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A review by fallingletters
The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
4.0
Brief thoughts originally published 15 January 2015 at Falling Letters.
My first time reading something by Kate DiCamillo
A cozy tale, perfect for a winter's night with a big mug of hot chocolate. I took comfort in the slow, quiet story with its pleasant characters. I liked how the police officer Leo Matienne, down on the sidewalk, would talk to Peter up in his apartment and call him "little cuckoo bird of the attic world" (79).
DiCamillo writes gentle yet evocative prose. She creates a charming setting of an Eastern European town long ago. I can't imagine the tale in any different setting.
In the author description, DiCamillo shares that she "wanted, needed, longed to tell a story of love and magic". She succeeds in this task.
The handful of full-page illustrations by Yoko Tanaka suit the story well.
One dark moment when the elephant decides she wants to die startled me.
This is not a tale for everyone - certainly not if you don't like 'novel-length fables', as one Goodreads review describes it, but it delighted me. Admittedly, even for me this was a mood book. I tried it previously and couldn't get into it. I'm not sure what a 10 year old would make of this story (too dull?). While not particularly exciting, and not particularly deep, you may find this a pleasant little tale.
My first time reading something by Kate DiCamillo
A cozy tale, perfect for a winter's night with a big mug of hot chocolate. I took comfort in the slow, quiet story with its pleasant characters. I liked how the police officer Leo Matienne, down on the sidewalk, would talk to Peter up in his apartment and call him "little cuckoo bird of the attic world" (79).
DiCamillo writes gentle yet evocative prose. She creates a charming setting of an Eastern European town long ago. I can't imagine the tale in any different setting.
In the author description, DiCamillo shares that she "wanted, needed, longed to tell a story of love and magic". She succeeds in this task.
The handful of full-page illustrations by Yoko Tanaka suit the story well.
One dark moment when the elephant decides she wants to die startled me.
This is not a tale for everyone - certainly not if you don't like 'novel-length fables', as one Goodreads review describes it, but it delighted me. Admittedly, even for me this was a mood book. I tried it previously and couldn't get into it. I'm not sure what a 10 year old would make of this story (too dull?). While not particularly exciting, and not particularly deep, you may find this a pleasant little tale.