Timeless Tales of Beatrix Potter: Peter Rabbit and Friends

by Beatrix Potter, Katherine Kellgren (Narrator)

Beatrix Potter's amazing universe of animals dressed in human clothing has taught and entertained children for over a century. This volume brings together twenty-one of Potter's tales and verses in one book. Hear Peter Rabbit outwit old Mr. McGregor, and Squirrel Nutkin come within a tail's length of being an owl's dinner. Listen as a family of mice save the kind tailor of Gloucester, and as Peter and Benjamin Bunny battle a barn cat. Learn how one fierce rabbit is set on the road to honesty. Although each story stands on its own, several are linked together by events and characters. The following stories are included in this book: -The Tale of Peter Rabbit -The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin -The Tailor of Gloucester -The Tale of Benjamin Bunny -The Tale of Two Bad Mice -The Tale of Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle -The Tale of Mr. Jeremy Fisher -The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit -The Story of Miss Moppet -The Tale of Tom Kitten -The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck -The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies -The Tale of Mrs. Tittlemouse -Appley Dapply's Nursery Rhymes -The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse -Cecily Parseley's Nursery Rhymes -The Tale of the Pie and the Patty-Pan -The Tale of Samuel Whiskers or The Roly-Poly Pudding -The Tale of Ginger and Pickles -The Tale of Mr. Tod -The Tale of Pigling Bland -The Tale of Timmy Tiptoes The world of Beatrix Potter is as appealing now as when it was first created at the turn of the twentieth century.

Genres: Audiobook, Classics, Childrens, Fiction, Animals, Fantasy, Picture Books

3 pages, Audio CD

First published March 24, 2014

About the author

Helen Beatrix Potter was an English author, illustrator, mycologist, and conservationist who is best known for her children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit.

Born into a wealthy household, Potter was educated by governesses and grew up isolated from other children. She had numerous pets, and through holidays in Scotland and the Lake District, developed a love of landscape, flora, and fauna, all of which she closely observed and painted. Because she was a woman, her parents discouraged intellectual development, but her study and paintings of fungi led her to be widely respected in the field of mycology.

In her thirties, Potter published the highly successful children's book The Tale of Peter Rabbit and became secretly engaged to her publisher, Norman Warne, causing a breach with her parents, who disapproved of his social status. Warne died before the wedding.

Potter eventually published 24 children's books, the most recent being The Tale of Kitty-in-Boots (2016), and having become financially independent of her parents, was able to buy a farm in the Lake District, which she extended with other purchases over time.

In her forties, she married a local solicitor, William Heelis. She became a sheep breeder and farmer while continuing to write and illustrate children's books. Potter died in 1943 and left almost all of her property to The National Trust in order to preserve the beauty of the Lake District as she had known it, protecting it from developers.

Potter's books continue to sell well throughout the world, in multiple languages. Her stories have been retold in various formats, including a ballet, films, and in animation.

Reviews

[Colleen Houck]

I love this collection. The audio version is really well done. Other than Peter Rabbit, I really love the story of the mice who helped the tailor. If you haven't read these yet, you should.

[Sheila Beaumont · Rating 5 out of 5]

This audiobook containing more than 20 of Beatrix Potter's wonderful tales is a delight to listen to. Katherine Kellgren is a lively narrator, who makes "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" sound like a relentlessly fast-paced thriller. She also actually sings the characters' songs. I especially liked her rendition of the silly riddle songs Squirrel Nutkin chants to annoy Mr. Brown, the owl.

The collection includes stories both well-known ("The Tale of Tom Kitten") and some that I'd forgotten ("The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse"), as well as a series of nursery rhymes at the end, some familiar and some that I'd never heard before. This is a totally enjoyable and beautifully produced audiobook that young children will love.

[Keith Kresge · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really a strange compilation—every story has so much unique character, but they don’t all appear to fit with one another very well. Some are goofy, some cautionary, others downright heroic and nail-biting, with high stakes.

One interesting thing to note is that Potter’s world is anthropomorphic animals that nevertheless follow the rules of the animal kingdom. Babies almost get eaten. Mice feature as the main characters of one story and are offered as a payment to a hungry owl in the next. Odd.

[Eileen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that was fun. Kathryn Kellgren's voice was occasionally sharp, but honestly she was decent as a narrator. She even sang and she's a decent singer. Certain voices were a bit cringeworthy, but it fit the characters, so I give it a pass. Many of these tales were familiar to me, but not all.

[Trinia · Rating 4 out of 5]

Cute book of children's stories, all with a little lesson to them ;)

[Heidi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Wasn't into this one and neither was the kiddo. I usually love Katherine Kellgren, but it was just too shrill with Potter's text.

[Joe Marley · Rating 3 out of 5]

These stories come from a terrifying world where sentient beings eat each other. Once I got over the horror, the stories were charming.

[Sara Leigh · Rating 4 out of 5]

Leo and I enjoyed listening to this in the car as I drove him home from preschool. Now on to Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, something a little different but still with talking animals.

[Meg Morden · Rating 5 out of 5]

I adored these stories as a child and they are still charming. I listened to them and the narrator was delightful.

