By: Jason Boog,
on 4/2/2013
What’s your favorite children’s book setting?
The travel site cheapflights.co.uk has published an infographic exploring some of the most beautiful real-life locations from children’s books.
We’ve embedded the complete infographic below along with free digital book links to some of the books for your for your Kindle, iPad or other eReader.
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By: Wendy Orr,
on 12/14/2012
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| my childhood copy |
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| my favourite illustration |
By: Betsy Bird,
on 6/13/2012
#19 The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter (1902)
69 points
Potter never wrote down to children. The size is perfect for little ones to hold and pour over the detailed illustrations. – Natalie
Forever classic. – Rose Marie Moore
Introducing the oldest book to appear on the Top 100 picture book list. I’m a Potter fan myself. To my mind the charm of these books has to do with the fact that Beatrix Potter was a naturalist. She drew realistic animals who just happened to be wearing knickers, breeches, and shiny brass buttons. Somehow, when you draw a realistic animal wearing clothing, that image is infinitely cuter than however many eyelashes and big brown eyes you might choose to bedeck a critter with.
The description from my review reads: “Peter lives, as many of us know, in a large fir tree with his mother and his siblings Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail. His father was baked in a pie (a fact that many parents have decried as too dark for children, and that many children have shrugged at without a second thought). Though instructed by his mother NOT to go digging in Mr. McGregor’s garden, he’s a naughty little thing. His tasty trip is brought up short, however, when he stumbles across the farmer himself. In the course of their chase Peter loses his little blue jacket with the shiny brass buttons and must return to his mother (after a series of close shaves) without it or his shoes. He is promptly put to bed with a cup of chamomile tea (a fate we non-chamomile tea drinkers must assume is harsh) while his siblings eat the tasty blackberries they picked that morning.”
Did Ms. Potter terrorize Roald Dahl and the siblings of Diana Wynne Jones when they were children? That’s the rumor anyway. In working on my Candlewick book (tentative working title: Wild Things: The True and Untold Stories Behind Children’s Books) alongside the wonderful Jules Danielson and late and amazing Peter Sieruta I determined to get to the root of the matter. Was Potter the meanie people desperately want to believe she was, or could it be that someone else was doing the yelling and Ms. Potter was taking the blame? Sorry, folks. I’m going to pull the old you’ll-have-to-read-the-book when it comes out in Fall 2013 card on you.
Considering how long she lived she has a somewhat limited roster. How to account for that? 100 Best Books for Children says of Potter’s later years (when she married and didn’t write) that “Her creative energies appear to have been sparked by unhappiness rather than the deep contentment that came in her later life.”
Of course the story goes that these books were printed small for little child hands. Like the Nutshell Library books, the titles were meant to be little. They’ve been expanded since then (there’s money to be made). In fact The Norton Anthology of Children’s Literature dedicates quite a bit of time to Peter, discussing his many incarnations over the years. They say, “But despite Peter Rabbit’s iconic status, an unauthorized edition was published in the United States in 1982 with new, distinctly American illustrations.” The illustrator in this case was one Allen Atkinson and the pictures are a weird mix of Potter’s color scheme and a more cartoonish take on the animals. Norton goes on to say, “In 1987, Ladybird Books published a new British edition, hoping to broaden the audience by using photographs of stuffed toys and softening the text, on the assumption that children could no longer relate to watercolors and would be upset by Potter’s attitudes toward puni
By: Alicia Padrón,
on 2/22/2012
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By: Alicia Padrón,
on 2/22/2012
By: bookkm,
on 1/31/2012
Peter Rabbi is 110 years old this year!!! And he doesn't look a day over 6 months. No, honestly. However does he do it?
There is an official Peter Rabbit website. It includes information about Beatrix Potter and her other creations, her life and the history of Peter and his friends. There is a Peter Rabbit store for those of us who cannot get enough of this detailed, lifelike-except-for-the-clothes-and-posture rabbit.
By: Maryann Yin,
on 12/12/2011
Over at UneekDollDesigns, artist Debbie Ritter sells handmade dolls of famous authors and celebrated literary characters.
The collection includes the trio of ghosts who haunt Ebenezer Scrooge. Ritter has also created dolls of Jane Eyre from Charlotte Bronte‘s famous novel and Mrs. Haversham from Dickens’ Great Expectations.
Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit come as a matching set. Flavorpill made a list of other dolls, including Shel Silverstein, J.R.R. Tolkien and Joyce Carol Oates. Above, we’ve embedded a Mark Twain doll. What’s your favorite?
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Entertainment company Chorion, owner of characters such as Mr Men, Noddy and those created by Beatrix Potter, faces a reported possible administration this week.
The Sunday Times reports lenders to the company are preparing to force the business into administration, with Deloitte lined up to handle it, after attempts to find fresh funds failed and the Labour peer Lord Alli resigned as chairman.
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By: Betsy Bird,
on 4/25/2011
I feel like the White Rabbit here. No time, no time! We’ll have to do this round-up of Fusenews in a quick quick fashion then. Forgive the brevity! It may be the soul of wit but it is really not my preferred strength. In brief, then!
Dean Trippe, its creator, calls it YA. I call it middle grade. I also call it a great idea that we desperately need. COME ON, DC! Thanks to Hark, a Vagrant for the link.
By: Betsy Bird,
on 8/20/2010
I am indebted to Jenny Schwartzberg for bringing to my attention the fact that the BBC’s extensive archives are offering up recordings of some of the great British Novelists of the past. These are both television and radio programs and they are intoxicating. You can hear the very voice of Virginia Woolf herself. And on the children’s side of things, there are folks like T.H. White, J.R.R. Tolkien, and Penelope Lively. You could get lost in there. Thank you for bringing it to my attention, Jenny.
BBC reported yesterday that actress Emma Thompson has signed a deal with publishers Frederick Warne to write a new Peter Rabbit book. Frederick Warne reportedly asked Thompson to write the book for the 110th anniversary of author Beatrix Potter‘s original Peter Rabbit story.
Now, I’ve got to say, I’ve got mixed feelings about this news. On the one hand, I’ve got the highest respect for Emma Thompson. I think she’s a great actress and just really cool.
But, even though she has written screenplays for the latest Nanny McPhee movie, Nanny McPhee Returns, and Sense & Sensibility, writing screenplays is very different from writing books, much less a children’s book.
But No. 2, why did Frederick Warne ask Ms. Thompson instead of one of the many, many, many wonderful children’s authors around? Because she’s a great writer or because she’s a celebrity? Somehow I think it’s the latter, and to me, that’s not the right reason to give someone a job.
And but No. 3, do we really need a new Peter Rabbit book? Beatrix Potter’s originals are so wonderful, and it’s fantastic that they have been preserved as well as they have and are still being enjoyed by new generations. What will a new book mean to the already-loved books?
Now, I’m not saying that Emma Thompson won’t do a great job, and that the new book won’t be fantastic and really loved by all Peter Rabbit fans, but, I don’t know, this announcement just makes me go “hmmm.”
How do you feel about a new Peter Rabbit book and the hiring of Emma Thompson?
Write On!
photo from www.peterrabbit.com
Over holiday break, I finally watched the movie Miss Potter, starring Renee Zellweger as Beatrix Potter. It was a sensational movie, and I watched it with awe and amazement. Mostly because it was fascinating to see how Beatrix Potter created her books and fought for her books and didn’t even know how much money she had made from her books! If you are a writer of children’s books, I highly recommend watching this movie (especially if you’re an author/illustrator).
Your children may have a treasury of Beatrix Potter books on their bedroom shelves. These are popular gifts to give when children are born or at their first birthdays. Some of the other volumes besides Peter Rabbit (1902) are:
#The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903)
# The Tailor of Gloucester (1903)
# The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (1904)
# The Tale of Two Bad Mice (1904)
# The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (1905)
# The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan (1905)
# The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher (1906)
and many, many, many more!
Why do people still love the cautionary tale of Peter and his siblings: Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, over 100 years after Beatrix Potter wrote and illustrated it? In my opinion, her drawings are wonderful, timeless, and bring her characters to life. Everyone can relate to really wanting to do something naughty like Peter, and sometimes not being able to resist an adventure even when your parents warn you not to do it. Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail provide the “good” example, which children often find themselves also following–thank goodness for their parents. Let’s face it: Peter Rabbit is fun. Beatrix Potter is a wonderful illustrator and storyteller. Those kinds of things are just not going to die.
