The Magician's Elephant
Selected Book Details
- Hardcover
- Edition: 1
- Author: Kate DiCamillo
- Artist: Yoko Tanaka
- Publisher: Candlewick
- Release Date: September 2009
- Reading Level: Ages 9-12
- ISBN-10: 0763644102
- ISBN-13: 9780763644109
- List Price: $16.99
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Summaries and Customer Reviews provided by Amazon
SummaryAmazon 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 |
Customer Reviews
Average Rating: 
Unique
Rating:
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
Rating:
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
Rating: 
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.
Rating:
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.
Children's book written for adults
Rating:
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.
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