Christian Symbolism in "Edward Tulane"

I brought the Edward Tulane display home from the library. (Thanks, Cyndi, for dressing the Edwards so beautifully.)

Thanks for those who came. Special thanks to those who came and left and came again.

For refreshments we had carrots, carrot cookies and cookie truffles.

Carrot Cookies

3/4 shortening
1 cup sugar
1 egg
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup mashed cooked carrots
1/2 tsp. salt
2 cups flour
1 cup chopped nuts (optional)
Cream shortening, sugar, and egg. Add baking powder, vanilla, carrots, salt and flour. Bake @ 350 degrees for 10 minutes. When cookies are cool, dip in icing.

Icing

1 grated orange peel
3 Tbsp. fresh orange juice
1 cup powdered sugar
pinch salt

My cookie truffles didn't look as good as these because they were made in haste, but here is a picture of what they can look like.

Cookie Truffles

1 18-oz. pkg. Oreo cookies (any yummy cookie will work)
1 8-oz. pkg. cream cheese, softened
1 12-oz. pkg. semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 Tbsp. shortening
Crush the cookies into fine crumbs. Combine 3 cups of the cookies and the cream cheese. Shape into 1-inch balls. Combine the chocolate chips and shortening and melt in the microwave. Stir until smooth; dip the balls in the melted chocolate. Place the balls on waxed paper to set up. While the chocolate is still wet, sprinkle with the remaining cookie crumbs. Refrigerate until they are firm, about an hour. Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 40 truffles.

One of the things we talked about during the discussion was the Christian symbolism. What causes people to think that The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane is a Christian book:

• DiCamillo instructed her publishers to release the book for spring, a season coinciding with the Easter celebration.
• The illustration of Edward on the cross is a blatant symbol. Even C.S. Lewis, who certainly had an overtly Christian agenda in his fiction, didn't put Aslan on a cross.
• While on the cross Edward was mocked by the birds.
• Edward spends "40 days and 40 nights" in a wilderness, is nailed to a cross, dies after a shared meal, and is resurrected and reunited with a parent figure.
• Edward is a rabbit, which is a symbol of Easter.
• Many names in the book have religious connotations. They include those of three female: Abilene (once a region of the Holy Land), Natalie (which means "birth of the Lord"), and Maggie (often a nickname for Magdalene).
• There are many passages that have parallels in the Bible. One example: Edward begins his journey by leaving "a house on Egypt Street" where he is in bondage to his inability to love. "Remember this day, in which ye came out from Egypt, out of the house of bondage. . ." Exodus 13:13

Some people believe that the Christian imagery may have cost DiCamillo the 2007 Newbery Medal. DiCamillo has not addressed any questions about the Christmas imagery, perhaps because a blunt acknowledgment that Edward is a Jesus figure might also keep the book off school reading lists.