If you’re like me and you think of bunnies and books you immediately think about Adventures of the Super Bunny Club. Ok, fine. You’re probably not like me which means you most likely think about Beatrix Potter. Since we’re almost done with March and Women’s History Month, I thought it would be fun to learn a little more about the woman behind the world’s favorite bunny, Peter Rabbit.
Meet Helen Potter (Huh?)
I’m pretty sure when faced to choose between her given name of Helen and her middle name of Beatrix, it might not have seemed that either were all that grand or exciting. But maybe she did. Helen Potter. H. Potter. YAWN. Beatrix Potter! Yes! This is something I can definitely get behind. Plus, Helen was her mother’s name so she could have had mommy issues – it’s not clear.
B is for BAAAAAA!
Admit it, you thought I was going to say B is for Bunny. Well, it most certainly is and it’s one of my favorite B words but it turns out the Helen, I mean Beatrix, was quite enamored with showing and breeding sheep. Frankly, I’m glad she focused more on bunnies but I am a little biased.
B actually is for a Bunny
Benjamin Bouncer (a fine name for a bunny if I do say so myself and Peter Piper were two of Ms. Potter’s bunnies and she first wrote the story of Peter Rabbit as a letter to the son of her former governess. She eventually realized that what she had written amounted to more than just a letter, asked for it back, and wrote Peter Rabbit. And aren’t we all thankful that she did?
Bunnies, Sheep and Fungus?
Beatrix wasn’t just an author and animal lover. She was also quite the famous mycologist or researcher of mushrooms. Back then, this was obviously a field of study typically relegated to men so it’s pretty awesome that she was so ahead of her time.
Never Give Up on Your Dreams
The first rule in Adventures of the Super Bunny Club (an amazing book you really MUST read (ahem)) is to Never Give Up on Your Dreams and it turns out, Beatrix Potter wasn’t all that different from me. She shopped her book Peter Rabbit around but got nothing but rejection letters. Finally (like me), she decided the hell with it and self-published 250 copies of the book herself. One of the publishers who previously rejected her, picked up a copy, picked her up as an author and sold 20,000 copies in the first year. As you can imagine, I SO love this story.
Author, Naturalist, Bunny Lover
I don’t know about you but I love an underdog story especially when the woman is the victor in the end. She knew she had something special and she turned her vision into stories that have been inspiring children and adults for many years. Honestly, I hope to do the same with my book and it’s stories like this that give me the energy to keep going and to never give up on my dreams.
Now you tell me…
Who is your favorite Beatrix Potter character?
author, Peter Rabbit, self-published, writer