The Velveteen Rabbit
by Margery Williams (1922)
1 chapters · 1 chapter quizzes · 18 vocabulary words
📖 Read the full book onlineOpen the Interactive Guide →About This Book
The Velveteen Rabbit is a gentle, much-loved story about a stuffed toy rabbit who lives in a little boy's nursery. When the story begins, the Rabbit is brand new, soft, and shy. He is made of velveteen, a kind of soft cloth, and he has spotted brown-and-white fur, pink-lined ears, and shiny little eyes. In the nursery, the Rabbit meets many other toys. Some of the fancy mechanical toys act very grand and proud, but there is one old, worn toy called the Skin Horse who is wise and kind. The Skin Horse tells the Rabbit about a wonderful idea: that toys can become Real when a child loves them very, very much. This is a warm story about wishing, waiting, and being loved. As you read, you will get to know the little Rabbit and follow him as he learns what love can do. It is a perfect story to read slowly and think about together.
The Velveteen Rabbit is a wonderful book for young readers because it talks about big feelings in a soft, gentle way. First graders know exactly what it feels like to have a favorite toy or blanket, so they can understand the Rabbit's hopes and worries right away. The story helps children think about kindness, patience, and what it means to truly love and be loved, and it opens the door to warm conversations between children and the grown-ups reading with them.
Pre-Reading Discussion Questions
- Do you have a favorite stuffed animal or toy? What makes it so special to you?
- What do you think it means to love something or someone very much?
- Have you ever had a toy that got old and worn out from being played with a lot? How did you feel about it?
- What do you think the title 'The Velveteen Rabbit' tells us about the story?
- If your toys could talk when you were asleep, what do you think they would say to each other?
- What does the word 'real' mean to you? Can something soft and stuffed still feel real?
Themes & Big Ideas to Track
- Being loved can change how we feel about ourselves and how we see the world.
- Real and important things are not always shiny, new, or perfect.
- Patience and waiting are a big part of friendship and love.
- Old and worn does not mean unimportant; sometimes it means well-loved.
- Kindness and gentleness matter more than being fancy or grand.
- Wishing and hoping for something can fill our hearts as we wait.
Chapter-by-Chapter Study Guide
Chapter 1: The Velveteen Rabbit
Before you read — think about:
- What do you already know about stuffed animals and toys? How do children usually treat their very favorite ones?
- The Rabbit is brand new at the start of the story. How do you think a new toy might feel in a room full of other toys?
- What do you think it might mean for a toy to become 'Real'? Make a guess before you read.
- Why might an old, well-worn toy be just as special as a shiny new one?
- As you read, think about who is kind to the Rabbit and who is not. How can you tell the difference?
Watch for these while reading:
- Notice the different ways the other toys in the nursery treat the little Rabbit.
- Watch for what the wise old Skin Horse says about how toys become Real.
- Pay attention to how the Rabbit changes on the outside as time goes by.
- Look for the moments when the Boy shows how much he cares about the Rabbit.
- Notice the animals the Rabbit meets when he goes outside into the garden and the woods.
Vocabulary to know:
velveteen (noun) — a soft cotton cloth with a short, fuzzy surface, a little like velvet.; sateen (noun) — a smooth, shiny kind of cotton cloth.; snubbed (verb) — ignored someone in an unkind way, as if they were not good enough.; insignificant (adjective) — very small and unimportant.; commonplace (adjective) — ordinary and not at all special.; sawdust (noun) — tiny bits of wood, sometimes used to stuff soft toys.; superior (adjective) — acting as if you are better than everyone else.; modern (adjective) — new and up-to-date, made in the newest way.; nursery (noun) — a room in a house where young children play and sleep.; Real (adjective) — in this story, being Real means being loved by a child so much, and for so long, that a toy truly comes alive.; shabby (adjective) — worn out, old, and no longer neat or new-looking.; wise (adjective) — knowing and understanding many things, often after living a long time.; whiskers (noun) — the long, stiff hairs that grow near an animal's nose and mouth.; hind (adjective) — at the back; an animal's hind legs are its two back legs.; fever (noun) — when your body feels very hot because you are sick.; germs (noun) — tiny living things, too small to see, that can make people sick.; fairy (noun) — a small magical being who can do wonderful and impossible things.; magic (noun) — a special, wonderful power that makes impossible things happen..
About the Author
Margery Williams was a writer who was born in London, England, in 1881 and later lived in the United States. She loved to write stories that treated toys and animals as if they had feelings and inner lives of their own. The Velveteen Rabbit, published in 1922, became her most famous book and is still read and loved by children and families all around the world today.
The Velveteen Rabbit was written about a hundred years ago, in 1922, not long after World War I. In those days, many children played in a special room called a nursery and were looked after by a nanny, sometimes called Nana. Toys were often made of cloth, wood, or tin, and some fancy toys had little keys you wound up to make them move. The story belongs to a long tradition of tales in which toys seem to come alive when no grown-ups are watching.