What do you think?
Rate this book
Mrs. Peter Rabbit
This book was converted from its physical edition to the digital format by a community of volunteers. You may find it for free on the web. Purchase of the Kindle edition includes wireless delivery.
47 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 1, 1919
31 people are currently reading
218 people want to read
About the author
Thornton W. Burgess
824 books204 followersThornton W. (Waldo) Burgess (1874-1965), American author, naturalist and conservationist, wrote popular children's stories including the Old Mother West Wind (1910) series. He would go on to write more than 100 books and thousands of short-stories during his lifetime.
Thornton Burgess loved the beauty of nature and its living creatures so much that he wrote about them for 50 years in books and his newspaper column, "Bedtime Stories". He was sometimes known as the Bedtime Story-Man. By the time he retired, he had written more than 170 books and 15,000 stories for the daily newspaper column.
Born in Sandwich, Massachusetts, Burgess was the son of Caroline F. Haywood and Thornton W. Burgess Sr., a direct descendant of Thomas Burgess, one of the first Sandwich settlers in 1637. Thornton W. Burgess, Sr., died the same year his son was born, and the young Thornton Burgess was brought up by his mother in Sandwich. They both lived in humble circumstances with relatives or paying rent. As a youth, he worked year round in order to earn money. Some of his jobs included tending cows, picking trailing arbutus or berries, shipping water lilies from local ponds, selling candy and trapping muskrats. William C. Chipman, one of his employers, lived on Discovery Hill Road, a wildlife habitat of woodland and wetland. This habitat became the setting of many stories in which Burgess refers to Smiling Pool and the Old Briar Patch.
Graduating from Sandwich High School in 1891, Burgess briefly attended a business college in Boston from 1892 to 1893, living in Somerville, Massachusetts, at that time. But he disliked studying business and wanted to write. He moved to Springfield, Massachusetts, where he took a job as an editorial assistant at the Phelps Publishing Company. His first stories were written under the pen name W. B. Thornton.
Burgess married Nina Osborne in 1905, but she died only a year later, leaving him to raise their son alone. It is said that he began writing bedtime stories to entertain his young son, Thornton III. Burgess remarried in 1911; his wife Fannie had two children by a previous marriage. The couple later bought a home in Hampden, Massachusetts, in 1925 that became Burgess' permanent residence in 1957. His second wife died in August 1950. Burgess returned frequently to Sandwich, which he always claimed as his birthplace and spiritual home.
In 1960, Burgess published his last book, "Now I Remember, Autobiography of an Amateur Naturalist," depicting memories of his early life in Sandwich, as well as his career highlights. That same year, Burgess, at the age of 86, had published his 15,000th story. He died on June 5, 1965, at the age of 91 in Hampden, Massachusetts.
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews
July 22, 2025
I plan to finish my Thornton Burgess books before the end of the year, but I will probably acquire more over my remaining years. He did write over 150 of these things that demonstrated an overt and obvious affection for the natural world. These books are also reminders of my childhood, when Dad would read these stories to my brother and me.
Here, Mrs. Peter Rabbit is a special look at a new character introduced specifically to highlight Peter's loneliness and his subsequent response in finding Miss Fuzztail and making her Mrs. Rabbit. He even moves from the Green Forest / Green Meadow area to a Briarpatch that not only offers excellent cover from predators but also has exceptionally delicious food. It's also where Peter finds companionship and fatherhood.
Overall, Mrs. Peter Rabbit is mostly about Peter Rabbit, but it does manage to communicate how adults get lonely and take a friend to create a family. The book is a classic, different from the typical Peter Rabbit story where Peter asks questions of Grandfather Frog and GF responds with a drawn out narrative as to why, how, where some incident occurred.
Funny story; great read,
Here, Mrs. Peter Rabbit is a special look at a new character introduced specifically to highlight Peter's loneliness and his subsequent response in finding Miss Fuzztail and making her Mrs. Rabbit. He even moves from the Green Forest / Green Meadow area to a Briarpatch that not only offers excellent cover from predators but also has exceptionally delicious food. It's also where Peter finds companionship and fatherhood.
Overall, Mrs. Peter Rabbit is mostly about Peter Rabbit, but it does manage to communicate how adults get lonely and take a friend to create a family. The book is a classic, different from the typical Peter Rabbit story where Peter asks questions of Grandfather Frog and GF responds with a drawn out narrative as to why, how, where some incident occurred.
