Beatrix Potter, Peter Rabbit Memories

July 28^th is Beatrix Potter's birthday. The children's book author was born in 1866 and she created the much-loved Peter Rabbit books. She was quite prolific, writing 23 books over her lifetime. Even though she died in 1943, her stories have inspired and entertained the young and youthful for many years afterwards.

As a child, I loved hearing the stories of Peter Rabbit. He and his sisters Flopsy, Mopsy and Cotton-Tail and their adventures invading Mr. McGregor's garden gave my childish heart joy. These tales are timeless. I still remember lying in bed at night, asking to hear my father read one more story written by Beatrix Potter.

When my son was born, I recalled the stories I had been read as a child, and chose to add the story of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter to his collection of books. I remember showing him the books filled with the beloved illustrations and reading the story to him about the rebellious rabbit.

His little giggles and excited eyes demonstrated his enjoyment of the story as I flipped the pages. As he went to sleep that night, he clutched his stuffed Peter Rabbit close to his chest, none-the-less dreaming about how Peter Rabbit narrowly escaped the clutches of Mr. McGregor and the cats.

I have also read this story to groups of children. Kids in the children's section at Barnes and Noble listening intently to each word - wanting to know whether he will make it out of the mulberry bushes. They lean forward at the part where he loses his shoes. They raise their eyebrows and drop their bottom lips as they listen with great concern when he has to hide from the birds. When at last, Peter Rabbit gets home to his mother, the children lean back and breathe sighs of relief.

Beatrix Potter's influence as a whole has been great. She popularized children's books with stories of anthropomorphic rabbits, and children heard her stories for many years. Not only available in book form, Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit is available on Project Guttenberg. Stuffed Peter Rabbits, an animated version of Peter Rabbit and various other licensed merchandise are all part of many children's daily routines.

According to the Peter Rabbit website, this woman who wrote Peter Rabbit in a letter to an ill child she had known for a while. In 1901, she printed just 250 copies, when they sold out; she printed another batch of 200 a couple weeks later. If Beatrix Potter were still alive today, she'd be amazed at the impact of her story about a rebellious rabbit and how it became the favorite bedtime reading for children everywhere.