Today we talked about how the illustrations in The Tale of Peter Rabbit are naturalistic. The plants and animals in the book closely resemble those in real life (minus the shoes and jacket on Peter!). We talked about how Beatrix Potter owned and observed many animals growing up and as a result of that she was able to draw them very realistically. We compared and contrasted the illustrations in the book with drawings from a Peter Rabbit coloring book that we have that are not naturalistic but instead very cartoon-like.
Here’s an illustration from the book. Peter Rabbit, though dressed in clothes, looks very much like a real rabbit in his body shape and features. The vegetation also looks very realistic.
In contrast, here’s the coloring book drawing from the same passage in the book. Notice the cartoon eyes and unrealistic body shape (such as the paws that look more like hands). And the flowers are ridiculously perfect and unrealistic.
Elliot attempted to make a realistic drawing by looking at the illustrations in the book. He commented how hard it was. I reminded him that Beatrix Potter practiced for years to be able to draw so well.
We ended our lesson by enjoying some little Peter Rabbit crackers (Annie’s Organic Whole Wheat Bunnies).
Elliot re-told the story with his “props”.
He made a “rabbit pie”. He said it represented how Peter Rabbit’s father got caught and put into a pie by Mrs. McGregor.
