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The Magician's Elephant |  |
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The Magician's Elephant | |
Kate DiCamillo is the author of THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX, which was awarded the Newbery Medal; THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANE, winner of a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award; BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE, a Newbery Honor winner; THE TIGER RISING, a National Book Award Finalist; the picture book GREAT JOY; and five books starring Mercy Watson, including a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. She lives in Minneapolis.
Yoko Tanaka is a graduate of the Art Center College in Pasadena, California. She is the illustrator of THEODOSIA AND THE SERPENTS OF CHAOS by R. L. LaFevers, and SPARROW GIRL by Sara Pennypacker. Yoko Tanaka lives in Los Angeles and Bangkok.
Peter stood in the small patch of light making its sullen way through the open flap of the tent. He let the fortuneteller take his hand. She examined it closely, moving her eyes back and forth and back and forth, as if there a whole host of very small words inscribed there, an entire book about Peter Augustus Duchene composed atop his palm.
"Huh," she said at last. She dropped his hand and squinted up at his face. "But, of course, you are just a boy."
"I am ten years old," said Peter. He took the hat from his head and stood as straight and tall as he was able. "And I am training to become a soldier, brave and true. But it does not matter how old I am. You took the florit, so now you must give me my answer."
"A soldier brave and true?" said the fortuneteller. She laughed and spat on the ground. "Very well, soldier brave and true, if you say it is so, then it is so. Ask me your question."
Peter felt a small stab of fear. What if after all this time he could not bear the truth? What if he did not really want to know?
"Speak," said the fortuneteller. "Ask."
"My parents," said Peter.
"That is your question?" said the fortuneteller. "They are dead."
Peter's hands trembled. "That is not my question," he said. "I know that already. You must tell me something that I do not know. You must tell me of another — you must tell me . . ."
The fortuneteller narrowed her eyes. "Ah," she said. "Her? Your sister? That is your question? Very well. She lives."
Peter's heart seized upon the words. She lives. She lives!
"No, please," said Peter. He closed his eyes. He concentrated. "If she lives, then I must find her, so my question is, how I do I make my way there, to where she is?"
He kept his eyes closed; he waited.
"The elephant," said the fortuneteller.
"What?" he said. He opened his eyes, certain that he had misunderstood.
"You must follow the elephant," said the fortuneteller, "she will lead you there."
网友对The Magician's Elephant的评论
三张cd。很喜欢听Juliet Stevenson朗读的有声书。
好好好，纸质也不错，不容易弄坏
非常及时，非常适合，非常好。
I have loved elephants for as long as I can remember. My mom use to read Babar the Elephant stories to me as a toddler and I loved the Babar series. I use to ask her to read these books to me repeatedly as a youngster... Not that I can remember any of this now.
I was also a fan of the Disney movie Dumbo as a child and slept with a stuffed Dumbo that my parents had bought from Disneyland before I was even born.
Needless to say I love elephants. Earlier this year, I came across a used copy of The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Yoko Tanaka. It's a children's book, but I bought it as I was intrigued by the title and the storyline... And, of course, I couldn't pass up a story about an elephant! So in an effort to channel my inner child, I read The Magician's Elephant.
After I finished reading The Magician's Elephant, I was kind of feeling so-so about it. I actually have mixed feelings about this novel. For the most part The Magician's Elephant is going to be a forgettable read for me... It's a quick read, with some finer points to it that make it a sweet read. But overall, I wouldn't go recommending this novel to others. My favorite lines from The Magician's Elephant are the the questions "What if? Why not? Could it be?" that are sprinkled throughout this novel. I took the questions to mean that a person should be open to the possibility that some sort of miracle or something magical might happen if only we were open to it happening in the first place.
I've been slowly making my way through a rather long list of recommended books from my librarian friend, and the premise of this one sounded really interesting. So after diving in, I came away with renewed hope that just maybe, there really IS magic out there (not in the literal sense, but more in that miracles CAN happen, either through divine intervention, fate, or luck).
