Bandit meets birthday bunny - Phoebe Juel will bring her Holland Lop rabbit named Bandit to the Peter Rabbit Festival Saturday, June 29, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Juel says while rabbits are loving and intelligent, she wants to emphasize their fragility and vunerability and why they aren't great pets for small children. -Herald photo by Rose Hooper
N.C. Rep. Phil Haire will delight children with the adventures of a naughty rabbit during the Peter Rabbit Festival Saturday, June 29, at City Lights Bookstore in Sylva. Other invited guest readers scheduled to bring to life Beatrix Potter's "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" include Mark Jamison, Katie Allman and Margaret Miller. The festival, which runs from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m., is not just for children, but will include activities for all ages. Camomile tea and carrot cake will be served. The occasion is Peter Rabbit's 100th birthday. Frederick Warne and Co. first published "The Tale of Peter Rabbit" in 1902. Since then the book has sold more than 40 million copies and has been translated into some 35 languages. While Potter's home of London, England, has planned a year-long celebration for the centennial event, City Lights employees decided to join the festivities with a celebration of their own. "I can't think of many other children's books which have such wide appeal in getting children to read," said Joe Rhinehart, who is lending a hand with the local celebration. In addition to organizing games like "Pin the Tail on the Bunny," Phoebe Juel will bring her rabbit, a Holland Lop named Bandit, to the event and talk about the fragility of rabbits as pets for young children. "Bandit is litter-box trained, understands 'no,' and is very loving and intelligent," Juel said of her rabbit, which she named because of the dark mask on its face. "Rabbits are cute, but they require a lot of care and they are very vulnerable." E.A. Stonesifer, a teacher from Maryland, will come and talk about the life of the lady who wrote about a naughty rabbit who disobeys his mother and goes on an adventure in Mr. McGregor's garden. "Beatrix Potter was an illustrator as well as an author," said Rhinehart. "Her whimsical paintings are from the perspective of a small child and have introduced many children to an outdoor world of caterpillars, moths, butterflies and spiders, as well as the lettuce, beans, berries and onions in Mr. McGregor's garden." |