DiCamillo, Kate.
THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE
Boston : Candlewick, 2006.
IL 3-6, RL 6.9
ISBN 0763625892

(3 booktalks)

Once upon a time, there was a magnificent china rabbit who did not know how to love.  He only cared about his looks and only half listens to the young girl he belongs to.  But this will all change when Edward is tossed overboard on the way to England and begins a journey from the depths of the ocean through many new homes and adventures.  Will Edward ever come to realize that love is not something you should take for granted?

Booktalk #2

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. Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle — that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.  (Rebecca Caudill Young Readers’ Book Award 2008)

Booktalk #3

Have you ever wondered what your toys think about you? Does the doll or teddy you want near you, especially at night, feel the same way about you?  Maybe toys need to experience unhappiness, fear and loneliness to appreciate joy, caring and love.  Perhaps only the most special toys can make that journey.  Meet Edward Tulane, a china rabbit who was made especially for Abilene by her grandmother.  Although Abilene loves him dearly, Edward pays little or no attention to her or the rest of the family’s interests.  He worries only about himself and his fabulous wardrobe made of the finest cloth.  All that changes when grandmother tells Abilene and Edward an unusually chilling story at bedtime then whispers of her disappointment in him.   Soon after Edward is lost at sea and begins a tumultuous journey which changes his life forever.  (Jean B. Bellavance for Pennsylvania Young Reader's Choice Awards, 2007-2008)