The Tale Of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (2002) - Plot & Excerpts
I was going to give this one star, but I can't bear to give Miss Potter lower than 3. It just seems cruel, somehow. Like she'd somehow disapprove or it might make her sad. (Sorry, Miss Potter!)This book was actually not well received when it was released. Whilst Miss Potter is an adept painter of animals, her humans were less than appealing.That aside, this is still one of Miss Potter's tale and as such has cute charming characters and is all around a warm children's novel.It just seems a bit boring in comparison to others. Then again, this book was probably very entertaining for young ladies at the time. What with all their housework and all that, what? So I suppose it just hasn't aged well.The story. A young lady, who is most forgetful to mind her things, looses no less than 3 whole handkerchiefs and a pinny. Wow and I thought I lost alot of stuff as a kid!She meets and befriends a maternal hedgehog named Mrs Tiggy-Winkle, who is busy with the laundry. Apparently the characters of Miss Potter's world have had a meeting and declared that poor Mrs Tiggy-Winkle is the designated Launderer and is stuck doing all the lazy animals clothes for them! And that's about it, story wise. I want to add, does anyone else wonder about the "Mr" characters of these stories? We have Mrs Titlemouse, but no Mr Titlemouse. Mrs Tabitha Twitchit, but no sign of Mr Twitchit and Mrs Tiggy-Winkle but no sign of the unfortunately named Mr Tiggy-Winkle?Are they all widows or something?! 0_oWe do meet an assortment of other beloved characters throughout the story and it's altogether still a charming read with good illustrations. It just seems a bit boring.But I can't fault Miss Potter. It just seems to be a product of her time, is all.
A little girl named Lucie goes out looking for her lost handkerchiefs and finds Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle, a hedgehog who happily takes care of the mending and ironing for her woodland friends. Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's tale is a more difficult read than Peter Rabbit's or Squirrel Nutkin's. Here Beatrix Potter included some language that, I'm sure, was common 100 years ago, but no longer is today. Some words I feel pretty sure our kids today wouldn't understand: handkin (handkerchief), pinny (pinafore--which they also don't know), clear-starcher ,waist-coat, damask, dicky shirtfronts, and goffered (which I am about to go look up on Dictionary.com as soon as I finish this review).
What do You think about The Tale Of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle (2002)?
I have never read many of Beatrix Potter's books. Only Peter Rabbit. So when I came across this little book at Goodwill, I had to buy and read it. I think that many adults forget the simplicity of life, and this makes them very unhappy. I try to always remember how to look at life, by reading the books that I would have read as a child. It unloads my mind and heart of all the worries of the adult world. It is stories like this that fan the hidden flame of childhood, and renew happiness in my soul.The story is so very simple, yet lovely. I am very glad to have read it. :)
—Shiloh
Didn't she only take Lucie's pocket handker because she had carelessly lost it? This is probably my 2nd favourite. In fact, I once dropped our copy into the toilet (it fell off the bathroom windowsill) and had to hang Mrs Tiggy-Winkle up to dry like a piece of washing!
—Gail
This is the story of a little girl named Lucie, who has a habit of losing her pocket-handkerchiefs. When she goes in search of some, she finds a magical door into a hill. Inside there is a little woman covered in prickles who washes clothes for all the animals featured in Beatrix Potter's books: a scarlet waist-coat for Cock Robin, a tablecloth for Jenny Wren, a red handkerchief for Mrs. Rabbit, a pair of stockings for Sally Henny-Penny; and three pocket-handkerchiefs and a pinny for young Lucie.The two of them walk back down the hill toward Lucie's house, delivering laundry all the way; and when she turns to bid Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle farewell, she sees (as if waking from a dream, Alice-like) a small hedgehog running up the hill. The story ends with the charming postscript reminding the reader that Lucie did return to the stile with her clean laundry as evidence of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's existence.This is one of the more fanciful of Potter's books, and since it deals with articles of clothing that are no longer worn in Western society, it is a little harder to follow than some of her stories. Still, it is a charming fantasy for readers who are able to enter into its dreamy spirit.
—Shanna Gonzalez
