I met Kate DiCamillo once. It was the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books in 2009, and I had just read The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. (If you haven’t read them, you should. Despereaux is a mouse with boundless heart and courage, and Edward Tulane is rabbit figurine whose epic journey parallels the journey of growing up.) I waited in line to have books signed for my mother and my aunt, who both share the courageous spirit of Despereaux, and when my turn came, I was elated that Kate DiCamillo was as kind and sincere as the stories and characters she creates.
The best part of a Kate DiCamillo book is the warm, fuzzy, familiar feeling you get once you are drawn into a simple, charming, meaningful tale. It is something like the way you felt reading The Velveteen Rabbit or Charlotte’s Web: completely enamored and a little better for having read and understood it, an experience that is nothing less than magical. The Magician’s Elephant, the story of an orphan looking for answers, delivered on the magical front—both the literal aspects of magic in the story and the bewitching effect the story has. The book is short and amazingly illustrated. The pictures tell almost as much of a story as the words, and as the happy conclusion approaches, the picture themselves get brighter and lighter, representing the growing spark of hope and wonder of the orphan Peter, and, in my opinion, of children in general. The success of the illustrations in The Magician’s Elephant makes me very excited that DiCamillo is a contributor to The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. In the book, fourteen authors each tell their version of a story based on Chris Van Allburg’s collection of illustrations, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, originally published in 1984. The collection includes contributions from Louis Sachar, Steven King, and Sherman Alexie, and the diverse genres of the contributing authors are undoubtedly a boon for the book.
But all this leads me to consider the way in which children’s books appeal more and more to adult interests. Nothing suggests the crossover potential of a children’s book more aptly than The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick being made into a film by Martin Scorsese, a director absolutely associated with productions characterized by very adult content. The movie is garnering acclaim, and adults everywhere are enjoying what was intended for a younger audience. In the same vein, DiCamillo’s books constantly reaffirm that a children’s book is not only for children, and prove that a well-written children’s book is worth reading for children and adults alike.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Magician's Elephant. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2009.
The best part of a Kate DiCamillo book is the warm, fuzzy, familiar feeling you get once you are drawn into a simple, charming, meaningful tale. It is something like the way you felt reading The Velveteen Rabbit or Charlotte’s Web: completely enamored and a little better for having read and understood it, an experience that is nothing less than magical. The Magician’s Elephant, the story of an orphan looking for answers, delivered on the magical front—both the literal aspects of magic in the story and the bewitching effect the story has. The book is short and amazingly illustrated. The pictures tell almost as much of a story as the words, and as the happy conclusion approaches, the picture themselves get brighter and lighter, representing the growing spark of hope and wonder of the orphan Peter, and, in my opinion, of children in general. The success of the illustrations in The Magician’s Elephant makes me very excited that DiCamillo is a contributor to The Chronicles of Harris Burdick. In the book, fourteen authors each tell their version of a story based on Chris Van Allburg’s collection of illustrations, The Mysteries of Harris Burdick, originally published in 1984. The collection includes contributions from Louis Sachar, Steven King, and Sherman Alexie, and the diverse genres of the contributing authors are undoubtedly a boon for the book.
But all this leads me to consider the way in which children’s books appeal more and more to adult interests. Nothing suggests the crossover potential of a children’s book more aptly than The Invention of Hugo Cabret by Brian Selznick being made into a film by Martin Scorsese, a director absolutely associated with productions characterized by very adult content. The movie is garnering acclaim, and adults everywhere are enjoying what was intended for a younger audience. In the same vein, DiCamillo’s books constantly reaffirm that a children’s book is not only for children, and prove that a well-written children’s book is worth reading for children and adults alike.
DiCamillo, Kate. The Magician's Elephant. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press, 2009.
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