Edward Tulane is a china rabbit living a pampered life. But, when he is accidentally thrown into the sea, a series of misadventures ensue that teach him to love and love again.
I am now a huge Kate DiCamillo fan! I have read Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. With both, I found it hard to put the book down. I'm going to have to read each of her other books!
Just as with Despereaux, the book itself is beautiful. Edward is drawn walking up to a house on the cover and the endpages match the inside of his special traveling trunk. It's as though I was put inside the trunk to experience the journey with him. Each chapter has a page to begin it showing the chapter number and a small illustration. Then, there are color illustrations throughout the book on glossy paper with captions from the text underneath. All of the elements worked together to give me a sense of the story.
At first, Edward fails to appreciate the love he receives from his owner, Abilene. He is bored by all people and cares only about his appearance. When he loses Abilene and ends up at the bottom of the ocean, he begins to appreciate what he had. Eventually, over many years, Edward is loved by several different individuals who treat him differently, call him different names but all love him. With each love and loss, Edward becomes a more complete being. As his heart swelled with love, I felt my heart swell too. As his heart ached with each lost love, mine did also. What a gift to make me empathize with an inanimate china rabbit!
In the front matter, a quote from "The Testing-Tree" by Stanley Kunitz is provided. It says:
The heart breaks and breaks
and lives by breaking.
It is necessary to go
through dark and deeper dark
and not to turn.
It was not until Edward loved and had heartbreak that he began to live. The quote fit perfectly with the storyline and set the stage for my reading. I was also reminded of Despereaux here with the reference to dark as a part of life. The trials of life and growth that comes as a result of hardship and with love seem to be recurring themes with DiCamillo. I will have to see if the same trend continues with her other work.
I'm not sure how I would label the book. Initially, it struck me as fantasy because Edward, an inanimate object, has the capacity to think and feel. But, as I think more about it, it seems like another literary folktale. Edward learned an important lesson about opening his heart to love and appreciating the love he receives. It also has the happily ever after ending so typical of folktales.
I searched for info about the book and discovered it has its own website! www.edwardtulane.com
Included is a video clip with Kate DiCamillo and the illustrator, Bagram Ibatoulline, discussing the process of working on the project and what it meant to each of them. Lesson plans, a readers' theater script among other things is included.
One review (Publisher's weekly) actually compared this story to The Velveteen Rabbit and seemed to think that Edward Tulane was the superior story. I have only a vague memory of the Velveteen Rabbit from my childhood. I will have to check it out and see how I think they compare.
For those that loved Despereaux, you have got to read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane.
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