Beatrix Books

This book is so different than the average children stories! My 4year old loves it, mostly for the illustrations, I love it for the language used. The descriptions are wonderful, if only I could speak or write this way. It exposes us both to great timeless stories.

This was a great find for my grandchildren that we have temporary custody of. I love sitting in the rocking chair with my 2 1/2 - year old Sarah and cuddling up with these wonderful stories! This is a great quality book, and the illustrations are wonderful! It will get a lot of use, and look beautiful for years to come. Don't pass this one up. It's great for creating memories with your children and grandchildren.

I got this for a baby shower gift for someone. I wanted to give something that could last. I ended up buying one for myself. It's a trip down memory lane reading the sweet stories and looking at the beautiful pictures. I hope my friend's baby has great memories growing up with these stories as I did.

This is a lovely book that comes in a sturdy, decorative, open-eneded box to protect the volume. Besides containing all of Beatrix Potter's wonderful children's stories, it has all of the original illustrations in one volume. This is the perfect "bedtime story" book, and it sits on the nightstand next to my 11-old-granddaughter's bed. She reads the stories to her 3-year-old sister every night, and is planning on continuing the tradition with her 1-year-old brother. She told me that she is enjoying the stories as much as her little sister!

I purchased this book as a gift for their family, and, as a proud grandmother, I can't think of anything that costs so little and yet gives so much. I would recommend this book for anyone! I am going to purchase another copy for my own house, just in case I have guests who show up with little ones. It's a perfect addition to anyone's library, and I highly recommend it.

This book is beautifully presented and a true gem for any library or child's collection. All of the stories are presented in the order in which they were written and published. All of the original illustrations are there as well.

I highly recommend this book....it is reasonably priced and complete.

This was a wonderful surprise: bigger and more creative/fun then I even expected. A great gift to a fan of her books

I am so glad I purchased this! I am a huge Beatrix Potter fan and this is a wonderful book to own. It has fantastic detail!

As I explored this peak into the life of Beatrix Potter, I cried softly because it has been brought together so beautifully. There are surprises as I turned each page that made me smile. She was such a pioneer on so many levels at a time when women "had their place". Her inquisitive mind & creative skills are a gift to all of us. I have dusted off my pencils, pens & sketch book due to the inspiration I feel. I am very proud to have this Journal in my library, and have bought more copies for family & friends so they can share with theirs. Thank You!

This work of fiction looks, feels and reads like a real journal, full of love, tender memories, and feels to me like it captured some tiny sense of what it must have been like to be Miss Potter. I search for words to express how highly I recommend this book; every one in my family that has enjoyed it felt a sense of excitement and wonder and awe. And the photos are so endearing!

'Beatrix Potter: A Journal" is a beautifully bound keepsake that Beatirx Potter fans will cherish for years to come. It is presented in the form of a journal or rather an album, and basically contains journal entries dating back to when Beatrix was 16 years old and had begun discovering wonderful things that helped her evolve into the creative writer and creator of Peter Rabbit and friends.

The journal is beautifully put together - there are old family pictures, reproductions of Beatrix's original sketches and drawings, personal documents [e.g. Beatrix's old report card] - what a delight to peruse these treasures. The journal entries themselves make for absorbing reading - though they are in cursive form and younger reders may need help with deciphering what is written. There are reproductions of letters to family and friends,delightful illustrations throughout the journal. Of interest is information as to how certain characters in The Tale of Peter Rabbit and Friends was inspired by real-life people, such as the character of Farmer McGregor.

There are many lift-the-flap features in this journal that makes it even more of a treat - there's an envelope containing a reproduction of the letter which contains the story of Peter Rabbit complete with illustrations, a map of the beautiful Lake District, a paper version of the game of Peter Rabbit, and the prize jewel in this journal - right at the end of the journal, embedded into it, is a little book "The Tale of Peter Rabbit"! One would not know it, for it is concealed so well - and indeed a delight to peruse.

I can't recommend this highly enough. I am a life-long fan of Beatrix Potter and my three-year old daughter is following in my footsteps. It is such a treat to be able to share this book with her!

