Discovering Beatrix

What could be better then re-discovering a beloved author? Realizing she’s even more amazing then you thought! Author Linda Elovitz Marshall enjoys creating spunky characters. But on a literary ramble in the UK, she discovered that Beatrix Potter was a real life tour de force when it came to writing, publishing, and land conservation! Her most recent non-fiction picture book, Saving the Countryside: The Story of Beatrix Potter and Peter Rabbit (Little Bee Books, 2020) shares the wonderful facts behind this literary icon.


Did you have a favorite Beatrix Potter book when you were growing up?

My favorite Beatrix Potter book was, of course, Peter Rabbit. Who could resist that curious, mischievous bunny? I don’t quite remember reading Beatrix Potter’s other books when I was growing up. However, I do remember holding them…and loving that the books were just the right size for my hands!

Can you tell us a little about the literary ramble you took in 2018?

I’m a member of Kindling Words, a non-profit organization of children’s book authors, illustrators, and editors. Every year the organization holds a weekend-long conference on the east coast and a week-long writing retreat on the west and, every once-in-a-while, the group organizes a trip.

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Pipe organ in the Story Museum, Oxford, England.

The “Literary Ramble” to England was such a trip. Along with twelve other children’s authors and illustrators, I visited the homes, workspaces, and communities where Lewis Carroll, Beatrix Potter, Kenneth Graham, J.K. Rowling, Roald Dahl, J.R.R. Tolkien, C.S. Lewis, and Philip Pullman lived and wrote. It was an amazing and wonderfully inspiring trip!

How did you research this book?

My research began while visiting Beatrix Potter’s home (Castle Cottage) in England, I listened intently as Mandy Marshall (no relation to me), the curator/hostess described Beatrix’s background and upbringing.

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Near Sawrey, England, where Beatrix Potter’s estate is located.

Prior to that trip, I’d imagined Beatrix as a sweet writer of charming bunny stories who was, in my imagination, kind of a goody-goody. Instead, I learned that she was a feisty girl who – more than anything – wanted to be outside (or inside) exploring and discovering and researching. She grew up to be a feisty adult, too, who wasn’t about to let anyone hold her down. When I heard all this, I knew I had to learn more about her.

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Enjoying tea and scones inside Castle Cottage, Beatrix Potter’s home.

I dove into research, visiting museums near where Beatrix lived, purchasing books to use for continuing my research at home. I also contacted Linda Lear, a brilliant researcher and author whose book, Beatrix Potter: A Life in Nature helped immensely. Linda Lear also fact-checked my manuscript. She – and everyone I contacted – was wonderfully helpful.
I was trained as an anthropologist and am naturally curious. I researched…and researched…and researched. I absolutely adore doing research!

You also write fiction…how is the writing process different? Or is it the same?

Candace Fleming, who is an amazing writer and an absolutely superlative teacher, made a statement that I’d like to paraphrase. In both fiction and non-fiction, you’re baking a cake. In fiction, you throw in whatever ingredients you want. In non-fiction, you can use only the ingredients you’re given. But in both cases, you want it to taste good – so good that people want to devour the whole thing. And, in both cases, it needs a beginning, a middle, and an end.

I love writing fiction as well as non-fiction. I’ve tried turning non-fiction stories into fiction stories. I did that with Grandma Rose’s Magic, which was inspired by my grandmother’s sewing business.

View from the author’s summer studio in the Adirondacks.

In both cases, a story needs “heart.” To write about Beatrix with “heart,” I needed to read about her, feel her feelings, and know her as much as possible. Only that way, could give my readers a sense of who she was and what was important to her. In my book, The Polio Pioneer: Dr. Jonas Salk and the Polio Vaccine, I needed to understand – and feel – what was important to Dr. Salk so I could convey that to my readers. Whether writing fiction or non-fiction, I want to make my readers feel.

If you could ask Beatrix Potter herself a question, what would it be?

Dear Beatrix,

Did I tell your story well? Are you happy with it? And, Beatrix, what do you think of the way that women are being treated these days? What would YOU do if you lived now?

Sorry, that’s four questions. I hope that’s okay. Did I mention that I’m incredibly curious about … almost everything?!


