Beatrix and Her Friends

Gr 2-6–As Lambelet makes plain, by the time she was a young woman, Beatrix ­Potter, with the aid of her brother, Bertram, had transformed their nursery into a zoo. Eventually, they filled it with animals from pet shops and those they had found in the wild. Potter’s relationships are the focus of this narrative, from her beloved rabbit, Peter, to Norman Warne, the publisher of her many books. Warne helped her story based on Peter and Mr. McGregor become “a small book for small hands.” After they became engaged, he died; Potter was devastated but continued writing stories based on all the animal friends. The story follows her to the Lake ­District where she bought a farm and purchased much of the land, intending to preserve it and the wildlife. The drawings are in muted, earthy tones on white backgrounds created from a collage of ­sketches, line drawings, and ­watercolors full of ­delicate detail. From spreads and full-page drawings to smaller vignettes, ­Lambelet’s work features thoughtful surprises, such as fairies hiding in leaves near text about the influence of fairy tales on the artist. The illustrations after Warne’s death are set on black backgrounds and show Potter being comforted by her pets. Her ­famous characters decorate the end papers. The back matter includes a timeline and ­author’s note. ­