Books arrived within seven days of purchase - excellent service when you consider they travelled more than 12,000 miles to Australia.

Excellent, elegant, always fascinating. Something the you shouldn't miss in your library. A great way to introduce Miss Potter's work to your chindren.

I've bought the books for the kids I will have someday, but the beautiful box was damaged when I opened it. I've tried to return it, but the shipment costs are high... Amazon should be more responsable for it! But the histories are lovely...

I bought this box as a gift to my family, as we have always loved the stories by Beatrix Potter. We've had a couple of books standing in the bookshelf since we (the parents of the family) were small ourselves. We have two boys ages 6 and 3, and both of them have fallen in love with Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny and the rest of the animals.

The box itself is both handy and pretty, and we placed it directly in our bookshelf. The books inside are the same as the ones that can be bought separately, and they all contain Potter's beautiful artwork and well-written stories.

All in all we, the whole faily, are very pleased with this buy. It just couldn't get better.

I'm also really pleased with the prices here at Amazon, as we would have to pay about $300 for this boxed set in Norway.

This is a wonderful collection in a beautiful box. I purchased it for my daughter's first birthday because I wanted to get her something more lasting than a toy. I was given the 12 book collection as a child, and The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin was the first book I ever read by myself. I remember loving how the small books were perfectly suited to my small hands. (Thus, if you are thinking about getting the book with the complete collection in one, I would not recommend it for a child. It would be better for a budget conscious person to get a collection with fewer books.) The stories are so appealing and timeless, and the illustrations are just beautiful. The price may be high, but I consider it to be an investment, and one that I highly recommend.

This is a fascinatingly detailed, engrossing account of the brilliant, eccentric Potter's life, whom the author describes as a determined yet vulnerable woman ahead of her time. Who would have known she was a scientist, stockbreeder, and conservation pioneer as well as her familiar role as beloved artist? The stereotypical portrait of shy recluse due to enforced imprisonment by her parents is examined and put into proper perspective, and the familiar tragic love affair with Norman Warne and the later marriage to William Heelis are both sensitively explored, but the writer doesn't allow these emotional ties to overshadow Potter's individuality and accomplishments. Illustrated with many photographs and samples of unpublished Potter artwork. I think it's the best book yet on the subject and well worth the price.

If you are familiar with the English Lake District or just an Anglophile you will enjoy this wonderfully detailed book on the life of Beatrix Potter. I wizzed through it's over 400 pages. Potter was an amazing woman who lived an interesting life and left an extraordinary legacy both in literature and property. You will never see "Peter Rabbit" the same way again!

I think other reviewers nicely report the life of Beatrix Potter as very interesting. The categories included in the "Select Bibliography" show the breadth of further investigation that can be stimulated by the book: Biography and Criticism; Agriculture; Children's Literature, Art and Photography; Contemporaries; Environmental History; The Lake District; Mycology, Paleontology, and Archeology; Religion: Unitarians and Quakers; Science and Natural History; Women.

I have never read any of Beatrix Potters books and never really knew anything about her. One day I discovered the movie Miss Potter with my favourite actress and I felt I wanted to know more about Beatrix Potter. I bought this book and it was quite boring! I think to relly enjoy it you have to have a true interest in B.Potter. This book bored me. Personally I thought it was a 3-star but give it 4 since it written extremly well.

A highly detailed account of the entire family of this great writer/painter. Very complete and entertaining.

The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood covering 24th of April 1907 to May 1st, is the third of the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter by Susan Wittig Albert. Miss Felicia Frummety is not keeping the rat population down at Hill Top Farm and the village cats have issued an ultimatum. Ridley Rattail has had it with the rowdy rats that have moved into the attic so he posts an ad for cats to rid himself of these undesirables. Of course the humans have their share of problems, Major Kittridge has returned to Sawrey with a wife, dashing the hope of Dimity Woodcock. The village is invited to meet the new lady of the manor but rumors are rampant when it's learned she was an actress. There's also the rumor that the Major is planning to develop his shoreline property. The Vicar's cousin and his wife have moved in and the Vicar is far too kind to toss them even after they've outstayed his patience. Jeremy Crosfield, who is an excellent student, has to leave school and start his apprenticeship since he can't afford to continue his schooling -- the animals and humans are concerned about this event. And Beatrice arrives once again to spend some time at her farm.

