The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread [Hardcover]

 

 

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You can get the storyline from the excellent reviews on this page. If you are looking for a terrific read-aloud or book study or novel for your literature circles, this is it. Are you teaching literary elements? This book has it all, character, plot, setting, theme, motivation, point-of-view, genre, voice, elaboration, foreshadowing, word choice...

The wonderful thing is your students will just think you are reading them the BEST story ever. I read chapters 1-3 aloud and then stopped. The kids sent up a chorus of "Nooo, Don't Stop!!!"

We sold so many hard cover copies of the book at our school book fair that we had to reorder several times. Parent were remarking, "He has never begged me for a book before..."

Dust off your French accent and have fun. You will enjoy reading this book aloud as much as your students will enjoy listening to it.

Are you looking for a fantastic, interesting fiction book about adventure to read? Then The Tale of Despereaux is the perfect book for you!
I, myself, LOVE this book because I love adventure, fiction books and I love reading about people that are brave to go on a dangerous journey. I also love this book because it has very descriptive words. I would rate this book 9.5 out of 10 because it’s not as boring as other books. It has this funny catch like a small mouse carrying thread and trying to save a princess. This is a fiction book that can make you laugh and cry. It has a variety of emotions inside. My opinion is that you should read this book carefully so you won’t miss the emotional or funny parts. I think this is the best book I’ve read in my life!
It is set in a castle which has a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread. Despereaux is a ridiculously small mouse with obscenely big ears. He is also extremely skinny. He has a huge love for Princess Pea. Princess Pea is a kind, beautiful princess that lives in the castle with her dad, the King and her mom, the Queen. The characters in the book are Despereaux (or course!), Princess Pea, Gregory the jailer, Miggery Sow, Miggery Sow’s dad, and the mean rats.
Despereaux was put into the pitch black, scary dungeon. Despereaux met Princess Pea in a room where her dad (the King) plays music for her. Despereaux even let Princess Pea touch him! According to the Mouse Council, mice are not allowed to let humans touch them because they are not to be trusted. But when Despereaux met Princess Pea and let her touch him, Despereaux’s brother, Furlough saw what happened and told his father, Lester. Lester happened to say that his own son, Despereaux, HAD to be punished. He HAD to tell the Mouse Council. So the Mouse Council listened to Lester talk about what happened with Despereaux, Princess Pea, and the King. The Mouse Council agreed to put Despereaux in the pitch black, scary dungeon, where he meets Gregory the jailer. Gregory is a human that becomes Despereaux’s friend. The Tale of Despereaux is mainly about Despereaux wanting to save Princess Pea from the pitch black, scary, smelly dungeon because Roscuro, a tremendously mean rat, kidnapped Princess Pea and put her into the scary, smelly dungeon. Will Despereaux escape out of the pitch black, scary and smelly dungeon? Will Princess Pea be saved by someone? You’ve got to find out.
I think The Tale of Despereaux has three themes. The three themes are love, bravery, and friendship. It is about love because Despereaux loves Princess Pea and goes through lots of trouble because he loves Princess Pea. It is about bravery because Despereaux is brave to go to the pitch black, scary, smelly dungeon to save Pea. Also, Despereaux is brave to face big rats on his ‘journey’ to save Pea. It is about kindness because Gregory the jailer is kind enough to help Despereaux in a big way.
I think the author, Kate DiCamillo, wrote this book because she could have loved mice and princesses. She also could have written this book because someone could have asked her to write about a hero with exceptionally large ears.
If you read The Tale of Despereaux, you will LOVE it and you would think it is 99.9% interesting and fabulous! But just to tell you, you may cry half way through the book because this book is pretty sad. BOO-HOO!

