Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf

Her scientific ambitions were dashed, but Beatrix Potter turned the natural world into beloved art.

Beatrix Potter, Scientist by Lindsay H. Metcalf, illustrated by Junyi Wu. Whitman & Company, 2020, 32 pages.

Reading Level: Picture book, ages 4-8

Recommended for: ages 5-10

“Beatrix is a girl of science, even if she may not know it yet.” During the summer, while her family vacations in northern England, she follows the kindly postman about his round, both observing and appreciating nature. At home in London, she and her brother observed their many pets—some of them smuggled in while their mother wasn’t looking. When the short-lived creatures passed away—“after she cries”—Beatrix carefully took them apart to observe their bone and muscle structure.

Her experiments with mushroom spores led to an actual scientific breakthrough that the men of the Royal Botanic Gardens failed to adequately recognize, and that ended Miss Potter’s scientific career. But her fame was just beginning: “She follows her muse to a place where science informs art. A place of whimsy, grounded in fact.” Peter Rabbit, and a host of other woodland creatures, came to life and will live forever. The charm of those characters, and their creator, comes through in pastel drawings reflecting the glow of the countryside and natural world.

Overall Rating: 4.25 (out of 5)

• Worldview/moral value: 4
• Artistic/literary value: 4.5

Also at Redeemed Reader

Review: Saving the Countryside tells a similar story, and was WORLD Magazine’s Picture Book of the Year.

Reflection: Get to know Beatrix Potter in this retrospective by Hayley.

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