Peter Cottontail facts for kids
Peter Cottontail is a well-known name for a fictional rabbit. This name was used for a short time by a character named Peter Rabbit. He was created by an American author named Thornton Burgess.
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Who is Peter Cottontail?
Peter Rabbit is a character from the books of Thornton Burgess. Burgess started writing stories about Peter Rabbit in 1910. These stories were part of his Old Mother West Wind series.
Why Did Peter Change His Name?
In a book called The Adventures of Peter Cottontail, Peter Rabbit decided he didn't like his simple name. He thought "Peter Cottontail" sounded more important. So, he changed his name for a little while.
Peter started acting very proud because of his new, fancy name. But his friends teased him a lot. Soon, Peter realized his old name was best. He went back to being called Peter Rabbit. This happened very quickly in the book, only lasting for two chapters.
Peter Rabbit's Long Career
Thornton Burgess wrote many stories about Peter Rabbit. He wrote over 15,000 daily newspaper stories until he retired in 1960. Many of these stories featured Peter Rabbit. However, the name "Peter Cottontail" was never used again after that one book.
How Peter Rabbit Was Created
Thornton Burgess first made up stories for his four-year-old son. His son already knew about another famous rabbit, Peter Rabbit, created by Beatrix Potter. Because of this, Burgess's son insisted his father's rabbit also be named Peter Rabbit.
Later, Burgess wrote down these stories. A publisher named Little, Brown became interested. They published some of his stories as the book Old Mother West Wind. The name of Burgess's rabbit character, Peter Rabbit, stayed the same.
Peter Cottontail in Pop Culture
Peter Cottontail became even more famous in other ways.
The Peter Rabbit Comic Strip
Harrison Cady was an artist who drew pictures for Burgess's books. He also created a newspaper comic strip called Peter Rabbit. This comic strip ran from 1920 to 1948.
Easter Bunny Connection
In 1950, a singer named Gene Autry recorded a popular holiday song. It was called "Here Comes Peter Cottontail". This song helped make the name Peter Cottontail very well-known. It even became a popular unofficial name for the Easter Bunny.
Later, in 1971, a TV special for Easter was made. It was also called Here Comes Peter Cottontail. This special was based on a 1957 book about the Easter Bunny.
