The Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit is a large format book which contains all 4 stories by Beatrix Potter, which feature Peter Rabbit.
They are “ThThe Complete Adventures of Peter Rabbit is a large format book which contains all 4 stories by Beatrix Potter, which feature Peter Rabbit.
They are “The Tale of Peter Rabbit”, “The Tale of Benjamin Bunny”, “The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies”, and “The Tale of Mr Tod”.
The original watercolour illustrations from Beatrix Potter’s tiny books are used, but before her stories were ever taken on by a large publisher (Frederick Warne), the author had the Peter Rabbit stories printed privately. This large format volume also includes some of these black and white pen drawings, which is a rare treat.
We can follow the whole family history of Peter Rabbit through these 4 stories. After his adventures in Mr. McGregor’s Garden in the first ever book, Peter grows up to be a respectable vegetable gardener himself! He sometimes helps out his more feckless relations, and now and then gives the odd cabbage to his sister Flopsy (who has married his cousin Benjamin Bunny). We also learn what befalls some of their offspring.
The Flopsy Bunnies unwittingly eat too many lettuces and suffer from the soporific effects, thereby falling straight into the hands of Mr McGregor. The fourth story is twice as long as any of the three preceding ones. In it, Tommy Brock the badger tricks Mr. Tod the fox, and kidnaps another litter of flopsy bunnies, because of the carelessness of their grandfather Old Benjamin Bouncer.
We also discover that Cotton-tail has married the little black rabbit who was sweet on her in a different book. But of the 3 rabbits who were Peter’s sisters, nobody every mentions Mopsy, and we do begin to wonder about Mr McGregor’s fondness for rabbit pie …
The tiny books by the English botanist and watercolourist Beatrix Potter are enormously successful, and have been ever since she first created Peter RThe tiny books by the English botanist and watercolourist Beatrix Potter are enormously successful, and have been ever since she first created Peter Rabbit in 1901. Here is my review of that classic masterpiece. LINK HERE.
Altogether there are 23 such tales. Children and adults alike love the anthropomorphised woodland creatures, countryside animals and pets. However some of the tales now mention objects and occasions which no modern child would recognise without a bit of explanation. It has to be said that some stories show their age, and are perhaps better appreciated by adults, who have fond memories of them.
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin is one such odd little tale. In a way it is the timeless tale of a young scallywag, whose adventures are retold through many cultures, for instance as Brer Rabbit, or Anansi the spider-man. In this case Squirrel Nutkin is a bold and cheeky young squirrel, who refuses to be suitably respectful to an old owl. He teases the owl mercilessly, and seems to get away with it time after time. Finally though, (view spoiler)[ the owl pounces, and Squirrel Nutkin loses half of his fine tail, of which he had been so proud (hide spoiler)].
This is a large scale format of the book, complete with all the original illustrations, one at the top of each page of text, and emblems in the top two corners of the page, plus one centre bottom. There are also two pages of stickers; one at the beginning of the book, and one at the end. Each of the 26 stickers is a detail taken from an illustration in the story, and there is plenty of white space in the book to attach them, although there are no specific set places.
I feel this was an odd story to choose to make into The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin: A Sticker Story Book, because a lot of the text comprises riddles set by Squirrel Nutkin, none of which would make any sense at all to the age range it was written for (and little sense to us). However, Squirrel Nutkin has become a sort of folk hero, much as Peter Rabbit has, so it will have appeal.
Even better, Beatrix Potter so loved the Lake District countryside where she lived, that she donated all her considerable tracts of land there to the “National Trust”, who now maintain it for everyone to enjoy. She also generously willed all her property, and the ongoing royalties from her works, to them: a gift which keeps giving....more
This is a much larger edition of The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures Of Bunyip Bluegum And His Friends Bill Barnacle And Sam Sawnoff, (approximateThis is a much larger edition of The Magic Pudding: Being The Adventures Of Bunyip Bluegum And His Friends Bill Barnacle And Sam Sawnoff, (approximately 12"x 9" or 30cm x 23cm) which will replace my earlier one. Super de-luxe or what you will, the main thing is that these illustrations by the author Norman Lindsay are in colour, and a much better size to enjoy.
