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4th out of 104 books
—
454 voters
The Magician's Elephant
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...more
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...more
Hardcover, 201 pages
Published
September 8th 2009
by Candlewick Press
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Part of me wants to say I loved this book, that it verges on Trumpet of the Swan or Jane Langton territory, and part of me is afraid I've been sucked into the next Jonathan Livingston Seagull or Kahlil Gibran. (I finally put my finger on what this book reminds me of: The Polar Express. And that's perfect, because I can never decide about that book, either.)
I think the prose is very lovely, and I don't always go for lovely prose, but this is funny, too. There's humor and pathos both in the contin...more
I think the prose is very lovely, and I don't always go for lovely prose, but this is funny, too. There's humor and pathos both in the contin...more
A charming story of love and hope, The Magician's Elephant was a delightful surprise. I can't recall who recommended it to me, but if I could remember, I'd thank them. I loved the writing, the descriptions, and most of all, the story of a little boy and love. Absolutely wonderful, and just begging to be read aloud to the children in your life.
Now I'm off to read all of DiCamillo's books, to see if I adore them just as much. I haven't read this much children's lit since I was in elementary schoo...more
Now I'm off to read all of DiCamillo's books, to see if I adore them just as much. I haven't read this much children's lit since I was in elementary schoo...more
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Mar 10, 2012
Yzobelle
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
people who need to take a break from the bleak realities of life
Shelves:
to-read-again,
for-sharing-at-blink
I loved this book ... everything about it! The story line, the words, the dialogues, the illustrations, even the paper of this edition! It was so worth the high cost I got it for. I don't regret it.
Truly, an elephant is a faithful friend, and matriarchal by nature too. Everything in this book is magical -- and I bet only readers with childlike eyes and disposition would believe that magic is possible, even if everything in it is actually impossible.
"Magic is always impossible," said the magici...more
Truly, an elephant is a faithful friend, and matriarchal by nature too. Everything in this book is magical -- and I bet only readers with childlike eyes and disposition would believe that magic is possible, even if everything in it is actually impossible.
"Magic is always impossible," said the magici...more
The first book I read by Kate DiCamillo was "Because of Winn-Dixie," and I've been a faithful follower ever since. Yes, her books are published in the young adult genre, but her stories are so rich with human emotion and magical characters that it doesn't matter how old you are; these books can be taken to heart by a person of any age.
Her language has a lyrical feel, and is always always quiet. She seems to be able to gently tap a reader on the shoulder and say, "Here, follow me. I've got someth...more
Her language has a lyrical feel, and is always always quiet. She seems to be able to gently tap a reader on the shoulder and say, "Here, follow me. I've got someth...more
Sep 27, 2010
Tamara
rated it
5 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
childrens-lit,
fiction
This book was like eating crème brûlée, with the satisfaction of breaking the burnt sugar spine to eat the warm and sweet center. It would be perfect to have it read aloud while you fall asleep to falling snow.
Favorite Quote:
Magic is always impossible...It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it is magic.
It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it.
He had been so lonely, so desperately, hopelessly lonely for so long. He mig...more
Favorite Quote:
Magic is always impossible...It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in between. That is why it is magic.
It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it.
He had been so lonely, so desperately, hopelessly lonely for so long. He mig...more
This read almost like an allegory. It is a beautiful story of an elephant, magic, love, light, dreams, snow, and believing that the impossible can happen. I think this would be a beautiful book to read aloud. While reading, I kept finding favorite quotes. Here are three of them:
"Magic is always impossible," said the magician. "It begins with the impossible and ends with the impossible and is impossible in-between. That is why it is magic."...more
He might very well spend the rest of his life in prison,
Sparse and efficient text create an atmospheric and magical fairy tale of sorts. Set in a gloomy and grey "other-worldly" european town, DiCamillo brings life to a community of characters. The orphan boy Peter, who is being raised by an unstable soldier, takes center stage. His persistent "what if's" send him to a fortuneteller who reveals that his sister is indeed alive. There is also a magician who longs to perform a great feat of magic, but accidentally brings an elephant crashing through the...more
What a lucky find!
I was looking for a transitional genre for my 7 year old son and I...I was tired of reading the same short stories and Berenstain Bears Books (don't get me wrong they are lovely books, but one can only take so much!)
