The Velveteen Rabbit

by Margery Williams, William S. Nicholson (Illustrator)

Overview

Originally published in 1922, The Velveteen Rabbit has delighted young readers for nearly a century. The story follows a young boy who’s given a stuffed rabbit as a Christmas gift. After the rabbit befriends other nursery toys, he comes to the realization that he wants to become a real rabbit. Eventually, the boy becomes ill and is relocated; his room is then disinfected and all the boy’s toys are thrown out, including the velveteen rabbit. The rabbit sheds a real tear causing a fairy to appear and turn him into a real rabbit.

In 2007, the book was named one of "Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children” by the National Education Association. This elegant, affordable edition includes beautiful, full-color illustrations throughout the book from the original illustrator, William Nicholson. Each image accompanies the text to enhance young readers’ experience and immerse them in this captivating story.

Reprinted hundreds of times since its initial publication, The Velveteen Rabbit is a timeless children’s classic lets young readers experience the true magic of friendship, love, and being honest with oneself.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781944686475
Publisher:	Racehorse
Publication date:	03/07/2017
Sold by:	SIMON & SCHUSTER
Format:	eBook
Pages:	48
File size:	7 MB
Age Range:	4 - 8 Years

About the Author

Margery Williams was born in July of 1882. She was an English-American author of numerous novels and children’s books, most notably The Velveteen Rabbit. She is also the author of The Little Wooden Doll, The Skin Horse, as well as many other highly regarded children’s works. She passed away in 1944, just before the end of World War II.

Sir William Nicholson was a renowned English illustrator and artist, who both supplied illustrations for children’s literature as well as wrote it himself. In addition to providing the illustrations for The Velveteen Rabbit, he authored two children’s books entitled Clever Bill and The Pirate Twins. Nicholson also worked in other areas of design, including theater set design; he designed the original set for Peter Pan in 1904. In the 1928 Summer Olympics, Nicholson was awarded a gold medal for his graphic work in the Arts competitions. He passed away in May of 1949.

Read an Excerpt

"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 often happen 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 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."

Editorial Reviews

In his note to the reader, Fancher (The Range Eternal, p. 1222, etc.) writes, "I’ve shortened the text to allow more room for the artwork," as an explanation for this abbreviated version of the beloved classic. Shortened indeed: Williams’s poetic passage introducing the Skin Horse has been reduced to: "The Skin Horse was old and wise, and he knew all about being Real." The rest is pared down to match, leaving a tale that does still—faintly—echo the original’s lyricism, but is less likely to lose the attention of, as Fancher puts it, "a wiggly two-year-old" being forced to listen to it. The art is, as promised, all full-paged and space-filling: quiet compositions in which the Velveteen Rabbit, the Boy, and other figures are large, soft-surfaced forms, viewed close-up, and from a child’s-eye level to enhance the feeling of intimacy. The tale’s more philosophical aspects will still elude most of the nursery school set, but sharing this summary may make some listeners more receptive to the Real story, when they’re old enough to appreciate it. On the other hand, perhaps they’ll think they’ve read it already. Why not just wait? (Picture book. 3-5)

Kirkus Reviews

"Well done. A good read-aloud for small groups of children."—School Library Journal.

From the Publisher