Beatrix Potter

Children's Literature - Susie Wilde

Children who were once raised on the lovely language of the tales of Beatrix Potter, can now be welcomed into the world of biography with this picture book presentation of her life. Wallner's illustrations are filled with small details, a facet that Potter would certainly approve. Wallner wisely concentrates a good bit of the book on Potter's young life. Not only does this help children connect with a life removed from them by time and geography, but aids them in understanding how Potter's lonely life of overprotection and illness led to her creative imagination, connection with animals and nature, and amazing powers of observation. The book also shows the difficulty and eventual triumph of a talented young woman's battle against the limiting mores of nineteenth century English conventions.

School Library Journal

Gr 2-4-A delightfully illustrated, inviting introduction to the woman who created Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and many other enduring characters. Though Potter's artwork is not reproduced here, Wallner's paintings beautifully capture the seasons of the British author/illustrator's life. In a palette that ranges from the ripe melons and soft greens of a summer garden to the cool blues and purples of a lonely room in winter, she conveys the subject's love of the natural world and its inhabitants. While there are a number of chapter books about Potter, including David R. Collins's The Country Artist (Carolrhoda, 1989), this picture-book biography is a simply and engagingly told addition for young readers.-Kristin Lott, East Brunswick Public Library, NJ

Susan Dove Lempke

Though Beatrix Potter's childhood was both lonely and isolated, it gave her plenty of opportunity for practicing painting and drawing and for closely observing the secret store of animals she kept. Stymied by gender in her quest to publish her scientific research on mushrooms, she reworked a story she had once written in a letter, thus beginning a very successful career as a children's writer and creating such memorable animal folk as Peter Rabbit, Jemima Puddle-Duck, and Tom Kitten. In the final third of her life, Potter married and turned her attention to farming and conservation. Wallner simply and clearly outlines Potter's life, without sweetening the sometimes bleak, unhappy periods. Her paintings incorporate many of the natural motifs found in Potter's work, but her flat, folk-art technique in no way imitates Potter's style. For almost 100 years, Potter's cast of refreshingly naughty creatures has entertained readers, and this book is a fine choice to help children learn about the characters' creator.