cover image Peter Rabbit Cut-Out Book

Peter Rabbit Cut-Out Book

Beatrix Potter. Frederick Warne and Company, $3.95 (24pp) ISBN 978-0-7232-3331-2

This activity book has four models for children to cut out and assemble: Mrs. Rabbit's burrow, Ginger and Pickle's shop, Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle's kitchen, and the doll's house from The Tale of Two Bad Mice. Once the scenes are put together, children can create their own stories to go along with the freestanding forms. But getting to that point may prove difficult. The stiff cardboard pages are not perforated, requiring scissors and a steady hand. The slots must be cut ""with a sharp knife,'' and the dotted folding lines are for ``scoring with the tip of your scissors and a ruler.'' At the back of the book there are shadowy diagrams to aid assembly, and readers must refer to them constantly to match up slots and tabs. In other words, even children at the high end of the indicated age range would probably need adult supervision. This is a good idea, but poorly executed. (38)