这个故事叙述了一只毛绒兔子被送给一个小男孩当玩偶后的经历。起初， 因为小男孩有许多其他的玩具，毛绒兔子被冷藏在玩具库室里。在那里，他被其他比较新款的玩具取笑他只不过是一只毛绒织成的兔子。幸好，他也同时碰到了一只玩具老将 — 木马。木马经常鼓励他，告诉他，当玩具陪伴主人的日子长了，得到主人的宠爱，玩具有一天会变成真。
有一天，毛绒兔子的机会终于来了。 小男孩的玩具小狗不见了。小男孩的保姆就立即随手把毛绒兔子递给小男孩做陪伴。从此，毛绒兔子就和小男孩朝夕相对，寸步不离。有一回，毛绒兔子还亲耳听见小男孩告诉保姆他自己不只是个玩具，而是“真正”的兔子。这可让毛绒兔子乐极了，让他深信他已经成“真”了。 但是，有一天男孩带他到野外碰见了几只野兔子。 几只野兔子一直游说毛绒兔子和他们一起跳和玩。 但是因为动弹不得，毛绒兔子被那群野兔子发现他不是一只真正的兔子，万分无奈的想澄清，但是却无济于事。
不久后，小男孩生了一场大病。 医生嘱咐保姆必须焚烧所有小男孩房间里头的玩具和书。这当然也包括了毛绒兔子。可怜的毛绒兔子，这么日盼夜盼能成真，却沦落如此的下场。在垃圾袋里的他，回想着和主人共处的美好时光，毛绒兔子不禁流下了一滴眼泪。一滴真正的眼泪。毛绒兔子是否变真了呢？
想知道， 你可以点击 The Velveteen Rabbit by Komako Sakai 购买。
我喜欢这本书是因为它透过主角毛绒兔子的经历，让我看到孩子很单纯的内心世界，他们是怎样和玩偶一起活动玩乐，怎样用想象力和没有生命的玩具，建立一种联系，培养爱的品格。 在我们视为是他们假装游戏的世界里，其实是流露出多少份他们的真实的情感 — 以至没有生命的玩具，也能有所盼望，也能有一天因为真正的”欢笑“，”哭“ 和 “活”过，而成为真实的。
这个故事本来就是深入浅出， 再加上Komako Sakai 的绘图更是让这本 1922 年 Margery Williams 的 Velveteen Rabbit 触动人心。
家长也可以用这本书和孩子们探讨遭受欺凌， 或 “爱”和”真实“ 的 哲理问题。
This is a retelling of the classic children’s book by Margery Williams about the journey of a toy rabbit in becoming ‘real’ because of the love from his owner – the boy. He was at first neglected in the toy nursery because of the many gifts and toys that the boy had. He was bullied by other toys for being made merely of cloth. There he met Skin Horse, who was the only one who encouraged him and spoke to him about how toys can become ‘real’. He finally got his chance to be the boy’s close companion when the boy’s toy dog went missing. He came to believe that he had become real when the boy exclaimed to his nursemaid, that Velveteen isn’t a toy, but is real. In one outing with the boy, the Velveteen rabbit met a bunch of wild rabbits who cajoled him to play with them. In the exchange between Velveteen and them, one could hear his seemingly hopeless cries to be real as the wild rabbits. The story came to a seemingly sad ending when the boy caught a fever (possibly scarlet fever) and the family’s doctor ordered for all the boy’s belongings, that included Velveteen rabbit, to be burned. Poor Velveteen was put into a sack and carried, along with him, was the wonderful memories of the times he spends with the boy. A real tear fell from his eyes. Has he become real?
To find out, you can purchase it at this link The Velveteen Rabbit by Komako Sakai.
I love the book for how it showed me the interior world of a child and brought back fond memories of how I relate to my toys when I was one. It renewed my perspective on child’s play and taught me to empathize with my child more. Parents may use the book to explore the themes of bullying, compassion and standing up for oneself. For those with older children, discussions topics such as the definitions of love and being real can be raised too.
Komako Sakai’s illustration further made reading this hard copy of the book a very poignant experience. Totally magical and alluring.
You can also clicking the following image to purchase it.
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绘本好介绍 (双语）Bilingual reviews for picture books 