I grew up on Beatrix Potter, beloved of my librarian grandmother. These days, if you are going to read every word of the text to children, you should be aware that the following things occur in this book:
-Use of four-syllable words ("somniferous," promptly defined through context)
-Tobacco references
-Antagonist humans planning to eat the protagonists and/or skin and decapitate them
-Cousin marriage among rabbits
Personally, I still find the story worth sharing even if I edit out a bullet point or two of the above depending on the age of the listeners. (Pre-K can't benefit from the big word, but can handle the rabbits marrying one another better than 3rd grade...) ( )

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Classic Children's books. ( )

When the cupboard is bare at the Flopsy Bunny's burrow, the family all have to go in search of food. They soon find some old lettuces on Mr McGregor's rubbish heap, but who can imagine the horrors that await them as they enjoy a nap after lunch!
Peter Rabbit and Benjamin Bunny are two of Beatrix Potter's most popular characters and they are brought together in this exciting tale of danger and friendship. -- GoodReads

This review goes for all the bunny-centric Beatrix Potter books, including [b:The Tale of Peter Rabbit|19321|The Tale of Peter Rabbit|Beatrix Potter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1167203194s/19321.jpg|644171], [b:The Tale of Benjamin Bunny|756712|The Tale of Benjamin Bunny (The World of Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit)|Beatrix Potter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1178084206s/756712.jpg|742825], and [b:The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit|682788|The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit (The World of Beatrix Potter Peter Rabbit)|Beatrix Potter|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1177117865s/682788.jpg|1704630]. I'm just attaching it to The Tale of the Flopsy Bunnies because I think it has the cutest drawings (leetle behbeh bunneh ears!).

You don't realize, when you are a child, how perfect and lifelike Beatrix Potter's illustrations are. That takes adult eyes. Looking at the drawings for these 4 books, I couldn't get over how lifelike Potter's rabbits were. It was clear to me that she knew her subjects in the most intimate way; she had been observing the wildlife of northern England for years to be able to draw rabbits in such lifelike ways, even while anthropomorphizing them (Mrs. Flopsy Bunny in her little housekeeper's apron?!? Adorable!). The tenderness and reality of the colors are also amazing: the variations of brown in the bunnies' coats; the shades of green in a lettuce leaf; the slightly misty quality to views of Old Mr. MacGregor's garden that evoke a golden age of the English countryside that probably never existed. Or maybe it did. Or maybe it does, in our imaginations and hearts.

Looking back, one might think Beatrix Potter's tales are a bit harsh for children (e.g., The Story of a Fierce Bad Rabbit: The Bad Rabbit beats up another rabbit and takes his carrot, then gets shot at by a hunter. He doesn't die, only loses his tail and whiskers, but Oi! Violence!). However, I don't think they are excessively so (the Bad Rabbit does not die; there is no bloody bunny carcass displayed on the meadow or hanging from the hunter's fist), and I read these books as a child and turned out fairly fine, so I have very little qualm about passing them on to the next generation. ( )