The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo

Ok. Everyone knows I'm dead inside. Movies don't make me cry. My children don't make me cry. But books occasionally can, and this one did. Well, I welled up and fought it back, but that's close enough in my world. The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo is a fine (read that word like Meg Ryan's character uses it to refer to her mother in You've Got Mail) book. I read it to see if it was appropriate for a readaloud with the kids, and though I think we must delay it for some years, it was a wholly satisfying experience to read. I've read the reviews on Amazon and can understand how a reader could be taken by surprise by the dark realities DiCamillo portrays. There is much suffering here, and the reader's heart does break a bit for each of those terrible losses. But the redemption, the progress that we make with Edward is lovely, and the ending even managed to surprise me somehow. I'm always so happy to have these moments to read a book in one sitting, and I'm glad this time to have sat with Edward Tulane and his amazing loved ones.