Sorry, Puffin books, but this is the one I am going with. My review of the text is LINK HERE...more
Years ago, my parents used to tell me of the Christmases they each experienced as children. My mum was part of a large working family, not very well oYears ago, my parents used to tell me of the Christmases they each experienced as children. My mum was part of a large working family, not very well off, but proud and diligent. My dad had two brothers, and their family was working class to lower middle class, but with aspirations (they were very keen to let everyone know they had a maid!) They would each have a stocking to hang up on Christmas Eve, and in my Mum’s case, she and her four siblings would put them over the range in the living room, where all the food was cooked. I think Dad and his two brothers hung theirs at the bottom of their beds.
At any rate, they would agree, they would always leave a cup of cocoa, and a biscuit or mince pie out for Santa Claus overnight on Christmas Eve. If times were good he might get a bit of fruit cake and a bit of cheese (a Yorkshire tradition, to be eaten together). Thrillingly, Santa never let them down. He would always leave the dregs of the cocoa, plus a few crumbs on the plate. And even better, he rewarded them by filling their stockings.
Each child would get an apple and an orange, a few nuts and sweets, and a toy, or a game, or a book. And this was cause for great excitement. Of course they would all play with each other’s toys, and have arguments, but Christmas was mostly about family. It was the only time of the year when all those working (and this would be almost everyone over the age of 14) would have a holiday. A time then for celebration. Church, of course, plus carol-singing round the neighbours and family, special food, and plenty of games such as hide and seek, pin the tail on the donkey, blind man’s buff, charades, and pencil and paper games.
A simple, fun-filled Christmas, for those who were not poverty-stricken, but also not very well off. My own Christmas a generation later, was recognisably similar, although we each had a pillow case with lots of presents! Still, family was key and the focus was on interacting with each other.
People who have heard about or remember Christmases like these, will be able to relate well to Christmas at Red Butte. L.M. Montgomery’s short story was published in 1909. My mother was born just ten years later, and was the youngest of her family, so the Martin family in the tale are almost contemporaneous.
The difference is that the family in the story are poor. Very poor. The aunt in the tale has tried to protect the children from knowing this, whether considered a wise move or not, and so the children are in blissful ignorance, except for the viewpoint character Theodora. We are in for a very moving tale. It begins with a heart-stabbing touch of pathos:
“Of course Santa Claus will come,” said Jimmy Martin confidently”
and we are reeled in by the innocent conviction of this ten year old boy. We see that Theodora, at sixteen, is the only one out of the four children who sees life as it really is.
“They had been very happy until Uncle George’s death two years before this Christmas Eve; but since then there had been hard times in the little log house, and though Mrs. Martin and Theodora did their best, it was a woefully hard task to make both ends meet, especially this year when their crops had been poor.”
We settle right into the story, just as Theodora has settled the children, to tell them a story about the recent Riel Rebellion of 1885. The children listen wide-eyed, to hear the events of the failed Indian uprising by the Métis people under Louis Riel, against the English speaking settlers who were settling on their land. This war, so local to them, in which the First Nations Cree and Assiniboine fought against the Canadian Government, was both “true and exciting”, and distracts them from all other thoughts.
We switch suddenly from Theodora’s thoughts to the author as a narrator, so that we can be told a little about the family’s background:
“I am afraid that you will think from all the sighing Theodora was doing that she was a very melancholy and despondent young lady. You couldn’t think anything more unlike the real Theodora. She was the jolliest, bravest girl of sixteen in all Saskatchewan, as her shining brown eyes and rosy, dimpled cheeks would have told you; and her sighs were not on her own account, but simply for fear the children were going to be disappointed. She knew that they would be almost heartbroken if Santa Claus did not come, and that this would hurt the patient hardworking little mother more than all else.”
