Module Eight: The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo

Bibliography

DiCamillo, K. (2009). The magician's elephant. Somerville, MA: Candlewick Press.

Summary

Peter Augustus Duchene is an orphan with a most melancholy existence. Left in the care of Vilna Lutz, an old soldier obsessed with war, Peter is drilled endlessly for potential battles. One day, Peter spends his last florit on a fortuneteller, and, with little hope, he asks the whereabouts of his long lost sister, Adele. Told by Lutz that his sister was stillborn, Peter is shocked at the fortuneteller's words: "She lives...You must follow the elephant...She will lead you there" (pp. 6-7). At first, he doubts the old woman's words. But when a magician casts a spell and mistakenly produces an elephant out of thin air, Peter dares to believe the fortuneteller is right. And so begins his quest to find Adele, the only family he has left.

 

My Impressions

I'm not a huge fan of the fantasy genre, but I thoroughly enjoyed The Magician's Elephant. Although marketed to a young adult audience, the writing is complex enough to appeal to all ages. Here, DiCamillo has captured the essence of a fable or fairy tale, and her writing has a definite ethereal quality that I appreciated. All of DiCamillo's characters are well-formed and interesting, and I was particularly amused by the countess Quintet. Interestingly, the author's writing style changes slightly when the countess Quintet speaks. In these instances, DiCamillo's sentences are somewhat self-important and quite verbose -- just like the countess herself.  Readers, too, will love the colorful characters and be inspired by Peter's ability to find hope, in spite of his parents' death and his unfortunate circumstances.

 

Reviews

Library Media Connection
"In this inventive fable, Kate DiCamillo tells a tale of 'hope, redemption, faith, love, and believing in the impossible' with her usual quiet, elegant prose. Peter, an orphan, is being trained for the military by his guardian, a battle-obsessed retired soldier. Peter has long believed that his baby sister was stillborn, but a visit to a fortuneteller gives him hope that she is still alive, and that an elephant will lead him to her. Where does one find an elephant at the end of the 19th century in Europe? You find one conjured up by an aging magician, of course. Throw in an orphanage, a nun, a childless policeman and his kindhearted wife, and other colorful characters, and watch as DiCamillo works her magic to bring all of these disparate plot threads together for a deeply satisfying denouement. Yoko Tanaka's muted, textured acrylics suit the story perfectly. Even students younger than the suggested reader will enjoy listening to this story being read aloud."

Horn Book Magazine

"DiCamillo’s allegorical novel seems to pack more mass per square inch than average. The plot is fantastical, surreal: in the fictional Old World city of Baltese, orphaned Peter searches for his sister (whom he has long thought dead), having been instructed by a fortuneteller to 'follow the elephant.' Against all odds, there is an elephant: conjured up by a magician by accident, it has landed on a woman's lap, crippling her. As DiCamillo expands her premise, she adds more and more characters to her cast (a la The Mouse and His Child), from a singing beggar to a countess to an old soldier fixated on war. The book's theme is the triumph of hope over despair, as Peter's belief that the 'world is broken and it cannot be fixed' eventually gives way to a belief in possibility ('What if? Why not? Could it be?') -- familiar territory fo rthis author (The Tale of Despereaux, rev. 9/03; The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, rev. 3/06). But its manifestation here is unusually varied, from homey (a nouishing soup Peter's new mother feeds him) to ecstatic (a nun's dream of flying over a glowing Earth). And the prose is remarkable, reflecting influences from Kafka to the theater of the absurd to Laurel-and-Hardy humor. Even DiCamillo's characters influence the language: in scenes revolving around the self-important countess, the prose becomes verbose, repetitive, full of embedded parentheses. The novel's virtuosity, however, creates a distance between book and reader that may confound the author's fans. This may not be a crowd-pleaser, but it's an impressive addition to the DiCamillo canon."

 

Use in Library

This could be used to lead a discussion among elementary and middle school children about family and friends who live far away, especially those with whom they've lost touch. The discussion could touch on the feelings involved and ways to regain contact with far away loved ones.

The Magician's Elephant could also be used to prompt a discussion about the resiliency of hope. Librarians could ask elementary and middle school children about times when they've been hopeful, even if those around them aren't. What fuels and maintains hope? Why is it important to feel hopeful?

 

M. V., P. P. (2009). The magician's elephant. [Review of the book The Magician's Elephant]. Horn Book Magazine, 85(5), 557.

Walters, L. (2009). The magician's elephant. [Review of the book The Magician's Elephant]. Library Media Connection, 28(3), 73.

Image from http://www.themagicianselephant.com/