Velveteen Rabbit

by Margery Williams

Other authorsWilliam Nicholson (Illustrator)
Paperback, 1982

Status

Available

Call number

823.912

Collection

Publication

Avon Books (1982)

Description

By the time the Velveteen Rabbit is dirty, worn out, and about to be burned, he has almost given up hope of ever finding the magic called Real.

User reviews

LibraryThing member KatherineLo
Classic tale of a stuffed animal that more than anything wants to become a real rabbit. In the classroom: Introduction to fairytales, storytelling, dreams can come true, using your imagination
LibraryThing member lauraejensen
A heart warming story about the power of love. A boy loves a sawdust stuffed toy rabbit with all of his might, despite the rabbit's shabbiness. The boy falls ill with scarlet fever, and must burn all of his toys. The velveteen rabbit cries real tears and joins the land of real rabbits. A wonderful,
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magical book. Useful in the classroom to explore themes of love, and inspire fantastical, magical, wishful thinking.
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LibraryThing member michcard
Entirely different book when read as an adult
LibraryThing member ChelseaHopton
This is a sweet story about a little boy who is very sick that gets a stuffed animal rabbit for chirstmas. He loves the rabbit so much that is is real to him. Sadly, the little boys illness caused him to have to burn the rabbit so the illness would not spread. Something very magical happens and
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turns this sad story into a happy story! Read to find out what happens to the little boys rabbit!
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LibraryThing member munchkin49
This is the story of a toy rabbit that wants to become real. When we first meet our little toy velveteen rabbit he is stuffed into a stocking as a Christmas present. After the boy played with the little rabbit for a short time, the little rabbit was soon forgotten in the excitement of unwrapping
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all the other toys. Quite forgotten, the little rabbit ended up in the child's toy cupboard. There he met all the others toys who made him feel common and unimportant. They subbed him because he was made from saw dust and velveteen. He didn't have any mechanical workings or any working parts for that matter.
So the little rabbit stayed to himself and dreamed of becoming "Real". There was a nursery magic that said if you are loved by a person, really loved, the nursery magic would make you real.
One night, the little boy could not find his favorite toy to sleep with and Nanny, being busy, just grabbed the first toy she could. It was the little rabbit. He was given to the boy and from that night on the boy slept with the little rabbit. The boy grew to love his little rabbit and would take it with him where ever he went. One day they went into the woods around the garden and by accident was left alone. There he met other rabbits and saw that they had legs that moved and noses that wiggled. The little rabbit tried to show them that he was real but they just ran off. He wondered why they didn't believe him. The boy had said that he was real. He felt real. So why couldn't they see that?
When the boy gets sick the little rabbit stays with him even though it is very hot and uncomfortable. He knows that he must stay and comfort the boy. When the boy gets well again, everything that has been with the boy has to be taken out and burned because of the germs they now carry. The little rabbit is taken out and set next to the trash barrel to be burned by the gardner later. The little rabbit, feeling sorry for himself wonders why it was so important to be loved if it was going to end like this.
I really love this book because it exhibits so many different values. It talks of love, being real, rejection, and the value of inner character instead of outward beauty. I know too, that all children at some time think that their toys come to life sometime when they are alone. But what I like about this book is that it tells of sacrifice and love. This is a great book.
It would be a good book to read in the classroom when talking bout acceptance, rejection and fittin in. It would be great to have all the kids bring their favorite stuffed toy to class and then have them write a little story out how their toy could maybe come to life.
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LibraryThing member thebookmagpie
Made me ruinously sad as a child and I'm pretty sure I didn't learn anything from it except not to get one of those horrible olden days plague-diseases.
LibraryThing member tomokoikeya
It was kind of sad story and it made me impressed. Because although the rabbit that was toy, finally, this rabbit could become real rabbit in stead of he was threw away from his owner. I really like this book.
LibraryThing member lindsaygits1
A young boy loves his stuffed animal so much that it becomes a real rabbit, after it is taken to be burned. This is my all time favorite childs story. It deals with friendship and lose. There is a feeling that comes with reading this book that every child who has ever had a stuffed animal the loved
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can realate to.
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LibraryThing member nstark
Beautiful story with lovely illustrations. 4 1/2 because of the element of magic towards the end, but the love behind the story is what matters.
LibraryThing member kefoley
On Christmas morning a boy received a Velveteen Rabbit in his stocking. At first the Veleveteen Rabbit stayed in the toy cupboard but one night the boy couldn't find his regular stuffed animal sleeping buddy and slept witht the Velveteen Rabbit. From then on the Velveteen Rabbit was the boy's #1
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stuffed animal companion. One day the boy was really sick with scarlet fever and the doctor decided when they boy was all better they needed to disinfect his room. The boy clinged to the Velveteen Rabbit when he was sick and therefore the Velveteen Rabbit had to be burned to get rid of the scarlet fever germs. But a magic fairy helps out the Velveteen Rabbit by giving the toy something he always wanted.
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LibraryThing member asousley
The rabbit wanted to be real and loved. Nana couldn't find the toy the boy slept with and she gave him the rabbit. The boy loved to sleep and play with the rabbit. The boy got sick and the rabbit was thrown away. A Fairy picks up the rabbit and shows him what being real is.

Good story on lifes ups
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and downs.

