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sara_hudson's review against another edition
4.0
I love Kate DiCamillo's writing. She is one of the best in the business in creating mood and painting word pictures, and The Magician's Elephant is no different. You just feel the eeriness and the damp chill. What keeps this from 5 stars is the pacing. Although the book is slim - slimmer than most of her books - the pacing felt a bit uneven to me. A quick beginning, a big slow in the middle, and then a quick ending. Like it was caught between being a short story and a longer novel.
kmcneil's review against another edition
4.0
I fell in love with The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, so I couldn't wait to read The Magician's Elephant. Haunting and magical, The Magician's Elephant carries the theme of love, determination, believing in oneself, asking "What if?" While the book did not capture my heart as much as Edward Tulane, it was, nevertheless, a spellbinding and thoughtful read. Probably best suited to upper elementary students and above. Another book that came to mind while I was reading it were The One and Only Ivan (because of the elephant and the elephant's feelings).
From School Library Journal:
Gr 4‰ЫТ6‰ЫУOn a perfectly ordinary day, Peter Augustus Duchene goes to the market square of the city of Baltese. Instead of buying the fish and bread that his guardian, Vilna Lutz, has asked him to procure, he uses the coin to pay a fortune-teller to get information about his sister, whom he believes to be dead. He is told that she is alive, and that an elephant will lead him to her. That very night at a performance in the town's opera house, a magician conjures up an elephant (by mistake) that crashes through the roof and cripples the society dame she happens to land on. The lives of the boy, his guardian, and the local policeman, along with the magician and his unfortunate victim, as well as a beggar, his dog, a sculptor, and a nun all intertwine in a series of events triggered by the appearance of the elephant. Miraculous events resolve not only the mystery of the whereabouts of Peter's sister, but also the deeper needs of all of the individuals involved. DiCamillo's carefully crafted prose creates an evocative aura of timelessness for a story that is, in fact, timeless. 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.‰ЫУTim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
From School Library Journal:
Gr 4‰ЫТ6‰ЫУOn a perfectly ordinary day, Peter Augustus Duchene goes to the market square of the city of Baltese. Instead of buying the fish and bread that his guardian, Vilna Lutz, has asked him to procure, he uses the coin to pay a fortune-teller to get information about his sister, whom he believes to be dead. He is told that she is alive, and that an elephant will lead him to her. That very night at a performance in the town's opera house, a magician conjures up an elephant (by mistake) that crashes through the roof and cripples the society dame she happens to land on. The lives of the boy, his guardian, and the local policeman, along with the magician and his unfortunate victim, as well as a beggar, his dog, a sculptor, and a nun all intertwine in a series of events triggered by the appearance of the elephant. Miraculous events resolve not only the mystery of the whereabouts of Peter's sister, but also the deeper needs of all of the individuals involved. DiCamillo's carefully crafted prose creates an evocative aura of timelessness for a story that is, in fact, timeless. 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.‰ЫУTim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO Copyright 2009 Reed Business Information.
caseysilk's review against another edition
4.0
Continuing the Kate Dicamillo journey and loving it!!!
elliesbookclub's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crimsonsparrow's review against another edition
5.0
The prose is a delight to read, but I'm going to have to think about this one for a while.
mehitabels's review against another edition
3.0
right on the edge of counting as a book, sweet and kind orphan story with nothing to incite nightmares.
like maple sugar candy
like maple sugar candy
emellis59's review against another edition
4.0
Some of the magic that I so thoroughly enjoyed in Tale of Desperaux was missing, but a solid, entertaining, heart-felt book all the same.
pziemlewicz's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
The perfect book to read with my daughters (10 & 11). They still wanted to snuggle up on a snow day for this one.
rosannelortz's review against another edition
5.0
Summer is in full swing, and that means it’s time for me to read some middle grade novels–either out loud to my kids or silently to myself because, you know, an excellent middle grade novel transcends categories and is a delight for any age. Kate DiCamillo is a perennial favorite of mine, and The Magician’s Elephant thrums with all the themes I love so much in her work.
Living in a freezing garret with a disabled soldier who knew his late father, Peter Augustus Duchene spends his young life wondering what happened to the baby sister he remembers being born, the baby sister named Adele. He finds a fortuneteller who claims that his sister is alive. To find her, he must “follow the elephant.” But the city of Baltese has no elephants. Is his quest hopeless?
In a strange turn of events, a magician in that very town conjures the most tremendous spell of his life, and instead of lilies falling down from the ceiling of the auditorium, an elephant comes crashing through instead. The town of Baltese become enamored with the rarity that has appeared, and Countess Quintet makes a display of the elephant in her ballroom. With the help of a kind policeman named Leo Matienne, Peter visits the homesick elephant and finds the answers that he seeks.
