The Tale of Hill Top Farm (The Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter, #1) in Around the World in 80 Books

Jun 19, 2023 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: audio-avail-ill, hoopla, british, hf, library-request, animals, libby, ill-request, e-audio-hold, library

4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this, my first book by this author.

Reasons to read this:

- You’re in the mood for a cozy
- You enjoy the British countryside (Lake District)
- You like it when animals are characters in books, and have conversations they understand, while the humans don’t. They are often more perceptive than the humans also.
- You’re in the mood for an English village story (I thought about Doc Martin many times while reading)
- You’re a Beatrix Potter fan
- You enjoy a mystery, but 4.5 stars. I thoroughly enjoyed this, my first book by this author.

Reasons to read this:

- You’re in the mood for a cozy
- You enjoy the British countryside (Lake District)
- You like it when animals are characters in books, and have conversations they understand, while the humans don’t. They are often more perceptive than the humans also.
- You’re in the mood for an English village story (I thought about Doc Martin many times while reading)
- You’re a Beatrix Potter fan
- You enjoy a mystery, but prefer them on the lighter side, with little or no violence/sex
- There is humor and a sensitivity in Albert’s writing style
- First of a series, readily available for library download
- This is loosely based on Beatrix Potter’s life. There is an author note and a historical note with references, if you’re interested in learning more about the author. The Tale of Peter Rabbit is one of the first children’s books I can remember reading and loving. She was an artist and a naturalist and I just love her illustrations.
- There is a child character in here who I just love, also an artist, whom Beatrix takes under her wing, and I’m really interested to see how that storyline develops.

Challenges:
- There are many human and animal characters to keep track of, which was a little overwhelming at first. I read a review though where someone said to stay with it bc it’s worth it, and I do believe she was right - also there is a Cast of Characters
- This is supposed to be a light read, and for me it was over too soon. Thankfully the author has written about a bajillion books, and I think this series alone has eight volumes.

There was so much great information, not just in the story, but in the notes, about Beatrix Potter, and I am left wanting to know more about her life. She was born in the Victorian era, to a fairly well-off family, but with many restrictions due to her class and gender. We see in this volume her need to throw off those constraints. It’s almost like she is a butterfly who’s just broken out of the chrysalis, and we start to see her flex her wings, but we don’t see a full flight just yet. Another reason to continue the series.

Highly recommended in both book and audio versions. ...more

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Jul 12, 2009 Wanda rated it it was amazing

The first of a series of books entitled Cottage Tales of Beatrix Potter. These stories are based on the life of Beatrix Potter when she moves to the Lake District to write and farm. Within each mystery that she helps to solve are the animals who are really the successful detectives. The animals, both her pets and those in residence, lead the humans to the truth. Delightful stories and entertaining.

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