The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Common Sense Note
Parents need to know that this is a melancholy little story, in which there is cruelty and misery, including a little girl who dies of consumption. Most readers, child and adult, will cry while reading it, but some very sensitive kids might find it disturbing.
Families who read this book could discuss the path of growth and understanding that Edward follows. What does he learn about love? Why does he try, for awhile, to avoid it? Why is it so important?
Common Sense Review
Reviewed By: Matt Berman
This lovely, lyrical, almost Dickensian tale is certainly a classic in the making. How is it that, at a time when so many authors don't seem to be able to get their readers emotionally involved with their human characters, Kate DiCamillo can have her readers breathless and weeping over a toy rabbit that can neither move nor talk? This is the author's secret, and the key to why this book should last long after others have faded away.
Yes, it is at times mawkish and overwrought: the stunning cruelty of the world to a little boy named Bryce, for instance, left unresolved by the author, borders on being too much. But by that time even jaded readers won't mind -- they'll be too swept up in the rich and powerful story, enhanced by the gorgeous drawings and paintings by Ibatoulline.
The whole volume, in fact, is a treat, printed in perfectly sized type with plenty of white space on creamy paper -- a beautiful edition well worth the slightly higher hardcover price. Don't miss sharing this near-perfect bedtime book with your middle-graders, and don't be surprised if you find your older kids listening in at the doorway.
From The Book
Edward said nothing. He said nothing because, of course, he could not speak. He lay in his small bed next to Abilene's large one. He stared up at the ceiling and listened to the sound of her breath entering and leaving her body, knowing that soon she would be asleep. Because Edward's eyes were painted on and he could not close them, he was always awake.
Sometimes, if Abilene put him into his bed on his side instead of on his back, he could see through the cracks in the curtains and out into the dark night. On clear nights, the stars shone, and their pinprick light comforted Edward in a way that he could not quite understand. Often, he stared at the stars all night until the dark finally gave way to dawn.
Plot Summary:
Edward Tulane is a three-foot tall toy rabbit, beautifully made, with a wardrobe of exquisite clothes. Like any toy, he cannot move or talk, but he can think. And despite being loved by a little girl, Abilene, he doesn't love anyone but himself.
Abilene's mysterious grandmother tells them a story of a princess who cannot love, and she whispers to Edward, "You disappoint me." Soon after, while on a cruise ship, Edward is thrown overboard by some mean boys, thus beginning an odyssey that carries him through many years to different owners, through humiliation and damage and pain, but enables him gradually to open his heart to others.
Related Books:
Other Books by Kate DiCamillo:
The Tiger Rising
Because of Winn-Dixie
The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread
Mercy Watson to the Rescue
Books with Similar Themes:
Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins
The Dulcimer Boy by Tor Seidler
The Velveteen Rabbit by Margery Williams
Finding Walter by Ann Turner
Davin by Dan and Zaki Gordon
Paddle-to-the-Sea by Holling C. Holling
Related Web Sites
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Author's Site
| Content | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CS | adults | kids | ||
Sexual Content |
 |
|
|
|
ViolenceA boy is slapped, a dog is kicked, and a living toy is smashed and broken. |
|
 |
|
|
Language |
|
|
|
|
Message |
|
|
|
|
Social Behavior |
 |
|
 |
|
Commercialism |
|
|
|
|
Drug/Alcohol/TobaccoA fisherman smokes a pipe. A boy's father is described as a drunk. |
|
|
|
|
