Book Review: Dear Peter Rabbit

This story is told through a series of letters by familiar storybook characters, all residing in Hidden Forest.  With each page turn, the stories of these beloved characters begin to intertwine.  We wonder if Baby Bear will be able to go to Goldilocks’ birthday party and whether or not The Three Little Pigs will ever get to have their housewarming party.  Peter Rabbit, Little Red Riding Hood, and even the Big Bad Wolf make appearances, too.

Here’s a little bit of a letter from Goldilocks to Baby Bear:

Dear Baby Bear,

Guess what?  I’m having a birthday party next Sunday.  I know that your mother doesn’t usually let you leave the woods, but I hope that just this once she will let you come.  It will be extra special to have you there.  Remember I told you about the little girl in red I saw talking to a wolf?  Well, we are friends now….

Don’t you think Goldilocks and Little Red Riding Hood would be great friends?  This story offers some great sparks for the imagination, especially paired with Leslie Tryon’s beautiful pen and ink illustrations.  The pictures are full of detail and whimsy – we especially love the two-page party scene at the end!

Dear Peter Rabbit is just the kind of book my girls enjoy reading over and over again! My five-year-old exclaims with pride, “I know that story!” or “I know who that is!” as we read each letter.  My seven-year-old is smitten with each character’s address at the beginning of the letters – Baby Bear lives in Hidden Meadows and Peter Rabbit resides in Hollow Oak.  We love new takes on familiar tales and we are always inspired to write some of our own letters to friends and family after reading this story (and maybe to some imaginary friends, too!).

I usually tuck this book away in the fall, and we are all so excited to revisit it in the spring!  

If you and your kids enjoy this story, the fun correspondence continues in two equally-imaginative sequels: Yours Truly, Goldilocks and With Love, Little Red Hen.  The fourth book in the Hidden Forest series features a new twist – newspapers instead of letters!  All the characters from the first three books, plus some fun new faces, are featured in Extra! Extra!: Fairy-Tale News from Hidden Forest. Each of these books make for a fairly lengthy read-aloud, so younger listeners might enjoy reading just a few letters at a time.  Will that naughty wolf, Fer O’Cious (aka The Big Bad Wolf) and his cousin, Wolfy Lupus, spoil all the fun?  You’ll have to read and find out!