We caught up with Newbery Medalist Kate DiCamillo, who’s busy promoting her latest novel, The Magician’s Elephant (2009), which takes place in a mythical city and involves an orphan boy who is led by an elephant in search of a sister who was thought to be dead. The last time we spoke with DiCamillo was in 2006, when she read from her book The Miraculous Journey of Edward Tulane (2006, both Candlewick). It seems like you did a lot of research for The Magician’s Elephant. It’s so hard to pinpoint the city or year it takes place. No, I didn’t really do any research for this book. Many say the location is Paris or the United Kingdom. I was surprised after viewing the film In Bruges how much it looked like the city I created. In creating the illustrations for the book, Yoko Tanaka asked if it was an African or Indian elephant. I didn’t have any idea. The Magician’s Elephant is a perfect read-aloud. Did you have that in mind while writing it? Teachers seem to be strapped for time to share books aloud. I do think it is important to share and read together. By doing that you become a community. As a writer, I read aloud what I have written. I also tape record it so that I can listen to the rhythm of what I have written. Did you consciously make the vocabulary in the book more difficult? I love language, and the words I use are what the story calls for. I know and love those words. I chose words through the context and those words become mine. What were your favorite books as a child? I remember my teacher Mrs. Boyette reading Scott O’Dell’s Island of the Blue Dolphin (Houghton, 1960).  I remember every detail of that book. I also loved The Twenty-One Balloons (Viking, 1947) by William Pene du Bois. That book breaks every rule of what you should do when writing for kids. I am amazed at Beverly Cleary’s genius and love Ramona on her first day of kindergarten. Roald Dahl also comes to mind. How did he get away with what he did? The Watsons Go to Birmingham—1963 (Delacorte, 1995) by Christopher Paul Curtis is one of the reasons I am sitting here. You’ve won a Newbery Medal and you were a National Book Award finalist. What do these honors mean to you? Well, the book stays in print and stays in demand. More lay people, like parents who are not necessarily aware of children’s books, know about your work. Also, “I know that I’ll be around after I’m dead. That is life changing.