Parents and teachers have been using Peter and his friends Jeremy Fisher, Benjamin Bunny, and Squirrel Nutkin to discuss right and wrong actions, childhood dilemmas, story elements, and illustration techniques for a century. Let’s hope that this trend continues for another century, at least, Beatrix sticks around! Make sure to check out this great website, The World of Beatrix Potter for more information with a special section for parents and teachers.
BTW, there’s still time to win a copy of Ellen Jensen Abbott’s book, Watersmeet, by leaving a comment on Tuesday or Wednesday’s post until 8:00 p.m. CST.
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By: Anette Heiberg,
on 10/19/2009
Last weekend, during my trip to London, I got inspired by a wonderful exhibition of Beatrix Potter's work at the Victoria & Albert Museum. I got to see all the original illustrations from the book "The Tale of The Flopsy Bunnies." They also had several sketches from the book, including her original book dummy! Isn't that amazing?
By: stacy,
on 9/10/2007
We watched the movie"Miss Potter" last night. It's about Beatrix Potter, who was best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit. I did some research on the real Beatrix Potter afterwards to distinguish which parts of the movie were factual and which were fiction, which I find myself doing alot with these Hollywood movies that seem to dress things up
By: Paige Keiser,
on 2/25/2008
"I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some camomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter! One tablespoon to be taken at bedtime." - from "Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter
This illustration was done in watercolors and charcoal. Anyone know if a charcoal pencil--or something similar to charcoal--that's waterproof? I prefer to outline my images first, but that's not possible with regular charcoal.
I don't know if any of you out there have seen Miss Potter, starring Rene Zellweger, but it's a charming film and romantic to boot. I thought for sure most of it was fiction, but after doing a little research--it happened to be VERY close to the real life of Beatrix Potter. Very very inspiring.
By: Paige Keiser,
on 2/27/2008
"They made little rafts out of twigs, and they paddled away over the water to Owl Island to gather nuts." - The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin by Beatrix Potter
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By: Jama Rattigan,
on 7/28/2008
from THE TAILOR OF GLOUCESTER by Beatrix Potter
(Frederick Warne & Co., Inc., 1903)
"Thank goodness I was never sent to school; it would have rubbed off some of the originality."
~ Beatrix Potter (July 28, 1866 - December 22, 1943)
**BONUS RECIPE in honor of Miss Potter's birthday:
FIERCE BAD RABBIT'S CARROT-RAISIN SALAD
(serves 4)
2 carrots
2 apples
1 rib of celery
1/2 cup raisins
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp lemon juice
1/2 cup mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt
1/4 cup chopped nuts, optional
lettuce leaves
Wash the carrots and scrape with a vegetable peeler. Place a metal grater on a piece of wax paper and grate the carrots, using the large ice-cream-cone-shaped openings of the grater. Put the grated carrots in the mixing bowl.
Wash the apples, but do not peel them. Cut them in half and then in quarters. Cut out the core, and cut the apples into small pieces.
Wash the celery and chop it. Add the celery, apples, and raisins to the carrots. Sprinkle with salt and lemon juice. Stir in mayonnaise, sour cream, or yogurt.
Serve the salad on lettuce leaves and sprinkle with nuts if you like them.
~adapted from Peter Rabbit's Natural Foods Cookbook by Arnold Dobrin (Frederick Warne & Co., 1977).
By: mike r baker,
on 8/25/2008
Challenge: Beatrix Potter
I've been reigning in the "cute factor" for a while now but I figured it would be nice to cut loose. This week's challenge is to illustrate Beatrix Potter's tales!
Here's her books at Project Gutenberg. The challenge is to illustrate a scene from her books in your own style. Have fun!
By: Vanessa Brantley Newton,
on 8/28/2008
They had all decided that they would host a wonderful Tea Party in honor of the woman who gave them human like qualities.
"Here's to our heroine Beatrix Potter. She changed how the humans viewed us and gave us dignity and clothing."
