The Velveteen Rabbit: Or How Toys Become Real (All Aboard Books)

I've always loved this story, but this specific edition is breathtaking. The images are so full of emotion that they tell the story all on their own. There is a certain warmth and sadness in the art that perfectly captures what it feels like to be loved and then forgotten. I found myself just staring at the pages, feeling a genuine ache in my heart. The way the Rabbit is drawn makes his journey feel so personal and real. It's a beautiful, soul-stirring book that feels more like a work of art than just a story. If you're sensitive to visual storytelling, this will definitely get to you.

​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

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.....

Wow. It’s been a long time since I’ve read this book. I remember my mom reading it. I remember reading it. I remember reading it to my kids. Now all of these years later I read it again. It really hits different as time passes. What a wonderful little story.

The masterpiece line is my go to selection in this price point. I really enjoy the ribbon page marker and gilding on the page edges. Hard to find a better value currently.

Dear Baby-person, When I heard from your grandfather of your arrival here on Earth I went directly to my bookcase to fetch my personal copy of this little story. Grandfather was in quite the hurry to get to the airport so he could fly to meet you. No time to get your name or other particulars. I reckon, "The Velveteen Rabbit", to be a welcome addition in any baby's library. I hope you like it. Seeing as you'll be quite busy, presently, growing hair and teeth and the like, and also not reading as yet, you should want to have someone read to you. May I offer my humble advice. Never too early to start. Once you're properly changed and fed, you should want to sit comfortably in someone's lap and be read to. It is the right duty and proper responsibility of those who read, to read to the young. This, as yet, has not been enshrined in any constitition of any sovereign nation I know of, but civilisation, Baby-person, is still in its infancy. Do not be a slave to perfection. No matter if the speaker is less than the best orator, or speaks with an accent, what matters is heart. The reader must really want to be there. A person with the clearest facility of diction and most melodious of speaking voices, who is thinking of the ball game or shopping, or lunch, whilst reading aloud to you, had better just be silenced. Close the book and tell the creature to bugger off and seek their heart's desire elsewhere. Find someone who really wants to be with you, and a good time shall be had by all. There are so many wonderful stories in the wide world, not the least of which, the story you shall write for yourself. The one which is your life to come. I wish you all the best in your endeavours, Baby-person. kind regards your humble servant G

Some books manage to win a place in the heart, and remain timeless regardless of what audiences they were originally intended for. "The Velveteen Rabbit" is one such classic. Some of its elements may feel a little dated to modern audiences, but somehow the tale of a toy rabbit becoming "real" still resonates with audiences today. So many of us had a favorite toy as a child, one we regarded not as an actual toy but as a real friend who we actively played with... and a story like "The Velveteen Rabbit" brings back memories of those toys and the bond we shared with them. There are some elements of this story that may feel a little dated nowadays, such as scarlet fever and the practice of burning the belongings of those who were infected with it, but despite this, the book remains timeless and touching. Just keep a lookout for the right edition for you -- if you just want to relive the story, most Kindle editions (some of which eschew illustrations) will be good, but if you're looking for something to read with your child, check out the various illustrated editions and find the one that's right for you.

Awesome!