Chirp chirp, ribbet ribbet, whoo whoo!

Have you heard the buzzzzzz? Just listen.

This is the time of year when curious bunnies venture out of their burrows for a good look around. Since 2023 is the Year of the Rabbit, who better to celebrate Easter with than our good friend Peter?

He’s very excited about his new interactive picture book, Peter’s Nature Walk (Puffin Books, 2023). Just released in February, it tells about his delightful dawn to dusk amble around the countryside with his mother and sisters, Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail. 

What makes this book extra special is that on each page there is a special “Press Here” button, so readers can hear the sounds of birds, bugs, and frogs, along with the rustling of leaves and the rummaging of squirrels! There are ten wonderful sounds in all, including opening music, so it feels like we’re right there with them! 🙂

As the story opens, Peter and his family are greeted by the blackbird’s morning song. After breakfast, they head outside, where Mrs. Rabbit points out several nearby trees – oak, horse chestnut, and sycamore (the ladybirds are eating mildew off its leaves) – while Peter’s sisters make bark rubbings. 

As the sun rises higher in the sky, they wander through the meadow for a picnic by the pond, stopping to admire marching ants. Peter learns how crickets and grasshoppers make their sounds. 

When they finally reach the pond, they’re greeted by Mr. Jeremy Fisher, who is surrounded by noisy animals. Not to worry, as Jeremy loves to hear “the ducks quacking and the gentle fluttering of dragonfly wings.” As Peter and his sisters feast on pudding, pie, berries, and tarts, they’re serenaded by the ribbits and croaks of tadpoles who have finally turned into frogs.

After lunch, Peter learns about the importance of bees, whom he first thought annoying. He changes his mind after Mrs. Rabbit explains about flowers, pollination, nectar, and honey. She reminds him that bees help plants grow, including the delicious fruits and veggies in Mr. McGregor’s garden.

Well, that makes Peter (an expert at sneaking into gardens) want to see what’s ready for harvesting. He and his sisters enjoy checking out Mr. McGregor’s onions, tomatoes, potatoes and radishes before a vigilant robin sings out a warning. Mr. McGregor is coming! They scamper out just in time. Phew!

With the sun going down, the rabbits head home. On their way back through the woods, they meet Mrs. Tittlemouse and her family, who’ve purchased food to fatten themselves up ahead of their winter hibernation. They also run into Squirrel Nutkin, who’s topping up his family’s winter stash of acorns, chestnuts and berries. No chance of running short of food once the cold weather sets in!

Soon dusk arrives to the nightingales’ song. As their cozy burrow comes into view, they spy Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle foraging for grubs in the blackberry bushes. Flopsy, Mopsy, Cotton-tail and Peter happily devour some berries for their supper. 

Then it’s time for bed. What a happy, busy day they’ve all had, exploring their surroundings and learning about nature’s wonders. With the moon in the sky and the stars twinkling overhead, the bunnies sleep peacefully, with moths and bats fluttering by, and nocturnal animals like Mr. Tod and Tommy Brock padding through the trees on their night-time hunts. As Mrs. Rabbit gazes out the window, the only sound she can hear is the soft hoot of an owl. 

This story is a real charmer for readers who’ve already read Beatrix Potter’s original Peter Rabbit books as well as for those new to the series and these particular animal characters.

Author Katie Woolley and illustrator Neil Faulkner have lovingly captured Potter’s enthusiasm for the natural world, inviting kids to take a closer look at birds, bugs, flowers, plants, and trees, with the added bonus of sound. Each double page spread features lots of details for eager eyes to linger over. Backmatter includes short notes about migration, metamorphosis, pollination, the life cycle of frogs, and nocturnal animals. Readers will especially enjoy playing with all the “Press Here” buttons on the final page, a fun recap of all the sounds in the story.

Peter’s Nature Walk is definitely a book young readers will want to return to again and again. I love all the sounds, especially the robin and nightingales. The bees are appropriately menacing, while the crickets sound like they’ll jump right out of the book.

What a perfect marriage of text + art, learning + fun, likely to get kids outside exploring on their own. All that’s missing is the sound of applause at the end. 🙂

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🐰 Blueberry Pie Bars 🐜

Can you guess what Mr Cornelius’s favorite part of the story was? Why, yes. The picnic at the pond with Jeremy Fisher!

Naturally we had to host a picnic of our own. In addition to cucumber and jam sandwiches, we served Blueberry Pie Bars, since the bunnies in this book really loved blueberries. Not only did Peter and his family eat blueberries at the picnic, they also ate bowls of them for breakfast.

We found the perfect recipe online — easy to make and sooooooo yummy! They’re great to pack in your picnic basket, as they travel well and can be eaten out of hand. Of course, these bars are also good with afternoon tea if you’d rather eat them daintily with a fork.

The bottom crust tastes like a rich shortbread cookie; part of this mixture is set aside to sprinkle on top of the blueberries in friendly clumps before baking. I like that the custard-y filling, made with an egg, sugar, sour cream, lemon juice and vanilla, isn’t overly sweet, allowing the flavor of fresh blueberries to come through.

There is one small problem, though — these bars tend to disappear too quickly. You may have to set aside a few for yourself before the bunnies in your house totally devour them.

What — you’re still hungry?! Well, since you’ve been a good little bunny all through this post, here’s a nice bowl of blackberries and milk, just like Flopsy, Mopsy, and Cotton-tail had at the end of Peter’s original story.

🌹 HOPPY EASTER! 🌺

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PETER’S NATURE WALK
written by Katie Woolley and Neil Faulkner
published by Frederick Warne/Penguin Random House, February 2023
Interactive Picture Book for ages 3-5, 24pp.

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*Copyright © 2023 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.