The Fairy Caravan (A Young Puffin Story Book) [Paperback]

Beatrix Potter (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: November 4, 1986 | Series: A Young Puffin Story Book

A facsimile of the original Beatrix Potter story of a miniature circus.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943). Her passion for the natural world lay behind the creation of her famous little books. A particular source of inspiration was the Lake District where she lived for the last thirty years of her life as a farmer and conservationist. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Paperback: 192 pages
• Publisher: Puffin (November 4, 1986)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0140318232
• ISBN-13: 978-0140318234
• Product Dimensions: 20 x 20 x 20 inches
• Shipping Weight: 5 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #3,991,414 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943)was a writer and illustrator. The Lake District where she lived for the last thirty years of her life as a farmer and conservationist was a particular source of her inspiration, and her passion for the natural world lay behind the creation of her famous little books.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Forgotten classic!, February 17, 2007

By 

Lynnie Bean (Cincinnati, OH USA) - See all my reviews

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This review is from: Fairy Caravan (Paperback)

A wonderful book by a great author! Unlike the Peter Rabbit books, this is written for older children (225 pages), and for grown-ups who enjoy reading books like Wind in the Willows and the Narnia series.

Tuppeny the guinea pig, victim of some all-too-successful patent hair-growing elixir, joins a Travelling Circus and meets Sandy the Highland terrier, Pony Billy, Paddy the Pig (who doubles as the Pygmy Elephant for the Circus), Xarifa the Dormouse, Jane Ferret, and others. They travel about, putting on shows for the animals of the farms and countryside in turn-of-the-century England.

The stories are incredibly sweet, not over-simple, and the incident where Paddy Pig gets lost in the Fairy Hill of Oaks is rather eerie, and reminded me of the meeting with the god Pan in Wind in the Willows. There is a useful glossary of antique British words used in the story (like "snod" for snug).

I don't know how this classic animal tale managed to get lost, but it is definitely about time it was rediscovered!

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Pleasant, meandering children's story, September 8, 2008

By 

wiredweird "wiredweird" (Earth, or somewhere nearby) - See all my reviews
(HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)   

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This review is from: Fairy Caravan (Paperback)

Although I grew up on Peter Rabbit and his fellows, and on Potter's gorgeous watercolors of them, I heard of this one only when I was well into adulthood. That's too bad, since "Fairy Caravan" would have enriched my childhood as much as the others did.

The story opens on a village of guinea pigs, with the frocks, waistcoats, and walking sticks proper to the late-Victorian era. As one might expect, this town has its own social strata and fine grades within that hierarchy. Tuppenny, the character that this book follows, lies at the low end of the lower rung. A mishap with a hair potion turns him into a furry curiosity - not what one wants to be in this staid and strait-laced community. So, Tuppenny runs away and joins a circus. This traveling band of gentle and genteel fraudsters wanders from town to town, presenting their unthreatening amusements. Despite the slightly wicked, "gypsy" sense of this troupe, they are an affectionate bunch. They harm no one and nothing, unless you count some slightly scuffed truths and bruised gullibilities. They accept Tuppenny immdiately, finding his oddity as welcome in their band as it was unwelcome back in the village. Then the group is off, finding tame adventures across the English countryside.

Perhaps this book's format has done something to inhibit its popularity. The subject matter suits the "read to me" kid. Sparse, plain illustration puts it more in the "chapter book" category, though. But even there, any child old enough to master its broad and dated vocabulary would likely be too old for this gentle and drama-free wanderings. This might work best when read aloud, to small listeners not too media-sodden to have mental imagery their own. "Fairy Caravan" really does deserve to be better known.

-- wiredweird

4.0 out of 5 stars Modified Classic, February 16, 2011

By 

Christina B. Conroy "Music Lover" (NYC) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

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This review is from: Fairy Caravan (Paperback)

I have loved this book since childhod and am happy it is back in print. Sadly, this paperback edition does not have all the wonderful color illustrations that were in the original hard cover. Still, I am happy it is inexpensively available.

Christina Britton Conroy, author of One Man's Music