Book Review: Beatrix Potter, Scientist

Beatrix Potter, Scientist is a window into worlds that might not be familiar to young children. It takes you on a walk through the life of Beatrix Potter – from childhood curiosity and play to adult science, art and literature.

Readers can really feel a connection to Beatrix in this simple biography and make links to the beautiful books she created throughout her lifetime, that many of us have and still continue to enjoy.

What's Great!

This book is an unusual introduction to the sciences for young children; one that is much more inspirational than your usual ‘get into the sciences’ fare. There were actually a lot of things we loved about this book!

The beautiful and natural hand-coloured and drawn look of the illustrations was not only a tribute to the stunning and playful artworks of Beatrix Potter but they appeal to children as being familiar – they are very reminiscent of childhood drawing and colouring.

The simplification of a biography into a short picture book format makes biographical texts accessible and appealing to even the youngest children.

The text is playful and relatable, Beatrix comes across as an adventurous, inquisitive and creative child – features we like to see in our own children I’m sure!

The text introduces a number of dispositions and skills that are highly sought after in STEM such as curiosity, questioning, detailed observation, accurate drawing & record keeping, experimentation, using scientific equipment (e.g., microscopes), classification, and collaboration.

It is also an exploration of a different time in history and the disadvantages that women faced in the past – especially in the field of science.

The book also excites the imagination by showcasing how experiences in the world can translate into creative and interesting works of art or literature as well.

Outside of the story-like biography there is more background information for those that are curious or older readers who want to dive deeper.

There is also a timeline to explore! (We love looking at timelines, they are such useful visual cues that help us to organise information in ways that are meaningful and easy to understand and link to other information).

Finally, the author has included a bibliography, source notes and further reading at the back of the book. These offer opportunities to explore what these features are with young readers, how to use them effectively, and also offer opportunities to explore the topic introduced in this book further.

What I Didn't Like!

Initially I wasn’t sure if we would love this book, from a quick browse it did seem a little oversimplified but on exploring it with our children we discovered a magic in it that can only be brought to life by the imaginations and understandings unique to small children.

Some things that I wondered about or thought could be modified to make this book even better were:

The transitions between the different life stages and activities of Beatrix in this book seem a little stilted and abrupt – the story would have flowed much better if there were clear delineations between these stages or more of a progression from one life stage to another. I found that my youngest children were relating really well to the story at the beginning when Beatrix was a child but didn’t seem to understand that the character in the story was the same person throughout – I feel that this was because of the way the transitions between life stages were depicted.

It would have been interesting to have the story at the beginning and a second section to the book that stepped through the scientific vocabulary and investigations or more of the history in a more traditional non-fiction style in addition to the ‘More About Beatrix Potter’ section and the timeline – as the book felt a little incomplete and these addons at the end felt rushed and not well thought out.

Explorations Unlocked!

This book was a delightful extension to the Peter Rabbit tales that we’d been reading together for a while, an interesting read, and a pleasurable journey back to our own childhood experiences with Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit.

Explorations on our To Do List are:

Reading other Beatrix Potter tales and exploring the life of Beatrix Potter more (see a collection of books we love below).
Going on nature walks and exploring nature drawing and observation more – and of course, adding to our nature journals.
Playing with our Peter Rabbit Story Stones from The Woodmason.
Peter Rabbit Colouring (you can find some cute free colouring pages here)
The Tale of Peter Rabbit Unit Study and Lapbook (grab it free here!)
Exploring the Peter Rabbit website for lots of fun activities, recipes, games and more!
Check out the Beatrix Potter Society website.
Check out the Victoria and Albert Museum Beatrix Potter Collection.

What I Think About This Book

I recommend this book as a delightful introduction to biographies, history and science for young children, or a fun way to begin exploring the life of Beatrix Potter or natural history for older children. It creates lots of opportunities for conversation and questions and piques curiosity – not just in science, but in the cultures of past times, literature and art. This book would be an excellent addition to any personal library and is suitable for children from 3 years to adult.