Peter Rabbit's book was abridged in 1917, and seven pairs of pictures were cut to create "Tom Kitten's Painting Book". One new pair of pictures was added to Tom's book and three new pairs of pictures to Peter's book with the result that there were eight pairs of pictures in both books. Jemima's book would also feature eight pairs of pictures. In addition to painting instructions, Tom's book told the child artist "ou can colour these pictures quite nicely with Crayons." The accompanying illustration depicts three kittens playing about a painting book and several crayons lying on the ground.