The Magician's Elephant

A fortuneteller tells 10-year-old Peter that an elephant will lead him to his lost sister, which starts Peter on a journey of self-discovery and wonder in Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo’s The Magician’s Elephant (2009). When a magician miraculously conjures an elephant, its appearance affects everyone in town. In his efforts to find his sister Adele and rescue the homesick elephant, Peter must overcome obstacles and unite a diverse group of characters that includes a policeman, an injured noblewoman, a stone carver, and the magician himself. Meanwhile, Adele dreams that an elephant will bring her home. DiCamillo explores themes of coming of age, the importance of belonging, and the need to maintain hope and embrace possibility. The middle grade novel received a starred review from School Library Journal, an ALSC Notable Children’s Book Award (2010), and numerous state awards.

The Magician’s Elephant was adapted for musical theater and premiered at the Royal Shakespeare Theatre in October 2021. Netflix is currently producing an animated film adaptation of the novel, slated for release in 2023. Pagination in this guide refers to the 2009 Candlewick edition.

Plot Summary

The story opens in wintertime in the distant past. Peter Augustus Duchene is an orphan. His soldier father died on the battlefield; his mother went into labor upon hearing the news and died after giving birth to Peter’s sister, Adele. Peter sorely misses the love and security he felt with his family. Now, Peter lives in a tiny attic apartment with his guardian, the old soldier Vilna Lutz, in the city of Baltese. Under Vilna Lutz’s dubious tutelage, Peter trains to be a soldier like his father. Vilna Lutz is subject to fevers, during which he raves about war. Vilna Lutz told Peter that Adele died at birth, which Peter begins to question. Instead of using the money Vilna Lutz gives him to buy food one day, Peter asks a fortuneteller about Adele. The fortuneteller declares that Adele lives, that an elephant will guide Peter to her, and that truth constantly changes. Peter realizes that either Vilna Lutz or the fortuneteller is lying to him.

Onstage before an indifferent crowd of noblemen and women, a second-rate magician, desperate to do real magic for once, whispers a spell that brings an elephant crashing through the roof of the opera house, crushing the legs of the noblewoman Madam LaVaughn. She orders the magician sent to prison, where she visits him, and they exchange empty conversation.

The citizens of Baltese are fascinated by the elephant. The countess Quintet, annoyed that the elephant is stealing her social thunder, purchases the elephant and installs it in her ballroom. She once again becomes the center of attention of the social elite of Baltese. The countess hires Bartok Whynn, a small, former stone carver who laughs incessantly, to clean up the elephant’s messes. The elephant is confused and unhappy. She does not belong in dark, chilly Baltese, and she misses her loving family. She begins to lose hope of returning home.

Peter is thrilled to learn about the elephant but despairs of finding both it and Adele, until he has a beautiful dream of a true memory of Adele. It convinces him that Adele lives. Vilna Lutz confesses that Adele was born alive, and a midwife took her away because Vilna Lutz thought he could not care for her. Peter rejects Vilna Lutz and decides not to be a soldier. He determines to see the elephant on the free day when the common people can view her. Leo Matienne, a small policeman who lives in the apartment below Peter, observes Peter’s joy at the news. Leo is a sensitive, gentle man who ponders unanswerable questions and explores seemingly impossible possibilities. He and his loving but more practical wife, Gloria, long for a family.

Adele, almost seven years old, has lived her life in the dim Orphanage of the Sisters of Perpetual Light, just a few blocks from the apartment building where Peter lives. She dreams about a snowy night when an elephant comes to the orphanage and announces she will take Adele where she truly belongs. Sister Marie, the doorkeeper of the orphanage, loves Adele and thinks her dream is wonderful.

In line to see the elephant, Peter hears Thomas the beggar sing a beautiful song and remembers his promise to his mother to take care of Adele. He asks the elephant about Adele but is struck by the elephant’s sadness. Peter realizes the elephant will die if the magician does not send her home. Peter promises to help her. The elephant feels that Peter is the only person who understands her.

Peter asks Leo Matienne for help. In Leo’s warm apartment, fussed over by kindly Gloria, Peter cries over the loss of his parents. Leo takes Peter to see the magician, who, lonely and sad, agrees to try to send the elephant back. They must bring him the elephant and Madam LaVaughn. Peter inspires Madam LaVaughn’s manservant, Hans Ickman, to again believe in the impossible. He and Madam LaVaughn agree to help. It begins to snow. Bartok Whynn, recognizing them from a dream, lets them take the elephant. On the way to the prison, they pass the orphanage. Thomas the beggar’s dog, Iddo, who was a wartime messenger dog before he was injured, barks and wakes Adele. From her window, Adele sees the elephant, the snow, and the procession of people, and she rushes outside. Sister Marie calls to Adele, and Peter joyfully realizes she is his sister.

The magician says his spell backwards to send the elephant home. The snow stops, the stars come out, and everyone looks up except Peter, who sees the elephant disappear. The magician apologizes to Madam LaVaughn, who forgives him. Adele and Peter become the family Leo and Gloria longed for. Thomas and Iddo frequently visit them. The elephant returns to her family. The magician marries a goatherd and gives up magic. Bartok Whynn carves a sculpture showing them all connected, looking up at a light.