I stumbled upon the Magician's Elephant and purchased it for my Kindle Fire based on the cover art and brief description.
How lovely to find such a rich, soulful, thoughtful, well written story intended for 9-12 year olds. No, I don't think that my son would have mad...more
I was looking for a transitional genre for my 7 year old son and I...I was tired of reading the same short stories and Berenstain Bears Books (don't get me wrong they are lovely books, but one can only take so much!)
I stumbled upon the Magician's Elephant and purchased it for my Kindle Fire based on the cover art and brief description.
How lovely to find such a rich, soulful, thoughtful, well written story intended for 9-12 year olds. No, I don't think that my son would have mad...more
This book is about a 10 year old boy named peter who had no parents and his sister died or at least he was told. Then he was training to be a solider with a retired old man who was a solider and had had a wooden foot. Then one day he decided to waste the coin the old man gave to him for food he wasted it on a fortune teller who told him his parents are dead but he said "I already know that tell me something i don't know" Then she said your sister lives and he had an internal conflict in his mind...more
feel I must write this review with very little about the characters for if I describe them, I am likely to spoil your discovery of them. I will say that almost all of them are missing something and mention Leo Matienne, the policeman. When Leo first appears he is defending the elephant so I think the reader will know this a good, kind person. Pay attention to Leo if you want to try to figure out what is going to happen. The begining of the book is bit of a bummer, as in a downer, but I urge you...more
My Amazon review: 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 deta...more
I won't deta...more
2 1/2 stars (2 is a bit harsh, but 3 is too generous. I liked it, but expected more from DiCamillo)
I love Kate DiCamillo’s books. I’ve enjoyed reading “Winn Dixie”, “Despereaux” and “Tiger Rising.” Somehow, that magic isn’t quite there in “The Magician’s Elephant.” Perhaps she tried too hard. The themes of keeping faith and hope alive and never giving up are beautiful. I think her attempt to treat the story as a fairy tale lends shallowness to the characters. For most fairy tale characters are...more
I love Kate DiCamillo’s books. I’ve enjoyed reading “Winn Dixie”, “Despereaux” and “Tiger Rising.” Somehow, that magic isn’t quite there in “The Magician’s Elephant.” Perhaps she tried too hard. The themes of keeping faith and hope alive and never giving up are beautiful. I think her attempt to treat the story as a fairy tale lends shallowness to the characters. For most fairy tale characters are...more
I tried to talk myself into giving this book at least two stars because one just seems so harsh, but I was really disappointed in it. I came to The Magician's Elephant soon after reading my first DiCamillo book, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, which was very compelling and touching, a story that lingered long after the book was closed. Impressed, I was looking forward to more of the same with The Magician's Elephant, but it just wasn't there. It felt flat and a bit contrived, sparse on...more
Although I really LOVE the idea of an elephant themed book unit (elephants have always been one of my favorite zoo animals), I did not really love this book. It was written in a quirky way that I didn't totally connect with. However, I did love the theme or message that the story repeated: "what if...". It encouraged the reader to take risks, fight for the important things, to dream big and believe in the impossible and in change. I also liked the element of fantasy in this book, since I love fa...more
Genre :Elephant Novel
This story was so well written and developed that I felt this could have been a true story. Hearing Peter's voice throughout the story in my mind made me feel for him and the lost of his family. Kate DiCamillo's story weaved together many elements of magic and mystery that was easy for me to read and made me want to read the story as quick as I could to find out what would happen. The illustrations added in by Yoko Tanaka were beautiful. Even though there were only a few ill...more
This story was so well written and developed that I felt this could have been a true story. Hearing Peter's voice throughout the story in my mind made me feel for him and the lost of his family. Kate DiCamillo's story weaved together many elements of magic and mystery that was easy for me to read and made me want to read the story as quick as I could to find out what would happen. The illustrations added in by Yoko Tanaka were beautiful. Even though there were only a few ill...more
The Magician's Elephant is a page turner that will make you astonished every chapter you read. There are some parts of the book that was hard to understand in my opinion, but if I read the part i didn't understand a couple times I then understood it. What I really like about this book is that it was interesting and made me predict what could happen every chapter i finished. I can't really connect this book to my life, because nothing like this has ever happened to me, and it took place in the p...more
This is the first Kate DiCamillo book I've read so I didn't have a clue what I was getting into when I picked it up. I got it just cause it looked whimsical and cute, but oh! I was so surprised! It a kid's story, yes, but it's so much more than that at the same time!Here are all the things I loved about it:
Writing: DiCamillo's writing is so beautiful. With one sentance, she painted a picture in my mind without using obnoxious vocabulary!
