531. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
Rating: ☆☆☆☆
Recommended by:
Author: Kate DiCamillo
Genre: Fiction, Young Adult, Children, Fantasy
200 pages, published February 14, 2006
Reading Format: Book
Summary
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a children’s fable about an impeccably dressed china rabbit named Edward Tulane. Edward was owned by a girl named Abilene who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely until one day he was lost overboard while Abilene’s family was at sea. Edward then embarks on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes’ camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. Along the way, he learns the lesson that “Someone will come for you, but first you must open your heart.”
Quotes
“Open your heart. Someone will come. Someone will come for you. But first you must open your heart.”
“Once there was a princess who was very beautiful. She shone bright as the stars on a moonless night. But what difference did it make that she was beautiful? None. No difference.”
Why did it make no difference?” asked Abilene.
Because,” said Pellegrina, “She was a princess who loved no one and cared nothing for love, even though there were many who loved her.”
“Edward knew what it was like to say over and over again the names of those you had left behind. He knew what it was like to miss someone. And so he listened. And in his listening, his heart opened wide and then wider still.”
“Perhaps,” said the man, “you would like to be lost with us. I have found it much more agreeable to be lost in the company of others.”
“I have been loved, Edward told the stars. So? said the stars. What difference does that make when you are all alone now?”
“Look at me, he said to her. His arms and legs jerked. Look at me. You got your wish. I have learned how to love. And it’s a terrible thing. I’m broken. My heart is broken. Help me. The old woman turned and hobbled away. Come back, thought Edward. Fix me”
“But answer me this: how can a story end happily if there is no love?”
“It is a horrible, terrible thing, the worst thing, to watch somebody you love die right in front of you and not be able to do nothing about it.”
“You are down there alone, the stars seemed to say to him. And we are up here, in our constellations, together.”
“But let’s not speak of what might have been. Let us speak instead of what is. You are whole.”
“Never in his life had Edward been cradled like a baby. Abilene had not done it. Nor had Nellie. And most certainly, Bull had not. It was a singular sensation to be held so gently and yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love. Edward felt the whole of his china body flood with warmth.”
“Edward thought about everything that had happened to him in his short life. What kind of adventures would you have if you were in the world for a century? The old doll said, “I wonder who will come for me this time. Someone will come. Someone always comes. Who will it be?” “I don’t care if anyone comes for me,” said Edward. “But that’s dreadful,” said the old doll. “There’s no point in going on if you feel that way. No point at all. You must be filled with expectancy. You must be awash in hope. You must wonder who will love you, whom you will love next.” “I am done with being loved,” Edward told her. “I’m done with loving. It’s too painful.” “Pish,” said the old doll. “Where is your courage?” “Somewhere else, I guess,” said Edward. “You disappoint me,” she said. “You disappoint me greatly. If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless. You might as well leap from this shelf right now and let yourself shatter into a million pieces. Get it over with. Get it all over with now.” “I would leap if I was able,” said Edward. “Shall I push you?” said the old doll”
“It was a singular sensation to be held so gently and yet so fiercely, to be stared down at with so much love.”
“They were always on the move.But in truth said bull we are all going nowhere”
“SEASONS PASSED, FALL AND WINTER and spring and summer. Leaves blew in through the open door of Lucius Clarke’s shop, and rain, and the green outrageous hopeful light of spring. People came and went, grandmothers and doll collectors and little girls with their mothers. Edward Tulane waited. The seasons turned into years. Edward Tulane waited. He repeated the old doll’s words over and over until they wore a smooth groove of hope in his brain: Someone will come; someone will come for you.”
“But in truth,’ said Bull, ‘we are going nowhere. That my friend, is the irony of our constant movement.”
“Edward knew what it was like to say over and over again the names of those you had left behind. He knew what it was like to miss someone. And so he listened. And in his listening, his heart opened wide and then wider still.”
“I have already been loved,” said Edward. “I have been loved by a girl named Abilene. I have been loved by a fisherman and his wife and a hobo and his dog. I have been loved by a boy who played the harmonica and by a girl who died. Don’t talk to me about love,” he said. “I have known love.”
My Take
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a beautifully written adventure story for children but which also has a lot to say to adults. It’s theme of loving and being loved, even when your heart is broken, is an eternal one and is conveyed through a compelling and heartwarming story. The illustrations are exquisite and add quite a bit to the narrative. A great book to read to a child.
