Saving the Countryside

The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit

Little Bee Books

(pub. 1.28.2020) 

40 pages

A True Tale with

A Cherry On Top   

A uthor: Linda Elovitz Marshall
       and illustrator: Ilaria Urbinati

C haracter:  Beatrix Potter

O verview:

 

"Growing up in London, Beatrix Potter felt the restraints of Victorian times. Girls didn't go to school and weren't expected to work. But she longed to do something important, something that truly mattered. As Beatrix spent her summers in the country and found inspiration in nature, it was through this passion that her creativity flourished. 

There, she crafted The Tale of Peter Rabbit. She would eventually move to the countryside full-time, but developers sought to change the land. To save it, Beatrix used the money from the success of her books and bought acres and acres of land and farms to prevent the development of the countryside that both she and Peter Rabbit so cherished. Because of her efforts, it's been preserved just as she left it.

This beautiful picture book shines a light on Beatrix Potter's lesser-known history and her desire to do something for the greater good."

T antalizing taste: 
 

"The Tale of Peter Rabbit was of no interest to most publishers. One publisher considered it, but he took such a long time and Beatrix could not keep waiting.

So, using money she'd earned from drawing Benjamin Bouncer on holiday cards, Beatrix had 250 copies of the Tale of Peter Rabbit printed.

She put the books up for sale. Every copy sold.

She order more copies. They sold, too!

The Tale of Peter Rabbit was such a success that, at last, the publisher made her an offer. Beatrix Potter struck a deal!

Beatrix made sure that her beautiful little books would not cost too much.  She wanted everyone to be able to buy them."

And something more:  The Author's Note explains Linda Elovitz Marshall's inspiration for writing the book: "In 2018, I participated in a 'literary ramble,' visiting England with a group of children's authors and illustrators.... On arrival in Near Sawrey, in the Lake District where Beatrix Potter had lived, my heart did a flip-flop! It was March, a rather dreary time of the  year, yet the countryside - the hills, lakes, and farms - sang to me. How could it be that, after so many years, the area looked exactly as it did in Beatrix Potter's little books? ...The mystery was solved! The Lake District looked undeveloped and peaceful because of Beatrix Potter. She helped save the area from trains running through it, from farms being split into housing developments, and from the myriad intrusions of the developments of city life....She bought more than four thousand acres of land and donated it all to the National Trust, the United Kingdom organization that preserves places of historical or natural interest. What a woman!"