Rabbit in the Garden!

Explore the world of small animal adventures by reading a Beatrix Potter book. Choose a favorite scene or character to illustrate from these children's classics.

• 1.

  Read stories by British author and illustrator Beatrix Potter. Get to know her beloved characters. You'll enjoy Peter Rabbit (along with Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cottontail), Benjamin Bunny, and Squirrel Nutkin. Talk with classmates about your favorite characters, story events, and settings.

• 2.

  Research information about Potter's life and her publishing career. She got started as a writer by sending animal stories to a sick child. You'll learn that later she changed careers and raised sheep instead.

• 3.

  Make a garden gate cover for your drawing of a favorite scene in one of Potter's books. Fold a large piece of paper in half and crease. Unfold. Bring each edge to the center. Fold and crease. The folds create your garden gate.

• 4.

  Using Crayola® Colored Pencils, draw a background scene of sky and garden. Accent it with a gate and fence. Use Crayola Markers to highlight the fence.

• 5.

  Open your flaps. Use your imagination to show a favorite scene from a Beatrix Potter story. Which characters are in the scene? Is there a Rabbit in the Garden?

Benefits

• Students read a classic tale from the Beatrix Potter collection, and recognize the main characters and settings of the story.
• Students learn about the extraordinary life of renowned children's author and illustrator Beatrix Potter.
• Students create their own illustration of a favorite character or story by Beatrix Potter.

Adaptations

• Choose a Beatrix Potter character. Write and illustrate a story about it in an original adventure.
• Use Crayola Oil Pastels to create a collage of Beatrix Potter characters.
• Students display their illustrations. Try to identify which story is depicted in each one.