The entire story is written in this way. It is bright, with a fair dollop of exaggeration and hyperbole, reflecting the adults’ determined optimism. Theodora was an orphan, and had been given a home by her aunt Elizabeth and Uncle George, alongside their own children Jimmy and the younger twins. She misses her mother and brother Donald very much:
“Donald—handsome, merry, impulsive, warmhearted Donald, who had gone away four years ago with a smile on his bonny face and splendid hope in his heart.”
For Donald too is now missing from her life. He had fallen victim to so-called “Klondike fever”, the almost crazy prospecting for gold between 1896 and 1899, and was missing, feared dead.
As we see what Theodora is about to do, (view spoiler)[which is selling a pretty little gold locket hung on a narrow blue ribbon—her only memento of her brother Donald, in order to buy presents for the younger children (hide spoiler)] our feelings of sympathy for this family’s plight begin to grow. We see in our mind’s eye the little log cabin at Red Butte, more than a century ago; we see the frigid wind-swept plains of Saskatchewan, and the “prairie, red-lighted by the declining sun of the short wintry afternoon”, the day now fading as the moonlight increases, and we fear for her.
We watch the action, with our hearts in our mouths. But this is L.M. Montgomery, the author of many an uplifting tale, so we have no need to fear.
“she was hurrying along the trail in the moonlight. The great dazzling prairie was around her, the mystery and splendour of the northern night all about her. It was very calm and cold, but Theodora walked so briskly that she kept warm.”
Theodora succeeds in her plan, (view spoiler)[ selling her precious locket to a jeweller, and using the little money she gets to buy wonderful presents for the children:
“Jimmy’s skates, two lovely dolls for the twins, packages of nuts and candy, and a nice plump turkey.”(hide spoiler)]. And the best Christmas present of all is yet to come.
(view spoiler)[Theodora had found a stranger, unconscious on the road, and recognising that he was in dire need of help, alerted the neighbours before she hurried home with her booty. The bells may be starting to jingle in your head, for after the Christmas feast and jubilations, it is revealed of course this is none other than Donald himself, back from the Klondike, with no end of golden nuggets in his pockets. (hide spoiler)]
Yes, this story is sentimental and formulaeic. The main character has to be an orphan. The family has to be poor. The aunt has to be almost swindled out of the money she gets for selling their only horse. The main character has to only have one precious memento of her own, (view spoiler)[which she can sell. The shopkeeper, although a friend of her uncle, has to give her less money than it is worth. And most unlikely of all, the man she rescues has to turn out to be her long lost brother, who had been feared dead. (hide spoiler)] It is contrived, and manipulates our emotions mercilessly. So why do we love it? For I think we do. I was in tears.
The answer, I believe lies in the quality of the writing. Lucy Maud Montgomery was a prolific Canadian author in the earliest years of the 20th century, with more than 500 short stories, poems, and novels to her name. Just a year earlier, in 1908, her crowning achievement, the hugely popular “Anne of Green Gables” had been published. Its sequel “Anne of Avonlea” followed a little later, and was followed by six more novels featuring the character of Anne.
And everyone fell in love with Anne. Lucy Maud Montgomery (who was called “Maud” at home) knew how to tap into reality, and people’s feelings. Her own mother had died of tuberculosis when she was only 21 months old, so perhaps that had informed her yearning and commitment to a happy, stable family life. She had three children of her own, yet by the late 1930s, due to personal troubles, illness and depression, she had stopped writing, even though she lived until 1942.
The language she uses here in this early tale is simple, lively and bright; words such as “plucky”, and “ripping” and expression such as “don’t you worry a mite” casual and down to earth enough for us to be thrust into the midst of this family. And nowadays, of course for us to feel part of that earlier century too.
I would recommend this as a good quick read at this time of year for anyone, young teens to adults, or for reading to a younger child. The smile of delight at the end will make it worth your while. It is a cosy, charming tale, demonstrating love, compassion, sacrifice, family values, giving, and humanity. It really captures the spirit of the season. As the author herself said:
“It’s been my experience that you can nearly always enjoy things if you make up your mind firmly that you will.”...more
For my review of the text of this wonderful book, please LINK HERE.
