Thursday, October 7, 2010

The Story of Miss Moppet by Beatrix Potter

First published December 1906
38 pages, 16 color illustrations

A tale of wits--who will best who, Miss Moppet or the mouse?

The History Behind the Tale (Linder 183-184):
The Story of Miss Moppet is the second of three books that Beatrix Potter wrote for younger children. Incidentally, the third story, The Sly Old Cat, was never published. Like The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit, The Story of Miss Moppet was originally published in panoramic format, but later changed to match the other books.

My thoughts: Miss Moppet is quite a humorous tale. It strikes me as a precursor to the cartoon Tom & Jerry as the mouse always triumphs over the cat.

Favorite Illustrations: Mouse looking down (18), Miss Moppet peeping at the moues through the duster (26), No mouse (35), Mouse dancing a jig (36)

Activities:
-Catch the mouse (tag)
-Mouse Toss (add a mouse sticker or picture to a ball and toss it around a circle)

Favorite Words: cupboard, duster, bell pull, jig

I hope you've enjoyed my discussion of The Story of Miss Moppet. I'll be back next week to talk about The Tale of Tom Kitten.

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