"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane" by Kate DiCamillo

"The Miraculous Journey of Edward Toulane"

Another gift book!  This was given to my family by my mother-in-law for Easter 2012.  She's the kind of person who gives you something out of the goodness of her heart, but you know she's going to follow up eventually and ask how you liked the gift.  So I decided it was in my best interest to finally read it.  I tried reading it to my two oldest kids; Isaac was wholly disinterested, but Alayna was game.  It was a perfect bedtime story book because the chapters were short.

DiCamillo is an established author (Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, etc.).  Alayna and I enjoyed this story, as well.  Edward is a ceramic rabbit whose journeys and travels teach him about love, loss, and being vulnerable to love again.  The biggest messages I took away from the story were we will love all types of people we might not expect to love, and that love will often be lost due to circumstances out of our control, and love will return even if we have to wait a long time.  But no matter what, it is always worth it to love.  It is the greatest gift, the reason for living.  The characters were simple and varied and charming.  You'll love some and hate others; some might make you cry.  It's a simple story with profound meaning.