What a wonderful book. A little girl named Abilene loses her dear Rabbit, Edward. His adventures open his heart. He learns to love.
It made me cry. (Tears of happiness!) This is a good choice for a class to read together and discuss. ( )

Like an update of the Velveteen Rabbit, this story is about a toy learning about love and loss. There is so much despair in this story (including the death of a sick child) but it is heartwarming in the end.

My daughter's 3rd-grade teacher read it aloud to the class, so I gave it a re-read and realized I'd never written a review. She said her classmates liked the part with the hobo. ( )

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

Once, in a house on Egypt Street, there lived a china rabbit named Edward Tulane. The rabbit was very pleased with himself, and for good reason: he was owned by a girl named Abilene, who treated him with the utmost care and adored him completely.

And then, one day, he was lost.

Kate DiCamillo takes us on an extraordinary journey, from the depths of the ocean to the net of a fisherman, from the top of a garbage heap to the fireside of a hoboes' camp, from the bedside of an ailing child to the bustling streets of Memphis. And along the way, we are shown a true miracle -- that even a heart of the most breakable kind can learn to love, to lose, and to love again.

A beautiful book about love, loss and love in spite of loss. The accompanying sketch illustrations are stunning. I would recommend this book to anyone experiencing a loss; it would also serve as a gentle tale for young children who unfortunately are going through or have gone through an event. ( )

Favorite book I would check out in my elementary school library. I would also run to recheck it out every chance I possibly got. ( )

Wonderful but heart-wrenching story of a lost, loved china bunny, much in the vein of Hitty: Her First Hundred Years, but for a modern audience. ( )

I read this for an older elementary school age book club at work, and liked it a lot more than I expected to. I don't know why I didn't think I'd like it, but it ended up feeling very much like one of those classic books from my childhood -- one of those stories that stays with you long after you've read it. ( )

This novel makes for an outstanding read-aloud for young readers! The novel starts out with a China rabbit whose name is Edward Tulane. He is loved by his first family who owned him-but especially by a little girl named Abeline. The story revealed Edwards thoughts as different events were happening in his life, although he was not alive with characteristics of a human (except thinking and feeling). This story is interesting because of this fact but also because it goes into depth regarding his thoughts and feelings throughout the story. At first, Edward found great distaste for things Abeline would do to Edward and ways in which she would treat him and talk about him. But as the story goes on and he loses Abeline, he encounters various others who take Edward as their own possession. He merely observed and revealed his thoughts, but never could he admit that he loved any of his owners...until the end of the story after he had endeared various traumatic events that brought him to realization that he really did miss Abeline and his other owners and longed for the days when someone would love him again. If reading this to young children, a note might be added that there are some words in which you might want to omit as you are reading, that might not be appropriate for certain age groups. Overall, it is a great read! ( )

Oh golly. Kate DiCamillo always manages to move me in unexpected ways. This children's tale of a rabbit doll who opens his heart to love is just so charming. It's sweet but not saccharine. That is to say, Edward Tulane (a name I'll never forget now lol) goes through some difficult and sad situations, even to the point of despair, but there's light, hope, love, etc in the end. :) ( )

Illustrated by Bagram Ibatoulline
Book on CD performed by Judith Ivey
5*****

I’ve read several books by Kate DiCamillo and even have one signed first edition (The Magician’s Elephant, of course). I’ve had this one on my TBR since it first came out and I heard one of the booksellers at my favorite indie bookstore talking about it. But I’ve just never gotten around to it, until …

I read Ann Patchett’s These Precious Days for my F2F book club meeting and she in which is an essay on reading Kate DiCamillo. Patchett mentions several of DiCamillo’s works, and this is one of them.

Oh, but I loved this modern-day fairy tale! Edward is a china rabbit, hand crafted and meticulously attired. He lives with Abilene and her parents and grandmother in a house on Egypt Street. And he’s treated as the gentleman that he is, spending the days when Abilene is at school sitting on a dining room chair facing the window, so he can see her when she comes back up the walk at the end of the day. And then …

Well, you’ll have to read about his journey yourself.

It’s about compassion, and sorrow and joy. About patience and perseverance and never, ever giving up hope. It’s about love and home and miracles.

