Binding: Hardcover
Publisher: Creative Company
Date Published: 1994
ISBN-13:9781568460932ISBN:1568460937
Description: Fine. No dust jacket as issued. Sewn binding. Cloth over boards. With dust jacket. 40 p. Creative Editions. Audience: Children/juvenile. read more
Binding: Pictorial Hardcover
Publisher: Derrydale Books, New York
Date Published: 1987
ISBN-13:9780517618134ISBN:0517618133
Description: Chandler, Jean. Very Good. 4to-over 9¾"-12" tall. Glossy boards have very light soiling and wear at corners. Interior near fine. read more
Description: Fine. 0307121054 Excellent condition Illustrated Hard cover book, clean pages, no writing in book, corners crisp, this book is Near NEW! Shop & Save With US. read more
"Although it is a children's books I feel that it has very important themes, and is very telling about society. First of all, the little boy loves the Velveteen bunny; even when the bunny becomes ragged and old, the boy's feelings are so deep, he can overlook the bunny's unkempt appearance. However when his parents take the bunny, it is quickly replaced, and although the boy will always remember his first bunny, his love was still so easily disregarded. Everything is ephemeral: love which is felt so passionately one day, may be gone the next. There is no such thing as eternal devotion. Second of all, it is interesting to me that when the "real" rabbits first saw the bunny (in his stuffed animal form), they taunted him and turned their backs on him. It isn't until the fairy changes the bunny into flesh and blood that they finally accept him, and allow him to become "one of them," now that he has conformed into their ideal of bunny-hood. The lesson here is: toe the line, or burn."
"The Skin Horse had lived longer in the nursery than any of the others. He was so old that his brown coat was bald in patches and showed the seams underneath, and most of the hairs in his tail had been pulled out to string bead necklaces. He was wise, for he had seen a long succession of mechanical toys arrive to boast and swagger, and by-and-by break their mainsprings and pass away, and he knew that they were only toys, and would never turn into anything else. For nursery magic is very strange and wonderful, and only those playthings that are old and wise and experienced like the Skin Horse understand all about it.
"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 happen often 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."
"I suppose you are real?" said the Rabbit. And then he wished he had not said it, for he thought the Skin Horse might be sensitive. But the Skin Horse only smiled.
"The Boy's Uncle made me Real," he said. "That was a great many years ago; but once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always.""
"This was a fun, quick, easy read that can be enjoyed alone or shared with a friend or family member, especially children. It tells the story of a beloved stuffed-rabbit which was given to a small boy as a Christmas gift. The rabbit learns the meaning of love through his relationship with the child. He has adventures, mishaps, and in the end is rewarded for his unselfish and caring nature. This story reminds me of The Giving Tree and is one of my favorite picture books ever read. There is more to this tale than just a child's bedtime story. I recommend reading it closely to find the deeper meanings about love, life, pain, and the joy of being alive."
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