The Magician's Elephant

By: Kate DiCamillo

Narrated by: Juliet Stevenson

Length: 2 hrs and 52 mins

Publisher's summary

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 Peter can hardly dare to believe it.

But it is - all of it - true.

©2010 Kate DiCamillo (P)2010 Brilliance Audio, Inc.

Full of life lessons.

Dreams, hope, life lessons. Amazing listen. I can't wait to share it with my 3rd grade class.

delight and beauty

Beautiful telling of magical tale of finding who we are, and learning to hope again

Delightful!

This is a delightful tale of hopes and dreams and the magic moments in life. The story is not too long - I listened to it in two afternoons - and it held my interest. The narrator, Juliet Stevenson, was one of the best I've ever heard. Her range of voices for the different characters was nothing short of amazing!! I highly recommend it!

It warmed this old heart of mine...

...and made me misty eyed. It's a simple tale; a child could read it, and I hope many, many do. Julie Stevenson is now my favorite reader.

Very Sweet Story

As an adult who has a soft spot for children's books, I quite enjoyed this book. I'm a fan of Kate DiCamillo's work, and if you are as well you, or your child(ren) will love this book too. Sure, it has a fairly simple plot, but most children's books do-it is somewhat clearly a chapter book for newer readers but really isn't a dumbed down novel for those readers. It's such a sweet story, anyone can enjoy it.

Amazing Narration

This was categorized as a kid's book, but adults will likely enjoy it more. The narrator was so good that I will be seeking out other books voiced by her.

Nice setting, slow going, overall okay

I suppose this is a somewhat beautiful story. The world-building is good as I can picture it in my head and somehow guessed it's in Eastern Europe. However, the entire time, I was waiting for something to happen, and it wasn't until 2/3 of the way through that I realized they're never leaving that place, and whatever happens will not be the adventure I anticipated from the very beginning when the fortune teller said to follow the elephant. It was never clear where the elephant came from. It was more a symbol, which was disappointing. Something did happen at the very end, but it's not a big deal and kind of obvious, it just took forever to get there.

Some sentences were repeated over and over again; I guess they're supposed to be some kind of symbol? But I don't get it. it just got repetitive and a bit annoying. The author chose to use the present tense in a few places that sound very odd to the ear and a bit annoying when sentiments were added and repeated. Maybe that was part of the setting, how people used to talk, but that isn't everywhere else in the story, so it was just kind of weird.

Short light hearted story.

Any additional comments?

Light hearted story, wondferful preformance! Kids would love it! Hands down Ms Stevenson made each character come to life. Each with their own unique voice and engaging characteristics, narration was top notch.

A hero strong and true

Peter Augustus Duchene has entered my hero's Hall of Fame. Brave, honest and compassionate, he stops at nothing to learn the truth behind his own past and the present amazing events disrupting the peace in his city, and to set all things right. The supporting cast is by turns comical, quirky and endearing. The solution to the story is beyond heartwarming. None of the touching emotion would have been half so effective without the bravura performance by Juliet Stevenson. More stars are needed.

I loved it because it was insteresbdingm

love it it was amazing I don't know what I would have read so thanks