Edward Tulane

Last week we read the story of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit in ”The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane” by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline.  We first left off with Edward is sitting on a fisherman’s boat looking at the ocean he does not like anymore.  Edward spent 297 days at the bottom of the sea after being thrown overboard by naughty boys.  Ham was quite upset with those boys and concerned for Edward.

There are only a few illustrations in the book.  Ham commented on this one saying it wasn’t very nice of the woman to tie him to this stake like a scarecrow and let the crows get him.  There are other beautiful illustrations that show the tender loving care that Edward received from the various people in his life and the events that shaped his ability to love.

Edward Tulane learns to feel love for others.  This story conveys many life lessons.  This story spoke to our hearts and made us cry.   The ending is hopeful instead of “happily ever after” and this is more realistic, really.   Look at this lovely doll.

Ham narrated this story well.  He was upset with the father for not loving the little girl and making her well.  I pointed out that they were poor.  This changed everything in his mind and he declared “He did love her then, he was just too poor to take care of her and that’s why he did the things he did.”  The boy in the story felt differently and it is a tragic story at times. 

I re-read the last chapter to Ham last night because he said we did not finish the book.  He did not comment on the ending except to say “Where is the rest of it?”  I would have liked an ending that inspired more conversation but instead of pushing it, we started another book.

We did enjoy this book and I highly recommend it for children who can tolerate old-fashioned fairy tales filled with love and loss.