diff --git a/src/reagent/core.cljs b/src/reagent/core.cljs
index 3d04cdc..635e3cb 100644
--- a/src/reagent/core.cljs
+++ b/src/reagent/core.cljs
@@ -13,7 +13,8 @@
 
 (def is-client util/is-client)
 
-(def react util/react)
+(defn react []
+  util/react)
 
 (defn create-element
   "Create a native React element, by calling React.createElement directly.
@@ -33,13 +34,13 @@ which is equivalent to
    (create-element type nil))
   ([type props]
    (assert (not (map? props)))
-   ($ react createElement type props))
+   ($ (react) createElement type props))
   ([type props child]
    (assert (not (map? props)))
-   ($ react createElement type props child))
+   ($ (react) createElement type props child))
   ([type props child & children]
    (assert (not (map? props)))
-   (apply ($ react :createElement) type props child children)))
+   (apply ($ (react) :createElement) type props child children)))
 
 (defn as-element
   "Turns a vector of Hiccup syntax into a React element. Returns form unchanged if it is not a vector."