Peter Hits the Midway: The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit by Emma Thompson

IT WAS HIGH SUMMER AND PETER RABBIT HAD A COLD. HE LAY ON HIS BACK ON A PIECE OF DRY MOSS, LOOKING UP AT THE CLOUDS AND SNEEZING.

HE WAS BORED.

JUST THEN, AS IF CARRIED ON THE BREEZE, HE HEARD THE FAINT SOUNDS OF DRUM AND FIFE. PETER SAT UP.

A TRAVELING FUN-FAIR HAD COME TO THE VILLAGE!

Will Peter lie back down and continue his convalescence quietly, close to the care of the watchful Mother Rabbit?

Not the Peter we know and love!

Forgetting his sniffles, Peter recruits his well-intentioned but easily-led cousin Benjamin Bunny, and the two runaways sneak away to the forbidden fair, where they are filled with wonder at the sight of the coconut-shy, the Punch and Judy Show, the roller coaster, the oddities tent, and the carousel. At the shooting gallery, the two bunnies watch a man bring down three decoy ducks to win a stuffed cross-eyed cat for his little daughter, but then, something unforeseen happens!

The gleeful little girl snatches Peter up, believing he is her plush prize, stuffs him deep in her tote bag, and boards the enormous roller coaster.

BENJAMIN BUNNY WATCHES IN HORROR.

"OH, MY POOR COUSIN! WHAT WILL BECOME OF HIM?"

Peter is certainly not bored now. With the loyal Benjamin following behind, Peter, upside down, with his ears quite bent, can only hope for a rescue, preferably after he gets his ride on the merry-go-round, as he and the little girl board many a hare hair-raising ride. At last Benjamin manages to pull his cousin out of the bag, and the chase is on!

It's the usual hare hairbreath (okay, I'll stop now) escape for Peter and Benjamin as they finally outrun the irate little girl, and it's a very dusty and worn Peter and Benjamin who finally flop onto the floor of Mother Rabbit's burrow, in Emma Thompson's third "new" tale of Peter Rabbit, The Spectacular Tale of Peter Rabbit (Frederick Warne, 2014). Author Thompson hasn't changed Peter a whisker from his original persona created by Beatrix Potter. Peter is still the quintessential harebrained runaway, eager for adventure as always, and artist Eleanor Taylor's large-format illustrations keep Potter's characters charmingly familiar to fans of the original classics.

Hear actress and author Emma Thompson read aloud a bit of this story here.

Thompson's other Peter Rabbit stories are The Further Tale of Peter Rabbit (Read my 2013 review here) and The Christmas Tale of Peter Rabbit.