This review is for an excellent illustrated edition of the children’s classic novelFor my review of the text of this wonderful book, please LINK HERE.
This review is for an excellent illustrated edition of the children’s classic novel, The Wind in the Willows. The text is complete, printed in a largish font in an oversize book, and the many beautiful illustrations are by the established fantasy artist, Michael Hague. The quality of his work has been compared with that of Arthur Rackham, and indeed I noticed a few nods and tributes to his talented forebear, even to the style of Michael Hague’s signature on the corner of one particularly sepia-toned watercolour, using a wide alphabetical style, inside a hand-drawn oblong frame. This is very reminiscent of Arthur Rackham’s trademark signature.
Michael Hague describes how the love of The Wind in the Willows had passed through four generations of his family, with his grandmother remembering with delight her own father reading the book to her, shortly after it had first been published in 1908. When Michael Hague himself was asked to illustrate the book, he felt this to be a great honour, following in the steps of Ernest H. Shepard and Arthur Rackham, but he was also conscious of a great sense of responsibility:
“I love the book. I love the dependable Water Rat, the kindly Mole, the sturdy Badger, and especially I love Mr. Toad … There is, I think, a bit of Toad in all of us. Certainly there must have been a bit of Mr Toad in me when I agreed to illustrate his book.”
[image]
Michael Hague makes it clear that he does not try to reinterpret the story, but instead:
“to infuse my illustrations with the same spirit that Kenneth Graham’s magic words convey … I begin with character studies and try to capture on paper what I see in my mind’s eye.”
His small thumbnail sketches of each character are then developed and enlarged to full sketches, before Michael Hague begins to draw the full scene. This way of working has produced illustrations which are full of life, immediacy and energy. The individual personalities seem exactly right, as if they have sprung straight out of the story. I personally much prefer these to Ernest H. Shepard’s sketchily drawn features on his characters in this book, which do not seem to have the quirkiness and life of those in the “Winnie the Pooh” books.
[image]
Michael Hague works in line and water colour, although, unusually, he draws in 2H pencil initially, so that the thin wash will not be smudged. Either an ochre or blue wash is then laid down, depending on whether he envisages a cool or a warm picture. The other colours are then applied, and the ink lines are the final stage.
[image]
The result is a vibrant yet naturalistic illustration of old-fashioned country life. The affectionately drawn characters are set within countryside which is imbued with the season and the time of day, and is heavily atmospheric. The trees are dark, knobbly, brooding - and a few have faces, especially in the night time scenes. The riverbank is fresh and verdant, with easily to identify familiar flora bursting forth.
[image]
Indoor scenes are bustling with cheerful people, full of good humour (and a few sly jokes, such as a pickpocket in action, on the edge of one railway scene!) They are carefully observed, showing authentic Edwardian dress, and accurate ancient buildings such as the gaol. Equally, the indoor scenes of Mole’s homes and Toad’s castle feel cosy and comfortable, or impressively ornate, complete with oil portraits of Toad’s illustrious ancestors. All are a delight to pause over, and enjoy the detail therein.
[image] If you wish to choose just one illustrated version for a child to read, when they are old enough to enjoy the unabridged novel with its original language, this edition is definitely the one I would recommend....more
This is a retelling of the children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows, by Michael Bishop. For my full review of Kenneth Grahame’s original masterpiecThis is a retelling of the children’s classic, The Wind in the Willows, by Michael Bishop. For my full review of Kenneth Grahame’s original masterpiece, please link here.
This book is an oversize hardback, amply and beautifully illustrated by Rene Cloke, a very prolific illustrator of children’s books, some of which she also wrote. These are line drawings with watercolour, and full of good humour. The characters are quite cute, as is her style, but also expressive, so that their emotions and personalities are revealed. They are all close-up - centre stage as it were - but there is enough of the Wild Wood, or of interiors, to convey a sense of place.
