Title: The Magician's Elephant
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Yoko Tanaka
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year of Publication: 2009
Genre: Fiction/Fable
Horn Book/Kirkus Reviews: Horn Book-2 and Kirkus Starred Review
Summary: Peter is a young orphan who goes on a search to find his missing sister, who is thought to be dead. Peter is skeptical when a fortune teller tells him that an elephant will lead him to his sister.
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Horn Book explains that , "The book's theme is the triumph of hope over despair, as Peter's idea that the "world is broken" gives way to a belief in possibility." It seemed as though both Kirkus Reviews and Horn Book Reviews enjoyed how Peter went on an emotional journey as well to find hope. Kirkus Reviews also indicates that there are many more lessons that can be learned from the book such as, " hope and love, loss and home, and of questioning the world versus accepting it as it is."
Review by Lauren Miller: The book was about how Peter grew as a person while on his journey to find his sister. I think some parts of the book may be difficult for children to understand. For example, there were a few themes that I think were not present in the book but needed to be interpreted by the reader. This book may be more suitable for students in 3rd or 4th grade. However, the book really sparked my imagination. I felt as though I was in the book and was experiencing everything Peter was on his journey. DiCamillo used strong language that really intrigued me. The front cover picture shows that the book will be fantasy since the elephant is breaking through the ceiling. It appears as though the pictures were drawn and then colored in with colored pencils.
This book would be useful when teaching:
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Illustrator: Yoko Tanaka
Publisher: Candlewick Press
Year of Publication: 2009
Genre: Fiction/Fable
Horn Book/Kirkus Reviews: Horn Book-2 and Kirkus Starred Review
Summary: Peter is a young orphan who goes on a search to find his missing sister, who is thought to be dead. Peter is skeptical when a fortune teller tells him that an elephant will lead him to his sister.
Summary of Professional Reviews: The Horn Book explains that , "The book's theme is the triumph of hope over despair, as Peter's idea that the "world is broken" gives way to a belief in possibility." It seemed as though both Kirkus Reviews and Horn Book Reviews enjoyed how Peter went on an emotional journey as well to find hope. Kirkus Reviews also indicates that there are many more lessons that can be learned from the book such as, " hope and love, loss and home, and of questioning the world versus accepting it as it is."
Review by Lauren Miller: The book was about how Peter grew as a person while on his journey to find his sister. I think some parts of the book may be difficult for children to understand. For example, there were a few themes that I think were not present in the book but needed to be interpreted by the reader. This book may be more suitable for students in 3rd or 4th grade. However, the book really sparked my imagination. I felt as though I was in the book and was experiencing everything Peter was on his journey. DiCamillo used strong language that really intrigued me. The front cover picture shows that the book will be fantasy since the elephant is breaking through the ceiling. It appears as though the pictures were drawn and then colored in with colored pencils.
This book would be useful when teaching:
- an English lesson on fantasy. The students could investigate the elements of fantasy and find them throughout the text. Students could then create their own fantasy text, using the elements, and present it to the class.