The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

A china rabbit learns to love in this gentle and moving toy fantasy from two-time Newbery Medal winner Kate DiCamillo. Well-dressed and well-cared for, Edward is the beloved companion of a little girl named Abilene, but he is unmoved by her devotion, or indeed, by anything in the human world, preferring to reflect upon his own fineness. But when Edward is lost overboard during a sea voyage, he embarks on a long journey in which he comes into contact with many different people - a fisherman and his wife, a tramp and his dog, a young boy caring for his terminally ill sister - and slowly learns to open his heart. In the process he learns much about sorrow, but also much about joy.

As I continue my Kate DiCamillo reading sprint - this is the show more fourth of her titles I have read in the last week - I am amazed that I have waited so long to really investigate her work, and I am struck by how thought-provoking and emotionally resonant her stories are. As these are two qualities I particularly value in a book, I think I have found a new favorite author! The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane was an engrossing read, and will keep young children involved in the ups and downs of its rabbit hero's journey. It will also make them ponder (as it did me) the necessity of love, in leading a full life - in being alive at all, really - and the inextricable ties between love and suffering. I loved Edward's slow awakening to a more fully realized way of being, and how DiCamillo managed to capture this in a character who is outwardly inanimate. I also loved the cast of characters with whom Edward comes into contact - the episode with Bryce and Sarah Ruth was particularly moving - and thought the author created a believable and engaging world. Recommended to readers young and old who enjoy tales of toys out in the world, or stories with a little melancholy and a little joy mixed together. show less

From Amazon:

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 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 bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, we are shown a miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

My Thoughts:

With The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane we are given a glimpse of arrogance gone wild. The china doll is made to feel special and is loved so much by his show more owner that he can't conceive he holds any other position than the center of the universe. Then, in an unexpected event, Edward Tulane is thrust into the depths of despair and only thru the kind acts of others is he taught the meaning of love. His various handlers and owners each contribute to Edward's salvation in small ways.

It is the kind of book that you will treasure and recommend to others. Don't pass this book by because it sits in the children's section...this book is for everyone. show less

By around 30 pages from the end I was full-on ugly crying. This is the real deal. One thing I marvel at with Kate DiCamillo is that she is able to “get away” with so many things I assume publishers would veto as being too adult for children. She is merciless with the trials she puts Edward through. There is not a single shred of whimsy in this book, she is brutal and exacting. And yet I admire her so much for that single North star of every artist: Tell the truth. She tells the truth, all of it, always, and it hurts—but there is redemption at the end, and it’s all the sweeter for it.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane – Kate DiCamillo
4 stars

Edward Tulane is an elegant china rabbit, the cherished toy of a girl named Abilene. Despite, being showered with a little girl’s love and having a privileged existence, Edward is bored and disdainful. It takes an arduous, eventful and miraculous journey to wake Edward up to the pleasure and pain of loving and living. This is a very sweet, allegorical story that makes its point without being either preachy or insipid. Although it was tagged young adult, I think it would make a great read-a-loud for early elementary and a good independent read for middle grades.

Ya gotta love a book about a rabbit. I bought this book to read to Gracie, my pet bunny. She likes to be read to; she’ll sit in my lap and try to nibble at the pages, but I can tell by the position of her ears that she is listening. Maybe not to me, but she’s listening to something .

Edward Tulane is a very, very spoiled china rabbit. He has an entire wardrobe of clothes, shoes, and hats. He’s also a little arrogant, thinking he’s above everyone else in the world, especially in the world of his owner, a little girl named Abilene.

Every morning before she leaves for school, Abilene dresses Edward and sets him in chair, positioned so that he can look out the window. The gold watch rest in his lap will help him know when it’s show more time for the little girl to come home.

One day, Abilene and her parents set off on the Queen Mary, bound for London. And so begins the Edward’s harrowing journey. The places he winds up are enough to make a bunny lose all his hair. But Edward is a stalwart little dude, and where he eventually winds up, made me smile.

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane gets 5 out of 5 stars in Julie’s world. show less

Impossibly beautiful story about learning to love, simply and gracefully told. Edward Tulane is little Abilene's china rabbit doll. Edward is vain, indignant and particular. His high-end manner comes to an abrupt end when he is thrown overboard on a family cruise and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Months later a ferocious storm tosses Edward about and he ends up in a fisherman's net. He spends time at the home of the fisherman and his tender old wife; later he travels with a hobo and his dog; provides comfort for a sick girl and ends up on the shelf of a doll repair shop. As Edward experiences the world and his new owners his elitist manner softens. His heart opens to love but is broken again and again. Hanging on to hope that show more someone will come for him again, the day comes when a grown Abilene and her daughter stop by the doll shop. show less

The story of a china rabbit who is separated from his little girl and the people who find him and love him in the aftermath.

Looking at other reviews, this book seems deeply divisive -- some love it, others hate it and think it's DiCamillo's worst book. I fell on the side of loving it. I can see the issues that others had, but they didn't bother me and it just worked for me, and I cried at one point. 5 stars.