The Magician's Elephant: Summary and book reviews of The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo, plus links to an excerpt from The Magician's Elephant and a biography of Kate DiCamillo.

BookBrowse Awards, 2009 Winner of BookBrowse's 2009 Children's Book Award What if? Why not? Could it be? When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes - hope and belonging, desire and compassion - with the lightness of a magician’s touch. In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected - and making the extraordinary come true.

BookBrowse

Feeling separate is a universal experience. Too often these days, we live behind picket fences, or triple-locked doors. We live behind stone walls or lines in the sand. We live behind fear or worry. The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo is a story about people who break through these barriers - a story brimming with connection and the hope, love and, yes, even magic that comes from those connections. On the one hand it's a magical, faraway fable, and on the other hand a very present and real story, both woven together in the seamless way that can only come from Kate DiCamillo.  (Reviewed by Tamara Smith).

Full Review (1256 words).

Media Reviews

The Christian Science Monitor [T]he book begs for more than one reading and for sharing aloud. The quiet atmosphere and the tribulations of Peter are layered with a bit of pacifist sentiment and more than a touch of darkness. Younger children may miss the underlying themes, but no matter. Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo’s latest is a fairy tale, a mystery, a truly magical story of love and hope that will captivate readers young and old.   The Washington Post Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo tells a timeless tale as "strange and lovely and promising" as her title character. The occasional illustrations, too, are dreamlike and magical. With its rhythmic sentences and fairy-tale tone, this novel yields solitary pleasures but begs to be read aloud.   VOYA Thoughtful readers will feel a quiet satisfaction with this almost dainty tale of impossible happenings.   Publishers Weekly The absurdist elements...leaven the overall seriousness, and there is a happy if predictable ending.   Kirkus Reviews Starred Review. A quieter volume than The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, this has an equal power to haunt readers long past the final page.   School Library Journal Starred Review. Tanaka's acrylic artwork is meticulous in detail and aptly matches the tone of the narrative. This is a book that demands to be read aloud.

Recent Reader Reviews

Rated of 5 by karli
the elephants magician
It is a mysterious book. It's an adventure about a boy looking for his sister. It's very great. I wish there was more to it

Rated of 5 by Marianna Clark
The Magician's Elephant: A Reveiw
Just like any other book this book has its strengths and weaknesses. One of the strengths of this book is that it has an interesting quality of magic that brings the reader into the story. It makes you not want to keep reading. The Magicians...   Read More

Rated of 5 by anonymous
The Best Book Ever
I gave it a rate of 5 because it was really good. Near the end was the best because it was where all the different stories merged and how they at the end become one story. I recommend this book to people who like fantasy books and people who don't...   Read More

Rated of 5 by Shannon Swift
Awsome
This book is so so so so so so so great! Anyone should like it! Even not good readers!

Rated of 5 by tori
TOO MUCH SNOW!
I thought it was a good book except for the fact that it had at least 2 paragraphs about how much it snowed in where ever they live. If it had had less of that then I would have given it more of a thumbs up.

Rated of 5 by Pinkie
Kate dicamillo books
I read your book the Magicians Elephant and it was incredible. I loved it!! I'm only 11 years old and I thought it was AMAZING.!!! Your my favorite author as well as my best friends. We both LOVE your books. We read your books: the Tale of...   Read More

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