The Velveteen Rabbit

I had a very special and close friend read a piece from this book at my wedding blessing on saturday 4th aug 07, everyone who heard it said how wonderful it was and as a consecquence i am ordering more copies today for friends and .....the vicar who loved the meanings contained within it. In today's fickle world this book is a must for revisiting your childhood and the true meaning of love and care.

A gem for all children (3/5 people found this helpful)

This must be one of the most wonderful books ever written for children. I remember being completely absorbed by it as a child as indeed are my own children today.

A 'real' children's story (23/24 people found this helpful)

The rabbit, feeling a bit out of place and a bit unworthy, nonetheless yearned to be loved, not for what he could be or should have been, but rather for what he truly was. What child (or adult, for that matter) can't find meaning here? Children yearn for love and acceptance, and unfortunately we live in a world in which that acceptance and approval usually consists of things being bigger, stronger, better, prettier, faster, newer.

The rabbit is not the 'best' toy in the boy's collection; he's not the most expensive, the best constructed, or the most interesting. But as the wise old Skin Horse knows, it isn't in the flashy paint and moving parts that true love grows. True love makes one real, and it takes a special being and a deliberate process to become real. 'It doesn't 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.'

Being real can hurt, but the rabbit in the process of becoming real barely notices that his velveteen fur is rubbing off, his tail is coming undone, his pink nose is worn and his whiskers are gone. He knows he is loved, especially during the boy's serious illness (the story was written shortly after the great flu pandemic that claimed countless lives in the early part of the twentieth century, and other childhood illnesses were still commonplace killers even in the most technologically advanced countries, perhaps another aspect of how technology can fail to address the 'real').

The ending is poignant and significant - reality means something different for the rabbit than he anticipated, but it is a joyous happening nonetheless. The Skin Horse, the rabbit and the boy are all real, and serves as an extended parable on how right relationships can overcome much adversity.

This is one of my favourite stories of all time, and the drawings accompanying this edition are very apt and special.

My Book (17/19 people found this helpful)

This book has always been one that my mum and i have shared, now at 14 i am going to boarding school and this book is a going away present for her. It always used to make her cry when she read it to me, it has been years since we have sat on my bed and read the book together, i miss it and i hope by giving her this, she will always know! I love it and encourage everybody to do the same, read it! - if you have young children read it to them... it is a timeless classic and one that should never be forgotton. Its means something to me, and i hope it will to whoever reads it where ever they are in the world. :-)

A most beautiful book. (40/41 people found this helpful)

I am amazed that this classic book, which is such a lovely story for small (and big) people, has never been reviewed for Amazon. It has such a depth of understanding of human nature and the story is told with such love and sensitivity... And the part where the Velveteen Rabbit and the Skin Horse have their conversation about what it is to be Real is, in my opinion, one of the most beautiful pieces of writing in the English language. Buy it for your children and grandchildren - and buy it for yourself as well.

Margery Williams

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