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.

The Alchemist

The Alchemist
By Paulo Coelho
Read in 8th grade
A shepherd boy roams the plains and hillside of Europe. He is a town one day when he decides to see a fortune teller. She tells him that a treasure awaits him, and another man he meets gives him instruction to go to the Egyptian pyramids to follow his Personal Legend. Upon arriving in Africa, he is immediately struck by misfortune, losing all his money. However, the omens intervene, and he finds himself working for a crystal merchant to make money. He learns to read the omens while he is in Africa, making a fortune and incidentally joining a caravan to Egypt. On the way, he stops in the oasis of Al-Fayoum because of a tribal war. He meets his true love, Fatima there. However, he is drawn away from her to complete his Personal Legend by the Alchemist, the fabled man who can live forever and turn lead into gold.