“You may leave the Lake District, but once you’ve been, it’ll never leave you…”
Anonymous
After Easter Edie, Bea and I are starting a new home ed curriculum with A Year of Learning that focuses on the magical stories of Beatrix Potter and we are looking forward to meeting all her enchanting characters and learning more about her inspiring life story. We are also going to be learning about lakes and mountains. We are hoping to round off our learning with a trip to The Lake District in September, a place that holds a special place in my heart. Whenever I go back there, the moment that the lakes and fells first come into view it always feels like coming home.
This week we have been reading Beatrix and her Bunnies written by Rebecca Colby and illustrated by Caroline Bonne-Muller.
The story tells of a little girl called Beatrix who lives a lonely life in London. She is a keeper of creatures but none of them makes the perfect playmate. Beatrix dreams of frogs playing leap frog and hopscotch with hedgehogs. We see from the start of the story that this is a girl who loves all living things and has a wonderful imagination. On a family visit to the countryside Beatrix meets Benjamin Bunny and brings him home. They fast became friends and spent all their time together.
Beatrix loved to draw pictures of Benjamin and she drew them incredibly well. After some years Benjamin died leaving Beatrix heartbroken and alone again. Drawing and painting helped Beatrix as she grieved and she loved to visit the countryside and fill her sketchbooks with flowers, fungi and wildlife.
A short time after Beatrix met Peter Rabbit. A lively rabbit who played the tambourine and jumped through hoops. Beatrix Children adored Peter and Beatrix was inspired to write and illustrate a story about Peter and his cousin, Benjamin. She hoped that the story would be published so that her bunnies could live forever. Beatrix had many rejections before finally finding a publisher for her story. People all around the world fell in love with Peter Rabbit and Beatrix Potter sold enough books to enable her to move to a cottage in the country.
It was here that Beatrix wrote so many more stories of all the animal friends that she made while living at Hill Top.
As Beatrix grew older she also shared her love of the countryside. She worked hard to ensure that the land in The Lake District would remain green and free and not be filled with houses. I am so incredibly grateful to her for that.
“Beatrix gave away all her land to friends who promised to look after it, so that the countryside could be enjoyed by everyone. Like her bunnies, she will be remembered forever.”
Beatrix Potter is one of my heroes. I am such a huge fan and love her stories and her own story. She is also a home education success story which I love sharing with my children.
If you want to learn more about Beatrix Potter and use this book in a classroom or other education setting, Rebecca Colby has some wonderful teaching resources for this book and others on her website.
So lovely to read this review. You don’t know me, Jennie, but I am the author of this book and am alerted when people mention it on the internet. If it’s of any interest, there is a teaching and activity guide to the book at my website here: http://www.rebeccacolbybooks.com/teachers/. I hope your children enjoy their home schooling on Beatrix’s books and the Lake District! Please tell them I said hello and a big “thank you” for reading my book. 🙂
Hello
Thank you so much for commenting on the review. I will add a link to the resources as they look wonderful, just like the book which we adore x
Best wishes
Jennie x