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A Writer's Journey

By Elizabeth Winchester

What do a large-eared mouse, a goofy dog and a caged tiger have in common? All three are unlikely heroes in books by Kate DiCamillo. Another animal character takes center stage in the author's newest novel, The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. The book came out last month.

Edward Tulane is an almost-three-foot-tall rabbit made of china. His owner, 10-year-old Abilene, loves him. She talks to him and dresses him in fine suits each day. After Abilene's family takes an ocean voyage, Edward is lost at sea. On his journey to find a home, he learns important lessons about love.

DiCamillo, 41, admits that as a child growing up in Clermont, Florida, she read everything except animal stories. "The irony is that as a kid, I wouldn't have read any of the books that I've written, because every one of them has an animal on the cover," she told TFK. "I try to make it not happen and [the animals] show up anyway."

Readers don't mind a bit. In 2004, DiCamillo won the Newbery Medal, the top prize for children's writing from the American Library Association, for The Tale of Despereaux, a story about an unusual mouse. A film based on Despereaux is currently in the works.

The author's first book, Because of Winn-Dixie, is about a 10-year-old girl and a dog named Winn-Dixie. The award-winning book was also made into a movie.

DiCamillo says she writes two pages a day, five days a week. As she writes, she doesn't even think about the age of her readers. Her books are for everyone. Says DiCamillo: "I think of myself as a storyteller and stories don't know any age."

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