Fuse 8 n’ Kate: A Time to Keep by Tasha Tudor

Because Kate was moving into her new house, this episode is coming in about a week late. Hence the references to my/Shakespeare/Buchanan’s birthdays. And because it was my birthday I got to choose a book that was my favorite when I was growing up. Upon hearing this, Kate thought my vote would be swayed in terms of whether or not it was a classic. Not necessarily! And lemme say this about Tasha Tudor. The Queen of England herself is second only to Tasha Tudor in terms of corgi love. Tasha was the original corgi lover. I spend a great deal of time trying to explain some of the oddities of the book by saying, “It’s New England!” Like it helps or something. The best way to put it is that this book is 70s/1870s.

Listen to the whole show here on Soundcloud or download it through iTunes, Stitcher, Google Play, PlayerFM, or your preferred method of podcast selection.

---

Show Notes:

Like I say several shows on the show, if you ever care to show up at the Tasha Tudor website, it’s a real class act. When I die, if my descendants could create half as good a site in my name, I will be delighted.

Now this is ballsy, I have to say. Tasha Tudor is able to start her book off with not one, not two, but THREE quotes right from the start! Can you imagine trying to do that in a picture book today?

There’s a timeless quality to those quotes. But this image in the book? Ugh. As we say, “It’s just offensive.”

This is strange indeed. Tasha Tudor really did sign the corners of some of these images and date them. I’ve never encountered this in a picture book before. What might the reason be?

Am I the only one who makes this association when I see a monk marionette?

As a child reading this book, this was the coolest moment in a picture book I’d ever seen. As my daughter once said to me (when I read this book to her once and only once) “Why would you show me a book of cool stuff that I can never have?” My point to Kate is that you better be pretty darn sure on the trajectory of that cake coming down the river. Otherwise this is just a tragedy in the making.

Greatest. Names. Ever. Of stuffed animals. You can just refer to me as the Reverend Bunyan Barkididdy from now on.

I don’t care how cute you draw that rodent, you are making the children sleep in a rat infested barn in New England in November!

Filed under: Fuse 8 n' Kate