They won't like Edward at first, but they will want to read his story more than once. Life isn't easy, but it's worth it." For some readers, this might be the first book that makes them cry and experience an emotional connection. He is humiliated, humbled, weary, and overwhelmed he gives in to despair, but in the end, he gets his heart working.Ĭamillo seems to be saying to readers, "Get back on the bike. Edward's transformation does not come easily.
#The miraculous journey of edward tulane full
The story is an instant classic and a read-aloud with everything that readers love-lyrical writing that never condescends a haughty rabbit who learns his lesson the hard way, through much tragedy and trial and, finally, a satisfyingly twisty ending that brings the reader full circle (and made me tear up more than a dozen times). Whatever you do, make sure you finish the whole book before you judge it. In which camp will you and your children find yourself? Look at the comments on Amazon to see the startling range of opinions. Others found it manipulative, dark, and overly melodramatic, with a rabbit tortured by his extreme experiences. Some of us loved it instantly and found it to be a transformative story about the power of love. Mind you, the book, winner of the Boston Globe-Horn Book Award for fiction, experienced somewhat of a backlash when it came out. Electronic book readers may be convenient to use, but they won't convey the joy and personal connection children feel when they pick up this to-be-treasured example of fine bookmaking. The exquisite full-page color acrylic gouache plates, one per chapter, and the smaller halftone, sepia-colored watercolors give the book a Depression era feel. Edward Tulane was afraid." In the years to come, he will be rescued by a fisherman, thrown into the garbage, taken in by a hobo and his dog, hung up in a garden as a scarecrow, saved by a boy whose little sister is gravely ill, and brought to a toy store. Can a china rabbit drown? Landing at the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, he experiences his "first genuine and true emotion. Two young brothers grab him off the deck chair, rip his clothes from him and toss him back and forth. She tells Abilene a story about a princess who loves no one and comes to a bad end, and she whispers into Edward's fur-covered ear, "You disappoint me."Įdward's journey begins on board the Queen Mary, when the Tulane family sets sail for London. Edward was given to Abilene by her grandmother, Pelligrina, and the old woman is on to him. He never ceases to be amazed at his own elegance. Edward does not respond, first because he can't speak or move, being a china rabbit, but also because Edward's love is reserved for himself. "I love you Edward," Abilene says to Edward each night before bed. Every day she dresses the rabbit in one of his fine silk suits and winds his gold pocket watch. 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.In a house on Egypt Street lives a china rabbit named Edward Tulane, doted over by his girl, ten-year-old Abilene Tulane.
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. 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. 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. 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. This lovely, lyrical, almost Dickensian tale is certainly a classic in the making.