Characters: I do LOVE the main character, Peter Duchene, e...more
Writing: DiCamillo's writing is so beautiful. With one sentance, she painted a picture in my mind without using obnoxious vocabulary!
Characters: I do LOVE the main character, Peter Duchene, e...more
DiCamillo, K. (2009). The Magician’s Elephant. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
Gr. 4-6. “You must follow the elephant. She will lead you there.” This is the fortune Peter gets when asks the fortuneteller if his sister lives and how he can find her. But there are no elephants in Baltese; and then suddenly there is one, and Peter will finally find the sister he thought died when she was born.
Curriculum: There are themes of faith and hope in this story which would make for good discussions. There i...more
Gr. 4-6. “You must follow the elephant. She will lead you there.” This is the fortune Peter gets when asks the fortuneteller if his sister lives and how he can find her. But there are no elephants in Baltese; and then suddenly there is one, and Peter will finally find the sister he thought died when she was born.
Curriculum: There are themes of faith and hope in this story which would make for good discussions. There i...more
I absolutely adored this book. Wonderful. Magical. THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT has just shot to the top of my favorite middle grade list. I don't think I've ever read a book that made me laugh out loud and cry within a few pages, gasping at the beauty of the prose one minute, amazed at its power to stimulate emotion in me the next. Such is the power of Kate DiCamillo's narration.
I was totally absorbed with every character from the moment each stepped onto the stage (for the elephant, literally…), g...more
I was totally absorbed with every character from the moment each stepped onto the stage (for the elephant, literally…), g...more
I think I smiled all the way through! It appealed to the child in me but to the artist as well. What a wonderful, wonderful book! It is beautiful in every aspects, the story, the prose, the illustrations, everything! My only regret is having bought it as an ebook because this is a book I would have loved to lend, just to share the pleasure.
Yes it is a children's book but it is so beautiful, so poetic that I do recommend it for adult as well, my little one, at 4 1/2 is too young for it but I'm ke...more
Yes it is a children's book but it is so beautiful, so poetic that I do recommend it for adult as well, my little one, at 4 1/2 is too young for it but I'm ke...more
Peter Augustus Duchene tinggal di sebuah apartemen bersama seorang mantan tentara tua yang sakit-sakitan bernama Vilna Lutz. Orangtua Peter sudah meninggal dan ia kehilangan seorang adik perempuannya bernama Adele. Vilna Lutz bilang bahwa Adele sudah meninggal sejak kecil, tetapi naluri Peter mengatakan bahwa Adele masih hidup.
Suatu hari Peter bertemu seorang peramal dan bertanya bagaimana ia bisa ke tempat adik perempuannya berada. Jawaban Si Peramal ternyata mengejutkan, ia berkata bahwa Pete...more
Suatu hari Peter bertemu seorang peramal dan bertanya bagaimana ia bisa ke tempat adik perempuannya berada. Jawaban Si Peramal ternyata mengejutkan, ia berkata bahwa Pete...more
When orphaned Peter sees a fortuneteller's tent in the market, he can't help himself; he has to know the truth. When the fortunteller's answer is, "She lives," Peter is completely undone. That means that what Vilna Lutz, the soldier he lives with (and who is training Peter to be a soldier, whether he likes it or not), told him is untrue. When Peter next asks how he can find the girl he thought was dead, the fortunteller tells him that an elephant will lead him to her. Peter knows there are no el...more
Suatu hari, Peter Augustus Duchene, seorang yatim piatu, bertemu seorang peramal di alun-alun kota Baltese. Peramal itu mengatakan bahwa Adele, adik Peter, yang selama ini dipercaya sudah meninggal, masih hidup. Untuk menemukannya Peter hanya perlu mengikuti seekor gajah betina. Tentu saja hal ini sangat mustahil bagi Peter. Tidak ada gajah di Baltese dan Vilna Lutz (anggaplah pengasuh Peter, yang mengatakan bahwa Adele terlahir mati) adalah seorang tentara yang bagi Peter tidak pernah berbohong...more
Dec 17, 2011
Lisa Rathbun
added it
