The Velveteen Rabbit: a children’s book feature on what’s extra special
We have long wanted to start a column celebrating our favorite children’s books and The Velveteen Rabbit on Easter Sunday seems a fitting launch.
At Smallish, we are big lovers of three special things: children’s books, stuffed animals, and, you guessed it, printed portraits. As trite as the word “special” seems, it’s the most precise word we can think of for these things. In fact, we would suggest they are extra special in three ways.
They captivate our senses.
The soft feel of a stuffed animal, the scent of a hardbound book, and the texture of a printed photograph—they speak to us in ways different than their less tangible imitations such as cartoon characters, e-books, and digital images.
But why do these things become more special to us? The Skin Horse character in The Velveteen Rabbit suggests this:
"Real isn't how you are made. It's a thing that happens to you. When a child loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become real."
Think about how these things intersect with our lives. A teddy bear best friend we still have from childhood; a beloved book that moves with us from dormitory, to apartment, and then to permanent home; and the boxes of printed photographs we carry with us—not only of our own lives, but the lives of our parents and grandparents. We make these things special because we love them so. No one questions the veracity of its realness when a toddler cannot sleep for having lost his beloved stuffed puppy. Is it real? Yes, it is very, very real.
They are built for relationship.
We alluded to it above. There is a reason why cartoon characters and digital images will never make a list of the most cherished things. They will not be the things one rushes to save when their house is burning down and they will not be passed as heirlooms to the next generation because, well, they are not real in the same way (or at all, we would argue, at least meaningfully).
Who loves the feel of an electronic book more and more over time, or the scent of a cartoon character you see time and again? These things are not built for relationship but, oh, a real book—its pages become tattered and worn; the stuffed animal becomes shabby and faded; and the photographs crack and age from decades of handling. Do we love them any less? Or is it perhaps the loving that causes the wearing out, and the wearing out that deepens the loving?
“He loved him so hard that he loved all his whiskers off, and the pink lining to his ears turned grey, and his brown spots faded. He even began to lose his shape, and he scarcely looked like a rabbit anymore, except to the Boy. To him he was always beautiful, and that was all that the little Rabbit cared about.” —The Velveteen Rabbit
They can be made with artisan care.
If you’re a lover of extra special things, we at Smallish are your kindred spirit. We adore things made with attention to detail and beauty, which is why we fell in love with The Velveteen Rabbit from The Folio Society. From the luxurious book cloth to the delightfully reproduced first-edition illustrations, it’s a true heirloom edition.
And if we’re choosing the best bunny for the book, our favorite stuffie maker is Senger in Germany. They had us at “Each Senger toy is handcrafted by artisan makers in a charming, mountain village in Germany.”
If you’ve been to Smallish, you know that crafting beautiful wall portraits and albums is our highest priority. We start with a photo session that is fun, laid back, and designed to get portraits of your family that you absolutely love. Then we produce your products using the finest materials we know. The process here isn’t fast. What we aim for is the extra—extra beautiful, extra high quality, and extra special. The resulting heirlooms, we guarantee, are the extra special things you’ll rush to save when your metaphorical house is on fire. But don’t forget to grab the teddy bear, too.
PS—below, from the home of your photographer, are her three extra special things in each category. All treasures, cherished for years and more valued with time: a tattered and crumbling portrait of her Italian great-grandfather, Pasquale, that she is restoring; a book she’s had from the first grade that is, on the inside cover, inscribed with the details of her first crush in her own childish handwriting; and an old stuffed bear that she’s had as long as she can remember.
