Komako Sakai, based on the story of Margery Williams
The Velveteen Rabbit written by Margery Williams is a touching story and widely considered a children's classic. She wrote twenty-nine books that followed this, but none were as well loved or achieved such great noteriety. The Velveteen Rabbit has been republished and retold many times over since Margery's original in 1922, but this is a particularly beautiful copy from one of the most popular author-illustrators in Japan.
This version is a little bit more condensed than the original. Sakai's illustrations were created using acrylic paint and oil pencils, which gives them an old world, dreamy feel. The slightly reduced text is barely noticeable, as the illustrations tell such a huge part of the story. Although all of them are gorgeous, my favorites are where the velveteen rabbit interacts with the real rabbits in the yard. It's fascinating how she was able to make the velveteen rabbit look like an old fashioned stuffed animal, while the others look as alive as can be.
Kudos to Enchanted Lion for choosing this classic, and for writing that they thought long and hard before deciding in favor of publishing a retelling of this classic, only because they wanted to give due consideration to the original. This book does not diminish the original at all, and only serves to introduce the tale to a whole new generation.
Review copy provided by Enchanted Lion.
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