The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) is a British children’s book by Margery Williams. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit’s desire to become real through the love of his owner, a small boy—a heartwarming fairy tale enjoyed by children for generations. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association voted the book #28 on the “Teachers’ Top 100 Books for Children.”
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"This story is about a little boy who gets sick, and his stuffed rabbit who wants to become real. The docter comes and says that all of the boy's toys have to be burned. Right before the velveteen rabbit gets destroyed the magic fairy comes to turn him real. Once he turns real he hops and plays happily with the other real rabbits."
— Luci (4 out of 5 stars)
" While I recognize that this is a great book, it totally traumatized me as a kid! Every time I got sick, I was terrified that someone was going to throw all my stuffed animals away. That's the one part that I remember the most about the whole story. Not the adventure of the Velveteen Rabbit, but the fact that he was a beloved stuffed animal that was taken away from a sick child. Traumatizing! LOL. "
— Nikki, 2/17/2014" Great story for children and adults. Love makes you real! "
— Shawna, 2/14/2014" One of my all time favorite books!! "
— Libby, 2/13/2014" No doubt I'm lacking something that makes me a true human, but I'm not keen on the stories about children's toys having feelings and getting them hurt when kids stop playing with them. Do we need kids to be so empathetic that they treasure every stupid piece of fast food flotsam they drag in the door? Burn the dingy bunny, see if I care. "
— Kaethe, 2/12/2014" I read this book a long time ago when i was like 5 years old! "
— Schylar, 2/6/2014" A must have book. A classic. "
— Jo, 2/5/2014" If there's one book that stands out above all the others from my childhood, it would be this one. This book just fills me with sentimental and warm feelings whenever I think about it. "
— Ethan, 2/1/2014" Love to read this at bed time. "
— Francesca, 1/28/2014" This was one of my favorite books as a child. I recently read it, and it's still one of my absolute favorite stories, even as an adult. "
— Sarah, 1/27/2014" This was my favorite book as a child! "
— Zoey, 1/24/2014" An adorable story and a childhood favourite. "
— Julia, 1/22/2014" Will never read this book again because I cried so much "
— Ali, 1/21/2014" This book has sentimental value for me. My English teacher my senior year gave this to me as a graduation gift. She was my favorite teacher in highschool! "
— Joy.322, 1/20/2014" Oddly enough, just read this recently (Christmas 2011). Loved it. Sad, for sure, but ultimately, a happy ending. "
— Teresa, 1/5/2014" The Velveteen Rabbit has always had a soft spot for me, it kept my imagination flowing that maybe my stuffed animals when I was little would come to life and play with me. It's triggered to little kids, why look at it in such an adult view? "
— Ryanne, 1/2/2014" Read again for next bookclub. :) "
— Jenn, 12/13/2013" Always, and will forever, make me cry. "
— Jasmine, 11/7/2013" MY favorite when I was a child. "
— Melanie, 10/28/2013" Perhaps it's just nostalgia, but to this day this book makes me cry. I grew up with the version illustrated by Graham Percy, but couldn't find it on here :) "
— Glitter, 10/28/2013" Such a beautiful and heartfelt story! This is a classic I'll read again and again. It forever has a place in my heart. <3 "
— Camille, 10/10/2013" Nice, short, sweet. Just as all tales and tails are supposed to be. "
— Liz, 10/6/2013" I love this book. My grandma read it to me. It is so heart touching. My favorite part would have to be when she kept the rabbit when everyone wanted to get rid of the rabbit. "
— 10-11, 6/11/2013" Michael loves the idea that one's favorite stuffed animal could be real because that's how he feels about Moose, who still makes it into the bed each night. Visions of Linus? Yes. Worried? Not yet. "
— Kathleen, 6/6/2013" To say this was a childhood favorite is an understatement. "
— Molly, 6/1/2013" I loved this book when I was little. One year for Easter I think, my Grandma bought me the book with a tape recording of the book. I loved listening to the tape over and over until it wasn't usable anymore. "
— Desiree, 4/24/2013" This book haunted my childhood and made quite an impression on me. "
— Gloriavirtutisumbra, 4/15/2013" This was a nice little fairy tale to pass time on the train. "
— Michael, 3/31/2013" Simple things sometimes hold the most dearest place in our hearts. "
— Sharon, 3/30/2013" My all time favorite children's book "
— Holly, 3/16/2013" What it means to be Real. "
— Tina, 1/17/2013" One of the best books ever written. "
— Kathy, 12/20/2012" I was in 1st grade the 1st time I saw the movie. Broke my heart. "
— Alicia, 11/20/2012" I think this made me cry when I was really young. I was hypersensitive even back then. "
— Colleen, 10/19/2012" broke my heart when I was little "
— Suzie, 10/15/2012" Read this one to my kids, and loved the lesson behind it. "
— Patricia, 9/7/2012" I had never read this book although I knew the story. It is simply a lovely story about a child who loves his toy to life! Who could NOT love it? It is a perfect story, for who wants to think that their favorite toy is lost or discarded? Read it for yourself, read it to your children. . .Enjoy! "
— Jean, 7/4/2012" I still can't read this one without crying, no matter how many times! One of my all-time fav. children's books. "
— Anne, 6/22/2012" One of my Favorite Children's books! "
— Kasey, 6/12/2012" I read it as a child, forgot about it, and then one day a cloudy memory of me reading it came to mind. All I remember is that I enjoyed reading. I should read it soon to refreshen my memory. "
— April, 5/20/2012" My favorite book of all time . . . .with timeless themes of love and loss. If you've never heard Meryl Streep pitch-perfect reading of this book, or seen David Jorgensen's beautiful drawings, you've never really experienced it properly. "
— Wendy, 5/12/2012" Neat book. Love the story. It was our son's favorite book when he was little -- now he's 43 with a little one of his own. We made sure she had her own copy! "
— Lela, 4/26/2012" Despite having found this incredibly depressing as a child, I quite liked it as an adult. "
— carrietracy, 3/15/2012" i'll never forget this book and the truth it imparts: it hurts to be real. "
— Amy, 2/7/2012" Such a cool wee kids story, love it "
— Jo, 11/28/2011" Has made me cry since I was a kid even have an app for it on my ipod touch. "
— Amber, 10/15/2011" One of the best books ever. "
— Karin, 6/9/2011" This book really depressed me when I read it at the age of four or five years old. It still depresses me. I don't know why. "
— Esmë, 9/8/2010" an old-school, all time favorite. "
— Chrystal, 9/7/2010" I hadn't read this book since I was young and it was still as wonderful as I remembered! "
— Kathy, 8/31/2010" Probably one of my favorite childhood books. "
— Annetabb, 7/3/2010" loved it the pictures were great. it had love in it im happy i read this book and the author was great. "
— Callie, 2/25/2010" First read only now -- and as tender and touching as I'd always heard. Loved it. "
— Nancy, 2/21/2010Margery Williams Bianco (1881–1944) was an English-American author of popular children’s books. She became a professional writer at the age of nineteen, but didn’t achieve lasting fame until forty-one, when she published her best-known work, The Velveteen Rabbit, in 1922.
Noelle Dupuis is an accomplished voice actor and audiobook narrator based in Ontario, Canada. For Voices in the Wind Audio Theatre, she has read children’s classic stories, including The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, The Beatrix Potter Collection, Thumbelina, The Wild Swans, The Princess Collection, and The Hans Christian Andersen Collection, to name a few. Blackstone Publishing distributes all these titles. Noelle teaches drama and music at her local Elementary School when she isn’t narrating audiobooks.