One of my new year’s resolutions was to be more intentional about reading chapter books to my kids (ages 7 and 9) on a regular basis – with the goal being a book a month, say, or a big book that we have started but never finished (looking at you, The Hobbit) I hope to incorporate my thoughts on how read-aloud-able these books are in my CBR reviews – maybe it will help fellow parents on similar reading journeys!
Anyway, we started the year off with The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, mostly because so many fellow parent readers recommended it. The story of Edward Tulane, a china rabbit given to a young girl, Abilene, feels like it was written a century ago, and I mean that as a compliment. It is not fluffy or silly. I am not sure why I expected it to be — I guess it’s because the main character is a rabbit? I thought there would be some animal pals, some cute hijinks, etc. Again, this was 100% baseless assumption on my part. The actual book is much darker, and much more emotionally rich. True to the title, Edward is separated from Abilene and goes on a journey not of his choosing – a very long journey through a few Southern American cities, a whole ocean, a number of deep friendships, and several frightening injuries.
My friends, this story made me cry SEVERAL times. The conclusion was perfect, and although my kids did not cry (!) they were deeply invested in Edward’s story; we never stopped reading when we said we were going to, always just one more chapter, just one more.
The chapters are short and easy to read aloud–actually the perfect read-aloud length, in my opinion, with natural breaks at chapters. It never feels patronizing or dumbed down. The characters are interesting and they show up in Edward’s life plausibly but with no background (after all, would a china rabbit think to inquire about employment history or travel itinerary?) According to his (inanimate) nature, Edward lives in the moment, but he learns that love transcends the moment.
