Customer Reviews

The Tale of Peter Rabbit Story Board Book (Potter)

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I purchased this book for our daughter when she was about 6 months old but she wasn't at all interested in it, unlike 95% of our other purchases. Then at about 12 months she picked it out for me to read it to her, and it has increasingly become a favorite. I think the reason she didn't like it earlier on was, ironically, the same reason I readily purchased it - the beautiful watercolor illustrations. While they are very beautiful, they are somewhat muted resulting in a look that blurs all of the detail together. Of course, this is just a guess. At any rate, she now very much enjoys this book, and anticipates the action, such as Peter sneezing, or the "scr-r-ritch, scratch" of a hoe. Board books with a storyline are somewhat more difficult to find than the counting, color, alphabet, opposites, etc. kind, and my daughter has always definitely enjoyed stories. Additionally, this book teaches us there are repercussions for our actions, but in a tone that is mild and appropriate for young toddlers. If this is what you're looking for, and you're not looking for storybooks for a younger baby, this would be an excellent choice.

Though the subtle watercolors attract my baby less than some of the brighter illustrations in other books, the realistic depiction of animals is fantastic as I'd like her to recognize actual animals rather than pink elephants, etc. And it's a classic story that I'm glad she'll grow up with.

The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter was an excellent book. I would recommend it to people of all ages even though it was s targeted towards younger children. The book was about four little rabbits that all wanted to go down the lane or into the fields. The only place that they were not allowed to go was Mr. McGregor's garden. Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail were good little bunnies and went down the lane to the field. But Peter was very mischievous. He went to Mr. McGregor's garden!! When he got into the garden he saw the best sight of his life. There was food galore! He started to eat and eat and eat. He couldn't stop. Then Mr. McGregor found him and chased him through the garden! Peter had many obstacles that stood in his way! Did he make it out safe? Read the book and you will find out.

This board book version of Peter Rabbit is missing way too much of the original story. It really is too abridged and not interesting at all.

Now that I'm working on my fourth edition of this classic title, I thought it was time to merge the reviews to make comparison easier. Each edition has its own star rating, below, before the review text.

First, the standard recap: Peter disobeys his mother and sneaks into Mr MacGregor's garden, despite knowing that his father ended up in a pie. Spotted and chased, Peter barely escapes and returns home wet and sick and is dosed with camomile tea. (I have yet to find a version that's so Americanized that it's spelled chamomile, which I think is a cool detail.) His siblings feast on bread and milk and blackberries.

ISBN 1403753911 The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Based on the original art and story) 4 stars - Board book edition. Very small, about 3 1/2 x 3 1/2 inches, excellent for taking along. In this edition, it's spelled McGregor. Not that it matters. This edition doesn't mention Peter's father's end as pie filling, a plus for the squeamish or over-sensitive. Or vegetarian. In this version, the clothes Peter loses are put to use by Mr McGregor as a scarecrow. Mother wonders about his clothes, but no fuss is made. And, of course, Peter feels unwell and is put to bed and given some tea (just tea, not camomile tea). Cute, great for little ones and the text hits all the relevant points. The illustrations are a bit on the dark side, and are a bit small.

ISBN 1569870217 The Tale of Peter Rabbit (3 stars) - Hardcover edition. This is the basic story with few frills. The illustrations are average and have nothing in the way of surprises. Not a bad book, but certainly not a great re-telling of this tale.

ISBN 1569870675 The Tale of Peter Rabbit (5 stars) - This copy is a hardcover, most suitable to children whose little fingers can handle the pages. It's also 24 pages long - just long enough for beginning readers. Father still ends up in a pie, Peter still disobeys his mother and goes into Mr MacGregor's garden. The chase in this book is better written than 1569870217 (below), with a mention of Peter's cousin, Benjamin Bunny, as a nice way to introduce your children to other Potter books. Peter still ends up barely escaping, losing all his clothes to Mr MacGregor, and arriving home sick. This copy has more detail, and much nicer illustrations than others. Peter, when caught up in the gooseberry net, or with a tear in his eye as he tries to ask directions of the mouse, are wonderfully done. I'd never have thought there could be such a difference between various copies of the same story, but you learn something new every day - unlike Peter, who just can't seem to learn and has lost his second set of clothing in a fortnight (nice detail)!

ISBN 0723244324 The Tale of Peter Rabbit Story Board Book (Potter) (4 stars) - Board book binding, best for very young children whose fingers can't manipulate paper pages easily. There are a couple differences in this book: Father and his ignoble end as pie filling aren't mentioned. The fact that Peter returns home sick is left out, so his mother merely puts him to bed with camomile tea for no apparent reason and no fuss is made over his missing jacket. This version is greatly abridged, but is an okay introduction for little ones. The illustrations are full of lots of details and are very much on the pastel side, which I don't like, but that's common with Potter's tales.

- AnnaLovesBooks

I love the story of Peter Rabbit so I was excited to buy this board book for my new baby, but this version is severely abridged and removes so much of the storyline. It might be because it is a board book which usually have only a few pages. Still very disappointing - Pass on this and opt for a full version of the book.