Some of the `English For Fun´ students have been learning about Beatrix Potter. This is what they found out.

Beatrix Potter was born on the 28th of July, 1866. She was brought up in London. She had a brother called Bertram, who was sent away to boarding school when he was 6 years old. She didn’t go to school. She was taught at home. Her parents didn’t allow her to have any friends. She had a lonely childhood. She had lots of pets. She loved animals. She liked drawing them. When she was 16 years old she had her first holiday in the English Lake District. She loved the countryside. She watched the squirrels in the woods and saw many rabbits in the garden. She made lots of sketches. She returned to the Lake District every summer holiday.

She wrote her first book, Peter Rabbit, in 1902. In 1905 she bought a little farm called Hill Top in Sawrey. Sawrey is a beautiful little village in the Lake District. She wrote 23 little books of stories and verses. Her stories were often connected to real places, animals or people. She married her husband Willam in 1913. She became a farmer.

Beatrix Potter died in 1943 and gave her farm and land to the British National Trust. Her books are now one of the most successful children’s series in the world. They have been translated into 15 languages.

Beatrix Potter wrote the famous story abaout Peter Rabbit. A favourite story at `English For Fun´is `A Tale abouit a Tail´. This is about a naughty squirrel called Squirrel Nutkin who nearly gets eaten by old Mr Brown Owl! It’s a great story to read in Autumn.