The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit is a children's book that follows a stuffed rabbit on the journey to become real.

Fast Facts

1. Full Title: The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real
2. Author: Margery Williams
3. Illustrator: William Nicholson
4. Genre: Children's Book
5. Published: 1922
6. Publisher: Avon Books
7. Pages: 40
8. ISBN: 0380002558
9. Adaptations: Musical play, video recording, clay animation

Synopsis

A young boy gets a velveteen rabbit for Christmas which is snubbed by the other toys. When the boy loses his China dog, the velveteen rabbit replaces it and it gets to go with the boy everywhere.

The boy becomes sick with scarlet fever and has to go away and is not permitted to take his rabbit. All the toys in the nursery were to be destroyed to get rid of the germs. While waiting to be burned, the rabbit cries and a fairy comes and turns him into a real rabbit where he lives in the woods with other rabbits for the rest of his life.

Critical Reception

"It’s a story about unconditional love and real beauty--beauty that comes from the inside." — The Well-Read Child

"It was delightfully lacking in pretension and preachy-ness and I was enchanted to discover new layers to the tale which (as in all good books) add to the story itself rather than making a "children's book" into a podium." — Inkling

Book Quote

""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." — Penn Libraries

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