Title: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: Kate Dicamillo
ISBN: 0786265787
Published: Sept. 2003
Characters: Despereaux, the Princess, Roscuro
Genre: fiction, fantasy, fairy tale
Reading Level: 3rd grade
Interest Level: 3rd-6th grade
Awards: Newbery Award
Plot Summary: Inside the walls of a castle the smallest mouse, with giant ears, is born. His mother named him Despereaux, after all the despair in the world. But Despereaux is a strange mouse who doesn't behave like a mouse should. He reads the books instead of eating them and he doesn't scurry in fear. Also in the castle is a King and his daughter who are morning the loss of the beloved Queen who died when she discovered a rat in her soup. The King banned soup and rats but despite the ban the rats live in the dark depths of the dungeon. The rats never leave their dark dwelling, except for one; Roscuro. Roscuro, is obsessed with the light and has a diabolic plan to live in the light. But what Roscuro doesn't know is that Despereaux will find himself on a quest to stop his plan, all in his pursuit for love and honor.
Review: Despereaux is a wonderful fantasty that is full of adventure, love and honor. Despereaux is the little mouse that could. He never seems to give up hope even after his own family sends him to his death in the dungeon. I really enjoy how despite his oddness, Despereaux is the hero. He shows tweens how being different isn't a bad thing. The story focuses on themes of good vs evil and that sometimes these things can exist in one person; they can be both dark and light. The story is able to show this complex theme without feeling bogged down. The story also has elements of quirkiness and fun. The King is a bit absurd in his demand that no one can have soup, but it's funny parts of the plot like this that keep the story moving and interesting.
Reader's Annotation: Despereaux is the most unlikely of heroes. He is small, even for a mouse, and his is always sneezing and acting very un-mouse like. Maybe it's his love of fairy tales or maybe it's his destiny but Despereaux is the knight in shining armor.
Main Themes: love, loyalty, good vs evil
Read Alikes: Redwall by Brian Jacques, Liesel & Po by Lauren Oliver, Mrs Frisby and the Rats of NIMH
Why for Tweens? Despereaux is the perfect character for tweens, he is awkward and different yet he still rises to the challenge. The story also starts to address questions that tweens may have. The story shows tweens that dark and light exists within everyone, some have more of one than another. But as tweens are starting to see that not everyone is perfect, there is much that they can relate to in the story.
