title, so your book might be recognized from that description alone. Feel free to edit it.

[Ayshe]

If I Were Going, The Alice and Jerry Books maybe? I leafed through some pages on archive.org and there's mention of sleeping in cupboard, Brittany bed: https://archive.org/details/ifiwerego...

[Carla]

Ayshe - you are amazing. That's absolutely it! How in the world did you find it?! Thank you so much!!!

[Ayshe]

You're welcome! One of the Alice and Jerry program books was in Google Books results for "seven sacks" "seven cats" reader and I searched further on archive.org for phrases from there.