I should have known! I enjoy Kate DiCamillo's writing, but as I began this book, I couldn't suspend my disbelief. A magician summoning an elephant which crashes through the ceiling? I am willing to believe many things when I read a story, including china rabbits which can think and rats who long for the light, but this I could not accept. But then at the end of chapter two when we are shown the magician's thoughts, I was drawn in. I accepted the story and it unfolded before me, sad and gentle an...more
There is a kind of magic to a piece of modern fiction that is written like a fable or a fairytale since you read and experience a fable in such a different way from other fiction. I found it freeing to read this book, since the element of the surreal asserts itself over the paths of emotional and narrative logic. One of the strengths of the book is the imagery - it is a very visual book, with many vivid, beautiful and haunting pictures of place or moment. The central brother-sister relationship...more
Novel ini bercerita tentang seorang anak yatim piatu bernama Peter Augustus Duchene yang tinggal bersama seorang tentara tua yang bernama Vilna Lutz. Mereka tinggal di kota Baltes. Suatu ketika, seorang peramal datang ke kota itu dan Peter tertarik mendatanginya sebab ia ingin sekali mengetahui apakah adiknya, Adele masih hidup. Berbekal uang satu florit, ia menanyakan kepada peramal tersebut, dan ia mendapat jawaban bahwa adiknya, Adele masih hidup dan akan dipertemukan oleh seekor gajah.
Di ko...more
Di ko...more
Read this when I lost one of my great friend I've ever know. This book felt so sentimental even actually, it had no connection at all with the loss
Peter lost his sister and Vigna Luz said that she already dead. Years after years,he live with that lie but suddenly an oracle in the festival said that Adele (Peter's sister name) still alive. But Peter must found an elephant to find his sister.
In another place, there was a huge accident in the Opera House. The Magician made an elephant suddenly appe...more
Peter lost his sister and Vigna Luz said that she already dead. Years after years,he live with that lie but suddenly an oracle in the festival said that Adele (Peter's sister name) still alive. But Peter must found an elephant to find his sister.
In another place, there was a huge accident in the Opera House. The Magician made an elephant suddenly appe...more
A beautiful story of magic and hope, beautiful descriptions and a magnificent message - I'm glad it found me. I bought this book as the Borders Bookstore I worked at was closing, but only recently read it when it spoke to me from my bookshelf where it has been sitting for the past several months. This simple story was just what I needed. There is magic and wonder all around us - we need only believe.
some favorites passages which I found meaningful:
"She knew only one thing to be true.
Where she wa...more
some favorites passages which I found meaningful:
"She knew only one thing to be true.
Where she wa...more
This tale does have a certain charm to it, teaching a lesson of love and hope and togetherness and finding that the impossible is not so impossible after all. The prose is sparse and occasionally witty or lovely, but because of the sparseness and the multitude of story threads, the story is both slow and feels a little too long.
I appreciate the way that a bunch of little stories about various characters eventually winds together in the end, but since not an equal amount of time is devoted to eac...more
I appreciate the way that a bunch of little stories about various characters eventually winds together in the end, but since not an equal amount of time is devoted to eac...more
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Discussion | 11 | 56 | Jan 16, 2013 10:27pm | |
| Religious Symbolism? | 5 | 41 | Aug 18, 2012 10:11am | |
| Read by Theme: The Magician's Elephant | 4 | 17 | Jul 20, 2012 01:20pm |
Kate DiCamillo spent most of her childhood in the South, and moved to Minnesota when she was in her twenties. She was inspired to write Because of Winn-Dixie, her first novel, during a bout of homesickness one brutally cold winter. The book was an immediate success: it is a Newbery Honor Book, has won more than twenty-five state awards, and has been made into a popular family film. Kate DiCamillo’...more
More about Kate DiCamillo...
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“It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter.”
—
86 people liked it
“It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it.”
—
62 people liked it
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Wendy, I appreciate you comparing it with other "small" books....more
Jun 10, 2010 02:43pm