Title: The Tale of Despereaux
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator: Ering, Timothy Basil
Publisher and Date: Candlewick Press, 2003
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Age Range: 3rd-5th
Summary:
This is “the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.” The main character in the story is a loveable mouse named Despereaux. Despereaux doesn’t exactly fit in with his family or the rest of the mouse community. His body is too small, his ears are too large, and he was born with his eyes open. And if that isn’t enough he doesn’t scamper, he reads books (instead of eating them), and he falls in love with a princess! His differences eventually get him into trouble, and he is thrown into the dungeon to be eaten by the rats! Meanwhile everything else in the land is going wrong as well. The Queen has died, soup has been outlawed, and spoons and bowls have been confiscated. When a light loving rat (Roscuro) and cauliflower-eared servant girl (Mig) come up with an evil plan to harm the princes the forces of good and evil collide. Desperaux faces his fears of the dungeon to save his princess. After a lot of trouble and talking, order is restored to the kingdom. The princess is saved, soup is brought back, Mig is reunited with her father, Roscuro is allowed to come into the light, and Desperaux lives his life happily as a friend of the princess.
Response:
This was such good book! It was full of loveable, memorable characters with a fairy tale like setting. Despearex just captured my heart. He couldn’t help it that he was different and it broke my heart that even his own family did not accept him. In fact, his own brother and father are the ones who had him sent to the dungeon. This is something very important that I think we should point out to our students. That others, no matter how different they are, need to be treated with respect and compassion. And that we should above all uphold an atmosphere of acceptance for everyone. The illustrations throughout the novel are also something to note. They help the reader get a visual of the characters and the setting without overpowering the text. There are only a few, but I think they are interspersed at appropriate parts. Another aspect of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed was its interactive aspect. Kate DiCamillo did a great job of interacting with the reader. Her comments and questions to the reader kept me fully engaged throughout the story. It really helps to pull you in and make you a part of the story. Another great thing about the book is that Kate encourages children to expand their vocabulary. She included harder words like “perfidy” and “adieu” and encouraged her reader to look these words up. I think it is great that she is helping to broaden children’s knowledge. One of my favorite things about the book was Kate’s words of wisdom. She had such good points throughout the novel. On page 113 she cautions her reader that “All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.” On page 117 when she warns, “every action, reader, no matter how small, has a consequence.” And finally on page 207 she says, “Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing.” All of these things are wonderful life lessons that we can all take to heart.
Teaching Ideas:
I’m not sure that I would teach this novel, but I would definitely have it available in my classroom. It has great characterization, a fairy tale setting, and it promotes the themes of acceptance and forgiveness. What’s not to love? Be sure to treat yourself to this wonderful book!
Author: DiCamillo, Kate
Illustrator: Ering, Timothy Basil
Publisher and Date: Candlewick Press, 2003
Genre: Animal Fantasy
Age Range: 3rd-5th
Summary:
This is “the story of a mouse, a princess, some soup, and a spool of thread.” The main character in the story is a loveable mouse named Despereaux. Despereaux doesn’t exactly fit in with his family or the rest of the mouse community. His body is too small, his ears are too large, and he was born with his eyes open. And if that isn’t enough he doesn’t scamper, he reads books (instead of eating them), and he falls in love with a princess! His differences eventually get him into trouble, and he is thrown into the dungeon to be eaten by the rats! Meanwhile everything else in the land is going wrong as well. The Queen has died, soup has been outlawed, and spoons and bowls have been confiscated. When a light loving rat (Roscuro) and cauliflower-eared servant girl (Mig) come up with an evil plan to harm the princes the forces of good and evil collide. Desperaux faces his fears of the dungeon to save his princess. After a lot of trouble and talking, order is restored to the kingdom. The princess is saved, soup is brought back, Mig is reunited with her father, Roscuro is allowed to come into the light, and Desperaux lives his life happily as a friend of the princess.
Response:
This was such good book! It was full of loveable, memorable characters with a fairy tale like setting. Despearex just captured my heart. He couldn’t help it that he was different and it broke my heart that even his own family did not accept him. In fact, his own brother and father are the ones who had him sent to the dungeon. This is something very important that I think we should point out to our students. That others, no matter how different they are, need to be treated with respect and compassion. And that we should above all uphold an atmosphere of acceptance for everyone. The illustrations throughout the novel are also something to note. They help the reader get a visual of the characters and the setting without overpowering the text. There are only a few, but I think they are interspersed at appropriate parts. Another aspect of this book that I thoroughly enjoyed was its interactive aspect. Kate DiCamillo did a great job of interacting with the reader. Her comments and questions to the reader kept me fully engaged throughout the story. It really helps to pull you in and make you a part of the story. Another great thing about the book is that Kate encourages children to expand their vocabulary. She included harder words like “perfidy” and “adieu” and encouraged her reader to look these words up. I think it is great that she is helping to broaden children’s knowledge. One of my favorite things about the book was Kate’s words of wisdom. She had such good points throughout the novel. On page 113 she cautions her reader that “All living things have a heart. And the heart of any living thing can be broken.” On page 117 when she warns, “every action, reader, no matter how small, has a consequence.” And finally on page 207 she says, “Forgiveness, reader, is, I think, something very much like hope and love, a powerful, wonderful thing.” All of these things are wonderful life lessons that we can all take to heart.
Teaching Ideas:
I’m not sure that I would teach this novel, but I would definitely have it available in my classroom. It has great characterization, a fairy tale setting, and it promotes the themes of acceptance and forgiveness. What’s not to love? Be sure to treat yourself to this wonderful book!
1 comment:
I've been thinking about reading this! It's good to hear your response!
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