Okay, up front I have to say I'm really enjoying these books. The interweaving of the various threads balancing the point of view of the humans and the animals is seamless. With each book, I gain more respect for Albert's ability to slip her stories into the undocumented bits of the Beatrix Potter timeline. She also maintains that playful seriousness that I also found in the Potter's little books. The characters are fully developed and while the mysteries are light they are ones that would have serious impact on the people of the story and their environment.

In this story, the small folk of the woods, fairies play a part. Are they real? Well I think that's for each of us to decide, and the author plays the story with a light hand to give us all a chance to believe as we will. After all if you can accept talking animals then are fairies that much of a stretch?

These are perfect books for when you are feeling a bit down. They are just the thing to help restore your believe in the inherent goodness of humankind and to help you see the world around in a different light. No, I don't think the author has a message to hit us with; she just tells a good story with a light touch that leaves us feeling more upbeat and in this summer's heat that's a wonder in itself.

My wife read it from cover to cover in two days, what more can I say. Too bad I'm not a murder mystery fan...

If the village of Near Sawrey put out its weekly newspaper about the fortnight during which this story takes place, some of the headlines would read: "Major Christopher Kittredge returns to Raven Hall with his Lovely New Bride" and "Rat Explosion at Hill Top Farm Threatens Village" and "Village Plans May Day Celebration" and perhaps "Stay Clear of the Cuckoo Brow Wood on May Eve." The society column might feature: "Miss Beatrix Potter Returns to Hill Top Farm" and "Local Society Attends Grand Reception at Raven Hall." As salacious as these headlines might be, the devil is in the details.

The third in Susan Wittig Albert's Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series continues to enchant both grownups and young women edging toward adulthood. How lovely it is to curl up with a book about an old-fashioned, out-of-the-way English Lake Country village, complete with sheep birthing lambs and delectable smells coming from the village bakery, with dogs, cats, rats, and other four-legged animals conversing so sensibly. With just that, however, the tale could become dull in no time. So throw in a few wicked, scheming adults, some rowdy, shameless rats, a few mercenary cats, a bit of romance, some children who need a bit of help, and, of course, Miss Potter, and you have a rousing tale.

Albert builds the tale and weaves multiple plots with skill and charm. And all is resolved satisfactorily, except for the question of whether or not there are really fairies in Cuckoo Brow Wood. To find out what the story is behind each headline, you must read and revel in The Tale of Cuckoo Brow Wood.

by Judith Helburn
for Story Circle Book Reviews
www.storycirclebookreviews.org
reviewing books by, for, and about women

These are just wonderful stories - for children, for fans of Beatix Potter, for anyone who enjoys mystery and fantasy. I picked up these books quite by accident, and found them reminiscent of my old favorite classics like "A Secret Garden." Very interesting stories - both as stand alone books and as part of the series.

This third book in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter is just as much fun and as charming as the first two. It makes you want to find the Potter illustrations from her "little books," so that the faces and personalities of the people involved in the stories become even more familiar.
With the world as it is now, it's a joy (and a relief) to immerse oneself in the world of a century ago with the friends one met in childhood.

Especially for those who are passionate about Beatrix Potter. Sewall and Dubay do an excellent job in showcasing items often overlooked in other price guides. This is not to imply this book is simly a price guide. It is much more - a true delight!

Charming book documents Beswick, Royal Doulton, Royal Albert, Wedgwood, Crummles, Eden Plush, Giants, Pull Toys, Musical Toys Hand Puppets, Beanie Babies, etc., Schmid Music Boxes, Anri, Border Fine Arts Figurines, Steiff, Tins, R. John Wright, etc. by author Debby DuBay, foreword by Potter expert Judy Taylor, highlighting Kara and John Sewall's private collection. Fabulous colored photographs with complete descriptions and a value under each. This price guide is easy to read and the only one I could find on general B. Potter collectibles. Highly recommend this lovely yet inexpensive book.

