The Magician's Elephant - by Kate DiCamillo

Here's another magical story by Kate DiCamillo.  Her writing is always calm, yet powerful.  Sometimes she gets a little fancy in her wording (especially in The Tale of Despereaux), but that's a small price to pay for the wonderful feeling you have as you finish one of her books.

This is the tale of many people and one elephant, whose lives all slowly come together one winter in an unnamed town.  When the magician tries to conjure a rabbit from his hat, and instead brings an elephant crashing through the ceiling, nothing will be the same.  The lives of a boy, the magician, an old woman, a police officer, and a young girl become tangled up, but in the end everyone's life is better because of the elephant.  There are many interesting characters, a bit of mystery, and a touch of magic in this book, but not much adventure.  Read this book to remind yourself about the magic that shows up out of nowhere in our lives and leaves us amazed and improved.