1 is One

1 Is One
by Tasha Tudor/ published 1956 by (I think) some imprint of Macmillan

Tasha Tudor was one of my favorite children's book illustrators when I was a child, and my parents were somewhat obsessed with her. Anyone not familiar with who she is, Tasha Tudor lives her life as it appears in her books. She has to be 93 now, but still lives in in Vermont in a frozen time circa 1830. Making everything from scratch... her home, her furniture, her clothes, her coveted dolls... and raising her children this way, she's created a fantasy life to be admired by anyone who still appreciates the "way things used to be."

5 is five eggs in a pretty round nest
6 is six children all dressed in their best
7 is seven apples on a little apple tree
8 is eight daffodils you are picking for me

My sisters and I had all her books when we were little. This wonderful little counting ditty won a Caldecott honor medal, but my absolute favorite was A Time To Keep with its amazing illustrations of holidays of yore. She and her family still have a thriving home enterprise selling everything from books to prints to handmade grandfather clocks to doll house furniture. The fact that a woman like this ever existed at all is truly a nod to the human spirit.

Also by:
A Time to Keep
Pumpkin Moonshine
First Graces
Five Senses
A Tale for Easter