The Velveteen Rabbit
(100th Anniversary Edition)

First published in 1922, Williams's tale gives children a taste of the longer picture books that were once the norm but with all new illustrations. Stead's delicate woodblock print and pencil illustrations-listed and numbered in the front-match the lovely old-fashioned quality of the tale. For anyone unfamiliar with the original, it is a story of the relationship between a boy and a stuffed toy that becomes "real" by virtue of the fact that it is well loved by the child and essential to his growth and imagination. When the boy recovers from a bout of scarlet fever, the beloved rabbit is thought to be a source of infection and destined for the trash. But magic intervenes at the end, transforming the toy into a real rabbit just as the boy is presumably ready to leave childhood behind. VERDICT Living in such uncertain times, modern children have grown accustomed to seeing hardships reflected in their books; this is a sweet and loving break from that, and a beautiful story as well.

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