When Mrs. Rabbit begs her four furry children to stay away from Mr. McGregor's garden, the impish Peter Rabbit naturally takes this as an open invitation to create mischief. But when he is spotted by the farmer himself, the chase is on! A century after it was first published, Beatrix Potter's beloved tale of a certain naughty bunny with a taste for radishes continues to enchant readers. Using Potter's original text, popular illustrator Michael Hague has made Peter's world bigger and brighter than ever, bringing this cherished tale to a new generation of youngsters, in a larger format that will delight mischievous bunnies young and old. PreSchool-Grade 2-Over the years, Hague has re-illustrated many texts that were in the public domain. A number of his books have given new life to overlooked work and have been widely appreciated. His reinterpretation of the work of Potter, however, is egregiously unnecessary. Potter wanted her books to be small enough for little hands to hold. Hague's book is almost twice as large. Potter's book has softly colored spot illustrations, honing in beautifully on the drama or emotions of the facing pages of text. Hague's art is overblown with extraneous details that threaten to overwhelm the plot. His rabbits with enormous eyes are reminiscent of those kitschy, large-eyed waifs popularized by the Keans in the 1960s. If Potter's books were out of print, or in danger of becoming so, one might be more receptive to Hague's version, but they are readily available and hard, if not impossible, to improve upon. Why try?-Miriam Lang Budin, Chappaqua Public Library, NY Copyright 2001 Reed Business Information, Inc. Ages 3-6. As he has done before, Hague lends his own style to a classic title in the canon of children's literature. Enlarging the original size of Potter's book and decreasing the length to standard picture-book size, he brings the famous story to a new audience. The flow of text and turn of the page has been changed substantially, but Peter is larger in these pictures, and the colors of his world much brighter. Hague adds details that don't appear in Potter's illustrations--a bright red door on the tree house, the inside of the baker's shop, the "large pea" in the old mouse's mouth. There's also more of Mr. McGregor's garden, his house, and the wood beyond. There are fewer illustrations in Hague's version, but his double-page spreads flesh out Potter's world (as the video adaptations of her stories do, as well). This format is certainly better suited to storytimes, and the text, with one exception, is faithful to the original: the white cat is now black, and the word white has been deleted. Kathy Broderick Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved Beatrix Potter (1866-1943) has long been treasured for her illustrated animal tales from the English countryside. Michael Hague has illustrated more than twenty children's classics, including lavish editions of A Wind in the Willows Christmas, The Wizard of Ox, and Alice's Adventures in Wonderland. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Used Book in Good Condition