The Velveteen Rabbit

by Margery Williams, William Nicholson (Illustrator)

Overview

“Once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.”

Here is one of the most classic and beloved children's stories, with the original illustrations from 1922 - the ideal gift for baby showers, birthdays, weddings, and holidays throughout the year.
 
At first a brand-new toy, now a threadbare and discarded nursery relic, the velveteen rabbit is saved from peril by a magic fairy who whisks him away to the idyllic world of Rabbitland. There, he becomes "Real," a cherished childhood companion who will be loved for eternity. Treasured for generations, this is a timeless tale about the magic of boundless love.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780385077255
Publisher:	Random House Children's Books
Publication date:	01/06/1958
Edition description:	Reissue
Pages:	48
Sales rank:	7,337
Product dimensions:	7.52(w) x 9.69(h) x 0.39(d)
Lexile:	AD820L (what's this?)
Age Range:	3 - 7 Years

About the Author

MARGERY WILLIAMS was born in London in 1881 and first came to the United States at the age of nine. For the rest of her life, she lived alternately in England and America. Her first novel was published when she was twenty-one, but she turned to writing for children in 1922 with the publication by Doubleday of The Velveteen Rabbit, the best-known of her thirty books for young people. Toward the end of her life, she lived in Greenwich Village in New York City. She died there in 1944. 

WILLIAM NICHOLSON was born in Newark-on-Trent, England, in 1872. He illustrated several books during his lifetime, including the children's classic The Velveteen Rabbit, and was also a renowned portrait painter. Many of his portraits and still lifes hang today in museums and galleries throughout England. He was knighted in 1936, and died in 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

Celebrate the Easter season with The Velveteen Rabbit, one of the most beloved of bunnies, as he celebrates his 75th  anniversary! This special edition, complete with the original story and artwork as they appeared in 1922, remains a timeless classic in children's literature with over 1.5 million copies in print. Ever since its first publication, this wondrous tale of the velveteen rabbit has delighted readers of all ages with its story of wisdom and love. Few other children's books so beautifully capture the spiritual meaning of Easter as does this simple tale of transformation and redemption through a child's unwavering love.

From the Publisher