The Velveteen Rabbit or How Toys Become Real is a children's novel written by
Margery WilliamsMargery Williams Bianco was an English-American author, primarily of popular children's books. A professional writer since the age of nineteen, she achieved lasting fame at forty-one with the 1922 publication of the classic that is her best-known work, The Velveteen Rabbit.-Early life and writing...
and illustrated by
William NicholsonSir William Newzam Prior Nicholson was an English painter of still-life, landscape and portraits, also known for his work as a wood-engraver, illustrator, author of children's books and designer for the theatre....
. It chronicles the story of a
stuffedA stuffed toy is a toy sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw, beans, plastic pellets, cotton, synthetic fibres, or other similar materials. Stuffed toys are also known as plush toys A stuffed toy is a toy sewn from cloth, plush, or other textiles, and stuffed with straw,...
rabbitRabbits are small mammals in the family Leporidae of the order Lagomorpha, found in several parts of the world...
and his
questIn mythology and literature, a quest, a journey towards a goal, serves as a plot device and as a symbol. Quests appear in the folklore of every nation and also figure prominently in non-national cultures. In literature, the objects of quests require great exertion on the part of the hero, and...
to become real through the love of his owner. The book was first published in
1922The year 1922 in literature involved some significant events and new books.Under the current U.S. copyright law, all works published before January 1, 1923 with a proper copyright notice entered the public domain no later than 75 years from the date of the copyright...
and has been republished many times since.
The Velveteen Rabbit was Williams' first children's book. It has been awarded the IRA/CBC Children's Choice award.
Plot summary
A boy receives a
VelveteenVelveteen is a cloth made in imitation of velvet. Normally cotton, the term is sometimes applied to a mixture of silk and cotton. Some velveteens are a kind of fustian, having a rib of velvet pile alternating with a plain depression. This fabric has a pile that is short , and is closely set. It has...
Rabbit for
ChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
. The Velveteen Rabbit is snubbed by other more expensive or mechanical toys, the latter of which fancy themselves real. One day while talking with the Skin Horse, the Rabbit learns that a toy becomes real if its owner really and truly loves it. The Skin Horse makes the Velveteen Rabbit aware that "...once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always."
When the boy's china dog is misplaced, the Velveteen Rabbit is given to the boy as a quick replacement by the Nana. The Velveteen Rabbit soon takes his place as the boy's constant companion. The Rabbit becomes shabbier, but the boy loves him no matter what. In the woods near the boy's home, the Velveteen Rabbit meets actual rabbits, and learns about the differences between himself and the real rabbits when the real rabbits prove he is not real by his inability to hop and jump.
The Velveteen Rabbit's companionship with the boy lasts until the boy falls ill with
scarlet feverScarlet fever is a disease caused by exotoxin released by Streptococcus pyogenes. Once a major cause of death, it is now effectively treated with antibiotics...
. 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 doctor orders all the toys the boy has played with, including the Rabbit, be burned in order to disinfect the nursery. The boy is given a new plush rabbit 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. She tells the Rabbit that he was only real to the boy, and then brings him to the woods and kisses him, making him real to everybody. He soon discovers that he is a real rabbit at last and runs to join the other rabbits in the wild.
The following 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 actually was.
Film adaptations
The following adaptations have been made of
The Velveteen Rabbit.
- Pre-1980s L.S.B. Productions made a 16mm film version with a runtime of 19 minutes.
- The 1976 Rankin/Bass
Rankin/Bass Productions, Inc. , also known as Rankin/Bass Animated Entertainment, was an American production company, known for its seasonal television specials, particularly its work in stop-motion animation. The pre-1974 library is currently owned by Classic Media,while the post-1974 library is...
television specialA television special is a television program which interrupts or temporarily replaces programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Sometimes, however, the term is given to a telecast of a theatrical film, such as The Wizard of Oz or The Ten Commandments, which is not part of a regular...
, The First Easter RabbitThe First Easter Rabbit is a 1976 animated Easter special, seen on NBC and later CBS. Created by Rankin/Bass, it tells the story of the Easter Bunny's origin and is loosely based on The Velveteen Rabbit, a children's book by Margery Williams.-Plot:...
adapts the plot of the book as first of part of its story of how a toy bunny is recruited as the Easter BunnyThe Easter Bunny or Easter Rabbit is a character depicted as a rabbit bringing Easter eggs, who sometimes is depicted with clothes...
.
- In 1984 it was part of the "Enchanted Musical Playhouse" series, where Marie Osmond
Olive Marie Osmond is an American singer, actress, doll designer, and a member of the show business family The Osmonds. Although she was never part of her family's singing group, she gained success as a solo country music artist in the 1970s and 1980s...
played the part of the Velveteen Rabbit.
