Friday, June 20, 2008

Tasha Tudor


This morning I read with sadness on a friends' blog that Tasha Tudor passed away yesterday at her home, surrounded by her family and friends at the grand age of 92.

She was born in Boston, Massachusetts on August 28, 1915 and was named after her father, the naval architect Starling Burgess, known as "The Skipper".

She married Thomas McCready in 1938 in Redding, Connecticut.

Her first story, "Pumpkin Moonshine", was published in 1938, as a gift for a young niece of her husband. They were divorced in 1961, and her children adopted her name. A later marriage, to Allan John Woods, lasted only a brief time.

Her 19th century designs are comforting, taking us back to a time when life was less threatening and complicated. She has illustrated such classics as Little Women, Wind in the Willows, The Little Princess, Mother Goose and The Secret Garden, giving them an authentic simplicity and charm. She illustrated nearly one hundred books, the last being Corgiville Christmas, released in 2003. Several were collaborative works with a New Hampshire friend Mary Mason Campbell.

Tudor lived in Marlboro, Vermont in a replica of a 19th-Century New England homestead, replete with antique utensils, tiny windows and doorways of varying sizes. Her son Seth built a replica and lives next door with his family.

She made her own clothing — fashioned after 19th-Century apparel — and raised Nubian goats for their milk.

Through the years Tasha received many awards and honors, including Caldecott Honors for Mother Goose in 1945 and 1 is One in 1957. She received the Regina Medal in 1971 for her contributions to children's literature.

There is an online memorial on her Web site was open for fans to share their feelings and memories of her. The address is http://www.tashatudorandfamily.com/.

1 comment:

Vickie LeBlanc said...

Thanks for sharing this news on your blog. I think a lot of bloggers out there did'nt know about her passing.

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