Review: The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

I read and adored Kate DiCamillo's The Magician's Elephant a few years ago. Something caught my eye last week, and I reserved The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane at the library.

After I finished The Magician (no, it didn't get an better, and no, I'm not going to bother with the sequel even though he finished on a cliffhanger), I was feeling some what hopeless about finding a good book.

I shouldn't have.

I started The Miraculous Journey while cooking dinner, savoured it (and the fabulous illustrations), and finished it a few hours later.

The blurb at the front on the dust jacket drew me in:

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

It was heartbreaking, restoring, and gripping. (One of the Amazon reviewers complained it was too sad for her to read to her child...I say if the child sees that sadness can have redemption and healing through love, she'll be a better person for it.)

DiCamillo is an incredible storyteller. She sets the scene in a few words, sketches fabulous characters, and moves the story along. I can't wait to read her other books (although it's going to be like Eva Ibbotson...I'll have to spread them out and not let myself read them all at once). Keep writing, please, Kate DiCamillo!