The Velveteen Rabbit Gift Set: Hardcover book and plush package [Hardcover]

An all-time children's classic "The Velveteen Rabbit" beautifully packaged with an adorable, authentic plush version of the beloved bunny! The Velveteen Rabbit's journey from outcast toy to real bunny is a classic tale of love, friendship and learning to be yourself. This special hardcover gift edition, which includes beautiful design on every page, reunites Margery Williams's text with the original full-color 1922 illustrations by William Nicholson. The plush stuffed bunny, which has been designed exclusively for this gift set, is made of high quality velveteen and based on these same original illustrations. We hope that he will become, like the Velveteen Rabbit himself, a cherished companion and inspiration.

Toni Raiten-D'Antonio is a psychotherapist and professor of clinical social work. Her first book, The Velveteen Principles, was a sleeper hit with more than 50,000 copies sold.

Margery Williams is the author of more than 30 children's books, but her best-loved work is The Velveteen Rabbit. She died in 1944.

From the Forward by Toni Raiten-D'Antonio, author of The Velveteen Principles The Velveteen Rabbit, which first appeared in 1922, is full of the magic and playfulness that fill a child's world and are almost impossible to find in the land of adults. But as many millions of readers have discovered, this book offers wisdom for readers of all ages. The story confronts some of the most essential questions we ever ask: Who am I? Do I have worth? What is life all about? As they search for happiness, each one of Williams's characters seems to embody very basic human traits. The Rabbit is that part of us who is young at heart, and hopeful, and insecure, and afraid. The not-so-nice toys in the nursery represent excessive pride, superiority and insensitive competitiveness. Nana, the governess, is cold and too busy to notice much about others. And the Skin Horse stands for the kindness, wisdom and quiet integrity we all hope to acquire some day. Yes, it is a story for children. But it is also meant for any person with an open mind and a receptive heart. As you read this wonderful book, the genuine humanity in its characters will become obvious. You will begin to consider how much you are like the little Rabbit, and how much you admire the Skin Horse. Most important, you will begin to understand that by holding true to your highest values, and honoring your own life's experience, you too can strive to be Real, just like the Horse and the Rabbit. From the Velveteen Rabbit THERE was once a velveteen rabbit, and in the beginning he was really splendid. He was fat and bunchy, as a rabbit should be; his coat was spotted brown and white, he had real thread whiskers, and his ears were lined with pink sateen. On Christmas morning, when he sat wedged in the top of the Boy's stocking, with a sprig of holly between his paws, the effect was charming. There were other things in the stocking, nuts and oranges and a toy engine, and chocolate almonds and a clockwork mouse, but the Rabbit was quite the best of all. For at least two hours the Boy loved him, and then Aunts and Uncles came to dinner, and there was a great rustling of tissue paper and unwrapping of parcels, and in the excitement of looking at all the new presents the Velveteen Rabbit was forgotten. For a long time he lived in the toy cupboard or on the nursery floor, and no one thought very much about him. He was naturally shy, and being only made of velveteen, some of the more expensive toys quite snubbed him. The mechanical toys were very superior, and looked down upon every one else; they were full of modern ideas, and pretended they were real. The model boat, who had lived through two seasons and lost most of his paint, caught the tone from them and never missed an opportunity of referring to his rigging in technical terms. The Rabbit could not claim to be a model of anything, for he didn't know that real rabbits existed; he thought they were all stuffed with sawdust like himself, and he