![]() ![]() Then there’s their opponent, the owl, who never replies to the prancing and taunting.Unlike Peter Rabbit in his little blue jacket, these squirrels are not wearing clothes, but they do use their bushy tails as sails for their log boats, which elevates them into the human realm. The squirrels, who can talk (riddles) and who are basically children in the bodies of squirrels. ![]() The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is interesting in its inclusion of three different levels of animal-ness in the one story: We have humans in animal-shaped bodies at the top and outright ordinary animals at the bottom. A while back I quoted a continuum of animal-ness in (mostly) children’s literature. When you think of Beatrix Potter, you probably think of ‘talking animal’ stories. Though the page turns and small size of the book are a vital component of the reading experience, you can read The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin at Project Gutenberg, as Beatrix Potter’s work is now in the public domain. Squirrel Nutkin is an example of a story from the First Age of Children’s Literature, though Beatrix Potter herself did much to usher in the more modern style of children’s story. ![]() The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin (1903) is the second picture book written and illustrated by Beatrix Potter. ![]()
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