Collecting is wonderful and documenting a collection is an honor that Ms. Dubay has bestowed on her friends the Sewall's. There are many books on the market that go into Ms. Potter's life like expert Judy Taylor who wrote the foreword for this book! As a novice collector, of many porcelain pieces, this is the first book I could find that has the values and is actually a useful price guide for the diverse Potter collector. I highly recommend.

I have collected Beatrix Potter for many years and finally a price guide is available on many of the pieces I have collected. I highly recommend this book to collectors of Beatrix Potter memorabilia from Wedgwood, Crummles, Schmid Music Boxes, etc., from the 1970s to today. LOVE this price guide!

This charming book opens with Debby DuBay chatting away on how she met the Miss Potter and collector of today - Kara Sewall. I love this book and highly recommend it to all collectors, Peter Rabbit and Potter fans. Thanks to Debby DuBay for another charming book; she has a unique way of inviting us into her life and the lives of her friends and then getting us addicted to whatever the subject is that she is documenting. I am now a Limoges and Potter collector.

you can feel the love that went into the research for this beautiful book; the stories and pictures flow so easily; i could almost see ms potter and her mr hellis puttering in a garden or floating in a boat across some breathtaking bit of water. well done.

This book was a real pleasure to read very slowly. It is a room by room description of Beatrix Potter's Hill Top farm house and includes the gardens. Beatrix started journaling about what she loved in a home from the time she was nine years old and this house is the cummulation of a life long interest in interior and exterior design theory. She fit in with the whole Arts and Crafts movement of the time. The house was deliberatly her largest artistic creation, she didn't actually live there very much. Again, it is a beautiful book and has many fasinating details about Beatrix Potter, her family and her times.

Being the big fan of Beatrox Potter, the woman and not just the author I was overjoyed to get this as a gift recently and the book is a treat for the eyes. While it has pages and pages of stunning photographs as well as her own water colours, it is the text and complete history of her farms that is awesome.

That and reading and seeing photographs of her as well as her farms and reading why she bought each property and the breeds of sheep she raised was of special interest to me. I loved seeing the inside of her farms, although I had seen the inside of a few, via the National Land Trust to whom she left her properties.

I loved the photographs of Beatrix and how she was so eccentric, kind yet firm and a woman ahead of her time. And it was nice to read that she was a true homestead style woman who had the waste not want not mentality, as well as a deep appreciation for quality and hated to see old bridges torn down for modern ones, although she was quick to make sure the stones and plants, wood and other things being discarded by some, didn't end up in some dump area but were recycled into new walls and buildings and plantings on her property.

This is a book a cottage gardener, keeper of sheep. painters, stone masons and anyone who loves working with their hands will love. As well as sincere environmentalists and organic gardeners and farmers.

A gorgeous collection of photos and information
about one of my most favorite children story writers.

What a beautiful book. Clear, inviting photos, and interesting information. A book you will enjoy reading and sharing.

Beatrix is so well rounded, because she is a poet and an artist she naturally treats her food creations the same way. What I love about this book is how she gives ME permission to put a pinch of this and not have to be so literal as a teaspoon of whatever. Not only are her paintings wonderful, and her poetry from a loving place but every recipe I've tried to date has turned out delicious. This is a great gift item.

The delicious recipes in this beautiful book are based on dishes served at the White Lotus Foundation yoga center in Santa Barbara, California. These meals are often prepared for worn-out urbanites looking to recharge their batteries, so the emphasis is both on proper nutrition and taste. Every time I eat one of these dishes I feel more healthy, and the paintings and poetry in the book inspire me to take better care of myself. Anyone who cares about fine food must add this book to their personal library.

The next best thing to being at White Lotus and having Beatrix cook for you, and sit around the counter as she shares her wonderful stories is owning "The Art of Taste". On my first retreat to The White Lotus Foundation where Beatrix is the resident chef I was inspired to purchase "The Art of Taste". Beatrix spoiled us all with her exquisite ability to bring out the most amazing tastes in vegetables and creatively combine them to create the tastiest, healthiest food imaginable. Not being an avid cook, I found the recipes easy to follow and received raved reviews - even from my meat loving family who loved the vegan lasagna.