A teacher could use this as a lesson to show how we are not always happy and not always sad. Life has it's ups and downs.
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LibraryThing member PeterSinclair
This is a classic story about a boy and his companion. The toy rabbit becomes his favorite after he can't find the stuffed animal he usually sleeps with. After the boy received him for Christmas, he was forgotten, and even shunned by his toy peers. Later in the book, the boy gets deathly ill, and
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the rabbit comforts him. When the boy gets better, all this belongings are to be burned, including the Velveteen Rabbit. A fairy appears and spares the rabbit. The boys love has made him real. The most touching part of the book is when t he boy sees the rabbit after he is real and has a glint of recognition.
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LibraryThing member MaeBHollie
The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit is the classic story of a boy who receives a stuffed rabbit for Christmas. The toy is ostracized by other "more expensive" toys which consider themselves to "be real". When the Rabbit learns that he can only become "real" instead of "just a toy" by being
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truly loved by his owner. later the maid give the rabbit to the boy when a beloved toy goes missing and he is adopted with a fondness. He begins to wear out and get shabby, he even meets real bunnies and learns of his differences between himself and them. Sadly the boy Contracts Scarlett Fever and is sent away to be closer to a Dr. and upon the order of the Dr. All of the boys beloved toys and possessions are ordered burned due to fear of the contagions they may contain. While to boy is excitedly getting ready for his adventure to the seaside the Rabbit who was forgotten cries a REAL tear, his tear seems to summon the Nursery Magic Fairy. She tells the Rabbit that he was only real to the boy and brings him to the woods, where he realizes that he is a real rabbit at last and runs to join the other rabbits in the wild. The next season the boy sees the Rabbit and thinks he looks like his old Velveteen Rabbit, but he never knows for sure. But rabbit knows, and he knows the boy really loved him.

This book is an excellent example of modern fantasy. The Rabbit is fantastic in that is comes to life, the presence of the Nursery Magic Fairy adds such whimsy and lightens up the mood in a story that contains an illness that killed so many people at one time. This book has been a classic for many years and is a good one for any teacher to have on her shelves all the way through the elementary years. What a great way to start talking about germs and illnesses (like swine flu) with children and separating fact from fiction.
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LibraryThing member clstone
'The Velvetten Rabbit' by Margery Williams is a classic tale of a toy rabbit that wants to be loved by a boy. The little boy in the story wakes up on Christmas Eve to a velveteen rabbit in his stocking. The little boy loves another toy, but when it is time for bed he cannot find his other toy and
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sleeps with the new rabbit. The velvetten rabbit soon becomes his favorite complanion and he never lets it out of his sight. He truly loves the rabbit. When the boy gets deathly ill with fever, his things must be disinfected per the doctor's instructions. When the rabbit goes to be burned he turns to a real rabbit. This classic story can be read to all students and teach the important lessons of love and friendship.
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LibraryThing member darleneua
This would be a good story for all ages. Children would be interested to read about how the stuffed bunny turned into a real bunny. They would not get bored with this story either.
LibraryThing member carrie.murphy
This is one of my favorite class tales of a toy rabbit who wants to be real. In this story the rabbit learns what it means to be loved by a young boy.
LibraryThing member Librarynymph
This is my absolute favorite Children's Story. I collect as many versions as I run across.
LibraryThing member rturba
Genre: fantasy
Review: This is a great example of fantasy because it is told from the perspective of the toys. It portrays the toys as though they can think, however they are not real yet. The story is believable because the boy helps make the rabbit real, he loves him so much that you can't help
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but love the rabbit just as much and soon you are believing that the rabbit is real.
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LibraryThing member malloriewoodruff
Summary: The Velveteen Rabbit is the story of a young boy and his favorite rabbit. The boy got the rabbit for Christmas one year and tossed the rabbit aside when the boy got other Christmas presents. Time passed and the little boys Nana was searching for another toy to comfort the boy. She came
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upon the Velveteen rabbit. She gave him to the little boy and soon the boy loved the rabbit. He took the rabbit everywhere. Before the boy played with the rabbit, the rabbit befriended a horse who told him about becoming real. The little boy would have to really love the rabbit for him to become real. This finally happened and the Velveteen rabbit loved it. The boy soon got ill and the doctor said to burn everything the boy had been around. The rabbit was tossed out. The rabbit was so sad he shed a single tear and appeared a fairy. The fairy made the rabbit real as can be. The rabbit lived among the other rabbits and watched the boy from afar.
Personal response: I am so in love with this book! It almost made me cry! It is so touching how the rabbit wanted to be loved so much. The little boy played with him so much that he began to look run down, the rabbit didn't care though and that is true love.
Classroom extension:
1. I would have the students bring in their favorite stuffed animal, small toy, barbie, etc.. and have them show off their wonderful "real" animals!
2. The students could draw the Velveteen rabbit with themselves and use their imaginations to do what ever they wanted with the bunny. They could swing, play on the playground, eat, sleep, etc.. with the bunny in their picture.
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LibraryThing member Mialro
Sweet, poignant tale about children's toys, nursery magic and what it means to be Real. A classic.
LibraryThing member glanecia
This book is a classic and perhaps one of the most beloved stories of all time. It's written for children, but its meaning rings true and memorable for adults too.
LibraryThing member BLibby
I wonder why anyone thinks this masterpiece is a children's book?
LibraryThing member MeditationesMartini
When someone loves you, they make you Real. And it doesn't matter what happens next; nothing can change the fact that they loved you; nothing can make you less Real.
LibraryThing member mstuhan
Great book for giving those warm fuzzies to a reader of any age.
LibraryThing member StPaul43228
Directed by Michael Landon, Jr.
Voices of Jane Seymour, Tom Skerritt, Ellen Burstyn

Language

Original publication date

1922

ISBN

0380581566 / 9780380581566

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