By: Mônica,
on 8/28/2008
When I first started reading about Beatrix Potter, I was fascinated by her illustrated letters: the start of her career as a storyteller and illustrator. So here's my homage to Ms. Potter: my interpretation of her now very famous letter to Noel about a little rabbit named Peter. :-)
By: Candace Trew Camling,
on 8/29/2008
A mouse inspired by the book illustrated by Beatrix Potter, "The Tailor of Gloucester". In the story, the mice make clothes out of the tailor's tiny scraps, and in the end save the day for the tailor!
Candace Illustration
By: Jama Rattigan,
on 4/9/2009
Warning: The following post contains photos of unbearably adorable rabbits capable of blatant emotional manipulation.
Emma, Madeline, Nancy Jane, Nettie, Eloise, and Sylvia don their bonnets and bows for Easter tea.
Well, it's happening again.
My ears are growing, and my nose is twitching. That can only mean one thing.
It's carrot time!
photo mosaic from mkasahara's photostream
Wait a minute. Wait a minute! Don't you mean rabbit time?
photo by S. Das
Time for all of us soft, cute, furry bunnies to melt hearts everywhere?
photo by Madeleine
I don't know about you, but here in New Hampshire it's not even spring yet.
photo by Madeleine
Carrots? Did someone say carrots?
photo by faisalee
Bleckk! I'd rather have cake.
photo by jpockele
Here's one with marzipan veggies and everything.
photo by Cake Doctor
Oh, this one looks nice.
photo by atnaturesmercy
I know! Let's make our own Easter cake. Miss Potter will help us.
First, we'll go to her garden:
WE HAVE A LITTLE GARDEN
Garden at Beatrix Potter's Hill Top Farm, Near Sawrey, England
photo by gobucks2
We have a little garden,
A garden of our own,
And every day we water there
The seeds that we have sown.
We love our little garden,
And tend it with such care,
You will not find a faded leaf
Or blighted blossom there.
I'm sure carrots are growing there. Oh, who's that?
THE LITTLE BLACK RABBIT
photo by Martin Sweeney
Now who is this knocking
at Cottontail's door?
Tap tappit! Tap tappit!
She's heard it before?
And when she peeps out
there is nobody there,
but a present of carrots
put down on the stair.
Hark! I hear it again!
Tap, tap, tappit! Tap
tappit!
Why -- I really believe it's a
little black rabbit!
Be a bunny this year, and bake a cake for those you love. Here's my favorite Easter cake recipe. We like to serve ours on Peter Rabbit plates, and don't mind getting frosting on our whiskers!
14 CARROT CAKE
(serves a bunch of bunnies)
Beat together:
2 cups sugar
1-1/2 cups oil
4 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
Sift together:
2 cups flour
1-2 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. salt
2 tsp. baking powder
1-1/2 tsp. baking soda
Combine egg mixture with flour mixture.
Then, combine:
2 cups grated carrots
1 (8-1/2 oz.) can drained pineapple
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Add this to the batter.
Place a paper towel on the bottom of a 9" x 13" pan.
Add batter, then bake at 350 degrees for 45-50 minutes. Cook until slightly pulled away from the pan. Cool completely before frosting.
CREAM CHEESE FROSTING
1 1b. powdered sugar
8 T soft butter
8 oz. cream cheese
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
*Alternately, you can bake this in two 8 or 9" round cake pans.
NOTES:
This cake is almost foolproof, unless you overbake it. Otherwise, it's moist, moist, moist.
It's so delicious that hundreds of rabbits (or people dressed as rabbits), may follow you everywhere, twitching their noses and begging for more.
Have a Hippity Hoppity Easter! I'll see you next week!
To read my post, "Tea with Miss Potter," click here.
*Poems are from Beatrix Potter's Nursery Rhyme Book (F. Warne & Co., 1984).
By: Jama Rattigan,
on 7/28/2009
Today is Beatrix Potter's 143rd birthday!!
I'm a huge fan and sucker for anything Beatrix related -- books, china and pottery, apparel, figurines, stuffed animals, stickers, stationery, you name it. I'm so obsessed that I even named our dining room after one of my fave BP books. While other normal people decorate their dining rooms with sophisticated window treatments and/or floral centerpieces, ours boasts "Roly Poly Pudding" in blue and green stand up letters.
I can't help it, really. Just seeing those three words makes me deeply happy. They're adorable, delicious, so very British. And if any of our dinner guests misbehave, we can always roll them up in a pudding (mmwwwaahahahahaha)!
