Tag Archives: kate dicamillo

Jul15

‘i think hope and magic are probably connected. ‘ – Kate DiCamillo

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thanks to the library consortium, and the detroit public libraries

i recently had the pleasure of attending an online talk

featuring one of my favorite authors, kate dicamillo

 just as friendly and full of whimsy as i had imagined

she talked about how she got her ideas

for stories and characters

how they became a part of her

i’ve loved her books for years

she writes for children of all ages

 in the last few years i’ve read some of them again

 with new eyes and life experience

i’ve been even more taken with them

each filled with hope and joy and spirit

 characters who refuse to be anything other than who they are

and who, against the odds, never surrender

she has such a brilliant magic to her writing.

—

‘i like to think of myself as a storyteller.’
*kate dicamillo
—
*Kate Dicamillo has written 30+ bestselling books, beloved by children and adults in touch with their inner eight-year-old, for two decades, including Because of Winn-Dixie, The Tale of Despereaux, The Magician’s Elephant, Flora & Ulysses, and The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane. Some of these have been turned into operas and movies. Her new books in 2024 include the middle grade novel Ferris and Orris and Timble: The Beginning. She is a rare two-time winner of the Newbery Medal.

—

below is a link to a post i wrote not long ago, about one of my very favorite books of hers, ‘the miraculous  journey of edward tulane’, which was beautiful and moved me to tears.

journey.

Nov24

listen and hope.

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I signed his copy of ‘The Tale of Despereaux’ and he said, “My teacher said fifth grade is the year of asking questions.”

“Really?” I said.

“Yeah,” he said.  He took out a notebook.  “Every day we’re supposed to ask someone different a good question and listen really good and then write down the answer when they’re done talking.”

“Oh,” I said, “I get it.  I’m someone different.  Okay, what’s your question?”

“My question is how do you get all that hope into your stories?”

“That’s not a good question,” I said.  “That’s a great question.  Let me think.  Um.  I guess that writing the story is an act of hope, and so even when I don’t feel hopeful, writing the story can lead me to hope.  Does that make sense?”

“Yeah,” he said.  He looked me in the eye.  “It’s kind of a long answer.  But I can write it all out.  Thanks.”

He picked up his copy of Despereaux, and walked away—writing in his notebook.

This was years ago.

Why did I wake up this morning and think of this child?

Maybe because this is a time to start asking good questions, a time to write down the answers, a time to listen to each other really well.

I’m going to get myself a little spiral bound notebook.

I’m going to listen and hope.

-Kate DiCamillo – American author