I listened to the audio performed by Judith Ivey, who was simply marvelous. But I also had the text handy and found myself carefully studying the glorious illustrations. Each of the twenty-seven chapters has a detailed charcoal sketch representing something that occurs in that chapter; two further sketches open and close the book. And then there are the ten beautiful color prints sprinkled throughout the book. I could just look at them for hours. ( )

You know how sentimental children's books will often have a moment where everything gets really really sad, just before the climax and resolution? This book is literally just a dozen moments like that, strung end to end. The rabbit meets a desperate, sad, and deserving person, the person loves the rabbit with all their heart, and then the rabbit is cruelly ripped away from their person. OVER AND OVER AND OVER.

https://donut-donut.dreamwidth.org/853994.html ( )

So, so beautiful. ( )

A tale of how loss changes people. Many for the worse, but sometimes, miraculously, for the better. ( )

A strange mix of Hitty, The Velveteen Rabbit, over a base of The Girl Who Trod on a Loaf, this is an ambitious story about a large toy. And I found Edward itself rather creepy. Expecting love from a porcelain rabbit, even an articulated one, is absurd, and there is rather a lot of pure mean spirits displayed. ( )

While this isn't my favorite book written by this author, I can recommend it. This is a tale of a china bunny given to a young girl who loved Edward dearly.

When Abilene's family traveled across the ocean on a very large ship, she took her china bunny with her. Sadly, he became tossed overboard, landing tempest tossed on the bottom of the ocean. His travels were many and he learned a lot of life's lessons with each trip.

Mainly, Edward learned not to be so self serving and haughty, and became more real like and able to give love.

Three Stars. ( )

I have a great fondness for Kate DiCamillo's writing style, but I fear that makes her a little too effective at tugging on my heart strings.

I honestly don't like reading about a china rabbit going through owner after owner. I appreciated the lesson Edward is learning, but what about the former owners who are lamenting over their lost china rabbit? There have been books about dolls where some of the children outgrow the toy, so there's a breather in circumstance, and we the audience are reminded that we don't cherish all our toys so mightily. Edward is so brutally taken EVERY time. Bah.

I do understand why people would like this. Katie DiCamillo is still writing strong, and pictures are a beaut. I merely say it's not for me. ( )

Nicely written. Sad tale of a stuffed bunny who needs to learn how to appreciate life. Stronger content than Tale of Desperaux; maybe too strong for sensitive, young readers. A memorable book. ( )

Well, this just isn't my cup of tea. Which is odd, really, but there it is. Well written, beautifully illustrated, not for me. ( )

I had heard from many people and students what an - amazing, incredible, "Best book ever"- book this was, but after I finished reading it I was left slightly disappointed. Don't get me wrong, this book is beautifully written and captures your heart. I just wish I hadn't had my hopes set for 'out of this world' great. That being said, I think this story is fantastic for helping students think about who they are as a person and how the people around affect them in different situations. Edward has to go through many different things, and the fact that he mentally struggles through them can help students learn problem solving. Would also be a nice story to go over sequencing with students, remembering the different people that Edward met, in what order, and what major events happened with those people.

*Spolier*
Maybe if I hadn't guessed that Edward's journey would circle back to his original owner from near the beginning I would have been more impressed. I'm still trying to determine why is it exactly that I can't give this book that 5th star, but when I was done reading I felt like I was still missing a piece of the puzzle. ( )

Gift from Abby T. & Ellie

Edward Tulane is a vain china rabbit who doesn't love anyone, despite the love that Abilene Tulane has for him. When, on an ocean voyage, Edward is accidentally thrown overboard, he begins his miraculous journey - toward understanding love, and back to Abilene.

Abilene's grandmother, Pellegrina - who gifted Edward to Abilene - tells a story toward the beginning of the book about a princess who loved no one, and how she was turned into a warthog, shot, and eaten. The meaning of the story is lost on Edward at its first telling, but he (re)considers it throughout - from the bottom of the ocean, from the cottage of a fisherman and his wife, from a garbage heap, from a train, from a scarecrow perch, and from the sickbed of a little girl - and begins to realize its meaning and significance in his own life.

See also: Toys Go Out by Emily Jenkins, The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo ( )

Following the life of a china rabbit ( )

What a delightful story of a china rabbit and his adventures! As one who believes that stuffed animals, dolls and such do have feelings and a life somehow, somewhere, it was so much fun to read about Edward Tulane's adventures.

My granddaughter was reading this book for school and so I borrowed it from the library so that we could discuss it. With the pandemic still in our midst, phone calls and skype calls are our way of communicating and having such an amusing story to talk about was refreshing. Great for kids of all ages! ( )

My third grade class read this book and i absolutely loved it. Maybe not at the time, but i re read it in 5th grade and liked it better. ( )