The text is large and easy to read, roughly suitable for those between 6 and 8 or 9, although those older may well enjoy it too. (I did!) I read this book in parallel with Kenneth Grahame’s original. Although the prose cannot compare in any way, this is a good adaptation for a very young reader. It tells the story, covering all the events very briefly. It is in eleven short chapters, and the only chapter missed out is the more esoteric, mystical one.
I would recommend this as an excellent first introduction to the story for young children....more
There are many simplified retellings of Shakespeare’s plays for children. This one, Stories From Shakespeare: Told to the Children, is a very early onThere are many simplified retellings of Shakespeare’s plays for children. This one, Stories From Shakespeare: Told to the Children, is a very early one from 1905, by Jeanie Lang. The stories are told simply and effectively, but the feel of this entire series of books is sadly very dated. See what you think,
“In the libraries and on the bookshelves of grown-up people there are always a great many books that look very dull. Most of them have no pictures; and if there are any, either they are not interesting, or else you have to read through pages and pages of what is hard to understand, before you come to anything about a picture that looks interesting”
This is all very cosy and chatty. After a while the author continues,
“... perhaps you will put Shakespeare back in his place on the shelf and say: ‘I wonder why people call Shakespeare the greatest writer that ever lived. I don’t think his stories are very interesting’. In this little book I have tried to tell you some of the Shakespeare stories, and to leave out the long words and the things difficult to understand. Some day, when you are older, you will read the real Shakespeare for yourselves. You will know then why people call him the greatest writer than ever lived. And you will say: ‘The little book that I read long ago was only like a faint little pencil outline, and this is the greatest picture in all the world.’”
Such a confidential tone was very popular in children’s books from the time, but is likely to cause grimaces now. Today’s street-smart children do not care to be spoken to in this tone - and there is also a glaring mismatch, which you have no doubt spotted from just this small excerpt. If a child is skilled enough at reading to read and comprehend this level of syntax, and in tiny print, then they are not likely to welcome the patronising tone of the author of this “dainty, popular Series of Books” which was “still unrivalled” and “Of convenient size for Little Readers”. (Strange, how at that time the convention in advertising was to capitalise important words in the style much loved by greengrocers today.)
The book certainly is attractive; a chunky volume bound in cloth and including eight full page colour plates, which look like Victorian oil paintings. The paper used is heavy vellum type, and the book was created in the traditional way, where pages were folded before being bound, so that the reader has to slit each one (carefully with a penknife and NEVER scissors, I remember having impressed on me very severely) thus producing a slight serration to the edges. That’s always a sign of a lovely old book, as is the fact that the pages are not bound evenly. Each page sits fractionally above, below, or to one side of the previous one.
The seven stories included come from the following Shakespeare plays: “The Tempest”, “As You Like It”, “The Merchant of Venice”, “The Taming of the Shrew”, “A Midsummer Night’s Dream”, “The Winter’s Tale”, and “The Comedy of Errors”. Each is told in the same chatty way, but they are certainly not dry or boring. The author, Jeanie Lang, also went on to write another volume entitled “More Stories From Shakespeare”, including adaptations of “Hamlet, Prince of Denmark”, “The Life and Death of King John”, “Macbeth”, “The Tragedy of King Richard III”, “King Lear”, “Pericles, Prince of Tyre”, and “Julius Caesar”.
Others in this series include “Stories From Chaucer”, “Stories of Beowulf”, “Stories From The Iliad”, “Stories From The Odyssey”, “Stories From King Arthur’s Knights”, “Stories of Robin Hood”, “Stories From Don Quixote”, “Stories From The Arabian Nights”, and “Stories From Wagner”. At the time of publication there were 35 titles in all.
Perhaps it would merit four stars when it was originally published, but now probably just two. It’s a nice little book for an adult to browse through, especially if you feel as I do, that rather too many of these tales are unfamiliar to you. But I’m not sure it would be wise to let a child browse this book, as the hilarity which ensues may prove a distraction from the fine stories included. ...more
Bionic Jean
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