Taking place at the turn of the century, a young orphan boy named Peter, desperately searching to better his lot in life, wishes to find his long lost sister, who he believes is still alive out there, somewhere (despite his cratchety caregiver saying otherwise). He visits a fortune teller, who tells him "the elephant will lead you there". Not long after, an elephant crashes through the roof of an opera house out of thin air, thanks to a magician's magic trick gone wrong. From there, the elephant catches the attention and imagination of the entire city, and we bounce back and forth between various points of view, including Peter, the elephant herself, the magician, the noblewoman who was crippled in the accident, a beggar and his dog, a policeman, and many others; all of whom are directly or indirectly affected by the elephant, and how this one magic trick changes their lives forever.
Simply put, the author has created a fairy tale. An actual, technical explanation for how the elephant appeared is never explained (despite many of the characters trying) and one isn't needed. Her presence simply serves as a catalyst that sets the characters in motion. Nearly all the main players lead fairly unhappy and/or dull lives, and whether they're aware of it or not, wish for something better to happen, or just some simple excitement to shake things up. Of course, the appearance of the elephant is more than anyone bargained for, but through the course of the story. one thing leads to another, and like a domino effect, the characters' lives become more intertwined, until finally, one final magical event brings them all together. (Won't spoil anymore.)
Some characters get more backstory than others (with Peter being the main player), but all of them are nice to get to know, and none of them feel like just plot devices. It makes me wish that I lived in this town with these quirky, but loveable people. And like all good fairy tales, this one comes with a nice lesson in not losing hope, and that even in the darkest of times, or saddest of circumstances, all isn't lost, and that with a little ingenuity, you can turn your world around and change things for the better.
The book is fairly short (you can read it in an afternoon), and while normally I'd want the story to be longer, here, I think the length is just about right. It says what needs to be said with just enough description, and moves at a good pace without dragging anything out for too long. It's a modern day book that feels like a classic fairy tale from the olden days. I recommend it.
If you went to a bookstore and the author and artist were present and signed the book, you'd have an autographed book.
If you buy the "Special Signed Edition," you get the same thing: the trade first edition with signatures. (The adhesive bar code on the back covers up that of the trade edition.)
For the extra cost ($50 retail), you'd think the publisher would have added a limitation sheet with the signatures, at a minimum, or perhaps a slipcase to protect the book, or a different binding: but no, this is simply the regular edition plus the signatures of both Kate DiCamillo and Yoko Tanana, with a rubber-stamped elephant drawing.
As a long-time publisher myself that has issued limited, signed editions--bound in leather, traycased, numbered and signed--I am frankly surprised that there's no text in the advertising copy to make this important distinction clear.
So let me be clear: You are getting an autographed trade edition. Nothing more, nothing less.
Beyond that, there is ABSOLUTELY NOTHING "Special" about this edition. Nada. Zilch. Nothing.
The trade edition retails for $16.99 (Amazon sells it for $9.93).
The question you must ask yourself: Is the difference in price worth it for two autographs? Only YOU can answer THAT question.
Review by a 9 year-old kid who loves K. DiCamillo's books:
"She lives!" - that's what Peter said when the fortuneteller had told him that his sister was not dead and that an elephant would lead him to her. This powerful belief led Peter through a spell-bounding journey where the impossible becomes possible.
A Magician conjures an elephant, which comes crashing through the ceiling of the Opera House. In an imaginary town where there were no elephants. This event was somehow connected to Adele, Peter's sister.
The author develops each character in this story showing all their emotions and imperfections. I think this author is very well in tune with people's emotions and she knows so well how to translate feelings into words. Also she describes imaginary places with such detail and emotion that it feels that you are there. The reader connects with the characters because they have dimension and depth.
I really enjoyed this book most of all because of characters seem real. It is so well written that I felt like reading more of Kate DiCamillo's books. And I did. And I loved them. "( from the kids books review blog IsabelasBookNook.com)
We've been big KDC fans ever since Mercy Watson and have since worked our way up to Flora and Ulysses but man oh man. This one is a true work of genius. Seriously. Even though we bought it for my 8-year-old daughter, the entire family loved it--including my other daughter who's only 4 years old. Although, I'm sure she didn't grasp its full meaning like her older sister. Also, truth be told, we bought the mp3 CD because it was performed by the acting phenomenon that is Juliet Stevenson. She seriously deserves whatever the audio book equivalent is of the Nobel prize. This is one of those books that make childhood a magical time.
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