The Velveteen Rabbit illustrated

The Velveteen Rabbit illustrated Margery Williams Bianco - 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.

Auteur
British-born Margery Winifred Williams moved with her parents to the USA in 1890. She became a professional writer at age 19. In 1904, on a visit to her English publisher, she met and married Francisco Bianco, an Italian living in London. The couple went to live in Turin, Italy, for many years. Margery eventually returned with her own family to the USA in 1921. She's best remembered today for The Velveteen Rabbit; or, How Toys Become Real. It became an instant classic and has been adapted many times as theater, radio, television, and animated films. In her final years, she interspersed writing novels for young adults with her children's books, and her daughter Pamela illustrated some of the works. Margery Willams won a Newbery Honor in 1937 for Winterbound.