The Velveteen Rabbit (or How Toys Become Real) is a British children's book written by Margery Williams (also known as Margery Williams Bianco) and illustrated by William Nicholson. It chronicles the story of a stuffed rabbit's desire to become real through the love of his owner. The story was first published in Harper's Bazaar in 1921 featuring illustrations from Williams' daughter Pamela Bianco. It was published as a book in 1922 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. Based on a 2007 online poll, the National Education Association voted the book #28 on the "Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children".

Plot summary

A stuffed rabbit sewn from velveteen is given as a Christmas present to a small boy. The wisest and oldest toy in the nursery is the Skin Horse, which was owned by the boy's uncle, and who tells the rabbit about toys being made real by the love of children: "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". It received a Parents' Choice Award for Multimedia and was nominated for a Grammy Award.

  • In 1985, two different animated adaptations were made at almost the same time:
  • The first, narrated by Christopher Plummer, was produced in Canada by Atkinson Film-Arts for CTV. This version aired in the United States on HBO. In this version, the boy is given the rabbit for his birthday instead of Christmas.
  • The second was produced by Hanna-Barbera Australia and broadcast as an ABC Weekend Special. 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.
  • In 2013, HENHQ produced a musical adaptation of 'The Velveteen Rabbit' by Gerard Margetson (Script) and Jye Bryant (Music, Lyrics & Orchestration) at Windsor Function Centre.
  • In 2014, Cat & Hutch produced a storytelling adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit at Fulham Library for Hammersmith & Fulham ArtsFest. They then went on to perform this at various schools, libraries and other venues across London. In 2021, they adapted this version into an online storytelling over Zoom for various London libraries.
  • In October 2015, Atlantic Theater Company produced a new musical adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit at The Linda Gross Theater. This production was adapted by Anya Saffir (book and lyrics) and Cormac Bluestone (book, lyrics, music).
  • For many years ODC/Dance has performed in the San Francisco Bay Area a narrated contemporary dance adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit with fanciful costumes, typically during the holiday season.
  • In 2023, a 40-minute Christmas special of the same name was produced by Magic Light Pictures and released on 22 November by Apple TV+. It was written by Tom Bidwell and directed by Jennifer Perrott and Rick Thiele. It features Phoenix Laroche and the voices of Alex Lawther, Helena Bonham Carter and Nicola Coughlan.
  • The independent film production company Storybook Studio began production of a new animated film adaptation of the book, written and directed by John Patrick. The film features narration by Gabi Smedra and stars child actor Hudson Edwards as the Velveteen Rabbit, Maureen Russell as the Nursery Magic Fairy, Therese Kincade as Nana and Paul Fowles as the Skin Horse. The film was slated to be released during the year 2022, in honor of the 100th anniversary of the original book's publication. But because of production complications, the release was pushed back to Easter of 2029.

References

  • The Velveteen Rabbit Illustrated by William Nicholson. New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., c1922 at A Celebration of Women Writers
  • The Velveteen Rabbit (flip book with original illustrations) at Internet Archive