First of all, let’s just say it’s a mistake to purchase the Dover Thrift edition for Beatrix Potter. A big part of the charm for BP is her watercolor illustrations, and I completely forgot when I bought this. This version instead replicates her work via black & white line drawings by Pat Stewart. The effects are pretty good, but it’s like a birthday cake without candles.

I’ve been meaning to read Peter Rabbit etc. ever since watching “Miss Potter” some years ago. (Priorities, priorities.) Perhaps that’s why I just grabbed this one when I saw it at the Morgan Library gift shop in New York.

Like most children’s books, I inevitably find myself with a weaker disposition than I had considered myself. The Tale of Peter Rabbit, page 1, “Now, my dears,” said old Mrs. Rabbit one morning, “you may go into the fields or down the lane, but don’t go into Mr. McGregor’s garden: your Father hand an accident there; he was put in a pie by Mrs. McGregor.” Holy Crap, a father is cooked, mentioned rather nonchalantly I might add, within the first paragraph on the first page! In the Tale of Jemima Puddle-duck, the not-so-sharp JPD gathers herbs and seasonings for a fox to cook herself, i.e. roast duck. Hmm, geez, these stories are violent! :P

Well, after the initial (mild) shock, I come to enjoy the silly character names such as Twinkleberry, Tiggywinkle, Flopsy, Mopsy and so on, got an education on British/Scottish terms and clothing: Tam o' Shanter (Scottish bonnet for men), perambulator (=pram), pinafore (apron like cover worn over dress), tucker (collar lace), and picked up the probably untrue tidbit of lettuce makes a bunny soporific. Good enough for mild entertainment. ( )