description: Mild naughtiness is Beatrix Potter's signature, and the four small hardcover books in this charming boxed set feature some of her most roguish and endearing characters. Peter Rabbit's mother warns him not to go into Mr. McGregor's garden in The Tale of Peter Rabbit : "Your father had an accident there; and was put into a pie by Mrs. McGregor." Of course Peter disobeys and has a near-death encounter with the ornery, rake-swinging farmer! A squirrel loses his tail out of disrespect and disobedience in The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin , and, in The Tale of Two Bad Mice , Hunca Munca and her husband Tom Thumb sneak into the dolls' house to steal some food. The dastardly duo leaves a trail of destruction in their wake, and ultimately must make it up to the poor dolls. In The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse , polite Mrs. Tittlemouse frets over the messes that a particularly insensitive and sloppy toad, Mr. Jackson, leaves in her tidy dirt home. Having proper British manners she cannot scold him directly, so she devises an elaborate plot to keep him away. The characters washed in pastel watercolors are silly and extreme enough to give children a safe distance from their own rascally deeds. Yet the consequences are never dire--just wickedly fascinating--and laced with enough reality to teach a valuable lesson. (Ages 4 and older) --Gail Hudson
language: English
title: World of Beatrix Potter
titlecomplete: World of Beatrix Potter
genres: Fiction
ratings_count: 12
publisher: Warne