Tasha Tudor and Family

Tasha Tudor was born in Boston, USA on August 28, 1915 and died on June 18, 2008 at the age of 92. She was a famous American illustrator and picture book writer.

Tashas father was an aircraft and yacht designer, and her mother was a portrait painter. Her childhood home was often visited by celebrities from all walks of life, such as Thoreau, Mark Twain, Edison, Einstein, etc.

Tashas parents divorced when she was 8 years old, and she was adopted by her mothers friend. At the age of 9, she lived on a relatives farm. At the age of 15, she became fascinated with painting and agriculture, dropped out of the Boston School of Arts and Crafts, began a pastoral life, and bought her first cow with the money she earned from teaching in a nursery.

At the age of 23, Tasha published her debut novel "Pumpkin Moonlight". In the same year, she got married and moved to the family farm in Connecticut, where there was no electricity or running water, and everything was done by manpower. She and her husband had four children and raised cattle, chickens, ducks, geese and other animals on the farm. Some of her picture books were based on life on this farm. Later, she won the Caldecott Medal for her picture book "1 Is One".
At the age of 42, Tasha divorced and raised four children as a single mother. At the age of 54, she moved to "Grandma Tashas Cottage", which has a farmhouse, garden and cows, and she lived the life she wanted. At the age of 56, she bought land in Vermont and built an 18th-century style house, including a garden, orchard, vegetable field, pond, etc. She lived there for 37 years, growing flowers and vegetables, feeding chickens and sheep, spinning and weaving, sewing clothes, and making soup with firewood. All supplies such as soap and candles were made by hand.

Tasha devoted her life to childrens illustrations and published more than 20 picture books, which were loved by people all over the world. She has illustrated many classic childrens books, such as "The Secret Garden", "The Wind in the Willows", "The Night Before Christmas", "Mother Gooses Fairy Tales", etc.

In her works, most of them are simple watercolors, with pencil or pen outlines, and the contents of the paintings are real things in her life. Her works are full of love for life and praise for nature, and are evaluated as "emitting a special light. Her picture books allow childrens imagination to enter history, peoples hearts, family life, and love of friendship."

Tashas lifestyle and attitude are loved and appreciated by many people. Her story has also been made into documentaries, such as "Tasha Tudor, a Life in the Countryside" which took Japanese director Mitsue Matsutani ten years to create.