Kate DiCamillo

Marie-Helen Goyetche

A Literature Kit. A story of a special mouse who is on a dangerous quest to rescue a princess. Despereaux falls in love with the princess even though mice and humans are not supposed to. Caught, Despereaux is sentenced to the dungeon, however he escapes and goes looking for his beloved princess. The princess, however, has already been tricked and has been taken to the dungeon. Despereaux must save his love, and together with the help of his friends, eventually rescues her. As his quest comes to a close, Despereaux realizes that he still cannot marry the princess, however they become friends. The story ends with the king, the princess, and Despereaux eating a feast and living happily together forever.

Grades 3 - 4

The Tale of Despereaux

A brave mouse, a covetous rat, a wishful serving girl, and a princess named Pea come together in Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal–winning tale.

Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.

Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup and a Spool of Thread

ivan

Reader, nothing is sweeter in this sad world than the sound of someone you love calling your name.

Now you’re free. You see, you’re not going into the dungeon because you have to. You’re going because you choose to.”

When the powerful are made weak, when they are revealed to be human, to have hearts, their diminishment is nothing short of terrifying.

sent to clean a room, she stood, open-mouthed and delighted, admiring the gold walls and floors and tapestries, exclaiming over and over again, “Gor, ain’t it pretty? Gor, ain’t it something, then?” and did no cleaning at all)

Reader, do you think that it is a terrible thing to hope when there is really no reason to hope at all? Or is it (as the soldier said about happiness) something that you might just as well do, since, in the end, it really makes no difference to anyone but you?

When you are a king, you may make as many ridiculous laws as you like. That is what being a king is all about.

There are those hearts, reader, that never mend again once they are broken. Or if they do mend, they heal themselves in a crooked and lopsided way, as if sewn together by a careless craftsman.

Did you think that rats do not have hearts? Wrong. All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.

You are talking to Gregory the jailer, who, in the richest of ironies, is nothing but a prisoner here himself.

▪ “Farewell” is a word that, in any language, is full of sorrow. It is a word that promises absolutely nothing.

Somebody who loves you? Somebody who you love? What difference does that make?

"an interesting fate (sometimes involving rats, sometimes not) awaits almost everyone, mouse or man, who does not conform"

Sarah Sammis

The Tale of Despereaux by Kate DiCamillo won the 2004 Newbery Award. It's the story of an outcast mouse who ends up becoming a hero by extraordinary means.

Despereaux Tilling is the only surviving mouse from his parents' last litter. His ears are too big and he had his eyes open at birth, something that just isn't done. He continues doing things that shouldn't be done including talking to the princess and letting the king touch him. For his crimes against mousedom he's sentenced to the dark to be killed by the rats in the dungeon.

Despereaux, though, is only one of three characters who doesn't fit in where life has put him. His story is woven together with the other two: Migs and Rosuro. Migs is a girl sold into hard labor by her father, and beaten until she is deaf. Rosuro is a rat who wishes to see the sunlight.

While teaching about being true to ones self, author Dicamillo takes the time to make the narrative conventions (such as flashbacks) she's using obvious. Through her "dear reader" asides she teaches children how more complex stories are told, guiding them through the process.

3.5 🌟 
The story was quite cute, and I like the message behind it. I didn't like writing that much, and I would have liked it if we got to know the characters more.

Read this on a whim in between classes and it was such a nice and refreshing break from heavy academic readings. Definitely a book to share with a younger audience, especially for nightly storytimes and the like.

adventurous hopeful tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix

Strong character development? Yes

Loveable characters? Yes

Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Read this on a whim in between classes and it was such a nice and refreshing break from heavy academic readings. Definitely a book to share with a younger audience, especially for nightly storytimes and the like.

Drew Dost

Very cute, loved reading it both as a kid and now as an adult! Some aspects that I think could be more fleshed out since the motivations of different characters are not the most clear at times, but overall it's a very good story that's quite enjoyable to read!

Sophie Will

A cute, feel-good story. I read it when I was very young, and I remember loving it. I'll have to read it again.

Natasha Musa

It's a children's book so it was quite an easy read.

Julie Janis

I loved reading the different points of view and discovering how much courage and strength the characters had. This is a great children's book for learning about believing in yourself and your capabilities!

Libby G

despereaux is a cute little mouse that loves the world and refuses to scurry and sniff he is such a disappointment and such a hero

Ana V. 

What sweet and amazing story. This little mouse is born different in a dull world with giant cute ears and no fear. The other mice can't understand his passion. He starts his adventure to become an honorable knight against all odds, restoring the happiness to the kingdom. The other characters have their own fights and struggles to conquer. They’re funny and very well constructed. Oh, and there’s also…soup.