- The Velveteen Rabbit was adapted into a video recording and soundtrack
The Velveteen Rabbit is an album by pianist George Winston and actress Meryl Streep, released in 1984. The story, The Velveteen Rabbit is narrated by Streep accompanied by Winston's piano pieces.-Track listing:All songs by George Winston...
in 1985-Events:* 3 December - Roger Moore steps down from the role of James Bond after twelve years and seven films. He is replaced by Timothy Dalton.* The Academy Award for Best Picture was won by Out Of Africa, while the highest grossing film was Back to the Future.* Bliss wins AFI Award for best Movie...
by Rabbit Ears ProductionsRabbit Ears Productions is a children's series that aired from 1984-1995 on PBS. The series features famous actors such as Robin Williams, Raul Julia, Laura Dern, Denzel Washington, Danny Glover, and others narrating classic children's classics either well-known in the United States or from around...
with Random House VideoRandom House, Inc. is the largest general-interest trade book publisher in the world. It has been owned since 1998 by the German private media corporation Bertelsmann and has become the umbrella brand for Bertelsmann book publishing. Random House also has a movie production arm, Random House Films,...
; narrated by Meryl StreepMary Louise "Meryl" Streep is an American actress who has worked in theatre, television and film.Streep made her professional stage debut in 1971's The Playboy of Seville, before her screen debut in the television movie The Deadliest Season in 1977. In that same year, she made her film debut with...
, with music by George WinstonGeorge Winston is an American pianist who was born in Michigan, and grew up mainly in Miles City, Montana as well as Mississippi and Florida. He attended Stetson University in Deland, Florida and lives in Santa Cruz, California.-Background:...
. It received a Parents' Choice Award for Multimedia and was a Grammy award nominee.
- In 1985, two different animated adaptations were made at almost the same time:
- The first, narrated by Christopher Plummer
Arthur Christopher Orne Plummer, CC is a Canadian theatre, film and television actor. He made his film debut in 1957's Stage Struck, and notable early film performances include Night of the Generals, The Return of the Pink Panther and The Man Who Would Be King.In a career that spans over five...
, was produced in Canada by Atkinson Film-ArtsAtkinson Film-Arts was an animation studio based in Ottawa, Ontario, The company is best known for the first two Care Bears television specials, The Land Without Feelings and The Freeze Machine, and the four syndicated specials that inspired The Raccoons...
for CTVCTV Television Network is a Canadian English language television network and is owned by Bell Media. It is Canada's largest privately-owned network, and has consistently placed as Canada's top-rated network in total viewers and in key demographics since 2002, after several years trailing the rival...
. This version aired in the United States on HBO.
- The second was produced by Hanna-Barbera
Hanna-Barbera Productions, Inc. was an American animation studio that dominated North American television animation during the second half of the 20th century...
Australia and broadcast as an ABC Weekend SpecialThe ABC Weekend Special is a weekly 30-minute anthology TV series for children that aired Saturday mornings on ABC from 1977 to 1997. It featured a wide variety of stories that were both live-action and animated....
.
- In 2003 it was also adapted into a clay-animated
Clay animation or claymation is one of many forms of stop motion animation. Each animated piece, either character or background, is "deformable"—made of a malleable substance, usually Plasticine clay....
film by Xyzoo AnimationXyzoo Animation is an animation studio founded by director/animator Lindsay van Blerk in 1991. Situated in Cape Town, South Africa, the studio has produced five stop-motion/clay-animated films, three of which have won a number of awards. All were commissioned by New York-based Billy Budd Films...
.
- In 2007 a live action short film adaptation was released by Horse Fly Studios. It was nominated for two Young Artist Awards.
- Feature Films for Families
Feature Films for Families is a privately held entertainment company based in the United States. According to the company, Feature Films for Families makes films that reinforce traditional family values and morality, are suitable for all ages and contain no profanity, sexuality, violence, or...
, Family1 Films and Believe PicturesBelieve Pictures is a Christian film production company founded by partners Brian Bird, and Michael Landon, Jr. They have created major films such as The Last Sin Eater, the Love Comes Softly film series and Saving Sarah Cain, which won a 2008 CAMIE Award.Most of the releases went to Fox Faith for...
released their adaptation in 2009. It is distributed by Anchor Bay Entertainment, Thomas Nelson and Vision Films. The film adaptation was illegally telemarketed to over 500,000 telephone subscribers in the United States. Verizon successfully sued Feature Films For Families for the practice.
External links
- The Velveteen Rabbit (flip book with original illustrations) at Internet Archive
The Internet Archive is a non-profit digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It offers permanent storage and access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, music, moving images, and nearly 3 million public domain books. The Internet Archive...