Gwen Verdon Books

I read this book years ago at the home of a child for whom I was babysitting. Recently I remembered it and read it to my 9 year old granddaughter and my 7 year old grandson, and we all enjoyed it very much. Its message spans the generations.

I was very happy with the book. Although it was small it was a wonderful addition. I ordered for friends as well.

This copy was everything I hoped for. The illustrations are glossy and from the original edition I had as a child. The text is a little larger than normal, making it kid-friendly. The pages are tinted a light brown, which gives the book a nice "classic" feeling. I highly recommend it!

Having a seven year old niece, I realize just how pandering and how uninspired most children's books seem to be in light of the Velveteen Rabbit. Never saccharine or insipid; the Velveteen Rabbit is filled with love, humanity and such tenderness that it still grabs you as an adult as an enduringly wise tale that never loses its power. I gave this to my niece to read and felt like it challenged her to not only read something that hones her linguistic skills but entertains so truly and uniquely. The world could learn so much from this little book about what it means to be "real" and what it means to love unselfishly.

I give this book two stars for its excellent diction and a few amusing bits of description, but I find it painfully sentimental, like Shel Silverstein's "The Giving Tree." I have never understood why this story with its abstract "The Boy" protagonist is kept available while the same author's delightful masterpiece, "Poor Cecco," is long out of print and valued by book dealers mainly for its wonderful Arthur Rackham illustrations. In contrast to the sadness of the Velveteen Rabbit, the tale of Poor Cecco the wooden dog, his fellow residents of the nursery toy cupboard, and an amusing cast of human and animal supporting characters - all with distinctive personalities - and their droll adventures at home and on the road, is a treasure replete with mystery, surprises, and an elegantly natural style. I was lucky to be given it as a child and wish others could be so fortunate.