The velveteen rabbit, or, How toys become real

Review by Booklist Review

Given to a boy one Christmas, the velveteen rabbit eventually becomes his companion at play, at bedtime, and even during a serious bout of scarlet fever. After the boy recovers, the doctor orders that his bedding, books, and toys be destroyed. The little rabbit lies on a rubbish heap waiting to be burned when the nursery magic fairy comes, transforms him into a living animal, and takes him to join his new rabbit companions. First published in 1922, this poignant story has appeared in many editions, frequently with abridged texts and illustrations ranging from cute to sentimental to saccharine. This handsome picture-book edition uses the full text of the original story and illustrates it with dignity as well as sentiment. Created with ink, watercolor, and colored pencil, Spirin's accomplished artwork features softly shaded images of the boy, the rabbit, and their world. Pages of text are set off with pleasing decorative elements. Set in the 1890s, this is a polished edition of the classic story.--Phelan, Caroly. Copyright 2010 Booklist

From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.

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Review by Publisher's Weekly Review

Hague's warm paintings give a soft sheen to Williams's classic story. Ages 5-10. (May) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

(c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved

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Review by School Library Journal Review

PreS-Gr 3-Williams's 1922 classic continues to remind listeners of the power of enduring love. Children embrace the idea of toys coming to life, and adults acknowledge the underlying understandings, while the Skin Horse reminds us, "Real isn't how you are made.. 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 timeless tale is made "real" by Jilly Bond's sparkling narration. Her voice is melodious and lyrical, drawing listeners into an imaginative tale where toys talk and fairies grant wishes. VERDICT For children who embrace imagination and adults who enjoy sharing such magical worlds, this is a delightful addition to libraries.-Terri Perper, Olney Elementary School, MD © Copyright 2015. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Horn Book Review

Williams's classic tale of the stuffed rabbit who becomes real has been edited down to board book format. The barest bones of the story, devoid of any magic or style, are still much too complex for the audience. The story is meaningless in this format. From HORN BOOK 1990, (c) Copyright 2010. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.

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Review by Kirkus Book Review

The expiration of the copyright on The Velveteen Rabbit (1922), and some obscure meeting of minds, has brought us four new editions--all in full color, all but the Plume/Godine entry in picture-book dimensions with vignetted as well as full-page illustrations (and full pages of type). The original William Nicholson pictures probably never appealed to children as much as to adults (the format, certainly, was off-putting); but no one of these four artists manages, as Nicholson did, to bring the Velveteen Rabbit to life. And if the Velveteen Rabbit isn't a character (as, for instance, Don Freeman's Corduroy and Beady Bear are), the story lacks emotional conviction. The Atkinson/Knopf edition has enticing endpapers--the Velveteen Rabbit, at dawn, gazing longingly into the garden--that better capture the poignance of his situation than anything inside. The text is wrapped around many small vignettes--of the other toys or the other, ""real"" rabbits--so that, with its stained-glass coloration, the book has the look of a late-19th-century illuminated text. But insofar as the pictures illustrate the story, they run to prettiness and easy sentimentality. Michael Hague's illustrations are of the Jessie Willcox Smith, minutely detailed sort--the Velveteen Rabbit, by contrast, is probably the most completely stuffed of the lot. The Plume/Godine book has a smaller, rather pleasant format (though the text is in a very small type too); the cutesy, vacant pictures, however, are greeting-card art. As for the Tien/S&S version, it's wishy-washy in every respect--weak pastel colors, limp drawing, banal details (lots of butterflies, for instance). But every now and again Tien does try to give the story some dramatic punch and, however clumsily, to convey the discarded and forgotten rabbit's misery. The period design too, doesn't have the class of the Atkinson/Knopf edition, but it does have a homely appeal. Copyright ©Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

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From the Forward by Toni Raiten-D'Antonio, author of The Velveteen Principles The Velveteen Rabbit, which first appeared in 1922, is full of the magic and playfulness that fill a child's world and are almost impossible to find in the land of adults. But as many millions of readers have discovered, this book offers wisdom for readers of all ages. The story confronts some of the most essential questions we ever ask: Who am I? Do I have worth? What is life all about? As they search for happiness, each one of Williams's characters seems to embody very basic human traits. The Rabbit is that part of us who is young at heart, and hopeful, and insecure, and afraid. The not-so-nice toys in the nursery represent excessive pride, superiority and insensitive competitiveness. Nana, the governess, is cold and too busy to notice much about others. And the Skin Horse stands for the kindness, wisdom and quiet integrity we all hope to acquire some day. Yes, it is a story for children. But it is also meant for any person with an open mind and a receptive heart. As you read this wonderful book, the genuine humanity in its characters will become obvious. You will begin to consider how much you are like the little Rabbit, and how much you admire the Skin Horse. Most important, you will begin to understand that by holding true to your highest values, and honoring your own life's experience, you too can strive to be Real, just like the Horse and the Rabbit. From the Velveteen Rabbit THERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming. There were other things in the stocking, nuts and oranges and a toy engine, and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse, but the Rabbit was quite the best of all. For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten. For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he understood that sawdust was quite out-of-date and should never be mentioned in modern circles. Even Timothy, the jointed wooden lion, who was made by the disabled soldiers, and should have had broader views, put on airs and pretended he was connected with Government. Between them all the poor little Rabbit was made to feel himself very insignificant and commonplace, and the only person who was kind to him at all was the Skin Horse. The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For 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, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "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." "Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit. "Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt." "Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?" "It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. 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 your 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." Excerpted from The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.

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