The Tale of Benjamin Bunny

<p>“The Tale of Benjamin Bunny”&nbsp;is a children's book written and illustrated by&nbsp;Beatrix Potter, and first published by&nbsp;Frederick Warne &amp; Co. in September 1904. The book is a sequel to&nbsp;The Tale of Peter Rabbit&nbsp;(1902), and tells of Peter's return to&nbsp;Mr. McGregor's garden with his cousin Benjamin to retrieve the clothes he lost there during his previous adventure. In&nbsp;Benjamin Bunny, Potter deepened the rabbit universe she created in&nbsp;Peter Rabbit, and, in doing so, suggested the rabbit world was parallel to the human world but complete and sufficient unto itself.</p> <p>In 1903, Potter and her publisher decided her next book should be less complicated than her previous productions, and in&nbsp;Benjamin Bunny&nbsp;she created a simple, didactic tale for young children. The book's masterful illustrations were based upon the several gardens at the&nbsp;Lake District&nbsp;estate of Fawe Park, where Potter spent the summer of 1903.</p> <p>Benjamin Bunny&nbsp;was an instant commercial and popular success, and thousands of copies were in print by the end of 1904.&nbsp;The Times Literary Supplement&nbsp;thought Potter's illustrations "pencil perfect",but suggested that she engage a literary assistant for future productions. Potter created a nursery wallpaper tapping Benjamin's image, and Benjamin returned as an adult rabbit in the&nbsp;Flopsy Bunnies&nbsp;and&nbsp;Mr. Tod. In 1992,&nbsp;Benjamin Bunny&nbsp;was adapted as an episode of the&nbsp;BBC&nbsp;animated television series,&nbsp;The World of Peter Rabbit and Friends.</p>