Customer Reviews

The Tale of Peter Rabbit (Potter)

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Although it's presented as if it were "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" by Beatrix Potter, this is actually a HEAVILY edited version that bears little resemblance to the original. It's terrible. Compare, for instance, a passage from Beatrix Potter's original "Peter Rabbit":

"Peter was most dreadfully frightened; he rushed all over the garden, for he had forgotten the way back to the gate. He lost one of his shoes among the cabbages, and the other shoe amongst the potatoes. After losing them, he ran on four legs and went faster, so that I think he might have got away altogether if he had not unfortunately run into a gooseberry net, and got caught by the large buttons on his jacket. It was a blue jacket with brass buttons, quite new."

In this board-book version, this becomes: "Peter was very frightened. He rushed all over the garden and lost both his shoes. Then he tripped and got caught in a net."

All of the charm of the original story has been lost, replaced with a clunky and hamfisted summary of events. It's like the Cliff Notes version of "Peter Rabbit." It's ridiculous--the original story is already short, and has been beloved by small children for generations. There was NO NEED to butcher Beatrix Potter this way.

My son who is a year and a half loves looking at the pictures and pointing at them while I read to him. This edition is perfect for children under 3 who don't need the long narrative of the original. The pictures are classic and help tell the story.

This might seem like a great idea for a "baby's first Easter" purchase but I recommend waiting a couple years and getting the full version. The text is edited down, as is normal for board book versions, but it still has far too much text per page. While baby likes hearing your voice and seeing colorful pictures, the most exciting part is turning pages. You will never get through all the text before baby turns the page or gets bored with the current one. If you want a board book with bunnies, get Goodnight Moon.