BEATRIX POTTER

Wallner (Betsy Ross, 1994) has written a beginning biography of a woman as familiar to children as Mother Goose, but whose life is much easier to track. An easy-to-read, factual text, a straightforward chronological organization, and colorful, faux-naãf paintings of well-researched settings characterize the approach. She helpfully includes an afterword listing Potter's twenty-three animal tales for children, but no bibliography or source notes. Several children's biographies of Potter are in print; it's good to have one for this audience. (Picture book/biography. 6-9)