The Tale of Peter Rabbit ¦ The Tale of Jemima Puddle-Duck

Ever since the ghastly mess Ladybird made of the Beatrix Potter books, the idea of anything other than tiny, hardbacked books published by Frederick Warne as vehicles for her writing has sent shivers down my spine. However, Puffin have simply taken the original text and paintings and enlarged them to conventional paperback size. This means they're much easier to read to groups of children - the print is now big enough to be shared with young children as are the pictures.

However, much has also been lost. The little books have a place of their own; child-size, intimate, special, they've been part of so many warm close storytimes and have enticed so many children to want to hold and read them. This is entirely missing in these editions.

The answer, of course, is that children should have both. These are not a substitute for the originals, but certainly will enhance them, especially in schools.