beatrix potter

[festive review + recipe] Peter Rabbit: Christmas is Coming (+ a blog break)

~ jama ~ 12 Comments

Merry, merry, and jingle those bells!

Most kids will say that presents are the best part of Christmas, but our mischievous friend Peter Rabbit begs to differ. While he loves presents, what he most looks forward to is all the food!

Luckily, there are many tasty treats to munch on in his advent storybook, Peter Rabbit: Christmas is Coming (Puffin Books, 2020). Written by Rachel Boden and illustrated by Neil Faulkner, this Beatrix Potter inspired delight is the perfect warm and cozy read for families to share as they count down to the big holiday.

The treasury features 25 stories — one for each day of Advent + one for Christmas Day — paired with fun, easy “Christmassy” things to do or make suitable for kids 4+. The ‘stories’ are interlinked, so they can also be enjoyed by independent readers as one long chapter book. This will especially appeal to kids already familiar with the characters in the Peter Rabbit little books, since they feature in longer narratives.

In addition to Peter, his mum Mrs. Rabbit, and his sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail, Peter’s cousin Benjamin Bunny plays a large role in all the action. When you have an enthusiastic partner in crime, almost anything can happen!

In the first story, Peter and Benjamin ‘argue’ over what is truly the best part of Christmas. Benjamin says presents (he wants a bouncy ball), while Peter is adamant about edibles:

I want roasted chestnuts and potatoes and parsnips and carrots and mince pies and cake and . . .

While this spirited sparring is going on, they make their way to Mr. McGregor’s garden (will they ever learn?), where they spy a row of turnips. Yes, they’re hard to dig up and heavy to carry — but Peter decides it’s worth the trouble since his mother could make a nice turnip soup.

After checking that the coast is clear (cat and Mr. M nowhere in sight), they furiously dig and dig and then tug, tug, tug at the turnip’s leaves. The turnip simply won’t budge. They keep tugging, unaware that the cat is sneaking up from behind.

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[review + recipes] V&A Introduces: Beatrix Potter by Katie Woolley and Ginnie Hsu

~ jama ~ 13 Comments

“There is something delicious about writing the first words of a story. You never quite know where they’ll take you. Mine took me here. Where I belong.” ~ Beatrix Potter

Spring is Beatrix Potter time.

Every year as Easter rolls around, I enjoy rereading some of her Peter Rabbit tales and looking for new Potter-related books to add to my growing collection. Happily, there’s always more to learn about this remarkable woman, the world she created via her imagination, and the beautiful countryside she worked so hard to preserve for future generations.

Recently I stumbled upon a charming mini book, the latest title in the popular “V&A Introduces” series that celebrates icons in the world of art and design in collaboration with the Victoria and Albert Museum in London.

Love the pansies endpaper!

Beatrix Potter: Artist, Conservationist, Pioneer by Katie Woolley and Ginnie Hsu (Puffins Books, 2022), is a beautifully illustrated introduction to Potter’s life and accomplishments that includes original photographs and fascinating backstories to several of her most beloved tales.

Carefully curated facts are presented in twelve sections, giving readers a good sense of how unique Beatrix was as a fully self-realized creative who defied societal convention and attained financial independence:

  • Young Beatrice
  • Writing and Drawing
  • Escape to the Country
  • The Tale of Peter Rabbit
  • The Lake District
  • The Tailor of Gloucester
  • The Businesswoman
  • Hill Top Farm
  • Love & Marriage
  • The National Trust
  • Country Living
  • A Lasting Legacy

Peter Rabbit fans will enjoy learning how Beatrix became a master storyteller. As was typical for a girl from a wealthy Victorian family, she was looked after by a nanny and had lessons with a governess. She inherited a love of art from her parents, got lost in stories, and practiced drawing characters from the books she read.

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[whiskery review + recipe] The World of Peter Rabbit: Peter’s Nature Walk

~ jama ~ 13 Comments

Chirp chirp, ribbet ribbet, whoo whoo!

Have you heard the buzzzzzz? Just listen.

This is the time of year when curious bunnies venture out of their burrows for a good look around. Since 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, who better to celebrate Easter with than our good friend Peter?

He’s very excited about his new interactive picture book, Peter’s Nature Walk (Puffin Books, 2023). Just released in February, it tells about his delightful dawn to dusk amble around the countryside with his mother and sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail. 

What makes this book extra special is that on each page there is a special “Press Here” button, so readers can hear the sounds of birds, bugs, and frogs, along with the rustling of leaves and the rummaging of squirrels! There are ten wonderful sounds in all, including opening music, so it feels like we’re right there with them! 🙂

As the story opens, Peter and his family are greeted by the blackbird’s morning song. After breakfast, they head outside, where Mrs. Rabbit points out several nearby trees – oak, horse chestnut, and sycamore (the ladybirds are eating mildew off its leaves) – while Peter’s sisters make bark rubbings. 

As the sun rises higher in the sky, they wander through the meadow for a picnic by the pond, stopping to admire marching ants. Peter learns how crickets and grasshoppers make their sounds. 

When they finally reach the pond, they’re greeted by Mr. Jeremy Fisher, who is surrounded by noisy animals. Not to worry, as Jeremy loves to hear “the ducks quacking and the gentle fluttering of dragonfly wings.” As Peter and his sisters feast on pudding, pie, berries, and tarts, they’re serenaded by the ribbits and croaks of tadpoles who have finally turned into frogs.

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nine cool things on a tuesday

~ jama ~ 18 Comments

1. Happy May! Let’s celebrate this month of flowers with UK artist Lucy Grossmith’s exquisite paintings.

Lucy grew up in the Lincolnshire countryside and now lives and works in Suffolk, England. She’s always been surrounded and inspired by nature and enjoys walking outdoors, where she sketches and makes mental notes of flora, fauna, colors, textures, and weather conditions – all ingredients for her work.

She paints with acrylics on canvas or textured paper, focusing on gardens, wildlife, countryside, and coastal landscapes. 

Love the soft, feminine feel to her pictures and the delicate detail.

For more, visit her Official Website (“heart to art”) where you can purchase original paintings or fine art giclée prints.

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[review + recipe] Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf and Junyi Wu

~ jama ~ 17 Comments

Sometimes in late summer, especially after we‘ve had a lot of rain, giant white mushrooms sprout up in our woods. Their tops can grow as large as dinner plates if the deer don’t take a bite out of them first.

They seem quite magical; I like to imagine fairies or gnomes using the flat mushroom tops as writing desks or tabletops, happily setting out their acorn teacups for special guests.

I actually became more interested in mushrooms about 20 years ago after learning about Beatrix Potter’s fascination with fungi, and then seeing her incredibly beautiful botanical drawings.

While most everyone knows Beatrix as the author and illustrator of the Peter Rabbit books, and perhaps as an ardent conservationist who helped preserve some 4,000 acres of pristine countryside in the Lake District, few may know she was also a dedicated naturalist who devoted about a decade of her life to mycology (the study of fungi), with a special interest in mushrooms.

I was understandably excited when Beatrix Potter, Scientist (Albert Whitman, 2020) came out last summer, because so far it’s the only picture book biography that takes a closer look at this lesser known aspect of Beatrix’s life.

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