Funny story; great read,
August 2, 2018
Um livro encantador sobre a vida fascinante de Peter Rabbit. Peter e todos os seus amigos correspondem a criaturas adoráveis. Sua esposa é um pouco madona e impede um pouco o coelhinho de ser divertido.
Amei as ilustrações e fiquei mais ansiosa de ler o conto de Peter Rabbit de Beatrix Potter
Amei as ilustrações e fiquei mais ansiosa de ler o conto de Peter Rabbit de Beatrix Potter
April 9, 2023
3.5 stars
Read
April 20, 2021Such a cute book!!
December 5, 2018
Recently I read The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame which is certainly better known than the numerous books written by Thornton W Burgess. However, I was disappointed by Willows and wondered if the Burgess books I remembered from my childhood would stand up to a reread. I was pleased to discover that the Burgess books were as charming as I remembered.
Grahame and Burgess both exclusively employ talking animal characters who converse with one another, travel around the countryside, and have friendships and conflicts with other animals, but the similarities end there. Grahame's book, I would guess, is more often read by adults than children, and also read by adults to children. The Burgess books are easier to read since they are intended to be read by children. The style may be a little more didactic and slightly less charming than Winnie the Pooh, but I believe they are still worth sharing with the children in your life. Burgess wrote over 150 of these little children's novels between 1910 and 1965, such as The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse, Old Mother West Wind, and Lightfoot the Deer. Each is about one hundred pages and organized into very short chapters.
While Grahame's Mr Toad drives a car and lives in a manor house, Burgess' Peter Rabbit goes "lipperty--lipperty--lip, as fast as he could go, with his long ears and his big eyes and his wobbly nose all watching out for danger on the ground," and he lives in "the dear Old Briar-patch. There was plenty to eat in it and all around it, for sweet clover grew almost up to the very edge of it, and you know Peter is very fond of sweet clover." While Mr Toad behaves more frequently as a foolish, bragging country squire than as a toad, Peter Rabbit is always a rabbit, and when his coat is torn in a late night encounter with Hooty the Owl, Peter hurts and must spend some time resting on a sunny rock until he feels better.
Burgess' attention to and love for the natural world around him reminds me of Emily Dickinson's poetry. Her "narrow fellow in the grass" and the several birds, bees and butterflies of her poems would be at home in Burgess' tales. Both Dickinson and Burgess filled their pages with the natural inhabitants of their beloved Massachusetts' fields and woods. Dickinson's own words could equally apply to Burgess:
The bee is not afraid of me,
I know the butterfly;
The pretty people in the woods
Receive me cordially.
Grahame and Burgess both exclusively employ talking animal characters who converse with one another, travel around the countryside, and have friendships and conflicts with other animals, but the similarities end there. Grahame's book, I would guess, is more often read by adults than children, and also read by adults to children. The Burgess books are easier to read since they are intended to be read by children. The style may be a little more didactic and slightly less charming than Winnie the Pooh, but I believe they are still worth sharing with the children in your life. Burgess wrote over 150 of these little children's novels between 1910 and 1965, such as The Adventures of Danny Meadow Mouse, Old Mother West Wind, and Lightfoot the Deer. Each is about one hundred pages and organized into very short chapters.
While Grahame's Mr Toad drives a car and lives in a manor house, Burgess' Peter Rabbit goes "lipperty--lipperty--lip, as fast as he could go, with his long ears and his big eyes and his wobbly nose all watching out for danger on the ground," and he lives in "the dear Old Briar-patch. There was plenty to eat in it and all around it, for sweet clover grew almost up to the very edge of it, and you know Peter is very fond of sweet clover." While Mr Toad behaves more frequently as a foolish, bragging country squire than as a toad, Peter Rabbit is always a rabbit, and when his coat is torn in a late night encounter with Hooty the Owl, Peter hurts and must spend some time resting on a sunny rock until he feels better.
Burgess' attention to and love for the natural world around him reminds me of Emily Dickinson's poetry. Her "narrow fellow in the grass" and the several birds, bees and butterflies of her poems would be at home in Burgess' tales. Both Dickinson and Burgess filled their pages with the natural inhabitants of their beloved Massachusetts' fields and woods. Dickinson's own words could equally apply to Burgess:
The bee is not afraid of me,
I know the butterfly;
The pretty people in the woods
Receive me cordially.
