Thursday, August 26, 2010

The Tale of Benjamin Bunny by Beatrix Potter

First published September 1904
59 pages, 28 color illustrations

With the help of his cousin Benjamin Bunny, Peter Rabbit recovers the clothes he lost in Mr. McGregor's garden. Retrieving the clothes is easy. Escaping the cat is not.

The History Behind the Tale:
The Tale of Benjamin Bunny is a continuation of Peter Rabbit's story. If you remember, Benjamin Bunny was mentioned briefly in Peter Rabbit (Benjamin knows about cats!). Like Peter, Benjamin was a pet rabbit of Beatrix Potter's. Benjamin Bunny is the first tale not to have started as a picture letter or a picture book present.

My thoughts: Benjamin Bunny is a pleasant book. I like Benjamin and Peter's camaraderie. I also like Peter's uneasiness in the garden. Rightly so. The illustrations are lovely as always, but the story doesn't appeal like Peter Rabbit did.

Favorite Illustrations:
-Peter and Benjamin (19)
-Benjamin munching in the garden (32)
-The mice (36) So fat and cozy looking!
- Cat on basket (47)

Activities:
-Peter's Clothes Hunt (Hide clothes around the library for children to find. Winner finds the most.)
-Cat and Rabbit Tag (The cat is "It.")
-Play store (Peter's mother runs a small store.)
-Follow the tracks or guess the tracks (print out several types of animal tracks for the children to guess what animal or to follow.)
-Benjamin Bunny coloring sheet on the official Peter Rabbit website

Favorite words: gig, relations, muffetees, bazaar, tam-o-shanter, lolly-pops

I hope you've enjoyed visiting with Benjamin Bunny today. Next Thursday, we'll be exploring The Tale of Two Bad Mice.

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