The Velveteen Rabbit

​I bought this for my daughter and we just finished reading it together. The story is a classic, but the illustrations in this version are something else... they are so incredibly moving. It’s a beautiful book and the art makes the whole message about being "Real" feel so much deeper. So happy with this purchase

This is one of the most cherished recordings in my collection! I got it on cassette tape as a child for Christmas one year and listened to it every year. Until technology evolved and cassette players were lost or broken and I switched to CDs. Many years passed where I didn't listen to it. Then one year when my child was little (3 years old) I was reminded of this recording and hunted it down, purchased the CD, and ripped the CD to save as a digital copy. We have listened to it now, every year since, and my child is now 18 years old! We have a tradition of driving around on Christmas Eve to see the neighborhood lights on houses and listen to the story of the Velveteen Rabbit read with the piano accompaniment. Merryl Streep doesn't just read the story, she acts it with wonderful expression and great feeling. The music of George Winston is a perfect fit to enhance the mood of the story and the melodies are soothing and pleasant. I look forward to continuing this tradition for many more years to come, hopefully passing it down to grandchildren someday. I would definitely recommend this recording to add to your holiday collection, and the rest of Winston's repertoire to listen to year-round!

All I can do is send you my blog about it, for it was my daughter and son's favorite book... "Right From God!"...(out of the mouths of babes) My daughter, along with my two boys are much more than the word "interesting" could ever describe. The word "remarkable" would be more appropriate. Or "characters" comes to mind. As an example, one of so many, I will take you back to when I was a single parent before I met my second son, Joshua, and my second wife, Tiffany. I was dirt poor, playing 6 nights a week in bars and my son Ian was 6 and my daughter Lauren was 3. We would walk Ian to 1st grade every morning, virtually around the corner from the s***ty Apt. we inhabited on the second floor of a s***ty building. It was s***ty. The kids had a bunkbed set in the bedroom they shared and I had a mattress on the living room floor. Monday through Friday we would drop Ian off at school and Lauren and I would make our way back to the Apt. where we would both watch Sesame Street together, take a nap (I was always exhausted!) and then if time permitted, read her a story before we went to pick Ian up from school and have lunch. The kids always loved for me to read to them as much I loved my Mom reading to me. My Mother actually helped me through my first grade reader and inspired me to read Shakespeare at the age of 11 (of course she helped me through that as well). Both Ian and Lauren had their favorites as little kids, but the two they loved the most were Sesame Street's "The Monster At The End Of This Book" (I do a perfect Grover impression and we wore out 3 copies!) and "The Velveteen Rabbit", a classic. I would always give Lauren and Ian a choice as to what book they wanted me to read them out of the many children's books we owned. Lauren, more often than not, picked "The Veleteen Rabbit". This particular day after a long night for me (I didn't get back home from where I was playing in Hermosa Beach to relieve the babysitter until 4:15 am....all for a measly $75....oh, how I don't miss those days!) I was reading Lauren "The Velveteen Rabbit" for the umpteenth time, when, at the end of the book she looked up at me and said "You know daddy, every one of us has love in our hearts!". It's enough to bring me to tears even now. I said "That's so true Lauren! Everyone of us DOES have love in our hearts!" Then she asked me something truly remarkable (she was a a few months older than 3 at the tme) she said (and I quote) "And daddy, do you know where that love comes from?" I said "Tell me where that love comes from, Lauren". She took her index finger, put it to the middle of my forehead where the "proverbial third eye" resides and said, "Right from God!!" and pushed on my forehead as she was saying it!!! I was stunned...I had no words. None. I do remember feeling all the blood drain out of my face! What does one say to such a thing coming out of a 3 year old's head?? Out of the mouth's of babes, indeed!! Lauren is now a grown woman and continues to stun me with her empathy, her voice and her natural songwriting and acting ability. She is a remarkable human being and I feel honored to be her father. And speaking of "The Velveteen Rabbit".....One day while talking with the Skin Horse, the Rabbit learns that a toy becomes real if its owner really and truly loves it. The Skin Horse makes the Velveteen Rabbit aware that "...once you are Real you can't become unreal again. It lasts for always." It's so true, and you helped make it so, Laur-Laur. You are my "Magic Fairy". We are all loved until real and I love you with all my furry heart!.....Dad M. Lanning 10/9/11....Imagine.....thanks John.....

I recently rediscovered my own worn copy of The Velveteen Rabbit (the older version with the original illustrations) and read it to my 4.5 yr old daughter over the last 2 nights. It is such a lovely book in its simple old style of prose that is missing from so many children's books today. It's simple but sophisticated at the same time--and not 'sappy' or 'corny' as some other reviewers have suggested. Just my daughter hearing me read it was educational even if she didn't understand all the words. I loved it as an older child (but didn't understand its deeper meaning then) and I'm sure my daughter will love it too on her own when she's able to read. I'm ordering it for a friend who's never read it so she can share it with her kindergarten age child. It's also a very sweet, touching story that makes me cry every time I read it - I can barely get through last pages without choking up. It's a story about unconditional love and faith and seems to have some religious connotations--without being religious or biblical or preachy. Without giving away too much, the Velveteen Rabbit hopes as we all do, that there is something much more than ending up shabby, worn and old. He finally becomes Real at the end because he loves the Boy unconditionally. How and why he becomes Real is heartwarming. Read it and see. It's a nice book to have in your child's collection.

And a favorite still as an adult. I read a passage from it at my wedding. This is a nice, easy to keep edition.

Ürün çok güzel ancak bazı yerlerde mürekkep lekeleri var . Üzülerek iade ediyorum. Kargo çok hızlıydı , satıcıya teşekkür ediyorum

Me encantó, aunque es un libro para niños, los grandes que no lo han leído encontrarán en sus escasas páginas una bella historia para comprender lo que el amor puede hacer. Las ilustraciones son buenas, en la versión impresa por supuesto que son mucho mucho mejores.

This book came to my attention, because it was read in my beloved series "Cold Case" by the main character detective Lilly Rush. The book itself is a wonderful story about hope, friendship and love, between a rabbit and his owner, a young boy. Today the story is more topical than ever, it is a story that should be read to children again and again, because it actually conveys basic values.x finger. In today's world, in which children are inundated with the latest electronic toys, which do not stimulate their imagination, a child is told here that it is completely ok to have a cuddly toy, a confidante, or a friend. In every time, one should remember, that children also have problems and fears and that the confidant cuddly toy companion can be a comforting source. I will give this book to my little neighbour as a christmas present. she has a cuddly toy, an owl. I am sure her parents will read it to her with enthusiasm.

Someone recomended this book to me a couple of years ago. They had recently found out that I had been self harming for years and had been recently trying to stop. When they asked me why I felt a need to do it, I immediately answered that 'it makes me feel real - I need to feel real'. They told me about this story. After reading it for the first time, I cried. It simultaneously filled me with relief and confusion - I felt empathy towards a toy rabbit, whom I could actually relate to! The illustrations are beautiful and the story is sweet and sad. I now read it to my sixteen month old daughter who points out the rabbit with delight. It is certainly a story that can be read by a variety of people, children and adults. The message it sends out is heart warming to hear. I only wish that I had read it as a child...