Kinder Cottage Publishing has offered two books from their Peter Rabbit series for us to review. Of the 10 available titles, we chose Peter Rabbit at the Farm and Peter Rabbit Goes A-Visiting. These adorable hardback books were originally published in 1917 and have been updated for today's children. The color illustrations are original to the first publishing. Each book is available for $4.00 and are ideal for 3-9 year olds.
My little ones are two and three, so we used it as a read aloud. Before I read the books aloud to the kids for the first time, they were flipping through the colorful pages on their own. The small books (5"x7") fit very well in little hands.
We first read Book 2: Peter Rabbit at the Farm. We started out sitting together with a toddler on each side of me but about halfway through the book they were up playing and listening. With the book being 64 pages long, it was a little hard to keep their attention. Granted, the pages alternate pictures and words so it's not like you are reading a full 64 page book to a preschooler. Which, quite frankly, would be impossible.
About the Story
Peter Rabbit lives with his mother and three sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-tail. He is very prone to mischief and disobeying his mother. While I'm not a fan of giving my children lots of examples of bad behavior, the occasional ones make for a teachable moment on what NOT to do. On this particular adventure Peter slipped out of the house without his mother knowing and was running down the road when he bumps into and knocks down poor Pollie Possom. This encounter does serve for a lesson on good manners as Pollie is quite polite. Later Peter hears Goosie Poosie crying and wanting to help, he goes to her to find out what is wrong. The water has run out of their swimming pond and nobody knows how to fix it. Peter follows Goosie to the pond and immediately discovers the problem. He is able to help Goosie and the other pong critters but not before falling into the muddy waters himself! After his clothes are dry, he and Goosie go visiting animals on Mr. McGregor's farm. They visit a dog, lambs, a horse, a cow and a cat before the adventure comes to an end and Peter is flown home by Old Jim Crow. The story ends with Peter Rabbit making it safely home and telling his family about his adventures.
Reading Book 5: Peer Rabbit Goes A-Visiting went much like the first book. We did read it on a different day in hopes that they would sit longer while I read but they inevitably were up and playing about half way through. Book 5 is also a hardbound book and is 64 pages in length.
About the story
In this adventure, Peter Rabbit has again chosen to disobey his mother. He was given strict instructions to go to the doctor and get some toothache medicine for his poor little sister and return straight home. Of course, he did not go straight to the doctor or go straight home. He makes several visits along the way and ends up attending a party with his cousin Jack. Repeatedly, Peter is reminded by the peppermint lozenges and the medicine to go home but he resists the urge to do right and continues to do what he wants. Eventually he does return home after all the fun is over and his mother doesn’t even scold him. In fact, the book ends with Mother Rabbit saying, “Boys will be boys”.
I am sorry to say that if this story had a moral, it would be something along the lines of: do whatever you want, despite what your mother says and blame your actions on other people. It’s almost like the book is advocating the opposite of personal responsibility. Yes, this is a children’s book that is meant to be fun but it is not one I would make a habit of reading to my children at such a young age (two and three).
My bottom line
These books are adorable in appearance, fit easily into little hands and are an affordable price! The stories are cute with lots of adventure and fun dialog. I would read these aloud to older children, perhaps around five or six years old and use them as an example of what NOT to do. These could be great conversation starters when working on character. However, I would not recommend them being read to younger children as they may not grasp the idea that you are giving a “bad” example of behavior and not one to be modeled.
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