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

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.

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.

For another story about mice that is di Camillo's superior in every way, consider Russell Hoban's _The Mouse and His Child_ (di Camillo is indebted to Hoban's depiction of Manny Rat for her Roscuro). _The Mouse and His Child_ is a satisfying tale that doesn't flinch at depicting the harrowing sorrows and joys of childhood, and, unlike _Despereaux_, would continue to delight upon subsequent readings.