Beatrix Potter & the Unfortunate Tale of a Borrowed Guinea Pig

Gr 1–4—Told in the form of a letter from Hopkinson to readers, this story details an incident in which Beatrix Potter borrowed a beloved guinea pig from a neighbor to use as a model for her painting. The poor creature met its unfortunate demise overnight, leaving Potter crushed and more than a little mortified. This picture book homage to the beloved children's author and illustrator emphasizes how her love of animals and painting led to the creation of her famous tales. Hopkinson calibrates her own lyrical prose to mirror Potter's whimsical style, which adds a layer of nostalgia. Voake's sweet pen and watercolor paintings also conjure the spirit of Potter yet remain wholly original. While Potter's own diaries were used as inspiration, the time line and ending were adjusted to suit this slightly fictionalized biography more effectively, which Hopkinson discusses in an appended note. (Though Potter is portrayed as a young girl here, in reality she was 26 when the event occurred.) Pair this selection with Jeanette Winter's Beatrix (Farrar, 2003) and Potter's own work to create a magical storytime or author study.