In the 1890s, Potter sent illustrated story letters to the children of Annie Moore, who had used to be her governess. In 1900, Moore, who realized how popular Potter's stories could become, suggested they be made into books. Potter agreed. She took her letters (which had been carefully saved by the Moore children) and chose a letter written on 4 September 1893 to five-year-old Noel about a rabbit named Peter. Potter had owned a pet rabbit called Peter Piper. The letter was too short to be a proper book, so Potter made the story longer and added pictures in black and white. She copied the work into a hardcover book with a frontispiece picture of Mrs. Rabbit giving Peter camomile tea at the end of the book.