Bibliography
DiCamillo, K. (2003). The Tale of Despereaux. Massachusetts: Candlewick Press.
Summary
This book tells about Despereaux, a smaller than average mouse with big ears, who falls in love with the kind and caring Princess Pea. Because of this, the Mouse Council sentences him to the dungeon where no mouse has ever returned from. In the dungeon, he tells his story to Gregory the Jailer who helps him escape by hiding him under a napkin on his dinner plate. While hiding under the napkin, Despereaux overhears the shamed, light-loving rat Roscuro explain to the nearly-deaf Miggery Sow his evil plan of capturing the Princess Pea. Armed with a needle and red thread, Despereaux descends a second time into the dungeon on a “quest” to save the Princess Pea. With the help of a ill-intentioned rat, Despereaux finds Roscuro, Miggery Sow and the Princess in one of the hidden chambers in the dungeon. It is Despereaux’s bravery and the Princess Pea’s empathy for Mig and Roscuro that bring all four of them safely out of the dungeon.
My Thoughts
This is one of my favorite books I’ve read so far. It is not your average run-of-the-mill story where you can guess what is going to happen because the plot sounds like something you’ve read before. Rather, it is a unique and imaginative tale of love and courage. I found myself laughing out loud at the image of Roscuro the rat falling from the chandelier right into the Queen’s bowl of soup. I like the message this book teaches that even if you are small and awkward (like Despereaux), you can still achieve great things.
Reviews
“A charming story of unlikely heroes whose destinies entwine to bring about a joyful resolution. Foremost is Despereaux, a diminutive mouse who, as depicted in Erring’s pencil drawings, is one of the most endearing of his ilk ever to appear in children’s books. His mother, who is French, declares him to be “such the disappointment” at his birth and the rest of his family seems to agree that he is very odd: his ears are too big and his eyes open far too soon and they all expect him to die quickly. Of course, he doesn’t. Then there is the human Princess Pea, with whom Despereaux falls deeply (one might say desperately) in love. She appreciates him despite her father’s prejudice against rodents. Next is Roscuro, a rat with an uncharacteristic love of light and soup. Both these predilections get him into trouble. And finally, there is Miggery Sow, a peasant girl so dim that she believes she can become a princess. With a masterful hand, DiCamillo weaves four story lines together in a witty, suspenseful narrative that begs to be read aloud. In her authorial asides, she hearkens back to literary traditions as old as those used by Henry Fielding. In her observations of the political machinations and follies of rodent and human societies, she reminds adult readers of George Orwell. But the unpredictable twists of plot, the fanciful characterizations, and the sweetness of tone are DiCamillo’s own. This expanded fairy tale is entertaining, heartening, and, above all, great fun.”
Budin, M. L. (2003). [Review of the book The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread by K. DiCamillo]. School Library Journal, 49 (8), 126
Ideas for Use
This is such an entertaining story that I think it would be a great read for story time. Because the story is so creative, it could also be used as an intro to having kids think up their own “happily ever after” story.
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