The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

[estoniandancer]

Has anyone read this title yet by Kate Di Camillo?
I was disappointed with "The Tale of Despereaux" two years ago. I didn't think it had the strengths of "Because of Winn Dixie".
I am waiting to get this book (from the library) to read it.

[Tess]

I have read the first few chapters of the book. I'm not at the point where I want to own my own copy, but I strongly recommend it be on the Mock Newbery reading list.

[gbishop]

:)I read this title last weekend. It was very good. The people who spend time with Edward during his journeys are very personable and I felt bad each time the people lost him because they cared about him so much. There were many surprises and I have to admit my eyes watered up at one point in the story. I agree that it should be on the Newbery list because it has the elements that I think are important in a good book; surprise, characters that you can feel their emotions and that touch my emotions, and an ending that I think is just right. I don't want to ruin it for anyone so I'll stop here. It is too early in the year for me to say whether it is my absolute favorite yet.

[Interested Reader]

I am with estoniandancer... I have read so much about the strengths of this title, I can't wait to get it (from the Library) to read it!

[Mary]

"You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next."

I was prepared to not like this book about the travels and travails of a three foot tall china rabbit. Surprisingly, I really enjoyed it! I recommend reading it and believe that this book definitely belongs on our Mock Newbery list.

[Christi]

I was very pleasantly surprised by this book. It's not the sort of thing I normally enjoy, but I really liked it. The writing is elegant but very child-friendly and the characters are distinctly drawn...even the ones who only make brief appearances.

I have the feeling I may have missed some biblical references. A couple were obvious, such as the picture of Edward in the garden and "forty days and forty nights" but I think there may have been more that I missed. Catching the references is not necessary to the enjoyment of the book, but I always like to know if I'm missing something

[Tess]

DiCamillo's writing is vivid and sparse. The story, in many ways, is heart-wrenching. I cared a great deal about all the main characters and truly detested the ones who moved Edward jarringly along to his next caretaker. And, in the beginning, I didn't care too much for Edward, but as he learned to love, I really cared about what happened to him.

I have some doubts about the reaction of Bryce and Sarah Ruth's father in the last scene with Sarah Ruth. Did anyone else think that scene was somewhat off?

Hitty surely had an easier 100 years, eh? Or since Hitty wasn't as full of herself as Edward she didn't have as much trauma to learn a lesson? I might just have to reread Hitty's First 100 Years and compare it to this one.

[kmg365]

Unless you enjoy crying in front of the neighbors, don't listen to this book in audio format while taking your evening walk.

It's inarguably well-written, but I found the experience of reading it so painful that I'll never re-read it. (I can't re-read The Velveteen Rabbit to this day.)

I understand why the ending was the way it was, but I still found it abrupt.

I think I need a self-help book called "When Bad Things Happen to Good Characters."

[Diane B]

This is the saddest book I have ever read. I don't think children should read sad books. It will probably win the Newbery because of that.

[Lisarenea]

The characters that touch Edward's life are the most interesting aspect of this book. I wanted to stay with those characters instead of continuing Edward's story! Perhaps this is what makes it an effective book, however, the unanswered questions made it less personally satisfying for me.

[Estonian Dancer]

I just finished reading this book.
I did not get watery eyes.
I did not get emotioally involved.
DiCamillo says on the jacket of the book that she wrote this story because of a dream she had about a china rabbit that she had as a child....she dreamed he "was at the bottom of the sea"..............yawn.

The only characters that I could actually understand and follow were hobo Bull and his dog Lucy....I thought there was some truth to their characterization. I could actually picture a singular singing hobo with his mangy dog and this toy rabbit on his knee.
I thought all the time that Edward (who was then named Malone) spent with Bull and Lucy to be the best of the story.

The rest of the book was odd/bizarre/unexplainable.

[Interested Reader]

Estonian Dancer -

I do so enjoy your comments!

[Estonian Dancer]

Cheers, Interested Reader!