This short little pearl of a story touches on the great themes of being loved, being known, and belonging to someone. The elephant herself, trapped in the countess’ ballroom, expresses this well: “She should have been sleeping, but she was awake. The elephant was saying her name to herself. It was not a name that would make sense to humans. It was an elephant name — a name that her brothers and sisters knew her by, a name that they spoke to her in laughter and in play. It was the name that her mother had given to her and that she had spoken to her often and with love. Deep within herself, the elephant said this name, her name, over and over again. She was working to remind herself of who she was. She was working to remember that, somewhere, in another place entirely, she was known and loved.”
Names are important, and it is knowing Adele’s name that brings Peter to his sister at last. As is typical for DiCamillo, the orphans in the story find a family where they least expect it. Like the elephant, Peter and his sister come to the place of being known and loved, the place of belonging.
Even the magician, who is proud of nothing so much as the great magic which he has worked, realizes in the end that there is something far more important than his accomplishment. “The magician stood very still. He stared at the falling snow. And suddenly, he did not care at all that he would have to undo the greatest thing he had ever done. He had been so lonely, so desperately, hopelessly lonely for so long. He might very well spend the rest of his life in prison, alone. And he understood that what he wanted now was something much simpler, much more complicated than the magic he had performed. What he wanted was to turn to somebody and take hold of their hand and look up with them and marvel at the snow falling from the sky. ‘This,’ he wanted to say to someone he loved and who loved him in return. ‘This.’ ”
If you have elementary-aged children at home, I heartily recommend Kate DiCamillo’s fanciful story, The Magician’s Elephant. And if you don’t have elementary-aged children at home, I recommend it just as heartily. Known and loved — that’s what we all want. And being able to share this book with my nine-year-old made it all the more special this summer — to turn to someone, take hold of their hand, and say, “This.”
Living in a freezing garret with a disabled soldier who knew his late father, Peter Augustus Duchene spends his young life wondering what happened to the baby sister he remembers being born, the baby sister named Adele. He finds a fortuneteller who claims that his sister is alive. To find her, he must “follow the elephant.” But the city of Baltese has no elephants. Is his quest hopeless?
In a strange turn of events, a magician in that very town conjures the most tremendous spell of his life, and instead of lilies falling down from the ceiling of the auditorium, an elephant comes crashing through instead. The town of Baltese become enamored with the rarity that has appeared, and Countess Quintet makes a display of the elephant in her ballroom. With the help of a kind policeman named Leo Matienne, Peter visits the homesick elephant and finds the answers that he seeks.
This short little pearl of a story touches on the great themes of being loved, being known, and belonging to someone. The elephant herself, trapped in the countess’ ballroom, expresses this well: “She should have been sleeping, but she was awake. The elephant was saying her name to herself. It was not a name that would make sense to humans. It was an elephant name — a name that her brothers and sisters knew her by, a name that they spoke to her in laughter and in play. It was the name that her mother had given to her and that she had spoken to her often and with love. Deep within herself, the elephant said this name, her name, over and over again. She was working to remind herself of who she was. She was working to remember that, somewhere, in another place entirely, she was known and loved.”
Names are important, and it is knowing Adele’s name that brings Peter to his sister at last. As is typical for DiCamillo, the orphans in the story find a family where they least expect it. Like the elephant, Peter and his sister come to the place of being known and loved, the place of belonging.
Even the magician, who is proud of nothing so much as the great magic which he has worked, realizes in the end that there is something far more important than his accomplishment. “The magician stood very still. He stared at the falling snow. And suddenly, he did not care at all that he would have to undo the greatest thing he had ever done. He had been so lonely, so desperately, hopelessly lonely for so long. He might very well spend the rest of his life in prison, alone. And he understood that what he wanted now was something much simpler, much more complicated than the magic he had performed. What he wanted was to turn to somebody and take hold of their hand and look up with them and marvel at the snow falling from the sky. ‘This,’ he wanted to say to someone he loved and who loved him in return. ‘This.’ ”
If you have elementary-aged children at home, I heartily recommend Kate DiCamillo’s fanciful story, The Magician’s Elephant. And if you don’t have elementary-aged children at home, I recommend it just as heartily. Known and loved — that’s what we all want. And being able to share this book with my nine-year-old made it all the more special this summer — to turn to someone, take hold of their hand, and say, “This.”
wendiwoo1's review against another edition
4.0
A little heavy, but a good story nonetheless. DiCamillo is a favorite. You can't go wrong.