A Time to Keep: The Tasha Tudor Book of Holidays [Hardcover]

Tasha Tudor (Author, Illustrator)

Book Description

Release date: November 1, 1996 | Age Range: 5 and up

There were homemade valentines and Easter eggs, Fourth of July picnics and family birthdays. Thanksgiving brought visits from relatives -- so many, the children had to sleep in the barn! And finally there was Christmas, the best of all "times to keep," with handmade presents, an Advent calendar, and a "beautiful tree in a shine of candles."

Month by month, Tasha Tudor's delicate illustrations bring to life the holidays of an earlier time. A warm-hearted celebration of family and tradition, this treasury of "times to keep" will be cherished and enjoyed all year long.

Editorial Reviews

Review

This arrived too late for more timely holiday mention but deserves year-round inclusion, pairing Tudor's classic drawings with a treatise on holiday traditions from around the world; from homemade valentines and Easter eggs to family celebrations. -- Midwest Book Review

About the Author

Tasha Tudor (1915–2008) was a Caldecott artist with more than ninety books to her credit. She was known across the world for her glowing watercolor depictions of the American rural scene of a century ago and for her exquisite paintings of children, flowers, and animals. Tasha Tudor was also the illustrator of A Child’s Garden of Verses, The Night Before Christmas, The Springs of Joy, A Time to Keep, The Dolls’ Christmas, All for Love, Pumpkin Moonshine, A is for Annabelle, and 1 is One, a Caldecott Honor Book.

Product Details

• Age Range: 5 and up
  
• Hardcover: 64 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers; Early printing edition (November 1, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0689811624
• ISBN-13: 978-0689811623
• Product Dimensions: 12.1 x 9.3 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #57,874 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

42 of 42 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Classic for all little girls June 22, 1998

By A Customer

Format:Hardcover

This classic was given to me by my Godparents & I have treasured it from the very beginning. Even as a small girl (7-10) I somehow knew the importance of keeping my book in nice condition. The classic scenes that Tudor paints are from an age that was more simple and one that children are bound to ask there grandparents about. My favorite months are February (with the post office for Valentine's) and August (with the floating candlelit cake).I still have my original book from 1972 and look at the tiny details on each page every now & then. I'm 26 now & I've bought "A Time To Keep" for my friend's daughters & hope they will enjoy it just as much as I have.

33 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Let's Take Our Cue from Tasha Tudor November 3, 2002

By Terrie

Format:Hardcover

This delightful book of holidays begins when a little girl asks, "Granny, what was it like when Mummy was me?" Tasha Tudor goes on to treat us to a year's worth of wonderful holiday traditions from her life in New England. Charming quotations from literature open each month and herbaceous borders surround each page of nostalgic illustrations depicting myriad family celebrations. The borders start with brown and frozen grasses and flowers festooned with icicles that bud on subsequent pages and send out catkins, then blossoms, then flowers and leaves, then fruits, all in splendid realistic detail. The pictures invite one warmly into the fun and rekindle one's own memories. Tasha reminds us of the delicious foods, the antics of the children, the activities and games, the decorations, the weather, the homespun plays and puppet shows, and the joyful seasonal work. We see big families caught up in living through the wonders of the wheel of the year. Holidays are depicted as the accents to each season, but equally important are the birthdays, the county fairs, cider and maple syrup making time. The people and animals from Tasha Tudor's own experience grace these lovely pages and offer us a glimpse into lives that are filled with love and wonder and appreciation for the beautiful and gentle nuances of living the good life. Simplicity and tradition make the holidays magical and we can all take our cue from this wonderful book and re-examine how we celebrate our traditional holidays. Co-operation and sharing the workload seems to have eliminated stress in these pictures. Creativity and family participation take the place of materialism. Home crafts and delightful cooking and a visible delight in children seem to have banished excessive "partying" and keep the focus on love, comfort, and gratitude. This book is such a treat and it is virtually guaranteed to help put whatever holidays you celebrate into thoughtful perspective.

27 of 27 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A time you may embrace February 15, 2004

By E. R. Bird HALL OF FAMETOP 500 REVIEWER

Format:Hardcover

My favorite book as a child. Bar none. It's difficult for me to look at this book today and not be swept over completely by nostalgia and longing. I especially remember the yearning I would feel after reading this book, when little. In this simple story, a little girl asks her grandma what life was like when her mother was a little girl. The grandmother relates the special activities that would occur seasonally, illustrating the children's life during that time. Each month is accompanied by an appropriate quote that sums up the feelings of that time. One month might have a quote from Mother Goose. Another from Geoffrey Chaucer. Children reading this quotes won't know who they are, but they'll enjoy reading such phrases as, "When the frost is on the punkin and the fodder's in the shock" (James Whitcomb Riley), feeling the emotion behind each quotation.

But it's the storyline that gripped me so tightly as a kid. I wanted to belong to the world Tudor conjured up. An odd period of history that's not quite the pioneer days, but definitely not modern day. Here, people have beetle races and make their own cider. They have sugarhouses and eat maple syrup on the snow (something I always wanted to do). Birthdays are celebrated in mysterious woodland grottos and birthday cakes are sent floating down rivers at night, lit for everyone to see. And of course there are corgis and cats everywhere.

Tudor's illustrations go beyond her scenes. Each picture is contained within beautifully embellished vines that mimic the time of year. Sometimes you'll see red tipped blackbirds flying in the gutters between the pages. Or pussywillows winding about the corners. Then too, the people in these pictures are always having fun. The kids perform their own Midsummer's Eve plays or have exciting Halloween parties. Even those moments when someone is being scared at Halloween, you can usually see some child somewhere acting brave or fully enjoying his moment of surprise.

The only slightly objectionable moment in the book in this book may be a moment of charades in which two boys are dressed like "Indians" preparing to scalp their sister. It's fairly tame when you look at it, and I've seen far more offensive stuff presented in older kids books since then. Beyond that, there is not a single moment of discomfort to be felt. This is a beautiful book that has retained its loveliness as the years go by. Such sweet stories as this do not come along every day. You'd do well to keep this one in mind.