[Leonie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Every time the audiobook narrator started singing I died a little inside.

[Jamie · Rating 5 out of 5]

Listened to this for free on audiblestories.com after reading Beatrix Potter‘s Complete Tales. The British accent really helps the stories come alive!

[Timothy Makin · Rating 1 out of 5]

Insufferable.

[Jeff T. · Rating 1 out of 5]

Meh. I only finished it because I started it.

[Aighmi* · Rating 1 out of 5]

Katherine Kellgren is always wonderful. For her, we endured this whole book!

[Mindy · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a smol child's brain I suppose. I liked it quite a bit though! There was tales with Peter Rabbit and Mr. McGregor, Squirrel Nutkin, Benjamin Bunny, Tom Kitten, Pickles the terrier and a multitude of others. I was particularly fond of "The Tailor of Gloucester" in which a family of mice help and save a tailor who was having difficulties. Mr. Jeremy Fisher's tale, who actually did fish in, was a close second. Or maybe it was the story about a cat who tried to switch a pie of mouse and bacon for her pie of veal and ham in her friend's oven and did not realize she failed until after she enjoyed the mouse pie.

There were some little songs that many of the animals sang, some hit and some missed with me, but they were all cute.

One lesson I learned from reading was that I should never sell on credit because the customers will never pay.

The reader, Ms. Kellgren, was excellent.

[Molly Smith · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really a delightful way to hear the tales of Beatrix Potter. I started listening to it in the car with my toddler and found I was so engrossed, I continued to listen during my workouts and at work. I finished it quickly and will continue to listen to it again, especially with my kiddos in the car. I highly recommend this audiobook for anyone who enjoys tales of animals brought to life, fans of Beatrix Potter and especially for parents to have something to listen in the car with children. The narrator was excellent in capturing the feel and personalities of the characters.

[Taylor · Rating 4 out of 5]

The stories are great, so adorable and fun to listen to. The narrator brings such life to them as well, excellent little voices and pacing. Only issue with it was I agree with some others who said the titles don’t match the descriptions of each chapter, at least the one I listened to on Audible. It is like someone plugged the audio into a translator and auto-generated the titles but they’re incorrect on some of them. That needs to be fixed but otherwise great title.

[Kristi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Katherine Kellgrin gives a lively performance, although, at times, the high-strung tone was grating. It was interesting listening to Potter's tales read by different narrators between this edition and another; I found myself noticing different details. As in my last reading, I liked some of Potter's stories more than the others, and felt the lack of the charming illustrations to soften the dark themes and jarring nuances.

[Dosha (Bluestocking7) Beard · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent narration. Excellent stories. Just a wonderful way to spend a Sunday afternoon knitting and listening to these timeless tales. The descriptions of the clothing on the animals, and the zany things they get themselves into made beautiful visuals in my minds eye. Children and adults of all ages cannot help but be entertained.

[Alicia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Really 2.5

So I had found memories of enjoying these stories as a child when I selected this as an audiobook to listen to with my kids. These stories really benefit from the illustrations and just the idea of this secret life of animals much like our own; however, many of the tales just weren't that engaging. Maybe it was the narrator.

[Jeanne · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was a mixed bag, but overall I enjoyed them for the morality tales they were. Some of the anthropomorphizing made for some bizarre interactions between animals, and it was interesting to see the contrast of which animals wore clothes and which didn't. Very trippy as an adult, but stuff kids probably wouldn't pick up on. :D

[Anastasiya M · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a great revisit to a childhood read of mine and getting all the stories in one audiobook to sit back and enjoy! There were some stories I remembered from the time I read them as a child and some that weren't familiar. This was a great choice to dive into a beloved classic.

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[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

I've read Beatrix Potter to my little man before, but I definitely enjoyed listening to them more than reading them (especially some of the longer tales). Obviously, we were missing the illustrations, so I imagine I will be reading the book form of this again.

[Charlsa · Rating 5 out of 5]

I never read the complete tales as a child and have always wanted to read them. I recently saw the new movie based on Peter Rabbit, which is fabulous by the way, and it inspired me to listen to this audio version of the tales. They are wonderful.

[Peter Kalnin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Beatrix Potter's Peter Rabbit and other tales are classics that everyone should be familiar with. Katherine Kellgren's narration perfectly matches the stories and the wonderful original illustrations. I cannot love this book more!

[Alexandra · Rating 3 out of 5]

I think I would have enjoyed these stories a lot more if I first read them when I was younger. There is enough here that I can see why children would fall in love with Ms Potter's stories but they lack depth for an adult reader.

[Corie Smith · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is super cute for kids.
Unfortunately, I got it on Audible in the assumption of it being a spin off of Harry Potter. 🤦‍♀️ That’s what I get for picking books without reading what it’s about. I usually don’t want to spoil anything by reading the summary.

[Nicole · Rating 2 out of 5]

I didn't find this very engaging as an audiobook, except for "The Tale of Johnny Town-Mouse" (my favorite of her stories).

[Connor Francois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I did not like the book

[Kendra Francois · Rating 5 out of 5]

I loved the story with the nine pigs the best.