Hunca Munca, The Tale of Two Bad Mice, Beatrix Potter
Beatrix Potter was the illustrator and author of some of the most famous British children’s books to date. She illustrated all 23 of her ‘The tale of’ children’s books; the most famous of which would be ‘The tale of Peter Rabbit’ which she self published after having been turned down by six publishers as the pictures weren’t in colour (colour being rather popular at the time but made for rather expensive books. A good thing for the publishers but it meant that poorer children wouldn’t be able to read her story). Her stories were of the antics of various house pets and wildlife that she spent most of her childhood studying and drawing first-hand. While cutesy, her tales have no real moral or lesson to teach; they have been described as “pretty close to a series of immoral tales” by Humphrey Carpenter which is true in most ways as her tales tend to be misadventures of naughty animals, focusing mainly on the mishaps and not on the consequences or punishment. Most people can say that they know at least one of Beatrix Potter’s characters or stories, the illustrations are so beautifully drawn and stay with you right trough to your adult life. My favorite was always ‘The Tale of Two Bad Mice’. I suggest visiting the official Beatrix Potter website at http://www.peterrabbit.com/home.asp because there is so much more fascinating information on her that I can’t cover with this blog.
