What books can be interesting for our future children or students? Which authors may be more suitable for them? Today I present to you one of those authors: Beatrix Potter.
Beatrix Potter was born in London, UK in 1866 and died on 1943.
She was a writer, a fabulist, an Illustrator (she made all the drawings of her books), a mycology scientific (she was one of the first people to suggest that lichens were a symbiotic relationship between fungi and algae), a naturalist person (this aspect help her to represent her characters), etc.
She belonged to a wealth Unitarian family. During her childhood, her parents decided not to give her an education, leaving all her care in the hands of nannies and governesses.
According Beatrix Potter was growing this relationship with her parents was going to worsen because they believed that none of her family should work (as they believed a higher social status) and did not understand the desire to study of her daughter.
She was rejected because she was a woman in the Royal Botanic Gardens in Kew where she wanted to study even her uncle (who felt a great predilection for her) try to support her, this was the reason because she could not carry with the publishing of her study of mycology.
At the end when she wrote her books, she had difficulty finding a publisher for them. When she found him, their relationship was so close that she maintained a relationship (not recognized by their parents) with him until his death before they can marry, his name was Norman Warne.
In 1880 she received the ART AWARD in the South Kensington Museum for drawing and freehand.
Also she write a secret diary where Beatrix appeared as a shy person but in her diary she was able to express herself openly, and she was critic of the artists and politicians of those days.
Her books could be divided into two stages: From 1902 until 1920, and from 1922 to 1930. Her main works are:
- The tale of Peter Rabbit (1902)
- The tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903)
- The tailor of Squirrel Nutkin
- The tailor of Gloucester
- The tale of Benjamin Bunny
- The tale of Mr.Jeremy Fisher
- The tale of Timmy Tiptoes (1911)
- Cecily Parsley’s Nursery Rhymes (1922)
The main point of these books was that, these books are prepared for the use of children: they are “easy handle” (smaller), with a big letter adaptated to children and also they are catchy for the children with the use of animal as characters.
I leave some links in case you want to have more information of this great author, or also view some of her stories turned into cartoon:
Awards
http://www.peterrabbit.com/en/beatrix_potter/beatrixs_life/237_art_award
Games for children
http://www.peterrabbit.com/en/fun_and_games
Life
http://mujeresparapensar.wordpress.com/2008/02/11/beatrix-potter/
Beatrix Potter
http://elpais.com/diario/2007/02/10/viajero/1171144626_850215.html
http://derechoaleer.org/blog/2014/01/bienvenida-al-dominio-publico-beatrix-potter.html
Films
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOGe51k_9eU
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RSHGpAlCt00