I Will Always Be Your Bunny: Love from the Velveteen Rabbit

No mention is made of The Velveteen Rabbit beyond the title and a book plate epigraph (“Once you are Real you can’t become unreal again. It lasts for always”), but the long-eared brown bunny gracing this book’s pages accompanies the various characters like that title’s beloved companion. Gilbert’s sentimental rhyming text rambles through an assortment of assurances: “When it’s dark and when it’s sunny,/ I will always be your bunny..../ You and me, we never end./ I will always be your friend.” Swaney’s simple vignettes radiate affectionate charm as different children play with the rabbit in familiar situations: snuggling in bed, waiting out a rainstorm, creating art. Its sweetness can edge into cloying (there’s no sign of the original’s macabre tone), but its small trim size makes this book fittingly giftable. All ages. [em](Dec.) [/em]