Rabbiting On

Around 6.45 each evening, we get a WhatsApp call from Rosie "Please can I have a bedtime story?" It is good for her to have a proper conversation with someone other than Mum and Dad- and she sits, bathed and pyjama-ed, waiting on her bed for the story. "You guys, I've made a stand for the phone with my Lego!" she announced brightly. This has helped, she's a bit of a fidget and I was getting a bit seasick when her screen was bobbing about so much.

We are currently working our way through the Beatrix Potter stories. Bob holds the book, whilst I tell the tale, and vice versa.

BP was one very gifted woman. At the start of the twentieth century, she was already an accomplished artist and scientific illustrator. She wrote a paper on the development of fungi spores- but women were not allowed to present papers, so a friend presented it for her. The work was never published- but to this day, her significant contribution to mycological research is acknowledged.

BP first drew and wrote about Peter Rabbit in 1901, and self-published, as Frederick Warne had turned her down. The 250 copies were so successful that Warne recanted, took her on board and agreed to publish all her little animal stories, provided she illustrated them in colour.

BP felt strongly about merchandising her work- and that all the items should be of the highest quality, and remain faithful to her illustrations. Peter Rabbit is the world's oldest licensed literary character. Here's an early plush toy - made by the German high-end toymakers, Steiff.

She also designed and marketed a Peter Rabbit Race Game. Romance blossomed between Miss Potter and her editor, Norman Warne. The family disapproved, he was 'in trade' - but despite them, the pair got engaged- and sadly Norman died a month later of leukaemia. Beatrix was devastated. She was thirty nine when this all happened. Poor woman!

But by now she was very wealthy from her books - she moved up to her beloved Lake District and purchased a lot of land, and  Hill Top Farm. William Heelis, the solicitor who assisted her in this proposed- they were married in 1912 and lived very happily for 30 years at the farm till her death in 1943.She purchased fifteen farms, and really committed herself to helping the local community. She bequeathed 4000 acres, plus Hill Top to the National Trust on her death - requesting the Farmhouse stay exactly as it was for her. Thousands of visitors see her home each year [well, apart from 2020!]

I confess that at the moment, we are modifying the words a bit. Some of the vocabulary is a little archaic for Rosie, and we cannot stop every two minutes to explain, she loses interest in the plot. I've realised that our two large format books, which have 8 stories in them do not include The Tailor Of Gloucester. That is definitely my favourite- its all about sewing! When the girls were at primary school, we took them up to the Tate Gallery [now 'Tate Britain'] for their special Christmas BP exhibition. They had all sorts of things on show- including, on loan from the V&A the actual waistcoat she had copied for her illustrations.

Rosie seems to like the stories- but has asked where Lily Bobtail is. How do you explain to a child that this character was added in a century later, by an American production company? That this is a 'based-on the stories of..' and not true to the original?

I wonder what BP would make of it? She was a shrewd businesswoman, and might like the marketing - but somehow I think she'd be a little disappointed by the slick animation and alterations to the tales...

You can watch these new stories here on CBeebies. Personally, I'd rather cuddle up, with a little pocket-sized book and read the original tales to Rosie [with Grandad Bob supplying all the sound effects]