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The Magician's Elephant | 
| Author: Kate DiCamillo
Creator: Yoko Tanaka
Publisher: Candlewick
List Price: $16.99
Buy New: $7.85
as of 11/23/2009 02:36 CST details
You Save: $9.14 (54%)
New (56) Used (18) Collectible (3) from $7.84
Seller: big_river_books
Rating:  41 reviews
Sales Rank: 80
Media: Hardcover
Edition: 1
Reading Level: Ages 9-12
Pages: 208
Number Of Items: 1
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.7
Dimensions (in): 7.8 x 5.6 x 0.8
ISBN: 0763644102
EAN: 9780763644109
ASIN: 0763644102
Publication Date: September 8, 2009
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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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
Product Description
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.
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| Customer Reviews:
Showing reviews 1-5 of 41
 Strange short story November 22, 2009
Cheryl Jackson (Lexington, KY United States)
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
While I have thoroughly enjoyed Ms. DiCamillo's other works, I did not like this book. It was strange from start to finish. I did not connect with the characters and often found myself trying to remember who each person was. I thought it had a dark, creepy feel. From the laughing bent man, to the crazed military guardian, I could not imagine any child eagerly wanting to listen to this read aloud, nor be excited about reading it to themselves. In fact, I was glad it was so short because I simply just wanted it to end. I did not feel the hope she was trying to convey, but felt lost in the dark, bleak, strange world of the characters dreams and reality.
 Unique November 18, 2009
Molly Peacock Jones (New Hampshire)
Many reviewers have mentioned the repetitive nature of the book, and they have a point. This happens often in Kate D's books. However, many children's bks rely on repetition, even the ones for older kids. It did take a while for the story to really get going and to stop circling around, but once it did, it was really worth it-- very charming and funny and moving. Definitely an original story in an original setting. How many people could have thought this up?: an elephant falling out of a roof by a magician who got the magical moment wrong, with both the elephant the magician thus ending up in prison?
Wonderful classic fairy-tale prose November 18, 2009
K. Eckert (Minneapolis, MN)
I have read DiCamillo's story "The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane" previously and really liked it. When I saw she had written another book I was really excited to read it. This is a fabulous book; but touches on more adult topics than her other books.
Peter Augustus Duchene is a 10 year old boy who has lost his father to war, his mother to childbirth, and his sister at birth. He lives with a military friend of his father's. The problem is that Peter remembers hearing his sister cry and is convinced that she isn't dead. A fortuneteller tells his that he will find his sister if he follows the elephant; but he can't figure out what she means as there are no elephants in Peter's life. Then a magician tries to perform a feat of magic that goes horribly wrong. Peter needs to figure out how the lonely elephant will help him find his sister. The elephant needs to get home, but before that it will open the eyes of the citizens of Peter's city to the fact that wondrous things can happen.
This was a wonderful book. The characters are engaging and colorful, the writing wonderful. Like DiCamillo's other works the writing style follows classic fairy tale-type prose and results in a darkly atmospheric setting. The story is interspersed with wonderful illustrations by Yojo Tanaka, that fit the mood of the story perfectly.
The book itself is pretty small, at most a couple hours of reading. It seems like it would be a good book to read to children as it starts. As I continued to read it though I think many of the adult characters' pondering and some sensitive topics might make this more suited to the young adult (or older) crowd. At one point the elephant contemplates suicide and Peter's caretaker is occasionally quite cruel. Much of the story centers around characters outside of Peter himself and these characters spend a lot of time contemplating how the wonder of an elephant appearing in the city changes their perception of their lives, because if that can happen anything can happen. I think these contemplations will be lost on a younger child and they may find the book to be very slow moving and boring at parts.
I personally found these contemplations to be fascinating and thought-provoking. This is the kind of book that sounds very good when read out-loud and is very lyrical. The story itself is hopeful as well as thoughtful; although the overall atmosphere is very dark and dreary. I thought it was just a superb story. I look forward to reading DiCamillo's future works and will keep an eye out for her future publications.
 Hard Landing November 13, 2009
Kemie Nix (Peachtree City, GA USA)
Living in a cold attic apartment with a fierce retired military officer, Peter, is subjected to a harsh life in order to prepare him for a future in the military. Having been told by the officer that his parents and sister are dead, Peter is still troubled by the sense that his sister is alive and needs him. Sent to the market with a coin to buy fish and bread, Peter spends it on a fortuneteller instead. The fortuneteller
confirms that his sister lives and tells him cryptically that he must "follow theelephant," when there is no elephant in the city of Baltese. Yet.
That very evening, an elderly, fading magician is performing at the Bliffendorf Opera House. In an attempt to perform real magic, he decides to conjure a bouquet of lilies to hand to the noblewoman sitting close to the front. Instead, his spell produces an elephant which comes crashing through the ceiling, landing on the noblewoman's legs. She finds herself
confined to a wheelchair, the magicianfinds himself confined to jail, and the baffled elephant is imprisoned in a stable.
The author weaves these extremely disparate strands into a cohesive, entertaining whole. The good-heartedness of Peter, his lost sister living in the local orphanage,a kindly police officer -- not to mention, the elephant -- all combine to bring this highly original story to an amazing conclusion.
Magic and mayhem. November 9, 2009
James May
The Magician's Elephant is an enchanting tale about a young boy that makes a rather difficult decision: spend his money on bread or on a fortune teller that appeared within the town walls? The young lad opts for the latter and learns that an elephant will lead him to his lost sister. Seems odd? Peter realizes that the fortune offers hope that his sister is still alive somewhere. During a magic show, an elephant makes a rather strange appearance and now Peter believes there may be something to the fortune.
While the story does share similarities with stories long ago, it is Kate DiCamillo that really captures the imagination and delivers the story fluidly and with moments of tension and amazement. The story is rather straight forward and the surprises are kept to a minimum. The book is a quick read but still manages to develop the characters in a richly detailed depth that will capture the reader from the first page. I only gave it 4-stars because I just finished reading Mary Stewart's timeless masterpiece "The Crystal Cave" The Crystal Cave and while I enjoyed The Magician's Elephant it doesn't quite live up to the book I read prior.
Showing reviews 1-5 of 41
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