What’s Inside: Beatrix Potter Quotes for your commonplace! So many charming quotes from the children’s writer and illustrator to inspire your day.

This post may contain affiliate links. If you find my content valuable and make a purchase through one of my links, I will earn a commission at no cost to you, which helps me keep this blog going so I can help you even more! I recommend products I trust and/or use myself, and all opinions I express are my own. Read the full disclaimer here.

Photograph of Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) and Peter Rabbit — *Photograph of Beatrix Potter* *(1866-1943) and Peter Rabbit, author unknown, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons*

Beatrix Potter Quotes

Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) wrote and illustrated a set of children’s tales, the most famous of which is “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”.

The boys’ aunt gave them the complete set of tales when my boys were little. Such delightful read alouds!

We loved these books!

Confession: One of our favorites was a lesser known tale called “The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit.” Although quite a bit politically incorrect today, but the story has always made us laugh, especially the part where the bad rabbit’s tail is left on the bench.

Miss Potter’s tales varied in word count (if I can call it that) – some were very simple with few words per page, like the Fierce Bad Rabbit, while others were full of words and detail, like the Tailor of Gloucester.

All of her charming tales make great reading and copywork. Or also for your commonplace notebooks.

Here are more than a dozen memorable quotes from her tales that still make me smile and recall reading the stories when my boys were little. I highly recommend these stories. And they make a great baby shower gift!

The most famous story is, of course, “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”. Peter gets into so much trouble! He’s less mischievous than Calvin & Hobbes, yet still…

Quotes

Here are some of our favorite quotes from this famous story.

“Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter.”
“Don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father had an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.”
“Even the smallest one can change the world.”
“I am sorry to say that Peter was not very well during the evening. His mother put him to bed, and made some chamomile tea; and she gave a dose of it to Peter!”

vintage line drawing of mother rabbit with 4 bunnies and overlay text of Beatrix Potter quote about Flopsy, Mopsy, Cottontail and Peter.

worried looking bunny rabbit with text overlay Beatrix Potter Quote about Mr. McGregor

Imagination

Her tales are wonderful partly because they fill the imagination. Also partly because of her gorgeous illustrations. She wrote her tales written before the Caldecott Awards existed, so she never was recognized in that capacity. By the way, Miss Potter did have a few posthumous publications in recent years.

Here are other fun quotes that make me envision each of some of her other stories:

“Benjamin tried on the tam-o’-shanter, but it was too big for him.” — The Tale of Benjamin Bunny
“‘I am not in the habit of going to tea-parties,’ said Tom Kitten.” — The Tale of Tom Kitten
“It is said that the effect of eating too much lettuce is ‘soporific.’”— The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies
“No more twist!”— The Tailor of Gloucester
“Miss Moppet ties up her head in a duster, and sits before the fire.”— The Story of Miss Moppet
“She was a simpleton: not even the mention of sage and onions made her suspicious.”— The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck
“Riddle me, riddle me, rot-tot-tote! A little wee man, in a red red coat! A staff in his hand, and a stone in his throat; If you’ll tell me this riddle, perhaps you may know.”— The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
“Lucie opened the door: and what do you think there was inside the hill? – a nice clean kitchen with a flagged floor and wooden beams – just like any other farm kitchen.”—The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle
“One place suits one person, another place suits another person. For my part, I prefer to live in the country, like Timmy Willie.”— The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse

country road with mouse graphic and text overlay of Beatrix Potter Quote — Beatrix Potter illustration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Illustration of Miss Moppet kitten from Beatrix Potter (Public Domain) with text overlay of Quote — Beatrix Potter illustration, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons

Beatrix Potter has wonderful quotes

All in all, I recommend these books for family read aloud time. The gentle pace and lovely illustrations make for fueling the imagination. And if your younger readers like to reread them on their own, let them select a quotable sentence now and again to practice their copywork with.