Just a few things I forgot to mention in my last posting about this book.....
DiCamillo's best book (in my opinion) was Because of Winn Dixie. She has a gift for capturing the emotion animals can make humans feel. She did this brilliantly in Because of Winn Dixie, which is a great animal story about how a dog can have such a profound effect on the life of a child.
Since that first book, she has strayed into this business of writing about animals that are taking on human qualities (eg. Despereaux) and she's whole-heartedly trying the same with Edward Tulane.
Her writing becomes bizarre when she creates animal characters with human personalities. She should stick to her strength of writing just animal fiction, like what she did with Winn Dixie.
Only briefly in this current book, when Edward was with Bull and the real dog Lucy did I recognize the strength DiCamillo has as a writer of animal fiction.
Some writers can create effective animal/toy characters who take on human qualities. I am thinking of A.A Milne (his Winnie the Pooh characters) , Kenneth Graham (the characters of Wind in the Willows) and E. B. White (the characters of Charlotte's Web and Stuart Little). I really don't think DiCamillo's character Edward Tulane has that effective strength in his portrayal (I didn't think Despereaux did either....but that's another day perhaps...)

[DiannaB]

I completely agree - that I was not looking forward to this book. I was very disappointed in 'Tales of Desperaux' also. But once I got into it, (and yes I just finished and of course, it's on hold and racking up fines...cause I delayed, dragged my feet, ugh didn't want to read it!) I have to say I was surprised. I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. DiCamillo sets the stage well. Who would like Edward in the beginning? He's stuck up and so full of himself, but he goes on a journey, not of his choosing and ends up wherever life takes him. This story relates so well how life's journey can be. There's injustice, sadness, beauty, heart-wrenching (yes I did tear up), and a happy ending, where he comes full-circle. That, my friends is what I like, when the lesson is learned, and not too late, and all's well that ends well. DiCamillo does a wonderful job of bringing the reader into the story and bringing about feelings and emotions that you didn't want to feel. I did not want to like Edward Tulane, the toy or the story, but I did. It's also one of those stories that will go right over a child's head that isn't ready for whatever 'reality' they hear in this story. I would put it somewhere between 'Winn Dixie' and 'Tales of Desperaux'.

[Becky]

I listened to Judith Ivey's rendition of Edward Tulane on CD and found it delightful, even with all of the trauma Edward went through. I, too, tolerated him best as Malone, Estonian dancer.

I don't think it is THE Newbery this year, but I'd be in favor of starting a grass-roots effort to replace Hitty with Edward's Miraculous Journey. Don't hate me, you Hitty-lovers, it's just an idea.

[DianeB]

My tears fell on most of the pages of this book. Sad tears and tears of joy.

[martha]

I got an advance copy of this book but didn't get around to reading it until the reviews came out (around February). One review said something along the lines of, "You wouldn't expect to care for a self-centered china rabbit, but I did care very much." That pretty much sums it up for me. I didn't know if I would like the character, but I knew that Kate has a way of working magic, and she did not dissapoint me. Some of my staff who did not like "Desperaux" think this is the Newbery front-runner. I am not sure it is *THE* winner, but at this point, I would think it worthy of an Honor distinction.

[Erica]

I felt like the author was "yanking my chain" as I was reading it aloud to my kids, an 8-year-old and and 11-year-old. Several times I had to draw my breath because it seemed so unfairly melodramatic -- unfair because kids quickly and easily sympathize, even with obnoxious breakable dolls. However, my kids loved hearing it, to my chagrin. I am now thinking that (1) young readers (or listeners) easily put themselves into the role of the protagonist, and (2) have no suspicion of china rabbits with overly fancy outfits (as I do) and (3) haven't seen as many afterschool specials and television commercials and b-movies as I have, so aren't as annoyed by cloying melodrama and poor, dying waifs as I am. I won't be angry if it wins an award, but I wouldn't vote for it.