Emma Thompson is an Oscar-winning screenwriter and actress who lives in London and Argyll. Her father was Eric Thompson, the man behind The Magic Roundabout, and she remembers him reading Beatrix Potter's tales to her and her sister in his best Dougal voice. "We would always want The Tale of Mr. Tod, which is lengthy and satisfyingly spooky. He would always read The Tale of a Fierce Bad Rabbit, which has about three words on each page. But--thanks to Potter's genius--we were never, ever disappointed."