The Tale of Despereaux
By Kate Dicamillo

Who is Despereaux? Some handsome prince who rides on a horse and saves a beautiful princess? No, Despereaux is a mouse, a tiny one who is able to find the courage to save the one he loves and honours. The Tale of Despereaux, is a fantasy which proves you don’t have to be big to be a hero. This story includes some soup, a spoon, a spool of red thread and takes place in a castle, a mouse hole and later leads into a dark, depressing dungeon filled with hungry rats.
The Tale of Despereaux, also tells the story about a strange rat called Chiaroscuro who covets a world filled with light and a servant girl called Miggery Sow who desires to be a princess. All three characters are having difficulties in life; Despereaux loves a human princess and breaks many rules which leads to him getting sent to his death. (Or what others think should be his death). Miggery Sow yearns for the crown of royalty, but she has cauliflower ears causing her hearing problems. She is also thought of as a goof, and finally when she becomes a servant, Mig gets tricked into helping a rat who only wishes for suffering. (Or so it seems). Remember, Chiaroscuro, the rat who desired light I told you about earlier? Well, this rat happens to also be the sly rodent who tricks Miggery Sow.
A few themes inside the The Tale of Despereaux are: love, bravery and wanting but not always getting. Love is shown when Despereaux falls in love with the Princess Pea. “The princess smiled at Despereaux again, and this time, Despereaux smiled back. And then, something incredible happened: The mouse fell in love.” Bravery is shown when Despereaux ventures down into the dungeon to save his love. “I have never known a mouse who has made it out of the dungeon only to go back into it again.” The main theme, which is to want but not always being able get, is shown throughout the whole story. When Miggery Sow wants to be a princess, when Chiaroscuro wants light and when other mice wish for Despereaux to be more like a mouse. Everyone in the story wants something, but none actually get what they want.
I think what inspired Kate Dicamillo to write this book was a fairy tale, but then she thought that idea would be unoriginal. Instead, she decided to base her story on something less heroic and thought of a mouse. Later on, I think Kate Dicamillo decided to put important lessons into her story which included being brave no matter what others think. She is an extremely talented writer, and her book ended up as an original fairy tale.
This book is spectacular, it will make you want to cry, cheer, laugh and more! Out of 5 stars, I would rate The Tale of Despereaux a 5 because it is appropriate for all readers and it teaches important lessons in life. There are great descriptions. The story is emotional and has different perspectives. Kate Dicamillo is a genius, and she also wrote The Tiger Rising, Because of Win-Dixie and more. The Tale of Despereaux is one of my personal favourite books and I definitely recommend it to you. So in the end, does Despereaux save Princess Pea, does Chiaroscuro get his world of light he desires? As a reader, it is your destiny to find out.

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5.0 out of 5 stars Despereaux audiobook is a treat
My 7 and 9 year old sons loved this audiobook. A rare combination of a well written story and a gifted narrator.

Published 23 months ago by audiobook fan

3.0 out of 5 stars Too Sugary Sweet for my Tastes
Written in a tradition fairy tale manner this is the story of four characters, two good and two evil (or shall we say mislead). Read more

Published on Feb 1 2009 by Nicola Manning

5.0 out of 5 stars A Wonderful "Furry" Tale to read over and over again
I love mice (not rats) is well because...they are the "goodbeasts" and heroes from my favorite books like the "Redwall" series by Brian Jacques (my favorite author), and also "Mrs... Read more

Published on Dec 6 2008 by Frances L. Arsenault

5.0 out of 5 stars satisfying read
I loved this little tale, which on the surface, is about a mouse with aspirations. What it is really about is hope. Read more

Published on July 2 2007 by Marsha Skrypuch

5.0 out of 5 stars Simply Charming!!
I was drawn to this tale by it's cover, and picked it up to read to my two adorable nephews. So glad I did. They just loved it!! Read more

Published on Mar 13 2007 by bohobeachgirl

4.0 out of 5 stars Once Upon a Time
Despereaux is a fairy tale. The unlikely knight sets off on a quest to save the princess from sympathetic antagonists. Read more

Published on Feb 2 2007 by Miss M's class

5.0 out of 5 stars Castle and King-Animal Adventure
This excellent fiction fantasy if full of light fun, animals and moments that bring understanding to another?s feelings. Read more

Published on Aug 25 2006 by Lillian

5.0 out of 5 stars A thrilling (mouse) tail!
This book is a thrilling tale, full mysterious happenings. It's filled with dungeons, a castle with adventures, and stories all about . . . a mouse. Read more

Published on Jun 21 2006 by A grade 4 student

4.0 out of 5 stars The Tale of Despereaux
I have read this book twice now to two classes of 6 and 7 year old children. Actually the 6 year olds in the first year begged me to read it to them again in the second year. Read more

Published on Feb 22 2006 by Jane Curry

5.0 out of 5 stars An Unlikely Hero Brings Light Into Darkness
A delightful tale of light against darkness. This is a fantasy with surprising depth, dealing with dark issues, yet managing to keep a light and fun tone and feel. Read more

Published on Aug 9 2005 by Brian Austin

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