The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo (2006, Hardcover)

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a book for all ages! I loved the writers style of writing and the story is delightful. I read it to my third graders and they absolutely loved it, too!

Edward Tulane is the main character, a rabbit or good fortune for the first part of the book, but his adventures takes him into many life styles and economic statuses in life. He lives with a very wealthy girl, who owns him first, but because he lacks the ability to love, he is literally "thrown" into his adventures when he is thrown overboard a ship. He spend some thinking time at the bottom of the ocean.

His adventures help to mold his character and help him to learn the importance of being loved and learning to give love back. Once his adventure begins, he is found by a fisherman and is loved by his wife. This elderly woman who doesn't realize that Edward is a male rabbit and dresses him as a female. He undergoes a great shift in attitude here. A jealous daughter throws Edward in the trash where he ends up at the bottom of a trash heap. Later hs is dug out by a dog and he then becomes the traveling companion of a hobo and his dog. Later he is kicked off a train car and lands in the middle of nowhere.

Then he finds his way to the home of a woman who uses him as a scarecrow. He loves it when he is befriended by a young boy who takes him to his sickly sister. This ends unhappily when she dies and the brother runs away making him a puppet to help him earn his keep.

He dies a tragic death when he gets his head banged into a million pieces, but is brought back to life by a doll mender. He doesn't like his first shelf companion at the doll shop but learns a valuable lesson from the last shelf companion who teaches him a lesson on love.

The a story ends with Edward being bought by a young girl who turns out to be the daughter of his very first companion.

This is the third book of kate DiCamillo that I have bought for my kids. They loved them all and I highly recomend them. They kept the kids interested and demanding that more be read to them. I only wish she had more books out.

I bought this for my grandchild and I loved it! Worth every penny. I am now looking for another one for another grandchild.