Sometimes the First Time is not the First...

 

   Exhausted, preoccupied, sleepy, and stressed; all words to describe your typical college student. When you add your typical college student profile to an 8 am Children's Lit class, you have a student that misses out on some of the joys of the class. If I regret something about my Children's Lit class is not being able to fully pay attention during the read out louds my professor would do. One of the books she read during class, stuck with me, even when half of the time I was asleep in the back of the room and the other half focusing on not falling asleep. The little I heard of the actual story combined with the discussion she lead made me appreciate the book. I finally got the opportunity to read the book to my class this year and I was speechless. Luckily my students had plenty to say and they lead the book discussion.
     It's one thing to hear the book and another to actually read it. Although I had an idea of the plot and knew the ending it does not compare to really reading it. Really reading a book, using all of your senses, focusing on the words, the images, the plot, the connections, the vocabulary, the characters, every component of the book, opens a whole new world. You, the reader really enter the book and you feel what the characters are feeling; you see what the characters are seeing; you understand what they are going through; you apply the lessons they learned to your life. In short, they come to life through you.
      The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane by Kate DiCamillo is now one of my ultimate favorite books. The characters are so relatable, yes you can relate to a china rabbit (who knew?!). It is no wonder why this book is a Boston Globe-Horn Book Award Winner, A New York Times Book Review Notable Book of the Year, and a Christopher Award Winner. At the beginning the story seems a predictable one, but as Edward journeys through his emotions, each stop he makes is one that you wish will be his last. The imagery, the play on words, and the irony found in this book captivates you and puts into focus your own emotions. The twists and turns keep you ant the edge of your seat and has you wondering how could it end. When you finally reach the end of Edward's journey you are now wishing it wasn't over.
      Love is a very complicated thing, but through Edward and his different (very different) owners you learn the simplicity that is love. Sounds very idealistic but is far from it. I learned that love is complicated, and full of with ups and downs as well as disappointment and hurt. Something all readers can relate to, because we have all experience a broken heart, from loosing someONE we love, to loosing someTHING we love. Like the baby doll tells Edward, "If you have no intention of loving or being loved, then the whole journey is pointless." Edward just like me, the reader, must learn to keep his heart open and not give up, no matter how painful the previous love might have been.