The Magician's Elephant

the Summer Opal And Her Father, The Preacher, Move To Naomi, Florida, Opal Goes Into The Winn-dixie Supermarket -- And Comes Out With A Dog. With The Help Of Her New Pal, Whom She Names Winn-dixie, Opal Makes A Variety Of New, Interesting Friends And Spends The Summer Collecting Stories About Them And Thinking About Her Absent Mother. But Because Of Winn-dixie, Or Perhaps Because She Has Grown, Opal Learns To Let Go, Just A Little, And That Friendship -- And Forgiveness -- Can Sneak Up On You Like A Sudden Summer Storm. Recalling The Fiction Of Harper Lee And Carson Mccullers, Here Is A Funny, Poignant, And Unforgettable Coming-of-age Novel. publishers Weekly dicamillo's Debut Novel, A 2001 Newbery Honor Book, Percolates With Heartfelt Emotion And Eccentric Southern Color As Superbly Performed By Tony Award-winning Actress Jones. Ten-year-old Opal, Lonely In The Florida Town Where She Has Just Moved With Her Preacher Father, Instantly Takes A Shine To A Scraggly Stray Dog She Encounters In The Local Winn-dixie Supermarket. The Pooch, Named For Their Meeting Place, Becomes A Trusted Companion With Whom Opal Can Share Her Thoughts And Fears, And Her Hurt, Confused Feelings About The Mother Who Left The Family When Opal Was Three. Winn-dixie Is Soon Helping Opal In Other Ways, Too. The Dog's Smile And Sweet Temperament Act As Ice Breakers That Allow Opal To Meet A Whole New Group Of Friends Who Grow To Be An Unusual Extended Family. Jones Imbues Her Depiction Of Opal With A Tone Of Youthful, Hopeful Wonder And Skillfully Transforms Her Voice To Distinguish The Other Older, Life-weathered Characters. A Tennessee Native, She Never Sounds Hokey As She Adopts A Southern Accent, And She Effortlessly Slips Into A Compelling Storytelling Rhythm. This Is A Top-notch Treatment Of An Award-winning Tale. Ages 8-up. Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

from The Best-selling Author Of Because Of Winn-dixie Comes The Moving Story Of An Eleven-year-old-boy, Rob Horton, Who Finds A Caged Tiger In The Woods Behind The Hotel Where He Lives With His Father. With The Help Of His New Friend, Sistine Bailey, Rob Must Decide What To Do With His Discovery And At The Same Time Come To Terms With His Past.

publishers Weekly

dicamillo's Second Novel May Not Be As Humorous As Her Debut, Because Of Winn-dixie, But It Is Just As Carefully Structured, And Her Ear Is Just As Finely Tuned To Her Characters. In The First Chapter, Readers Learn That Rob Lost His Mother Six Months Ago; His Father Has Uprooted Their Lives From Jacksonville To Lister, Fla.; The Boy Hates School; And His Father's Boss, Beauchamp, Is Keeping A Caged Wild Tiger At Beauchamp's Abandoned Gas Station. The Author Characterizes Rob By What He Does Not Do (rob Had A Way Of Not-thinking About Things; He Was A Pro At Not-crying), And The Imprisoned Tiger Becomes A Metaphor For The Thoughts And Feelings He Keeps Trapped Inside. Two Other Characters, Together With The Tiger, Act As Catalyst For Rob's Change: A New Classmate, Sistine (like The Chapel), Who Believes That Her Father Will Rescue Her Someday And Take Her Back To Pennsylvania, And Willie May, A Wise And Compassionate Woman Who Works As A Chambermaid At Beauchamp's Hotel. The Author Delves Deeply Into The Psyches Of Her Cast With Carefully Choreographed Scenes, Opting For The Economy Of Poetry Over Elaborate Prose. The Climax Is Sudden And Brief, Mimicking The Surge Of Emotion That Overtakes Rob, Who Can Finally Embrace Life Rather Than Negate It. Dicamillo Demonstrates Her Versatility By Treating Themes Similar To Those Of Her First Novel With A Completely Different Approach. Readers Will Eagerly Anticipate Her Next Work. Ages 10-up. (mar.) Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

What if? Why not? Could it be? When a fortune teller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchenne knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortune teller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead you 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 told 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. A Classic Tale By Newbery Medalist Kate Dicamillo, America's Beloved Storyteller -the New York Times Book Review (ages 8-13) When A Fortuneteller’s Tent Appears In The Market Square, 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 Mysterious Answer (an Elephant! An Elephant Will Lead Him There!) Sets Off A Remarkable Chain Of Events. With Atmospheric Illustrations By Yoko Tanaka, Here Is A 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. A Classic Tale By Newbery Medalist Kate Dicamillo, America's Beloved Storyteller. One Summer’s Day, Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni Goes Down To The Local Supermarket For Some Groceries – And Comes Home With A Dog. But Winn-dixie Is No Ordinary Dog. It’s Because Of Winn-dixie That Opal Begins To Make Friends. And It’s Because Of Winn-dixie That She Finally Dares To Ask Her Father About Her Mother, Who Left When Opal Was Three. In Fact, As Opal Admits, Just About Everything That Happens That Summer Is Because Of Winn-dixie. Featuring A New Cover Illustration By E. B. Lewis And An Excerpt Of Kate Dicamillo's Newest Novel, Raymie Nightingale. A classic tale by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, America's beloved storyteller. One summer's day, ten-year-old India Opal Buloni goes down to the local supermarket for some groceries #8211; and comes home with a dog. But Winn-Dixie is no ordinary dog. It's because of Winn-Dixie that Opal begins to make friends. And it's because of Winn-Dixie that she finally dares to ask her father about her mother, who left when Opal was three. In fact, as Opal admits, just about everything that happens that summer is because of Winn-Dixie. Featuring a new cover illustration by E. B. Lewis The National Book Award finalist from the best-selling author of Because of Winn-Dixie now in paperback Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tigera real-life, very large tigerpacing back and forth in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some thingslike memories, and heartaches, and tigerscan't be locked up forever. Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to encounter a tiger - a real-life, very large tiger - pacing back and forth in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other, and ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things - like memories, and heartaches, and tigers - can't be locked up forever. When ten-year-old orphan Peter Augustus Duchene encounters a fortune teller in the marketplace one day and she tells him that his sister, who is presumed dead, is in fact alive, he embarks on a remarkable series of adventures as he desperately tries to find her Ten-year-old India Opal Buloni describes her first summer in the town of Naomi, Florida, and all the good things that happen to her because of her big ugly dog Winn-Dixie. Rob, Who Passes The Time In His Rural Florida Community By Wood Carving, Is Drawn By His Spunky But Angry Friend Sistine Into A Plan To Free A Caged Tiger.