Yesterday, I went to one of our local museums, the ROM (Royal Ontario Museum). There's a special exhibit there, all about Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit. Not only was it really beautifully done but it was also very interesting and I learned a lot about Potter that I never knew. For example, she never went to school and was tutored at home by governesses. She kept all manner of live animal *pets* in her bedroom upstairs in her house, which her parents never knew about!
Not only was she an accomplished artist and author, but she was quite the visionary: she was one of the very first to recognize the value of *spin-off* merchandise from her books. There were Peter Rabbit plush toys, puzzles and colouring books from the time of her very first publication, all on display at the exhibit!! As well, in her later years, she was also a farmer and environmentalist!
In the exhibit were many original pages and full copies of her early books, as well as letters to and from early acquaintances and publishers. Also, several specimens of insects, butterflies and the most amazing bat skeleton!!
If this exhibit ever comes to a museum near you, it is really fun to have a look! There's also lots of interactive stuff, for kids (big and little!) It's great nostalgia, too, if you ever read Peter Rabbit as a kid. Peter and many of the other bunnies were drawn and based on her own real rabbit pets, btw. Below is the link to the website's profile of this wonderful exhibit. Have a look :love: :
http://www.toronto.com/profile/825471/
