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| September 2016 Warne Puffin |
"A serious, well-behaved young black cat, who leads a daring double life defeating vile villains."
When I was a little girl I had a
much loved copy of The Tale of Peter Rabbit and I can remember the comforting
feeling of snuggling under bed covers and having someone read the story to me.
The comfort of listening to stories and particularly Beatrix Potter stories has
not diminished over time and so when asked to listen and review The Tale of
Kitty-In-Boots I jumped at the opportunity, as not only was this a chance to
read a completely new story from a much loved author, but also an introduction
to listening to stories via Audible.
The Tale of Kitty-In-Boots tells
the story of Miss Katherine St Quentin, an intrepid black cat, known as Miss
Kitty, who gets herself into all sorts of exciting situations. In a cunningly
dangerous adventure she meets the notorious villain, Mr Todd, a foxy hunter
with devilish charm and whose outward demeanour belies his deadly intent.
Beautifully narrated by the actress, Helen Mirren, the story has an olde-worlde
charm which is so reminiscent of Beatrix Potter and yet, there is freshness to
the story which makes it feel surprisingly more modern than its more famous
counterparts. Written in the years before 1914 it was never published, until
now, and personally, I think that this story shows Beatrix Potter at her
enigmatic best.
The narration of The Tale of Kitty
in Boots lasts around 16 minutes which is a perfect length to listen to the
story in one sitting and just enough time for even fidgety children to sit
still. The rest of the narration which runs to over 56 minutes continues with
the actress, Anna Friel reading five more classic Beatrix Potter tales and which need no introduction from me.
They are :
The Tale of Peter Rabbit
The Tale of Jemima Puddleduck
The Tale of Mrs Tiggy-Winkle
The Tale of Squirrel Nutkin
The Tale of Jeremy Fisher
Whilst both narrators are unique in their style of delivery,
each individual tale was read with just the right amount of fun and
gravitas, all beautifully spoken in a narration which was clean and precise. I
especially enjoyed listening to Anna Friel sing Squirrel Nutkin's riddles so
beautifully.
I know that there has been some
debate around the Quentin Blake illustrations in The Tale of Kitty- In-Boots,
which are so very different from Beatrix Potter’s more whimsical
interpretation. Having 'listened' to the story I don't have a physical copy to
look at, so I can't give an informed appraisal of the illustrations, except to
say that what I have seen of the cover, I rather like Blake's depiction of Miss
Kitty in her Boots.
Best Read with ...A glass of milk two chocolate digestive biscuits.
Helen Beatrix Potter was an
English author, illustrator and conservationist who was best known for her
children's books, which featured animal characters such as Peter Rabbit, Squirrel
Nutkin, Jeremy Fisher, et al.
My thanks to Audible.co.uk for the opportunity to listen to this book and also to Francesca at Midas for the invitation to get to know Miss Kitty-In-Boots. I think Jaffa is a little in love with Miss Kitty !
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