The Tale of Peter Rabbit

Potter, B. (1902). The Tale of Peter Rabbit. Chuck Brown (Speaker). London, England: Fredrick Warne and Company.

Brief Annotation: Peter is a mischievous little rabbit. He disobeys his mother and finds himself in a world of trouble when Mr. McGregor catches him eating the vegetables in his garden. This audio book follows Peter as he tried to outwit Mr. McGregor. Peter learns his lesson when he finally gets home, he is sick and is only allowed chamomile tea for dinner as Flopsy, Mopsy and Cottontail have bread, black berries and milk for supper.

Genre: Animal fantasy, picture book

Grade Level: k - 2

Readers who will like this: Early readers who enjoy a fast paced story of adventures and readers who enjoy animal fantasy.
Response/Rating (1-4): 4. Great story and great reader. Unlike many audio books, this reader had a really good pace that fit well with the story. He used interesting voices when reading Peter's mothers parts, and he used sounds when describing things like the sound of Mr. McGregors hoe digging in the dirt.

One question you would ask before a read aloud: What would you do if you were caught doing something you were not supposed to be doing?

Reading Strategies Connection:Retelling a picturebook (Yopp & Yopp pp. 140). Instead of drawing pictures to represent what is in the story, the students could record an audio book of their retelling. After listening to Chuck Brown's version of The Tale of Peter Rabbit, students can chose their own story to make an audio book of. The story does not have to be word for word; the student should emphasize the difference in the voice and use creative ways to insert imagery with sound effects. This exercise would be helpful for children to visualize the story and to pay attention to details they may have over looked when reading. Since a picture book can tell the story without being able to read it would help a young student whom hasn't mastered reading yet would be able to record his/her own audio book version by reading the pictures. The student could then play back and tweak the recording until he/she is satisfied with their recording. The audio book is great model for students especially when they are split into learning centers and cannot have a teacher model consistently.