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Kuleigh Baker's avatar

I've never read Peter Rabbit to my kids but they went and watched the movie at the library this past week. My 3 year old kept talking about the bunnies giving the farmer a heart attack!

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Haha, I know Peter is the protagonist and all but really it's his own fault he got into so much trouble!

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Christina's avatar

I just started these (Peter Rabbit, Benjamin Bunny, The Flopsy Bunnies) with my 3.5y/o this week. As an adult they are hard to read because of the very things you mention. But she is completely invested in them and it’s so touching to see how she reacts to them.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

This is the best part of reading, in my opinion. You can have two people sitting side-by-side reading the same exact thing and experiencing it in two different ways. It's especially poignant because you know their lens is so pure.

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Kristin Long's avatar

Our family loves Peter Rabbit too, although I always cringe at the part where his father is mentioned! My kids also like The Tale of Benjamin Bunny, when Peter and Benjamin get Peter's clothes back, but we are saving most other Beatrix Potter stories until my kids are a little older.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

The father bit is soooo cringey. I visibly grimace every single time.

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Sarah Miller's avatar

Beatrix Potter does not mess around. Peter Rabbit isn't the only story where the threat of violence is dark and serious (if not blatant and real -- Jemima Puddle Duck!!) Honestly, I don't hate it 🤷🏻‍♀️

Also, Beatrix grew up in the Victorian era -- enough said -- *and* she was 100% emotionally neglected by her parents. To her, the world was this dire. Things were this either/or.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

Now that you've mentioned it, I can't get the connection to the Victorian era out of my head. Aren't children's books, especially historical ones, just a treatise on how freaking crazy the olden days were?

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Sarah Miller's avatar

💯

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Kathryn Barbash, PsyD's avatar

My kids love Peter Rabbit, but I too have always been struck by how harsh the tale is.

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Sri Juneja's avatar

I guess, compared to the OG fairy tales, this is benign? Are we getting too soft? LOL.

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