This is a story of a proud toy rabbit, who only loves himself. He belongs to a girl Abilene who adores him. On a boat trip his is thrown overboard and this is where his real journey begins. He experiences new places and people as he goes through his adventures and through this he learns how to love. The readers adventure is to see if Edward can find his way home. ( )

This is the story of a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. Now this rabbit is loved unconditionally by his owner Abilene... but he loves no one but himself. He is so pleased with his home on Egypt Street, his silk suits, his perfect manners, his lack of want or need, and is just so utterly pampered, that he hasn't a care for anyone, that is until the day that he is lost.

When Edward loses his way from Abilene he has no other choice but to wait. For Edward can't walk or talk... he is a china rabbit after all. But that's just the beginning of his journey, a journey where he will not only learn to accept his fate, but learn to love, to lose and, eventually (although reluctantly) to love again.

Along with Edward you are whisked away on the ocean tides, fished out of the ocean, dumped with the garbage, live life as a hobo, acting as a scarecrow, dancing for money and even the companion to a dying girl.

I absolutely fell in love with this tiny masterpiece. Edward's journey is heartbreaking and at the same time uplifting. The characters he meets along his journey are each very special in their own right. Whether it's the fisherman and his wife or living with the hobo and his companion dog... they all have real problems. Although this story is geared for young children, I think it might be better understood if read by a parent or teacher. There were several instances where I felt a young child would not fully grasp the meaning of the real-life problems some of these characters were dealing with.

I really commend Ms. DiCamillo for never faltering in forgetting that Edward was a porcelain doll. I really enjoyed that she never brought him to life. He had all these feelings and emotions, and even though most of his owners treated him as a real person, he was never nothing more than a toy.

Edward Tulane's tale is charming, beautifully written, amazingly illustrated and just a treasure to own. I highly recommend this to readers of all ages. ( )

Perhaps the most unintentionally disturbing children's books ever written.

A lot of these reviews have started the same way I want to start mine, by saying that I really have enjoyed DiCamillo's other books (Well, Mercy Watson was a piffle, but it was fine for what it was). Winn Dixie is a personal favorite. This book, however, is troubling. The illustrations and book design are fabulous, comforting, and inviting; the story moves along at a good pace and the language is strong and visual. All other aspects are brutal, bizarre, and disturbing.

I am writing this review in a way to settle the book in my mind before discussing it with a group of students at my library. I want to see what the target audience thinks. {note: they didn't think much of it. They thought Pellegrina creepy and they didn't understand the Sarah Ruth episode at all}. Adults seem to either hate it or love it.

My first problem with the book is that I am not sure children will feel any kinship with Edward. What child needs to learn to love? Love and devotion are emotions kids demonstrate early in life. They love their parents, their friends, their toys...it's only when they grow up that society tells them love is complex and has to be earned or learned. Why does Edward have to be tossed off an ocean liner, buried under garbage, crucified, and have his head shattered to "learn to love"?

Second problem: what is up with Grandma Pellegrina? Everyone else treats Edward like the toy he is. His owners and friends talk to him, but they don't seem to expect a response. No one else sees his self-involvement and lack of feelings (these are only apparent in his thoughts since he doesn't talk). Pellegrina who "was responsible for Edward's existence" seems to know his mind. "You disappoint me" she whispers to him. Is she God? Edward certainly becomes a Christ figure when he's nailed up to scare the crows. Pellegrina also says there can be no happy ending without love--Edward gets his happy ending after being chewed up and spit out by "life." So Pellegrina's words are reinforced by the book as a whole. If she is God she is a frightfully Deistic and cold version of the creator.

At first I thought this was like "The Mouse and his Child" by Hoban or "Hitty, Her First Hundred Years" by Field (in fact some say, Hitty makes an appearance at THIS book's end) but I think it has more in common with Peter Pan, another book that really doesn't fit in a child's world (Children aren't like Peter, they desperately want to grow up as quickly as possible)...this is a pointed and manipulative story created to make adults feel nostalgic for their childhood.

I also have a little trouble believing that Sarah Ruth's doll can shatter so easily and Edward can smash into the ocean from the deck of the Queen Mary, remain unbroken under mounds of garbage, and survive being kicked from a moving train...but I suppose that's a little thing.

If Anne Rice had written "The Velveteen Rabbit" ... I think this is near to what she would have come up with. ( )

When I was in fourth-grade(2007), my teacher read it to my class. Each chapter gets different feelings. The cutest part is that this bunny has feelings just like us humans! Nobody knows about his feeling about being a doll, and being everywhere with people treating him badly, and with caringness. I REALLY LOVED this book. ( )

This is a great story about Edward Tulane who is a china rabbit that goes on an unexpected adventure. It so happens that his owner Abilene takes him on a trip on a ship. He ends up falling overboard and then his adventure begins. Edward goes through a number of owners and discovers that he can be caring of others and that family can be hurtful to one another. A good story of self-discovery. There are Middle School students in the 6th grade that would love this story and the reluctant reader. ( )