Carol From the Country

Carol couldn't think of anything worse!

Scholastic Book Services' 1966 reprint of this 1950 publication features a cover girl (drawn, not photographed) with a very '65 or '66 hairstyle! But Mary Barton's illustrations might remind you of the illustrations for Beverly Cleary's ELLEN TEBBITS (1951).
The first chapter is the book's original title, "Carol from the Country," because 11 1/2-year-old Carol Clark spent most of those years in a house in the country and her dad had his own business. But then things went wrong and he had to sell his shop, work for someone else, and move his family to a crowded apartment in the city (New York City). Carol used to have her own, good-sized bedroom; now she'll have a much smaller one that will seem even smaller as she has to share it with her 8-year-old sister. Well, what else can be done; although Jinny is a twin, her twin is a boy (Johnny).
The first brand-new morning brings quite an awakening, but it's not enough to interest Carol in exploring her new surroundings. Luckily, her siblings ARE enthusiastic, and not only do they look for friends their own age, they send older kids up to introduce themselves to Carol. Each of these visits ends with a "See you in the park tomorrow!" Carol inwardly rejects this semi-invitation, although she can't help wondering what might be going on. But if she doesn't go, she'll miss hearing about the very thing that would be a surefire way to finally lure her into full participation in her new life!
I like the view of Thanksgiving displayed by one of Carol's potential new friends, who himself has recently arrived in New York City--only from MUCH further away. I liked a lot about this book, and so might members of the 8-to-12 readership--especially if they like "time-traveling" through books. Not necessarily books ABOUT time-travel, just books that some would call "dated." A quibble with one illustration of a group of young girls in bathing suits: they look TOO MUCH alike. It's not that they appear to be wearing the exact same style of bathing suit, which they are, but that not one of them looks plumper than the others. The story keeps claiming that there is an overweight girl in the group, especially via Carol commenting that her dresses are too short and tight; can't she get new ones? and then finding out what that is difficult.
It's interesting how a contest setup calls 5- to 9-year-old participants "children" and those age 10 and up "older boys and girls." Then again, Carol's siblings are always, always, always "THE TWINS."
In-between the 1950 publication and the April 1966 reprint, Friedman produced THE JANITOR'S GIRL in 1956; you might see its possible origin in CAROL. At any rate, all of this happened before Tony Orlando and Dawn released "Knock 3 Times" in 1970 and it became the first U.S. #1 of 1971.
For another "Johnny and"--in this case--"Ginny" pair, you might want to look up FAMILY OF STRANGERS by Susan Beth Pfeffer.