The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

For the last few days of the school year, I have been reading The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo to my 7th graders. The book has been out for a while, and though I have wanted to read it, this was my first experience with it as well.

Edward Tulane is a china rabbit with real rabbit fur ears and very elegant clothes. He cringes at being referred to as a doll and thinks himself superior to all other toys. Edward belongs to a 10-year-old girl named Abilene who loves him very much, but Edward does not love her. In fact, he doesn't love at all!

While sailing across the ocean with Abilene and her family, Edward is inadvertantly sent overboard and sinks to the bottom of the ocean. Several months later, a fierce storm churns up the water so much that Edward is drawn up toward the surface and is ultimately caught in a fisherman's net. And this begins his journey - a journey that teaches him so many things: humility, compassion, and especially the joy that comes from loving and being loved. Edward Tulane learns that although there is pain when he loses someone he loves, getting another chance to open his heart again is worth the wait!

I didn't instantly fall in love with this book, but the more I read, the more I found to appreciate. Once again, like in The Tale of Despereaux, DiCamillo has written brief chapters that can be digested by a young audience. Most of all, I appreciate the theme of the story - that in spite of both our personal brokeness and our fractured relationships, we can find strength, healing, forgiveness, and be made whole.