The Roly-Poly Pudding was the original name for this tale, first published in 1908. It's all about the time Tom Kitten finds himself confronted under the attic floorboards by two very large rats, Samuel Whiskers and his wife, Anna Maria. They decide to butter him up and roll him in dough to make a delicious pudding. Roly poly, roly poly! The character of Samuel was based on Beatrix's own fancy rat, Sammy, whom she describes as "the intelligent pink-eyed representative of a persecuted (but irrepressible) race and affectionate little friend, and most accomplished thief." Irrepressible indeed, as he somehow got the book renamed in 1926. Typical rat.
Cornelius (licking his chops) convinces Kitty to re-enact the famous rolling scene.
Have you ever eaten a roly-poly pudding? It's commonly known as Jam Roly-Poly, a simple dessert consisting of jam spread over dough, which is rolled up and baked. Celebrate Miss Potter's birthday by making your own Jam Roly-Poly (recipe here).
photo by Chico68.
For the full effect, drown it in warm custard.
photo by Sandy49.
The animated version of The Tale of Samuel Whiskers can be found in three parts on YouTube (adorable, adorable). I've embedded the best part, where Tom gets rolled in the dough. If you prefer to watch it from the beginning, click here.
Happy Birthday, Beatrix!
Mosaic by lillipops.
Uh-oh.
Kitty gets the last roll!
♥ Other Beatrix Potter posts on this blog:
"Tea with Miss Potter" (recipe for Blueberry Muffins)
"Fierce Bad Rabbit's Carrot Raisin Salad"
"Of Bonnets and Bunnies, Carrots and Cakes" (includes recipe for Carrot Cake).
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
By: Marya Jansen-Gruber,
on 7/28/2009
When I was a little girl growing up on the island of Cyprus, I had a record that I listened to over and over again. It was a recording of Vivien Leigh reading some of Beatrix Potter's most well known stories. Soon Mrs. Tiggywinkle, Hunca Munca, Peter Rabbit, and Mrs. Tittlemouse were old friends of mine.
By: Katie B.,
on 10/2/2009
Borders’ Educator Appreciation Week Offers 30% Discount
Through October 7th, current and retired educators can save 30% on in-store purchases for personal or classroom use when they bring proof of educator status.
Don’t read that! The secret lives of book banners
In celebration of Banned Books Week (September 26 through October 3), the Chicago Tribune’s Julia Keller shares her first encounter with banned books.
A rainy National Book Festival whets readers’ appetites
In case you missed last weekend’s National Book Festival, the L.A. Times provides a great recap of the Washington, DC event, which boasted record-breaking attendence.
Kids Paying More Attention to Nonfiction
“Nonfiction is gaining more popularity with younger readers, according to the Children’s Choices Booklist-an annual list in which students read, critique, and vote for their favorite books.”
To help boys, school creates the poster men for reading
A Philadelphia school created the “Real Men Read” campaign to locally address a national concern – boys falling behind academically, particularly in literacy – which is achieving impressive results.
Anderson University to dedicate space for rare children’s books
Anderson University’s rare books collection contains approximately 6,000 books—many of which are first editions—by authors such as A.A. Milne (Winnie the Pooh), Beatrix Potter (The Tale of Peter Rabbit), and Maurice Sendak (Where the Wild Things Are).
Her picture books are very popular in Japan too.
My parents also gave me the books in my childhood.
I got to want to watch the movie "Miss Potter".
I've not watched it yet.
This is such a wonderful post Alicia! Beatrix Potter is one of my very favorites too. Thank you for reminding me about "Miss Potter". I think I'll try to track it down today to watch it again! :)
one of the best presents I was ever presented was "Beatrix Potter: A Journal" ;) I love her, too... she is very inspiring for women as well... being that she made enough to support herself as well, which was rare during her day.
nice post, ;)
lol!! Beatrix is my hero, too, Ali!!! From the very beginning of my journey, I have loved Beatrix Potter! And of course, I bought the movie as soon as it was available and have watched it over and over again, along with the documentary that came with it. :) Thanks for this sweet post!!
I'm glad to hear she is your hero too you guys! Yes, Mai, that makes it even more remarkable... She did all that being a woman in a man's world. :o)