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The Velveteen Rabbit is a popular children’s book that was written by Margery Williams , and it features illustrations by William Nicholson. The novel is also known as How Toys Become Real, and it was published in the year 1922. The story revolves around a stuffed rabbit that wishes to be a real rabbit, and he believes that his dream can be achieved through his owner’s love.
The story of The Velveteen Rabbit is set in the early part of the 20th century, and the location is a big manor house and its surrounding area, which is supposedly situated in England. The main characters of the story are the Velveteen Rabbit; the Boy, who is the owner of the Velveteen Rabbit; Mrs. Williams, mother of the boy; Mr. Williams, father of the boy; Nana, governess to the boy; Skin Horse, a rocking horse that is a friend of Velveteen Rabbit’s; String Puppet and the Mechanical Soldier, which are other toys that belong to the boy; Rabbits, which are real rabbits that are encountered by the Velveteen Rabbit; and the Fairy, who makes the Velveteen Rabbit’s wish come true.
The plot of the novel begins with the Williams family celebrating Christmas. Mr. and Mrs. Williams have brought home a number of presents for the boy, one of which is a beautiful velveteen rabbit. Soon, the boy becomes attracted to the Velveteen Rabbit, and he makes it his constant companion. The Rabbit also befriends other toys that belong to the boy, and one of them, Skin Horse, tells him that a toy can become a living thing if it is well-loved by its owner for a long time.
One day, the boy brought the Rabbit to a place where he meets with real rabbits. He begins to see the difference between real rabbits and toy rabbits. They can hop around and play, while he does not have the ability to move his body. Later on, the boy becomes ill with scarlet fever, which is an infectious illness that causes high temperature, sore throat, and rash, and the Rabbit stays by his side throughout the duration of his sickness. After the boy recovers, the doctor tells his parents to burn all his belongings, so that all the germs that remain from the illness will be killed. The Rabbit is placed in a burn bag, and as he waits for the time of burning, he starts to cry. Suddenly, the Fairy appears, and she transforms the Rabbit into a real rabbit.
The Velveteen Rabbit is Margery Williams’ first children’s book. Williams was born in London on the 22nd of July, 1881. She published her first novel, The Late Returning, in 1902. In the following years, she wrote a number of fiction and non-fiction novels for adults. After the publication of The Velveteen Rabbit, she started to concentrate on children’s books, and she managed to complete more than 20 books before she passed away in 1944.
Several film adaptations of The Velveteen Rabbit were made from 1984 to 2009. In 1984, Marie Osmond played the Velveteen Rabbit in part of a musical series called the Enchanted Musical Playhouse. A video adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit was made by Random House Video in 1985, with narration by Meryl Streep . In 2003, Xyzoo Animation produced a clay-animated film based on the story, and it was made into a short live-action film by Horse Fly Filmworks in 2007. In 2009, Believe Pictures, Family1 Films, and Feature Films For Families released a feature film adaptation of The Velveteen Rabbit.
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