Not only will Beatrix' culinary creativity nourish you, but also will her poetry and paintings interspersed throughout the book. I highly recommend this book to vegans, vegetarians and anyone who loves deliciously healthy food.

The Art of Taste is a wonderful compilation of unique vegetarian recipes. There is room for the user to be creative and have fun with the recipes and in that way differs from normal cookbooks where one feels they must follow the recipe to the exact letter to achieve a desired result. Had some problems with measurements - perhaps the author wants the reader to think a little too much for him/herself so I hope in succeeding editions that sizes of pans and measurements are more exact. But overall, I think its a wonderful guide and makes an excellent gift.

The recipes are tasty and easy to prepare. Vegetarians and non-vegetarians alike will enjoy the delicious recipe ideas. The author's creative insights into nutritious, gourmet vegetarian food converted me to a vegetarian almost two years ago. Enjoy these wonderful healthy recipes.

This childrens book of the classic Beatrix Potter stories is hardbound in a large attractive cover. The illustrations are all wonderfull, and average three pictures per page next to the text which goes along with the scene. My now three year old loves this book.

My mother bought this for my kids, and this is an excellent gift for bedtime, or anytime stories for children. Classics like these are wonderfull to read to children so they can be passed on from generation to generation.

I had several of the small Beatrix Potter books as a child. The drawings and stories enchanted me, and the books were just the right size for my hands. This book is much bigger. It also includes more stories than my original collection--nineteen. It is easy to find the Peter Rabbit stories and some of the others in the small books--but some of the stories in this book (such as the wonderful "The Story Of A Fierce Bad Rabbit") I've never seen for sale in individual form. So, if you loved these stories as a child or if you want to introduce them to a child in your life, this large and beautiful book is a good choice. However, when I have children of my own I'll probably also buy a set of the small books, because I enjoyed them so much in that form myself.

I got this book when i was seven from my grandmother i'm 19 now and still love to read it from time to time. I have loved this book most of my life and i'm buying it today for my sisters kids.

As a father, I'm looking for what's best for my little girl. Other than The Bible, a book of tales filled with mischief and fun such as this is always something you can go back to. I remember my parents reading me "The Tale of Peter Rabbit", yet picking this up, I flipped through it with my daughter like a pirate who discovered a hidden treasure.

I knew all about Benjamin Bunny, Squirrel Nutkin, even the Two Bad Mice! Getting the treasury of Beatrix Potter was like WOW! This is a lot of good stuff, and while a little advanced, kids normally get the meaning and lesson through every story. I loved reading stuff like "The Floppsy Bunnies" and going to Tom Kitten, while wondering about stuff I don't remember reading like Jemima Puddle-Duck. Also remembering the hilarity of "The tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan", to the somberness of "The Tailor of Gloucester.

Do your kids a favor and get them this Potter, the one we grew up with! This is what I've been looking for, and hopefully parents who actually give a care will do the same. Awesome stuff!

It is wonderful to find all of these stories in one volume, and the illustrations are as beautiful as ever. Beatrix Potter was truly a great artist and storyteller. The lessons young ones learn from these tales are priceless, like many of the greatest fables. Over the years, I have acquired many Beatrix Potter books and collectibles. This volume stands out as one of the most prized items in my collection.

Enjoyable, entertaining, and light-hearted, the mysteries in this series are good clean fun. A great escape that comforts instead of shocks or terrifies.

Her reception from her disapproving parents is so icy; Beatrix Potter decides to cut off her visit and leave London immediately. She returns to her home Hill Top Farm in the Lake District. Ironically she gets trapped in a blizzard that reminds her of the frozen welcome of her family.

Beatrix learns that neighbor Hugh Wickstead was killed in an accident when a tree limb fell on him. Some locals believe he died due to the curse of an ancient treasure trove he found. Beatrix knows humans are inane allowing their imagination to come up with ridiculous stories. She turns to the more honest animals to help her investigate how Hugh died.

