Children Williams, Margery: The Velveteen Rabbit v1. 13 August 2015

[GrannyGrump]

The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams Bianco 1881–1944)

First published in 1922.
The text of this book is in the public domain in countries where copyright is “Life+70” or less, and in the USA.

Margery Williams Bianco 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 her first children's book, the classic that is her best-known work, The Velveteen Rabbit. Williams produced numerous books and short stories. The undertone of sadness and the themes of death and loss that flow through her children's books have been criticized by some reviewers, but Williams always maintained that hearts acquire greater humanity through pain and adversity. There was always melancholy, but in the end the reader emerged spiritually uplifted.
(—adapted from Wikipedia.)

The Velveteen Rabbit has received a number of awards, and has been adapted numerous times for the stage and for animated and live-action film and television. This short work is subtitled “How Toys Become Real,” and that is the main theme of this story. It chronicles the tale of a toy stuffed rabbit and his quest to become Real through the love of his Boy.

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Text was obtained from the Celebration of Women Writers at upenn.edu. Punctuation and italics have been formatted. Due to copyright restrictions, the first-edition cover and illustrations by William Nicholson (1872–1949) had to be excluded (they will enter public domain for this library January 2020). I designed a cover, and created a custom font for bunny decorations.

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This wonderful short story is fondly remembered by millions of readers. I hope it's one of your favorites too.

This work is assumed to be in the Life+70 public domain OR the copyright holder has given specific permission for distribution. Copyright laws differ throughout the world, and it may still be under copyright in some countries. Before downloading, please check your country's copyright laws. If the book is under copyright in your country, do not download or redistribute this work.

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[Calenorn]

Wow! Granny, you are amazing! And you've been a very busy Granny lately!

Would you like to give us a hint about what else you're working on?

[GrannyGrump]

Another Nesbit is currently in the works ---- "ALL the Dragons", comprised of the short story collection "The Book of Dragons", plus the short story "The Last of the Dragons."

I wanted to do an omnibus collection of all her children's short stories, but there are so many missing -- they have not been digitized for free access. I will have to meditate on what I will do after "Dragons" is finished.

I would have liked to do more of Williams' children's books, but they are also very hard to find.