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The Velveteen Rabbit (Hardcover)
by Margery Williams (Author) , William Nicholson (Illustrator)
Category:
Fiction, Ages 9-12, Children's books |
Market price: ¥ 158.00
MSL price:
¥ 148.00
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Stock:
Pre-order item, lead time 3-7 weeks upon payment [ COD term does not apply to pre-order items ] |
MSL rating:
Good for Gifts
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MSL Pointer Review:
True love makes one real – The velveteen Rabbit is children’s first lesson about love. A timeless classic touches the deepest emotion of little soft heart passed through generations. |
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Author: Margery Williams (Author) , William Nicholson (Illustrator)
Publisher: Doubleday
Pub. in: January, 1958
ISBN: 0385077254
Pages: 33
Measurements: 9.7 x 7.5 x 0.4 inches
Origin of product: USA
Order code: BC00413
Other information: Reissue edition ISBN-13: 978-0385077255
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- Awards & Credential -
This book was first publication in 1922 and has over 1.5 million copies in print. |
- MSL Picks -
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 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 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.
The Velveteen Rabbit is children's first lesson about love. A boy's unconditional love of his velveteen "bunny" shows us the magical and transformative power of love. Margery Williams teaches us compassion, and shows us beauty in places we might not have thought to look. This is one of children’s favorite stories of all time, and the drawings accompanying this edition are very apt and special. - From quoting FrKurt Messick
Target readers:
Kids aged 9-12
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Margery Williams (1881-1944) was born in London in 1881. She was the daughter of a lawyer and scholar who believed children were better educated without formal schooling. As a result, Williams attended school for only a few years in both America and England, and was home-schooled instead. Her first novel, written for adults, was published when she was only 17 years old. She continued to write adult books until the 1920s.
The Velveteen Rabbit was Williams' first attempt at writing for children. It has become her most well-known work and a children's literature classic. Williams said, "Nothing is easier than to write a story for children; few things are harder, as any writer knows, than to achieve a story that children will really like." About the story she said, "It was by a sort of accident that The Velveteen Rabbit became the beginning of all the stories I have written since... By thinking about toys and remembering toys, they suddenly become very much alive. Toys I had loved as a little girl - my almost forgotten Tubby, who was the rabbit, and Old Dobbin, the Skin Horse, and the toys my children had loved." Her daughter Pamela once remarked that her mother treated their toys as if they were real.
Williams' writings, although not prolific, ranged widely, including translations, educational readers and a travel book about Paris. She died in 1944 after a three-day illness.
Michael Hague has illustrated several classic stories for children, including The Wizard of Oz and The Wind in the Willows. He lives in Colorado Springs, Colorado.
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From the publisher
"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." The story of the Velveteen Rabbit who longs to be real has charmed and captivated readers for over half a century. Now, read it again, or read it for the first time, in this new, fully illustrated edition from Worthington Press.
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"What is Real?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"
"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."
"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.
"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."
"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"
"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't often 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. 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." ... |
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View all 10 comments |
Alvin Tanhehco (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
To label The Velveteen Rabbit as simply a children's book would not do it much justice. I've read this story many times over and have gotten friends and other family members to enjoy it as well. I guess I wouldn't have related so much to this story had I not seen it unfold in front of my very eyes for the past 16 years.
Teddy, for my sister knew no better names for teddy bears at the time, is a two foot tall pink bunny rabbit my sister got when she was about seven. At the time, Teddy was sitting on a shelf in a large department store looking out at the hustle and bustle of customers go by. My sister must've gone by that shelf three or four times before asking a store clerk help her bring it down. It was at that point that she decided she wasn't going to go home without it. She clung on to Teddy's neck defensively while approaching mom as if Teddy was body armor she couldn't live without. "But you have so many of them already!" protested my mom. "This one is different," pouted my sister. Teddy is cotton-stuffed rabbit, covered with short yarn hairs of dull pink. She wore a white-turquoise sweater that covered her round bushy tail at the back. It was my sister's velveteen rabbit. "Ok fine," mom conceded. From that day forward, I saw as much of Teddy as I have my sister. They're inseparable.
As the Skin Horse in the book said "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 your 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." Teddy too has grown threadbare in places and isn't as fluffy as she used to be. Her eyes have gotten dull from rubbing and scratching. Her neck has grown thin and fragile, but my sister loves her all the same if not even more. To my sister, Teddy was made real a long time ago. It's only more recently that I've come to realize that Teddy has become part of the family. My sister was right. Teddy is different. Different from all the other toys we've had in the past. Teddy is real.
After reading this book, I realize that love is a journey. Perhaps not one from make-believe to reality, but from belief to truth. There are many ways to interpret the lessons from this book. I have several. And my take away has been if you truly believe in your love for someone and care about them, then in time it will become the truth that need not be spoken and will last forever. Applied to life, if you believe so much in something that you are willing to stick it out regardless of what other people think, then it becomes the truth that most people never find in their lives. If you have a dream, believe in it, work towards it and live it.
This is a timeless must-read for any reader. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
This is a heartwarming story about a toy rabbit filled with sawdust that wants to be real. He realizes what the meaning of "real" is when his owner, a young boy, gives him the answer for which he searches. My wife bought this book for me last month. I missed it as a child. I've learned the lesson in this book in traditional ways, by trial and error. I would have loved to have this treasure as a child and thank my beautiful wife, Lori, for giving it to me, now. Only real love has any meaning or longevity, at all. I ask you readers to not pass up this gem of a book. It is a must for children and adults alike. |
R. D. Allison (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
It has been seventy-seven years since this story was first published and it continues to be popular with each generation. I am amazed at how often I've read it to the children of today. It is the classic story of a stuffed rabbit who, after many years, becomes a real rabbit through love. It is a book that also should be on the shelf of any serious student of children literature. |
A reader (MSL quote), USA
<2007-03-19 00:00>
The Velveteen Rabbit was (and still is) my favorite children's book. The classic tale of how the little boy's love made the rabbit real is a classic. I had a hard time finding this book, but I finally have it. I am hoping to read it to my future kids and hopefully my kids will read it to their kids. This is a book that anyone from any generation could enjoy. I will always love the Velveteen Rabbit! |
View all 10 comments |
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