Whenever I've been asked to name one favorite children's book, only one, I mention The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams (Avon Books, 1922). I didn't know what a "lovey" was until I became a Mom, but I was attached to the book long before then. The story is about a child getting attached to a toy and loving it until it becomes Real, and any child who has loved a toy will connect to that aspect of the book. I'm waiting for my older son's teddy bear to come to life, although I'm sure the teddy bear is waiting for the day when it won't get eaten by our king-of-the-jungle-wannabe cat.
But the story to me is bigger than toys, bigger than the scarlet fever which caused the Boy to lose his beloved Rabbit in the first place. I had scarlet fever when I was 3 and that aspect of the story resonated with me for that reason, although thankfully I'm young enough to have had antibiotics, and avoided quarantines and having my toys and bedclothes burned.
However, the timeless lines that apply to the Rabbit in the story, resonate with people who have not played with toys, either as a child or a parent, in years. "When a child loves you for a long time, not just to play with, but really, really loves you, then you become Real. It doesn't happen all at once. You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get all loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to those who don't understand."
This writer who becomes more Real by the day, enjoys this book more the older I get.
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