THE MIRACULOUS JOURNEY OF EDWARD TULANEKate DiCamillo ~ BOCD
Personal Rating: 3/5
Yearly Count: 17
For me, unfortunately, this didn't go over as well as the more intriguing title THE TALE OF DESPEREAUX. I listened to Edward's journey with a couple of college students on a drive back to school, and we all thought it was "just okay".
Besides the enjoyment of hearing a story, I tried to listen to it as a perspective "mentor text" (book used to teach strategies for writing in the elementary classroom) and that proved to be promising; however, as a general listener I didn't find anything real special.
Trying to teach children the big concepts of love and acceptance within their ability level of comprehension and keep them interested is a major challenge. I believe Ms. DiCamillo accomplished what she set out to do with this book and that certainly is commendable. I just felt like something was missing.
I liked Despereaux better, too. Edward was definitely written for a younger audience and didn't have the depth. I did think it was well written and worth the read, though.
ReplyDeleteBooklogged ~ Yes...definitely a younger audience.
ReplyDeleteI have to say my students so far are enthralled by the story. I have a class of 20 urban city sixth graders. I am a little surprised by how much they like it but am thrilled. I think the short chapters and the cliff hangers at the end of the chapters make it a good read aloud. The vocabulary is rich for my students and there is much to visualize, predict and many themes to talk about.
ReplyDeletecindy
Cindy ~ That's great! It probably would have been more enjoyable for me to read it to an elementary class, instead of listening to it with college students. There are many great ideas to discuss. Glad it's working for you and your class. :)
ReplyDeleteEven though you wrote this post a year ago, I thought I would comment. I just finished this book yesterday and really enjoyed it. I haven't read Despereaux though and hope to this month. I'm sure listening to this story wouldn't quite do it for me. The entire reading experience was the amazing quality of the paper, its weight, and the beautiful illustrations. They were reproduced amazingly. I couldn't wait to turn the page and see what the next one was. A gorgeous book! And I did enjoy the story as well.
ReplyDeleteMaw Books ~ You know what? I think you make an excellent point. A year ago I would have thought, yes, it probably would have been better to read it. BUT, since "reading" The Arrival and The Invention of Hugo Cabret (both of which are graphic novels), I have a new perspective on how important and valuable illustrations (and other variables) are to a story. Therefore, I can imagine that my experience would have been quite different had I read the "handheld version". :)
ReplyDeleteMaw Books ~ OOPS! Forgot to add . . . thank you for sharing that!
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