Today, July 6, 2005 is the 119th birthday of Beatrix Potter, the lady who created Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, Mrs. Tiggywinkle, Jemima Puddleduck, and so very many other figures of my childhood. I grew up on those stories and loved all of them. My mother gave my son a complete set of the Beatrix Potter stories when he was an infant and they, alng with Dr. Seuss, were what he learned to read.
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Happy Birthday, Peter Rabbit!
- Thread starter FullerH
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Esav Benyamin
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It's also George W. Bush's birthday! 
Ashes, you are not the only one. There is a British author and artist who made a graphic novel using the Beatrix Potter style. It is by Bryan Talbot and it is titled "The Tale of One Bad Rat". It is NOT, however, a sweet children's, even one of the sort that Beatrix Potter wrote. It deals with child sexual abuse and it is recommended by treatment centers for victims of that hideous crime. The book deals very squarely with the issue and it shows one path to resolution. As one who has had it happen to those for whom I care deeply, I found the book very helpful and have given copies of it to one or two.Ashes said:I like Beatrix Potter a lot. I collect old childrens' books that have good illustrations in them. I use them for inspiration.
~ashes
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Hugh, I don't remember ever reading Beatrix Potter's books, but I did read the Old Mother West Wind series as a youngster. That was another good set, I believe similar in level and content.
Ashes, the illustrations in kid's books were something that I always enjoyed. One of my favorite books of all time is The Wind in the Willows. The illustrations in the copy that I had as a kid were by Arthur Rackham. It took me awhile, but I found a reprint with the same illustrations. They really make the book complete. A lot of the books that I had were saved by my parents from their own childhood, in the 1920s and 1930s. Almost all of them had beautifully painted illustrations. The illustrators really seemed to put some time into it back then.
Ashes, the illustrations in kid's books were something that I always enjoyed. One of my favorite books of all time is The Wind in the Willows. The illustrations in the copy that I had as a kid were by Arthur Rackham. It took me awhile, but I found a reprint with the same illustrations. They really make the book complete. A lot of the books that I had were saved by my parents from their own childhood, in the 1920s and 1930s. Almost all of them had beautifully painted illustrations. The illustrators really seemed to put some time into it back then.
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Happy Birthday, Peter!
You were certainly instrumental in showing me the glow that could exist within the printed word.
But the credit for turning that glow into a brightly burning flame must go to a friend of yours on the other side of the wood: Freddy The Pig. Created by Walter R. Brooks and illustrated by Kurt Wiese.
It was Walter Brooks who allowed me to see the most wonderfully colored scenes in my mind where, seconds before, there had been only blotches of black ink on paper.
It was Peter Rabbit who encouraged me to become a reader; it was Freddy The Pig who convinced me to become a writer.
My heartfelt thanks to both of you.
You were certainly instrumental in showing me the glow that could exist within the printed word.
But the credit for turning that glow into a brightly burning flame must go to a friend of yours on the other side of the wood: Freddy The Pig. Created by Walter R. Brooks and illustrated by Kurt Wiese.
It was Walter Brooks who allowed me to see the most wonderfully colored scenes in my mind where, seconds before, there had been only blotches of black ink on paper.
It was Peter Rabbit who encouraged me to become a reader; it was Freddy The Pig who convinced me to become a writer.
My heartfelt thanks to both of you.
Esav Benyamin
MidniteSuperMod
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- 90,915
He's a friend of John Howard, you know, the Australian politician who's birthday is coming up on July 26th.
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Hugh, I read The Tale of One Bad Rat many years ago, I hope it won an award of some kind. I still have it. And two rats
Esav Benyamin
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It was also the Dalai Lama's birthday!
Om mani padme hum;
Gimme a piece of bubble gum!
Om mani padme hum;
Gimme a piece of bubble gum!
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speaking of Children's books, have any of you read "The bad Child's book of Beasts" , "More beasts for Worse Children", and "A Moral Alphabet", by Hillaire Belloc? They are hilarious examples of turn-of-the-centuryEnglish wit. You can usually find them published as one, with wonderful illustrations by BTB.
A couple of examples:
The Hippopotamus
I shoot the Hippopotamus
With bullets made of platinum,
Because if I use leaden ones
His hide is sure to flatten 'em.
The Microbe
The Microbe is so very small
You cannot make him out at all,
But many sanguine people hope
To see him through a microscope.
His jointed tongue that lies beneath
A hundred curious rows of teeth;
His seven tufted tails with lots
Of lovely pink and purple spots,
On each of which a pattern stands,
Composed of forty separate bands;
His eyebrows of a tender green;
All these have never yet been seen--
But Scientists, who ought to know,
Assure us that they must be so....
Oh! let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about!
A couple of examples:
The Hippopotamus
I shoot the Hippopotamus
With bullets made of platinum,
Because if I use leaden ones
His hide is sure to flatten 'em.
The Microbe
The Microbe is so very small
You cannot make him out at all,
But many sanguine people hope
To see him through a microscope.
His jointed tongue that lies beneath
A hundred curious rows of teeth;
His seven tufted tails with lots
Of lovely pink and purple spots,
On each of which a pattern stands,
Composed of forty separate bands;
His eyebrows of a tender green;
All these have never yet been seen--
But Scientists, who ought to know,
Assure us that they must be so....
Oh! let us never, never doubt
What nobody is sure about!