The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams

Product Description


Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."
Product Details
Amazon Sales Rank: #16675 in Books
Published on: 1999-04-01
Released on: 1999-03-09
Number of items: 1
Binding: Paperback
40 pages
Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
A stuffed toy rabbit (with real thread whiskers) comes to life in Margery Williams's timeless tale of the transformative power of love. Given as a Christmas gift to a young boy, the Velveteen Rabbit lives in the nursery with all of the other toys, waiting for the day when the Boy (as he is called) will choose him as a playmate. In time, the shy Rabbit befriends the tattered Skin Horse, the wisest resident of the nursery, who reveals the goal of all nursery toys: to be made "real" through the love of a human. "'Real isn't how you are made,' said the Skin Horse. 'It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real.'" This sentimental classic--perfect for any child who's ever thought that maybe, just maybe, his or her toys have feelings--has been charming children since its first publication in 1922. (A great read-aloud for all ages, but children ages 8 and up can read it on their own.)

From Publishers Weekly
Hague's warm paintings give a soft sheen to Williams's classic story. Ages 5-10. (May)
Copyright 1999 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal
Grade 1-4 Were it not for its jumpy design, this version would rank near the top of the half-dozen versions of The Velveteen Rabbit now available. The discomforting design may be accounted for by its translation from an electronic to a print medium (this version is based on a TV special narrated by Meryl Streep). Some illustrations are full page, others vignettes that bleed into the text; still other vignettes have hard edges; there are several isolated figures stuck on the white page; and here and there ovals, rather than rectangles, frame the images. No visual logic accounts for these design variations. Although there are several compelling illustrations, there are too many other scenes that just exist as if cut from larger cloth. The drawings themselves are well-crafted in a fuzzy range of colors that accentuates the warmer hues. Even the night is subfused with golden yellows. The effect is psychologically comforting, supporting the sentimental message of hope with its suggestion of death, resurrection and eternal life. Figures are rendered solidly and with anatomical conviction. Occasionally a pencil outline intrudes and breaks the dreamy magic's spell. Yet there can be no denying the magnetism of the individual characters. Kenneth Marantz, Art Education Department, Ohio State University, Columbus
Copyright 1986 Reed Business Information, Inc.
Customer Reviews

The Velveteen Rabbit
I was very happy with the book. Although it was small it was a wonderful addition. I ordered for friends as well.

Not the author's best work
I give this book two stars for its excellent diction and a few amusing bits of description, but I find it painfully sentimental, like Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree." I have never understood why this story with its abstract "The Boy" protagonist is kept available while the same author's delightful masterpiece, "Poor Cecco," is long out of print and valued by book dealers mainly for its wonderful Arthur Rackham illustrations. In contrast to the sadness of the Velveteen Rabbit, the tale of Poor Cecco the wooden dog, his fellow residents of the nursery toy cupboard, and an amusing cast of human and animal supporting characters - all with distinctive personalities - and their droll adventures at home and on the road, is a treasure replete with mystery, surprises, and an elegantly natural style. I was lucky to be given it as a child and wish others could be so fortunate.


Perfect!
This copy was everything I hoped for. The illustrations are glossy and from the original edition I had as a child. The text is a little larger than normal, making it kid-friendly. The pages are tinted a light brown, which gives the book a nice "classic" feeling. I highly recommend it!