predict who will rescue Edward next and how they will treat him, perhaps creating a new chapter for the story;

A remarkable, eloquent and genuinely moving story. . . . Hang onto this title as one to remember for graduation gifts. If you haven’t read The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo, you are in for a real treat. This heartwarming story follows Edward, a porcelain rabbit. In the 1930s, Grandmother gave Edward to Abilene. Abilene adored Edward and treated him as a member of the family. Elegantly designed, with delicate, full-color plate paintings by Bagram Ibatoulline, it has the look of a classic. I thought this was a simple story about love. I was wrong about it being simple, because it showed how complicated life and love really were. It was touching, it was classic, it was.. very heartbreaking.

3 Exploring the text

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a 2006 novel by Kate DiCamillo and illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline. Following the life of a china rabbit, the book won the 2006 Boston Globe-Horn Book Award in Fiction category. Well-written, beautiful, and somber. This is the story of a china rabbit who learns the true meaning of love. I read this book out loud to my class and truly enjoyed the masterful way that Kate DiCamillo crafts a story. Her word choice and sentence fluency found its way into my writing lesson plans to illustrate some of the possibilities waiting to be found in words. Themes and topics:Love, kindness and compassion, loss and death, magic, journeys, self-discovery and different types of people Teachers' Top 100 Books for Children". National Education Association. 2007 . Retrieved 2012-08-19. Edward Tulane is a china rabbit given to a ten-year-old girl named Abilene [1] by her grandmother in the 1930s. He enjoys a pleasant but vain life with his young mistress, who treats him with the utmost love and respect until an unfortunate incident finds him falling overboard while vacationing on the Queen Mary. Edward spends 297 days on the ocean floor, until a storm frees him from the seabed and a passing fisherman and his buddy pull him from their fishing net. The man takes him home to his wife where he is referred to as female and wears dresses. [2]

Although this may have been written for younger readers I believe it will be enjoyed by people of all ages. If you don't cry at some point you're as heartless as Edward is in the beginning. However, despite the tears, you will be left with a happy ending. I have to admit that I bawled like a baby when I finished this book, a modern classic. https://www.storyboardthat.com/lesson-plans/the-miraculous-journey-of-edward-tulane-by-kate-dicamillo Draw children into the text by discussing what we understand by the word ‘precious’ - many first thoughts are likely to relate to monetary value. Set up a ‘think, pair, share’ activity, where children think about the meaning of the word precious on their own (perhaps 30 seconds), then explain their thoughts to a partner, before joining up with another pair to share and construct joint understanding. Now introduce a box containing something ‘very precious’. Caution the children that they will need to take extreme care when handling what they find inside. Really build up the tension here, before carefully opening the box and inviting individuals to examine the precious object. I don’t normally read middle grade novels. I came to this book after reading Ann Patchett’s “These Precious Days”- a book of essays. One essay within is titled “ Reading Kate DiCamillo”. I knew after reading that essay that I had to read this book. I am so glad I did.A timeless tale by the incomparable Kate DiCamillo, complete with stunning full-color plates by Bagram Ibatoulline, honors the enduring power of love.