The latest Potter Cottage Tale (see THE TALE OF CUCKOO BROW WOOD and THE TALE OF HAWTHORN HOUSE) is an engaging historical mystery that uses personification to combine fact and fantasy into a fine mystery. The fun in the TALE OF BRIAR BANK lies with that convergence as Beatrix talks to the late Hugh's fox terrier Pickles; co-star as a store owner in THE TALE OF GINGER AND PICKLES. This is a fun entry in a delightfully charming series.

Harriet Klausner

A true storyteller puts your mind to work and pulls you into the story. Susan Wittig Albert is a master at this skill with her latest offering in the Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter series. The Tale of Briar Bank is laced with local gossip and conversation. No person (or animal) is neglected; no voice is considered too small and insignificant. Each chapter draws the reader deeper into the story while we remain "safely hidden behind the penny postcard rack."

In early 1900's England, there be dragons! They are very tricky creatures and appear in varied guises. Beatrix Potter has made her escape, albeit temporary, from her dreary life in London with its resident dragon, only to find more dragons waiting in her pleasant heart-home of the Land between the Lakes. A record early snow storm grants her a brief reprieve from returning to the life her parents and society would choose for her, leaving Miss Potter in Near Sawrey with time to contemplate her heart's desires, catch up on local gossip, help out a few friends and maybe solve the mystery behind the strange rumors and unusual circumstances of the death of an antiquities collector.

A unique blend of history and mystery unfolds as the inhabitants of the small, old fashioned village go about their gossipy ways. Which eligible male was seen with one of the ladies? Is there romance in the air with more than one couple? Where is the treasure the antiquities collector was rumored to have found? Will the villagers be isolated because the ferry is broken and the roads impassable? If only the animals could talk...no,wait...they can! The Big Folk (humans) can't understand them, but the talking animals offer dimensions of the story that just aren't possible when the narrative is conveyed only through human characters. Join Beatrix Potter, the village residents and the animals of the Land Between the Lakes as they band together to solve the mystery of Briar Bank. And try to count how many dragons appear in this fun cozy that will entertain teens, adults and all Beatrix Potter fans.

by Rhonda Esakov
for Story Circle Book Reviews
reviewing books by, for, and about women

How this author can transform herself into this bewitching tale and also be successful in her thoroughly modern China Bayles mysteries - is a bewilderment to me. She is successful at both. If you are an admirer (and purchaser) of all the "Tales" you don't have to be told to suspend your belief system and enter with joy. If you are incapable of shedding your frown - don't read this series. It is a charming story of human and animal involvement in a small village and in the life of the very real Beatrix Potter. I relish my time with these little books - they transport me into such a winsome world that I am distressed in completing the book. Purchase the entire set and read from the beginning. You will not be sorry. They will improve your worldly outlook.

Avid fans are now familiar with Miss Potter's retreats to her properties in the Land Between the Lakes ... and with her propensity for unraveling some of the mysteries that occur there. Here, it's December 1909, and Beatrix arrives just in time for a substantial snowfall that effectively maroons the Sawrey residents. She welcomes the fact that she's cut off from London. But a double tragedy has already taken place: Hugh Wickstead is dead, and Lady Longford's hay barn has burned down. Were both incidents accidents? Where is the Viking treasure that Wickstead supposedly found? Was he as cursed as the village gossips say he was? What is Mr. Heelis' relationship with Sarah Barwick? (Or with Miss Potter, for that matter?) And in a subplot twist that could easily be contemporary: the bank is about to foreclose on Courier Cottage, the home of the Suttons and their eight children. Can their hired girl Deidre find a way to get the veterinarian's customers to finally pay their bills?

As usual, the tale is told in omniscient style by a chatty off-screen narrator, mimicking the style found in Miss Potter's very own children's books. And again, as usual, the animals of the region take center stage. In the coziness of the underground Brockery, Bosworth Badger and his guests discuss the recent events over dinner and even make new, unexpected friends. What a pity that the humans do not follow the Badger Rules of Thumb! And what a pity that the humans never listen to what the animals have to say. We, as the ultimate eavesdroppers, have the benefit of hearing both sides.

Susan Wittig Albert continues to weave interesting storylines while maintaining the basics of historical integrity. To those who enjoy quirky mysteries that include "talking" animals: Here be good reading.