The Velveteen Rabbit
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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| Author | Margery Williams |
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| Illustrator | William Nicholson |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Publisher | Avon Books |
| Released | 1922 |
| Media type | Print (hardback and paperback) |
| Pages | 40 |
| ISBN | 0380002558 |
The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is a classic children's story written by Margery Williams and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit and his quest to become real through the love of his owner. The book was first published in 1922 and has been republished many times since.
The Velveteen Rabbit was Williams' first children's book and it was the most popular out of all her other children's books.[1] It has been awarded the IRA/CBC Children's Choice award. [2]
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[edit] Plot summary
A boy receives a Velveteen Rabbit for Christmas. In the meantime, the Velveteen Rabbit is snubbed by other more expensive or mechanical toys; the latter of which fancies themselves real. One day while talking with the Skin Horse, the Rabbit learns that real isn't how you are made, rather a toy becomes real if its owner really and truly loves it.
When the boy's china dog is misplaced, the Velveteen Rabbit takes the place as the boy's constant companion. The Rabbit becomes shabbier, but the boy loves him no matter what.
The Velveteen Rabbit meets very well-made toys with no seams (they are actual rabbits), and the Velveteen Rabbit learns about the differences between himself and the real rabbits.
This companionship lasts through the winter and the next summer, until the boy falls ill with scarlet fever. The boy becomes too ill to play for a very long time; upon his recovery, he is sent to the seaside on doctor's orders. The boy wishes to take the Rabbit with him, but his doctor forbids him to take the diseased toy. Not only can he not take the Rabbit, but the doctor says it must be burned in order to disinfect the house from the germs.
The boy is given a new plush rabbit with glass eyes and is so excited about the trip to the seaside that he forgets his old Velveteen Rabbit. While awaiting the bonfire, in which the Velveteen Rabbit will be burned, the Rabbit cries a real tear. This tear brings forth the Nursery Magic Fairy. The Rabbit thinks he was real before, but the fairy tells him he was only real to the boy. She flies 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 subsequent spring, the boy sees the Rabbit hopping in the wild and thinks he looks like his old Velveteen Rabbit, but he never knows that it was.
[edit] Film adaptations
The Velveteen Rabbit was adapted into a video recording in 1985 by Random House Video; narrated by Meryl Streep.[3] It received a Parents' Choice Award for Multimedia and was a Grammy award nominee.[3] In 2003 it was also adapted into a clay-animated film by Xyzoo Animation.[4]
[edit] References in popular culture
The Velveteen Rabbit played a role in the sitcom Friends twice. Once was in an episode in which Chandler got an original copy of the book for Joey's girlfriend. Later on, in another episode of Friends, Monica makes Chandler wear a bunny outfit at a costume party, which she mistakenly believed he would appreciate because his favourite book as a child was The Velveteen Rabbit.
On the episode Ageless on the show Smallville, Evan Sutherland refers to the book as his favorite before his death. Afterwards it is revealed that it was Clark Kent's favorite book as a child as well.
[edit] Notes
- ^ [1]; last accessed December 17, 2006.
- ^ [2]; last accessed December 17, 2006.
- ^ a b [3]; last accessed December 18, 2006.
- ^ [4]; last accessed December 18, 2006.
[edit] External link
- The Velveteen Rabbit, available at Project Gutenberg.