July 14, 2018
It's a cute story, as one would expect from Burgess, who is a master storyteller. But as is generally the case when his main character is female, his stories don't hold up to the passage of time nearly as well as they do when the characters are male; it's understandable, given that he was writing early in the 20th century and I suppose we can't expect hm to have been feminist by modern standards, but even by the standards of his time, he's more sexist than most. The titular character here is "Mrs. Peter Rabbit", in other words, even though we meet her PRIOR to her "marrying" Peter, she is defined by her mate -- she isn't called "Miss Fuzzytail", which is her maiden name. And really, the character of Peter is a far more active one than she is throughout the book, even though the book is supposedly "about her".
August 16, 2020
3 stars & 3/10 hearts. I have a very soft spot for this book because it’s so sweet. Peter and his wife are really very sweet together and the last chapter is so sweet. I know I’m overusing that adjective, but it simply sums up the whole book. It’s so sweet. ;)
A Favourite Quote: “This is the worst of a bad habit—you can try to let go of it, but it won’t let go of you.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “...just as usual Jenny Wren was fidgeting and fussing about, and Jimmy Skunk grinned as he watched her.
“‘Hello, Jenny Wren!’ said he. “What are you doing here?’
“‘I’m resting on my way home from the Old Briar-patch, if you must know, Jimmy Skunk!’ replied Jenny Wren, changing her position half a dozen times while she was speaking.
“‘...Do you call that resting! That’s a joke, Jenny Wren. Resting! Why, you couldn’t sit still and rest if you tried!’
“I could so! I’m resting right now, so there, Jimmy Skunk!’ protested Jenny Wren in a very indignant tone of voice, and hopped all over the little bush while she was speaking.”
A Favourite Quote: “This is the worst of a bad habit—you can try to let go of it, but it won’t let go of you.”
A Favourite Humorous Quote: “...just as usual Jenny Wren was fidgeting and fussing about, and Jimmy Skunk grinned as he watched her.
“‘Hello, Jenny Wren!’ said he. “What are you doing here?’
“‘I’m resting on my way home from the Old Briar-patch, if you must know, Jimmy Skunk!’ replied Jenny Wren, changing her position half a dozen times while she was speaking.
“‘...Do you call that resting! That’s a joke, Jenny Wren. Resting! Why, you couldn’t sit still and rest if you tried!’
“I could so! I’m resting right now, so there, Jimmy Skunk!’ protested Jenny Wren in a very indignant tone of voice, and hopped all over the little bush while she was speaking.”
April 18, 2022
Super cute read
Loved reading this to my girls at bedtime. The illustrations are cute but my youngest wished there were more in the book. Can't wait to read more about Peter rabbit.
Loved reading this to my girls at bedtime. The illustrations are cute but my youngest wished there were more in the book. Can't wait to read more about Peter rabbit.
January 1, 2019
Good story, I like the poems throughout. Peter Rabbit met hindering characters, yet he got a good wife in Fuzzy-Tail helping him believe in a good future.
June 18, 2019
We hadn't read this Burgess book before. It takes place after Johnny Chuck and Old Man Coyote and before Bowser the Hound. Cute, typical Burgess story. We enjoyed it.
April 18, 2020
Adorable little book that had us giggling about cute little Miss Fuzzytail, Peter Rabbit and their woodland creature friends!
May 21, 2020
lovely fairy tales.
May 6, 2023
Great lessons to learn!
April 24, 2024
Cute kids book. Love the old school morals and values, and politeness
November 22, 2024
Super cute story— the boys and I enjoyed it! I loved the description of a gossip toward the end. Lots of virtue weaved into wonderful storytelling!
January 31, 2011
The Burgess Books
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.
I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.
These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.
For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)
The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.
Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.
All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.
(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)
This is a phrase that brings a smile to my face as often as I hear it. As a young child, I would lose myself for hours in the simple world of the wood and pond inhabited by Little Joe Otter, Buster Bear, Grandfather Frog, and terrorized by Farmer Brown's Boy. I can remember the very shelf, even the exact spot in the little library in Felton, CA where these books were kept. I would return practically every week with a new armload to last me until our next trip to the library. Often I would carry out stories that I read several times before, just so I could once again escape into this imaginary world of furry mischief.
I remember these books well in concept, though the specifics of most of the stories elude me. It was easily fifteen years ago when I began reading them and has been over a decade since I last picked up one of Burguess' stories to read it. That being said, this review is being written as a look back.
