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