If you like Beatrix Potter–or have kids who like her and her creations like Peter Rabbit–you might be interested in Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.
Written by Linda Elovitz Marshall and illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati, this 2020 picture book follows Potter from childhood through challenges and into success, maturity, and, through quiet implication, her death. (This happens completely off the page, implied through the words “in the end” and the end of the story.)
The book is useful and educational, but on the slight side. There’s no real tension in the story to engage those who aren’t already Potter fans, and none of the surprise and whimsy that marked Potter’s work. But if you love Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail, and want to learn more about their creator, pick this up.
