"Forgiveness, light, love, and soup. These essential ingredients combine into a tale that is as soul-stirring as it is delicious." -- BOOKLIST (starred review) 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. From the master storyteller who brought us BECAUSE OF WINN-DIXIE comes another classic, a fairy tale full of quirky, unforgettable characters, with twenty-four stunning black-and-white illustrations by Timothy Basil Ering. This paperback edition pays tribute to the book's classicdesign, featuring a rough front and elegant gold stamping.
Kate DiCamillo, author of the Newbery Honor book Because of Winn-Dixie, spins a tidy tale of mice and men where she explores the "powerful, wonderful, and ridiculous" nature of love, hope, and forgiveness. Her old-fashioned, somewhat dark story, narrated "Dear Reader"-style, begins "within the walls of a castle, with the birth of a mouse." Despereaux Tilling, the new baby mouse, is different from all other mice. Sadly, the romantic, unmouselike spirit that leads the unusually tiny, large-eared mouse to the foot of the human king and the beautiful Princess Pea ultimately causes him to be banished by his own father to the foul, rat-filled dungeon.
The first book of four tells Despereaux's sad story, where he falls deeply in love with Princess Pea and meets his cruel fate. The second book introduces another creature who differs from his peers--Chiaroscuro, a rat who instead of loving the darkness of his home in the dungeon, loves the light so much he ends up in the castle& in the queen's soup. The third book describes young Miggery Sow, a girl who has been "clouted" so many times that she has cauliflower ears. Still, all the slow-witted, hard-of-hearing Mig dreams of is wearing the crown of Princess Pea. The fourth book returns to the dungeon-bound Despereaux and connects the lives of mouse, rat, girl, and princess in a dramatic denouement.
Children whose hopes and dreams burn secretly within their hearts will relate to this cast of outsiders who desire what is said to be out of their reach and dare to break "never-to-be-broken rules of conduct." Timothy Basil Ering's pencil illustrations are stunning, reflecting DiCamillo's extensive light and darkness imagery as well as the sweet, fragile nature of the tiny mouse hero who lives happily ever after. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.5 / 5.0
Fabulous:
My granddaughter was thrilled with this book, and I loved the quality of the package.
In the minority...hated it:
I will admit that I plan to reread this book. I first read it a couple years ago to see if it was something my kids would enjoy as a read-aloud book. It had received rave reviews so I was looking forward to it. I hated it and almost didn't finish it but did so because I kept holding out hope it would improve. It was truly dark (think WWII writings) and morbid and I found very little uplifting, humorous,etc. I read a bit to my one daughter (the most serious who has patience with most books) and she even lost... more info
If I could use a ) star I would:
This is a horrible story: abuse, powerless/stupid/fat/beaten up young girl. What else could happen to this young girl. I read this story to my girls, the first few chapter and decided to go further on my own just to make sure the story would take a "lighter" turn. It didn't it went from ok to worse. No wonderful role model here for young girls. Very sad and disturbing story.
A Lovely Little Book:
This was a great read-aloud book (we actually started listening to the audio version together in the car, but had to return it to the library). I would highly recommend the audio version - the narration was beautiful. So, we finished it together (my son and I) last night. I'm not sure he thought much of it, but it was a lovely little book. Not as much plot, or excitement, as I think he was expecting, but fun nevertheless. We're looking forward to seeing the movie this holiday!
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