detail ... "The Birch Swing" by Tasha TudorThe Springs of Joy
By  Tasha Tudor

1979, Rand McNally; Reprinted in 1998 by Simon & Schuster. Quarto format and printed in full colour

This is a collection of illustrated quotes. The children are shown barefooted virtually throughout; on the third page Tasha Tudor herself is shown as a barefoot woman of about thirty in long dress and bonnet, sketching two barefooted little girls. Not one of the quotes refers to bare feet. At the end of the book a publisher's note tells us about the simplicity of Tasha Tudor's way of life: "Candle-lit rooms, food cooked at an open hearth, weaving, and basket-making... children and adults dressed in charming styles of another day." The pervasive barefootedness is ignored, though: the picture singled out for mention is of a little girl (Laura, otherwise always barefoot) wearing snow-shoes!

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