The magician's elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Candlewick Press, ISBN 978 7636 4410 9
(Age 10-12) Highly recommended.When ten year old Peter
Augustus Duchene is told by the
fortune teller in the market place that the sister he presumed dead is
alive he
is confused and distressed for his guardian Vilna Lutz has always told
him the
opposite. Then when the fortune teller also prophesises that he should
follow
the elephant, Peter is not only bewildered but determined to find the
truth.
This fantasy unfolds as in a dream with the
magician conjuring an elephant when intending only a bouquet of
flowers.
Beautifully told with muted black and white
acrylic illustrations, the font, and paper add to the surreal feeling
pervading
the novel.
From the acclaimed author of Because
of Winn Dixie and The tale of Desperaux, and similar to
Philippa
Pearce's A
Finder's Magic it's a book to read aloud and savour the shared
experience.
Sue Nosworthy