A review by laurenjpegler
The Complete Tales by Beatrix Potter
4.0
In all honesty, this probably deserves a 3.5 stars but, due to sentimentality and nostalgia, I'm just giving it a 4.
Beatrix Potter's stories have been a part of my life for a long time now - I regularly visit the Lakes (a place where Potter lived and bought these stories to life, as well as it thriving off Peter Rabbit merch), these stories were read to me in my childhood, and I've had two pets named after characters (an old rabbit called, you guessed it, Peter and my current dog Tiggi). I was eager to visit these stories.
They don't mean as much to me as they used to do. I'm not a fan of children's literature (you only have to see my shelves to know that) - I tend to get really annoyed at the simple and basic things. I hate the patronising tone of voice, and the simplified language - all reasonable things. I didn't really find this was the case with Potter's work, instead I was just bored with the longer stories (I even stopped reading one of them because it was so uninteresting). I liked the nursery rhymes, and the shorter stories like Peter Rabbit, and Tom Kitten. I didn't like the ones to do with the Pigs, etc.
Other than this one disadvantage, these stories were really pleasant to read. I loved being able to revisit certain stories - the ones that have stuck with me for a long time. I will never get bored of re-reading the Peter Rabbit story. They just aren't as fun to read now that I'm older, and that's totally okay. I'm surprised, to be honest, with the rating I've given it now - normally children's literature doesn't even get 3 stars!
Beatrix Potter's stories have been a part of my life for a long time now - I regularly visit the Lakes (a place where Potter lived and bought these stories to life, as well as it thriving off Peter Rabbit merch), these stories were read to me in my childhood, and I've had two pets named after characters (an old rabbit called, you guessed it, Peter and my current dog Tiggi). I was eager to visit these stories.
They don't mean as much to me as they used to do. I'm not a fan of children's literature (you only have to see my shelves to know that) - I tend to get really annoyed at the simple and basic things. I hate the patronising tone of voice, and the simplified language - all reasonable things. I didn't really find this was the case with Potter's work, instead I was just bored with the longer stories (I even stopped reading one of them because it was so uninteresting). I liked the nursery rhymes, and the shorter stories like Peter Rabbit, and Tom Kitten. I didn't like the ones to do with the Pigs, etc.
Other than this one disadvantage, these stories were really pleasant to read. I loved being able to revisit certain stories - the ones that have stuck with me for a long time. I will never get bored of re-reading the Peter Rabbit story. They just aren't as fun to read now that I'm older, and that's totally okay. I'm surprised, to be honest, with the rating I've given it now - normally children's literature doesn't even get 3 stars!