Genre: Children’s
Length: 224 pages
Audiobook Length: 2 hours and 52 minutes
First Published: 2009
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Publisher’s Description
When a fortuneteller’s tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller’s mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it’s true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician’s touch.
Quotes from The Magician’s Elephant
It is important that you say what you mean to say. Time is too short. You must speak the words that matter.
It is a bad thing to have love and nowhere to put it.
How will the world change if we do not question it?
The undoing is almost always more difficult than the doing.
About Kate DiCamillo
Kate DiCamillo is an author whose works include Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Desperaux, The Magician’s Elephant, The Tiger Rising, and Flora & Ulysses. DiCamillo currently lives in Minneapolis. Visit the author’s website →
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