The Magician’s Elephant

The Magician’s Elephant by Kate DiCamillo
Recommended for: Grades 4-6

Peter Augustus Duchene, a young orphan, dares to spend the dinner money his guardian gave him on a fortune-teller. While this might seem a foolish thing to do, Peter needs to know more than anything in the world if his little sister still lives and where he might find her. The fortune-teller confirms that his sister lives, but her cryptic message “Follow the elephant…she will lead you” leaves Peter feeling as helpless and alone as ever. Peter has never seen an elephant and has no idea where to find one.  But that very night in the town’s opera house a magician performs the trick of his lifetime: instead of the bouquet of lilies he intends to conjure for a noblewoman, an elephant crashes through the ceiling and into her lap. Will this be the elephant that helps Peter finds his sister? Read more…