Would you read The Velveteen Rabbit at your wedding?

October 8th, 2013
According to an article on the BBC website it is now common to veer away from traditional Christian wedding readings in preference for children’s books.



One of the most popular readings is fromThe Velveteen Rabbitby Margery Williams.

"What is REAL?" asked the Rabbit one day, when they were lying side by side near the nursery fender, before Nana came to tidy the room. "Does it mean having things that buzz inside you and a stick-out handle?"

"Real isn't how you are made," said the Skin Horse. "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."

"Does it hurt?" asked the Rabbit.

"Sometimes," said the Skin Horse, for he was always truthful. "When you are Real you don't mind being hurt."

"Does it happen all at once, like being wound up," he asked, "or bit by bit?"

"It doesn't happen all at once," said the Skin Horse. "You become. It takes a long time. That's why it doesn't happen often to people who break easily, or have sharp edges, or who have to be carefully kept. Generally, by the time you are Real, most of your hair has been loved off, and your eyes drop out and you get loose in the joints and very shabby. But these things don't matter at all, because once you are Real you can't be ugly, except to people who don't understand."

We also rather like this excerpt from Sarah’s Heavy Heart by Peter Carnavas.



They sat together in the paddock, watching and wondering.

Then without a word, Sarah pulled a ribbon from her hair.

The boy watched as Sarah took his heart and tied it to her own.

‘What do you think?’ she asked

He answered with a smile.

And with hearts bound Sarah and the boy started towards the town.

Do you have a favourite children's reading?

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