These stories are very simple and very fun. Of course, they are children's literature, so that's to be expected, but these stories strike me as especially so. Even still, I can remember some fascinating things I gleaned between the their covers.
For one thing, Burgess did a fantastic job of presenting the ideas of persepective and motivation in simplistic terms. For example, "The Adventures of Danny Field Mouse" would cast Old Man Coyote as a vicious, mean creature wishing to prey on Danny and his friends and family. Yet, pick up instead "The Adventures of Old Man Coyote" and you'll see that when the story is told with him as the protagonist, those pesky field mice are annoying and useful for little more than a snack. After reading both books, you're no more inclined to think of Old Man Coyote as a villian than you are to think of Danny Field Mouse as a pest that should be exterminated. (Note: This is a generic example. I do not recall if Old Man Coyote plays a role in Danny Field Mouse's story or the other way around, but this concept was presented several times. It made an impression on me.)
The only characters consistantly presented as antagonists were Farmer Brown and his boy. This would be one of the only things that I chalk up as odd, or maybe just a little "off" in these books. Humans and their influence on nature are presented as a negative influence on nature and animals - always. It's interesting to note though that while humans are seen as a negative, humanity is lauded and held up as virtuous. All of the animals take on not only human personalities but characteristics, traits, and mannerisms. From a frog with a monocle and an otter with a handkerchief tied to a stick, to a busy-body Jay and a reclusive owl who desires only to be left alone, humanity and it's traits keep cropping up.
Which would be another thing of value I feel that I saw in the Burgess books. These stories are full of social interaction and personality conflicts, even if they are charicatured more often than not. We see over and over again a working out of peace, if not harmony, between conflicting personalities. It may not always be easy to point out a scripture to reinforce the lesson implied, but social harmony is presented and more often than not, resolution is through reconciliation, forgiveness, or a similar method that is not only laudable, but distinctly Christian in action if not motivation.
All in all, the world created by Thornton W. Burgess is imaginative, innocent, fun, and educational. My reccomendation? Grab a handful from your local library, gather a group of kids as an excuse, and lose yourselves in childhood imaginations as you read aloud the stories that have captivated several generations of young readers with the antics of our furry, albiet elusively human, friends.
(Disclaimers: As I said, it has been over a decade since I actually read one of Burgess' books. As such, there may be a specific example that's a little off in this review or something that I would have noticed as an adult that my childhood memories are missing. Also, all of these books say I read them in 1998. While I'm certain I read several of them that year, I'm sure I read some before and after that date as well.)
March 3, 2017
Amidst all of unsuccessful readings I do this week, this one get me through!
I don't know, am I tired of being adult?
I just love children books so much :3
I don't know, am I tired of being adult?
I just love children books so much :3
March 6, 2014
The prose and premise are exceedingly old fashioned. That being said, the soothing, gentle, nusery-quality of this book is just what the doctor ordered in terms of the stressful day I have had. I gave my dog the wrong medication, learned that a dear friend suffered a heart attack and ended by taking a bad tumble in the driveway. Peter Rabbit's views on life, stated at the beginning of each chapter, were like a balm. Ahhhh, love is sweet!
July 11, 2010
I am reading an original printing of this book from 1919. Pretty sweet, I'm afraid I'm going to break it!
7/10/10 I finished reading this, btw. It was a cute kids book. Kind of fun to read such an old book. I was kind of disappointed that the story didn't actually end. They basically set up the stories for the rest of the series of books.
7/10/10 I finished reading this, btw. It was a cute kids book. Kind of fun to read such an old book. I was kind of disappointed that the story didn't actually end. They basically set up the stories for the rest of the series of books.
February 8, 2013
My boys (5 and 6 years old) love anything by Thornton Burgess and this book was no exception.
Read
September 12, 2016Can't find my copy at the moment, but it's a vintage hardcover, maybe 1940s.
October 22, 2015
I liked it. Her name was little mrs. fuzzy tail.
February 4, 2016
I liked it
February 26, 2019
Cute little rabbit 🐇
There is something to said about having cousins they are family. Like very well beloved version of Mrs. Beatrice potter's Peter rabbit, 🐇. This bunny had a cute way hopping into your heart ❤!
There is something to said about having cousins they are family. Like very well beloved version of Mrs. Beatrice potter's Peter rabbit, 🐇. This bunny had a cute way hopping into your heart ❤!
Read
May 30, 2019I loved this 💖 a perfect story with greatlife lessons
Displaying 1 - 25 of 25 reviews