We learn with Despereaux that no one is too small to accomplish a greater purpose. 

A very beautiful book.

Timothy B. Ering

The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin.

Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread

Julia Seiser

One of my favorite books to read. I would read it over and over again if I could.

Barry Hess

Read this book to my girls, having seen the movie but heard the book is better. Indeed it is. Not a washed over childish tail. There's death and mistreated children and everything. It sent my older girl on an emotional coaster, but she enjoyed it. A long children's book, and a good one.

Fiona Coffey

I reread this book as part of a reading group with friends (our theme was 'old favorite children's books') and I think I liked it even more as an adult than I did as a kid! It was a lot darker than I remembered, and I actually really enjoyed that, and how real it was. It wasn't just another fairy tale, and it was very sweet, but it also had some more difficult themes. Still, I wished more for Roscuro. 

It was a really quick read, I read it in two sessions (I really miss print that large. My poor 21 year old eyes!) and I also have to mention how much I loved the narrator's voice. I feel like adult books don't often have a narrator it's just always in the first person, and I get kind of tired of that. 

I really wish Kate DiCamillo would write adult books, this was a really refreshing read.

Destiny J Tamayo

I really loved it and I want to get my own copy. It was a lovely read.

Kaitlyn Krna

I really enjoyed this book. It was an enchanting read that had a great combination of both light and dark that was more than just good people and bad people.

I very much appreciated the fact that Kate DiCamillo did not shy away from the sadness that came with some of the decisions of certain characters. I am okay with the death and the sadness because the world we live in has those aspects. I believe that readers can learn just as much from a book that provides moments of sadness and disappointment.

That said, I didn't come away from this book thinking about the sad moments, instead I came away remembering the happy and light moments. I came away remembering that everyone is not nice or good, but some people (or mice) are exceptionally good and honorable.

Overall I found the book to be fantastic and very engaging.

The quote I chose for this book: "Stories are light. Light is precious in a world so dark."

Aly Valenz

The adventures of Desperaux Tilling, a small mouse of unusual talents, the princess that he loves, the servant girl who longs to be a princess, and a devious rat determined to bring them all to ruin. Ages 9+. Winner of 2004 Newbery Medal.

Lysh (She/Her)

What an adorable tail! (Oops, I mean tale). Despereaux is the runt of the litter, and his desire to live in the light, to be brave as a knight, and to read fairytales, is left in wanting. He is sanctioned by the mouse officials to be thrown into the dungeon and dealt with by the rats. But by the hair of his whiskers, he escapes! And so his adventures begin...

I love that this story is broken into 4 parts. The first is about Derpereaux himself. The next is about our villain. The third focuses on our overlooked, yet important, side-character, and the final section of the book brings all of our characters together in a final hurrah. This builds each character's back story beautifully and gives us reasons for their actions in part 4. We feel for the rat who was attracted to the light but mistreated by humans. Our heart is broken for the girl whose father sold her when she was young. It all makes sense and builds in such an amazing way. 

The author's voice is charming, and breaks the 4th wall by addressing the 'reader' directly. The illustrations in this edition are particularly gorgeous and add an elements of magic to the adventure. Plus the figurative language and imagery is a teacher's dream! 

There are a couple of dark scenes in this book. At least 2 characters die and 2 tails are chopped off...but it's nothing worse than Disney. I would recommend for 8+...just be aware of your audience and their sensitivities to such topics. 

I have taken off a star because I feel the connection between the different parts could have been a bit more seamless. It did feel a little clunky at times. I also worry a little about the portrayal of a young girl with a hearing impairment as silly or stupid. Although it read well with the character as a whole, because I could understand where the story was going and the outcome was happy, if you look at it through the eyes of a young deaf reader, it is not approachable or a true representation of that individual's abilities. I would have liked a few lines in there to clarify this character for the reader and that this was merely a perception, but not the actuality.

A brave mouse, a covetous rat, a wishful serving girl, and a princess named Pea come together in Kate DiCamillo's Newbery Medal–winning tale. Welcome to the story of Despereaux Tilling, a mouse who is in love with music, stories, and a princess named Pea. It is also the story of a rat called Roscuro, who lives in the darkness and covets a world filled with light. And it is the story of Miggery Sow, a slow-witted serving girl who harbors a simple, impossible wish. These three characters are about to embark on a journey that will lead them down into a horrible dungeon, up into a glittering castle, and, ultimately, into each other's lives. What happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out. With black-and-white illustrations and a refreshed cover by Timothy Basil Ering.

Michael Hessling

A good tail. :) HATED the illustrations, though. Yuk. 

I thought I might see the movie, but I see they make Roscuro a good guy. Hmm.

The Tale of Despereaux Grades 3 - 4

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