I keep stumbling across pockets of ignorance about children’s books. One of those was that I had not heard of Tasha Tudor until last week. Some of this is understandable: she was born in 1915 (and died in 2008), and so is very much part of an earlier age. However, she published around 100 picture books, and won the Caldecott twice (and the Regina Medal for her contributions to children’s literature), and has an society dedicated to her work, the Tasha Tudor Society.
So, the failing was mostly mine, and I picked up Alexander the Gander to remedy this. Published in 1939, Alexander the Gander tells a story that echoes Peter Rabbit and his adventures. Little Sylvie Ann walks to the pond with her dog and two geese. One of them (Alexander) spies some “heliotrope pansies” growing in a neighbor’s garden. He tries to eat some, but is hustled off. The girl and her pets go to the pond for some gentle exploration, but Alexander can’t forget those pansies, and doubles back to get some. He eats his way through the vegetable garden and is headed for the pansies when the gardener sees him and screams, frightening him off.
Sylvie Ann makes him apologize, and the gardener (Mrs. Fillow) shares some tea and cookies with the Sylvie Ann and some biscuits with the animals. A happy resolution…except that the final page admits Alexander was never really sorry, and still steals veggies–and pansies–any chance he gets.
So, a small story, on a small scale, published in a small book, with pleasant but contained illustrations: the book is organized with one page of text facing one page with a floating image, both presented with a lot of white space around them.
