The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit

Starred review from May 14, 2012
“I have not seen many rabbits moping, but when they do, their ears droop.” So begins this pitch-perfect new adventure of the mischievous bunny who first appeared 110 years ago in Beatrix Potter’s original tale. Perhaps understandably, Peter is, by now, a bit bored with life in the sandbank. Warned against wandering off by Benjamin Bunny (“Too many carts on the road.... Too many owls, and too many foxes”), Peter (again) wriggles under Mr. McGregor’s gate, this time into an “interesting basket smelling of onions.” After eating the picnic lunch within, he nods off, awakened later by the jostling of a horse-drawn cart he’s been loaded onto, which is en route to, of all places, Scotland. There he meets Finlay McBurney, “a HUGE black rabbit in a kilt, a dagger thrust into the top of his laced-up boot,” and a distant relative. Peter is in good hands with Finlay and gets the adventure he sought. Thompson and Taylor preserve the delicious dry wit of Potter’s original tales—this is top-notch read-aloud fare that both children and their parents will enjoy. Here’s to having Peter hop into trouble for another hundred years. Includes an audio recording of the tale, read by Thompson. Ages 5–6.

September 1, 2012
Showing his age not a whit, nor having lost his appetite, Peter Rabbit eats his way into a pair of (metaphorical) pickles in this droll comeback. Idly wishing for a change of scenery, Peter falls asleep in the McGregors' picnic basket--after polishing off a sandwich that's as big as he is--and wakes up in the far-off Scottish Highlands. Thompson (who also often wakes up in Scotland) doesn't leave him at loose ends for long, though. Rescued by kilted cousin Finlay McBurney, he spends a cozy night atop a sack of "sheepswool and heather." The next day he attends a rabbit Highland games ("very boring") before enjoying a further gustatory encounter with an "unusually large RADISH" hidden behind a "Keep Out" sign. At last he makes his way back home with a "fat little haggis for his mother." Looking something like a fat little haggis himself and still clad in his customary torn blue jacket, Peter draws the eye in each of Taylor's verdant, loosely brushed watercolors. Most of the action plays out in the text, but, rendered in Beatrix Potter's general style with a paler palette and less dramatic tension, the pictures nonetheless create pretty, idyllic tableaus of wildflowers, tartans and dappled greenery. An outing to which children (like Peter's cousin Benjamin Bunny) will listen with "particular attention," done up in a large, decidedly un-Potter-like trim size that's suitable for sharing in a lap or with a group. (Picture book. 5-8)

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November 1, 2012

K-Gr 2-Peter Rabbit makes a return entrance into Mr. McGregor's garden that takes him all the way to Scotland in this newly created sequel. His propensity for crawling under fences, eating garden vegetables to excess, and losing some of his clothes, and brief appearances of his cousin Benjamin Bunny, anchor this tale to the original story. The much-extended account has Peter falling asleep inside a picnic basket after eating much of the contents and then being toted along as Mr. and Mrs. McGregor travel by horse and cart "for a very, very, very long time." When they discover the thievery and the thief, Peter bolts into the countryside, eventually meeting up with "a HUGE black rabbit in a kilt, a dagger thrust into the top of his laced-up boot." Peter is treated kindly by Finlay McBurney and his wife, and after a pleasant night attends a big game day where Finlay is defending his title. New mischief ensues as bored Peter bores his way into a nearby giant radish, which becomes an unusual element in the championship contest. This is not the small, intimate package created by Beatrix Potter, but Thompson and Taylor are pretty faithful to the original tone and art style. Engaging watercolor pictures in oval shapes face the text pages, which carry smaller scenes as well. As with so many of the media makeovers and extensions common in our time, a decent amount of craft and a long-familiar original will make this offering welcome with some readers and criticized by others. Larger collections should probably include it as a spinoff.-Margaret Bush, Simmons College, Boston

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