14 October, 2011

The Velveteen Rabbit

One of my all time favorite stories as a child was The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams. It was simple yet poignant and as a youngster, made me feel an extreme adoration for all my toys.
I suspect that it is because of The Velveteen Rabbit that when Toy Story came out, it was instantly one of my favorite films. 
The Velveteen Rabbit
(click image for source)
The Velveteen Rabbit is a story about a toy bunny who learns what it is to be Real to a child. It is an absolutely delightful and moving story - even more so in the original text (the language it's written in is just lovely and really adds something to the story).
I am ashamed to say that it was not until last night that I had read the book, thanks to the Kindle app on my Android phone. I downloaded the app, feeling much too lazy to go upstairs and grab the current book I am reading - or my iPhone, which has Stanza installed on it for reading books. I was very happy to find several great choices to read for free download! I installed Grimm's Fairytales, Sleepy Hollow, Pride and Prejudice, and of course The Velveteen Rabbit to start off with. I thought it might be nice to introduce my husband to some of the children's tales I had grown up with - if anything for a bit of fun.

When I was little, I had always watched a film telling the story, rather than reading it. My parents, as far as I understood, were acquainted with it when they were small as well, which even more so makes this story a treasure to me. I'm sentimental like that.
A small search on YouTube brought me back more than twenty years to the very same cartoon adaptation I watched as a girl, narrated by Christopher Plummer himself! He will always be Captain Von Trapp to me, singing the most lovely version of Edelweiss in the Sound of Music - but I digress. 

Part One

Part Two

Talk about nostalgia! Ahh, it was fun to re-watch this cartoon after reading the book to my husband last night. I can't wait to pass it down to my little ones as a bedtime story. 
If you haven't read the book, please check your e-reader to see if there is a free version available. If there isn't one available to you that way, you can read the full story (complete with illustrations!) here.
Enjoy!

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