The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane

The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane
By Kate Dicamillo
Read in 6th Grade
Edward Tulane is a beautiful china doll, kindly cared for by a girl who loves him dearly. But he doesn't return her adoration. He simply sees her as the one who takes care of him, and so he finds her ok. Then one day, he is thrown off of a ship, and is adrift at sea for many days, until he is fished out by a poor fisherman. He lives a far less elegant life, but he is grateful to be alive. Then one day, the couple's daughter, a mean girl who regards Edward with contempt, throws him away. And here, he begins to feel. Sharp pain at leaving his friends. He is picked up from the dump by a hobo, whom he travels with for a long time, now battered and just a vestige of what he was. Then, of course, everything changes again. The hobo is caught on a train by a policeman, who throws Edward out. And his heart cracks just a little more.
He is picked up by a young boy, who takes him to his chronically ill sister. She loves him dearly, and he is finally capable of loving her back. But he is taken from the sister when she dies, and eventually ends up in a doll store. At this point, he believes himself broken, and doesn't wish for love, just when he has found it. Then, a long time later, a mother and daughter come into the store. When he realizes who the mother is, he is finally whole again. His original owner has found him.