Images courtesy of Linda Marshall. Book cover illustrated by Ilaria Urbinati, courtesy of Little Bee Books.

The BiblioFiles Presents: Christine Kendall

Just posted! An interview with Christine Kendall, author of Riding Chance and her newest novel The True Definition of Neva Beane.

Riding Chance is the story of Troy Butler, an at-risk youth who is struggling with the death of his mother, the sadness of his father, and getting into trouble. Troy’s life changes profoundly when his social worker enrolls him in a prevention program that teaches him how to work with horses and play polo. Inspired by the real-life organization Work to Ride in Fairmount Park, Philadelphia, Riding Chance is an incredible story about trust, grief, reconciliation, and finding your flow.

In The True Definition of Neva Beane, we meet twelve year-old Neva. Always full of questions, Neva finds herself facing some deeply personal ones as she grapples with changes in her life, including her developing body, her relationships with her friend Jamila, her brother Clay, and her growing political awareness.

Kendall is especially talented at inviting her readers in like friends and family. Her dialogue, descriptions, and pacing are so natural, the reading experience feels more like a conversation as her characters share their neighborhoods, relationships, inner thoughts, conflicts. All the while, Kendall asks us to think deeply about the myriad of issues she presents – racial identity, police profiling, social justice, family difficulties. It makes for a deeply personal and enlightening read.

A nominee for the NAACP Image Award, Kendall is an active member of the literary community, including being a juror for the New York City Book Awards, and co-curator and host of the award winning reading series Creative at the Cannery.

Follow this link to the BiblioFiles interview


Image courtesy of Christine Kendall

From the Desk of Mr. Sherlock Holmes

In the age of electronic communication – texts, emails, Slack, Zoom – there’s something magical about receiving an old fashioned letter in your mailbox. It’s even more thrilling when the return address says the correspondence is from Sherlock Holmes!

Our library has worked with Detective Holmes on multiple occasions. We helped him solve the mystery of a missing tiger (virtual escape room) and also track down an antidote to poison that had been released in the Princeton water system (in person escape room). And younger detectives can try rebus puzzles here. Yes, we believe our crime solving skills are top-notch and we needed a new task. So when Katie discovered a mystery-solving mailing game, she decided to give it a test drive! Take it away, Katie!


“Dear Holmes” is a monthly subscription that mails mysterious letters addressed to Sherlock Holmes directly to your mailbox. You receive five letters every month: four letters with clues and one letter with the answer. The challenge is to solve the case before the master literary detective himself sends his solution. When you sign up, you select one of three levels of membership spanning a year: we subscribed for three months for $60. There’s a gift option for sending letters to those who enjoy figuring out whodunit, and you can pause or renew your subscription at any time.

My first letter arrived in early June and I had my magnifying glass at the ready. I wasn’t entirely sure what to do, so as I read I would make mental notes of strange coincidences, interesting conversations, and odd happenings that were shared by the writer of the letter. When the solution message from Holmes arrived at the end of the month, I found myself saying “oh yeah!” and “I knew it!” as I was reading his explanation. When I received the next letters, I paid close attention to all of the critical details shared in the document. I highlighted passages and wrote notes in the margins, all while asking my own questions and making comments about who may be behind the crime. And I was right! I didn’t figure out every piece of the puzzle, but I had pinned the correct person behind the dastardly deed.

The attention to detail within the letters is really remarkable. The behind the scenes authors who write the story lines provide every minute detail to make you believe you are communicating with a person living in Victorian London. The paper and envelope are extremely high quality, and the font that is used is somewhat reminiscent of the era.

“Dear Holmes” a fun activity for your entire friend or family group, whether you are living close together or are on different sides of the country. It’s a mystery that isn’t solved immediately, so there’s time to debate and discuss before the next letter arrives. It’s also something you can do entirely on your own. There’s no provided age range, but I would suggest 12+. I recommend “Dear Holmes” wholeheartedly!

A historical note about the intro photo, which was taken in the William Elfers ’41 Reading Room on the third floor of Firestone Library. Discreetly tucked under a staircase is the personal secretary desk of John Witherspoon, who was President of Princeton University from 1768-1794 and is a signer of the Declaration of Independence. One can only imagine Sherlock Holmes scribbling his own letters using a similar style desk!