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The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a…
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The Tale of Despereaux: Being the Story of a Mouse, a Princess, Some Soup, and a Spool of Thread (original 2004; edition 2015)

by Kate DiCamillo (Author), Timothy Basil Ering (Illustrator)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
14,212546399 (4.09)251
Despereaux is the smallest mouse ever and he isn't like the other mice. He likes to read, listen to music, and he loves the princess. Roscuro, isn't like the other mice either, he loves the light. Mig Sow has had a rough life and wants nothing more than to be a princess, so she and Roscuro plot to kidnap the princess and make her a servant girl. This book is a great way to discuss the traits of characters, since no character is alike. Students could also compare and contrast the characters, and the book to the movie. ( )
  Katherine.Boykins | Apr 21, 2018 |
English (542)  German (2)  Spanish (1)  All languages (545)
Showing 1-25 of 542 (next | show all)
An interesting book. I definitely enjoyed it, but wasn’t sure what to make of it as I read. First the mouse completely cast out and unloved by his family, then a light loving rat dragged over to the dark side… topped by someone who sells ther child into slavery and the child is beaten until nearly deaf… I know I read things like that as a child and thought nothing of it…. Fairytale content shocked my adult mind. Still, it held my interest and things were generally satisfying by the end ( )
  cspiwak | Mar 6, 2024 |
**3.5 Stars**

Such a nostalgic read. Does the entire thing hold up now that I’m reading it as an adult. No. There are parts that I can reflect on and say hmmm maybe thats not the greatest thing ever. Is it clearly a book written for children. Yes. Does it still make me feel good reading it because it reminds me of sitting in my elementary school library. Yes. In the grand scheme of things it's a sweet story about love, light, and hope, as well as at the end of the day, nothing is more important than soup. ( )
  clougreen | Feb 22, 2024 |
This book is so precious. A little too precious for some, no doubt, but just the right amount of precious for me. It made me smile and and it made me want to eat soup. ( )
  LibrarianDest | Jan 3, 2024 |
Independent Reading Grade Level: 4-7
Awards: Newbery Medal (2004)
  jenhodges14 | Dec 7, 2023 |
Independent Reading Level: Grades 3-5 Awards/Honors: Newbery Medal
  malquistamber | Dec 7, 2023 |
A heartwarming and beautifully written story about a brave mouse.
This book won the award John Newbery Medal in year 2004. ( )
  madison02 | Dec 6, 2023 |
A small mouse falls in love with a human princess and is banished to the dungeon. A clever rat, born in the dungeon, longs for the world of light above. A farm girl turned serving maid has dreams above her station. When these three stories intersect, adventure ensues.

For me, this book is the high point of DiCamillo's writing to date, though I have enjoyed most of her stories and loved some of them. The characters are delightful, and though the book has that fairy-tale feel, it doesn't keep the reader at a distance the way fairy tales sometimes can. There's lots of humor and plenty of adventure. I've been reading it serially to a group of elementary school students, and they eagerly await each instalment. Reader, there is so much light here, if only you will look. ( )
  foggidawn | Nov 10, 2023 |
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. And what happens then? As Kate DiCamillo would say: Reader, it is your destiny to find out.
  PlumfieldCH | Nov 1, 2023 |
Month of January 2022: Young Reader’s Classics

READING LEVEL: 4.7 AR POINTS: 5.0
(Ages 7-10, grades 2-5)

Originally published in 2003. If it’s not a “classic” yet, it sure will be, already written 18 years ago. The author won a John Newbery Medal.

What a super cute children’s story! This one lands right up there, actually right below my top favorite young children’s book, “Jack: The (Fairly) True Tale of Jack and the Beanstalk” by Liesl Shurtliff.

I was able to find an adorable used little 8” plush Despereaux mouse on eBay to go with this book, which I will be giving to my daughter-in-law for her class. She is a Kindergarten teacher. They no longer sell the mouse in stores. So, you know, get it while the gettin’s good.

This is a story about a misfit mouse, Despereaux, who falls in love with the Princess Pea and desires, against mouse tradition, to be in the company of humans, and a misfit rat, Chiaroscuro, Roscuro for short, who feels the need and pull towards the light of the outside world, away from the dark and evil dungeon that rats love.

The rats kidnap the Princess Pea and brings her deep into the underground dungeon of the castle where she will never be found and never be happy nor see light again. But, Despereaux’s love for her is greater than his fears of the rats and so becomes the knight in shining armor, armed with a red spool of thread and a needle for a sword.

As their worlds collide, the light of love shines above all and wins. You will see…love always wins out in more ways than one.

