The Magician's Elephant [Hardcover]

Kate DiCamillo (Author), Yoko Tanaka (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 and up

In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the extraordinary come true.

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.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Amazon Best of the Month, September 2009: Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo--author of The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane-- has crafted another exquisite novel for young readers. The Magician's Elephant tells the tale of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who receives an unbelievable piece of information from the local fortuneteller. Peter learns that his fate is tied to an elephant that has inexplicably fallen from the sky when a magician's trick goes terribly wrong. Why did it happen? And, how can an elephant possibly change the course of Peter's life? This darkly atmospheric, yet hopeful tale, demonstrates that when the answers to life’s big questions are opaque or unforthcoming, all is not lost. DiCamillo's rhythmic writing, combined with Yoko Tanaka's mysterious black-and-white illustrations, enchants and calls out to our sincerest wishes and dreams (recommended for readers ages 8-13). --Lauren Nemroff 

From School Library Journal

Starred Review. Grade 4–6—On 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.—Tim Wadham, St. Louis County Library, MO
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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 208 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick; 1 edition (September 8, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763644102
• ISBN-13: 978-0763644109
• Product Dimensions: 5.6 x 0.8 x 8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 11.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (102 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #10,292 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #11 in Books > Children's Books > Animals > Elephants

More About the Author

Kate DiCamillo is the author of The Magician's Elephant, a New York Times bestseller; The Tale of Despereaux, which was awarded the Newbery Medal; Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor book; and six books starring Mercy Watson, including the Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book Mercy Watson Goes for a Ride. She lives in Minneapolis.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

194 of 214 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Will recommend this book for all ages, September 8, 2009

By 

Jessica Ferguson "threelittlebirds" (Woodbury, NJ) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magician's Elephant (Hardcover)

The Magician's Elephant is parable/allegory/fable/fairytale and modern kid lit extraordinaire. The tale is somber and atmospheric but the overall feel of the story is one of hope. The characters are quirky and magic lingers on every page. More a novella, it is a quick read of a few hours even for a young reader. I don't recommend putting it off but this is one of those books to be pulled out on a snowy night in front of the fire to be read out loud with your family.

I won't detail the events as the jacket flap and other reviewers are sure to do it but I will say that if you are a fan of DiCamillo's there is no way you should pass up this book. This will seem impossible to you (as it does to me) but her writing is getting even better and with this story I think we may be seeing the beginning of a transcendence to the creation of a storyteller easily in league with Aesop, the Brothers Grimm and Frank L. Baum. I am aware that sounds sycophantic - trust me I am not. In fact, I would really like to hate her for writing so well, as an aspiring writer myself, but there is no denying the quality of this story.

There is a very visual and cinematic quality to the writing that keeps the reader engaged. It is difficult to stop thinking about Peter, Adele, the elephant, the magician, and all the others just because the book is closed.

I sincerely hope adults will pick this book up as well - especially those who have already discovered the pleasures of good children's literature.

91 of 103 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magical, magical, magical., September 14, 2009

By 

Robert Busko (North Carolina) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Magician's Elephant (Hardcover)

At age 60 some might say that I'm far too old to be a fan of Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant. Wouldn't that be a shame? I became a fan of DiCamillo's when I read The Tale of Despereaux and later the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Whatever lessons are intended for the young are not lost on those of us that are a generation or two further along in our visit on the planet.

Kate DiCamillo's stories are charming, well thought out and always provide interesting characters to carry the tale forward. Engaging is a word most applicable when discussing The Magicians Elephant. Is there anything more important for a storyteller?

Like the Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, The Magician's Elephant is an odyssey involving a string of characters each providing to the story in some small manner. Besides spinning an interesting tale, characterization is DiCamillo's best talent.

In the Magician's Elephant the main character, Peter, has been told that his sister Adele is dead. Wanting desperately to believe Adele isn't dead Peter wanders into the tent of a fortuneteller. Given one question to ask (he actually gets two) Peter is given to believe that his sister is still alive and he is told that an elephant will lead him to her. At this point the reader is hooked.

Will Peter find Adele? Read the book and see. Like so many of life's journeys it isn't the destination but the trip that matters.

I have a granddaughter who is five. I'm torn about reading this story to her or waiting for her to grow and let her discover these stories on her own. I think I'll opt to read The Magician's Elephant to her. That will be two gifts, one for her and one for me.

I can't recommend The Magician's Elephant more strongly.

Peace always.

66 of 76 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Children's book written for adults, November 8, 2009

By 

The Library Lady (Minnesota) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Magician's Elephant (Hardcover)

As an adult reader, I enjoyed The Magician's Elephant, but as a piece of children's literature, I was quite dissappointed in it. While this is a relatively short book, it is dense to say the least. The themes of lonliness, truth, and forgiveness are a bit heavy for a children's book. The whole atmosphere of the book is bleak, and it is populated by characters lost in their own despair. While the last chapter does offer hope, the entire rest of the book is quite dismal. On top of this, the book is wholly without action. While there may be a few children out there who may enjoy this book, I believe the majority will not. I am a big fan of DiCamillo's other books, but in this book she has drifted too far from what children want to read about for this book to truly be considered chilren's literature.