The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

I love reading to my kids. And even though my oldest, Lucy can and does read to herself, she allows me to read to her as well. I love embarking on an adventure with my little ones and I hope they will always enjoy the magic of books.

At the moment we're reading a wonderful book called The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. It's by American author Kate diCamillo. She also wrote the exquisite novel, The Tale of Desperaux which we also loved. There's a fair amount of bleakness in the story (as there was in Desperaux). There's death and heartbreak and love and longing. And her writing! Oh to be able to write like that. It soars.

We were reading a particularly sad passage last night, my lovely Elijah looking at me, his eyes wide in disbelief. She captures the cruelty and fragility of humanity with such pathos and veracity.

One of my favourite things about Kate diCamillo's writing is her language. She uses a broad vocabulary that extends children's thinking and knowledge in a natural kind of way. But try explaining irony to a five-year-old.

We have only three or four chapters left and I know we'll finish it tonight so I feel a trip to the bookshop is necessary to get our hands on another of her wonderful books.