NATURE OF
THOUGHTS ON THE
Nostalgia
Perhaps the book on the top of the list for our family was Corgiville Fair by Tasha Tudor. Published in 1971, it is still in print today, but try to get a copy from the early printings as the color is brighter. This picture book is set in a turn of the century New England village, Corgiville, located “West of New Hampshire and East of Vermont.” The quaint post-colonial town is inhabited by “corgis, cats, rabbits, and boggarts.” Boggarts are wild trolls from Sweden. The story involves a county fair, small town rivalries, and a fixed goat race. The story is fun but it is Tasha Tudor’s illustrations that make this such a treasure. The detailed watercolors are perfect for small children. My sister and I would spend hours immersed in the intricate illustrations that gave such a fantastical portrait of a mythic but surprisingly realistic small town. There is simply no way to make your way through this book quickly.
It is also nostalgia at its stickiest. Whenever people utter the phrase “Good old days”, this is what they have in mind, only without corgis, boggarts, cats, and rabbits. According to my mother, this is the perfect baby shower or baby birthday present. Years later, teenagers would tell us how much they enjoyed the book so I am continuing her tradition.
Right now I’m going off to buy back some of my childhood and buy golden memories for a small being about to enter the world.
Reverie Fair / Oct. 2015 22
By Barbara Barrows