Synopses & Reviews
Smalls the sun bear and his friends are an unusual bunch. That's why they're known as the Misfit Menagerie. The four oddball animals live on Mr. Mumford's farm, where they play games and do tricks for neighborhood children. It's an idyllic existence--until a cruel circus owner named Claude Magnificence comes to town, and life as they know it ends. The Menagerie is snatched away to a traveling circus, where Claude and his buffoonish sidekicks force them to perform death-defying tricks.
At the circus, Smalls and his friends only have slop to eat. They live in filthy, cramped cages. And they're bullied by a rough band of trained animals called the Lifers. It's worse than awful--it's despicable! But then young Bertie Magnificence comes along, and he and Smalls form the kind of friendship that inspires hope. They decide that something needs to change...and fast. With the help of an acrobat named Susan, Smalls and Bertie set in motion a heroic plan.
Can a lonely boy and a misfit bear hoodwink cruel Claude and save an entire circus of captive animals?
Review
"Read[s] like a fable told long ago, with rich language that begs to be read aloud....A quieter volume than The Tale of Despereaux (2003) and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2006), this has an equal power to haunt readers long past the final page." Kirkus Reviews (starred review)
Review
"The profound and deeply affecting emotions at work in the story are buoyed up by the tale's succinct, lyrical text....Tanaka's charming black-and-white acrylic illustrations have a soft, period feel that perfectly matches the tone of this spellbinding story." Booklist (starred review)
Review
"DiCamillo's carefully crafted prose creates an evocative aura of timelessness for a story that is, in fact, timeless. Tanaka's acrylic artwork is meticulous in detail and aptly matches the tone of the narrative. This is a book that demands to be read aloud." School Library Journal (starred review)
Review
"DiCamillo entrances her audience with a group of quaint characters....Thoughtful readers will feel a quiet satisfaction with this almost dainty tale of impossible happenings." VOYA
Review
"[T]he prose is remarkable, reflecting influences from Kafka to the theater of the absurd to Laurel-and-Hardy humor....[A]n impressive addition to the DiCamillo canon." Horn Book Magazine
Synopsis
In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the extraordinary come true.
What if? Why not? Could it be?
When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it's true.
With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magician's touch.
Synopsis
Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected and making the extraordinary come true.
What if? Why not? Could it be?
When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant An elephant will lead him there ) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe it's true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes -- hope and belonging, desire and compassion -- with the lightness of a magician's touch.
Synopsis
In her eagerly awaited new novel, the Newbery Medal-winning author of The Tale of Despereaux conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the impossible come true. DiCamillo evokes themes of hope and belonging, desire and compassion. Illustrations.
Synopsis
The Tale of Despereaux meets
Water for Elephants in this heartfelt adventure story!
Smalls the sun bear and his friends Tilda (an angora rabbit), Rigby (a komondor dog), and Wombat (a wombat) happily while away their days under Mr. Mumford's doting guardianship. That is, until one fateful evening when Mumford, loopy from elderberry wine, loses his prized animals in a bet against Claudius Magnificence in Texas Hold 'Em. The dastardly "Grand Master Claude" seizes Smalls and the others, forcing them to join his traveling circus. In the circus caravan, they're crammed into a tiny slop car and forced to perform ridiculous tricks for money. Bertie, Claude's young nephew, is the only bright spot in the animals' otherwise miserable lives. When Bertie uncovers a dark secret about Claude, he and Smalls set in motion a heroic plot to help the animals escape their tyrant and find their way home.
Synopsis
In a highly awaited new novel, Kate DiCamillo conjures a haunting fable about trusting the unexpected — and making the extraordinary come true.What if? Why not? Could it be?
When a fortuneteller's tent appears in the market square of the city of Baltese, orphan Peter Augustus Duchene knows the questions that he needs to ask: Does his sister still live? And if so, how can he find her? The fortuneteller's mysterious answer (an elephant! An elephant will lead him there!) sets off a chain of events so remarkable, so impossible, that you will hardly dare to believe its true. With atmospheric illustrations by fine artist Yoko Tanaka, here is a dreamlike and captivating tale that could only be narrated by Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo. In this timeless fable, she evokes the largest of themes — hope and belonging, desire and compassion — with the lightness of a magicians touch.
Synopsis
In the city of Ashara, magicians rule all.
Marah Levi is a promising violinist who excels at school and can read more languages than most librarians. Even so, she has little hope of a bright future: she is a sparker, a member of the oppressed lower class in a society run by magicians.
Then a mysterious disease hits the city of Ashara, turning its victims eyes dark before ultimately killing them. As Marah watches those whom she loves most fall ill, she finds an unlikely friend in Azariah, a wealthy magician boy. Together they pursue a cure in secret, but more people are dying every day, and time is running out. Then Marah and Azariah make a shocking discovery that turns inside-out everything they thought they knew about magic and about Ashara, their home.
Set in an imaginative world rich with language, lore, and music, this gripping adventure plunges the reader into the heart of a magical government where sparks of dissent may be even more deadly than the dark eyes.
About the Author
Kate DiCamillo is the author of
The Tale of Despereaux, which was awarded the Newbery Medal;
The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane, winner of a
Boston Globe-Horn Book Award;
Because of Winn-Dixie, a Newbery Honor winner;
The Tiger Rising, a National Book Award Finalist; the picture book
Great Joy; and five books starring Mercy Watson, including a Theodor Seuss Geisel Honor Book. She lives in Minneapolis.
Yoko Tanaka is a graduate of the Art Center College in Pasadena, California. She is the illustrator of Theodosia and the Seprents of Chaos by R. L. LaFevers, and Sparrow Girl by Sara Pennypacker. Yoko Tanaka lives in Los Angeles and Bangkok.