I grew up watching the Beatrix Potter stories on VHS, with the beautiful intro song by Miriam Stockley.

The collection is sweet and perfect; I love the classic illustrations. I was surprised that I knew as many of the stories that I did. I enjoyed listening to the audio version read by Nadia May, too, since she has a British accent.

I think this is one that all children should be brought up on! ( )

Questo è libro è stato uno dei capisaldi della mia infanzia (e infatti la mia edizione ha un'aria molto letta e vissuta). E, secondo me, è uno dei quei libri che tutti i bambini dovrebbero ascoltare e vedere.

Sì, perché il libro è impreziosito - è proprio il caso di dirlo - dalle illustrazioni originali dell'autrice. Piccole opere d'arte dipinte ad acquarello o in bianco e nero, nelle quali un bambino può ammirare conigli in giacchetta azzurra e anatre con cuffia e scialle. Tutto è assolutamente realistico perché Beatrix Potter utilizzava veri conigli, anatre, maiali, etc... come modelli. Viveva e amava la campagna che descriveva e raffigurava nei suoi disegni.

Le storie sono di quelle che si ricordano per tutta la vita... Peter Coniglio, la Signora Trovatutto, il Sarto di Gloucester, Nutkin lo Scoiattolo, la Signora Topolina, Timmy Puntappiè... sono quei personaggi che un bambino ama, sogna e disegna come protagonisti delle sue personali avventure.

Per i più grandi, ogni storia ha una brevissima introduzione sulle vicende compositive ed editoriali che ne hanno portato alla pubblicazione. ( )

Beautifully illustrated. The stories and characters are still charming and magical even re-reading as an adult. ( )

I will get through this whole review without using the word "charming."

Beatrix Potter is a hero of mine. She was a talented illustrator who wanted to do nature drawings for scientific journals. Her claim to fame ended up being Peter Rabbit. This plus 21 other tiny little books of tales served as my bedtime reading this week. We found a complete boxed set at a used book store. While I was familiar with Peter Rabbit, had read Beatrix's bio, and named a goat after her, I had never read the complete tales until now.

It was a joy. Apart from the fact that the animals wear clothing, the illustrations and even many of the tales are very true to life. Peter Rabbit looks and feels very bunnylike indeed after losing his shoes and coat, lost and disoriented and damp from hiding in the watering can. The dogs, mice, badgers, frogs, "puddleducks", hens, piglets, etc. inhabiting this world, while engaging in people-like pursuits, keep their respective animal natures about them. One of my favorite tales involved two mice ransacking a dollhouse. After trying and failing to eat the tiny plaster food, they commence making a general mess and then spiriting various objects down their mousehole. Very mousey. Next morning, the dolls just stare and smile.

Beatrix lost her fiance tragically during a long engagement insisted upon by her parents, to whom she felt duty but little more. When they had both passed away, and she had inherited and earned money enough, she left the city she never liked and bought herself a farm among her beloved lakes. She came to life. And she was instrumental in preserving the local breed of sheep. I just felt like putting in a plug of why she's my hero. ( )

What a nostalgic and fun read this was. I read Beatrix Potter’s stories as a child and reading them again now was a delight. I adore her illustrations and appreciated the humor I missed when I was young. ( )