Kate DiCamillo's miraculous leads

I am already drawn in by the first chapter of The Magician's Elephant as read by the author, Kate DiCamillo. The book will be out in Fall 2009. Watch and listen to the author read here (click on "watch more about The Magician's Elephant"). See if you don't get drawn in too! She also has a link to a PDF of the first chapter on her website. This would be a great starter for a discussion about writing leads.