THE MAGICIAN'S ELEPHANT
by Kate DiCamillo
(Candlewick)
If you were feeling pedantic, you might call the plot outlandish instead of fantastical. You might be tempted to fuss about not getting a detailed portrait of every character. But if you did, you'd be missing the point.
This story has the aura of a folktale about it, with its impossibilities and matter-of-fact narration. Like a fairy tale, you don't holler nuh-uh! when an elephant crashes through the roof of the opera house; you don't feel deprived by the lack of immersion in the minutiae of each and every character's life. Instead, depth mixes with the superficial and surreal in just the right proportions. It's a little like an out of body experience, a little like a Tim Burton movie, and not much like anything Kate DiCamillo's written before.
That's why I like her so much. Never the same book twice, that Kate.
