The Magicians Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo--author of The Tale of Despereaux and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane--has crafted another exquisite novel for young readers. The Magician's Elephant tells the tale of Peter Augustus Duchene, a ten-year-old orphan who receives an unbelievable piece of information from the local fortuneteller. Peter learns that his fate is tied to an elephant that has inexplicably fallen from the sky when a magician's trick goes terribly wrong. Why did it happen? And, how can an elephant possibly change the course of Peter's life? This darkly atmospheric yet hopeful tale demonstrates that when the answers to life's big questions are opaque or unforthcoming, all is not lost. DiCamillo's rhythmic writing, combined with Yoko Tanaka's mysterious black-and-white illustrations, enchants and calls out to our sincerest wishes and dreams (recommended for readers ages 8-13). --Lauren Nemroff
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What I liked about this book was the simpleness of it. This is a good book for a younger child who can grasp a story line that is not as direct as other children's books. I read it in two evenings. I am not a really fast reader, but adults still read faster than kids. This book can entertain a young child in that it is simple, and an older child as it has depth that must be imagined between the lines. 

A word of caution on this and other books by Ms DiCamillo. There is a lot of sadness. Children are orphaned, separated, ill treated. There is sadness in other parts of the story too. Much sadness. I think the story ends happily. Depending on your child this could be an emotional read or a average read. If your child was adopted, how he or she reads this will be effected by his or her own story and how you have presented it to him or her.

I would suggest this book for the reading ages of  6-10 and the emotional level of 9+. I rate it PG because of the sadness and implied mistreatment of children.