What do You think about The Tale Of Peter Rabbit (2002)?
The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter.‘Once upon a time there were four little rabbits, and their names were: Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter. They lived with their mother in a sand-back, underneath the root of a very big fir-tree.” Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail are good little bunnies who listen to their mothers advice and stay out of Mr. McGregor’s garden. Despite the fact that his father was eaten by the McGregors, Peter can’t resist all the wonderful vegetables that are inside the garden. He helps himself to some lovely lettuces, French beans and radishes. While looking for some delicious vegetables, Peter bumps into Mr. McGregor who chases around the garden with his sieve. Peter is terrified. He frantically makes his way to the tool shed and hides in a watering can. Luckily Mr. McGregor becomes too tired chasing this little rabbit, and Peter begins to make his way home. He runs as fast as he can and doesn’t look back. I believe this book would be suitable for both KS1 and KS2. It could be used for developing literacy and provides many cross curricular learning links in terms of Art, Geography and Music. This book is also perfect for philosophy for children lessons as it provides many opportunities for enquiry. These include: responsibility, good and bad and also the concept of rules.
—Melissa Cooney
Inspired by Ramblefoot, a gritty, naturalistic, no-holds-barred depiction of the lives of wolves, I couldn't help wondering if similar treatments weren't possible for other classics. Here's an extract from my draft rabbit novel, provisionally entitled Nojacket:Peter finished his breakfast, but the insipid, cloying taste of the dead dandelion leaves left him unsatisfied. The craving was starting to build up in him again. He needed to veg out. Suddenly, he started as a voice came from right behind him."We're looking for blackberries. You want to come, Peter?" It was his half-sister Flopsy, a precociously formed doe. She was not yet one summer old, yet already her haunches had the rounded look of a mature female. She exuded an enticing, musky odor. As if by chance, she turned her head so that their whiskers brushed, and seductively twitched her nose. For a moment, Peter was tempted, but the other urge was too strong."Sorry, Flopsy. I've got... stuff to do."With one bound, he had scooped up his blue jacket, the mark of the civilized young rabbit, and was out of the burrow before he could change his mind. He lolloped down the path as he had done many times before, then, looking both ways, he eased his trembling body under the hard wood of the gate. He was on McGregor territory. He straightened up, all his senses maximally alert, but there were no warning signals yet. With the practiced ease of the professional thief, he took the short-cut through the gooseberry bushes and emerged directly in the vegetable garden. His eyes glistened with desire as he saw the huge, plump lettuces. No longer caring about safety, he immediately attacked the nearest one, slicing into it with his razor-sharp front teeth. Green juices ran down his chin as he gorged himself on the unresisting leaves. His eyes half-closed, he chewed, swallowed, bit again, forcing the food down his throat as fast as he could eat until he reached the tender heart. In less time than one could believe possible, the lettuce was no more than an eviscerated husk. Peter contemptuously tossed away the bitter stem and then started on the radishes. Their tart, peppery red flesh contrasted delightfully with the sweet lettuce, and he frenziedly ate one after another. His swollen stomach hurt, but the pleasure was still stronger.
—Manny
This identification dramatically instills fear and tension in the reader, and interacts with the frequently distanced voice of the verbal narrative, sometimes with contradictory effects.To me Potter is inconsistent in the use of contradictory effects in the word-picture interaction. For example, in the illustration of Peter standing by the locked door, the verbal narrative describes the scene without the flippancy evident in the moment of the sieve. The inability to overcome obstacles is presented in the verbal narrative with objective matter-of-factness and the statement, “Peter began to cry” is offered without irony or attitude, thus drawing the reader closer to Peter’s emotions and plight. The illustration depicts an unclothed Peter standing upright against the door, one foot upon the other with a tear running from his eye. Without his clothes, Peter is only a small, wild animal but his tears, his emotions, and his human posture intensifies the reader’s identification with him. Here, verbal narrative and illustration work in harmony rather than in disharmony.Potter subverts not only her age’s expectations of what it takes to be a good child but subverts the hero genre with its young, objective, rational, resourceful white male who leaves the civilized world to brave obstacles and opponents in the wilderness, and, once his goal is achieved, returns home to grateful welcome and rewards. Peter is quite unlike the traditional hero because "he is small, emotionally driven, easily frightened, and a not very rational animal". She suggests Potter’s tale has encouraged many generations of children to “self-indulgence, disobedience, transgression of social boundaries and ethics, and assertion of their wild, unpredictable nature against the constrictions of civilized living.”One day, I'll read them to my kids and I'm sure, they'll enjoy it!
—Knarik Avetisyan
