The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco

Discovering The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco is a book I heard about in an episode of F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I had never read it and only wondered about it. One day when teaching Kindergarten I was rummaging through the little class library and there tucked deeper under I couldn’t believe was a copy of The Velveteen Rabbit. I was so excited to see it there and immediately rallied the students to read to them. It was a deep book to understand for the little ones I had to break it down for them and we split our reading session into two school days. The students were so touched by it and so was I. It was a story that bonded the little girls and me, we wished it would never end.

Feeling Loved

The Velveteen Rabbit is a story I relate to. I feel toys have a life and especially when they are loved. A nursery that comes to life at night is so believable for me somehow.

The Rabbit felt insignificant until it was loved by the boy. I think we all feel a little unimportant when we aren’t loved. We all need to be loved for who we are and not because we’re just a need or to satisfy a want. We need to be loved for all our parts good and bad. The boy loved the Velveteen Rabbit till all his whiskers were off, his lining turned grey, his neon spots faded and he even began to lose shape. I think we all want love like that love that is accepting of us as seasons and times change. 

The skin horse says that it hurts when you are real. I think when the Little Velveteen Rabbit became real for the boy he had to embrace being hurt somehow. When we love and are loved we accept the hurt that comes with it. 

Kindness

I like the fact that the boy was kind hearted and wanted to keep his bunny comfortable. Children sometimes don’t cherish their toys or have too many of them. I think when a child learns to love a toy he learns how to care, how to be responsible for something or someone, respect and value people and things and above all learn kindness. If you’re kind to a toy you could be kind to the world.

Loneliness

I think the favorite part of the book for anybody was when a tear, a real tear trickled down his little shabby velvet nose and the flower emerged.

The Velveteen Rabbit felt hurt I believe because he experienced loneliness. Loneliness is the one feeling apart from separation that brings sadness. The Velveteen Rabbit felt both separation from his loved boy and alone where he was. I think the emergence of the flower and the fairy appearing symbolizes there’s always hope even in the darkest moments. 

The conclusion was beautiful where the boy still remembered his old bunny and it was really the little Velveteen Rabbit looking out toward him.

About the Author

Margery Williams Bianco (22 July 1881 in London, England – 4 September 1944 in New York City, United States) 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 (1922). She received the Newbery Honor for Winterbound.

For In the heart of the passage I selected a children’s book this time but one that touched my heart when I discovered it with my class. In the heart of the passage I found the kind of book you give a child and say, “Read this book and then when you finish it read another one.” The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams Bianco is just the kind of book to cultivate a love for reading.