BOOK-TO-MOVIE

“The Tale of Despereaux” (2008) animated cartoon
——————————
Despereaux plush toy - used, on eBay, is the only place to find them now. ( )
  MissysBookshelf | Aug 27, 2023 |
Revenge is never a good idea as actions have consequences even unintended ones. Despereaux, a mouse, falls in love with a human, Princess Pea, knowing humans and rodents don't mix. He strives to rescue the princess from the castle dungeon being held by the villainous rats. Despereaux learns life lessons that even the tiniest mouse can show as much bravery as a knight. The reader walks away with the idea that forgiveness is as helpful to the forgiver as it is to the person who's forgiven. Winner of the Newbery Medal in 2004. ( )
  KristiLM | Jul 13, 2023 |
Favorite quotes:
"Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing. And a ridiculous thing too (p.207)."

"Do you know what it means to be empathetic? I will tell you: It means that when you are being forcibly taken to a dungeon, when you have a large knife pointed at your back, when you are trying to be brave, you are able, still, to think for a moment of the person who is holding the knife (p.198)."
  Mrs.Kohlman | Jun 5, 2023 |
A delightfully clever fairy tale about a mouse in love, a Princess named Pea, and a Kingdom where soup is outlawed. Tiny Despereaux learns a few things about life and about himself, in his quest to rescue a fair maiden from the dungeon where she is held by a horde of nasty rats (even though they're illegal too!). Spoiler alert (nah, you know it all along): Good wins out. ( )
  laytonwoman3rd | May 6, 2023 |
Independent Reading Level: Grades 3-6
Awards: Notable Children's Recording (2004), Newberry Medal (2004)
  KayleeWhitley | May 2, 2023 |
Independent Reading Level: 4th Grade
Awards: Newbery Medal (2004)
  PaigeDavison | Apr 29, 2023 |
This book is appropriate for 4th and 5th grade. It's about a mouse who tries to save a princess who he loves from a rat infested kingdom. This book is really good for introducing students to harder level chapter books. I would have this in my classroom as a lit circle book for students to collaborate on. ( )
  sophia_mulkey | Apr 19, 2023 |
The family listened to this on a recent car trip. I love the positive message about empathy and choosing light over dark. The kids loved some of the silly characters. The only flaw was the repeated use of the word "cripes" by one of the characters. This probably wouldn't have bothered me as much in print, but it was uncomfortable to listen to over and over with my kids. It definitely sounded too much like another word for my liking. ( )
  CarolHicksCase | Mar 12, 2023 |
We have owned the book for years yet I never got around to reading this one to my daughter. She always rejected it. in favor of a story about dogs. Yet all these years later I still wanted to know the story of Despereaux. No, I did not read it to my daughter as she is twenty-two years old and putting the finishing edits one her first novel for her MFA program at the American College of Dublin, Ireland. So at sixty-six I am unashamed to have finally finished The Tale of Despereaux. I am glad I finally got around to it. ( )
  lynnbyrdcpa | Feb 18, 2023 |
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.
  wichitafriendsschool | Feb 17, 2023 |
great children's book. my writing model
  JMigotsky | Jan 27, 2023 |
This book is very dark and violent. A huge percentage of the time the characters are being cruel to each other. Many parental figures in the book are particularly horrific such as a father who sells his daughter into slavery, a person who a six-year-old calls Uncle who beats her so regularly that she loses her hearing and her ears are shaped like a cauliflower, a father who serves on a jury and votes to send his son to death in the dungeon. There are very few positive role models for how beings can be kind to each other. Yes it all gets wrapped up in the end in a fairly positive way but violence and cruelty are there norm all the way there.
  DurhamGirl | Oct 4, 2022 |
What do you get when you take a formula of princesses, unrequited love, a rat villain, and twist it for a new spin? You get Despereaux! A book where what you expect might not happen at all, the typical is spun on its head, and a small mouse goes on an adventure not quite like any other. Despereaux is the mouse equivalent of Dumbo, Cinderella, and a lot more. It's charming and a read that all should try at least once. ( )
  Yolken | Aug 5, 2022 |
A story about a misunderstood mouse who falls in love wtih Princess Pea, a real girl, a rat named Roscurio who lives in a dungeon, and an ugly girl name Miggery Sow and how all of their lives intertwine. A great new classic fairy tale. ( )
  Jen-Lynn | Aug 1, 2022 |
I've read the book and the movie. I haven't read it in a while but didn't like it. 🤷‍♂️ Kate DiCamillo really is a good author, but I feel like she needs to be writing poetry instead. (and Mercy Watson of course) The descriptions are so long and there's never a lot of danger.
I don't like animals being the main character or even a major plot of the book, so maybe that played a part, but still. ( )
  MollyGroff | Jul 29, 2022 |
I found the story to be odd, the mouse is in love with a princess. The redemption of the book is the theme of forgiveness. ( )
  MaryRachelSmith | Jul 21, 2022 |
Showing 1-25 of 542 (next | show all)

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Candlewick Press

3 editions of this book were published by Candlewick Press.

Editions: 0763625299, 0763617229, 0763629286

 

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