Kate DiCamillo is an author that I have a love/hate relationship with. I don't dislike her books, but I don't like them so much either.
Here are some books that I read by her:
This book is about a girl named Opal who finds a dog . . . and makes friends . . . and has emotions . . . that's it.
You may have heard of this book. They made a movie out of it, in fact. Now, I don't think that most of Kate DiCamillo's books are worthy of being made into movies, but this book is about a dog, so Hollywood just said "Come on, guys. People spend their money on book to movie adaptations all of the time. And this one has dogs. Dogs." I digress.
I feel like this is one of Kate DiCamillo's best books because it has her usual quirky and interesting characters, but I feel like she gave each of them more complex stories (like the girl who always looks pouty) and it made them seem like real people, which I really like in all of her writing.
But there wasn't much of a plot. It was like "I made a sandwich. My mom used to eat sandwiches. *emotional turmoil* Okay. I'll do something lighthearted and endearing now." For about 200 pages. So . . . yeah.
The Tiger Rising
This book is about a boy named Robert who finds a tiger . . . and meets a girl . . . and has emotions . . . that's it.
This was the second book I read by Kate DiCamillo and I liked it. Sure, it had many similarities to Because of Winn-Dixie.
-It's about a kid who moves somewhere new with their single parent because their other parent died.
-Animals bring the characters happiness and an escape from their problems.
-Southern accents.
-Quirky characters with weird names.
-Kids who like to make strange metaphors that I suppose make sense somewhat
But the ending is a little different.
Overall, I liked this book. I read it in maybe two hours, probably less, but I don't feel like the length of a book measures how much you'll enjoy reading it.
The Magician's ElephantThis book is about a magician who accidently summons an elephant and cripples someone. Then this boy believes that the elephant can lead him towards his long lost sister because some shady fortune teller told him so. Fantastic.
I disliked this book. It just dragged on and on and on and on and I honestly didn't care what happened to the characters. I feel like it's one of those books that teaches you to just simply believe and it will be so. That's not quite how it works. The characters were quirky, but it was becoming a little old. I forget what happened to the elephant in the end, so I don't know what on earth the magician did with it. And you know what? I don't care.
The book was just screaming at me "The idea behind me is a little half-baked, but if I drag it out and add illustrations you might not notice . . ."
A lot of characters were introduced into the story, and I had a nice moment at the end when I realized "Ahhh . . . that makes sense." But up until then, the writing just felt weird and I didn't like it so much.
The Miraculous Journey or Edward Tulane
I haven't finished this book yet because I obtained it yesterday.
*Funny story, my favorite doll was once thrown off of a boat, too. So if it weren't for the nice people rafting nearby who retrieved my doll, she could have gone on an adventure.
Basically, this story is about a self-absorbed china rabbit who falls into the ocean and goes on an adventure.
I don't mind this book so far. It's not the most amazing book, but it doesn't suck so far. I think I prefer it over a few of Kate DiCamillo's other books because it crosses over into more of a fantasy story than her usual realistic fiction. I'm enjoying it so far, minus the creepy grandmother and the parents who are sheltering their seemingly bratty daughter. I'll find out soon enough.
All in all, I've read a lot of Kate DiCamillo's books and I can't really tell you for sure if I'm a fan of any of them. Of all of these, I would recommend Because of Winn-Dixie, because it's a quick and easy read and you might enjoy it. Kate DiCamillo is a decent author, so be sure to read at least one of her books.
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