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The Velveteen Rabbit
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The Velveteen Rabbit (1922) (edit title/settings)

by Margery Williams Bianco (Author) (edit contributors)

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Description edit see section history

Nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it. "What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?" "Real isn't how you are... read more

Summary edit see section history

An unnamed boy is given a Velveteen Rabbit as a toy on his birthday, but along with the other toys he is given, the rabbit is forgotten very quickly. Feeling sad and unloved, the Velveteen Rabbit befriends some of the other toys in the nursery but hearing how the boy plays with them makes him... read more (warning: may contain spoilers)

An unnamed boy is given a Velveteen Rabbit as a toy on his birthday, but along with the other toys he is given, the rabbit is forgotten very quickly. Feeling sad and unloved, the Velveteen Rabbit befriends some of the other toys in the nursery but hearing how the boy plays with them makes him even more depressed. He gets to know the old Skin Horse who helps him to understand what it is to be loved and how toys become real.
The boy loses a toy and unable to find it, the nanny gives him the rabbit to cuddle. And so the Velveteen Rabbit becomes the boys favourite toy. The rabbit is witht he boy at all times even in the sandbox. The rabbit is loosing fur and looking very shappby by the time the boy comes down with scarlet fever.
However, once the boy is better all his things that he had while he was ill have to be burnt to get rid of any germs so the velveteen rabbit is dumped on a bonfire (not without a bit of distress from the boy) and he waits there till morning to be burnt. During the night, a fairy visits the rabbit and makes him real. It's a weird sensation but the Velveteen Rabbit loves it. A while later the boy is playing in a field and sees a rabbit who resembles his old velveteen one. The rabbit wathces form a distance and the boy never really finds out what happened to the rabbit.

Characters/People edit see section history

  • The Velveteen Rabbit: Our hero, who wonders what it means to be real.
  • The Boy: A young child who loves the rabbit intensely.
  • The Skin Horse: A very old toy who is a mentor to the young rabbit.
  • Nana: The boy's caretaker who keeps the nursery neat. She doesn't understand the Boy's love for the rabbit.
  • The Fairy: Rewards good, beloved toys when the time is right.
  • Boy: The toy owner
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Quotes edit see section history

  • “Real isn’t how you are made. 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?’‘Sometimes. When you are Real, you don’t mind being hurt....You become. It takes a long time. That’s why it doesn’t happen often 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.”
    The Skin Horse
  • “...once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand.”
  • “'What is real?' asked the Velveteen Rabbit to the Skin Horse.”
  • “'I suppose you are real?''The boy's grandfather made me real long ago.'”
  • “When you are Real, you don't mind being hurt.”
    The Skin Horse

Setting & Locations edit see section history

  • The Nursery: This is where the boy plays with his toys and where the rabbit and the Old horse have many important conversations.
  • Outside in the Bonfire Pile: This is where the fairy finds the rabbit and tells him he can become real know.

First Sentence edit see section history

THERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid.

Series & Lists edit see section history

This is book 22 of 25 in All-Time Favorite Children's Books. (community list)
This is book 189 of 986 in 1001 Children's Books You Must Read Before You Grow Up. (authoritative list)

Authors & Contributors edit see section history

  1. Margery Williams Bianco (Author)

Other Contributors:

  1. Michael Green (Illustrator)

First Edition edit see section history

Original Language: English
Publisher: Heinemann
Country: Great Britain
Publication Date: 1922
ISBN: N/A
Page Count: 33

Classification edit see section history

  • Library of Congress: PZ8.9.B47 Ve
  • Dewey: 371

Links to Supplemental Material edit see section history

More Books Like This edit see section history

   
  • The Little Wooden Doll
  • The Enchanted Horse
  • Rabbit Hill
  • The Complete Tales of Winnie-the-Pooh
  • The World of Christopher Robin
  • Miss Suzy
  • Corduroy
  • The Bear Nobody Wanted
  • The Wind in the Willows
  • A Bear Called Paddington
  • Hitty
  • The Tale of Two Bad Mice

Books That Cite This Book edit see section history

   
  • The Velveteen Principles (Limited Holiday Edition): A Guide to Becoming Real, Hidden Wisdom from a Children's Classic (The Velveteen Principles)
  • Smilosophy: Getting More Smileage Out of Life
  • The Language Police

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