children's fiction; two little girls at a party

[Kay]

this is really annoying me. It's a book in which two little girls attend a party, one is dark the other fair. They both go into a room with a mirror they look into together, each politely says the other is prettier while really believing she is the prettiest herself (doesn't sound like much of a plot I agree, but it's only one chapter from the book and that's all I can remember) and I have a feeling that it might have been non-English in origin, possibly in translation, it had black and white illustrations and I'm guessing I read it around 1968 or '69 and it struck me as a little old fashioned even then ...

Aaargh!

[Rachel]

This may be completely wrong, but I read a book which was part of a series, about two little girls, which was my mum's from the early 70s. It was called "My Naughty Little Sister" or "My Naughty Little Sister's Friends."

It was about a girl who was about ten, who had a little sister around the age of seven.

Each chapter covered a different event, one of which was a party, one of which involved the "naughty little sister" getting her hair curled specially because she wanted to look like the girl from down the road. The little girl from down the road had blonde hair, and hers was dark. This reminded me of the story you wrote, the situation seemed very similar.

I don't have a clue who wrote it, but I was reminded of this book from your description. It also seemed really old fashioned, even if belonging to my mother in the 70s. It also had black and white illustrations.

But yes, it does sound very much like "My Naughty Little Sister" or "My Naughty Little Sister's Friends."

[Ani]

You know, I wonder if this is one of the Betsy-Tacy books? They are super old fashioned, and I think one of the girls is dark and the other is fair.

[Wendy]

Definitely not Betsy-Tacy.

[Lobstergirl, au gratin]

Kay, are you still looking for this or did you find it?