The Bee's Bookshelf discussion

We'll use this space to discuss our favorite moments and words from The Magician's Elephant by Kate DiCamillo. Happy reading!

Hello Molly and all Bee's Readers,
I am so pleased to see that The Magician's Elephant is the newest bookshelf pick. I was just saying at Thanksgiving dinner that this was a wonderful story and I hoped it would be a Bee choice. I listened to this story on audiobook and loved it so much that I have been recommending it to everyone. The narrator is amazing and really brings all the characters to life. I am still walking around saying" I meant only lilies" randomly. My favorite parts of this book were the dreams that connected everyone. When Adele dreamed of the elephant (who spoke with an Indian accent in the audiobook), Peter dreamed of holding his baby sister, the old nun dreams of opening the door, and even the magician dreamed of showing his star to someone who loved him. I am anxious to see if everyone loved this story as much as I did and if there is another Kate DiCamillo novel that someone would recommend as highly.

Michele wrote: "Hello Molly and all Bee's Readers,
I am so pleased to see that The Magician's Elephant is the newest bookshelf pick. I was just saying at Thanksgiving dinner that this was a wonderful story and I h..."

Hi, Michele! We're so happy to hear that you enjoyed The Magician's Elephant. I think it's my favorite Kate DiCamillo book I've read so far. Next on my reading list is her newest novel Raymie Nightingale.

I love hearing from those who listen to audiobooks. I think it's fun to compare reader experiences between print and audio. How interesting that the elephant has an Indian accent!

One of my favorite quotes that I've been repeating to myself since reading The Magician's Elephant is "What if? What if you merely tried?" I'm curious to hear what everyone else's favorite lines are!

I haven't read it yet, but from what you've said I can't wait until I get it from the library!

Grace Maxson wrote: "I haven't read it yet, but from what you've said I can't wait until I get it from the library!"

I'm excited to discuss it with you! It's been one of my favorites we've read so far!

Michele wrote: "Hello Molly and all Bee's Readers,
I am so pleased to see that The Magician's Elephant is the newest bookshelf pick. I was just saying at Thanksgiving dinner that this was a wonderful story and I h..."
A Kate DiCamillo book that I really enjoyed was "The Tale of Despereaux".

Grace Maxson wrote: "A Kate DiCamillo book that I really enjoyed was "The Tale of Despereaux". "

The Tale of Despereaux was the first Kate DiCamillo book I ever read and I adored it. It was also the first book I ever read that addressed the reader so directly, and I thought that was so fun.

Me too, Grace! I loved the author speaking directly to me, the reader, in Tales of Despereaux. Great book. Looking forward to reading this month's Bee pick. 😊

Started and finished The Magician's Elephant last night. It may have edged out Tales of Despereaux as my new Kate DiCamillo favorite! I loved the dreams, also, and how their dreams gave them hope and strength to not only imagine that things could be different, but empowered them to actually change their circumstances. Love this story! Thanks Bee Team for choosing this book. 😊 What if, indeed!

Marianne wrote: "Started and finished The Magician's Elephant last night. It may have edged out Tales of Despereaux as my new Kate DiCamillo favorite! I loved the dreams, also, and how their dreams gave them hope a..."

Oh, yay! I'm so happy you loved the book! I think the question "What if?" is very empowering, and I've been trying to use it my daily life to confront difficult things or to push myself to try new things.